tagged w/ maldives
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Former president Mohamed Nasheed, who resigned last month in what he claimed was a de facto coup, warns the country will now find it difficult to make its voice heard on the global
When Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed resigned last month, many people outside the archipelago were shocked to hear the leader, famed for once holding a scuba diving underwater cabinet conference to raise the alarm on rising sea levels, may have been ousted in a de facto coup.
The country was plunged into a political crisis when Nasheed agreed to step down on 7 February amid protests against his rule. He later said he was forced to leave by an army "mutiny" and resigned at gunpoint, a claim denied by Mohamed Waheed – Nasheed’s successor and former vice president, who said the transfer of power was constitutional.
The Commonwealth has suspended the Maldives from its human rights watchdog, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, and at the time of writing is in talks with both parties to try and agree an early election date.
The new parliament was expected to reconvene today after Nasheed's supporters stymied the first attempt on 1 March by blocking Waheed from entering the house, branding the new administration a "rebel government".
Speaking in an exclusive interview with BusinessGreen, Nasheed reiterated his call for an early election, warning the unrest has undermined the Maldives' reputation. He predicted the new government would now struggle to make an impact on the global political stage, particularly in the climate change arena.
"One of the things with us, was that there was nothing the international community could say about us… We were not beating anyone up, we were not doing anything drastically wrong," said Nasheed, who was elected president in 2008, following 30 years of military rule.
"The international community also took the Maldives as a leading country in human rights, in implementing democracy… and, therefore, it was easy for us to go out and advocate with all the moral authority behind us.
"Now this government won't have the moral authority for such advocacy and, therefore, I think it's going to face a huge challenge on climate change negotiations," added Nasheed.
Nasheed’s resignation will also come as a blow to those countries arguing for swift action on climate change. He was widely hailed as a leading voice for the small island states, many of which will be the first to suffer from rising sea levels.
The 1,200 low-lying islands that make up the Maldives are home to 385,000 people, but none of the coral islands are more than 1.8 metres above sea level and they are at serious risk of being inundated if the latest scientific predictions that sea levels could rise by more than one metre by the end of the century prove accurate. Nasheed has even floated the idea of moving the resulting "climate castaways" to Australia.
The Island President, a documentary screening in London this week and nationwide from 3 April, tracks Nasheed’s first year in office, culminating in a behind-the-scenes report of his trip to the 2009 Copenhagen climate summit, which includes his powerful plea to fellow negotiators to sign the Copenhagen Accord when talks were on the brink of collapsing.
But while Nasheed is no longer in a position to play a formal role at the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC), he told BusinessGreen he would try to attend the 18th Conference of the Parties in Qatar in December, as well as the preceding Bonn conference in May, where negotiators will hold the inaugural session of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, agreed in December last year.
“My environmental beliefs don't necessarily stand from where I hold office, so I will always campaign, but the work that I can do as president is far more substantial," he said. "So in that sense I would like to contribute to the climate change debate and I think it’s very, very important that people understand the gravity of the issue. This is not something in the future, but is something that is happening now."
More at the linkFormer president Mohamed Nasheed, who resigned last month in what he claimed was a de... more
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Video not before seen is included covering the coup that ousted former President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed. The one revelation revealed by him that was a bit of a surprise was that he stated he had proof that resort owners had funded the coup. And it makes sense if you look at it from the view of climate change. Mr. Nasheed's activism regarding climate change and its effect on sea level rise is a threat to the tourism industry. So, they would rather see an extremist Islamic government in place that will do nothing about it instead of actually supporting a democratically elected president who is for the poor people of the Maldives and being vocally active against climate change. There are interesting interviews here with the current president and with those whose motivations make it clear that Mr. Nasheed is indeed a threat to them.Video not before seen is included covering the coup that ousted former President of... more
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And our State Dept. will not admit this is a coup. Tell me oil (oil routes) is not part of this.And our State Dept. will not admit this is a coup. Tell me oil (oil routes) is not... more
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Reminiscent of the Taliban destroying 1,000 year old Buddhist statues, the Maldive Islands have suffered a similar fate.
"At the Maldives' National Museum, smashed Buddhist statues are testament to the rise of Islamic extremism and Taliban-style intolerance in a country famous as a laid-back holiday destination."Reminiscent of the Taliban destroying 1,000 year old Buddhist statues, the Maldive... more
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It is unclear what charges the former Maldives president faces. The upheaval in the strategic Indian Ocean nation has sparked concern that China may exploit the unrest.
By Mark Magnier, Los Angeles Times
February 10, 2012
Reporting from New Delhi— A criminal court issued an arrest warrant Thursday for deposed Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed amid fear of further violence in the Indian Ocean nation after rioting the day before. It wasn't immediately clear what the charges against him were in the confusing and fast-evolving political crisis.
Newly installed President Mohammed Waheed Hassan moved Thursday to assemble a Cabinet, naming defense and home ministers who have had differences with Nasheed.
The jockeying and political upheaval come at a sensitive time for a country that held its first democratic election four years ago. The turmoil also provides a potential opening for China, which has been angling to expand its influence on India's doorstep, given the Maldives' strategic location astride Asia's main oil shipping lanes. And a protracted crisis could threaten the idyllic archipelago's tourism industry if it starts scaring away European and American travelers.
Nasheed, 44, spent much of Thursday with reporters and allies at his house as several hundred supporters formed a cordon outside under umbrellas in the inclement weather. Local news reports said the deposed president had sent his family to Sri Lanka while he awaited arrest.
Government officials and local reporters said a warrant was also issued Thursday for former Defense Minister Tholhath Ibrahim Kaleyfaanu.
Newly named Home Minister Mohamed Jameel Ahmed said in a telephone interview that violent protests Wednesday by Nasheed supporters, which he said saw shops, courts, police stations and at least 17 police vehicles destroyed, were "clearly an act of terrorism."
Ahmed said he didn't believe the warrant for Nasheed was issued on terrorism charges but rather was related to a police investigation of the president's firing of a judge last month, which galvanized opposition to his rule.
"The situation is very tense," Ahmed said. "We're trying to restore order. In the capital the situation is under control, but in the outer islands, as with all countries, there are limited resources."
Nasheed allies counter that democracy has been subverted just as it is taking root in the Maldives. Paul Roberts, an aide to the former president, said that after seizing control with questionable tactics, the new government has subverted many branches of government and arrested elected representatives.
"It looks really bad," he said.
The United States and India announced that they are sending officials to confer and monitor the situation amid concern that the unrest could be exploited by China.
The crisis hit the international spotlight Tuesday when Nasheed announced his resignation for the good of the country. On Wednesday, the former human rights activist shifted gears, saying he had been forced to resign at gunpoint. Fresh rioting followed his statement.
Hassan has denied there was a coup and has called for a unity government.
Nasheed has told supporters and journalists that he won't seek an immediate reinstatement but believes Hassan should step down and call for elections to settle the issue democratically.
Nasheed was elected in 2008 amid great promise after three decades of rule by autocratic leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. But Nasheed ran into trouble with police and parts of the army after he dismissed the nation's top criminal court judge last month, accusing him of subverting his rule and maintaining close ties to Gayoom.
Analysts said the government may decide not to arrest Nasheed, or to at least delay his detention until things quiet down, given the protests and intense scrutiny.
Ahmed Tholal, vice president of the government's Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, said protesters arrested Wednesday after the rioting were released early Thursday. "We spoke to them and they suffered no further injury" in detention, he said, adding that commission members have received threats.
"We're calling for calm," he said. "We're very concerned about the deteriorating law-and-order situation."
More at the linkIt is unclear what charges the former Maldives president faces. The upheaval in the... more
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THE president of the Maldives resigned yesterday in what one aide described as a coup d’etat.
President Mohamed Nasheed has been credited with bringing democracy to the archipelago and raising awareness of the impact of global warming, at one point holding a cabinet meeting subsea, in scuba gear.
But he has faced weeks of opposition protests and this week a police mutiny.
Mr Nasheed, the Indian Ocean islands’ first democratically elected president, handed power to vice-president Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, explaining that continuing in office would result in his having to use force against the people.
“I resign because I am not a person who wishes to rule with the use of power,” he said in a televised address. “I believe that if the government were to remain in power it would require the use of force which would harm many citizens.
Mr Nasheed swept to victory in 2008, pledging to bring full democracy to the low-lying islands and speaking out passionately on the dangers of climate change and rising sea levels.
But he drew fire for his arrest of a judge he accused of being in the pocket of his predecessor, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who ruled for 30 years. Protests set off a constitutional crisis that had Mr Nasheed defending himself against accusations of acting like a dictator.
“It’s a coup, I am afraid,” an official at Mr Nasheed’s office said, asking not to be identified. “The police and Mr Gayoom’s people as well as some elements in the military have forced the president Nasheed to resign. According to my book it’s a coup.”
The new president said this was a “misrepresentation”.
“The people have been out on the street demonstrating for weeks now and it came to a point where the crowds [were] too overwhelming and the president tried to negotiate, was too late and the people prevailed on him to resign.”
Overnight, vandals attacked the lobby of the opposition-linked VTV TV station, witnesses said, while mutinying police attacked and burnt the main rallying point of Mr Nasheed’s Maldives Democratic Party before taking over the state broadcaster MNBC and renaming it TV Maldives, as it was called under Mr Gayoom.
Yesterday, soldiers fired teargas at police and demonstrators who besieged the Maldives National Defence Force headquarters in Republic Square. Later, demonstrators stood outside the nearby president’s office chanting “Gayoom! Gayoom!”.
The protests, and scramble for position ahead of next year’s presidential election, have seen parties adopting hardline Islamist rhetoric and accusing Mr Nasheed of anti-Islamism.
The trouble has also shown the deep rivalry between Mr Gayoom and Mr Nasheed, who was jailed in all for six years after being arrested 27 times by Mr Gayoom’s government while agitating for democracy. The vice-president is expected to run a national unity government until the election.
More at the linkTHE president of the Maldives resigned yesterday in what one aide described as a coup... more
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World AIDS Day comes amid progress, concern
By the CNN WIre Staff
December 1, 2010 2:32 a.m. EST
A giant red ribbon hangs on the White House for observance of World AIDS Day.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* The estimated number of children with HIV/AIDS in 11 Asian countries increases 46 percent
* The UN says the number of new HIV infections has dropped 20 percent in the past decade
* But the number of new HIV infections outpaces the number of people starting treatment
(CNN) -- As the global community commemorates World AIDS Day on Wednesday, international health organizations report both promising and sobering trends.
While the United Nations says new HIV infections have declined by almost 20 percent worldwide over the past decade, the estimated number of children living with HIV or AIDS in 11 Asian countries has increased by 46 percent between 2001 and 2009, the World Health Organization's South-East Asia office said Wednesday.
"In 2001, an estimated 89,000 children were living with HIV/AIDS," said Vismita Gupta-Smith, public information and advocacy officer for WHO's regional office in New Delhi, India. "In 2009, there are an estimated 130,000 children living with HIV infection," including recent HIV infection, advanced HIV infection and AIDS.
The 11 countries in the region are Bangladesh, Bhutan, North Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Liste.
But a report by a United Nations program released last month shows some encouraging news, including drops in AIDS-related deaths and new HIV cases.
Data from the 2010 global report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) shows that an estimated 2.6 million people became newly infected with HIV, compared with the estimated 3.1 million people infected in 1999.
Also in 2009, approximately 1.8 million people died from AIDS-related illnesses, compared with the roughly 2.1 million in 2004, according to UNAIDS.
Among young people in 15 of the most severely affected countries, the rate of new HIV infections has fallen by more than 25 percent, led by young people adopting safer sexual practices, according to UNAIDS.
"We are breaking the trajectory of the AIDS epidemic with bold actions and smart choices," said Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS. "Investments in the AIDS response are paying off, but gains are fragile -- the challenge now is how we can all work to accelerate progress."
But not all the news from the UNAIDS report, which covered 182 countries, was good.
"Even though the number of new HIV infections is decreasing, there are two new HIV infections for every one person starting HIV treatment," UNAIDS said.
Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the region most affected by the epidemic, with 69 percent of all new HIV infections, according to UNAIDS.
In seven countries, mostly in eastern Europe and central Asia, new HIV infection rates have increased by 25 percent.
UNAIDS said in the Asia-Pacific region, 90 percent of countries have laws that obstruct the rights of people living with HIV.
Despite the lower numbers of new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths, UNAIDS said the demand for resources is surpassing the supply.
"Donor governments' disbursements for the AIDS response in 2009 stood at $7.6 billion, lower than the $7.7 billion available in 2008," UNAIDS said. "Declines in international investments will affect low-income countries the most -- nearly 90 percent rely on international funding for their AIDS programs."World AIDS Day comes amid progress, concern
By the CNN WIre Staff
December 1, 2010... more
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To jet off to paradise and get married is something many couples dream of when winter is approaching. But getting married in a country where you don’t speak the language can have somewhat embarrassing consequences, as this Swiss couple found out after tying the knot in the Maldives.
The couple who were “blessed” in both English and the local language Dhivehi by the staff celebrant at the Vilu Reef Hotel, were repeatedly but unwittingly abused by the staff. "You are swine," the couple were told. "The children that you bear from this marriage will all be bastard swine."Your marriage is not a valid one. You are not the kind of people who can have a valid marriage. One of you is an infidel. The other, too, is an infidel and, we have reason to believe, an atheist."
The wife, wearing a white dress and carrying a bouquet and her husband are seen smiling shyly through the ceremony, which was to renew their marriage vows at a cost of $1,300.
Maldivian police spokesman Ahmed Shiyam said the celebrant, who conducted the ceremony in the local language at an upmarket resort fringed by white sand and turquoise water, had been arrested with another hotel employee on Thursday.
To jet off to paradise and get married is something many couples dream of... more
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Latest News Updates The Beach House At Manafaru Maldives And Travel Guide:
Le Beach House Maldives, membre de la Waldorf Astoria Collection, vient de lancer une nouvelle initiative environnementale destinée à préserver le corail de l’Île de he Beach House At Manafaru Maldives,Latest News Updates The Beach House At Manafaru Maldives And Travel Guide:
Le Beach... more
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If a country disappears, is it still a country? Does it keep its seat at the United Nations? Who controls its offshore mineral rights? Its shipping lanes? Its fish?
And if entire populations are forced to relocate -- as could be the case with citizens of the Maldives, Tuvalu, Kiribati and other small island states facing extinction -- what citizenship, if any, can those displaced people claim?
Until recently, such questions of sovereignty and human rights have been the domain of a scattered group of lawyers and academics. But now the Republic of the Marshall Islands -- a Micronesian nation of 29 low-lying coral atolls in the North Pacific -- is campaigning to stockpile a body of knowledge it hopes will turn international attention to vulnerable countries' plights.
"At the current negotiating sessions and climate change meetings, nobody is truly addressing the legal and human rights effects of climate change," said Phillip Muller, the Marshall Islands' ambassador to the United Nations.
"If the Marshall Islands ceases to exist, are we still going to own the sea resources? Are we still going to be asked for permission to fish? What are the rights that we will have? And we are also mindful that we may need to relocate. We're hoping it will never happen, but we have to be ready. There are a lot of issues we need to know the answer to and be able to tell our citizens what is happening," he said.
Frustrated by the dearth of answers to the questions he was posing, Muller said, Marshall Islands leaders contacted Columbia Law School. Michael Gerrard, who leads the law school's Center for Climate Change Law, picked up the challenge and issued a call for papers.
Theoretical questions become real
Gerrard, who is arranging a conference sponsored by Columbia University's Earth Institute next year, said that when he began reaching out to scholars, he realized most were working in isolation from one another. And, he said, some of the most ticklish legal questions facing small island nations have been understudied -- because until recently, the notion of a country's extinction has been largely theoretical.
"The prospect of a nation drowning is so horrific that it's hard to imagine," Gerrard said. Moreover, he added, until just a few years ago, it was difficult to have a conversation in the international community about how countries might adapt to climate change.
"There was a concern that it would divert focus from mitigation. But now people recognize that even with the most aggressive imaginable mitigation measures, the climate situation will get worse before it gets better, and we have to begin making serious preparation," he said.
The plight of refugees is the most emotional of the looming questions. Deciding where to relocate citizens is just the beginning for a disappearing nation. Still unanswered: What will the political status of those displaced people be? Will they assimilate into the culture and economy of their new host country, or will they retain a separate identity?
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that rising sea levels, saltwater intrusion and accelerated coastal erosion could lead to as many as 200 million environmentally induced migrants worldwide by 2050.
The Carteret Islanders of Papua New Guinea could be some of the world's first climate "refugees." The land is expected to be under water by 2015, and Papua New Guinea's mission to the United Nations has already announced it would evacuate the approximately 2,000 islanders to Bougainville Island -- about a four-hour boat ride away.
Maldives wants a fund of last resort
Meanwhile, in the Maldives, President Mohamed Nasheed declared upon entering office that he would create a sovereign fund -- something of a last-resort insurance policy -- in the event that the country's 305,000 citizens would require relocation. The fund fell victim to budget shortfalls, but Maldivian officials have said it had the desired effect of raising awareness in the international community.
cont.If a country disappears, is it still a country? Does it keep its seat at the United... more
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16 July 2010 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced concern at rising political tensions in the Maldives, which led to some violent demonstrations earlier this week, and called for tackling all issues through dialogue.
“He urges all political parties to restrain those who promote violence and confrontation, and to resolve their differences through dialogue,” his spokesperson said in a statement.
“Political rivalries should not be allowed to jeopardize the significant gains the country has registered in democratic reform,” the statement added.
The leader of the main opposition party, Abdullah Yameen Gayoom, was reportedly taken into custody on Thursday by the country’s security forces, the latest development over the past week, which also saw the restoration of the cabinet of President Mohamed Nasheed following an earlier resignation.
Mr. Nasheed was elected in 2008, in the Indian Ocean archipelago’s first-ever multi-party presidential elections, ending 30 years of rule by Mohammed Abdul Gayoom.
Mr. Ban urged the Government and all parties to ensure the rule of law is maintained, and to safeguard the rights and protections enshrined in the constitution.
“The Secretary-General recognizes the positive steps taken by the Maldives to advance democracy in recent years and underlines the importance of cooperation and accommodation among the various political actors as an essential ingredient of building democracy.”16 July 2010 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced concern at rising... more
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The Maldives is nation of tiny islands in the Indian Ocean. It's not just tiny in square miles, it's also doesn't rise very far out of the sea. That's why government ministers from the Maldives have been doing everything they can to raise awareness about rising sea levels. This weekend, to that end, they held what's being billed as the world's first underwater cabinet meeting.
First Underwater Cabinet Meeting (Video)
This is not the first time the island nation's leaders have attracted world media attention for their plight. In November of last year, newly-elected President Mohamed "Anni" Nasheed made headlines with his plan to buy new land for his people. He said he would set aside $1 billion a year to that purpose.
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The Maldives will make its territorial waters into a shark sanctuary, a government official said Tuesday, lending momentum to efforts to protect the fish at a United Nations endangered species conference that begins this week.
Maldives becomes the second nation to announce blanket protection for its sharks. Palau, a tiny Micronesian state, in September announced a ban on shark fishing. Like the Maldives, Palau is regarded as one of the world’s top scuba-diving destinations.
The Maldives exclusive economic zone covers about 90,000 square kilometers, or 35,000 square miles, roughly equivalent to the land area of Portugal.
In one sense, the bans represent pure economic logic. Researchers from James Cook University in Australia last year estimated that a single gray reef shark was worth $3,300 a year to the Maldivian tourism industry, compared with the one-time value of $32 that a fisherman would get from the same shark. They found a similar dynamic with regard to sharks on the Great Barrier Reef.
But the bigger issue is a rapid decline in global shark stocks that has alarmed scientists. Up to 30 percent of shark species is threatened with extinction, said Matt Rand, director of global shark conservation at the Pew Environment Group. “If we don’t leave enough in the water, they won’t recover.”
In the United States, the Shark Conservation Act, which would sharply curtail the practice of “finning” — cutting off sharks’ fins and throwing the rest of the animal back into the sea — has passed the House of Representatives and is awaiting approval in the Senate.
Mr. Rand said more than 70 million of the fish were killed each year just to support the sharkfin trade. The vast majority of those are sold in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, where they are used in sharkfin soup. Fins can fetch as much as $120 per kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, in Hong Kong.
“Sharks don’t have the ability to rebound,” he said. “They grow slowly and they’re late to mature.”
Some sharks do not reach maturity until they are more than 10 years old and even then have only a few pups, so the stock cannot reproduce rapidly enough to make up for overfishing.The Maldives will make its territorial waters into a shark sanctuary, a government... more
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While living and working as a marine biologist in Maldives, Charles Anderson noticed sudden explosions of dragonflies at certain times of year. He explains how he carefully tracked the path of a plain, little dragonfly called the Globe Skimmer, Pantala flavescens, only to discover that it had the longest migratory journey of any insect in the world.While living and working as a marine biologist in Maldives, Charles Anderson noticed... more
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South Asian paradise Maldives is one of the main countries most immediately threatened by the effects of climate change. With roughly 80 percent of its 1,200 islands 1m above sea level, Maldives’ President, Mohamed Nasheed has become a spokesperson for lowering atmospheric carbon dioxide levels to 350 ppm.
Circle of blue speaks with 350.org founder Bill McKibben and catches Nasheed’s speech at the UN conference in Copenhagen about the movement that has spawned around the figure. Meanwhile the groups are fighting to keep the 350 figure in the negotiating text.
“The Maldives team is fighting to keep 350 in the negotiating texts.” Nasheed said, “Continue the protest, continue after Copenhagen, continue despite the odds, and eventually we will reach that crucial number – the most important number in the world.”
“3-5-0 ensures that our country survives, 3-5-0 makes a better world possible.”South Asian paradise Maldives is one of the main countries most immediately threatened... more
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The polite way of saying, "It's too late to stop global warming, so how are we going cope?
More background information to demystify the climate change debate and reports from the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen can be found at http://www.greendetectives.net/The polite way of saying, "It's too late to stop global warming, so how are... more
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The Maldivian President is asking nations most vulnerable to climate change to take the lead in reducing global warming.The leader of a country threatened by rising sea levels slammed rich countries at a two-day conference for doing too little to prevent climate change.
Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed says countries like his that are most at risk from global warming are looking not for what he called a "global suicide pact," but rather a "global survival pact."
(more at link)
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I think that asking those nations that are the most vulnerable to climate change to take the lead in reducing global warming is an absolutely brilliant idea. There's an element of "help yourself and God will help you" to this initiative, as well as giving a fine example to those countries which most pollute and most contribute to global warming.The Maldivian President is asking nations most vulnerable to climate change to take... more
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Members of the Maldives' Cabinet donned scuba gear and used hand signals Saturday at an underwater meeting staged to highlight the threat of global warming to the lowest-lying nation on earth.
President Mohammed Nasheed and 13 other government officials submerged and took their seats at a table on the sea floor — 20 feet (6 meters) below the surface of a lagoon off Girifushi, an island usually used for military training.
With a backdrop of coral, the meeting was a bid to draw attention to fears that rising sea levels caused by the melting of polar ice caps could swamp this Indian Ocean archipelago within a century. Its islands average 7 feet (2.1 meters) above sea level.
"What we are trying to make people realize is that the Maldives is a frontline state. This is not merely an issue for the Maldives but for the world," Nasheed said.
As bubbles floated up from their face masks, the president, vice president, Cabinet secretary and 11 ministers signed a document calling on all countries to cut their carbon dioxide emissions.Members of the Maldives' Cabinet donned scuba gear and used hand signals Saturday... more
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Maldives Cabinet Meets Underwater to Stress Threat from Rising Sea Levels
by Andrew Buncombe
"The president of the Maldives is desperate for the world to know how seriously his government takes the threat of climate change and rising sea levels to the survival of his country. He wants his ministers to know as well.
The Photograph: Members of the Maldives cabinet pose with their scuba instructors near the capital Male yesterday. They are training for a meeting 6 metres beneath the ocean surface. (AFP Getty)To this end, Mohamed Nasheed has organised an underwater cabinet meeting and told all his ministers to get in training for the sub-aqua session. Six metres beneath the surface, the ministers will ratify a treaty calling on other countries to cut greenhouse emissions.
Ahead of the meeting, scheduled for 17 October, cabinet members have been squeezing into wet-suits and practising their underwater skills. The President was not present at the first session, held over the weekend, because he is already a qualified diver.
Mr Nasheed, a former political prisoner who was elected President last year, has made the issue of climate change one of his most pressing priorities. Earlier this year, The Independent revealed his plan to transform the Maldives into the world's first carbon neutral country within 10 years. The leader of a nation made up of 1,200 atolls, 80 per cent of which are no more than a metre above sea level, he has also established a fund to seek an alternative homeland, possibly in Sri Lanka, India or Australia for its 330,000 citizens.
In 2007, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that a rise in sea levels of between 18 and 59 centimetres by 2100 would be enough to make the Maldives virtually uninhabitable. A government spokesman told AFP that Mr Nasheed will chair the underwater meeting ahead of the world climate change summit in Copenhagen in December and that the ministers would use hand signals and whiteboards to communicate.
"The cabinet will don wet suits and scuba equipment and dive to a depth of six metres, where a special meeting of the cabinet will be convened," he said. "They will then ratify a pledge calling on other nations to slash greenhouse gas emissions ahead of the Copenhagen meeting."Maldives Cabinet Meets Underwater to Stress Threat from Rising Sea Levels
by Andrew... more
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