| Written by Ajay Makan, Minivan News, on 29-09-2007 18:56 |
Twelve tourists have been injured in an explosion in Malé’s Sultan Park, in what appears to be a planned attack on the Maldives Tourism industry. A small explosion took place at the entrance to the park, near the northern edge of the island at 2.36pm.
Eight Chinese, two Japanese and two British tourists were admitted to hospital for treatment.
The injured Chinese have all since been released, but will return to China on a flight tonight, the Tourism Minister told Minivan News. The two injured Japanese are a couple. The female has sustained burns, which have now been treated, and she has been released along with her partner, Minister Shaugee said.
Two Brits remain in hospital, but are in a stable condition, according to Shaugee. “They have sustained burns to their bodies, and are receiving treatment at ADK [Malé’s private hospital.]”
The British High Commission have been informed of the names of those injured, but the Maldives government has decided not to make their identities public.
A Maldives government statement released at 8pm, condemned an “Inhuman and degrading act.”
“The Maldivian authorities will pursue the culprits and attempt to bring them to justice and give them the harshest punishment within the law,” it read.
The Maldives constitution allows for capital punishment in the case of acts against the state.
Tourism Minister Dr Shaugee meanwhile has called for calm.
“I would like to emphasise it was a small explosive device. News reports of a bomb blast may be misleading people about the magnitude of the incident,” he told Minivan News.
Some local media report the explosion was triggered by a home made device involving a mobile phone and washing machine motor attached to a gas cylinder. Witnesses report seeing nails scattered in the park, before the area was cleared by security personnel.
The 100% Muslim Maldives receives over five hundred thousand tourists a year, and the industry is the linchpin of the country’s $1 billion economy.
The Maldives is known as a tranquil island getaway and the capital has not seen explosions or gunfire since an attempted coup in 1988.
The government is refusing to speculate officially on motives for the attack,
But one official told Minivan News, “this looks like an attack by jihadists on our tourism industry.”
He pointed out the explosion had taken place on the seventeenth day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which commemorates the prophet Mohamed's first victory in battle.
In recent years Wahabbi Islam has grown in popularity in the traditionally moderate country. But religious radicals have never threatened terrorism acts.
Tourists were the only people injured in the explosion, adding to the appearance of a deliberate attack on the industry. The device exploded as a large tour group reached the gates to Sultan Park. There were no locals within range of the blast, except those attached to the tour group, who escaped injury.
Tourists to the Maldives must stay on resort islands and relatively few visit the capital. But the Sultan Park, adjacent to Malé’s main mosque, is visited by all tour groups.
The Sultan Park is in the shadow of the Maldives army headquarters, and several surveillance cameras are trained on the area. A fifteen second burst of CCTV footage, apparently showing the blast, was shown on state broadcaster Television Maldives earlier this evening. Courtesy: Minivan News
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