Holiday politics: Alcohol, pork and spas facing the chop in the Maldives?

But amidst concerns from groups said to represent a large number of NGOs and religious bodies in the country - as well as a number of opposition political figures - spas already face being shut down in the country and a full ban of alcohol could also be on the cards.

The Maldives is proudly said to be a 100 per cent Islamic nation, with alcohol, pork and any other form of worship outlawed under the country's constitution on its inhabited islands.  However, on islands set aside exclusively to be run as tourist properties, alcohol and pork are freely available to foreigners – albeit it at a cost for guests looking to quench their thirst and hunger.

Tourism, both directly and indirectly, is perhaps the most vital contributor to the country's economy - estimated to account for 70 per cent of the Maldives GDP; so do important holiday staples such as alcohol and even pork products really face being outlawed at resorts?  

Conceding to demands made during a protest held last week by political parties as well as a number of NGOs from across the country, the government has said that it will look into potentially prohibiting alcohol sales to tourists as well as allowing parliament to vote on banning flights by Israeli airline El Al to the country. 

The protest took place on December 23 in an attempt to “defend Islam” against the current government, which stands accused by participants of trying to undermine the nation's religious identity through measures such as a speech made by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay that condemned the Maldives' use of public flogging for punishing fornication as being “inhumane”.

The ruling Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) held a counter protest during the same day that was attended by President Mohamed Nasheed, the country's first democratically elected leader, who called for the preservation of “moderate Islam” in the country.  However, the MDP gathering was widely reported to have been outnumbered in terms of participants by the “defend Islam” group.  

Despite predicted tensions, calls by religious leaders in the country for peaceful protests appeared to be heeded though, as demonstrations were said to have been carried out with only some minor skirmishes.

Figures within the government have alleged that the protest was used solely as a tool for political gain by certain opposition MPs who attended the protest and reportedly delivered a speech by the country's former ruler of 30 years, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in an attempt to overthrow it.

Organisers and opposition MPs have countered that they are in fact united in trying to raise discontent over several “un-Islamic practices” that are claimed to have been carried out by the government.

“[The protest] was organised by religious and civil society groups for issues concerning them, it was not a political event,” claimed one opposition political leader interviewed by the local Minivan News publication.

Alcohol ban

It is in this political climate that the future of the country's lucrative tourist industry could now well be decided, with the government said to be looking to address five demands set out by the “defend Islam” movement. 

The five demands include a formal condemnation of Navi Pillay's comments on Shari’ah law; denying El Al and other Israeli airlines service access to the Maldives; the removal of monuments displayed in Addu Atoll as well as revoking a decision to declare areas of inhabited islands uninhabited in order to permit alcohol sales and the closure of Male’-based brothels. 

“The government has decided to take urgent measurements to fulfil the demands,” said Mohamed Zuhair, Press Secretary for President Nasheed. “There are five demands made after raising voice in the name of protecting Islam.”

According to Zuhair,  although the government does not directly conduct any alcohol trade in the country, booze does provide a significant contribution to its coffers via the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that was introduced on January 1 this year, which relates to all tourism related enterprise and purchases.

“The businessman running the trade of alcohol receives a huge amount of profit through this business as well,’’ he added. “The government is now considering banning trade of alcohol and pork throughout the Maldives.”

The comments were criticised by opposition MP Ahmed Mahlouf of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) who said that said the government would not have the courage to ban the trade of alcohol in resorts.

“It is all lies made by the government to mislead the citizens,’’ he claimed.

Spa action

The government in the last few days has nonetheless moved to shut down five resort spas in the country belonging to the Jumhoory Party (JP) Leader and MP ‘Burma’ Gasim Ibrahim over allegations they had been operated secretly as brothels.

Gasim has since moved to sue the government, requesting that the country's Civil Court cancel a Tourism Ministry order to close his resort spas over the allegations and claiming that sufficient investigations have not taken place into the matter.

The government has denied accusations that it is punishing Gasim on political grounds though, claiming that a number of spas and massage parlours in the capital of Male' has been asked to be shut down over similar allegations of prostitution.

The President's Office has said it was in fact moving to shut down all Maldives-based massage parlours in a reaction to the “defend Islam” protest.

A spokesperson for the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has in retaliation called on the coalition of religious NGOs and opposition parties to take actions against the government’s decision to disrupt Gasim’s business operations.  The party has claimed that the government will continue to disrupt other businesses run by opposition supporters.

However the Maldivian government and parliament move ahead with the proposed demands of the “Defend Islam” protesters,  it now appears that the country's secluded resort model is no longer isolated from the country's fractious politics...  the food and weather are still generally very good though. 

Have you experienced Maldivian tourism beyond the country's isolated resorts?  We would love to hear about your views and experiences on our advice forum.