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First 100 days: Appeal to be lodged to recover maritime area

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6 months ago

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President-elect Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, who is scheduled to be sworn in on Friday, has announced appealing the ruling by International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in the maritime dispute between Maldives and Mauritius as part of his plan for the 100 days of his administration.

A special ceremony was held on Wednesday night to unveil the incoming administration’s first 100-day plans.

ITLOS, on April 28th, concluded that the conflicting Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) between Mauritius and Maldives will be divided between the two using the equidistance formula as argued by Maldives in the case.

Thus, Maldives gained 47,232 square kilometers from the 95,563 square kilometers of maritime territory in dispute while Mauritius gained 45,331 square kilometers. PPM-PNC coalition, which had been the opposition back then, had accused the outgoing administration of “selling” part of Maldivian maritime territory, claiming the whole 95,563 square kilometers to belong to the Maldives.

Appealing the ITLOS ruling is an electoral pledge of Muizzu and is among the main two things he pressed during his presidential campaign alongside the removal of foreign soldiers from Maldivian soil.

In line with the pledges, Muizzu has announced appealing ITLOS ruling as part of his administration’s first 100-day plan, alongside the removal of Indian soldiers based in the Maldives.

The dispute between Maldives and Mauritius arises from Mauritius’ request to lay measurements from Blenheim Reef which is visible during low tides.

Maldives argued that the Blenheim Reef did not fall within the maritime borders of Mauritius.

With ITLOS’ decision, Maldives gained 4,687 square kilometers of maritime area. Mauritius would have gained the area if they won.

Chagos is an archipelago located south of Addu City, closer to Maldivian borders than Mauritian. The area is presently under the control of the British. While the region is not inhabited – it is used by the British for economic purposes.

For decades, Mauritius and the United Kingdom have been in a dispute over ownership of the Chagos, after Mauritius claimed the Chagos archipelago as Mauritian territory when the nation gained independence from the British in 1968.

UK, which had severed the Chagos Islands from Mauritius before independence, claiming it to be a part of British-Indian Ocean Territory in the Indian Ocean, had forcibly deported thousands of inhabitants of Diego Garcia, the largest of the 60 small islands in the archipelago, so that they could lease the island to the United States for a military base.

Mauritius sought to reclaim Chagos from the British after their independence.

Maldives is involved in this dispute as the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) overlaps with that Chagos.

In 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion reiterating Mauritius’ sovereignty over Chagos.

The same year, UN General Assembly adopted a resolution based on ICJ’s recommendations instructing the UK to hand over Chagos to Mauritius within six months. However, the UK refused to comply.

Mauritius went to ITLOS based on the advisory opinion to delimitate the Maldivian maritime territory.

ITLOS concluded that it is not in a position to determine the entitlement of Mauritius to the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles in the Northern Chagos Archipelago Region and decided subsequently it will not proceed to delimit the continental shelf between Mauritius and the Maldives beyond 200 nautical miles.

While Maldives has accepted Mauritius’ sovereignty claim over Chagos islands, as informed to Mauritius’ Prime Minister via a letter by the Maldivian President, the nation did not change its stand on the maritime border dispute with Mauritius regarding the conflicting EEZ.

Source(s): sun.mv

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Fushidhiggaru project ongoing, will finish on time: Government

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1 day ago

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28/04/2024

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The Maldives government on Sunday assured Fushidhiggaru reclamation project, a key initiative under the vision of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, has not stalled and would be completed on the scheduled date.

President’s Office Chief Spokesperson Heena Waleed confirmed this on Sunday at a press conference, while providing details on other government initiatives.

The state has responded about the large-scale development project amid speculation in social media and by political opponents, claiming the initiative has stalled.

In response, Heena highlighted that the sand dredging in the project is currently on pause, stressing this was not indicative of the entire project being halted.

“I would like to ask, if they gauge the ongoing status of a capacity based on whether sand dredging is ongoing or not. Although sand dredging has stopped, there would be several other associated components of the project that requires attention and execution,” Heena commented.

She further said the project requires administrative and other work, all of which, she added, were ongoing.

“In response, I would like to reply that the Fushidhiggaru project has not stalled, it is ongoing. The project would conclude as per the scheduled date announced by the President,” she said.

Under the large-scale development project, 1,153 hectares of land will be reclaimed, which is thrice the combined size of Hulhumale’ Phase I and II.

The iniatiative commenced officially on December 18, 2023 while the Maldives President assured the reclamation component will conclude within eight months from the date of commencement.

Source(s): sun.mv

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Efforts underway to submit new laws to Parliament

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1 day ago

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28/04/2024

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Chief Spokesperson at the President’s Office Heena Waleed has stated that efforts are underway to complete the administrative preparations for introducing new laws and amendments to the Parliament, with the government achieving a super majority in the parliamentary elections.

Heena stated there are several crucial laws to be presented to Parliament under the government’s week-14 legislative agenda. As such, laws relating to housing, the criminal justice system, social security are to be submitted. On this stance, Heena affirmed that the laws and amendments which have been stalled in the committee phase will be given a top priority to be implemented by the end of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s tenure.

Furthermore, Heena revealed that over 200 laws are to be implemented, aiming to fulfill President Dr. Muizzu’s commitment outlined in the government’s manifesto. She assured that the elected Parliament will play a significant role as their views align with that of the president.

Observing that the government attained a super majority during the parliamentary elcetions was due to the unwavering trust in President Dr. Muizzu, Heena affirmed that this advantage will not be exploited. She guaranteed that the super majority will assist the government in implementing and enforcing policies that will benefit the public as per the respective policies.

Source(s): PsmNews

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Islamic Minister discusses expanding Zakat House

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Published

2 days ago

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27/04/2024

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Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has met with the Director General of Zakat House Director Dr. Majid Sulaiman Al-Azimi to discuss upgrading the Maldives Zakat House.

The minister confirmed this via X (formerly Twitter), highligting that the two discussed about expanding the services of the Zakat House, including staff and Sharia Board training, and the legal requirements of Zakat recipients.

Earlier, the minister announced the administration’s plan to introduce a financial aid system to extend aid to orphans permanently. Dr. Shaheem said orphans will receive financial support annually until adulthood.

However, the minister did not specify how much the government intended to provide as financial support each year.

The current administration established the Maldives Zakat House with the objectives of increasing public awareness on the importance of paying Zakat, and foster love among the public towards the Islamic sacred act.

Under the Zakat Fund, government provided financial support to 52 individuals earlier in March 2024.

Statistics recently provided by the Zakat House showed the fund had been disbursed mainly in four areas, which are;

For Cancer Treatment – MVR 190,822.50
Brain Surgery – MVR 180,407.19
Heart Surgery – MVR 8,482.00
Transplants – MVR 25,443.00

Additionally, another MVR 227,872.50 was disbursed for various other areas.

Source(s): sun.mv

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