Internet a fundamental right in Maldives says President Nasheed

Access to Internet is a fundamental right in the Maldives, President Mohamed Nasheed of the Indian Ocean archipalago said on Tuesday. During Nasheed's meeting with Finland's President Tarja Halonen at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Nasheed said the Maldives was the only country in the world which has declared Internet as a fundamental right.

Nasheed, a former Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience, became the President after a landmark election in 2008 that ushered democracy to the small island nation.

During Nasheed's meeting with his Finnish counterpart he said the Maldives was ready to transfer knowledge and technology to Finland. Nasheed updated Halonen on the high-tech companies operating in the internet sector in the Maldives and gave details of the recent acquiring of the majority shares of the Maldives telecom company Dhiraagu by Cable & Wireless of the United Kingdom.

In the meeting, Halonen expressed her eagerness to learn from the experience of the Maldives in making internet a fundamental right for everybody and said she was keen to invite companies such as Dhiraagu and Cable & Wireless to invest in Finland.

Sheikh Shaheem urges British to close down London pubs

Minister of State for Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has urged the British to close down London pubs. During a recent visit to the UK, the state minister from the Maldives urged the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Cabinet Office, Home Office and heads of counter-terrorism in the Justice Ministry to close down the pubs in London because it was unacceptable to sell alcohol in densely populated cities.

Shaheem attended discussions on counter-terrorism with a range of relevant authorities in the UK during his trip. He also met with Abbas Faiz, the general secretary of Amnesty International.

“The main objective was to discuss rapidly growing concerns around extremism and terrorism with relevant stakeholders in the UK,” Shaheem told Minivan News.

“There was a lot of discussion on ideas, such as how to fight ideologies and radical ideas. It was a very nice trip. I learned how to stop radical ideas such as celebration of New Year, Valentine's Day and the April Fool Day.”

Shaheem also informed the UK authorities on the recent campaign led by his party Adhaalath to curb the sale of alcohol in Male'.

In March the state minister will travel to Bangladesh to attend a regional conference for religious leaders organised by USAID and the Asia Foundation.

Shaheem noted that the Maldives was relatively young and inexperienced in fighting ideologies and radicalisation, saying that countries like the US and Pakistan “have been active in this field for a long time.”

“We will benefit from a similar approach as Malaysia,” he said.