Day: May 15, 2012

Government agrees to CMAG demands “with conditions”

The government of the Maldives has agreed to the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group’s (CMAG) demand to revise the composition of a commission set up to investigate the controversial transfer of power on February 7, but has set conditions for the appointment of a new member to represent ousted President Mohamed Nasheed on the commission.

Attorney General Azima Shukoor said Nasheed’s nominee must not have served in a political position in the past two years or taken a public stand on the transfer of power. Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have challenged the conditions and called them “nonsensical.”

The CMAG in April warned of “stronger measures” against the Maldives if new President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan failed to revise the composition and mandate of the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) by May 16.

The Commonwealth had already suspended the Maldives from the CMAG and placed the Maldives on its formal agenda following Nasheed’s claim that he was ousted in a coup d’état on February 7, carried out by mutinous elements of the police and military.

Speaking to the press on Tuesday with only a day remaining before the CMAG deadline, Shukoor said the CNI will continue to retain the three members appointed by President Waheed, but will now include a Commonwealth-chosen judge as co-chair of the commission and a member representing Nasheed. The government has already accepted a retired Singaporean judge as co-chair, but has rejected nine candidates fielded by Nasheed and given him a two week deadline to fill the post.

Regarding CMAG’s call to revise the CNI’s mandate, Shukoor said a “misunderstanding” had taken place and that the mandate would be “clarified and refined.”

“Nonsensical”

At a press conference immediately following the government’s briefing, MDP Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor hailed the government’s decision to revise the CNI composition as “historic”, and said the commission “is now independent.”

However, MDP lawyer and former Youth Minister Hassan Latheef expressed concern over the government’s “nonsensical” conditions for Nasheed’s member. In addition to prohibiting any candidate who had served in a political position and taken a public stand over the transfer of power, the government has also stipulated that the nominee must have “good behavior and integrity.”

Latheef said the latter conditions were “subjective”, and added that if the government required a candidate who had not yet taken a public stand, “then they are saying Dr Waheed will appoint President Nasheed’s representative.”

If Nasheed was not allowed to appoint his own candidate, the opportunity “lacks any sincerity”, Latheef said.

The nine candidates fielded by Nasheed include MP and former MDP chairperson Mariya Ahmed Didi, former Environment Minister Mohamed Aslam, former Youth Minister Hassan Latheef, former Education Minister Shifa Mohamed, former President’s Member on the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) Aishath Velezinee, Nasheed’s cousin Hudha Ahmed, former Airports Company board member Ibrahim Saleem, and former President’s Office political appointee Fareesha Abdulla.

Ghafoor said the MDP had initially asked for three MDP members on the commission for equal representation, but acceded to a foreign co-chair and a member to represent Nasheed because the party “wants the case to proceed and we want a way out of this.”

According to Shukoor, the government rejected Nasheed’s nominees because they included members of his cabinet, his relatives and MDP activists. “The Commonwealth’s concern is that the composition be independent and impartial. Hence, the government believes the inquiry commission cannot proceed with the [nominated] people,” she told reporters.

The MDP initially challenged the independence of the inquiry on the basis that Chair Ismail Shafeeu was previously Defence Minister under former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s government, at a time when systematic torture was being conducted on political prisoners.

Home Minister Mohamed Jameel said he hoped the CMAG would accept the government’s proposal, and said: “We do not believe CMAG’s demand was to appease a certain person. The government and the majority of the public cannot believe these nominees can be impartial.”

The government has given Nasheed a two-week deadline to field an acceptable candidate. If an agreement cannot be reached, then the government will proceed by appointing a lawyer to the seat reserved for Nasheed’s nominee, Shukoor also said.

Terms of reference, elections

Although  CMAG had called for a revision of the CNI mandate, Shukoor said the terms of reference would not be changed, but had been refined.

MDP’s Latheef provided details of the changes to the mandate, claiming the CNI would prioritise an inquiry into whether Nasheed had resigned under duress and the circumstances surrounding the transfer of power.

The CNI’s current mandate stipulates an investigation into the events starting from the detention of Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed on January 14 until the transfer of power on February 7. The government maintains Nasheed voluntarily resigned following public furor over the judge’s detention.

Furthermore, instead of relying solely on witness statements, the commission would also accept photos, videos, audios, personal bank statements and phone recordings as evidence, Latheef also said.

The CMAG had also called on the Maldives to hold early elections within 2012, but Shukoor reiterated the government’s position that fresh elections could only be held if the inquiry found the transfer of power to be unconstitutional and added that early polls would require a constitutional amendment.

Formal Agenda

In Tuesday’s press briefing, the government also protested against CMAG’s decision to place Maldives on its formal agenda, and said the move contravened the Commonwealth’s mandate and procedures.

Newly-appointed Human Rights and Gender Minister Dhiyana Saeed said the enhanced mandate of the CMAG approved in Perth in October 2011 only allowed the organisation to place a country on its agenda if there was: “(1) unilateral abrogation of a democratic constitution or serious threats to constitutional rule; (2) the suspension or prevention of the lawful functioning of parliament or other key democratic institutions; (3) the postponement of national elections without constitutional or other reasonable justification; and (4) the systematic denial of political space, such as through detention of political leaders or restriction of freedom of association, assembly or expression.”

Saeed claimed that as long as Nasheed’s allegations of coup d’état remained unproven, the CMAG could not activate its mandate to place Maldives on its agenda.

“Given that no allegations have yet been proven and when the Maldivian government is cooperating with an investigation into the allegations, CMAG has placed the Maldives on its formal agenda outside of the CMAG mandate and process,” she told reporters.

Despite the government’s opposition to being placed on the CMAG’s formal agenda, it remained ready to engage with the Commonwealth in finding a political resolution, Saeed said.

The Commonwealth must follow “due process” by establishing whether an unconstitutional transfer of power had taken place before placing Maldives on its agenda, Shukoor added.

“It is our right to be treated according to those principles, no matter how small or vulnerable we are or how serious the allegation against us are,” she said.

Political parties backing President Dr Waheed have called for preemptively withdrawing from the Commonwealth. MPs of the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) and the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) in April submitted a bill to Majlis to disengage from the Commonwealth.

Waheed is currently in India for an official visit, and has criticized the Commonwealth engagement with the Maldives.

“We used to believe that the Commonwealth was the champion of the smaller nations that extended assistance in every way possible. But to the contrary we witnessed the grouping inclined towards Nasheed, head towards punishing us,” local media reports Waheed as saying.

Despite voicing his disappointment with the 54 nation group, Waheed said that he would not back the proposals to withdraw from the Commonwealth and expected the bill to be dismissed as soon as the Majlis returned from its current recess.

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President Waheed could contest elections under PPM ticket: Umar Naseer

Vice President of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Umar Naseer has said that Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan could potentially stand as a presidential candidate for the party.

Speaking to the Haveeru newspaper today, Naseer claimed that although no discussions had taken place with the current president over contesting on a PPM ticket – the door would be open for him to do so along with any other interested candidates.

The comments were made after Naseer was quoted last night in local media claiming President Waheed had confirmed to members of the coalition government that he would not stand for re-election.

Reportedly speaking on private broadcaster DhiTV yesterday, Naseer also said that if the current government aligned itself under one presidential candidate during the next general election, he was confident the coalition would be able to obtain victory within the first round of voting.

Sun Online quoted Naseer as adding, however, that the PPM should get the presidential ticket among coalition parties as it presently holds the largest number of elected representatives in parliament among government-aligned parties.

He was also quoted as pledging that he would back former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in a presidential primary contest if the one-time head of state ran for re-election.

“I am considering contesting in the presidential primary. It’s very likely that you will see me. If President Gayoom also decides to contest, I will be right behind him holding the flag,” Naseer was quoted by the Sun Online news agency as saying.

General elections are currently scheduled to be held by July 2013 at the earliest, despite calls from the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and the organisations like the Commonwealth for fresh polls to be held during 2012.

Gayoom founded the PPM last year after an acrimonious war of words with Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, the current leader of the former opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP).

Thasmeen was initially approved by Gayoom to suceed him as the head of the DRP, the first political party founded by the former president.

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No decision on Nasheed prosecution until police review charges: PG Muiz

Prosecutor General Ahmed Muizz has said there will be no decision on prosecuting former President Mohamed Nasheed until police review “aspects” of criminal charges forwarded against the one-time head of state.

Muiz told Minivan News today that after reviewing charges sent to his office on April 15, he had requested police “look into aspects” of the case they forwarded over certain concerns that had been “noted” at the time.  Muiz was unable to specify the nature of the concerns sent to police regarding the charges facing Nasheed.

The former president potentially faces prosecution over charges relating to both the alleged discovery by police of alcohol at his former residence following his “resignation” from office and the controversial detention of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed during his administration.

Muiz himself added that despite expecting the PG’s Office to make a decision on whether to prosecute Nasheed by the end of last month, he was now waiting on the outcome of a police review.  He added that the findings of an investigation by the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) would also be required before making a decision on prosecution.

HRCM investigation

The HRCM, which in March summoned Nasheed for questioning over his role in detaining Judge Abdulla, said it was presently finalising its own investigation into the incident.

HRCM spokesperson Jeehan Mahmoud told Minivan News today that its investigation into the judge’s detention had now been closed, though the findings were yet to be overlooked at a sitting of five senior commissioners representing the body.

“Once we have finalised the report, we will then look to send it to relevant authorities,” Jeehan said.

HRCM said in March that, along with its investigation into the detention of Judge Abdulla, Nasheed would also be directly involved and questioned in two additional cases.  These cases were said to relate to alleged human rights abuses carried against Nasheed himself before and during February’s controversial transfer of power that saw him resign –  a decision he later claimed was taken under “duress”.

Speaking last month after police forwarded the charges against Nasheed to the PG’s Office, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Imthiyaz Fahmy claimed that the move was “pure injustice”, representing the “broken” state of the national criminal justice system.

Fahmy contended it was ironic that Nasheed, who had worked to foster a reputation for championing human rights in the country, could now potentially face prosecution by a judiciary that he himself alleged to be guilty of several of counts of corruption.

“This is injustice. Justice is not ensured simply by a judge’s verdict on an issue, it has to be publicly accepted that it is justice,” he argued.

Commonwealth role

Earlier this week, Attorney General (AG) Azima Shakoor denied the government had come under pressure from the Commonwealth to drop all criminal charges against Nasheed.

The AG added that the government were making no further comments until discussions being held with Commonwealth Special Envoy Sir Donald McKinnon were concluded.

Muiz said that he had not received any communications from the Commonwealth regarding the charges against Nasheed.

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MDP launches website for former President Nasheed

The former ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) launched websites for President Mohamed Nasheed and the party’s ‘Kula Yellow’ facebook page at last night’s gathering at the ‘Usfasgadu’ protest site.

The Kula Yellow website was inaugurated by MP Ibrahim Rasheed while President Nasheed’s website was brought online by MP Ahmed Rasheed.

According to the party website, RaeesNasheed.com was created by MDP’s youth supporters and offers aggregated news stories and picture galleries of the deposed ruler as well as videos of speeches and public addresses.

Last night’s rally meanwhile featured Boduberu from the ‘Dhanmaanu Group.’ The former ruling party has been conducting nightly protest rallies and marches calling for early presidential elections to resolve the ongoing political strife in the wake of the controversial transfer of power on February 7, 2012.

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Waheed secures release of additional US$25million credit during India trip

As President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s first visit to India nears its end, a joint press release from the two governments has summarised the trip.

“The President of Maldives conveyed appreciation for the release of an instalment of US$ 20 million from the Standby Credit Facility from India in February 2012 as well as the rollover of the US$ 50 million State Bank of India (SBI) Treasury Bonds by a year,” the statement read.

The President of the Maldives also thanked the Prime Minister of India for agreeing to an additional release of US$25 million from the Standby Credit Facility to the Government of Maldives,” it continued.

India extended a US$100million credit facility to the Maldives in November last year with the aim of increasing economic ties between the two countries.

A standby line of credit is normally forwarded to countries which have reached macroeconomic sustainability but experience short term financing issues.

The Maldivian Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) recently reported that government income has increased 91.8 percent based on the same point in 2011. This increase, however, is expected to be offset by the reduction in customs duties after amendments were made to the import/export legislation last year.

The Majlis finance committee this month revealed that this year’s budget deficit will reach Rf9.1 billion (US$590 million), which is equivalent to 27 percent of GDP.

Today’s joint statement confirmed that all agreements made during the November 2011 visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s November 2011 visit to the Maldives would be upheld.

“In this context,” the statement continued, “it was agreed to expeditiously implement the projects for renovation of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Male and the establishment of the National Police Academy under grants-in aid from India.”

The release also highlighted President Waheed’s gratitude for last year’s extension of a $US40 million line of credit for the construction of 500 housing units.

Prime Minister Singh’s hopes for Indian investment in the Maldives were also mentioned in the joint statement.

“[The Prime Minister] expressed the hope that the Government of Maldives would ensure a climate conducive for the promotion of investments and that the existing projects with Indian investments, including the Male International Airport project, would proceed satisfactorily.”

President Waheed has been meeting with prominent members of the Indian business community during the trip assuring them of the government’s commitment to signed contracts, whilst in the Maldives the dispute over the details of the airport development deal between the government and GMR continues unabated.

Media offensive

Waheed’s first overseas visit since assuming office has been accompanied by extensive international media attention.

President Waheed spoke at length to New Delhi Television (NDTV) on Sunday in an interview that encapsulated all of the topics covered during his media campaign in India. These included the Commonwealth, former President Nasheed, radical Islam, investment, China, and former President Maumoon Gayoom.

Waheed told his interviewer that the fact that the Maldives was a young democracy had not been understood by some of its “international partners”.

“They assumed that Maldives has now embraced democracy and that democracy has arrived, but the early stages of democracy involve many obstacle sand many tendencies that come and haunt us from the past,” said Waheed.

When asked about the possibility of earlier elections he argued that he was willing to move them forward as far as he is able under the terms of the constitution.

“I will support that, but we had an independent elections commission appointed by the parliament. The moment I give a date the Elections Commissioner will come out and say it’s none of your business,” he responded.

Newstrack India and the Indian Express have reported Waheed as saying that no party other than Nasheed’s supported elections any earlier than July 2013.

Asked about the demands of the Commonwealth for early elections, Waheed said “the Commonwealth is not pushing for early elections as vehemently as before, as I believe they understand the situation in the Maldives a little bit better than they did.”

Regarding the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) and the demands of the Commonwealth for its reformation, he said “we will do whatever is necessary to make everybody feel comfortable”.

“We did the best we could , at the time, to identify three very prominent people in Maldives who are apolitical, who have not been involved in any part politics for the last couple of years and who are well-qualified,” he said.

“I think it would have been proper for the Commonwealth to observe the proceedings of the commission and to understand the terms of reference better before they came to a conclusion about its integrity and impartiality.”

Asked whether he was “bothered” by the meetings between Nasheed and Indian leaders, he said: “No, he is a former president and as a former president it is proper for the Indian government to receive him.”

When the topic of rising Islamism was raised, specifically the inclusion of two Adhaalath members in the cabinet, Waheed said “we have to engage with the Islamic scholars – if we try to isolate people, the situation can get worse.”

He said he was not worried about a growing trend and that any Muslim country was bound to have small extremist elements: “I think it is manageable… people tend to get associated with extremist factions because they don’t have the economic benefits of development.”

Relations with China also came up for discussion, with Waheed offering assurances that there was “no real chance” of the Maldives moving into China’s orbit. “We have a preferential relationship [with India] as our closest neighbour and this is a concern Indians should not be worried about.”

The interviewer also asked why the visit was an official rather than a state visit, to which Waheed responded that this was not significant, saying that he thought the Maldives had requested an official visit.

Regarding the safety of Indian investment in the Maldives, Waheed said that it was common for commercial deals to encounter difficulties and that the country was committed to honouring all deals – “they will remain”, he said.

President Waheed has also claimed in Indian media that his government is a continuation of that of former President Mohamed Nasheed.

IBN-CNN today reported that Waheed had discussed with the governor and chief minister of Maharashtra state. the possibility of Indian companies assisting the Maldives’ in addressing its power deficiencies.

Waheed was asked about India’s stance on the dispute between his supporters and those supporting former president Nasheed.

“India is the world’s largest democracy. I can understand its concern for other democracies. The Maldives is a success story, it’s just that we are very early on in our path to democracy.”

He added that a new system, consisting of elements of a presidential system mixed with elements of a parliamentary democracy, will not always work as smoothly as people would like straight away and will need “refining” and “polishing”.

Asked about the comment attributed to State Minister for Foreign Affairs Dunya Maumoon regarding Indian interference in Maldivian domestic affairs, Waheed said he felt that the comment had been taken out of context.

The interviewer concluded the interview by asking for Waheed’s response to rumours that former President Maumoon Gayoom was influencing his government’s policy.

Waheed explained that Gayoom was still head of a large political party and so, as part of a political process, could not be discounted. He also explained that many parties were represented in his cabinet.

“It is not entirely fair to assume that Gayoom has too much influence in this government,” Waheed claimed.

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Maldives police ordered to hunt for Abdulla Luthfee

Maldives police are searching for Abdulla Luthfee who was given a life sentence for his role in the 1988 coup attempt.

The Home Ministry reported that Luthfee had escaped from the authorities while on a medical trip abroad.

According to the Home Ministry’s State Minister Mohamed Fayaaz, the former government authorised Luthfee to go to India in 2009 for medical treatment and he was supposed to return back by January 2010.

However, Fayaz told local media that he never returned and had escaped to Sri Lanka, where he was reported to be living under a false identity. Therefore the police had been asked to find Luthfee and hand him over to the Maldives Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS).

“It has been over a month since we notified the police to hand Luthfee over to us. Luthfee was allowed to travel to India following a letter he submitted requesting  medical treatment abroad,” Fayaz told Sun Online.

“A copy of a ticket to India was attached to the letter. He was issued a travel document passport with a validity of one year. This is how he was permitted to go to India. But now we have received information that he lives in Sri Lanka. He has changed his name. This is against the document which was issued to him, so the police have been notified to hand him over,” Fayaz added.

Police media official Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed that police had started the search for Luthfee.

“We are using all our resources to find Luthfee and hand him over to the DPRS as requested by the Home Ministry,” he noted.

The government aligned Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), headed by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, accused Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration of setting free Luthfee last year.

However the government at the time responded that it would “never help a detainee escape” and denied the allegations made by PPM.

‘’The Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Service (DPRS) will not hold anyone in detention if a doctor advises them to send an inmate abroad for medical reasons, but that does not mean that we are making way for him to escape,’’ then State Home Minister Mohamed ‘Monazer’ Naeem told Minivan News at the time.

Luthfee and his aides were sentenced to death for attempting to overthrow Gayoom’s government in the 1988 plot, assisted by armed mercenaries of a Tamil secessionist organisation from Sri Lanka, the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE).

Eighty Tamil mercenaries landed on Male’ on November 3, 1988, and quickly took over the airport. However they were caught in a shoot out with military forces in Male’ and were forced to retreat after India deployed 1600 paratroopers to the Maldives on Gayoom’s request. Nineteen Maldivians were killed in the gun fire.

Gayoom however, commuted the death sentences to life imprisonment.

Sri Lankan newspaper The Island reported Luthfee as saying on the 23rd anniversary of the November 3 coup attempt, “I wanted to get rid of [former President Maumoon Abdul] Gayoom at any cost. As the election process in my country never gave a reasonable opportunity to the opposition, I felt an outside force should be used to oust Gayoom.”

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State lawyers delay protest camp case, challenging legality of MDP leadership

State lawyers have challenged the legal capacity of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s former president Dr Ibrahim Didi to sign on behalf of the party, in an ongoing court case between the MDP and the Maldives Police Services concerning the dismantling of the party’s tsunami monument protest site.

In April, after more than two weeks of hearings, the Civil Court dismissed the MDP’s case against the state claiming that the party’s interim chairperson Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik did not have the authority to file the case on behalf of the MDP. Didi then signed the court documents and the case was resubmitted.

The state lawyer representing police raised the procedural issue, arguing that the MDP had failed to inform the Elections Commission (EC) after amending the party constitution.

State lawyer Ahmed Ushaam stated in the session that the MDP had changed the method of leadership election from a vote in a party congress to a direct vote by the entire party’s membership.

However, Usham claimed the MDP had failed to inform the EC of the change as required by the political parties regulation, and therefore the legal legitimacy of party president Didi.

In response, former Minister of Human Resources Youth and Sports, Hassan Latheef, questioned whether the judge would also consider the legitimacy of the current government, to which the judge replied that such matters would be decided by the Supreme Court.

Speaking on behalf of MDP, lawyer Hisaan Hussain argued that the court would not be able to proceed with the case if the state kept taking procedural issues every day, noting that the state had earlier accepted that there were no more such issues to take note of.

Speaking to Minivan News, Hussain alleged that the government was trying to delay the proceedings by making “petty excuses”, while the party was fighting for fundamental rights entitled to it by the constitution of the country.

“We have changed the constitution in the last congress, and I do not believe that the amended constitution does not have legal effect just because it was not presented to the elections commission. It is an administrative matter that every party has to send its constitution to the elections commission, and that does not mean that the constitution is not legally ineffective,” she said.

“The court needs to draw the line as to the extent they should accept procedural issues. The elections commission is in charge of regulating the political parties and before they make any statement regarding the party’s constitution, and can the court take procedural issues on the matter?”

During the MDP’s first attempt to submit the case, Judge Aisha Shujon argued that the court could not verify whether an interim chairperson had been elected and so did not see sufficient grounds to continue with the case.

On 25 April, MDP resubmitted the case with the signature of then party president Didi, who was Fisheries and Agriculture Minister under the former government.Civil Court Judge Hathif Hilmee presided over the second hearings.

However five days later, the MDP National Council passed a no-confidence motion in the leadership of the party’s President Didi, and its Vice-President, former Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) MP Alhan Fahmy, removing both from their positions with an almost unanimous majority.

After the Maldives Police Services (MPS) dismantled the party’s first protest camp at tsunami monument area in mid-March, MDP moved its protest site to Usfasgandu. Male’ City Council permitted the party to use the premises as a compensation.

However, the cabinet of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has decided to take over the control of the area last week, giving the MDP a deadline of May 14.

In a press statement released by the President’s Office, the government stated that the city council had “breached” the agreement with Ministry of Housing and Environment in utilising the land plots and other properties handed over to the city council by the ministry.

Male’ City Council however decided that it would not hand over the premises to the Ministry in a letter sent by the council to the ministry, stating that that the ‘Usfasgandu’ area was “temporarily leased” to the former ruling party in accordance with the Decentralisation Act, contending that the ministry did not have the legal authority to reclaim council property.

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