How Sri Lankan Militants Tried To Topple The Maldives Government In ’88

There is a Maldivian legend about a Sri Lankan prince named KoiMalé who was marooned in a Maldivian lagoon with his wife, the daughter of a Sinhalese king, and who then went on to rule the nation as its first Sultan in the 12th century AD. Nearly 800 years later, a group of Sri Lankan mercenaries, armed to the teeth, would attempt to help unseat the then Maldivian president in a coup d’état that has now become something of a legend of its own. This is the story of their bold but ultimately futile attempt.

A Plot Is Hatched

It was 1988. Less than a year had passed since the Indo-Sri Lanka accord was signed and the 80,000 strong Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) had made its way to Sri Lanka. In the northern parts of the island, battle was raging between the IPKF and the LTTE, and tensions were rising in the South. A thousand kilometres away, a Maldivian businessman named Abdullah Luthifi had hatched a plot to overthrow the dictatorial government of President Abdul Gayoom in what he hoped would be a bloodless coup. To this end, he sought the help of a group of Sri Lankan Tamil militants known as the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), led by the enigmatic Uma Maheswaran.

On November 3, 1988, some 80 heavily armed PLOTE cadres along with Luthifi and another Maldivian national reached the shores of Malé by fishing trawler (commandeered by the militants), having set off from Mullikulam beach off Kalpitiya, Sri Lanka. Prior to this, PLOTE members disguised as tourists had spent months in and out of the Maldives, laying the groundwork for the takeover.

Despite some initial hiccups, the highly-trained mercenaries hurriedly set out to capture key government buildings including the airport, and television and radio stations. But even the best-laid plans of mice and men tend to go awry, and it wasn’t long until, due to sheer miscommunication, things began to go south.

Miscalculations

In an exclusive interview given to the Island over five years ago, Luthifi recounted that, in spite of the PLOTE cadres being asked to enter the Maldivian army barracks through a lightly-guarded entry point, a few of them had opened fire, prompting the Maldivian troops to retaliate.

“Had they entered the barracks, the majority would have thrown their weight behind us. We lost the group leader, and thereby the initiative. I didn’t want to kill anyone. I believed those loyal to Gayoom would give up quickly. They wouldn’t have been a match for the experienced PLOTE cadres. Unfortunately, due to hasty action on the part of the group tasked with seizing the army barracks, we gave the game away,” he told the Island.

The group leader Luthifi was referring to was PLOTE member Vasanthi, who was privy to the finer details of the plan ‒ needless to say, his death a costly loss to the conspirators. However, the militants were able to confine the Maldivian soldiers to their barracks ‒ at least for the time being.

According to an account given by PLOTE Spokesman Skanda, a group of cadres led by PLOTE member Babu was to take over the radio station followed by the telecommunications network. A second group headed by one Farook was to then take into custody President Gayoom and the Maldivian Defence Minister.

Babu and his troops raided the radio station and telecom towers, only to find that the premises were closed for the day. They had not accounted for the fact that November 3 was a holiday in the Maldives. The strong steel doors at the facilities, according to Skanda, were able to withstand PLOTE’s explosives. Farook, meanwhile, was on his way to intercept the President at his residence, but having been alerted to the ongoing mayhem, Gayoom had made his escape.

India To The Rescue

Things quickly started to fall apart. Gayoom, realising that he was still in control of telecom, hastily alerted the international community, seeking help and intervention from the Governments of Sri Lanka, India, and the United States.

Beating President J. R. Jayawardene to the punch, Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi stepped in, offering immediate military assistance to the Maldivian president.

Read more : http://roar.lk/features/how-sri-lankan-militants-tried-to-topple-the-maldives-government-in-88/

Maldives To Allow Foreigners To Own Land

Lawmakers in the Maldives have voted to allow foreign ownership of land for the first time, triggering concern over a possible landgrab by China in the strategic Indian Ocean region.

Dozens of foreign companies already run luxury resorts on islands that they lease from the government of the honeymoon islands for a maximum of 99 years.

The new law, which has yet to be ratified by the president, would allow foreigners who invest more than US$1 billion (RM3.8 billion) to own land in perpetuity, provided 70% of it is reclaimed from the Indian Ocean.

The bill passed easily on Wednesday after a brief debate, with 70 members voting in favour and 14 against, the assembly said in a statement.

But opposition lawmakers expressed fears that the move could clear the way for the Chinese to set up bases in the Maldives, which straddles vital international east-west shipping routes.

Regional superpower India is already wary of increased Chinese involvement in the area, which it considers to be within its sphere of influence.

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party MP Eva Abdulla said she feared the nation could become a frontline for a potential power struggle between India and China.

"We can't ignore the fact there is a cold war brewing between India and China," Abdulla told AFP by telephone from the capital island Male.

"What is in our interest is peace and stability in the Indian Ocean. India is our neighbour and we are not a country in the South China Sea," she said referring to China's dispute with several countries over claims to the area.

The government has said the move would not threaten the Maldives' sovereignty and was needed to attract large-scale foreign investment for projects.

The Maldives is seeking aid and investment from Beijing to build a 1.4km bridge linking Male with the nearby airport island.

Ahead of the vote, President Abdulla Yameen's half brother Maumoon Abdul Gayoom — the country's former strongman leader — had urged further public debate on the controversial move.

"I have appealed to (the) president to seek public opinion on proposed constitutional amendment re land ownership before ratification," he tweeted.

The Maldives, made up of 1,192 tiny coral islands scattered across the equator, has been plagued by political unrest since the toppling of the country's first democratically elected president Mohamed Nasheed in February 2012.

Since his conviction earlier this year on terrorism charges there have been regular protests on Male's streets.

Source: http://malaysiandigest.com/frontpage/29-4-tile/562581-maldives-to-allow-foreigners-to-own-land.html

Maldives President's brother, Mamoon Abdul Gayoom raises objections to constitutional amendment favouring China

The Abdullah Yameeen government's decision to amend the Constitution to allow land holdings to foreigners that may lead to larger Chinese footprints in Maldives have drawn ire from no less than Mamoon Abdul Gayoom, former President and brother of current leader.

Gayoom, former Maldivian strongman and one who still wields influence, has not only tweeted to lodge his protests but also demanded a referendum through a letter to Yameen on the controversial move that has raised eyebrows not in Delhi but also in Male.

Gayoom, the leader of the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) and half brother of Yameen, urged the president to seek public opinion on ratifying the constitutional amendment. In a letter sent to Yameen, Gayoom said previous governments had refrained from selling parts of Maldivian territory to prevent influence "over the country's independence, sovereignty, and resources", political sources told ET from Male over phone.

This is the first time Gayoom has publicly opposed Yameen. Sources indicated that Gayoom is also unhappy with the appointment of Ahmed Adeeb as the country's Vice President. Former Tourism Minister Adeeb is the closest political aide of Yameen and wields enormous influence in the current administration. The provisions of the new law will allow foreigners who invest more than $1billion to purchase land. At least 70% of the project site must be reclaimed. The constitution previously prohibited foreign ownership of any part of Maldivian territory, but allowed leasing of land for up to 99 years.

There has been concern within the security establishment at the new law, given that it could, technically, enable a foreign nation to recover land and set up critical infrastructure, including those of a military/surveillance nature on the island chain.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/maldives-presidents-brother-mamoon-abdul-gayoom-raises-objections-to-constitutional-amendment-favouring-china/articleshow/48194982.cms

Want to buy a slice of the Maldives? Now you can - for $1b

Decision by the Maldives government to open up islands to foreign buyers has sparked fears that China is poised to seize a foothold in the Indian Ocean



Maldives' government has passed a law which will, for the first time, allow foreigners to purchase land.

But the new law has a sting in its tail.

The constitutional amendment bill, passed by the Maldivian parliament on Wednesday, states that investors must spend at least $1 billion (£640m) to own land on one of the 1,200 islands in perpetuity. Furthermore, 70 per cent of the land must be reclaimed from the Indian Ocean.

And the conditions imposed have sparked fears that the bill is designed to clear the way for the Chinese to set up bases in the Maldives, which straddles vital international east-west shipping routes. China has expertise in reclamation technology and can easily make investments of that size.

India, which considers itself the regional superpower, is already wary of increased Chinese involvement in the area - which it considers to be within its sphere of influence.

Eva Abdulla, an MP of with the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, said she feared the nation could become a front line for a potential power struggle between India and China.

"We can't ignore the fact there is a cold war brewing between India and China," she said.

"What is in our interest is peace and stability in the Indian Ocean. India is our neighbour and we are not a country in the South China Sea," she said referring to China's dispute with several countries over claims to the area.

Ahead of the vote, President Abdulla Yameen's half brother Maumoon Abdul Gayoom - the country's former leader - had urged further public debate on the controversial move.

"I have appealed to (the) president to seek public opinion on proposed constitutional amendment re land ownership before ratification," he tweeted.

Anand Kumar, a strategic affairs analyst at the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, agreed that the law could help China gain a foothold in the Indian Ocean.

"They have been creating islands in South China Sea, and they will try to replicate the same exercise in Indian Ocean," he said. "They tried to do the same thing with Sri Lanka. It appears that since they have lost political influence in Sri Lanka, they are trying to regain the same ground in Maldives."

The government has said the move would not threaten the Maldives' sovereignty and was needed to attract large-scale foreign investment for projects.

Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11486525

My opponents try to silence me through fraud charges: Gayoom

Former Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom yesterday dismissed fresh allegations that he had swindled the country to the tune of US$ 400 million as baseless and a conspiracy by local and international forces to defame him.

In an interview with the Sunday Times last night, Mr. Gayoom, who is in Sri Lanka to promote the mission of a foundation named after him, said the allegations were not new and kept resurfacing because he was still being seen as a major threat to the present Maldivian leadership and their international sponsors.

He said these forces were so well connected and active that articles defaming him had appeared even in the New York Times newspaper.

Now out of active politics, Mr. Gayoom, who ruled the Indian Ocean archipelago for more than 30 years, said the allegations that he had played out US$ 80 million in tsunami aid from the government of Qatar had been proved untrue and a Maldivian court had given a ruling in his favour.

"These allegations not only resurface but they grow in magnitude. First they said it was US$ 40 million, then the amount rose to US$ 80 million and now it stands at US$ 400 million. This is an attempt to silence me, for my political opponents still see me as a major threat," said the former President who charged that the country's assets were being sold to foreign companies in a haphazard manner that threatened the national interest.

Mr. Gayoom insisted he had no intention to return to active politics even though there had been many requests from Maldivian and foreign friends urging him to come back to politics and sort out the mess the country had fallen into.

Refusing to be drawn into any comments on the current crisis, Mr. Gayoom said it was he who initiated the process of liberal political reforms in the Maldives.

When pointed out that the very reforms that he had initiated had propelled his country into a political crisis, the 73-year-old leader said that it was not the reforms that were at fault but how these reforms were being adhered to or respected by the powers-that-be.

He said the reforms he initiated not only envisaged a multi-party liberal democracy but also aimed at good governance with independent judiciary and public institutions, but sadly many of these institutions had become highly politicized.

He said concentration of too much power in one single institution - the executive presidency - would be the main cause for the present crisis. Mr. Gayoom said he was thankful for the mediation efforts of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to solve the current political stalemate in the Maldives, saying it was the Sri Lankan President's true love for the neighbouring country that led him to undertake the troubleshooting mission.

Mr. Gayoom, in January this year quit as the leader of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party which he led from 2005 to 2010 and his party bestowed him the title of "Zaeem" or Honorary Leader. Mr. Gayoom said his public life was restricted to his work related to his foundation which sought to contribute to the social development of the country he loved and served for three decades.

He said his foundation wanted to achieve its goal through education based on moderate Islam, which he described as a powerful force capable of solving the Maldives social ills such as the acute drug abuse problem.

Source: http://www.sundaytimes.lk

Profile: President Maumoon Gayoom

The president has recently appeared more vulnerable

But few have heard of him outside the sleepy Indian Ocean archipelago he has governed for three decades.

His supporters say this is because he is a popular president who has quietly got on with the business of making the Maldives more affluent and tackling head-on the problem of rising sea levels which it's feared may wash away his entire country.

President Gayoom has held power in the coral-fringed atolls since 1978, elected in yes-or-no referendums.

Under him, tourism has made the Maldives the most prosperous country in South Asia but his political opponents have described him as a dictator who has ruled like the Sultans of old.

They argue that his anonymity is a sign of something more sinister. President Gayoom, they say, silenced domestic dissent to steer the Maldives along a course of his own choosing.

Exclusive destination

The president, 71, has defended earlier curbs on democracy in the Maldives by pointing to its booming economy.

He says that his decision to introduce a new constitution in August 2008 has paved the way for the country to become a fully functioning democracy and presidential elections are a reflection of that.

"We have our own culture and traditions, and
I'm the president of Maldives. I'm my own man "
President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

Since 1978, his economic policies have transformed a cluster of desert islands ringed by coral reefs into South Asia's most exclusive holiday destination.

With a per capita income of $2,280, the Maldives' population of 250,000 Sunni Muslims is now one of the wealthiest in the region.

Entire islands have been given over to luxury hotel developments and tourism has become the engine of the Maldivian economy.

Yet the reliance on Western tourism has made President's Gayoom's government sensitive to Western criticism.

Amnesty International and other human rights groups have accused the government of imprisoning and torturing its opponents, allegations the government says are baseless.

The president has also at times appeared to be politically and personally vulnerable. In September 2007, the country was hit by a bomb attack in a park near the main mosque in the capital, Male.

That prompted the president to introduce new laws to combat "Islamic extremism" in his country.

In January 2008 he escaped unhurt after he was attacked by a man wielding a knife.

Rising tides

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was born in the Maldivian capital, Male, in 1937, and studied in Sri Lanka and Egypt.

He has brushed aside three coup attempts and appears to have mastered the art of staying in office.

But the islands he governs could do with some staying power of their own.

If sea levels continue to rise at recent rates, the low-lying Maldives are set to vanish beneath the waves within the next few decades.

The threat of going under has cast President Gayoom in the role of an environmentalist advocating curbs on global warming.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Maldives president ratifies new constitution

The Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ratified the country's new constitution on Thursday, aiming to pursue a "modern, multi-party, democratic system" and giving more powers to the judiciary and legislature.

Opposition parties welcomed the new constitution, but worried about the implementation stage, while some members of the public hoped the document would bring change.

The new constitution, developed over the past four years, includes a judiciary run by an independent commission, and independent commissions to oversee elections and fight corruption.

The new constitution reduces the executive powers vested under the president and strengthens the parliament, which would be chosen through an electoral system giving each 5,000 people one member, replacing a less representative system that included some seats appointed by the president.

"We are not doing this as an illusion ... but for the benefit of the country," President Gayoom said soon after announcing official ratification of the new constitution.

"The real work is bringing the constitution into effect. Democracy can bind everyone together even if we are different from one another."

Gayoom, Asia's longest-serving leader, has held the reins of the archipelago -- a major tourist destination -- since 1978.

He first pledged the reforms to the earlier constitution following a crackdown on mass protests in 2003, and criticism over his government's human rights record.

The country's constitution was last revised in 1998, putting the president at the head of all government bodies.

NEED CHANGES

"It might bring some good changes. I have seen this man (Gayoom) ever since I was born. It's time to bring a change," said 27-year-old housewife Mizna, who like others interviewed gave only one name.

"The new constitution says we can get freedoms, but we don't feel it now. Maybe electing a new president will give us the freedoms in reality," said Ibrahim, a store cashier.

Tourist resort worker Aram, 18, said he didn't believe the new constitution could make a difference and thought Gayoom would retain his power.

Gayoom is expected to contest in the country's first multi-party presidential elections, due to be held by Oct. 10, after six terms in which he was nominated by parliament with the public given the chance to approve or disapprove him.

"It lays the groundwork for a new era providing, of course, the constitution is implemented in the spirit it (is) intended to be," Ahamed Shaheed, former foreign minister of Gayoom's government last year on slow pace of constitutional reforms and now a member of opposition New Maldives Movement, told Reuters.

"But we still want to see how it is implemented, because we do need to see the composition of the election commission and supreme court."

The opposition Republican party said true independence for the new bodies is critical.

The Home Ministry said Gayoom had pardoned 13 prisoners on Wednesday night, a day before he lost his pardoning powers under the new constitution, including a pardon for relative jailed on terror charges in the 2003 unrest.

Source: in.reuters.com

Maldives president seeks help for 'paradise drowning'

Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom made an impassioned plea Tuesday for a cut in global greenhouse gas emissions, warning that rising sea levels could submerge his paradise island chain.

He launched a book at the UN-backed Business for the Environment conference to highlight the threat to his South Asian tropical island chain favoured by tourists for its white sandy beaches, clear waters and swaying palm trees.

"My people are blessed with one of the most beautiful settings that nature has to offer... To many people across the world, our shores have indeed become an earthly paradise. This paradise, though, is endangered," he said.

"Each year, the seas that make up 99 percent of the Maldives are rising, and, slowly but surely, engulfing our 1,192 low-lying islands and posing serious risks to the lives and livelihoods of the people."

He said he chose the title "Paradise Drowning" for his book because "it evokes an image fraught with great danger" and "most clearly encapsulates the threat of climate change and sea-level rise to my people."

Speaking to reporters later, Gayoom said the country can only adapt to the problem by relocating citizens to safer islands. Building protective walls on 193 inhabited islands would cost about six billion US dollars, which the government finds too expensive, he said.

Gayoom said the real culprit for rising sea levels is global warming and the solution lies in countries cutting the carbon dioxide emissions which have been blamed for the phenomenon.

He said it was ironic that although the Maldives accounts for only 0.01 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, the country could be "possibly the biggest victim of global warming."

At the rate at which sea levels are rising, the islands would be rendered "uninhabitable in the not-too-distant future," he said.

Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), said the problem outlined by Gayoom mirrors the fate of other low-lying territories worldwide.

"The challenge they are facing is one of continued existence," Steiner told AFP on the sidelines of the conference.

"In the Maldives, it is possibly losing many of its islands and even one day... losing a whole nation," Steiner said, adding that many other coastal areas are in the same predicament.

"Many of the Asian coastal zones, Africa's coastal zones, are highly vulnerable to sea-level rise," he warned.

Steiner also criticised those who argue the threat is being exaggerated.

"If you want to know what the consequences are, take a look at what the tsunami did in a few seconds and you get an idea of what destruction will arise from sea-level rise," he said, referring to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

The tsunami killed 220,000 people in countries around the region and damaged 10 percent of the Maldives' inhabited islands.

But Gayoom said there was still hope as governments are negotiating a global treaty that will succeed the Kyoto Protocol on climate change aimed at committing countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

"Ultimately, what it (the book) signals is hope -- hope that humankind will find consensus and a clear will to act. I am confident that we, the peoples of the world, will not allow this paradise to drown," he said.

More than 500 business executives, government officials, environmentalists and others from 30 countries have gathered for the two-day conference.

It is organised by the United Nations Environment Programme and the UN's Global Compact, an initiative which brings companies together with UN and other agencies to support environmental and social principles.

Source: http://afp.google.com/article

Maldives wants emissions cuts but not from tourism

By Melanie Lee and Neil Chatterjee

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The Maldives, worried about rising seas from climate change, wants steeper cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions but is unwilling to curb its tourism industry, which is reliant on polluting international flights.

President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, in Singapore promoting his book "Paradise Drowning" at an environmental business summit, said cutting back on tourism was not the answer even though the country's survival was more important than development.

"I don't think it's a viable option for us to cut down on tourism because it's the mainstay of our economy," Gayoom told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.

Tourist arrivals grew 12 percent last year to a record in the Maldives, a chain of Indian Ocean islands known for luxury resorts, expensive honeymoons and world-class scuba diving.

Tourism contributes about 5 percent to global emissions of greenhouse gases, but this is expected to rise as more people take international flights.

Scientists say emissions from jet engines have a much greater heat-trapping effect when released high in the atmosphere than when released at ground level.

This irony was not lost on Gayoom, facing the same problem as major developing countries that do not want any global agreement on emissions to constrain economic growth. The United Nations is leading talks to try to agree a new pact to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, whose first phase ends in 2012.

With the United Nations forecasting aviation emissions to rise by two to five times by 2050, the European Union aims to make all airlines buy pollution permits whether they fly into or out of the bloc.

VICTIMS

"It's up to the business community, the corporate community, to look at alternatives to air travel as it is now -- to have more efficient fuel, alternative methods of fuel consumption, safer methods, greener methods -- we are the victims," Gayoom said.

"For a country like the Maldives, development comes after survival," he said. "I'm not happy at all, because what the international community has agreed so far is not enough to save our country and other low-lying area countries."

A U.N. climate panel has forecast world sea levels are likely to rise by up to 59 cm by 2100 due to global warming.

Gayoom said some of his people could be moved to islands with higher ground but adaptation was not enough and it would cost $6 billion to build sea defences around the tiny Indian Ocean islands -- more than the Maldives could afford.

He said the country was not planning a levy on international tourists to help fund such a scheme, but was considering a trust fund combining government revenues and money from international donors.

The economy, which Gayoom said would grow between 6 and 7 percent in 2008, derives about 30 percent of revenues from tourism. Officials previously forecast 9.5 percent growth this year after 6.6 percent last year and a 19.1 percent post-tsunami boom in 2006.

Gayoom, 70, who has led the Maldives for three decades, said he planned to run in October presidential elections and was confident of adding to his tenure as Asia's longest-serving ruler.

"The introduction of a multi-party liberal democracy in the Maldives is going to be my legacy."

Source: http://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews

World's Longest-Serving Leaders

A look at the world's longest-serving leaders, excluding monarchies:

_President Fidel Castro of Cuba rose to power Jan. 1, 1959. Aged 81 and suffering health problems, Castro says he will not accept a new term when parliament meets Sunday.

_Omar Bongo ascended to Gabon's presidency Dec. 2, 1967, after his predecessor's death. In his 70s, Bongo faces little political opposition in oil-rich West African nation of 1.5 million.

_Moammar Gadhafi of Libya took power through a Sept. 1, 1969, military coup in the oil-producing North African nation of 6 million people. In his 60s.

_Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, in his late 60s, came to power Nov. 11, 1978, in the Indian Ocean island nation of 370,000.

_Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea, in his mid-60s, seized power in the oil-producing West African nation of 500,000 citizens in Aug. 3, 1979, coup.

_Angola's Jose Eduardo dos Santos took power Sept. 21, 1979, after winning election under one-party system then governing the oil-producing southern Africa nation of 12 million. In his 60s.

_Robert Mugabe has been only leader of Zimbabwe's 12 million people since April 18, 1980, independence from Britain. In his 80s.

Sources: The Associated Press, CIA World Factbook, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Islamic extremism in the Maldives: Is Gayoom the cause?

By Asif Fuard

As the Maldives sinks deeper into political turmoil with President Mamoon Abdul Gayoom and his political opponents engaged in a bitter clash over reforms, the country is also witnessing the emergence of Islamic extremism. The President, who many call a dictator, survived an assassination attempt recently. The attack came a few months after a bomb went off near a popular park and police battled extremists in an island. These events have prompted the government to take steps to combat the threat of Islamic extremism.

Members of a little known group have taken up arms to defend themselves and promote their version of Islam - Wahhabism -- in the archipelago. The Maldivians say the leaders of the group were educated in Pakistan and West Asian countries and their version of Islam conflicts with the version of Islam stipulated by Maldivian law, according to which preaching of different versions of Islam is a crime.

Reports say India's intelligence arm, Research Analysis Wing, has received information that Maldivian Islamic extremists are purchasing weapons from Indian criminal and terrorist groups while other reports indicate that they were also buying weapons from Indonesia and Pakistan.

These reports also say that Sri Lanka is being used as a transit point in the arms smuggling operation. It is against this backdrop, a few months ago, Sri Lanka and the Maldives signed a memorandum of understanding on intelligence sharing.

Opposition parties blame President Gayoom for the rise of extremism. Gayoom has been ruling this Indian Ocean archipelago for nearly three decades. Of late, he has come under severe criticism from within the country and abroad for the mounting corruption, human rights abuses and social ills such as the growing problem of youth addiction to narcotics amidst a high rate of unemployment.

The opposition's view is backed by research conducted by the New Delhi-based Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses focusing on the Maldives and Pakistan. The research shows that people resort to extremism when they are faced with a non-democratic political system.

On January 8, a boy scout foiled an assassination attempt on the President's life when he grabbed the assassin's knife, saving the executive from death. The assassin, 20-year-old Mohamed Murshid, unemployed and having no previous criminal record, attempted to attack the President when he visited, Hoarafushi in the north of the Maldives.

Earlier a homemade bomb exploded in the capital city of Male on September 29 last year in what was said to be the country's first act of terrorism after the failed attempt by a Sri Lankan mercenary group hired by wealthy Maldivian to overthrow the President in 1988.

Information Minister Mohamed Nasheed told a news conference that the perpetrators might have had extremist connections."Investigations into the September attack showed that there was fundamentalist thinking behind it," he said. In December, three men convicted of carrying out the September bombing were jailed for 15 years. Although the government may have been worried after reports linked some of the suspects to Kashmiri groups, they have since then taken measures to combat extremism in the island.

The government had taken steps to promote moderate thinking through education and banned the traditional Islamic veil in public places, offices, courts, and educational establishments, Minister Nasheed said. He said the government had also banned Muslim religious gatherings unless permission was obtained.

Foreign clerics too have been banned by the government, because it fears they can promote fundamentalism."We do not have madrassas or religious schools, like you see in Pakistan, from where militant thinking comes in," Minister Nasheed said. "In this country, fundamentalism is not spread through teachings."

It is spread by a handful of clerics, according to analysts. The rise of extremism is a threat to the country's tourism industry, one of the pillars of the small island nation's economy. Gayoom has ruled the islands since Nov. 11, 1978, and in recent years has strongly defended the presidential form of government, as opposed to the parliamentary system, which is promoted by the main opposition, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

The founder for the MDP, Mohammed Latheef, told The Sunday Times the Egyptian-educated Gayoom is the father of the country's extremism as it was he who had brought the Wahhabi (Islam practised in Saudi Arabia) thinking into the country. "Soon after becoming President, he opened the first Islamic schools. Religious scholars from Egypt were brought to 'enlighten' the Maldivians during the month of Ramadan.

“ Some even shocked the moderate Muslim community by preaching men could beat their wives. School textbooks were revised to follow the dictator's version of Islam. Islam is used as a tool of governance in the Maldives and its people are tired of it," he said.

"There is no rule of law or checks and balances in the system of governance in the Maldives. The judiciary, the legislature and the security forces revolve around a single individual who runs the country. “In a state which has no governance one can expect such incidents taking place," he said.

Source: sundaytimes.lk

Boy Scout a Hero in the Maldives

For the Boy Scout who dreams of becoming a policeman, grabbing the knife of a would-be assassin lunging for the president of the Maldives was a crash course in cop-like heroics.

That the attacker may have been an Islamic extremist is only adding to the tale of the 15-year-old's bravery, even as it threatens the Maldives' reputation as a peaceful tropical paradise for well-heeled foreigners.

"The Scouts saying is 'Be prepared'," Mohammed Jaisham Ibrahim told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday. "I was prepared."

The lanky teenager smiles as he says it — he's clearly been practicing the line in the two days since the attack turned him into a big deal in this small country of nearly 1,200 islands that stretch south from India.

Officials have so far played down the Islamic extremism angle in the attack, saying Tuesday's attempted assassination of President Maumoon Gayoom may have been politically motivated but offering no other details.

Police arrested the alleged assailant and on Wednesday picked up four suspected accomplices.

Ibrahim said he had no doubt the alleged attacker was a militant or inspired by an extremist vision of the world, a view seconded by people who know the suspect.

"He had a long beard; he shouted 'God is Great' when he took out his knife. He kept shouting it," Ibrahim said from the hospital in Male where he is recovering from wounds to his left hand sustained in the attack.

Wearing his khaki Maldives scout uniform with a blue kerchief, Ibrahim and the 20 other members of his Boy Scout troop were among scores of people who turned out Tuesday to greet Gayoom when he arrived on Hoarafushi, a remote island that is home to about 2,800 people.

Ibrahim said the attacker was behind him, jostling to get closer to the president.

"He pushed me, and I pushed him back," said Ibrahim, sprawled out on a bed in a small hospital room crowded with his six brothers and sisters, his parents, a few cousins and a handful of well-wishers.

"Then I saw him take out the knife. It was wrapped in a flag, a Maldives flag. He took it, he unwrapped it, and started to move for my president. I tried to grab it," Ibrahim said.

The knife sliced open his hand — "blood was shooting out!" — but Ibrahim said he was never scared.

"This is what I wanted to do when I became a policeman," he said of his lifelong ambition. "I now know that I can do it if I have to act again. I won't be afraid."

The brave talk is being lapped up in Male, a cramped but laid-back city of modest, pastel-colored apartment blocks — think Robinson Crusoe meets South Florida.

"Every person in the world knows about our Boy Scout," gushed Rilwan Tholal, a 36-year-old shop owner. "We are all talking about him."

But with word spreading that the alleged attacker, 20-year-old Mohamed Murshid, may have been an Islamic extremist, the attack also has threatened the Maldives' reputation.

In September, a bomb blamed on Islamic militants exploded in a park in Male, wounding 12 tourists.

A week later, police and soldiers raided an island that was a reputed insurgent stronghold, sparking a battle with masked men armed with clubs and fishing spears that wounded more than 30 security officers.

And then there was Tuesday's attack. Murshid was nabbed by police at the scene, the knife in his hand. He repeatedly shouted "God is Great" as he was hauled away.

His mother said her son had long been pious and often listened to Islamic CDs, according to Thursday's edition of the Haveeru newspaper.

Another person who knew Murshid — a former teacher who asked not to be further identified for fear of attracting attention — told the AP he had in recent years become more interested in the more extreme elements of Islam and frequently watched videos made by militants in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Islam was brought to the Maldives in the 12th century by Arab traders, and a traditionally moderate brand of the religion has dominated here ever since — alcohol can't be purchased outside the resorts but many women walk the streets of Male in form-fitting T-shirts and pants.

Tourism has helped make the Maldives, home to about 350,000 people, the most prosperous country in South Asia, with a per capita annual income of $2,700.

But in the last decade or so, as the Internet has brought the world to these remote islands, extreme elements schooled in Pakistan or the Middle East have made inroads. They've preached about the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and played on the divisions among Maldivians, many of whom eke our relatively modest livings in the cramped towns and villages.

"Each time people in Europe, America read about fundamentalism some of them say to themselves 'Why go to Maldives?" said Abdullah Rasheed, a 28-year-old who works at a travel agency.

Source: Time.com

Four more arrested over murder bid

POLICE in the Maldives have arrested four more people in connection with an unsuccessful attempt to kill the Indian Ocean archipelago's president.

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who has ruled Maldives with an iron fist since 1978, escaped assassination while touring the atoll's northern islands on Tuesday thanks to a teenage boy scout who wrestled back a knife-wielding attacker.

"The attacker is being questioned. We don't know the exact motive yet, but four more people were also arrested in connection with this attack," police spokesman Sergeant Ahmed Shiyam said.

Local media reported that two of those arrested were former classmates of Mohamed Murshid, 20, who tried to stab Mr Gayoom with a kitchen knife while he shook hands with residents at Hoarafushi Island.

The 15-year-old rescuer, Mohamed Jaisham Ibrahim, cut his hand while grabbing the knife. He was brought to the capital Malé for further medical treatment amidst cheers from residents who turned up at the jetty to greet him.

Murshid had shouted 'Allahu akbar' (God is greater) before lunging at the president.

Authorities have accused Islamists of trying to turn the islands into a safe haven for them and wreck the country's vital tourism industry, which accounts for a third of the nation's economy of just under a billion dollars.

Despite the attempt on his life, Mr Gayoom is going ahead with his pre-election tour of the northern islands, as he prepares to face multi-party presidential elections in August, his spokesman, Mohamed Hussain Shareef said.

Home to 330,000 Sunni Muslims, some 199 islands are inhabited, with 87 developed as tourist resorts.

Source: news.com.au

Boy scout saves Maldives president from assassination

Maldivian president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom escaped assassination in his Indian Ocean archipelago thanks to a teenage boy scout who wrestled back a knife-wielding attacker, officials said.

"The president was greeting people" when the would-be assassin, a 20-year-old unemployed man, "pulled out a knife and tried to stab him in the stomach," Information Minister Mohamed Nasheed told AFP by telephone.

The attack took place on Hoarafushi in the north of the Maldives, a Muslim-majority nation on a chain of 1,192 coral and white sand islands off the southern tip of India.

Gayoom, who has ruled the islands since 1978 and is Asia's longest serving president, was unhurt but the scout sustained cuts to his hand. The assailant was arrested and was being questioned, police said.

The Maldives, a top destination for well-heeled tourists and honeymooners, has been tense since a September bomb attack in the capital Male injured 12 foreign tourists.

Since then the president has been leading a crackdown against Islamic extremists.

The attacker, identified as Mohamed Murshid and said to have no previous criminal record, had hidden the knife wrapped in a paper national flag, the president's spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef told AFP.

"He was an idling youth," he said.

"He had shouted 'Allahu akbar' (God is greater) before lunging at the president. The knife grazed through the president's shirt, but he was unhurt."

Luckily for the president, 15-year-old boy scout Mohamed Jaisham grabbed the knife which cut his hand -- and some of his blood ended up on Gayoom's shirt, giving the initial impression that the president was also badly hurt, officials said.

Gayoom, who likes to mingle with islanders during his visits, was talking and shaking hands with people when the attack took place.

"We are now looking at intensifying his security. The president prefers to mingle with his people, but we can't afford to have another attack," Shareef said, adding that Gayoom has faced at least two attempts on his life during his 29-year tenure.

Assistant Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz told AFP the attacker was being questioned.

"Investigations are still going on. It is too early to say if he has links to any Islamic militant groups."

Gayoom said in a nationwide address after the attack that he had survived "thanks to Mohamed Jaisham (the scout) and Allah."

Authorities have accused Islamists of trying to turn the islands into a safe haven for them and wreck the country's vital tourism industry, which accounts for a third of the nation's economy.

Three men convicted of carrying out the September bombing were last month each jailed for 15 years.

Police are also looking out for foreign militant groups after press reports said some of the suspects had links to a Muslim separatist group fighting Indian rule over part of the Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Gayoom's crackdown has included bans on women wearing the full veil and foreign preachers as well as unlicensed Muslim prayer groups.

In a recent interview with AFP, the president said the bomb attack targeting foreign tourists followed by violent clashes with police and security forces had alerted the country to the "very serious threat of extremism."

The opposition New Maldives Movement condemned the attack on the president and called for "an independent and speedy investigation," spokesman Ahmed Shaheed said.

Source: AFP

Maldivian President here on 16th of January 2008

His Excellency Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the President of the Republic of Maldives and Madam Nasreena M.A. Gayoom and the delegation are scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on a state visit from 16 to 19 January 2008, stated M.M. Jaffeer, Chief Protocol for Foreign Affairs Ministry this afternoon.

While in the island President Gayoom and his delegation will follow a tight programme in Colombo and the outstations. The main highlight of the programme would be the meeting of President Gayoom and the President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The two Heads of State will sign an agreement on ‘Transfer of Prisoners’ at a special meeting. President Gayoom and his delegation are expected to visit Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Sigiriya during their brief stay here, the sources added.

Being members of the SAARC nations Sri Lanka and Maldives have been maintaining cordial relations over a number of years.

Source: Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka

Ahmadinejad confers with Maldives president, Bangladesh premier.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad conferred on Tuesday with the Maldives president and Bangladesh prime minister in Arafat Desert on expansion of mutual ties with those countries.

In the meetings, they prayed for success, dignity and development of Islamic nations and their governments.

Source: IRNA

The longest-serving leader in Asia fights for a seventh term

The President of the Maldives is facing a mutiny, with the resignation of three key cabinet ministers in protest at his "autocratic" behaviour. One of them is preparing to stand against him in forthcoming elections.

The beautiful Indian Ocean islands, a luxury holiday destination for Britons and many other wealthy Westerners, has a less-publicised dark side with claims of repression, torture, censorship and, recently, terrorist bombings.

President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the longest-serving leader in Asia, deflected international criticism of his human rights record by agreeing to sweeping reforms, a new constitution and saying he would step down after 29 years in power.

The cabinet resignations came after the President, who is officially 60 but whose real age is said to be 76, changed his mind and said he would carry on in office for another five years.

The Justice minister, Hassan Saeed, the attorney general Mohammed Jameel and the Foreign minister Ahmed Shaheed, all in their late thirties and early forties, said other members of the government were likely to follow them by resigning before the election scheduled for next year.

The defection of the three ministers is a serious blow for Mr Gayoom as they have widespread contacts among politicians and the media in the West as well as neighbouring Sri Lanka and India. The President had brought them into the government proclaiming that this was concrete evidence that he was preparing to move forward and hand over power to a younger generation.

Mr Saeed has promised to stand against Mr Gayoom for the presidency and the three former ministers have established contact with other parties, including the main opposition, the Maldivian Democratic Party, with the aim of presenting an united front.

The three ministers are currently in London meeting parliamentarians and members of the small Maldivian community. They are due to meet Foreign Office officials today.

The Maldives was hit by a bomb attack last September which injured 12 tour-ists, including a British couple. The blast is thought to have been the work of a growing Islamist movement but President Gayoom also blamed reformists and pro-democracy activists for creating "instability".

Mr Saeed said yesterday: "The fact is it is in the repressive nature of this government that they are trying to use the attack to blame the pro-democratic forces. I know for a fact that the government was warned about the dangers of rising Islamic fundamentalism and we put together an action plan to combat it. This was presented to the President seven months before the attack and they failed to act on it."

The former ministers claimed they had been subjected to intimidation and threats since they announced their resignation. Mr Saeed said: "Our offices were broken into and documents removed. Our houses have had paint thrown at them and we have received threats."

There are said to be widespread feelings in the Maldives that the "Islamist" attacks were not as straightforward as the government had painted them. Critics claim that the security service may have had a part in organising the bombings.

Source: Independent Uk

Bakhit Meets Maldivian President

Prime Minister Marouf Al Bakhit met on Wednesday with Maldivian President Mamoun Abdul Gayoom and held talks with him on the bilateral ties.

Bakhit noted to the various fields of cooperation between the two countries, expressing Jordan's readiness to put its potentials at the service of the Maldives.

The two officials also discussed chances of giving more scholarships for Maldivian students to study at Jordanian universities. Bakhit said that Jordan will provide additional scholarships in the various specializations for Maldivian students.

Talks also touched on the tourism cooperation and exchanging expertise in this domain as well as increasing trade exchange and possibility of importing fish from the Maldives.

President Abdul Gayoom hailed the distinguished level of Jordanian judiciary system, expressing keenness to send a number of Maldivian students to study at the Jordanian Judicial Institute.

Source: Petra

Maldives President condemns Hyderabad blasts

The President of Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, has condemned Saturday's twin blasts in Hyderabad, which claimed 42 lives and caused injury to another 100.

In a message to President Pratibha Patil, President Gayoom expressed sympathies on behalf of the people of Maldives for the tragedy.

"I extend my profound sympathy to you, the Government, and people of India, especially to those who have been directly affected by the explosions. We also convey our sincere condolences to the members of the bereaved families," President Gayoom said in his letter to President Patil.

Source: Daily India

Maldives President sees reforms complete in 2-3 yrs

By Simon Gardner

MALE (Reuters) - Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom aims to complete a raft of democratising reforms in his Indian Ocean archipelago within 2-3 years and says he is not seeking to indefinitely extend his three-decade rule.

Buoyed by a weekend referendum seen as an endorsement of his rule, Asia's longest-serving leader will run for re-election at the island cluster's first multi-party presidential elections next year.

But he stressed in an interview that, after 29 years in power, one more five-year term would be enough.

Political opponents describe 71-year-old Gayoom as a dictator who rules like a sultan of old, and say it is time he handed over the reins of a land best known for luxury honeymoons and world-class scuba now.

"For the whole of the reform agenda to be completed, it might take 2-3 years from now," Gayoom told Reuters late on Sunday at his office in the island capital of Male, just hours after more than 60 percent of voters opted to adopt the U.S.-style presidential model he advocated.

"I want ... to see the reform programme through till it is finally settled. I want that to be my legacy to the nation," the former university lecturer added. "After that I have no ambition to continue in this post."

And why wait 29 years to implement reform in the chain of 1,200 mostly uninhabited islands 800 km off the toe of India?

"We hadn't developed enough to be able to cope with the concept of democracy," he said. "(Now) we have a more educated people ... I think people are more or less ready now to have a full-fledged democracy."

Outside, his supporters danced to blaring music on flatbed trucks driving along the sea-front of this densely populated 2.0 square kilometre coral island that is home to a third of the island cluster's 300,000 mostly Sunni Muslim population.

Gayoom pledged democratic reforms in late 2004 to revamp the Maldives' autocratic power structure in the face of harsh criticism of the government's rights record. Rights groups have decried crackdowns on political dissent and described terror and treason charges levelled against opponents as draconian.

Political parties were legalised in 2005, but promised reforms including a new constitution, separation of powers and judicial independence are still to materialise, and many are frustrated at the pace. Two leading cabinet members Gayoom had hand-picked quit earlier this month, accusing him of stalling.

"Nothing has been held (back) or put a brake on. To say the pace of the reform agenda is slow is not correct at all," Gayoom said. "The most important part of the reform agenda is the constitution. I know it has taken some time, but now they have finally decided to complete it by Nov. 30."

Many ordinary Maldivians saw the poll as a chance to vote against Gayoom, saying revenues from 89 luxury island resorts -- some charging well over $1,000 a night -- are not fairly distributed to the half the population who live on a dollar a day.

The resorts accounted directly for 35 percent of the island's $700 million gross domestic product in 2006, while tourism and related sectors accounted for around 85 percent of foreign exchange revenues.

Gayoom said he plans to license more than 50 new resorts over the next 3-5 years in a bid to boost tourism and revenues.

Source: Reuters India