Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has today left for New Dheli, India on an ‘official trip’, according to a press release from the former president’s office.
Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) vice president Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, who has put himself forward as a candidate for the DRP leadership after Gayoom’s departure, is accompanying.
During this trip Maumoon will meet Indian Prime Minister Dr Mammauhan Singh and other senior government officials.
Thasmeen also announced the DRP would be offering Maumoon an honorary position at the party’s national congress in February.
Minister for Housing and Transport Mohamed Aslam has announced the government will sign for the construction of 500 homes next month, after early agreements with an Indian contractor.
However the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) claimed the government had promised to build 10,000 housing units across the Maldives before the end of 2009, including 900 flats in Hulhumale, and called for Aslam’s resignation over the delay.
Housing was one of the five key elements in the Maldivian Democratic Party’s election manifesto.
Secretary general of the DQP Abdulla Ameen accused the government of promising “wonderful dreams” it was unable to fulfil.
”It felt like he was going to build the [10,000] flats on spot,” Ameen said. “President Nasheed may build [a few] flats, but he is ignoring his pledge to build many more housing units.”
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing and Transport Ali Waheed said that the construction projects had slowed because the country’s financial condition.
“We cannot complete such big projects as soon as we close our eyes and open them,” he said, and noted that the minister “does not have to resign when [DQP president] Hassan Saeed says so.”
He reiterated that the government would fulfil its pledges within its term of power.
The SAFF games, which start on Friday in Bangladesh, may not be broadcasted in the Maldives.
According to Haveeru, a TVM official claimed the station was trying to broadcast the games, but were having communication difficulties with their Bangladeshi counterparts.
TVM broadcast the recent SAFF championhip because a company named Singapore World Sports Group had the license to broadcast the event, and had an agreement with TVM.
Four public transportation regulations and regulations were published yesterday in the government’s Gazette by the Ministry of Housing, Transport and Environment.
Transport rules published included motor vehicle driving license regulation, motor vehicles speed limit regulation, exempted vehicles regulation and public transport ferries regulation.
Maldives Envoy for Science and Technology Ahmed Shafeeq Ibrahim Moosa yesterday met with President of the Maldives Science Society (MSS) Mohamed Ijaz and Secretary General Amal Shaheed.
Moosa said it was important to have small scale grassroots movements to achieving important outcomes for the development of the nation.
The MSS could contribute to the government’s plans to make the Maldives the first carbon neutral country in the world, he suggested, and urged the organisation to work to make the public more aware of green technologies and environmentally friendly ways of living.
The two parties also discussed ways of providing government support and assistance for the MSS’s activities.
The first cardiologist in the Maldives has begun work at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).
According to Miadhu, Dr Ali Shafeeq had previously worked at IGMH and received his specialised medical studies at India’s Sri Chitra institute of medical science.
The cardiology unit at IGMH has been closed for a while now, Miadhu reported.
Prisoners in the Seenu Gan temporary jail, run by the MNDF, are being deprived of basic human rights according to an anonymous source claiming familiarity with the matter.
“[Inmates] are kept in small cages, four per block, they have to urinate in small water bottles, and if they want to use the toilet they are blindfolded, handcuffed and escorted by two guards,” the source told Minivan News.
Around 40 inmates were transfered to the temporary jail last October, after a fire caused by the inmates led to congestion in Maafushi jail.
When the prisoners were first transferred to the MNDF-run prison in Gan they were kept blindfolded and restrained for 72 hours, the source claimed.
“They have been here for three months now. It’s difficult to contact the outside world, and it was a long time before their families even heard from them. Inmates are being deprived of even the most basic necessities, even little things like soap, toothpaste and clothes are scarce. They feel they are not being given their rights.”
Contact with the outside world was minimal, “and they can’t see their parents, wives or children.”
The prisoners had previously gone on a hunger strike in protest at their treatment, the source claimed, and in response four were allegedly taken into a nearby wood and tied up for three days.
In addition, the source said the proximity to a military base meant the prisoners “hear gunshots all the time and can’t sleep at night.”
A prison cage at Gan
Most of the 40 inmates transferred to the prison were serving time for “small” convictions, “around five years”, the source claimed, and felt they should be treated as civilian rather than military prisoners as their court sentences had dictated.
Response
Minivan News attempted to contact the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS) to confirm the allegations but was referred to the MNDF.
Brigadier General Ibrahim Mohamed Didi, in charge of the Gan MNDF base, said “the reason they are here is because they burnt the jail [at Maafushi], and a place was needed to keep them temporarily. This place was chosen,” he said.
“This is a military training base, not a proper jail. We can’t provide facilities to the inmates for things such as family visits. As for matters such as toilets, we are doing the best we can, but they have to remember this is a military base and we can’t give them five star service.”
Asked how he felt about being given the prisoners to look after, Didi said “it is not an issue of us being burdened with prisoners. That there was no place for the prisoners after the jail was burned is a national issue, and the government asked us to look after them.”
Didi said the prisoners were monitored by the military “to ensure there isn’t any violence going on. We also have to keep in mind the safety of the people of Addu and international airport. The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) recently came and did a report.”
Ahmed Saleem, president of the HRCM said the organisation had been made aware of a problem at Gan jail.
“We have recently received reports of this as well, and we are investigating the case,” he said.
“We have no problem with the MNDF guarding the perimeter [of the prison], but direct contact with the inmates should be by civil authorities. MNDF personnel will treat the inmates like prisoners-of-war, not criminals.”
Saleem added that the prisoners were at the temporary prison because some inmates set fire to the Maafushi jail, and “there wasn’t enough space there. We don’t want to release them, but they needed to be treated humanely.”
Treatment of prisoners in the Maldives had changed over the last few years, he said, “and the police have a very positive policy now. But there are always going to be individuals [involved in mistreatment].”
Fathmath Afiya from the Society for Women Against Drugs (SWAD) said “we have received information about this as well, and recently sent a letter to the parliament asking that the conditions in the Gan jail be improved.”
President Mohamed Nasheed has claimed the Maldives can learn from India’s economic success and the way the country has brought large segments of its population out of poverty.
Speaking at a dinner last night in honour of India’s Republic Day, the 60th anniversary of its freedom from British rule, Nasheed described India as “the world’s largest and most vibrant democracy, shining a beacon of freedom and hope around the world.”
The country was rising “peacefully” to take its place “as one of the 21st Century’s superpowers,” he said.
The founding of India’s news constitution had many parallels with the Maldives, Nasheed said.
“India took the bold decision to found a republic based on the principles of democracy and freedom. The new constitution enshrined democratic rights and fundamental freedoms, vesting power in the people.”
But he added that it would be “foolish to pretend that India’s transition was all plain sailing,” and suggested that the Maldives could learn from India’s experiences.
“I believe that the Maldives has much to learn from India. Just as India faced growing pains after Independence, so the Maldives has teething problems of its own.
“The new administration has inherited crippling levels of debt, stacked up in the last years of the former regime, our youth have been plagued by rampant drug abuse, and many in our society remain scarred by the torture and cruelty of the past thirty years.
“India overcame its growing pains by embracing its new democracy and respecting fundamental liberties,” he said. “Despite its faults, history shows us that democracy is the best guarantor of freedom, peace and prosperity.”
In particular, Nasheed said, “the Maldives can learn from India’s economic transformation.
“For too long, the Maldives’ economy has been centrally planned, heavily regulated and micro-managed by the government. This has prevented growth, repelled investment and thwarted people’s aspirations. By opening up our economy to the world, the Maldives can also enjoy economic success. ”
Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives Dnyaneshwar Mulay said India was “fortunate” to have a friend in the Maldives, “and I happy this partnership is now going into an economic, clultural and academic phase with the strengthening of health and education services.”
Mulay added that he saw “a huge large number of new things happening between India and Maldvies in next few years.
“We do feel India has a stake in the success and prosperity of the Maldives,” he said.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that international funding to the Maldives would be threatened if civil servant salaries are restored to former levels.
“One of the primary drivers of the large fiscal deficit has been government spending on public wages, which has more than doubled between 2007 and 2009, and is now one of the highest in the world relative to the size of the economy,” said Rodrigo Cubero, IMF mission chief for the Maldives.
“Measures that would substantially raise the budget deficit, such as a reversal of previously announced wage adjustments, would also put the program off track, jeopardising prospects for multilateral and bilateral international financing,” he warned.
State minister for finance Ahmed Assad confirmed that international funding might be at risk if the salaries were restored in the manner demanded by the Civil Servants Commission (CSC).
“The IMF have been saying that for a while,” Assad said, reiterating that the government was not capable of increasing civil servants salaries this month.
Permanent secretaries of various ministries had been submitting two salary sheets, he said, “so we know the difference.”
Spokesperson of the CSC Mohamed Fahmy Hassan said according to Maldivian law, the finance ministry had to pay the increased salary this month.
”For instance, if give you work to do and say I will pay you 100rf when the work is done, after you complete the work is it fair for me to say, ‘Oh, I cant give you Rf100, I only have Rf50′,” he asked.
In response Assad said the IMF only gave economic advice, and was indifferent to a country’s law.
During talks between the CSC and finance ministry yesterday no agreements were made beyond a decision to continue negotiations.
In its statement, the IMF warned that “the Maldivian economy continues to face serious challenges. In particular, addressing the very large fiscal deficit is of paramount importance to secure a stable economy, equitable growth, and lasting poverty reduction.’
“A larger fiscal deficit would drive up interest rates, deprive the private sector of the credit it needs, and threaten growth and employment. It may also stoke inflation and erode the purchasing power of all Maldivians, including civil servants. It is to avoid such undesirable outcomes that the fiscal deficit needs to be reduced.”
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