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JSC decision must be investigated by Parliament, urges member

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) decided last week to reappoint all current judges, regardless of whether they hold a previous conviction for a crime or a criminal breach of trust or bribery.

After the decision was made, member of the commission Aishath Velazinee spoke out against it, writing in her blog, “it is indeed a sad state of affairs, and an insult to all those honest judges whose integrity and good name is compromised by today’s decision.”

Today, Velazinee told Minivan News it might seem like “one mad woman screaming,” but insisted “the Majlis has to attend to this and demand a public inquiry. I can only bring it to public attention.”

She said “Parliament has failed to hold the JSC accountable,” and said she still “firmly believes” the composition of the commission presents a conflict of interest, leading to a vote that ultimately contradicting the purpose of the commission.

The JSC was created to reform the judiciary and investigate all judges, “and was asked to evaluate every single sitting judge appointed prior to the 2008 Constitution,” Velazinee said.

According to the Constitution, the nine-member commission must comprise of the speaker of parliament; an MP and a member of the public both appointed by Parliament; three judges, one from the Supreme Court, High Court and the trial courts; a private lawyer elected among licensed lawyers; the Chair of the Civil Service Commission (CSC); a person appointed by the President; and the Attorney General.

“The JSC was not functioning under the law of the Constitution, and not acting in the interest of the public,” said Velazinee, who is the President’s member on the Commission.

She suggested it be made up of a “cross-section of people in this country, who are educated and have an understanding of democracy.”

Last week’s decision was won by majority, with five votes in favour.

“They have decided Article 285 is symbolic,” Velazinee said, “it is a very simplistic view of democracy.”

Article 285 stipulates that the JSC shall determine before August 7, 2010 whether or not judges on the bench posses the qualifications specified by the Constitution.

Currently, there are seven judges found guilty of a criminal breach of trust; five with allegations of a criminal breach of trust; two are being prosecuted for an alleged breach of trust; one is on trial for sexual misconduct; two have been found guilty of sexual misconduct; one was found guilty for an offence which had a prescribed punishment in Islam; and another judge who has been accused of a criminal breach of trust, and found guilty of sexual misconduct.

That is a total of nineteen judges with a criminal history, most of which have not been tried in a court of law.

Velazinee said she was not given an opportunity to discuss or issue alternative proposals, even though she had been trying to bring attention to her argument for months. “Even the Superior Court Justice decided it was not worthy,” she added.

Parliament’s power

Parliament has the power to reverse or alter the JSC’s decision, “but now they’re in recess, too,” Velazinee said, noting probably nothing much can be done until the Majlis reconvenes in mid-June.

Adding to Velazinee’s concern, the JSC has only until 7 August of this year to submit any reforms and all cases on the judges. “And probably not even until the deadline,” she added.

She said although the president “would normally have a say” in this decision, “in the current political context, the president getting involved could do more harm.”

Press Secretary for the President’s Office, Mohamed Zuhair, said “there are legalities to be considered” because “the law does stipulate a clause on limitations,” which says that a judge, or an MP or a citizen, “can be absolved of a crime after five years” of being convicted.

He added “judges should be examples” and new regulations and legislation should be considered.

Zuhair said President Mohamed Nasheed “will adhere to the Constitution,” and there is “nothing to do until Parliament comes back.”

But, he added, a parliamentary committee could look into the issue extraordinarily, just like the National Security Committee is having a sitting this Wednesday.

Judges Abdulla Mohamed and Abdulla Didi did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

Attorney General Husnu Suood did not respond, either.

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MNDF rescues Iranian vessel suspected hijacked

Maldives Coastguard rescued an Iranian fishing vessel in Maldivian territorial waters yesterday, discovering the crew had been deprived of water and food for several days.

Following reports of an Iranian fishing vessel which had drifted into Maldivian waters, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and coastguard began a search for the ship.

MNDF Major Abdul Raheem said the ship was found at around 4.40pm yesterday on the outskirts of Havadhu Atoll.

“They were having engine problems and drifted to the Maldives,” Major Raheem said. “We wanted to give assistance; they had no food or water.”

The twenty crew members, all of Iranian nationality, were also provided with medical assistance.

Major Raheem noted the crew were still in the Maldives. “Our government and Iran’s government are having negotiations to decide when they will be sent back.”

Of the reports that seven of the men found on the vessel were pirates who had highjacked the ship earlier, he said “we cannot say whether they are pirates. They had no identification on them.”

“We conducted a search and found no weapons in the ship,” he added.

But, Major Raheem noted, the vessel’s captain did say his crew had been taken by pirates six months ago. The ship’s owner, who is in Iran, has not had contact with the ship for six months.

The Major said there was no current investigation by the MNDF regarding the case.

MNDF Lieutenant Abdulla Ali said civil aviation craft were used for the search. He said the men were “still in that boat,” but the MNDF is providing them with food and water.

He said the negotiations with Iran were underway to send them back.

Lieutenant Ali added “we can’t say” whether seven of the men took over the ship, but confirmed that the captain of the vessel had said they were highjacked six months ago and the pirates were currently on board the ship.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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Coastguard rescues stranded Iranian vessel

Maldives Coastguard rescued an Iranian fishing vessel in Maldivian waters, reports Miadhu.

Coastguards had heard reports of an Iranian fishing vessel which drifted into Maldivian waters. Island Aviation air crafts were also used in the search.

The vessel was located 75 miles off the coast of Havadu Atoll and was found without food or water.

There were twenty crew-members on board, seven of them had previously high-jacked the boat.

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) confirmed there were no weapons found on board, and negotiations are underway to send the vessel back to Iran.

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President Nasheed sends condolences after Tripoli plane crash

President Mohamed Nasheed sent his condolences to Libyan leader Muammar Al-Qadhafi and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands following the plane crash in Tripoli last Sunday.

The Afriqiyah Ariways flight, on route to Libya from South Africa, crashed near the Libyan capital and was carrying mostly Dutch tourists.

The only survivor was a nine year-old Dutch boy.

President Nasheed sent his sympathies to all the families who lost loved ones in the crash as well as the two countries.

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President meets Maldives Honourary Consul in Italy

President Mohamed Nasheed met with the Honourary Consul of Maldives in Italy, Dr Luca Fiormonte, yesterday afternoon.

The meeting focused on strengthening trade, health and education between the two countries.

Dr Fiormonte studied law in Rome and also works at LUMSA University in Rome and State University in Milan.

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Pakistan to assist Maldives in police training

Concluding his official visit to Pakistan, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Ahmed Shaheed said Pakistani assistance to the Maldives will be renewed, reports Miadhu.

Dr Shaheed said Pakistan would assist the Maldives mainly in training police officers, adding that a fully funded training visit for 25 Maldivian police officers is being planned.

Pakistan will also send senior police officers to Maldives to help in police training.

They will also assist with cyber-crimes and money laundering, Dr Shaheed said.

This is the first bilateral visit the Maldives has made to Pakistan in 20 years.

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UN congratulates Maldives on Human Rights seat

The United Nations has congratulated the Maldives for gain a seat on the UN Human Rights Council.

The UN noted that the election of the Maldives shows a “a high level of international confidence that the country will be able to play a strong leadership role in human rights.”

“The eyes of the world will be on the Maldives Government, both as a guarantor and protector of human rights in the country, as well as to act as a role model in the international community,” the UN commented.

The organisation pledged its continued support.

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Comment: Playing God’s Advocate

‘Ambiguities’ are stalling the speedy passage of The Regulations to Protect Maldivian Religious Unity. If this document does not get on the government gazette ASAP, this country will degenerate into religious chaos.

Evidence clearly shows Maldivian religious unity to be a perilous façade, having managed to endure without legal enforcement (apart from the small matter of the constitutional stipulation that every citizen be a Muslim for only 800 years).

As citizens who are so closely consulted in the open and democratic lawmaking process of the country, it is our duty to highlight the problem areas so the Ministry can move rapidly to pass The Regulations and pre-empt the imminent religious war.

What is unambiguous about The Regulations is that The Ministry of Islamic Affairs is The Supreme Entity. Omniscient, but not omnipresent, it will choose a learned group to act as its eyes and ears in society. This select group, or The Board, will report to The Ministry any utterances, actions and opinions expressed or held by unlicensed-scholars, citizens and/or visiting aliens/infidels deemed to possess the potential for creating religious disunity.

Recognising the gravity of The Board’s responsibility, The Ministry has set the appointment criteria very high indeed. Members must: (1) be at least 25 years old; (2) possess at least a first degree in Islamic Studies or law; and (3) should not have committed an act defined as a punishable crime in Islam.

Given how difficult it would be to find a 25-year-old graduate who has not fornicated, The Board has the potential to become one of the most exclusive gentlemen’s clubs in the world.

The Regulations states as its raison d’être ever-increasing disputes between religious scholars that threaten to tear the country apart (Article 1.2). The Mullah to Mere-mortal ratio has not yet been tallied in the Maldives, but evidence suggests it could easily be 1:2.

In such a situation, The Regulations will prove invaluable in helping us distinguish the ersatz scholar from the genuine Sheikh. Besides, ‘the liberals’ have long agitated for the government to muzzle over-zealous Mullahs, so it is now time to make a gracious retreat on the issue, happy in the knowledge that your local Mullah is not just any Mullah, but a bona fide Mullah With a License to Preach.

Chapter 4 states that it is a requirement of every Maldivian citizen to actively protect Islam (Article 4.21). Is this a legal requirement? And what does the duty entail? What exactly is it that we need to peel our eyes and cock our ears for? And how do we go about reporting our suspicions and findings? Would there be a 24-hour Infidel Alert hotline manned by a Licensed Mullah?

The Regulations bans any religion other than Islam from all public discourse. Being citizens active in protecting Islam, should we from now on categorically deny other religions exist, or is it sufficient to regard Them with condescension and/or loathing whence acknowledgement is required? Article 6.32 bans any utterance or action that is insulting to Islam in any way. What is the definition of the term ‘insulting to Islam’? Would, say, leaving out the PBUH after Prophet Mohamed be deemed an insult? Or does it have to be material such as those published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005 before it is found to be insulting? What is an utterance that constitutes an insult against a mosque? Would criticism of its architecture – say the suggestion that its dome would have looked better if elevated five inches more – amount to an insult, or would the criticism have to take in the state of its badly landscaped garden, too, before it is deemed an Offence Against a Mosque?

Non-Muslim expatriates in the Maldives – best wean yourselves off the habit of holding garage sales to sell religious memorabilia at discount prices like you invariably do every Sunday ‘back home where you come from’. Any such sale in the Maldives would flout The Regulations (Article 34.a), so resist the temptation to make a quick buck, and firmly turn away the Maldivians queuing outside, desperate to get their grubby apostate hands on your old rosary beads or your Krishna statue for a Bai Rufiyaa.

You should also be aware that even though religion is most likely to have been your favourite conversation starter and probably the source of your best pick-up lines back home, it will not aid your hectic social life on this island paradise in a similar manner. In fact, Article 34.b makes it safer to drop religion from your vocabulary altogether. As a precautionary measure, before The Regulations are passed, you should try and remove any reflexive exclamations that may have embedded themselves in your oral register over the years such as ‘Oh my God!, ‘Jesus!’, ‘Harey Raam!’, etc. If you are more accustomed to saying ‘Jesus [insert expletive] Christ!’, however, it might help your plea of mitigation. Remember, though, a precedent is yet to be set, so proceed with caution.

Article 6.35 is a veritable quagmire of ambiguity. What constitutes a television programme or a written publication that is offensive or insulting to Islam? Where do we look to for guidance? The Taliban? The Emirates? Saudi Arabia? Insulting to whose version of Islam? Can a woman be shown wearing a bikini, or should a burqa be superimposed on her image before she appears on our airwaves? Does every shot of a church, temple and/or synagogue have to be removed from any film that a Maldivian watches? What does it mean that all advertisements should be ‘respectful of the beautiful customs of Islam’ (6.35c)? Apart from beauty being an entirely subjective concept, does this mean that only veiled women can appear in advertisements now? What if she is selling shampoo? Will all Gillette advertisements have to be axed? Books, too, are to be screened by The Board before it is available for Maldivian consumption (Article 31). If this gives us some reprieve from ‘literature’ such as The DaVinci Code, such a regulation might not be entirely without merit, but hardly justifies a group of 25-year-old male graduate virgins deciding our choice of reading matter.

Can The Ministry please clarify why it is necessary to burn the house down to roast the pig?

It has been a surprisingly risky business highlighting the ‘ambiguities’ in The Regulations. This article contains the p-word; names someone whom over a billion non-Muslims regard as the Son of God; allows Lord Krishna a cameo appearance; speaks of women in bikinis; discusses an instrument of shaving for men; and mentions places of worship other than a mosque.

Would The Regulations be applied retrospectively? If Sheikh Shaheem of The Ministry is to be taken at his word, the consequences may not be too dire. Even if found guilty of the Offence of Mockery, he has assured, the author will not be imprisoned, but will receive ‘counselling’. Whether ‘counselling’ involves a psychiatrist’s couch, one-on-one preaching sessions with a Licensed Mullah, or water-boarding, remains undefined and open to interpretation. As is much of The Regulations.

Criminalising (dis)belief will never be free of ambiguities.

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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Maldives to resettle two Gitmo inmates

Two inmates of the controversial Guantanamo Bay detention camp that houses terror suspects will be transferred to the Maldives for resettlement, President Mohamed Nasheed has announced.

Addressing growing opposition to the move in his weekly radio address, President Nasheed said the resettlement of the two former prisoners would not “change anything or cause any loss to the country.”

“On the contrary, it will be good for the country,” he said. “[The country] will get a good name, honour and prestige. We will be noted as people who help in whatever capacity we can to help solve others’ problems.”

He added that not helping when the opportunity presented itself was, in his view, was not in keeping with either the constitution, Islam or the Maldivian national character.

“There are more than 150,000 expatriates living in our country. We are benefiting from their work. There is no danger in two more people coming to the Maldives,” he said, stressing that the government would not violate any laws in the process of transferring the inmates.

The religiously conservative Adhaalath Party yesterday clarified its position on the matter, noting on its new English-language website that “if the two men in question are Muslims who have been detained unjustly, providing assistance to them from a Muslim country is not a problem on Islamic grounds.”

However, “if they are terrorists who have committed crimes against humanity, then it is not wise to give them sanctuary in Maldives,” the party said, expressing concern about the government’s “ambiguity” on the subject.

Nasheed meanwhile urged the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) not to make the issue a politically divisive one, calling on opposition parties to take up complaints with the government.

“We will clear up what the DRP wants to know,” he offered.

The president thanked the leader and deputy leader of the DRP as it was the opposition party’s responsibility to hold the government accountable and offered to hold discussions on the subject.

On Tuesday, DRP MP Ali Waheed filed a motion without notice at the parliamentary national security committee to investigate the government’s decision.

“While we don’t even have a proper jail and the society is drowning in gang violence and crime, the Maldivian government has reached the point where they are forming agreements with another country and creating a legal framework to bring in people from the jail that has the world’s most dangerous terrorists and citizens aren’t aware of what’s happening. The People’s Majlis elected by the Maldivian people aren’t aware of it,” Ali Waheed told press on Tuesday.

Not confidential

Nasheed further said the issue has not been kept confidential by the government.

The president referred to his radio address on December 11 when he signaled that Gitmo prisoners cleared off terrorism charges could be transferred to the Maldives.

“If a Muslim does not have a place to live in freedom, we will help in whatever way we can. We don’t want anyone to suffer any harm,” Nasheed had said. “We know that the Maldives, in helping just three people from Guantanamo Bay, does not mean that either the Maldives or the world would be free of inhumane treatment,” he said. “However this jail, Guantanamo jail, is very symbolic.”

He said most of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay were innocent people caught up in the war in Afghanistan, and that offering assistance to other nations in whatever capacity was “a national duty.”

On Friday, the president said it was “very clear” to the government that the Muslims detained in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba were not terrorists.

A Maldivian citizen kept in Gitmo was released by the government, said Nasheed, and Maldives police have concluded that he was not a terrorist.

Meanwhile, Independent MP Mohamed Nasheed wrote on his blog last week that official correspondence showed the government was in the final stages of “resettling” prisoners.

The former legal reform minister wrote that diplomatic correspondence has been exchanged between the Maldivian government and the American Embassy in Colombo to agree upon guidelines for the release and monitoring of the former terror suspects.

He noted that following initial discussions between the two governments, the American embassy sent a three-page diplomatic notice to the Maldives Foreign Ministry in February.

According to the diplomatic note, once the Maldivian government presents written confirmation, it will be agreed that the government shall:

  1. Agree to resettle Gitmo prisoners escorted to the country by the US military
  2. Determine a date and time for arrival after discussions between the relevant officials
  3. If the Maldivian government wishes to relocate or transfer the prisoners to another country, it will be done only after discussions with the US government.
  4. Maintain correspondence on the process of resettlement.
  5. Conduct surveillance on the prisoners while they are in the country, including monitoring their phone calls, letters and other communications.
  6. Prevent them from leaving the country.
  7. Regularly meet them and see how they are settling.

On March 28, writes Nasheed, the foreign ministry asked for legal advice from the attorney general on instituting a legal mechanism for the transfer.

Nasheed also noted possible legal complications concerning the issuance of visas as the immigration laws specify that people ‘considered to’ belong to a terrorist organization or ‘believed to’ pose a danger to national security shall not be given visas.

While the parliamentary committee has scheduled a meeting for Wednesday, Nasheed wrote that ministers would likely be summoned for questioning.

“If our beloved human rights-loving president so wishes, it would be much better for the country if he could implement even one recommendation of the Human Rights Commission,” he added.

DQP anger

Imad Solih, vice-president of the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), had meanwhile announced the party’s intention to take the matter to court at last week’s “Red Notice” protest.

A statement on the party’s website claims that the President was not empowered to transfer “convicts such as those in Guantanamo by either the constitution or any law or regulation in the Maldives.”

“There is no reason that a small country like the Maldives with limited resources should accept such convicts when a country like America won’t accept them,” it continues.

“While any sense of security of person and property has been lost and people are being knifed in front of police officers, there is no doubt that bringing such serious criminals to the Maldives is only going to make expatriates working in the country as well as visiting tourists more unsettled.”

It adds that President Nasheed’s decision was going to turn the country “from a tourist paradise into a terrorist paradise.”

Moreover, the decision was motivated by the president’s “greed for a prize” as the government was “not making any effort” to repatriate the many Maldivians in foreign jails.

In addition to filing a case at court, the party will be submitting a bill to the next session of parliament on prohibiting the transfer of foreign convicts to the Maldives.

DQP will also communicate with the US State Department and the American embassy to “prevent this from happening”, the party said.

“The president was elected by the Maldivian people to fulfill duties specified in the constitution and the laws of the country,” it concludes, “Under no circumstances does the president have the power to violate the law to further his self-interest.”

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