July 2012 – Page 3 – Minivan News

Suspects in murder of alleged sorcerer deny charges

Two people suspected of murdering 76 year-old alleged sorcerer Ali Hassan, of Kudahuvadhoo in Dhaalu Atoll, have denied murder charges in court today.

Local newspaper ‘Haveeru’ reported that the hearing for Fauzan Mohamed and Ibrahim Majidh was held today in the Criminal Court.

The lawyer from the Prosecutor General’s Office told the court that Fauzan and Ibrahim, along with a group of other people, had planned to kill Ali Hassan and attacked him around 7:00pm on the evening of January 8, the paper reported.

When the judge queried both individually, Fauzan told the judge that he denied the charges and said he wished to appoint a lawyer, and also requested the court to conclude the case soon. Ibrahim also denied the charges.

Ibrahim Waseem, the step-grandson of Ali Hassan, has previously confessed to being an accessory to murder.

Kudahuvadhoo resident Ibrahim Waseem contradicted a previous statement provided to authorities by claiming today that he had sought revenge against Ali Hassan – the defendant’s step-grandfather. Waseem claimed he has been seeking revenge after hearing allegations that Hassan was responsible for the murder of his mother using sorcery.

In March, two minors were arrested and charged with the murder of Ali Hassan, pleaded guilty to accessory in court.

The two 16 year-olds were charged with spying on Hassan before the murder, and assisting the assailants to hide the weapons they used to murder Hassan.

Another 17 year old boy was also summoned to court in connection with the case, and charged for involvement in murdering Hassan.

He requested the court that he wished to continue the trial with a lawyer, which was granted.

The step-grandson of Hassan was also summoned to the Criminal Court for his involvement in the case.

He told the court that Hassan was murdered because he was informed that Hassan had killed the mother of Fauzan Mohamed

The victim himself had previously been accused by the islanders of using sorcery on a 37 year-old woman, who was reported missing at 2:00am on December 4, 2011, and whose body was found floating in Kudahuvadhoo lagoon later that morning.

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MDP calls for independent commission to probe death of Lance Corporal Haleem

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) parliamentary group has alleged that there were “hidden factors” in the murder of policeman Lance Corporal Adam Haleem last week, and called for an independent commission to probe the matter, reports Haveeru.

The party alleged that President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik had sought to implicate the MDP in the murder, while at the same time the alleged killer had been photographed in the company of Jumhoree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim and the party’s Deputy Leader, Abdulla Jabir.

“It was noticed that former Vice President Waheed speaking on behalf of the illegitimate December 23 coalition had tried to pin the blame on a specific party during an interview with DhiTV via phone,” the party said.

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Finance Ministry orders government institutions to reduce budgets by 15 percent

The Finance Ministry has ordered all government institutions to immediately reduce their budgets by 15 percent, in a circular sent out by Minister Abdulla Jihad.

Independent and government institutions were in early June instructed to reduce their budgets by June 20 and June 15 respectively.

According to Haveeru, only 14 of the 35 government offices met the deadline.

“Even though we have not received any complaints so far, they did express concern over reducing the budgets. Some offices will face difficulties. But we don’t have a choice,” Jihad told the paper.

In a statement, the Minister said that the state budget had to be decreased by 15 percent as income estimated for 2012 had fallen short of expectations.

Despite the order to cut budgets, a circular issued by the Finance Ministry on July 19 ordered all government offices to repay the amount cut from civil servant salaries from January 2010 to December 2012 by the former government, starting from July onwards.

The circular said the money should be paid monthly and not in a lump sum, and advised all institutions to pay the amount from the annual budget for wages. If the money in budget was not enough, the finance ministry advised the institution to cut the money from the budget allocated for other expenses.

The wage repayments, amounting to Rf443.7 million (US$28.8 million), has not been accounted for in this year’s state budget, contributing to a 27 percent budget deficit that has already drawn concern from the International Monetary Fund.

Besides a crippling deficit, the Maldives is also facing a foreign currency shortage, plummeting investor confidence, spiraling expenditure, and a drop off in foreign aid.

MIRA revenue

The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has meanwhile published its second quarter report for 2012, detailing the majority of government revenue (with the exception of import duties).

The MIRA report highlights a 16.8 percent increase in revenue collected compared to the same period for 2011, attributable to the increase in tourism GST from 3.5 percent in 2011 to 6 percent in 2012.

Tourism land rent collected for the period was MVR 465.4 million (US$30.2 million) – a drop of 24.9 percent that was 12.3 percent lower than expected.

Airport Service Charge revenue meanwhile fell 18.6 percent, to MVR 172 million (US$11.2 million).

Total revenue collection for the first half of the year was MVR 3.5 billion, an increase of 59.2 percent compared to the corresponding period of 2011 but 8.4 percent lower than projected.

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The Maldives skill “gap” belying television reality

As a concept, it is a formula that has proved popular on television screens around the globe: take a high profile businesses or entrepreneur and allow people to compete in business challenges to earn a shot at the corporate big time as a fabled apprentice.

While reality shows like “The Apprentice” have proved hits with audiences in the UK and the US for the last decade, the Maldives this month concluded its first attempt at producing a business-focused reality TV – under the local guise of “The Interns”.

In a live final broadcast on Television Maldives (TVM) on July 15, a team of students from the Centre for Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) – coincidentally the show’s youngest participants – took the top prize of apprenticeships with some of the country’s largest private-sector employers.

But beyond the practical opportunities and job offers seemingly afforded through participation in reality TV contests, what real world opportunities does the Maldives’ private sector presently hold for the country’s next generation of graduates and school leavers?

Speaking to Minivan News this week, Deputy Minister for Education Anthu Ali said that for many school leavers in the country, regardless of their “academic merits”, a miss-match presently existed between the skills they were being given and those required by employers.

“When we consider the skills an employee needs in the country, say if they are applying for a secretarial role, the candidate may have the language knowledge of English and Dhivehi, but they are not taking short hand or these type of skills,” she said.

According to Anthu, the Education Ministry remained particularly concerned over the prospects available for pupils leaving school at 16, who did not going on to pursue further studies.

“A main challenge is for the 16 year-old pupils who are not going on past their O-levels,” she said. “For those students without the capacity to go into higher education or to do their A-levels, we need to be providing foundation studies.”

Anthu claimed that the government, over the last three years, had been working to try and develop a “platform” that served as a pathway for young people leaving school to help them into the job market.

“This is what we have tried during the last three years – even this year. What I mean by a pathway is not higher academic education, but vocational education,” she said.

According to Anthu, meetings have been taking place ass recently as this month with the tourism sector – as one of the country’s most significant employers – to increasingly tie the lucrative resort industry into this pathway.

She claimed that when looking at human resources nationally, there was a significant number of skilled jobs in the tourist sector being fulfilled by a mostly expatriate workforce.

Anthu said that local employees often “don’t have these skills”, adding that opportunities were required for training to open up these areas to local employees.

Social responsibility

Allied Insurance Company of the Maldives, one of the key sponsors behind “The Interns” show, said that beyond trying to boost its own Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, the television programme was devised from the company’s own concerns about finding suitable employees.

Company Managing Director Abdul Wahid Thowfeeq said the company had opted for a reality show format that would grant students the chance to gain experience in national marketing as well as showcasing their respective skills.

“The basic idea for the show came from the fact that Allied Insurance needed marketing personnel and we generally found there to be a lack of good candidates,” he claimed. “This is a problem faced by many companies here in the Maldives.”

Thowfeeq added that the company opted to back sponsoring a reality show as it hoped to encourage “real students” to experience marketing in a real world environment.

“We conceptualised the show so that even people at home could see there were opportunities here. There are the prospective jobs here, but the youth do not always appreciate the opportunities that are available,” he said, “They are also not aware of the expectations of their employers and the differences between education and workplace challenges.”

According to Thowfeeq, the objective of “The Interns” , at least from the company’s perspective, was fulfilled.

“Once the programme began, many of the participants featured got job offers – not just from Allied, but many other large-scale private employers in the country,” he said.

Inspiration

Discussing the inspiration for the programme, Thowfeeq said that while there were some similarities to “The Apprentice” in terms of content and design, the show was very much geared to local tastes and marketing challenges, such as having participants promoting the popular roadside beverage vendors around the capital.

He added that these challenges focused specifically on playing up the importance of key workplace skills such as customer service.

Thowfeeq contended that such challenges were of particular importance in the Maldives to provide skills in areas not presently covered in the national education curriculum for many students.

“Generally there is a gap between education and the job sector. When students complete their education, they tend to have high expectations of the job sector, but they do not have the orientation or skills to meet these needs,” he said. “A common feature of the job market is that employees do not understand about working in organisations or as part of a team.”

Thowfeeq said that besides better orientating graduates and school leavers to ensure they are prepared for work, employment should also have a positive factor in the country’s development.

“There are lots of influences on peoples lives right now, both societally and politically, we need to give a sense of hope to young people, hope that there is a promising career out there for them,” he said.

Thowfeeq contended that some of the challenges regarding training young people were n addressing that the skills required from workers in the country had drastically shifted over the last ten years.

“The skills needed for jobs in the Maldives are very different right now, especially in marketing. People need to be more specialised in their roles, more professional,” he claimed. “More training in this regard is needed for employers, but they are not getting opportunities. However, the youth themselves have to be willing to undergo this training, as well as be patient. The basic purpose of this programme was to educate the youth about prospective jobs. Such a show helps ourselves and other companies.”

Finalists

In terms of sourcing contestants for the show, the programme makers are said to have invited colleges from across the country to nominate certain students for inclusion . The eight teams chosen represented institutions including Maps College, Clique College, Cyryx College and the Maldives National University.

The eventual winners were Jayyida Badhry (19), Mariyam Hana (18), Ali Aslam (18), Mohamed Sameer (18) and Ahmed Nashiu Naeem (19), all representing the CHSE.

Speaking to Minivan News, Badhry, who before the show had been enrolled as part of a business studies course at CHSE, said ‘The Interns’ had provided a unique opportunity to develop practical skills currently not provided within the education syllabus.

“The show was a really good opportunity as we got to have many different experiences such as in understanding TV advertising,” she said.

Despite the group’s relatively young age compared to rival teams, Badhry claimed that the team’s success had been a result of team work and trusting each other to use their individual strengths.

“We are still quite young as a group and we didn’t have much experience, so we tried to make up for this through team work,” she added.

Of the five finalists, four are expected to commence a special internship with Allied Insurance after Ramazan, while one of the team will be taking a role at a prominent national marketing group.

According to Badhry, the experience on the show was proving to have an impact on her life ahead of taking up the new role – a job she was excited to begin.

“For anyone who is interested, I would recommend them looking for opportunities like this to gain practical experience of work life, It has been really great,” she claimed.

However, Badhry’s fellow team mates stressed concern that while there were opportunities out there for young people in the job market, there appeared to be some reluctance within the wider business community to entrust students with such responsibilities.

Nonetheless, back in the world of local reality television Allied MD Thowfeeq claimed that plans were already under way for a similar – though perhaps not identical – business-targeted show for next year.

“We are thinking about continuing the focus with a similar show next year, though we would like to select another professions relevant to the local community where the skills of young people need to be improved,” he claimed.

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Trouncing worth every minute for Maldives player: Reuters

“So how does it feel flying halfway round the world from the Maldives and losing your Badminton debut at the Olympics in straight sets?” Paul Majendie, writing for Reuters, catches up with the progress of the Maldives’ Olympians during the London 2012 games.

“The reaction from Mohamed Ajfan Rasheed was remarkably upbeat, especially as he had fulfilled a boyhood dream only hours earlier by carrying the flag for his tiny Indian Ocean island state at the spectacular opening ceremony.

‘Basically I am thrilled to be here. I take it as a positive experience,’ he told Reuters.

For the ebullient and eloquent 22-year-old, invited to the London Games as part of an International Olympic Committee scheme to encourage sport around the globe, just being there is what the Olympics is all about.

The tourist paradise of the Maldives, famed for its sun-kissed atolls that face the ever present threat of global warming and rising sea levels, has sent five athletes to London 2012. He is still pinching himself at being one of them.

‘It is difficult to explain in words. It is a great excitement for us,’ he said, still pouring with sweat after his first-round 21-9 21-6 trouncing in the humid Wembley Arena by European champion Marc Zwiebler.

The German was 14th seed. Rasheed is ranked 209 in the world.

His only moment of glory came in the first set when the scoreboard showed he was leading 7-1. Hasty electronic adjustments by the umpire returned the harsh reality to 1-7.

‘He knows how to keep the rallies going and is very experienced,’ Rasheed said. ‘It is my first time playing a European player.’

‘The Maldives is a small country. We don’t have many players. We don’t get the best coaching and I have been training in Malaysia for the past year,’ he added.

His Olympic memories, though, will be cherished for a lifetime.

‘I was flag bearer for my country. It was a big thing for me. It has been my dream since I was very small. Now that I have achieved my dream, I am very happy,’ he said.

UN Human Rights Committee calls for widespread institutional reform in the Maldives

The UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) has urged the Maldives to guarantee citizens’ right to democracy, permit freedom of religion, reform the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), abolish flogging and the death penalty, and deal with human trafficking, among other recommendations.

The Committee has issued concluding observations regarding the Maldives’ commitment to universal human rights, following the country’s defence of its record in Geneva on July 12-13.

The Maldivian delegation to the UNHRC was headed by Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel, a former Justice Minister during the 30 year rule of President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and co-author of a pamphlet entitled ‘President Nasheed’s devious plot to destroy the Islamic faith of Maldivians’, published in January 2012.

Dr Jameel was accompanied by State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dunya Maumoon – Gayoom’s daughter – as well as the Maldives’ Permanent Representative in Geneva, Iruthisham Adam.

Religion

A core concern of the committee involved the Maldives’ reservation to Article 18, concerning freedom of religion, the validity of which was questioned by the committee on the basis that it was “not specific, and does not make clear what obligations of human rights compliance the State party has or has not undertaken.”

Particular concerns included the tying of religion to citizenship, prompting the UNHRC to call on the country to revise its constitution, and abolish the crime of apostasy in legislation.

The committee also expressed concern about the clause in the constitution enabling the limitation of rights and freedoms “in order to protect and maintain the tenets of Islam”, challenging the broadness of the clause and warning that such a provision could be “invoked to justify the failure by the State party to fulfil its [human rights ] obligations”.

Concern was also raised about the criminalisation of homosexuality, and the “stigmatisation and marginalisation of homosexuals in [Maldivian] society”.

For its part, during its defence, the Maldives’ delegation stressed that the country was a homogeneous society and spoke one language and followed one religion, adding there was therefore no debate in Maldivian society regarding the removal of the provision relating to freedom of religion.

“This is not dogmatic government policy or preference, but rather a reflection of the deep societal belief that the Maldives always has been and always should be a 100 percent Muslim nation. Laws, like government, should be based on the will of the people,” Dunya told the panel.

Controversial transfer of power

The Committee noted in particular “the legal and political circumstances” under which the Feburary 7 transfer of power took place, and called on the government to ensure a citizen’s right to self determination – “ which lies at the core of democratic government based on the consent of the people.”

The report called on the Maldives to ensure that the Commission of National Inquiry was able to function “in conditions guaranteeing its complete independence and impartiality”, and called on the government “as a matter of urgency” to protect individuals who had provided information to the inquiry.

Torture inquiry commission

The UNHRC called for the government to establish an independent commission of inquiry to investigate “all human rights violations, including torture that took place in the State party prior to 2008 and provide compensation to the victims.”

The Committee should further investigate all allegations of torture that took place at the time of the demonstrations of February 8, 2012, in Malé and Addu, prosecute those responsible, and provide compensation and rehabilitation to the victims. The State party should implement the findings of the Commission of Inquiry set up to investigate events that took place during the political transition period.”

The committee also expressed concern at the composition of the police integrity commission, which was “hampering its independence”, and said it was concerned at the low number of cases relating to torture and ill-treatment received by the Commission as well as at the low number of police officers sanctioned.”

Legal reform

The composition and the functioning of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) was “seriously compromised”, the UNHRC observed, a state of affairs which was affecting the independence of the judiciary “as well as its impartiality and integrity.”

“The Committee is concerned that such a situation undermines the judicial protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Maldives,” the report stated, and called on the government to reform the JSC.

The UNHRC also called on the Maldives to abolish flogging and the death penalty.

Human trafficking

The committee expressed particular concern over reports relating to “trafficking in migrants from neighbouring countries for labour and sexual exploitation purposes.”

“No legislation has yet been enacted by the State party to prevent and protect against trafficking in persons. The Committee is further concerned at the lack of statistical data on the number of trafficked persons, the investigations conducted, the number of prosecutions and convictions, and the protective measures put in place, as well as the absence of a strategy to combat trafficking,” the Committee stated, calling on the government to study the root cause of the problem, provide data, punish traffickers, and provide protection to victims.

Domestic violence

Positive observations included the enactment of an Anti-Domestic Violence Act in April 2012, although the committee expressed concern at the low rate of complaints lodged for domestic violence, and at the lack of effective mechanisms of protection and rehabilitation for victims.

“The State party should take the necessary measures to implement fully the Domestic Violence Act. It should facilitate complaints from victims without fear of reprisals, intimidation or exclusion by the community; investigate, prosecute and punish those responsible with appropriate penalties; and provide compensation to victims. The State party should further establish a proper mechanism of protection, including by setting up shelters and by providing psychological rehabilitation and conduct awareness-raising campaigns on the negative impacts of domestic violence,” the report noted.

The Maldives is required to respond within one year detailing how it had implemented the Committee’s recommendations.

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Government has “no choice” but to hold early elections this year: MDP

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has claimed that the government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan will have no choice but concede to holding early elections this year amidst what it sees as “intense” domestic and international pressure to do so.

MDP Spokesperson and MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor made the claims amidst what he alleged was a background of “intense diplomatic activity” currently taking place in the country on the back of the ongoing protests and political deadlock that have followed February’s controversial power transfer.

The MDP has alleged that former President Mohamed Nasheed was forced to resign under “duress” on February 7 in a “coup d’etat”, leading to calls from the party for early elections this year over concerns about the present government’s legitimacy.

However, President Waheed, who contends he came to power legitimately after Nasheed’s resignation from office, has said the earliest fresh polls can be held under the constitution is July 2013.

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad and spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza were not responding to calls at the time concerning the comments.

As state and private celebrations took place this weekend across the country to mark 47 years of the Maldives becoming an independent nation, President Waheed used a national address to call for citizens to maintain a “high regard” for the country’s laws and legislation.

MDP supporters have themselves continued nightly demonstrations in the capital. Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef has said the protests were conducted without serious incident and have resulted in no arrests over the last two days.

The MDP anticipates that thousands of its supporters took to the streets on Thursday evening during a march in the capital to call for early elections and an end to alleged arbitrary arrests of demonstrators.

International concern at “political tension”

The demonstrations, which have been held consecutively over the last month, have led to international bodies such as the Commonwealth and EU raising concerns over what they claim has been as an “escalation of political tension and violent protests” in the nation of late.

These statements were followed this week by calls from British Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt for “high level talks” between the country’s opposing political factions. The minister said such discussions were needed to find a more peaceful political resolution to the violent clashes between protesters and police.

Burt said that while welcoming the formation of a reconstituted Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) – established initially by President Waheed to investigate the transfer of power that saw his administration inaugurated on February 7 – the UK wished for a quick and fair conclusion to the body’s work.

“I encourage all relevant actors in Maldives to refrain from any actions that could jeopardise the stable environment necessary to allow the Commission of National Inquiry to complete its work and for free and fair elections to take place,” he said.

“I call on all sides to show restraint in the interest of achieving a sustainable political solution to Maldives’ recent problems. Protests must be peaceful and the security response professional and proportionate. Violence and any cases of excessive use of force should be investigated and those responsible held to account,” the statement continued.

“Very successful” protests

MDP MP Ghafoor claimed the month’s ongoing demonstrations had been “very successful” in galvanising support for early elections to be held this year – an aim he believed that would “soon” be realised.

The protests have continued amidst allegations of protesters inciting violence against reporters and security forces, as well as counter claims of unchecked police brutality.

“Many people were there for the Independence Day protests regardless of how the current administration wants to make it appear otherwise,” Ghafoor alleged. “This coup administration is now very shaky, they are unable to run the country, of which they have made a complete mess. I cannot see how they can hold on [to power].”

The MDP spokesperson said that despite the international community prioritising ongoing violent clashes in Syria at present, concern was increasing among foreign diplomats over the rhetoric and demands of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who currently serves as leader for the government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

Ghafoor added that Gayoom has, on separate occasions, called for an apology from, and the arrest of former President Nasheed over insinuations he was directly involved in organising the alleged “coup d’etat” on February 7. The MDP meanwhile has alleged that the PPM leader was refusing to sit down to talks between the country’s various political heads.

After Nasheed appeared to offer a conditional apology to his predecessor, Ghafoor added that Gayoom’s continued refusal to engage in dialogue with opposition figures in the country threatened to make him an “irrelevant” figure in the current political process.

“When Gayoom refuses to engage in dialogue and has his tantrums, he is showing the international community that he is not a 21st century politician,” he claimed. “When these people are against dialogue they show there is no interest in moving ahead peacefully.”

PPM MP and Spokesperson Ahmed Mahlouf and the party’s Deputy Leader Umar Naseer were not responding to calls at the time of press regarding the MDP’s claims.

With the holy month of Ramazan commencing last week, the MDP contended that the mindset of its supporters had not changed in regards to its so-called “direct action” demonstrations – with the recent nightly protests expected to continue indefinitely.

Ghafoor claimed that he expected tensions could rise further with PPM-backed protests also potentially taking place in and around the capital during the next few weeks.

The party’s demonstrations have in part been linked in local media to concerns over the high-profile murder this week of policeman Lance Corporal Adam Haleem whilst he was on duty on the island of Kaashidhoo.

The officer’s death saw figures on both sides of the country’s political divide accusing their opponents of using the death to forward their own respective agendas, particularly in relation to the legality and conduct of ongoing opposition protests in the capital.

Ghafoor has alleged that in the current environment, and with opposition allegations of arbitrary arrests and violence against civilians, a growing number of police and military personnel were not wanting to be identified with the current government.

He also alleged that while a number of officers had acted in a mature manner with their approach to trying to control crowds, a number of “thugs” working within police ranks had continued to incite violence against demonstrators, while targeting specific opposition individuals and media personnel.

The Maldives Police Service has maintained that its officers have continued to exercise minimum force against protesters despite a handful of serious injuries sustained within its ranks during the sporadic eruption of violent clashes during the last month.

During the month’s protests, Minivan News has at times witnessed a general atmosphere that has verged between noisy and almost playful to sudden bouts of cat and mouse baiting of police by anti-government figures in the crowd.

The MDP has maintained that its protests are “largely peaceful” and that it was police who were responsible for instigating violence and making arbitrary arrest of senior figures. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has also this month expressed concern over violent protests and use of “excessive force” against demonstrators.

In this volatile climate, the Police Family Association yesterday released a statement calling for the public to consider that police officers were human beings who have “rights like others, and their persons and dignity must be held in due regard by everybody”.

According to local media, the statement also raised concerns over the death of Lance Corporal Haleem, stating that lessons should be taken from his “sacrifice” in order to motivate offcers to peacefully restore law and order.

“The Statement of PFA also said that it was ‘proud of the exemplary service rendered by the Police and for the great sacrifices by police officers without a step backward, in order to protect this nation from the challenges posed by social changes today,’” reported the Sun Online news service.

“At times of sadness, hatred and anger, everyone must accept that police officers are also human beings, and that they are also entitled to human rights just as others are, and the dignity of their lives must be respected. Especially, this Association believe that everyone must respect the rights of police officers serving this nation if we wish to strengthen and prolong democracy and human rights in this country”, the statement continued.

CNI extension

Aside from protesting, Ghafoor also pointed to the CNI’s ongoing work on the country as being another key focus for the MDP during the next month, despite raising concerns about who exactly had given permission for an extension to the body’s deadline until the end of next month.

“Who has allowed for the extended deadline to go ahead? The CNI was scheduled to conclude by July 30, but now this Judge Selvam has said there will be one more month for its work,” Ghafoor claimed. “We also see that there is a two month process involved here, yet the judge has at times taken a four-day weekend off from CNI. Similarly there is just one media briefing a fortnight. Considering this is just a two-month process, there should be at least one a week.”

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President calls for “unanimous” patriotism with Independence Day address

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan used his Independence Day address to stress the importance for all Maldivians to “practice solemn allegiance to the principles of Islam, and observe firm adherence to fine social etiquette”.

Speaking at a special ceremony at Male’s Republic Square on Thursday (July 26) to celebrate 47 since the Maldives became an independent nation, the president was reported to have called upon Maldivian people to cooperate with the state’s “relentless peace efforts”, according to the President’s Office website.

Aside from calling for national laws and legislation to be held in high regard, the address was also said to have focused on asking Maldivians to convey unanimous national pride and patriotism through “loyalty and respect” towards the country and peoples’ rights.

According to the President’s Office, Dr Waheed also emphasized the importance of “strengthening” the country’s independence to ensure continued national development.

The president was said to have highlighted the need to safeguard the country’s religion, a consolidation of military and “unifying our people” to further ensure planned developments went ahead.

In addressing national politics, the president said that nearly a decade had been spent to establish democracy in the Maldives, which he contended had “flourished so rapidly”. However, the speech emphasized that the “poor social and political condition of today” were the result of “certain changes” to the judicial and legislative system that had been made in the past.

The speech saw the president call on parliament to move ahead with passing bills to reinforce and strengthen the country’s judicial and legislative system in a bid to reduce crime and improve safety and security.

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Choking Off Freedom in the Maldives: New York Times

“In February, a cabal backed by an ousted dictator and a group of extremist Islamists dealt a severe blow to nascent democracy in a country many people consider an island paradise: the Maldives,” writes Deputy Chairman of the UK Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission Benedict Rogers in the New York Times.

“In the past few weeks, the forces behind the new rulers have driven the knife deeper into the country’s wounded democracy. Without serious international pressure, people who struggled for freedom against dictatorship for so many years — and briefly tasted liberty — will be plunged into authoritarian rule coupled with a rapidly growing extremist Islamist agenda.

Three Danish legal experts published a report this month on their independent investigation into the events surrounding the resignation five months ago of the Maldives’ first democratically elected president, Mohamed Nasheed. They concluded that, according to international law, his ouster amounted to a coup d’état. The international community needs to take this report seriously.

Nasheed was charged this month with illegally arresting a judge while he served as president. It is clear that the charges are politically motivated, designed to eliminate him from contesting any future elections — if any are held. There is no chance he can expect a fair trial. If convicted, he could serve three years in jail.

The former president is not the only opposition activist being harassed by the new regime. The leader of the youth wing of his party, the Maldivian Democratic Party, Shauna Aminath, was arrested and detained, and other people who have taken part in pro-democracy protests have been severely beaten by the police. Demonstrators were released on condition that they did not participate in another protest for 30 days, in violation of the Constitution. Exiled democracy advocates have received death threats.

The Maldives’ journey to democracy was long and arduous. For 30 years, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ruled the archipelago with an iron fist. Opponents were jailed, torture was rampant, freedom of speech nonexistent. Toward the end of his rule, however, he developed a thirst for legitimacy and respectability, and appointed several reformist ministers in the hope that they could give him a better image in the international community.”