The Maldives &ndash; a small island nation in the Indian Ocean - is being used as a transshipment destination in the illicit drug trade, says the Maldives Police Service.

&ldquo;It is a popular transshipment destination in the illicit drug trade. Drug trades between countries for example like US and Thailand, Maldives becomes the transshipment destination. The narcotics that are being targeted to the Asian countries like Thailand and Philippines are transited in the Maldives and then transported or smuggled to those countries. These drugs normally come from western countries or somewhere from the US sometimes it&rsquo;s from Bolivia or some other country.&rdquo; Aminath Suzee, Deputy Head of Drug Enforcement Department, at the Maldives Police Service told me.

The drug problem is one of the most alarming issues in the Maldives with a population of fewer than 350000 people out of which more than 45% are youth. According to the first National Drug Use Survey in the Maldives released in 2013, there were an estimated 7,500 drug users in the Maldives. Majority of them were young people in the age group of 15-24.

Though the Maldives is neither a drug producing nor a cultivating country, the availability of drugs in the country does not seem to be limited at all.

Journey is an NGO formed by a group of Maldivian who are recovering addicts with a mission to help other addicts. They are working towards raising public awareness on drug addiction and its related issues. Ahmed Nazim, the chairperson of Journey, said that the availability of drugs is not the only reason for drug use, but it does play a role in the drug crisis.

&ldquo;Cigarettes are also available in the country, but there are non-smokers more than smokers. So we can&rsquo;t say the availability is the reason why people use drugs, but it is one factor, the availability of drugs in the country. If it has not been available nobody will be using drugs, but it is easily available here,&rdquo; he said.

Last year in August, Home Minister Azleen Ahmed said, 57 kilograms of drugs has been seized in in 2016, while 26 kilograms of drugs has been seized till then in 2017.

Beginning of the drug crisis

Drug crisis of the Maldives started with the country&rsquo;s increased exposure to the outside world. Drug-related issues have not been identified as a problem before the mid-1970s. It was said that the appearance of drug abuse in its present form seems to have coincided with the development of tourism industry in the early 1970s. However, there is no solid evidence to correlate this, since the period also witnessed many other changes, including global escalation of drug abuse and increased overseas travel by Maldivians.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), official recognition of the drug problem in the Maldives came in 1977 when a person was arrested with 350 grams of hashish. As a result, the first principal legislative act of the Maldives dealing with narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances (The Law on Drugs) was passed the same year in order to help the legal system to deal with it and to act as a deterrent. According to UNODC drugs like heroin and cocaine was introduced to the Maldives in the early 1990s.

Strategic location and its vulnerability

Despite being a small island nation, the Maldives enjoys a strategic location along with key shipping routes. It&rsquo;s a blessing to be a country like the Maldives which is highly dependent on the imports from other countries but, unfortunately, the goods came with the bad. According to the police, the geographic location of the Maldives does have an impact when it comes to drug smuggling.

&ldquo;Since Maldives is geographically located in an important area in terms of trade routes, this has a huge impact on drug smuggling. Plays a huge role in the increase amount of drug smuggling into the Maldives. Most of the drugs are smuggled from the neighboring countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka via air and sea,&rdquo; Suzee said.

The Maldives is situated not too far from the Golden Triangle and Golden Crescent; Asia&rsquo;s two main illicit opium-producing areas. While Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia comprises of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, the Golden Crescent in South Asia comprises of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.

Moreover, hundreds of tourists arrive at the Maldives on a daily basis from across the globe, including Asia, Europe and other western countries. The exposure and the location do not only make it easy to smuggle drugs into the Maldives, but also make the country at risk of being used as a transshipment destination in the illicit drug trade.

Actions being taken for prevention

&ldquo;The Maldives emphasizes the need to join forces, especially among international partners, to effectively counter the world drug problem. In line with this objective, Maldives is working with countries in its region to establish a regional coordination centre for South Asia through the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation,&rdquo; said the Maldivian government official at the Thirtieth special session of United Nations General Assembly in 2016.

Maldives Police Service is also making efforts along with other authorities to combat the drug problem in the Maldives.

&ldquo;To prevent Maldives being used as a transshipment destination in illicit drug trade and to prevent smuggling narcotics into the Maldives, We are building our capacity of detection, we are strengthening security at the airports and seaports continuously and we are focusing on increasing human resource capacity by providing necessary trainings to the officers at the airports and seaports and our anti-drug policies are strengthened as well,&rdquo; Suzee said.

With tightened surveillance across the Maldives to eliminate smuggling and distribution of drugs, the Maldives police and border authorities have also started using K-9 dogs to detect drug smugglers. Yet more efforts are still needed to overcome the drug problem.

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

According to the first National Drug Use Survey in the Maldives released in 2013, there were an estimated 7,500 drug users in the Maldives. Majority of them were young people in the age group of 15-24.

The Maldives – a small island nation in the Indian Ocean - is being used as a transshipment destination in the illicit drug trade, says the Maldives Police Service. “It is a popular transshipment destination in the illicit drug trade. Drug trades between countries for example like US and Thailand, Maldives becomes the transshipment destination. The narcotics that are being targeted to the Asian countries like Thailand and Philippines are transited in the Maldives and then transported or smuggled to those countries. These drugs normally come from western countries or somewhere from the US sometimes it’s from Bolivia or some other country.” Aminath Suzee, Deputy Head of Drug Enforcement Department, at the Maldives Police Service told me. The drug problem is one of the most alarming issues in the Maldives with a population of fewer than 350000 people out of which more than 45% are youth. According to the first National Drug Use Survey in the Maldives released in 2013, there were an estimated 7,500 drug users in the Maldives. Majority of them were young people in the age group of 15-24. Though the Maldives is neither a drug producing nor a cultivating country, the availability of drugs in the country does not seem to be limited at all. Journey is an NGO formed by a group of Maldivian who are recovering addicts with a mission to help other addicts. They are working towards raising public awareness on drug addiction and its related issues. Ahmed Nazim, the chairperson of Journey, said that the availability of drugs is not the only reason for drug use, but it does play a role in the drug crisis. “Cigarettes are also available in the country, but there are non-smokers more than smokers. So we can’t say the availability is the reason why people use drugs, but it is one factor, the availability of drugs in the country. If it has not been available nobody will be using drugs, but it is easily available here,” he said. Last year in August, Home Minister Azleen Ahmed said, 57 kilograms of drugs has been seized in in 2016, while 26 kilograms of drugs has been seized till then in 2017. Beginning of the drug crisis Drug crisis of the Maldives started with the country’s increased exposure to the outside world. Drug-related issues have not been identified as a problem before the mid-1970s. It was said that the appearance of drug abuse in its present form seems to have coincided with the development of tourism industry in the early 1970s. However, there is no solid evidence to correlate this, since the period also witnessed many other changes, including global escalation of drug abuse and increased overseas travel by Maldivians. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), official recognition of the drug problem in the Maldives came in 1977 when a person was arrested with 350 grams of hashish. As a result, the first principal legislative act of the Maldives dealing with narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances (The Law on Drugs) was passed the same year in order to help the legal system to deal with it and to act as a deterrent. According to UNODC drugs like heroin and cocaine was introduced to the Maldives in the early 1990s. Strategic location and its vulnerability Despite being a small island nation, the Maldives enjoys a strategic location along with key shipping routes. It’s a blessing to be a country like the Maldives which is highly dependent on the imports from other countries but, unfortunately, the goods came with the bad. According to the police, the geographic location of the Maldives does have an impact when it comes to drug smuggling. “Since Maldives is geographically located in an important area in terms of trade routes, this has a huge impact on drug smuggling. Plays a huge role in the increase amount of drug smuggling into the Maldives. Most of the drugs are smuggled from the neighboring countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka via air and sea,” Suzee said. The Maldives is situated not too far from the Golden Triangle and Golden Crescent; Asia’s two main illicit opium-producing areas. While Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia comprises of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, the Golden Crescent in South Asia comprises of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. Moreover, hundreds of tourists arrive at the Maldives on a daily basis from across the globe, including Asia, Europe and other western countries. The exposure and the location do not only make it easy to smuggle drugs into the Maldives, but also make the country at risk of being used as a transshipment destination in the illicit drug trade. Actions being taken for prevention “The Maldives emphasizes the need to join forces, especially among international partners, to effectively counter the world drug problem. In line with this objective, Maldives is working with countries in its region to establish a regional coordination centre for South Asia through the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation,” said the Maldivian government official at the Thirtieth special session of United Nations General Assembly in 2016. Maldives Police Service is also making efforts along with other authorities to combat the drug problem in the Maldives. “To prevent Maldives being used as a transshipment destination in illicit drug trade and to prevent smuggling narcotics into the Maldives, We are building our capacity of detection, we are strengthening security at the airports and seaports continuously and we are focusing on increasing human resource capacity by providing necessary trainings to the officers at the airports and seaports and our anti-drug policies are strengthened as well,” Suzee said. With tightened surveillance across the Maldives to eliminate smuggling and distribution of drugs, the Maldives police and border authorities have also started using K-9 dogs to detect drug smugglers. Yet more efforts are still needed to overcome the drug problem. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).

Maldives emerging as hub illicit drug trade

Raise your voice before it&rsquo;s too late&hellip;

&ldquo;Blood had clotted in several organs due to the blood clotting in her brain&rdquo; said Maldives Police Service, about the woman who died&nbsp;in a suspected case of a domestic violence in 2015.

The death of Ziyadha Mohammed, the battered woman from Gaaf Dhaal Atoll Thinadhoo of southern part Maldives, is an indication of the worsening situation of violence against women in the country.

According to her friends and family, Ziyadha was physically and sexually abused by her husband. Her condition worsened because she kept the extent of abuse a secret.

Mother of three,&nbsp;she was treated at the state-run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH). Ziyadha was required&nbsp;to undergo an emergency surgery as she was bleeding from&nbsp;her brain, but doctors were unsuccessful in saving her due to her severe condition. While she was at the hospital, she never regained consciousness and passed away two weeks later, which was in late December 2015.

In recent times, this is a major&nbsp;fatality case&nbsp;from&nbsp;domestic violence. Though there are not many deaths recorded by domestic violence or violence against women, statistics shows that the culture of violence against women is an alarming issue in the Maldives.

Violence against Women

According to the study on women&rsquo;s health and life experiences&nbsp;conducted by Maldives&#39; ministry of gender and family in 2007,&nbsp;one in every three women aged between 15-49 years have experienced physical or sexual violence or both at some stage of their life.

Every one in five women of this age group have experienced physical and/or sexual abuse by an intimate partner. Approximately, every one in eight women in the same age group reported that they have been sexually abused before the age of 15, making them a victim of child abuse.

The statistics of Maldives Police Service also show&nbsp;that domestic violence has been increasing at an alarming rate. The number of domestic violence cases in 2015 has increased to 341 from 187 reported in&nbsp;2014. More than 300 cases have&nbsp;been reported in 2016 as well.

Police assume that the actual number of domestic violence cases, especially cases victimising women, will be higher than the police records as many go unreported in the country. &nbsp;Since police records cannot adequately shed light on the seriousness of this issue, the actual situation of the victims remains&nbsp;unknown.

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Women&rsquo;s rights activists believe that female participation at policy-making level is critical to the cause of gender equality (Others)
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&nbsp;

Challenging social norms

This small island nation has a culture of hiding violence against women, because the society, by and large believes, that&nbsp;issues leading to violence should remain within the family to keep up their reputation in the community. The societal norms and beliefs make it difficult to combat the issue.

The belief that women are supposed to stay at home to look after the family while men work to provide the economic support, made educating girls less important than boys. However, over the decades, girl&rsquo;s education has improved rapidly in the country with the introduction of the&nbsp;universal primary education system that made education compulsory for all children. With this foundation, girls&#39; tertiary education has also increased over the years and is helping them to get jobs. But the ideology that women are supposed to stay at home post-marriage still exists in the society.

Yet, with the high living expenses in the country, especially in the capital city of Mal&eacute;&nbsp;where one-third of the country&#39;s population resides, it is very difficult to depend just on husband&rsquo;s income.&nbsp;Women are, therefore, allowed&nbsp;to work as well. However, there is only a small percentage&nbsp;of women at the management and decision-making levels, both in public and private sectors. The challenges in the areas of women&rsquo;s political, economic and social empowerment still remain.

A women&rsquo;s right activist said that the situation of women in the Maldives is far from good.

&ldquo;They say that in the Maldives, gender issue is at a level that is far better than anywhere else in Asia. But that is not the point. The point is that one in three women at some point in their life experience violence of some form: sexual, physical abuse and that is not good&rdquo; she said.

Women&rsquo;s rights activists believe that female participation at policy-making level is critical to the cause of gender equality. But that is not the case in the Maldives. The negligible number of female representatives in the cabinets of different administrations prove that Maldives still has a long way to go to achieve the ambitious goal of gender equality.

President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom&rsquo;s administration currently has only three women in the cabinet of 15 ministers. While President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik&rsquo;s administration had only 19 per cent&nbsp;women in the cabinet, President Mohamed Nasheed&rsquo;s administration had 21 per cent&nbsp;and President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom&rsquo;s last Cabinet had 22 per cent&nbsp;of female cabinet ministers. Currently, there are 85 members in the parliament and only 5 are women MPs.

Stand against violence

The present government says that political, economic and social empowerment of women and zero tolerance of violence against women are key pledges in their manifesto. Former Foreign Minister,&nbsp;Dhunya Maumoon said that the government is committed to addressing the root cause of violence against women by investing efforts in gender equality and empowerment.

According to her, Maldives has made significant progress through Sexual Abuse and Harassment Prevention Act, the Sexual Offences Act and the Domestic Violence Prevention Act which strengthen the country&#39;s&nbsp;legal framework to prevent further violence.

The Domestic Violence Prevention (DVP) Act was ratified in 2012, making it a turning point in the history of the nation, where any act of domestic violence is clearly and categorically identified as a criminal offense. The DVP Act identifies specific acts that are deemed acts of domestic violence and, for the first time, accords roles and responsibilities to various government and non-governmental bodies to address and combat domestic violence in the country.

Yet, to combat violence against women, it is necessary to stand against it and change the norms and beliefs that it is &lsquo;right&rsquo; to tolerate violence from family or husband.

Ministry of gender and family suggests that in order to&nbsp;combat this serious issue, everyone should make it their individual responsibility to save the victims of violence and report to the authorities before it is too late.

While awareness can help the victims come forward, better implementation of the legislations is also required for this fight.

Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) says more efforts are needed to implement anti-domestic violence acts and&nbsp;authorities need to do more work on it. HRCM also calls the authorities to provide with&nbsp;more efficient ways to help&nbsp;silent sufferers like Ziyadha, while there is still time to do so.

Family and friends&nbsp;want&nbsp;to bring justice to Ziyadha and they may succeed by punishing the person responsible for her death. But nothing could bring her back. If only Ziyadha spoke up and raised her voice for her rights before it was too late, she may not have&nbsp;ended her life prematurely.

If Maldivians retain the culture of hiding the actions of violence against women and continue the habit of tolerating these kinds of violence, this country may have to witness more tragic losses.

(WION) 
&nbsp;

Government data in 2007 stated that one in three women aged between 15-49 years have experienced physical or sexual violence at some point

Raise your voice before it’s too late… “Blood had clotted in several organs due to the blood clotting in her brain” said Maldives Police Service, about the woman who died in a suspected case of a domestic violence in 2015. The death of Ziyadha Mohammed, the battered woman from Gaaf Dhaal Atoll Thinadhoo of southern part Maldives, is an indication of the worsening situation of violence against women in the country. According to her friends and family, Ziyadha was physically and sexually abused by her husband. Her condition worsened because she kept the extent of abuse a secret. Mother of three, she was treated at the state-run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH). Ziyadha was required to undergo an emergency surgery as she was bleeding from her brain, but doctors were unsuccessful in saving her due to her severe condition. While she was at the hospital, she never regained consciousness and passed away two weeks later, which was in late December 2015. In recent times, this is a major fatality case from domestic violence. Though there are not many deaths recorded by domestic violence or violence against women, statistics shows that the culture of violence against women is an alarming issue in the Maldives. Violence against Women According to the study on women’s health and life experiences conducted by Maldives' ministry of gender and family in 2007, one in every three women aged between 15-49 years have experienced physical or sexual violence or both at some stage of their life. Every one in five women of this age group have experienced physical and/or sexual abuse by an intimate partner. Approximately, every one in eight women in the same age group reported that they have been sexually abused before the age of 15, making them a victim of child abuse. The statistics of Maldives Police Service also show that domestic violence has been increasing at an alarming rate. The number of domestic violence cases in 2015 has increased to 341 from 187 reported in 2014. More than 300 cases have been reported in 2016 as well. Police assume that the actual number of domestic violence cases, especially cases victimising women, will be higher than the police records as many go unreported in the country. Since police records cannot adequately shed light on the seriousness of this issue, the actual situation of the victims remains unknown. Women’s rights activists believe that female participation at policy-making level is critical to the cause of gender equality (Others) × Challenging social norms This small island nation has a culture of hiding violence against women, because the society, by and large believes, that issues leading to violence should remain within the family to keep up their reputation in the community. The societal norms and beliefs make it difficult to combat the issue. The belief that women are supposed to stay at home to look after the family while men work to provide the economic support, made educating girls less important than boys. However, over the decades, girl’s education has improved rapidly in the country with the introduction of the universal primary education system that made education compulsory for all children. With this foundation, girls' tertiary education has also increased over the years and is helping them to get jobs. But the ideology that women are supposed to stay at home post-marriage still exists in the society. Yet, with the high living expenses in the country, especially in the capital city of Malé where one-third of the country's population resides, it is very difficult to depend just on husband’s income. Women are, therefore, allowed to work as well. However, there is only a small percentage of women at the management and decision-making levels, both in public and private sectors. The challenges in the areas of women’s political, economic and social empowerment still remain. A women’s right activist said that the situation of women in the Maldives is far from good. “They say that in the Maldives, gender issue is at a level that is far better than anywhere else in Asia. But that is not the point. The point is that one in three women at some point in their life experience violence of some form: sexual, physical abuse and that is not good” she said. Women’s rights activists believe that female participation at policy-making level is critical to the cause of gender equality. But that is not the case in the Maldives. The negligible number of female representatives in the cabinets of different administrations prove that Maldives still has a long way to go to achieve the ambitious goal of gender equality. President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s administration currently has only three women in the cabinet of 15 ministers. While President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik’s administration had only 19 per cent women in the cabinet, President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration had 21 per cent and President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s last Cabinet had 22 per cent of female cabinet ministers. Currently, there are 85 members in the parliament and only 5 are women MPs. Stand against violence The present government says that political, economic and social empowerment of women and zero tolerance of violence against women are key pledges in their manifesto. Former Foreign Minister, Dhunya Maumoon said that the government is committed to addressing the root cause of violence against women by investing efforts in gender equality and empowerment. According to her, Maldives has made significant progress through Sexual Abuse and Harassment Prevention Act, the Sexual Offences Act and the Domestic Violence Prevention Act which strengthen the country's legal framework to prevent further violence. The Domestic Violence Prevention (DVP) Act was ratified in 2012, making it a turning point in the history of the nation, where any act of domestic violence is clearly and categorically identified as a criminal offense. The DVP Act identifies specific acts that are deemed acts of domestic violence and, for the first time, accords roles and responsibilities to various government and non-governmental bodies to address and combat domestic violence in the country. Yet, to combat violence against women, it is necessary to stand against it and change the norms and beliefs that it is ‘right’ to tolerate violence from family or husband. Ministry of gender and family suggests that in order to combat this serious issue, everyone should make it their individual responsibility to save the victims of violence and report to the authorities before it is too late. While awareness can help the victims come forward, better implementation of the legislations is also required for this fight. Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) says more efforts are needed to implement anti-domestic violence acts and authorities need to do more work on it. HRCM also calls the authorities to provide with more efficient ways to help silent sufferers like Ziyadha, while there is still time to do so. Family and friends want to bring justice to Ziyadha and they may succeed by punishing the person responsible for her death. But nothing could bring her back. If only Ziyadha spoke up and raised her voice for her rights before it was too late, she may not have ended her life prematurely. If Maldivians retain the culture of hiding the actions of violence against women and continue the habit of tolerating these kinds of violence, this country may have to witness more tragic losses. (WION)

Women's Day: Silent sufferers of domestic violence in the Maldives

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has cancelled his state visit to the Maldives over the H1N1 outbreak in the island nation.&nbsp;

The government of Maldives announced the postponement of the Saudi king&#39;s visit in an emergency press conference held at the President&#39;s Office on Friday morning.

During the press conference, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Mohamed Asim, said that when the fresh dates are confirmed for the king&#39;s visit, it will&nbsp;be announced.&nbsp;

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz was scheduled to visit Maldives tomorrow as a last destination of his month-long Asia tour.&nbsp;

The monarch has already been to Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, and he is now in China. He was supposed to arrive in&nbsp;Maldives on Saturday, and&nbsp;was scheduled to spend a week in the Indian Ocean archipelago, out of which six days were planned as a holiday.

Maldives government had been preparing for the monarch&#39;s visit; Rehearsing for a red carpet welcome and conducting security drills.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, H1N1 influenza outbreak in the island nation has been spreading. More than 100 people have&nbsp;tested positive for H1N1 so far. Two people have died of the flu:&nbsp;A&nbsp;man in his twenties died early in March, while a 51-year-old woman died late Wednesday.

In the attempt to control the outbreak, schools, colleges, and universities have been shut for the time being, and the general public have been&nbsp;advised not to travel unless it&#39;s deemed absolutely necessary.&nbsp;

As pregnant women are one of the groups vulnerable to the outbreak, the government has temporarily relieved pregnant civil servants of duty as a precaution. Several independent authorities have relieved pregnant staff&nbsp;as well.&nbsp;

(WION)

The Saudi King will reschedule his visit as the influenza outbreak hits the island nation. Meanwhile, residents are also taking precautions

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has cancelled his state visit to the Maldives over the H1N1 outbreak in the island nation. The government of Maldives announced the postponement of the Saudi king's visit in an emergency press conference held at the President's Office on Friday morning. During the press conference, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Mohamed Asim, said that when the fresh dates are confirmed for the king's visit, it will be announced. Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz was scheduled to visit Maldives tomorrow as a last destination of his month-long Asia tour. The monarch has already been to Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, and he is now in China. He was supposed to arrive in Maldives on Saturday, and was scheduled to spend a week in the Indian Ocean archipelago, out of which six days were planned as a holiday. Maldives government had been preparing for the monarch's visit; Rehearsing for a red carpet welcome and conducting security drills. Meanwhile, H1N1 influenza outbreak in the island nation has been spreading. More than 100 people have tested positive for H1N1 so far. Two people have died of the flu: A man in his twenties died early in March, while a 51-year-old woman died late Wednesday. In the attempt to control the outbreak, schools, colleges, and universities have been shut for the time being, and the general public have been advised not to travel unless it's deemed absolutely necessary. As pregnant women are one of the groups vulnerable to the outbreak, the government has temporarily relieved pregnant civil servants of duty as a precaution. Several independent authorities have relieved pregnant staff as well. (WION)

Saudi King postpones state visit to Maldives over H1N1 outbreak

Maldives has been gripped with swine flu, with the country&#39;s health agency issuing nationwide alert late Monday.

The country&#39;s Health Protection Agency (HPA) escalated the alert measure -- Level 3 -- after people infected with the virus nearly doubled from 27 to 51 in just 12 hours on Monday.

In an emergency joint press conference held late Monday,&nbsp;by the HPA, the Health Ministry and the Education Ministry, authorities&nbsp;revealed that of the 251 suspected cases, 51 had tested positive.

A man in his twenties died of the illness on March 4, while a pregnant woman remains in critical condition, the media learnt during the press conference.

The majority of the sufferers were Maldivians, though there are a few foreigners who have been screened as well.

According to the authorities, the number of people who tested positive for the virus this year is&nbsp;higher than the previous two years combined.

HPA warned that the disease is still increasing and there are&nbsp;70 more samples to be tested, which could increase the number of H1N1 patients.&nbsp;

Schools and colleges closed

The government has also asked schools and colleges to remain shut due to the outbreak.

&quot;Schools across the country will be closed for the next three days,&quot; the education ministry said.&nbsp;

And since schools will shut down for the mid-term break the following week, the&nbsp;authorities will discuss with HPA whether to reopen&nbsp;schools after the break. If necessary, if the outbreak is not contained, schools may remain shut for a longer period.

Colleges will also remain closed for the next one week.

The Maldives National University graduation&nbsp;ceremony scheduled for next week has also been postponed.

Meanwhile, several inter-school sports tournaments have also been postponed.

Domestic travel advisory

The ministry of health has issued a travel advisory, asking the general&nbsp;public not to&nbsp;travel unless absolutely necessary, as it could help the virus to proliferate.

The domestic travel advisory was issued after the government&#39;s decision to close schools across the country.&nbsp;

Task force member Dr Abdulla Niyaf advised against any unnecessary travel during the upcoming school holiday.

&quot;The school break opens the door for the spread of the disease, as many&nbsp;people from the islands visit Male for various purposes. So we advice against making any unnecessary travel as that would help us curb the spread from Male to the islands,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

Protocols in place

The country&#39;s minister of health Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim told&nbsp;WION: &quot;The&nbsp;government authorities are liaising&nbsp;with&nbsp;World Health Organisation (WHO) and necessary steps are being taken.&quot;&nbsp;

&quot;We have the necessary medicines, we still have precaution vaccines. we are giving the vaccines as necessary,&quot; he said.

The general public has raised concerns about lack of information provided by the authorities.

But the health minister said the government was keeping the public up-to-date about the virus toll.

The minister also advised people to avoid public gatherings.&nbsp;

With the recent outbreak of cold&nbsp;and flu, Maldives has established&nbsp;flu clinics&nbsp;in several&nbsp;hospitals&nbsp;to hel counter the problem.&nbsp;

(WION)

The Maldives health minister told WION that the government was taking 'necessary steps' to arrest the outbreak

Maldives has been gripped with swine flu, with the country's health agency issuing nationwide alert late Monday. The country's Health Protection Agency (HPA) escalated the alert measure -- Level 3 -- after people infected with the virus nearly doubled from 27 to 51 in just 12 hours on Monday. In an emergency joint press conference held late Monday, by the HPA, the Health Ministry and the Education Ministry, authorities revealed that of the 251 suspected cases, 51 had tested positive. A man in his twenties died of the illness on March 4, while a pregnant woman remains in critical condition, the media learnt during the press conference. The majority of the sufferers were Maldivians, though there are a few foreigners who have been screened as well. According to the authorities, the number of people who tested positive for the virus this year is higher than the previous two years combined. HPA warned that the disease is still increasing and there are 70 more samples to be tested, which could increase the number of H1N1 patients. Schools and colleges closed The government has also asked schools and colleges to remain shut due to the outbreak. "Schools across the country will be closed for the next three days," the education ministry said. And since schools will shut down for the mid-term break the following week, the authorities will discuss with HPA whether to reopen schools after the break. If necessary, if the outbreak is not contained, schools may remain shut for a longer period. Colleges will also remain closed for the next one week. The Maldives National University graduation ceremony scheduled for next week has also been postponed. Meanwhile, several inter-school sports tournaments have also been postponed. Domestic travel advisory The ministry of health has issued a travel advisory, asking the general public not to travel unless absolutely necessary, as it could help the virus to proliferate. The domestic travel advisory was issued after the government's decision to close schools across the country. Task force member Dr Abdulla Niyaf advised against any unnecessary travel during the upcoming school holiday. "The school break opens the door for the spread of the disease, as many people from the islands visit Male for various purposes. So we advice against making any unnecessary travel as that would help us curb the spread from Male to the islands," he said. Protocols in place The country's minister of health Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim told WION: "The government authorities are liaising with World Health Organisation (WHO) and necessary steps are being taken." "We have the necessary medicines, we still have precaution vaccines. we are giving the vaccines as necessary," he said. The general public has raised concerns about lack of information provided by the authorities. But the health minister said the government was keeping the public up-to-date about the virus toll. The minister also advised people to avoid public gatherings. With the recent outbreak of cold and flu, Maldives has established flu clinics in several hospitals to hel counter the problem. (WION)

Maldives spikes swine flu warning level as patient toll nearly doubles in 12 hours

Former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed&nbsp;received the 2017 Geneva Summit Courage Award&nbsp;at the 9th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on Tuesday.

The&nbsp;Rights&nbsp;Award was presented to Nasheed by former high commissioner of the&nbsp;Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe&nbsp;(OSCE),&nbsp;Astrid Thors, on behalf of the&nbsp;coalition of 25 non-governmental human rights groups.

&quot;To President Mohamed Nasheed, for inspiring the world with your extraordinary courage in the defense of liberty and universal human rights,&quot; Thors said while presenting the award.

&quot; It is a great honor to receive this award,&quot;&nbsp;said Nasheed, who thanked human rights lawyer Amal Clooney for helping in&nbsp;freeing him.

&quot;It&#39;s very encouraging to see so many good people doing good work,&nbsp;We may stumble, we may fall, but I assure everyone, we will pick ourselves up and continue with the same work with more vigour than the past.&quot; He said.

The annual summit,&nbsp;held on the eve of the United Nations Human Rights Council&#39;s annual session, seeks to address the human rights issues around the world that&nbsp;require global attention.

Nasheed&nbsp;joined top&nbsp;dissidents from Cuba, Russia, Turkey, Tibet, North Korea, Vietnam, Mauritania, Iran, Venezuela, who testified on&nbsp;abuses and urged the United Nations&nbsp;Human Rights Council, which opens its annual session next week, to address the human rights records of their home nations.

Nasheed,&nbsp;who has&nbsp;been charged with terrorism and sentenced to jail for 13 years&nbsp;over the abduction and arbitrary detention of a judge during his presidency, has been&nbsp;living in self-exile in the United Kingdom under political asylum for over a year.

(WION)

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Nasheed has been?living in self-exile in the United Kingdom under political asylum for over a year

Former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed received the 2017 Geneva Summit Courage Award at the 9th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on Tuesday. The Rights Award was presented to Nasheed by former high commissioner of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Astrid Thors, on behalf of the coalition of 25 non-governmental human rights groups. "To President Mohamed Nasheed, for inspiring the world with your extraordinary courage in the defense of liberty and universal human rights," Thors said while presenting the award. " It is a great honor to receive this award," said Nasheed, who thanked human rights lawyer Amal Clooney for helping in freeing him. "It's very encouraging to see so many good people doing good work, We may stumble, we may fall, but I assure everyone, we will pick ourselves up and continue with the same work with more vigour than the past." He said. The annual summit, held on the eve of the United Nations Human Rights Council's annual session, seeks to address the human rights issues around the world that require global attention. Nasheed joined top dissidents from Cuba, Russia, Turkey, Tibet, North Korea, Vietnam, Mauritania, Iran, Venezuela, who testified on abuses and urged the United Nations Human Rights Council, which opens its annual session next week, to address the human rights records of their home nations. Nasheed, who has been charged with terrorism and sentenced to jail for 13 years over the abduction and arbitrary detention of a judge during his presidency, has been living in self-exile in the United Kingdom under political asylum for over a year. (WION)

Maldives: Former president Mohamed Nasheed receives 2017 Geneva Summit Courage Award

The president of the Maldives Abdulla Yameen&nbsp;said on Monday&nbsp;the government is ready to welcome self-exiled politicians abroad if they want to return home.

However, he&nbsp;highlighted the jail sentences to be served by some of the self-exiled politicians.

&quot;The people exiled&nbsp;abroad can return to Maldives. But if they have a sentence to serve, once they come back to Maldives it&#39;s up to them to decide whether they would go home or somewhere else. But there is nothing stopping them from coming back to the Maldives. We would even welcome that,&quot; President Yameen said speaking at a ceremony held in Himmafushi island.

He said his administration would not target politicians and arrest them out of the boundaries of the law.&nbsp;

Several politicians including former president Mohamed Nasheed and former vice president Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed are living in self-exile in the UK.

Yameen said Maldives still enjoys all the rights in the&nbsp;constitutional democracy including freedom of speech, freedom assembly&nbsp;and freedom of press.

However, in the past few years Maldives have&nbsp;witnessed a significant crackdown on the media. New rules and regulation restrict&nbsp;freedom of assembly as well as freedom of expression and speech.

One such law is the Anti-defamation and freedom of expression Act which limits freedom of speech and expression with hefty fines.

(WION)

President Abdulla Yameen said his administration would not target politicians and arrest them out of the boundaries of the law

The president of the Maldives Abdulla Yameen said on Monday the government is ready to welcome self-exiled politicians abroad if they want to return home. However, he highlighted the jail sentences to be served by some of the self-exiled politicians. "The people exiled abroad can return to Maldives. But if they have a sentence to serve, once they come back to Maldives it's up to them to decide whether they would go home or somewhere else. But there is nothing stopping them from coming back to the Maldives. We would even welcome that," President Yameen said speaking at a ceremony held in Himmafushi island. He said his administration would not target politicians and arrest them out of the boundaries of the law. Several politicians including former president Mohamed Nasheed and former vice president Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed are living in self-exile in the UK. Yameen said Maldives still enjoys all the rights in the constitutional democracy including freedom of speech, freedom assembly and freedom of press. However, in the past few years Maldives have witnessed a significant crackdown on the media. New rules and regulation restrict freedom of assembly as well as freedom of expression and speech. One such law is the Anti-defamation and freedom of expression Act which limits freedom of speech and expression with hefty fines. (WION)

Maldives govt ready to welcome self-exiled politicians

The capital city of Maldives, Male is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. In crowded Male, finding a taxi can often be a difficult prospect. To improve the public transport system within the city, Maldives has recently introduced a new service called &quot;Cycle Taxi&quot;.

There are around 800 cars registered as taxis in the city. But these invariably are never enough, given that a large number of locals and tourists depend on taxis for commuting. Taking this into account, the Maldives government approved this new service, allowing motorcycles to ply as taxis.&nbsp;

Mohamed Saeed, the minister of economic development of the Maldives told WION this new concept is a very suitable one for a small city like Male.

&quot;The demand from the public is to have more efficient, reliable, and speedy public transport. So we have made some consultations with the public key stakeholders and we believe in a place like Male; especially for a small island city this service will bring a major difference,&quot; he said.

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Since many women would prefer a woman driver while using the motorbike taxi service, women involvement has been encouraged by the authorities. (WION)
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The first company to provide this service is Transato private limited, which is an affiliated partner of Scoo Taxi -- a Europe based motorbike taxi service company. Mohamed Bassam, managing director of Transato private limited told WION that the aim of Transato is providing a quality, reliable service with ensuring the&nbsp;safety of customers.

&quot;All our drivers are well monitored with criminal records checked, and even medically checked, also our drivers are given health training. In case of any emergency on the road they will be able to attend those customers as well.&quot; he said.

One of the unique features of this new service is its focus on involving women as drivers. Since many women would prefer a woman driver while using the motorbike taxi service, women involvement has been encouraged by the authorities.

&quot;We have seen a&nbsp;number of girls taking initiatives to join this service. So I believe it is a beginning, as the days go by we will have more demand,&quot; said Saeed.

&quot;Especially young girls have joined our team. So this is hopefully going to be a new trend in our small cities of Maldives where people will be able to get such a service on their fingertips,&quot; said Bassam.&nbsp;

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The Maldives government believes that the motorbike taxi service can ease the pressure on public transportation in Male. (WION)
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One such women driver is Zilmiya, who believes that the service provides women with a good opportunity to earn an income.

&quot;I think if you have time, it&#39;s a profitable work for women. There are many girls unable to find taxis, to go to school or office. so its a good work for women. My friends are very supportive. they say they will call me for rides.&quot;

The Maldives government believes that the motorbike taxi service can ease the pressure on public transportation in Male. If that is the case, the authorities are hoping to expand the service to other parts of the country as well.

(WION) 
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To improve the public transport system within the city of Male, Maldives has recently introduced a new service called 'Cycle Taxi'

The capital city of Maldives, Male is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. In crowded Male, finding a taxi can often be a difficult prospect. To improve the public transport system within the city, Maldives has recently introduced a new service called "Cycle Taxi". There are around 800 cars registered as taxis in the city. But these invariably are never enough, given that a large number of locals and tourists depend on taxis for commuting. Taking this into account, the Maldives government approved this new service, allowing motorcycles to ply as taxis. Mohamed Saeed, the minister of economic development of the Maldives told WION this new concept is a very suitable one for a small city like Male. "The demand from the public is to have more efficient, reliable, and speedy public transport. So we have made some consultations with the public key stakeholders and we believe in a place like Male; especially for a small island city this service will bring a major difference," he said. Since many women would prefer a woman driver while using the motorbike taxi service, women involvement has been encouraged by the authorities. (WION) × The first company to provide this service is Transato private limited, which is an affiliated partner of Scoo Taxi -- a Europe based motorbike taxi service company. Mohamed Bassam, managing director of Transato private limited told WION that the aim of Transato is providing a quality, reliable service with ensuring the safety of customers. "All our drivers are well monitored with criminal records checked, and even medically checked, also our drivers are given health training. In case of any emergency on the road they will be able to attend those customers as well." he said. One of the unique features of this new service is its focus on involving women as drivers. Since many women would prefer a woman driver while using the motorbike taxi service, women involvement has been encouraged by the authorities. "We have seen a number of girls taking initiatives to join this service. So I believe it is a beginning, as the days go by we will have more demand," said Saeed. "Especially young girls have joined our team. So this is hopefully going to be a new trend in our small cities of Maldives where people will be able to get such a service on their fingertips," said Bassam. The Maldives government believes that the motorbike taxi service can ease the pressure on public transportation in Male. (WION) × One such women driver is Zilmiya, who believes that the service provides women with a good opportunity to earn an income. "I think if you have time, it's a profitable work for women. There are many girls unable to find taxis, to go to school or office. so its a good work for women. My friends are very supportive. they say they will call me for rides." The Maldives government believes that the motorbike taxi service can ease the pressure on public transportation in Male. If that is the case, the authorities are hoping to expand the service to other parts of the country as well. (WION)

Maldives launches taxi service with women drivers

Police sent another case for prosecution against former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed over the detention of current President Yameen Abdul Gayoom during Nasheed&#39;s administration.

Prosecutor General Aishath Bisham told the local media that former president Nasheed is yet to be charged over the detention of the then parliamentarian member Yameen under military custody.

She said prosecutor general&#39;s office is still reviewing the case and is working with the police to complete formalities for prosecution.

Defence minister of Nasheed&#39;s administration Ameen Faisal has also been charged with terrorism over Yameen&#39;s detention. Faisal&#39;s trial began end of December.&nbsp;

Meanwhile,&nbsp;Nasheed&#39;s office has issued a statement today claiming that the case sent by the police for prosecution over Yameen&#39;s detention is an action of the government for its political gain and called the Prosecutor General to send the case back without prosecution.

Nasheed has already been charged with terrorism and sentenced to jail for 13 years, over the abduction and arbitrary detention of a judge during his administration.

While he serving the sentence, the government allowed him to leave the country for medical treatment.&nbsp;

He is now living in self exile in the United Kingdom.&nbsp;

(WION)

Nasheed is yet to be charged over the detention of current president Gayoom, a parliamentary member during Nasheed's tenure as president

Police sent another case for prosecution against former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed over the detention of current President Yameen Abdul Gayoom during Nasheed's administration. Prosecutor General Aishath Bisham told the local media that former president Nasheed is yet to be charged over the detention of the then parliamentarian member Yameen under military custody. She said prosecutor general's office is still reviewing the case and is working with the police to complete formalities for prosecution. Defence minister of Nasheed's administration Ameen Faisal has also been charged with terrorism over Yameen's detention. Faisal's trial began end of December. Meanwhile, Nasheed's office has issued a statement today claiming that the case sent by the police for prosecution over Yameen's detention is an action of the government for its political gain and called the Prosecutor General to send the case back without prosecution. Nasheed has already been charged with terrorism and sentenced to jail for 13 years, over the abduction and arbitrary detention of a judge during his administration. While he serving the sentence, the government allowed him to leave the country for medical treatment. He is now living in self exile in the United Kingdom. (WION)

Maldives: Another case filed against former president Nasheed over detention of current president in 2010

The Maldives government leased &quot;Feydhoo Finolhu&quot;, an uninhabited island near the country&#39;s capital city of Male, to a Chinese firm for 50 years at a cost of&nbsp;$4 million. The name of the company is yet to be disclosed.

This week, Indian media reported concerns expressed by some government officials, saying that leasing a Maldivian island close to the capital city and the main airport to a Chinese firm might&nbsp;negatively effect India&#39;s&nbsp;strategic interests.

Speaking at a press conference&nbsp;on Wednesday, Chinese ambassador to the Maldives Wang Fukang said China was rather surprised by the concerns raised in Indian media over this matter.&nbsp;

He said, though he is aware of the public announcement by the Maldives&#39; tourism minister, he does not know the company which was awarded Feydhoo Finolhu. According to him, the Maldives government is yet to officially inform the Chinese firm that was&nbsp;awarded&nbsp;the island.

&quot;Foreign investors are important to Maldives tourism and economy. As far as I know there are three Chinese companies involved in resort construction in the Maldives. So I think that&#39;s how this also happened,&quot; he said.

Fukang criticised Indian media, noting that every country has the opportunity to invest in the Maldives.&nbsp;&quot;Maldives I think is open to all foreign investors.&quot;&nbsp;

Maldives recently amended its Tourism Act to allow the government to lease islands without a bidding process. Feydhoo Finolhu was among 11 islands listed by the government to be leased without a bid.&nbsp;

(WION)

Some Indian government officials worry about Maldives cheaply leasing to a Chinese company an empty island so near its airport and main city

The Maldives government leased "Feydhoo Finolhu", an uninhabited island near the country's capital city of Male, to a Chinese firm for 50 years at a cost of $4 million. The name of the company is yet to be disclosed. This week, Indian media reported concerns expressed by some government officials, saying that leasing a Maldivian island close to the capital city and the main airport to a Chinese firm might negatively effect India's strategic interests. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Chinese ambassador to the Maldives Wang Fukang said China was rather surprised by the concerns raised in Indian media over this matter. He said, though he is aware of the public announcement by the Maldives' tourism minister, he does not know the company which was awarded Feydhoo Finolhu. According to him, the Maldives government is yet to officially inform the Chinese firm that was awarded the island. "Foreign investors are important to Maldives tourism and economy. As far as I know there are three Chinese companies involved in resort construction in the Maldives. So I think that's how this also happened," he said. Fukang criticised Indian media, noting that every country has the opportunity to invest in the Maldives. "Maldives I think is open to all foreign investors." Maldives recently amended its Tourism Act to allow the government to lease islands without a bidding process. Feydhoo Finolhu was among 11 islands listed by the government to be leased without a bid. (WION)

Beijing surprised by Indian concern over Maldives leasing island to Chinese firm

With the beginning of the new year Maldives re-branded its main&nbsp;airport.

Ibrahim Nasir International Airport was officially re-named &quot;Velana International Airport&quot; and&nbsp;inaugurated&nbsp;by tPresident Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom at&nbsp;12 am&nbsp;on January 1.

At a ceremony held at Hulhule&#39; island, the Aerodrome license of Velana International Airport was handed over to the Maldives Airports Company Limited by the Maldives Civil Aviation Authority.

President Yameen decided to re-brand the airport&nbsp;during a cabinet meeting held&nbsp;last&nbsp;Monday after&nbsp;Cabinet consultations; focusing on the transformation of the airport in line with&nbsp;the Administration&#39;s economic&nbsp;vision.

According to the&nbsp;President&#39;s office, Ibrahim Nasir International Airport was renamed as part of the efforts being made by&nbsp;the administration to make the airport a gateway for future development and growth.

There is a huge, ongoing project to develop the airport and the government says&nbsp;upon completion of this project&nbsp;the tourism sector will see significant growth while at the same time the airport would work towards becoming a major hub for distance travel.

For the vital role played by late&nbsp;president and prime minister Ibrahim Nasir in realisng the airport, the re-branded name still represents him,&nbsp;&quot;Velana&quot; is a reference to him.&nbsp;

This is the third time&nbsp;Maldives has changed the name of its airport. The initial name &quot;Hulhule Airport&quot; was changed to &quot;Male&#39; International Airport&quot; in early 1980&#39;s and then it was changed to &quot;Ibrahim Nasir International Airport&quot; during former president Mohamed Nasheed&#39;s administration.

(WION)

&nbsp;

The airport was renamed as part of the efforts being made by to make the airport a gateway for future development and growth

With the beginning of the new year Maldives re-branded its main airport. Ibrahim Nasir International Airport was officially re-named "Velana International Airport" and inaugurated by tPresident Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom at 12 am on January 1. At a ceremony held at Hulhule' island, the Aerodrome license of Velana International Airport was handed over to the Maldives Airports Company Limited by the Maldives Civil Aviation Authority. President Yameen decided to re-brand the airport during a cabinet meeting held last Monday after Cabinet consultations; focusing on the transformation of the airport in line with the Administration's economic vision. According to the President's office, Ibrahim Nasir International Airport was renamed as part of the efforts being made by the administration to make the airport a gateway for future development and growth. There is a huge, ongoing project to develop the airport and the government says upon completion of this project the tourism sector will see significant growth while at the same time the airport would work towards becoming a major hub for distance travel. For the vital role played by late president and prime minister Ibrahim Nasir in realisng the airport, the re-branded name still represents him, "Velana" is a reference to him. This is the third time Maldives has changed the name of its airport. The initial name "Hulhule Airport" was changed to "Male' International Airport" in early 1980's and then it was changed to "Ibrahim Nasir International Airport" during former president Mohamed Nasheed's administration. (WION)

Maldives renames its international airport

Former President of the Maldives and leader of ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Maumoon Abdul Gayoom called on the government Monday to lift the restraints its has allegedly placed on the country&#39;s media. He also called for the establishment of an environment conducive for free media.

In a statement released by him, he highlighted journalists and media organisations allegedly being intimidated by the government and raised concerns over the ongoing criminal investigations against several journalists. &nbsp;

Gayoom said several journalists have been arrested and convicted while they were going about their duty.

He said media freedom and journalism are among the&nbsp;fundamentals needed to make a government accountable for its actions and to ensure the rights of citizens.

Expressing the concerns of PPM members over the several challenges faced for media freedom in Maldives, Gayoom alleged that the new Defamation and Freedom of Speech Act was an attempt by the government to silence the media and limit press freedom and freedom of speech guaranteed by the constitution.&nbsp;

&quot;Creating a law in the name of defamation with hefty punishments, is to hide certain people&#39;s&nbsp;corruption activities and silencing journalism,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

Regarding an ongoing criminal investigation under the defamation act, Gayoom said reporting a word of another person is not a crime and a journalist or media stations should not bear the punishment for it.

Gayoom also raised concern over the lack of efforts to find abducted journalist Ahmed Rilwan, who has been missing for over two years.

He called on the government to investigate threats and attacks against journalists and take actions against those responsible for it.

(WION)

 
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In a statement, he highlighted journalists and media organisations allegedly being intimidated by the government

Former President of the Maldives and leader of ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Maumoon Abdul Gayoom called on the government Monday to lift the restraints its has allegedly placed on the country's media. He also called for the establishment of an environment conducive for free media. In a statement released by him, he highlighted journalists and media organisations allegedly being intimidated by the government and raised concerns over the ongoing criminal investigations against several journalists. Gayoom said several journalists have been arrested and convicted while they were going about their duty. He said media freedom and journalism are among the fundamentals needed to make a government accountable for its actions and to ensure the rights of citizens. Expressing the concerns of PPM members over the several challenges faced for media freedom in Maldives, Gayoom alleged that the new Defamation and Freedom of Speech Act was an attempt by the government to silence the media and limit press freedom and freedom of speech guaranteed by the constitution. "Creating a law in the name of defamation with hefty punishments, is to hide certain people's corruption activities and silencing journalism," he said. Regarding an ongoing criminal investigation under the defamation act, Gayoom said reporting a word of another person is not a crime and a journalist or media stations should not bear the punishment for it. Gayoom also raised concern over the lack of efforts to find abducted journalist Ahmed Rilwan, who has been missing for over two years. He called on the government to investigate threats and attacks against journalists and take actions against those responsible for it. (WION)

Maldives: Ex-president Gayoom calls on govt to lift restraints on media

NEEDS CHANGES. PLS DONT PUT UP TILL I CLEAR.

ANURADHA

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India has been struggling to safeguard its rich heritage. It loses thousands of antiques each year to art thieves. The illicit business of smuggling of Indian antiques seems to survive till date,&nbsp;despite&nbsp;having a strict law to protect ancient artefacts of the country. 
&nbsp; 
Although the intention of Antiquities and Art Treasure Act, 1972 was to safeguard India&#39;s heritage, it has proven ineffective and counterproductive. 
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Indian art and cultural historian and museologist, Jyotindra Jain said though the act was meant to safeguard India&#39;s ancient heritage, the registration process it put in place has proven to be counterproductive. 
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&quot;Registration was a very complicated process. And after the period of grace that was given was over many people were not registered. It was then considered crime. So people began to burn things. They began to hide them. People began to smuggle those things,&quot; he said.

Under the Act, only about 5 lakh antiques are registered, while millions of others remain unnoticed. That has meant an industrial-scale loot of India&rsquo;s ancient heritage. 
&nbsp; 
For instance, according to the ministry of culture&rsquo;s records, 101 antiques were stolen between 2000 and 2016 from 3,650 protected historical monuments around the country. 
&nbsp; 
Data from the National Crime Records, however, is far more alarming. It records over 4,000 cases of &#39;cultural property&#39; stolen between 2010 and 2014. An overwhelming number of these are yet to be resolved.

With the urge to liberalise this act, since 1985, the Archaeological Survey of India has sought to make several amendments to the Antiquities and Art Treasure Act to make it more effective. Joint director general of the ASI, RS Fonia, said the process of amending the Act is still ongoing. 
&nbsp; 
&quot;It is in final stage. Necessary clauses, provisions will be made to make it very effective and implementable,&quot; he said.

According to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, ASI does not maintain a database of the number of antiquities in its possession and did not try to bring back any stolen artefacts between 2000 and 2013. Fonia said ASI is taking this into the account on the process of amending the act. 
&nbsp; 
&quot;We are making that registration process very simple. Once the database is in uniform template, it will be very easy to trace lost antiques. It will help the law enforcing agencies in bringing back stolen antiquities,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

While the ASI has largely failed to recover India&rsquo;s stolen treasures, the efforts of some determined citizens like Anurag Saxena, the founder of India Pride Project, and others, have offered some hope over the past two years.&nbsp;

The group investigates and identifies&nbsp;India&rsquo;s stolen antiques and make efforts to bring those back to the country. India has recently got back more than 200 antiquities, mostly linked to the network of New York-based smuggler Subhash Kapoor, who was arrested in 2011.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
To preserve Indian antiquity experts believe that with a strict law to crack down on export, India also needs to open up a hassle-free domestic market within the country, which ASI says will be guaranteed with the new amendments to the Antiquities and Art Treasure Act.

Apart from legal changes, public awareness about the importance of ancient artefacts is crucial to preserve India&rsquo;s heritage. Dr.Jyotindra Jain says to prevent further smuggling, and bring back what was already stolen, it is also important to create a society that cares about these priceless antiques. &nbsp; 
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&quot;This is theft. Police can limit it to some extent. But I think that along with police action, we should also develop programmes for generating awareness and pride about our heritage,&rdquo; he said. 
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But this is much more than just culture. Trade in stolen antiquities is worth several billion dollars annually, and often this money becomes a source of criminal and terrorist funding. Authorities say&nbsp;looted artefacts are one of the major sources of funding terrorism. As terrorism in South Asia is on the&nbsp;rise, it gives all the more reasons for India to fight against smuggling of Indian artefacts.

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For years, experts have been calling for efforts to protect India&rsquo;s ancient artifacts from art thieves. The archaeological survey of India is now said to be mulling legal changes to simplify the registration process for artifacts (WION)
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India has been struggling to safeguard its rich heritage. It loses thousands of antiques each year to art thieves

NEEDS CHANGES. PLS DONT PUT UP TILL I CLEAR. ANURADHA India has been struggling to safeguard its rich heritage. It loses thousands of antiques each year to art thieves. The illicit business of smuggling of Indian antiques seems to survive till date, despite having a strict law to protect ancient artefacts of the country. Although the intention of Antiquities and Art Treasure Act, 1972 was to safeguard India's heritage, it has proven ineffective and counterproductive. Indian art and cultural historian and museologist, Jyotindra Jain said though the act was meant to safeguard India's ancient heritage, the registration process it put in place has proven to be counterproductive. "Registration was a very complicated process. And after the period of grace that was given was over many people were not registered. It was then considered crime. So people began to burn things. They began to hide them. People began to smuggle those things," he said. Under the Act, only about 5 lakh antiques are registered, while millions of others remain unnoticed. That has meant an industrial-scale loot of India’s ancient heritage. For instance, according to the ministry of culture’s records, 101 antiques were stolen between 2000 and 2016 from 3,650 protected historical monuments around the country. Data from the National Crime Records, however, is far more alarming. It records over 4,000 cases of 'cultural property' stolen between 2010 and 2014. An overwhelming number of these are yet to be resolved. With the urge to liberalise this act, since 1985, the Archaeological Survey of India has sought to make several amendments to the Antiquities and Art Treasure Act to make it more effective. Joint director general of the ASI, RS Fonia, said the process of amending the Act is still ongoing. "It is in final stage. Necessary clauses, provisions will be made to make it very effective and implementable," he said. According to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, ASI does not maintain a database of the number of antiquities in its possession and did not try to bring back any stolen artefacts between 2000 and 2013. Fonia said ASI is taking this into the account on the process of amending the act. "We are making that registration process very simple. Once the database is in uniform template, it will be very easy to trace lost antiques. It will help the law enforcing agencies in bringing back stolen antiquities," he said. While the ASI has largely failed to recover India’s stolen treasures, the efforts of some determined citizens like Anurag Saxena, the founder of India Pride Project, and others, have offered some hope over the past two years. The group investigates and identifies India’s stolen antiques and make efforts to bring those back to the country. India has recently got back more than 200 antiquities, mostly linked to the network of New York-based smuggler Subhash Kapoor, who was arrested in 2011. To preserve Indian antiquity experts believe that with a strict law to crack down on export, India also needs to open up a hassle-free domestic market within the country, which ASI says will be guaranteed with the new amendments to the Antiquities and Art Treasure Act. Apart from legal changes, public awareness about the importance of ancient artefacts is crucial to preserve India’s heritage. Dr.Jyotindra Jain says to prevent further smuggling, and bring back what was already stolen, it is also important to create a society that cares about these priceless antiques. "This is theft. Police can limit it to some extent. But I think that along with police action, we should also develop programmes for generating awareness and pride about our heritage,” he said. But this is much more than just culture. Trade in stolen antiquities is worth several billion dollars annually, and often this money becomes a source of criminal and terrorist funding. Authorities say looted artefacts are one of the major sources of funding terrorism. As terrorism in South Asia is on the rise, it gives all the more reasons for India to fight against smuggling of Indian artefacts. For years, experts have been calling for efforts to protect India’s ancient artifacts from art thieves. The archaeological survey of India is now said to be mulling legal changes to simplify the registration process for artifacts (WION) ×

Are India's ancient artefacts in safe hands?

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Zee News Rajasthan

Editor

Umaima Rasheed Hussain

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