Day: September 5, 2012

Government “would consider” clemency for ex-president Nasheed following trial outcome

The government has said it will have no involvement in the trial of former President Mohamed Nasheed, adding it would consider the possibility of offering clemency should he eventually be found guilty.

Nasheed, who yesterday announced he had started his campaign for re-election, has called for the trial over his role in the controversial detention of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed earlier this year to be expedited. The former president has alleged that the trial against him is politically motivated to prevent him from contesting in presidential elections scheduled for 2013.

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad claimed that the government was committed to its pledge of not interfering in the Maldives judicial system and played down fears of the trial being politicised.

“We would regret any parties or international organisations trying to politicise this trial,” he said. “However, after a judgement on the case has been given, if there is an opportunity to do so, I’m sure President Waheed would consider the possibility of clemency [for former President Nasheed].”

The comments were made today as Department of Judicial Administration Spokesperson Latheefa Qasim confirmed to Minivan News that the decision had been taken to appoint three judges to hear the former president’s trial. Qasim added that a date for the hearing or the identities of the three judges presiding over the trial had yet to be decided.

Last week, the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court was cleared to hold the trial that will see Nasheed along with several senior military figures under his command face charges for the detention of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed.

During Nasheed’s administration Judge Abdulla was accused by the government of demonstrating political bias, obstructing police, stalling cases, having links with organised crime and “taking the entire criminal justice system in his fist” to protect key figures of the former dictatorship from human rights and corruption cases.

Nasheed himself gave a speech to supporters in Male’ yesterday playing down the likelihood of his prosecution for the detention of the judge, while additionally launching his campaign for re-election despite no date for elections having been set.

Speaking from the Usfasgandu area in Male’, which is presently being used as a protest area by the now opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Nasheed alleged that he was not concerned of being prosecuted,  according to local media reports.

During a speech outlining his plans to continue to pursue early elections through the MDP’s ‘direct action’ protests and political pressure, the former president claimed that he was confident of securing re-election.

MDP Spokesperson and MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor claimed that Nasheed’s comments were focused on the party’s continued efforts to secure “early elections” ahead of the proposed date of July 2013.  President Waheed has said July 2013 is the earliest date for fresh polls as allowed in the country’s constitution

The MDP back in July approved a resolution that the party would choose to boycott elections should Nasheed not be able to stand as its presidential candidate after winning.

Ghafoor claimed that despite preparing for early elections, both Nasheed and the MDP had agreed to respect the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) report that last week concluded the government of President Waheed had come to power constitutionally and not through a “coup d’etat” on February 7.

“We have been respecting the report, but we also have very strong reservations about the concerns raised by [Nasheed’s appointee on the commission] Ahmed ‘Gahaa’ Saeed and we would like these shortcomings to be looked into,” he said. “There are obviously issues that we have with the findings and I do not believe that the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) will just choose to ignore Mr Saeed’s own reservations about the report.”

Saeed last week resigned from the five-member CNI panel approved by the government, MDP and Commonwealth, a day before the release of its findings over what he alleged was a failure by the commission to consider certain evidence and witness statements presented to the Commission.

Nasheed was also reported to have used his speech to claim that no country had so far accepted the CNI’s findings, according to local news service Sun Online.

Following the release of the CNI report last week, Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma welcomed the completed publication, urging “all concerned to respect the findings of the commission so that, moving forward, all actions and reactions reflect the sense of responsibility and restraint necessary in the best national interest.”

The US, India and the UN also called for the outcome of the CNI’s report to be respected in light of its publication.

However, Ghafoor said that Nasheed had in fact questioned the responses of various international players claiming they had been “unclear” on their views of the report.

Ghafoor added that the party would continue to lobby to have the reservations raised by Saeed concerning the CNI report addressed.

Beyond reservations with the CNI, the MDP claimed that it had been willing to work with the government of President Waheed in what it called the “common interests” of the public by offering to join his coalition government.

“We do not want to be working with this government, we ourselves want to see early elections as soon as possible,” he said.

However, President Waheed yesterday announced he had opted against including the MDP in his national unity government.

While the MDP – in light of the CNI’s findings – had called for clarification on whether it was presently the ruling or opposition party, the President’s Office responded that the matter was irrelevant under the country’s presidential system of governance.

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Indian Aviation Minister urges resolution of GMR dispute

Indian media outlets have reported that the country’s Minister for Civil Aviation Ajit Singh has asked the Maldives to consider ways to resolve ongoing disputes with Indian company GMR regarding the development of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

The Economic Times reported that the issue arose during a meeting with the Aviation Minister and a Maldivian delegation led by the Maldives’ Minister for Transport and Communication Dr Ahmed Shamheed.

The paper said that an official statement from the Civil Aviation Ministry had highlighted the major issues discussed:

“The contentious issues include provision of airport development charges provided for in the agreement with the GMR, but termed as unauthorised by a local court in the Maldives, and a demand for an additional runway not provided in the agreement,” the statement is reported to have said.

The development of the airport – expected by the company to total US$511m in costs – is the largest foreign investment project undertaken in the Maldives’ history and includes commitments to complete the renovation of INIA’s existing terminal this month.

The issues detailed during the meeting have been compounded in recent months by government aligned parties calling for nationalisation of the airport as well as orders to halt construction work following allegations of missing permits.

CEO of GMR Maldives operations Andrew Harrison today told Minivan News that the government had informed the company it had complied all regulations, but had not yet given it the go-ahead to resume work.

“We have not done any work since August 2,” said Harrison.

During a visit to India last month, leader of the government aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Ahmed Thasmeen Ali warned of serious repercussion for investor confidence should the country renege on the GMR deal.

Sri Lankan media this week has also reported Business Council leader Hussain S Hashim as saying that a lack of trade dispute mechanisms in the Maldives was stifling bilateral trade.

Travel Daily India reported that additional measures to strengthen bilateral ties in the aviation sector were discussed during the meeting.

Increasing air links between Indian cities and the Maldives was a topic reportedly discussed. It was reported that Island Aviation, Spice Jet, and Mega Maldives are all planning to connect Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai with Male’.

Changes to the countries’ aviation agreement was also mentioned in Travel Daily, with the current rules only allowing flights with carrying capacities of less than 150 passengers.

“India will relook the agreement which will help in boosting tourism between the two countries,” Singh is reported to have said.

During his official visit to India in May, President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan spoke of his desire to bring more Indian visitors – who currently represent only 2.9 percent of the market share – to the Maldives.

“Not enough Indian tourists are coming to the Maldives and that is a matter of concern for us. I am sure it is also a matter of concern for India, particularly when you realise that there are so many Chinese tourists who are coming to the Maldives now,” Dr Waheed told India’s Business Line.

Whilst Dr Shamheed is in India, a number of his fellow cabinet ministers have accompanied President Waheed on his official state visit to China.

Yesterday, the President’s Office website reported that Waheed had met with members of the business community in Shanghai.

Waheed is reported as having said that investors were always welcome in the Maldives.

“Maldives is open for business,” Waheed told those in attendance at the opening of the China-Eurasia Expo & the 2nd China-Eurasia Economy Development and Cooperation Forum.

The highlight of Waheed’s first trip to China as President has been the finalising of a $500million (MVR7.7billion) package of aid, concessional loans, and loans for housing construction.

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RaajjeTV files case against President’s Office over media boycott

Local private news channel RaajjeTV has filed a case against the President’s Office in the Civil Court, complaining that the station had been boycotted from official events.

Deputy CEO of RaajjeTV, Yamin Rasheed, told Minivan News “This whole issue began with the government’s Media Secretary Masood Imad excluding RaajjeTV in all invitations to media to cover their press events.”

“Initially, Abbas Adil Riza (President’s Office Spokesperson) held a different opinion. But then it became a norm for the government to block us from events, even refusing access and turning us away when we took the initiative to find out about events and attempt to cover them with or without invitation.”

Yamin said that the channel had repeatedly been denied entry to press events in the President’s Office and were not sent any of the government press statements. He said that they had observed this treatment was particular only to their channel.

“What is most worrying to us is that this behaviour is setting a precedent where state bodies are infringing upon media’s right to information. We are being deprived of constitutional rights. This goes against principles of maintaining equitability among media organisations,” Yamin detailed their concerns.

Vice President of the Maldives Broadcasting Commission, Mohamed Shaheeb told Minivan News today that the commission had not discussed this issue yet.

“We haven’t even received any complaints regarding the President’s Office denying access to a particular media outlet,” Shaheeb said.

Although MBC denies having received complaints, Chairperson of RaajjeTV Akram Kamaluddeen has confirmed that complaints have been lodged.

“We have officially written to MBC about all of these issues, including the President’s Office blocking access to events. We haven’t received a response yet.”

President of the Maldives Journalists’ Association Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir has commended the efforts by Raajje TV to protect their rights.

“I support the channel’s actions to protect their constitutional rights. Even if the government has complaints about the channel’s broadcasting conduct, there is a procedure through which this can be professionally settled. I feel that this could have been settled through dialogue, otherwise the government could have lodged complaints with relevant commissions,” Zahir said to Minivan News today.

MJA has last month released a statement stating that it would neither encourage nor accept the boycotting of any media institution by either state bodies or political parties.

Minister of Home Affairs Mohamed Jameel Ahmed has previously named Raajje TV as ‘enemies of state’ in a press conference held in July, the same day on which the Maldives Police Services publicly stated its refusal to provide cooperation or protection to the channel.

Raajje TV has also filed a case against the Maldives Police Services earlier this month over their decision to deny cooperation or protection to the channel.

Rasheed told Minivan that they had also lodged complaints with the Anti-Corruption Commission.

“With regard to this issue, we have lodged a complaint against President’s Office Media Officer Nihla Abdul Sattar with the ACC. We’ve previously filed two other cases at the commission. One of this was against the MPS as an institution. The other was against the Media Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef. We believe he is abusing the powers entrusted to him for his role as media spokesperson to benefit certain media outlets, while deliberately blocking or sidelining others,” Yamin told Minivan News today.

RaajjeTV has been the subject of continuous verbal attacks by the state following the transfer of power in February. In early August, Raajje TV’s control room had been sabotaged by intruders.

Press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders at the time condemned this attack, stating “This targeted and well-prepared operation was the foreseeable culmination of the new government’s escalating verbal attacks on Raajje TV. How the authorities respond will be seen as a test of their commitment to media pluralism.”

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad was not responding to calls at the time of press.

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MP Hassan Adil sex abuse case continues in High Court

The High Court appeal concerning the sexual abuse case of Jumhoree Party (JP) MP Hassan Adil has begun today, reports Haveeru.

Today’s session was held behind closed doors, the paper reported, which is constitutionally allowed for in order to protect the family involved.

Adil was acquitted in March of this year after the judge said the state had failed to present sufficient evidence as per the requirement of Article 47 of the Use of Special Procedures in Dealing with Child Abusers Act.

Police originally arrested Adil on 4th April 2011 with a court warrant.

On June 12 2011 the court granted the Prosecutor General (PG)’s permission to hold Adil in house arrest until the trial reached a conclusion.

If the court finds Adil guilty, he will face imprisonment for a period of between 10 to 14 years and would lose his seat in parliament.

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It is not the government that is prosecuting Nasheed: President’s Advisor

Political Advisor to the President, Ahmed ‘Topi’ Thaufeeg, has today said that the government does not have the authority to prosecute former President Mohamed Nasheed.

Thaufeeq told Sun Online that, owing to the separation of powers enshrined in the constitution, only the Prosecutor General (PG) could pursue charges against Nasheed.

However, Thaufeeg told Sun Online that it was the responsibility of the PG to pursue anyone guilty of a crime.

“The government has no influence over this. When the relevant institutions complete their investigations and submit cases to the PG, the PG will file those cases to Court. It does not matter whether it is Nasheed or anyone else,” Thaufeeg is reported to have said.

The response follows the Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) resolution to protest the government over its move to prosecute Nasheed.

After Nasheed yesterday claimed the judiciary was heavily politicised, Thaufeeg told Sun that the institution was strong and was constitutionally protected from political influence.

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“Ladders now broken”, Umar Naseer tells police

Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) Interim Deputy Leader Umar Naseer was summoned to the police headquarters today for questioning over statements he made during a rally held last December.

Speaking to the press outside police headquarters, Naseer said that police had a script of what he said during the protest on December 23 near the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).

Naseer told the press that during the protest he spoke to the protesters about climbing “somewhere” using ladders.

A report by former Environment Minister Mohamed Aslam and National Security Advisor Ameen Faisal into the former government’s intelligence prior to February 7 noted remarks by Naseer during asking for 2,000 volunteers to storm army barracks with 50 ladders, at which point “the people inside will be with us.”

“From today onward, we will turn this protest into one that achieves results,” Naseer reportedly said. “We know how people overthrow governments. Everything needed to topple the government of this country is now complete.”

Naseer told journalists outside police headquarters today that “I have been questioned over this previously. I told them that those ladders were not used and have broken now.”

‘’There will be no evidence to prove me guilty of a criminal offence,’’ he said. ‘’In my statement I did not mention where to place the ladders or where to climb in using the ladders.’’

He also told the press that there was a political purpose behind his summoning to police for questioning over the same case for the second time.

Naseer insisted that his summons was related to the “political challenges” between parties in the current coalition government.

Naseer was unavailable for comment at time of press.

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Director General of Elections Commission sacked “without warning”

Director general of the Elections Commission (EC), Mohamed Tholal, has been dismissed without warning, reports Sun Online.

It has been reported that Tholal was informed his association with the Athletics Association, for which he receives no salary, was cited as the reason for his dismissal.

Secretary General of Elections Commission, Asim Abdul Sattar, told Sun that Tholal’s dismissal had been in line with EC regulations.

Tholal himself is reported to have Tweeted on the subject: “The reason for my dismissal is to retaliate because we protested, and also because votes cannot be rigged at 2013 Elections if we are there.”

Tholal’s dismissal comes as the country’s independent institutions come under increasing scrutiny as additional pressure is placed upon them following the fallout from the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI).

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“A Human Rights Crisis in the Maldives”: Amnesty International

Amnesty International has today released a report titled “The Other side of Paradise: A Human Rights Crisis in the Maldives”, chronicling human rights abuses in the country since the transfer of presidential power on February 7.

“Without an end to – and accountability for – these human rights violations, any attempt at political reconciliation in the Maldives will be meaningless,” said Amnesty’s researcher in the Maldives, Abbas Faiz.

Amnesty said that several of its human rights recommendations are reflected in the Commission of National Inquiry’s (CNI) report which was released on August 30.

The report details a number of incidents of police brutality on February 8, including attacks on Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs Eva Abdulla and Mariya Didi.

“The overall objective of these violent attacks has been to silence peaceful government critics and stifle public debate about the current political situation,” said the report.

“Based on Amnesty International’s interviews with survivors of these violent attacks, it appears that many were targeted by security forces because they were MDP ministers, parliamentarians or supporters,” it read.

The report recommended that the Maldivian government “ensure prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigations into allegations of violence by officials.”

“Those suspected of offences involving such violations, irrespective of rank or status, must be prosecuted in proceedings which meet international standards of fairness.”

It also urged the government to “remove any bias in the police force, so they act as officers of law without prejudice, and do not take sides politically.”

Tension between the police has continued unabated since the release of the CNI report, with continued MDP demonstrations being met with large numbers of arrests.

The police service last week confirmed that they would be arresting people for using the term ‘baghee’ (a Dhivehi word meaning a traitor who brought about or participated in a coup).

The report is based largely on the testimony of individuals interviews conducted during a three week Amnesty visit in February and early March this year.

Commissioner of Police  Abdulla Riyaz, who was unavailable for comment at the time of press, told Minivan News in April that he had been disappointed by Amnesty’s failure to ask the police for its comments before releasing a report based on its findings.

“I don’t see that there has been any investigations done, none of our officers was questioned, interviewed – neither by them nor by the Police Integrity Commission (PIC), nor by the Human Rights Commission (HRCM). I don’t think that’s fair,” said Riyaz.

Strong pressure on weak institutions

As well as concluding that President Mohamed Nasheed was not removed from office unconstitutionally, the CNI report acknowledged that his resignation was accompanied by acts of police brutality which it said must be investigated.

“With respect to the administration of justice, in particular concerning allegations of police brutality and acts of intimidation, there is an urgent need for investigations to proceed and to be brought to public knowledge with perpetrators held to account and appropriately sanctioned,” read the report.

Shortly after the report’s release, the Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed told a press conference that the government did not intend to take action against anyone other than the former President in relation to the CNI’s conclusions.

Jameel stated the responsibility for the investigation of police misconduct would fall upon the Police Integrity Commission (PIC).

This has prompted renewed focus on the apparent weakness of such independent institutions in the Maldives.

“One of the reasons for the 7 February and the associated crisis is weak institutions, and the democratic institutions in Maldives must shoulder at least some of the blame for not being pro-active enough in working to address urgent issues,” said Aiman Rasheed of local NGO Transparency Maldives.

“Providing room for institutions to grow organically, and address institutional issues in an environment free from fear and intimidation from the political overlords is more important for Maldives at the moment,” Aiman continued.

“The independent institutions need to step up their game by standing for and protecting the values for which they were constituted,” he said.

Following Jameels announcement, Chair of the PIC Shahinda Ismail said that she was “very sceptical of the burden we will have to carry”, citing concerns over the lack of clarity in the CNI report and loopholes which prevent the implementation of its recommendations.

Shahinda alleged that certain clauses in the Police Act had already resulted in the Home Minister ignoring recommendations forwarded to him concerning incidents from February 8.

Similarly, a Supreme Court ruling concerning the activities of the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) earlier this week appeared to the leave this institution in a state of limbo.

“In other countries, Anti Corruption Commissions have the powers of investigation, prevention and creating awareness. If an institution responsible for fighting corruption does not have these powers then it is useless,” said ACC President Hassan Luthfee.

Weak institutions have often been described by prominent members of the current government as rendering the country unready for early elections despite months of political stultification.

“Tighter legislation that addresses ambiguities and close legal loopholes will help. However, the political will to truly reform key institutions is lacking, especially the judiciary and the parliament,” said Aiman.

The final recommendation of Amnesty’s report was directed at the international community, requesting that it provide human rights training to the Maldives’judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officials.

In April, the United States pledged US$500,000 (Rf7.7 million) to assist Maldivian institutions in ensuring a free and fair presidential election.

The American Embassy in Colombo also conducted an information session on democratic rule of law for senior officers and management of the police service in May.

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Sri Lankan Business Council president calls for support mechanisms to enhance Maldives trade

“Lack of support or mechanisms to solve legal issues faced by Sri Lankan companies dealing with Maldivian counterparts [is causing] serious frustration in trading,” writes the President of the Sri Lanka – Maldives Bilateral Business Council, Hussain S. Hashim.

“It is necessary to establish a commercial mediation centre as an alternate means of trade dispute resolution,” he said, reports Sri Lanka’s Daily News.

Hashim was reported as saying that there had been a marked increase in Sri Lankan exports to the Maldives between 2010 and 2011, resulting in a positive trade balance for Sri Lanka.

He also noted that Maldivian visitors to Sri Lanka has increased from 35,791 in 2010 to 44,018 in 2011 .

“We anticipate a positive solution for the shortage of US dollars in the Maldivian market which has caused an impact on trade,” Hashim said.

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