Land takeover, Rasmalé referendum and detained pilots

The government took control of 14 plots from Malé City Council, including Sultan Park, the Rasfannu beach and the fish market, under recent amendments to the Decentralisation Act that allow the cabinet to remove land from councils for state development projects. According to the infrastructure ministry’s gazette notice, Sultan Park will become an e-sports arena and museum park, the fish market and local market will be redeveloped as commercial buildings, the Bondibaiy park will become a car park and commercial building, and a plot near Thaisey Koshi will house temporary worker accommodation. Rasfannu will be left unchanged. Opponents dubbed the amendments the “land-grabbing bill”, arguing they hollow out decentralisation.

The MDP called for a referendum before the government entered any deal that could give foreigners ownership of Maldivian land, saying in a statement that it was deeply concerned about the Rasmalé agreement with Eagle Hills. The party said it welcomed foreign investment, but that discrepancies between what the company and the government had disclosed, and the government’s reluctance to publish the agreement, were “a sign of danger”. It urged the government to disclose the deal’s duration, the state’s obligations and financial commitments, and any concessions or exemptions granted to Eagle Hills, and to confirm whether any provision could create permanent foreign ownership of land.

The two Maldivian flydubai pilots arrested in the UAE over the alleged attempt to bring down a Dubai–Tel Aviv flight have been held for 12 days without access to a lawyer or contact with their families, Adhadhu reported. The Maldivian embassy has not been granted consular access, according to the report. Both rights are protected under international conventions to which the UAE is a party, including the Convention against Torture and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. The government has not commented publicly on the case beyond the spokesperson confirming the arrests.

The High Court issued monitoring and control orders against three men acquitted of all charges in the Thimarafushi school bomb plot case, at the request of the home ministry, Adhadhu reported. The three had been cleared last week, when the Criminal Court convicted three others of supporting a terrorist group and released all but one for time served after more than five years in pretrial detention.

Heavy vehicles, including trucks, forklifts, cranes and trailers, will be barred from Malé’s roads other than Boduthakurufaanu Magu, as well as Hulhumalé’s roads and the Sinamalé Bridge, between 6am and 8:30am, the economic and transport ministry announced. They will also be barred from Malé’s roads, except Boduthakurufaanu Magu, and the bridge between 11:30am and 1:30pm, and from areas around schools at the start and end of the school day. The ministry said the restrictions were aimed at making roads safer, particularly for students and parents, and would be enforced under the Land Transport Act.