Tories help new Maldives president prepare for parliamentary elections

A delegation of senior Tories flew to the Maldives on Tuesday to help prepare the island nation's new president for the country's first-ever multi-party democratic parliamentary elections next month.

Mr Nasheed, known locally as Anni, became president on Oct 29 with the support of a broad coalition that included candidates from four other political parties Photo: AP

Mohammed Nasheed, a one-time Amnesty International "prisoner of conscience", spectacularly beat his former jailer and Asia's longest-serving ruler, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, in the Maldives' first democratic election in October.

But now his Maldivian Democratic Party faces its first test next month, with all the seats in the People's Majlis, or parliament, being contested.

The Tories played a key role in Mr Nasheed's defeat of Mr Gayoom, who had been in power for 30 years, and the new president has called on Richard Spring MP, vice-chairman of the Conservative party, to lend advice on how the MDP can capture a majority in the February elections.

At present the MDP's coalition has a small working majority based solely on presidential appointments under the old system.

Mr Nasheed, known locally as Anni, became president on Oct 29 with the support of a broad coalition that included candidates from four other political parties.

His MDP is closely aligned with the Conservative Party and Anni, who graduated from John Moore University, Liverpool, is known to be a good friend of the shadow foreign secretary, William Hague.

His own long political journey to the presidency began at Dauntsey's, the public school in rural Wiltshire where he attended sixth form. There he met David Hardingham, who later formed the Friends of Maldives, a British-based pressure group which helped to alert the world to the brutality of Mr Gayooms regime.

"Dauntsey's old boy and girl network assisted me a lot. Its education has served me well and Britain's private school education has a deserved reputation for excellence", he said.

After graduating in 1989, Mr Nasheed returned to the Maldives, where he soon became a champion of the democratic movement and a thorn in Mr Gayoom's side. During the next 19 years, Mr Gayoom mounted a sustained campaign of intimidation against him, exiling him on numerous occasions and allegedly ordering his torture.

As a result of his treatment, in 2004 Mr Nasheed was granted political asylum in Britain, where he began lobbying MPs to put pressure on Mr Gayoom.

"It was the Conservatives who took an interest in us," he said. "Their human rights group took up our case and put pressure on the British government. At their conference they put me in touch with centre-right parties from Serbia to Sri Lanka and gave me a platform from which to tell the world about what was happening in the Maldives".

The MDP grew out of a grassroots organisation run by volunteer political activists and street campaigners dedicated to the overthrow of Mr Gayoom. As political parties were formally banned until 2005 by Mr Gayoom, the MDP is still quite young in political terms.

From 2006, the Tories sent party members to the islands to help Mr Nasheed campaign.

Mr Spring will be joined by Karen Lumley, the prospective parliamentary candidate for Redditch and Mike Nichols, an activist. During the four-day visit, the delegation will give advice on strategic alliance building, messaging and campaigning in the run up to the election. Mr Spring said: "They deserve our support and they will certainly get it. We want to keep a spotlight on events unfolding in the Maldives."

"I am looking forward to receiving Richard's delegation and formally thanking the Conservative party for all the help they have given me. With their continued assistance I'm sure the MDP will win a handsome victory at the forthcoming elections" Mr Nasheed said.

The visit will also be used to make a plea for British climate change scientists to visit the Maldives to study the effect of rising sea levels. Nowhere on the islands is more than one and a half metres above sea level, and scientists have given warning that the Maldives could disappear completely under the waves in just 150 years' time.

Mr Nasheed is expected to request further British investment to boost the fragile economy of the Maldives, after having already negotiated with a number of British firms, including the telecommunications provider Cable and Wireless.

Last year over 100,000 Britons visited the islands, making them the country's largest single tourist market. However, the Maldives are an expensive holiday destination and as Britain is in recession, numbers this year are predicted to be well below this figure.

Source: telegraph.co.uk

Rising sea levels 'could spark conflict over energy and food reserves'

Rising sea levels caused by climate change are threatening to destabilise island nations and spark conflict across the world over energy and food reserves, the Australian military has claimed.

Most parts of the Maldives are just 1.5m above water and the government are struggling to prevent beach erosion. Photo: AP

A report revealed "environmental stress" had increased the risk of conflicts over food and resources in the region. It predicted warmer temperatures would change the location of South East Asian fishing grounds, leading to conflict over fishing rights, and lead to an increase in climate refugees fleeing the Pacific's sinking atolls.

Environmental changes would "reinforce existing concerns regarding land availability, economic development and control over resources", it said, multiplying the threats faced by fragile states and increasing the chance they would fail.

But the biggest threat to global security was the melting Arctic ice caps, which would give rise to a potentially dangerous international race for valuable sea oil and gas deposits, the report said.

"The Arctic is melting, potentially making the extraction of undersea energy deposits commercially viable. Conflict is a remote possibility if these disputes are not resolved peacefully." Climate change has already been linked to the escalating fight for the world's natural resources, including an increasingly precious commodity – dry land.

In November, the newly elected president of the Maldives announced his country would begin to set aside a portion of its billion-dollar annual tourist revenue to buy a new homeland because rising seas were threatening to turn the 300,000 islanders into environmental refugees. Most parts of the Maldives are just 1.5m above water. The UN forecasts that the seas are likely to rise up to 59cm by 2100, due to global warming.

Mohamed Nasheed said the chain of 1,200 islands and coral atolls will be engulfed by the ocean if the current pace of climate change continues to raise sea levels.

But whether Mr Nasheed will be able to find a new home for his citizens is another question.

Resource-hungry nations are already snapping up large tracts of agricultural land in poor Asian and African nations.

High global oil and commodity prices, the biofuels boom and the economic downturn are prompting import-reliant countries to take action to protect their sources of food.

China and South Korea, which are both short on arable land have signed up the rights to swathes of territory in Asia and Africa.

In one of the biggest and most recent deals, South Korea's Daewoo Logistics said it would invest about $6 billion to develop 3.2 million acres (1.3 million hectares) in Madagascar – almost half the size of Belgium.

The report into the effects of climate change by Australia's Defence Force, predicted that disputes over access to scarce food resources could mean increasing the country's navy in the seas to its north.

The report said climate change would "increase demands for the Australian Defence Force to be deployed on additional stabilisation, post-conflict reconstruction and disaster relief operations in the future".

Source: telegraph.co.uk

Amanda Holden starts £28k honeymoon

TV's Amanda Holden has finally jetted off on honeymoon to the Maldives - more than three weeks after she finally married long-term lover Chris Hughes.

Chris, a music producer, first proposed four years ago but the arrival of daughter Alexa put their marriage plans on hold as Amanda wanted her to be a bridesmaid.

And when they did get married on December 10 they delayed their honeymoon so they could enjoy a family Christmas at home with Alexa, who's now two.

It's been worth the wait.

Amanda, 37, and Chris, 33, will have the use of a private butler and a 70ft yacht during their fortnight stay at a £2,000-a-night health spa which is a favourite with A-listers Kate Moss, Tom Cruise and George Clooney.

A friend said: "It's taken Chris four years to get Amanda down the aisle since he proposed, so they decided to go somewhere extra special."

After the wedding, Amanda said: "Chris is my soulmate and Alexa was a wonderful flower girl, although it took lots of chocolate buttons to persuade her."

Amanda and Chris, who have been friends for 10 years, started dating when her first marriage to comedian Les Dennis fell apart in 2002 after her affair with Men Behaving Badly star Neil Morrissey.

The couple got engaged in December 2004 but their plans to wed in 2005 were put on hold after Amanda found out that she was pregnant.

Amanda will be glad of her break in the Maldives as she returns to our screens later this month as a judge on ITV1's Britain's Got Talent.

Source: mirror.co.uk

Paradise lost on Maldives' rubbish island

It may be known as a tropical paradise, an archipelago of 1 200 coral islands in the Indian Ocean. But the traditional image of the Maldives hides a dirty secret: the world's biggest rubbish island.

A few kilometres and a short boat ride from the Maldivian capital, Malé, Thilafushi began life as a reclamation project in 1992. The artificial island was built to solve Malé's refuse problem. But today, with more than 10 000 tourists a week in the Maldives adding their waste, the rubbish island now covers 50 hectares.



So much is being deposited that the island is growing at a square metre a day. There are more than three dozen factories, a mosque and homes for 150 Bangladeshi migrants who sift through the mounds of refuse beneath palm-fringed streets.

Environmentalists say that more than 330 tonnes of rubbish is brought to Thilafushi a day. Most of it comes from Malé, which is one of the world's most densely populated towns: 100 000 people cram into two square kilometres.

Brought on ships, the rubbish is taken onshore and sifted by hand. Some of the waste is incinerated but most is buried in landfill sites. There is, say environmental campaigners, also an alarming rise in batteries and electronic waste being dumped in Thilafushi's lagoon.

"We are seeing used batteries, asbestos, lead and other potentially hazardous waste mixed with the municipal solid wastes being put into the water. Although it is a small fraction of the total, these wastes are a source of toxic heavy metals and it is an increasingly serious ecological and health problem in the Maldives," said Ali Rilwan, an environmentalist in Malé.

Despite the growing crisis, Thilafushi remains largely hidden from view. Nobody goes there apart from workers.

Meanwhile, tourism has made the Maldives the richest country in South Asia in terms of GDP a head -- which is about $4 500 -- though that wealth is thinly spread.

However, almost everything has to be imported. Most tourists can only be catered for by bringing in thousands of tonnes of meat, vegetables and diesel oil every year.

All this produces what many say is an unsustainable amount of waste. Every tourist produces 3,5kg of rubbish and requires 500 litres of water a day. The lack of space means the Maldives is now "exporting junk" to India. "Before, the ships that brought our vegetables from south India used to return empty, but now we are sending them crushed cans, metals, cardboard. They then sort them out and get cash for them," said Rilwan.

Environment issues are a major political issue in the Maldives, not least because its 300 000 people face being the first to be submerged under rising sea levels caused by global warming.

Earlier this month the new president, Mohamed Nasheed, told the Guardian of his radical solution to save his people: put aside some of the Maldives' tourism revenues to buy another homeland. -

Source: guardian.co.uk

Sri Lanka investors wooed by Maldives

The new government in the Maldives, in move to privatize the economy, is looking at selling state-owned businesses and becoming more investor friendly, the Maldivian leader said on a visit to Colombo.

“We come here to open the country for business. We are looking at an ambitious decentralization program. We have some state-owned 'white elephants' that we are looking at offering to Sri Lankan businesses that are interested in investing in Maldives,” said President Mohamed Nasheed.

“The Maldivian government does not want to be the majority share holder when it is privatized.”

Nasheed, who is on a three-day official visit to Sri Lanka, told local media that he is inviting existing Sri Lankan investors in the Maldives to diversify their business and move into other areas of the economy in future.

Sri Lankan investments are heavily concentrated in the lucrative high-end hotels sector.

“We are requesting Sri Lankan companies to diversify their business from tourism to power, transport, port, airport and infrastructure. We are looking at investments in social security sectors such as healthcare and education.”

“Galle Face Hotel is investing in an island that has an airstrip. We want them to invest in an airport as the tourists who will come to the resort will need an airport.”

Most Maldivian citizens go to neighboring countries for their education and health needs. Nasheed and former president Abdul Gayoom both received their primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka.

Nasheed said 10 percent of grid electricity capacity in the Maldives is owned by Sri Lankan operators.

Taxing stimulus

Nasheed said in the face of the global financial crisis his government has taken a policy decision not to seek funding assistance but to adopt a private sector stimulus package that would return tax revenues to government coffers.

“We asked the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank not give money to the government as it’s very unproductive,” said Nasheed.

“We prefer to take tax money generated via these investments.”

Maldives is one of the largest exporters of blue fin tuna, a staple diet in high-end markets such as Japan. The other big money-spinner is the tourism sector.

Amidst the global financial crisis, by-end November 2008 over 620,000 tourists had arrived in the Maldives, an increase of 16 percent from 2007. Over 70 percent of the tourists came from Europe.

Sri Lankan hoteliers such as Aitken Spence and John Keells are amongst the largest foreign leisure operators in the tiny atoll nation.

John Keells operates three high-end resorts under the brand name Chaaya and Aitken Spence Hotels operates seven high-end resorts under the Adaaran brand.

Analysts say most hoteliers in Sri Lanka are surviving due to their Maldivian investments.

“The current security and economic situation in the country and the global financial crisis has hit local hotels badly. Already, a few operators who did not invest outside Sri Lankan are in deep trouble,” said Danushka Samarasinghe, research manager at Asia Securities.

“Sri Lanka’s JKH and Aitken Spence has benefited by investing in the Maldivian hotels sector and the recent proposals of the Maldivian government to further liberalize the economy would create opportunities for Sri Lankan corporates to reduce country risks and boost foreign earnings.”

Tangled web

The Maldivian archipelago is a chain of 1,190 small coral islands grouped into 26 atolls and its 1.6 billion dollar economy is dominated by tourism and a thriving fisheries industry.

The former British colony gained independence in 1965 and was an Islamic sultanate till 1968.

Maldives was ruled by President Nasir till 1978. Thereafter former president Abdul Gayoom ruled for the next three decades, the longest serving head of state in the Asian region.

In the 2008 presidential election, Gayoom lost the election amidst corruption charges. Nasheed won with a 54 percent majority to govern the Maldives' 350,000 strong population.

Nasheed, a former journalist, was an outspoken critic of Gayoom’s government.

Much of Nasheed’s election campaign under the Maldivian Democratic Party banner was launched from Colombo as he fearing persecution by Gayoom.

Political analysts say even though Gayoom has vacated the country’s top seat his political cronies are still in important positions.

Nasheed said some of the former government's contracts have been irregular but that he does not want a 'witch hunt'.

Nasheed said his government will be taking a fresh approach to clean up corruption and red tape that’s hindering investment and development of the country.

“We want to be transparent and operate by the book and it will happen,” said Nasheed.

Source: lankabusinessonline.com

Pakistan announces 5 percent duty cut on SAARC imports

Pakistan on Wednesday announced a five percent reduction in customs tariff on the import of 4,803 items from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Maldives under the Trade Liberalisation Programme (TLP) of the South Asian Free Trade Area (SFATA) agreement.

Despite heightened tension with India, Islamabad has also decided to extend the SAFTA concessions to 1,926 items imported from India, according to a Federal Board of Revenue notification effective from December 31, 2008.

A tariff reduction roadmap for December 2008 to December 2011 has also been announced. Pakistan has not given the Most Favoured Nation status to India so far, and is trading with New Delhi on a Positive List basis despite signing SAFTA. The TLP began in July 2006 in line with Article 7 of SAFTA, under which the tariff on imports from the least-developed countries (LDCs) of SAARC (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Maldives) by non-LDCs (India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) had to be reduced to five percent or less by the end of 2009.

Source: dailytimes.com.pk

U.S. completes tsunami rebuilding projects in Sri Lanka, Maldives

Long-term work helps build economies, improve lives

By Nancy Pontius
Special Correspondent

Washington — Four years ago, the Indian Ocean tsunami swept over coastal lands in Asia and Africa, killing more than 200,000 people, destroying cities and crippling the ability of the remaining millions to survive.

In 2008 in Sri Lanka, the U.S. Agency for International Development completed a new bridge, built and equipped nine vocational schools, rehabilitated three damaged fishing harbors, installed a water supply system and built 87 children's play parks. Scores of additional USAID projects resulted in new and rebuilt schools, libraries and roads.

"Our goal was to build back better than what was there previously," said Rebecca Cohn, USAID's mission director in Sri Lanka.

To ease ethnic tensions in southern and eastern Sri Lanka among communities of Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslims, USAID carefully balanced reconstruction projects to equally benefit all groups, she said.

The recent work capped years of assistance to the country, which began with an immediate response from the U.S. government, American people and private U.S. organizations to provide emergency assistance to local communities recovering from the damage, Cohn said.

Total USAID funding for tsunami relief and reconstruction in Sri Lanka has been more than $134 million, with an additional $3 million for the Republic of Maldives. USAID helped get new water treatment plants into operation in Maldives in 2008.

Private U.S. organizations — including AmeriCares, the Bush Clinton Foundation, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the Mellon Foundation, Prudential Insurance Company of America and Chevron-Caltex — provided almost $5 million for reconstruction.

ARUGAM BAY BRIDGE

The new Arugam Bay Bridge unites nearly 45,000 residents of three ethnically diverse communities in Pottuvil, Arugam Bay and Panama, by linking southeastern coastal towns to the rest of the Sri Lankan mainland.

Unexpectedly, because of lights that illuminate the 185-meter (200-yard) bridge at night, "the bridge has become a place for families to socialize in the evenings and an informal community meeting place," Cohn said.

"This is especially significant in a region where rural ethnic villages have remained separate for many years," Lorna Middlebrough, a USAID spokeswoman, told America.gov.

Local residents benefited from the project financially, as USAID hired carpenters, masons and concrete workers from surrounding communities for 80 percent of the work needed to construct the bridge. The bridge will boost the local economy and promote tourism in this area known for its beautiful beaches.

In Sri Lanka, a fisherman weighs his catch in a facility built with the help of the U.S. government at a renovated harbor."People can now cross the large Arugam Bay lagoon safely to be with family, seek out resources, move their rice and agricultural products and be part of the rebuilding of their country in this previously devastated tsunami- and conflict-prone area," said Rick Robertson, a USAID contractor.

VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS

To strengthen the country's economy by training young people in trades, USAID built and equipped nine new vocational schools in eastern and southern Sri Lanka. The schools will teach 16 different skill trades — including masonry, plumbing, welding, apparel, engine repair and computer training — to 2,000 students a year.

According to U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives Robert Blake, "Of all the initiatives by the United States to help Sri Lanka recover from the tsunami, promoting vocational training is in many ways our most important project. Training young people in vocational trades will help to provide good paying jobs in the near future and will help boost both family income and the economic health of the districts and of Sri Lanka as a whole."

USAID worked closely with Sri Lankan businesses to determine which trades were in demand and to develop appropriate curricula to ensure the skills acquired by the students fit the needs of the growing economy.

"This approach, along with first-class facilities and equipment, improved the image of vocational training in Sri Lanka and provided a model for the Sri Lankan government to consider in future planning with the private sector," Cohn said.

Most of the new reconstruction projects were built to high environmental standards. One vocational school was the region's first to achieve the "green" building industry's Silver LEED certification of sustainability.

FISHING HARBORS

In July, USAID finalized a $13 million renovation and expansion of three fishing harbors in southern Sri Lanka, boosting the nation's fishing industry and improving the economic outlook for 15,000 families.

Construction projects were designed with community input. While planning harbor renovations, the USAID team met with local fishermen to ensure the facilities would meet their needs, Cohn said. For example, the location of the auction halls and sinks were based on input from those who would use them.

DRINKING WATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS

In Maldives, two water plants now operate with reverse osmosis technology to produce clean drinking water from seawater for 9,000 island residents who never before had access to treated water.

In southeastern Sri Lanka, a new water supply, treatment and distribution system opened in November, providing the first-ever treated water supply for 40,000 people.

"Schoolchildren were even filling up buckets of treated water at school to bring the clean water home," Cohn said.

Source: reliefweb.int