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Parliament cancelled after MPs clash over Yameen detention

Today’s sitting of parliament was called off after opposition MPs vocally protested the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) refusal to allow detained MP and opposition People’s Alliance Leader Abdullah Yameen to attend sitting.

Speaker Abdulla Shahid revealed that neither MNDF nor the Defence Ministry had responded to his letters requesting an explanation or an arrangement for the Mulaku MP to attend today’s sitting, adding however that he was constitutionally obliged to ensure that sittings go ahead.

MPs of the main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) raised numerous points insisting that sittings could not be held while an MP was “unlawfully detained” by the military.

“Since the Majlis is not an enforcement agency I do not have a way to go and bring the honourable Mulaku member here,” Shahid responded.

A press release issued by parliament after today’s cancellation states that Majlis rules of procedure requires that MPs in detention over a criminal investigation must be allowed to attend sittings and committee meetings and “this is how it is in other democratic countries.”

It urges the MNDF to respect the constitution and the parliamentary rules of procedure, which was formulated under article 88(a) of the constitution.

Clashes

Shortly after the sitting was canceled, a confrontation occurred between Hulhu-Henveiru MP “Reeko” Moosa Manik, parliamentary group leader of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and Galolhu MP Ahmed Mahlouf of the DRP.

Moosa claims that Mahlouf struck him on his legs with his shoes.

“After the sitting ended, Ilham [Ahmed, DRP deputy leader] and another MP came at me,” he explained. “Ilham was shouting at me very rudely and the other MP was filming it with his mobile phone.

“He was holding the phone very close to my face, I told them to go away, but they did not. When the camera came close to me I pushed the camera away from my face.”

Mahlouf was waiting and watching, he added, and came towards him after a while.

“He came and hit me in the leg, [and then] he said I hit him,” Moosa claimed.”That was a drama they played. They have been creating a lot of different stories against me recently.”

However, Mahlouf told local daily Haveeru that Moosa hit him in the face while Nilandhoo MP Abdul Muhsin was filming Moosa and Ilham’s argument.

Mahlouf has not responded to Minivan News at time of press.

A similar confrontation between the MPs occurred during a sitting almost a year ago when both accused the other of threatening violence and using obscene language.

The sitting on July 15 2009 was eventually canceled after the main parties clashed over the cabinet’s decision to investigate Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdullah Mohamed.

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Cartagena group pledges “ambitious outcome” at COP16

The newly-founded Cartagena group, a collection of 27 countries seeking ambitious outcomes from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and low carbon output domestically, have concluded a two day meeting at Bandos Island Resort.

Participating countries include Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Ghana, Indonesia, Malawi, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Samoa, Spain, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Uruguay, UK and the European Commission.

In hosting the event, the Maldives hopes to take a leadership role in presenting small island nations and developing countries as a unified front to the COP 16 meeting in Mexico.

“We want to see an action-oriented outcome from Cancun,” said Maldives Minister for the Environment, Mohamed Aslam.

He said the Cartagena group would hold a third meeting in a few months in Costa Rica.

During the meeting President Mohamed Nasheed praised developing countries for leading the world in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which are responsible for climate change.

“These developing countries are pursuing low carbon growth and green development because it is in their fundamental economic and security interests to do so,” Nasheed said. “When those with the least start doing the most, it shows that everyone’s ambitions can be raised.”

Special envoy of climate change for Mexico Luis De Alba thanked the Maldivian government for its leadership in climate change and for providing the opportunity to discuss the climate change issues.

”It was particularly productive to identify the specific decisions and actions to be taken,” he said. ”We are looking for a very ambitious outcome and are very ready to play a leadership role.”

New Zealand Ambassador for international climate change negotiations Timothy John Groser, said the Maldives had “punched above its weight on climate change.”

”I think Maldives have played a very important leadership role climate change negotiations,” said Groser. ”It is very difficult to move forward, [because] the two giants, the US and China who are together responsible 40 percent of atmospheric emissions, must also show leadership.”

Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Dr Baldwin Spencer said the meeting was effective.

”I think everybody [present] has brought a sincere and burning desire to get to a position where we can arrive at a workable and adaptable solution regardless of whether you are developed country, undeveloped country or developing country.”

“We all in this together. This meeting here in the Maldives must go down as a successful meeting,” Spencer added.

Dr Tewolde Egziabher, the Director-General of Ethiopia’s Environmental Protection Authority, pledged that Ethiopia would become carbon neutral by 2025.

Dr Egziabher said his country of 80 million people would meet its target by switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy, in particular hydropower, and by implementing a vast reforestation scheme.

Faumuina Tiatia, the Samoan Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, also pledged that his country would become carbon neutral by 2020.

“Cutting fossil fuels from our economy will benefit both the climate and our financial bottom line. It is much cheaper for us to generate electricity from renewable sources than to import increasingly-expensive oil,” he said.

The minister added that he hoped other countries would follow this ambitious pledge.

The Marshall Islands pledged to cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 40% by 2020, from a 2009 base year.

“In 2008, the Marshall Islands declared a state of emergency because a spike in oil prices meant we almost ran out of money to pay for fuel imports. We are moving away from imported oil in order to improve our energy security and play our part in the fight against climate change,” said Phillip Muller, the Marshall Island’s Ambassador to the United Nations.

The Maldives and Costa Rica also reaffirmed their commitment to carbon neutrality, by 2020 and 2021 respectively.

“As a developing country we are committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2021. We are working on establishing a robust measuring, reporting and verifying (MRV) system to set an example for countries that seek low emission development strategies. In future, we also hope to establish an international standard for countries who wish to share the carbon neutral goal,” said Andrei Bourrouet, the Costa Rican Vice-Minister of Environmental Management and Energy.

Speaking towards the end of the meeting, President Mohamed Nasheed praised fellow developing countries for leading the world in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which are responsible for climate change.

“These developing countries are pursuing low-carbon growth and green development because it is in their fundamental economic and security interests to do so,” the President said.

“When those with the least start doing the most, it shows that everyone’s ambitions can be raised,” he added.

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Egyptian President Mubarak “has terminal cancer”: Intelligence reports

82-year-old Egyptian leader, Hosni Mubarak is dying from terminal cancer in his stomach and pancreas, according to a report by Eli Lake in The Washington Times, who quotes US and European intelligence officials.

A senior Egyptian government official has denied Mubarak is ill, describing the reports as “without any factual basis whatsoever.”

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Lasers destroy unmanned drones in US Navy tests

Six fibre-optic lasers with a combined 32 kilowatts of power destroyed four airborne drones (UAVs) in tests by the US Navy off the coast of California.

An electronic solid-state laser will never run out of ammunition as long as it has power, according to Mike Booen of Raytheon, the US weapons systems company developing the new technology.

There are disadvantages with lasers such as high costs, and legal restrictions under existing treaties, says former Air Force chief scientist Mark Lewis, now at the University of Maryland.

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Why feet hurt after wearing high heels: research report

High heels shorten calf muscles and make Achilles tendons thicker and stiffer, according to a report by team of researchers led by Marco Narici, Professor of the Physiology of Ageing at Manchester Metropolitan University in UK.

“Wearing high heels places the calf muscle-tendon unit in a shortened position. As muscles and tendons are highly malleable tissues, chronic use of high heels might induce structural and functional changes in the calf muscle-tendon unit,” says the report.

“So should women give up wearing high heels?” asks writer for The Journal of Experimental Biology, Kathryn Knight. “Narici doesn’t think so, but suggests that fashion addicts may want to try stretching exercises to avoid soreness when they kick off their heels at the end of the day.”

Kathryn Knight’s article

Full Research report

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Suspected suicide of Maldivian woman in Malaysia

A Maldivian woman, Aminath Zahida aged 30, has died in Malaysia, reports Haveeru. Her body was found at the bottom of a ventilation duct in the Desa Kiara condominium at Damansara west of Kuala Lumpur.

Suicide is suspected to be the cause of death, but police are conducting a postmortem and the Maldives High Commission will receive a report soon.

Zahida, mother of two children, arrived in Malaysia about two weeks ago to be with her husband who is studying there. He was taken to hospital after the incident, and the Maldives High Commission is monitoring the family closely, according to Haveeru.

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Criminal Court obstructing corruption investigation, police allege

The Criminal Court’s suspension of two police lawyers on “ethical grounds” amounts to obstruction of the ongoing investigation into alleged corruption and bribery in parliament, claims Deputy Commissioner of Police Ismail Atheef.

Speaking on Television Maldives last night, Atheef explained that the two lead detectives on the case, Inspector Mohamed Riyaz and Superintendent Mohamed Jinah, appeared in court on July 9, but the letter from Chief Judge Abdullah Mohamed informing police of the suspension was received two days later.

“If someone is in contempt of the court, action has to be taken immediately according to provision five of the court regulations,” he said, adding that the detectives were not given any warning nor had their conduct in court been noted by the journalists who were present.

“So when this letter came to us, the way police interpret it is that this is an obstruction specifically of  our investigation,” he claimed.

It was the first time that police officers were suspended from the Criminal Court, said Atheef.

The Deputy Commissioner insisted that the suspension was a deliberate obstruction because Riyaz and Jinah, as the two lead detectives and top police lawyers, would have had to appear at court to seek an extension for Nazim’s arrest.

A court official told Minivan News at the time that details of the suspension could not be provided to the media.

”They were suspended due to a case relating to this code of ethics. It is for more than one reason,” he said.

Obstacles

Atheef stressed that police had a good working relationship with the Criminal Court, but began facing difficulties obtaining court warrants in June 2009 when it began an investigation into alleged corruption in the former Atolls Ministry.

Appearing alongside Deputy Commissioner Atheef, the two police lead detectives on the corruption investigation highlighted procedural difficulties faced in their investigations.

The senior officers expressed concern that investigations into “high-profile corruption cases” were compromised at “a very preliminary stage”.

In some cases, Atheef said, police have heard from the public that warrants have been rejected before receiving an official response from the court.

“The suspect knows we’ve asked for a warrant and have been rejected, so he’s free to do whatever he wants,” said Atheef. “We have to appeal and try to get it again but there’s no point.”

Moreover, in the absence of a Criminal Procedures Act, the officers said, there were no “clear guidelines” on how arrests should be made.

While only the Chief Judge Abdullah Mohamed personally issued warrants at present, Jinah argued that it was neither “practical nor reasonable” for one man to bear the responsibility.

Jinah revealed that the Criminal Court gave evidence police presented to seek an arrest warrant to the defence counsel of detained MPs Abdulla Yameen and Gasim Ibrahim.

“In the criminal justice procedure, disclosure of evidence is a completely different stage,” he said. “This happened way before the threshold test to determine whether or not to prosecute.”

He added that the incident had jeopardised the police investigation.

In some cases, said Inspector Riyaz, the media and supporters of the suspect were present when police arrived on the scene after obtaining a search warrant.

Referring to the case of alleged corruption in the former Atolls Ministry, involving MPs Ahmed Nazim and Ahmed “Redwave” Saleem, Riyaz pointed out that Criminal Court was inconsistent in issuing warrants.

“In a case involving two suspects, we requested a travel ban and to check their bank statements,” he said. “But [the court] enforced a travel ban on one and allowed us to check his bank statement. And for the other, [the court] allowed us to get his bank statement but refused to enforce a travel ban.”

On the importance of detaining suspects, Jinah said stopping communication was crucial to preserve evidence.

Moreover, he added, police did not have to go the Supreme Court to confiscate a suspect’s mobile phone.

Drug bust foiled

Jinah, head of the Drug Enforcement Department (DED), said a Criminal Court official informed police last week that a warrant could not be issued for a case involving a kilogram of illegal drugs.

Distinguishing between routine and targeted enforcement, Jinah explained that expediting search warrants was crucial in the latter case.

“This is completely unacceptable,” he said. “I believe the application for the court order should at least be considered. It’s fine if they considered what was in it and said this can’t be done.”

He added that police summoned the court official who relayed the Chief Judges’ answer but he chose to remain silent.

“Now more than a kilo of drugs has gone into Male’,” he said, adding that the court later issued the warrant but “it was no use to us then.”

As investigating judges was outside the police mandate, said Jinah, police have decided to lodge a complaint with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) regarding the incident.

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Government faces “serious international pressure” over detention of Yameen, claims DQP

The Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) has claimed the government will face “serious international pressures” if opposition People’s Alliance leader and Mulaku MP Abdulla Yameen is not released in the next seven days.

“The Qaumee Party has undertaken important efforts in the international arena towards this end,” reads a press statement the party issued today, adding that a delegation of DQP officials, including Dr Hassan Saeed and Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, were currently in the United Kingdom.

“If President Mohamed Nasheed’s government does not release the political party leaders arrested and kidnapped in violation of the laws and constitution in the next seven days, the Maldivian government will have to face serious international pressure.”

It adds that the government and President Nasheed would have to bear “full responsibility” for any possible international restrictions.

Yameen and Jumhoree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim were taken into police custody after the government accused them of bribery and treason in a ‘cash-for-votes’ scandal at parliament. Several tapped phone conversations to this effect were leaked to the press shortly afterwards.

After the High Court ruled the pair would be kept under house arrest for 15 days while the case was investigated, an appeal to the Supreme Court resulted to their release early last week, on grounds of insufficient evidence.

Yesterday police complained their investigation into the allegations of parliamentary corruption were being obstructed by the judiciary, after senior police investigating the case were suspended from appearing in court.

The DQP today claimed that President Nasheed’s detention of Yameen after his repeated calls for the release of Burmese opposition leader Aung Sun Suu Ki, showed a “lack of sincerity,” and urged the government to accept international offers of mediation.

“Confused and grieving”

Meanwhile Yameen, who is currently under the ‘protection’ of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) at the Presidential retreat ‘Aarah’, spoke to Minivan News today and said his family are “confused and grieving” at his detention.

Yameen said the MNDF were treating him “very well” at Aarah, and that he had no complaints about this, however he was unable to meet with anyone and was “stranded.”

‘’I was not brought here upon my request, [the MNDF] requested I go with them, in order to cool down the situation of Male’,’’ Yameen said. “I asked them to allow me the chance to go on my own, to any island I wished. MNDF officers tried to [accommodate this], but the political appointees in the MNDF security council denied my request. When I refused to go with them, the two officers who came to take me told me that their superiors had ordered them to take me by force if I refused to come along.’’

“I do not want that protection from them, and I have told them,’’ Yameen told Minivan News, proposing that his detention was one of the actions Nasheed had recently said would be “out of the chart.”

‘’My whole family is now consumed with confusion and grief; I have a small child who is attending a pre-school,’’ he said.

President Mohamed Nasheed said in his weekend radio address that isolated political appointees would remain isolated was a reference to him, Yameen claimed.

“When I knew the MNDF planned to bring me here, I requested they bring one of my lawyers with me, to make sure that the MNDF was taking me to Aarah,’’ he said, “but they denied my request.”

Yameen said he had asked the MNDF when he would be freed, but they had replied they “did not know what to say about that.”

‘’It is unlawful and illegal to keep someone isolated, in the name of providing security, against his will,’’ Yameen alleged. “This government is a dictatorship ruling arbitrarily using the power of the fist.’’

He called on the armed forces to work within by the law and to understand that they were accountable and responsible for their actions.

Meanwhile, the main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has commenced a series of protests demanding the release of the opposition leader and calling the government to conclude its “unlawful acts”.

DRP MP Ahmed Nihan claimed that the government was to be blamed for the recent unrest and violence in Male’.

”They caused it so they could arrest Yameen, they created the scene that Male’ was in chaos,” said Nihan.

”It was not the real Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) activists who were out on the streets that day, I can recognise their faces. They were boys that belong to different areas of Male’, even the police will know them.”

Nihan said DRP protests would be “a series of peaceful gatherings” in front of DRP’s head office.

”Yameen’s arrest violates the chapter on freedom in the constitution,” he added.

Press secretary for the president’s office, Mohamed Zuhair, said Yameen requested MNDF provide him security and that he was not allowed to go to any island he wished, because they felt they were best able to protect him at Aarah.

Acting outside the law

Independent MP Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed said on his blog that he interpreted Nasheed’s “acting outside of the chart” as meaning “acting outside of the constitution”.

MP Nasheed, who has acknowledged asking MP Gasim for “cash” but denies allegations of corruption and misconduct, said he believed he might “also be isolated in this manner.”

“Whether [isolation] is constitutional, or can be done with the existing laws, is another question,” he said.

As a consequence, Nasheed warns, the system put in place by the constitution and its authority is undermined and “the rights and powers guaranteed by the constitution come to an end.”

“[This was a] purposeful violation of the constitution by an act, definitely deliberate and forewarned, carried out in [a presidency] was given after swearing to rule in accordance with the constitution,” he writes.

The constitution was drafted in light of “years of experience where all the powers of the state were concentrated in the presidency”, he continues, and prioritises separation of powers, checks and balances and protection of fundamental rights over “the convenience of the president”.

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Ancient skull found in Saudi Arabia is “ancestor of monkeys and great apes”, claims report

The skull of a creature the size of a baboon and living in a warm forest 28-29 million years ago in western Saudi Arabia, is being described as one of the most significant fossil finds in decades “because it illuminates a critical moment in evolution when ancient primates split into two separate lineages,” reports the Guardian’s Ian Sample.

Few such fossils have been found of this period of life on earth. It has been named Saadanius hijazensis.

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