Maldivian connection in Mumbai attacks, says president

Minivan.
President Mohamed Nasheed has said he believes there was a Maldivian connection in the Mumbai attacks, which killed at least 173 people last year.
The government received information from the families of terrorists in the Maldives about the links with the attacks, said Nasheed in an interview with Indian newspaper, Business Standard.
“I believe that the identity of all the dead terrorists in the Mumbai attacks has not been broken down into nationalities,” he said. “I feel there is a Maldivian connection to the Mumbai attacks.”
In the interview, the president said Islamic radicalism in the Maldives was a “serious issue” and many Maldivians were being trained by al-Qaeda in northern Pakistan to fight the war in Afghanistan.
Nasheed said several Maldivians had been arrested by Pakistani authorities after crossing into Pakistan from India.
In April, nine Maldivians were arrested with weapons near the Pakistani-Afghan border. The news came two weeks after three Maldivians were arrested for illegally entering Waziristan, the religious conservative mountain region of northwest Pakistan.
The president added the recruitment of Maldivians took place in the Maldives.
Mohamed Zuhair, president’s office press secretary, told Minivan News that recruitment was conducted in the guise of higher education.
The lack of educational opportunities in the Maldives means many students travel abroad for study, some to Pakistan where a free education is offered at its many madrassas.
In an interview with CNN-IBN during his five-day trip to India last week, Nasheed said that hundreds of Maldivians were being recruited by the Taliban.
Speaking to Minivan News today, Independent MP for Kulhudhufushi South Mohamed Nasheed said the the announcement would gravely impact the tourism industry and make travelling more difficult for Maldivians.
“The international community since 9/11 have been very concerned about terrorism in the sub-continent. Maldivians carrying Muslim names have had easy access so far, they don’t have visa problems...I believe that all of this will be impacted,” said Nasheed. “People will increase surveillance and intercept our emails.”
While Maldivians did attend madrassas, he said he believed the president had exaggerated the number of those being recruited.
“When heads of government are confronted with these sorts of questions, they never exaggerate and often they deny it to protect the country’s national interest,” said Nasheed. “Let Interpol investigate, let the police investigate, but the president should not exaggerate.”
Ibrahim Mavota Shareef, spokesperson for the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party, said he too believed the announcement would have an adverse effect on the tourism industry and damage the Maldives’ international reputation.
“But if it’s the president saying it, we must assume it has weight,” he said.
But Zuhair denied that the number quoted by the president had been exaggerated. He said he believed it was essential for the government to acknowledge that the problem existed before it could find a solution.
Zuhair added he did not believe it would impact tourism as no country in the world was free from extremism religious or otherwise.
In his interview with Business Standard, the president said the Maldives was stepping up its coastal surveillance with help from India to prevent terrorist attacks and illegal fishing.
In August, the government announced that India would be providing the Maldives with military assistance to tackle piracy, drug trafficking and terrorism.
“Any terrorist attack through the underbelly of India, that is peninsular India, would have to go through Maldivian waters,” said Nasheed.
Elaborating on the benefits of military cooperation with India, he said, “If we had this equipment, we would have been much more vigilant about what was going to happen in the Mumbai attacks...that is why it is essential to safeguard Maldives’ territorial waters and defend our coastline.”