08th Sep 2007
Clashes between a group of people in Himendhoo and police came to a close this morning after two days.

The armed forces which have begun a nationwide search for suspects related to the bomb attack of September 29th at Sultan Park, were barred from conducting their investigations in Himendhoo by a group clad in three quarter trousers and wearing masks and helmets. This particular group of people was reportedly preventing the police especially from entering an area they call a mosque named Dharul Khair reserved for exclusive worship. .............READ MORE

GG/PR-002/07
Press Release
Statement on 9/29 Terrorist Attack in Male’ and Call for Actions by EU, UK, UN, FOM and Maldives Government.

GOODGOVERNOR Movement, members and supporters around the world condemn the 9/29 bomb attack in the Maldives capital Male’. The bomb attack came at a time when the Maldivian people are keen to show their aspirations in determining the political future of Maldives in the Democratic reform Process initiated by the President of Maldives.

READ MORE from WWW.GOODGOVERNER.ORG from the following link

As usual I was listening to the news of the world on sky news. I could not believe what I was hearing and what I was seeing. There was a bomb blast in the capital of Maldives and ten tourists were injured. A bomb blast in Maldives, our worst fears confirmed sooner than we expected. But the truth is that there is nothing surprising about this. For sometimes we have been seeing this coming.
READ MORE from WWW.GOODGOVERNER.ORG from the following link

Nic Careem / from:UK
( this mail was originally sent to minivan.news@gmail.com by Nic Careem in reponse to an article published on minivannews.com ( 16th sep 2007) but they delibarately omitted this response and did not publish it. IS IT MINIVAN - independent ?)

Male’, 14 September 2007 (Friday) – The President, H.E. Mr. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, today received a letter from the Commonwealth Secretary-General, H.E. Mr. Donald McKinnon, containing the Commonwealth’s observations and recommendations following the August 18th referendum to determine the preferred system of government in the Maldives. The Secretary-General’s letter and accompanying note highlight the “many positive aspects of the referendum process”, while also noting some issues of concern to be addressed before future elections. Mr. McKinnon particularly welcomed the fact that the environment for the referendum was calm; that there was a high voter turn-out; that women were well represented as voters, polling officials and party agents; and that many young people participated. ..............READ MORE

08th Sep 2007
Mr. Imad Solih is in Addu on an official trip of the Education Ministry. He was travelling as a pillion rider on the back of a friend’s motorbike in Hithadhoo when a group of bikies surrounded Imad.
Ibrahim Rasheed, Imad’s friend, told reporters that they were going to stop by and speak to some MDP members when they shouted obscenities at Imad..............READ MORE

United Nations Country Team in the Maldives has welcomed the decision of the Attorney-General’s Office to appeal the controversial court decision of last July to banish four men who broke into a 12 year old girl’s bedroom and allegedly raped her. As party to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination agains.... ..................Read More

08th Sep 2007
The Human Rights Commission (HRC) strongly condemned the escalation of violence in the Maldives in a press release issued today.
The HRC noted that the recent high incidence rate of crime that involved fights, theft and arson had caused extensive harm to people and damage to property.
The press release added that the Commission condemned some elements of the society who obstruct police from performing their duty using force. Such brutality, it added, will lead to further unrest amongst the public and the police whose job it is to maintain peace and the consequences may be dire.
.............READ MORE

05th Sep 2007
The Constituent Assembly concluded its session today over the issue submitted by the Speaker of the Constituent Assembly which called for a change in the quorum of the Drafting Committee.
Votes were called for four motions, extensively debated,moved and seconded but none got passed...............READ MORE

05th Sep 2007
A press release of Baa Atoll Eydhafushi Office, condemns in the strongest words that Mr. Ali Faiz has provided wrong information about the voting situation in Eydhafushi during the referendum.
Mr. Ali Faiz has told the Constituent Assembly that while he monitored the voting closely he had come across several irregularities. Mr. Faiz said that 323 extra votes were cast into the Eydhafushi vote box claiming that these extra votes were cast by non-eligible voters meaning that were either minors or those who names did not appear on the voting list..............READ MORE

04th Sep 2007
Both 171st and 172nd sittings of the Constituent Assembly had to be suspended yesterday and today, consequently, due to lack of quorum.
The first item on the agenda was the continuation of debate on the matter signed by 25 members of the Assembly. This matter called for resolving the issues that arose during the national referendum on 18th August, 2007 to determine the system of governance to be adopted in the revised Constitution. Members were given the opportunity to speak on the subject..............READ MORE

04th Sep 2007
Speaking at a rally after the demonstration held on Saturday, Zuhair (Juha) called upon the MDP leadership to drag the members holding key posts to be made answerable for not turning up to demonstrate.
The demonstration was reportedly held to “catch the rogue” referring to MDP’s allegation that last month’s referendum was rigged. However, the ranting at the rally after the demonstration brought to light that they need to clean up their own backyard first. Members holding portfolios in the MDP parliamentary group like Jesus Afeef and Mohamed Shihab to name a couple, chose not to participate. Perhaps, they preferred to leave it to the cannon fodder in case of a brush with the law. Perhaps, they chose to be out of the country to avoid the demonstration which was tipped off to be a fiasco from the very beginning.............READ MORE

02nd Sep 2007
Speaker, Mr. Qasim Ibrahim, ordered Meemu Atoll member to leave the Chambers while the Assembly was in session today. Mr. Shafeeq finally left the Chambers but was blocked when he decided to re-enter the Chambers.
Asked whether he was physically held back from entering, one of the security guards replied that none of them had touched him but formed a human chain to prevent him going in. Somebody opened the door from inside which gave Mr. Shafeeq the chance to find his way back into the Chambers............READ MORE

02nd Sep 2007
During the demonstration by MDP yesterday to voice their rejection of the referendum results, a group of MDP members near Mercury Light threw hot water at the policemen.
Several other policeman were injured, two are reported to be still in hospital. The incident occurred last night after the MDP meeting at Kalaafaanu School where MDP members came out after the meeting and beat policemen.............READ MORE

29th Aug 2007
The referendum held to determine the system of governance for the Maldives ended with 78.01% win for the presidential system. Out of the eligible voters totaling 199,841; 155,890 turned out to vote. 75,860 women and 86,030 men voted in the referendum, the official results as announced by the Commissioner of Elections stood at 95,619 for the presidential system and 58,504 for the parliamentary.
The Referendum held on the 18th August, 2007 nationwide became the most controversial and discussed subject ranging from the organizers of the vote, namely the Constituent Assembly to the layman. Today, however, the Constituent Assembly decision not to take the dispute over the results into litigation was made official............READ MORE