Maldives president orders bribery investigation over recognition of Kosovo

The story first surfaced in local press on 1 March when a Maldives political party, the Islamic Democratic Party (IDP), alleged government officials had taken a bribe from Behgjet Pacolli, the leader of New Kosovo Alliance (AKR), an opposition party in Kosovo.

It has been alleged the bribe was offered as Pacolli wished to take credit for Maldives' recognition of Kosovo to boost his popularity among voters.

Both the Maldives foreign minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed, one of the alleged recipients of the bribe, and the vice-president of the AKR, Ibrahim Makolli, have denied the allegations.

Shaheed has said the Maldives government's first written commitment to recognise Kosovan independence was made on 27 January when President Nasheed informed British Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the decision.

Recognition had been recommended to the Maldives by the UK and the USA, two of its allies, to ensure peace in Eastern Europe, he said.

After the decision was publicly announced on 4 February on DhiTV, Shaheed said he wrote a press release and asked foreign ministry staff to publish the statement on the ministry's website by the 6 February to ensure US Ambassador Robert Blake had time to forward the information to the relevant people in Washington before the weekend.

In an alleged email exchange between Shaheed and Pacolli, published by Kosovan news website Kosovo Express, Shaheed told Pacolli that Kosovan independence would be recognised and an announcement would be published on the foreign ministry's official website on 6 February.

Speaking to Minivan News, Shaheed said: "I gave the heads up to Ambassador Blake and Pacolli because they were in contact with me on this subject."

The Maldives officially recognised Kosovo's independence on 19 February.

Shaheed has said it is "undeniable" that Pacolli has paid a lot of attention to the Maldives and the pair had met in New York. He added he had been in contact with both officials from the Kosovo government as well as Pacolli with regards to the country's recognition.

In an interview in December with INA news agency, Pacolli said the Maldives and Qatar would recognise Kosovo. "We are just waiting for an official move from these two states."

Responding to Pacolli's claims, Shaheed said, "All politicians would like to take credit for the good things that happen to their countries."

Kelmend Hapciu, editor-in-chief of KosovaLive, an online news website, said following Maldives' official recognition of Kosovan independence, two separate press conferences had been held by Pacolli and the Kosovan foreign minister Skënder Hyseni, with each claiming Maldives' recognition as the victory of their own party.

"Pacolli said he was invited by the foreign minister of the Maldives to visit Italy and to meet the Maldivian president at an official dinner held in Milan," he said. "On the other hand the Kosovan foreign minister said the Maldives had been in continuous contact with the government."

As for the allegations made by IDP, Shaheed has said the accusations would last until the parliamentary elections.

"These rumours are red herrings designed to distract attention from the efforts I am undertaking to track down monies stolen by corrupt officials in the former government. These are also designed to confuse voters before the parliamentary elections."