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PPM opens campaign meeting hall for Dhiggaru by-election

The Progressive Party of Maldives opened a campaign haruge (meeting hall) in Malé last night ahead of the June 6 by-election for the vacant Dhiggaru constituency parliament seat.

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s son, Faris Maumoon, is contesting the by-election as the ruling party candidate.

Speaking at last night’s rally, Gayoom reportedly said that increasing the number of PPM MPs is important for the government to fulfil its pledges and implements its policies.

Gayoom – also PPM leader – noted that the PPM has won the presidential and parliamentary elections as well as 90 percent of council by-elections due to its strong support among the public, but urged the party’s supporters and campaign workers not to take victory for granted.

In his remarks, Faris praised President Abdulla Yameen’s efforts to develop the Dhiggaru constituency as well as the rest of the country and thanked supporters working in his campaign.

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Talks should involve all parties, suggests British High Commissioner

All political parties including the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) must sit down together for the talks between the government and the opposition, the newly-appointed British High Commissioner to the Maldives James Dauris has suggested.

President Abdulla Yameen has called for separate talks with the three allied opposition parties – the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the Jumhooree Party and the Adhaalath Party – to resolve the ongoing political crisis.

“We think it’s important that talks involving all parties should take place. It seems to me to be logical that talks should take place involving all the parties together, both the party in government and parties in opposition,” Dauris said in an interview with Minivan News during a two-day visit to the Maldives.

“Because what the government is talking about is a discussion between parties to talk about how inter-party relations will work. So it certainly strikes me as an observer that there is much to be said for getting all the parties to sit down together.”

In his first visit to the Maldives since his appointment as high commissioner, Dauris presented his credentials to President Yameen on Monday and met leaders of the three opposition parties.

Dauris said he shared the UK’s concerns over “the strength of democracy in the Maldives” with the president and spoke about the imprisonment of former President Mohamed Nasheed.

“President Nasheed is a special interest because he is a former president of your country. The number of countries in the world with former heads of state in prison is small,” he said.

Nasheed’s case is “emblematic,” he said, but the “wider concern” is over the judiciary.

A judiciary that is “visibly and credibly independent” is essential for democracy to flourish, he continued.

Nasheed’s conviction on terrorism charges in March after a 19-day trial drew widespread international criticism over apparent lack of due process and politicisation of the judiciary.

The government yesterday rejected Nasheed as the MDP’s representative for the talks as the opposition leader is serving a 13-year jail term.

The JP has meanwhile accepted the invitation for talks, but the religious conservative Adhaalath Party proposed its detained president, Sheikh Imran Abdulla, among the party’s representatives.

Imran was arrested in the wake of a mass anti-government demonstration on May 1 and remains in police custody.

The May Day demonstration was the second mass protest staged by the opposition calling for the release of former President Nasheed and ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim.

However, the government has ruled out negotiations for the release of the pair – whose arrest in February triggered the political crisis – insisting the president does not have the constitutional authority to release convicts before the appeal process is exhausted.

The opposition ‘Maldivians against tyranny’ alliance has called for a third mass protest on June 12.

“Shared interests”

Dauris said the Maldives and the UK has “shared interests” in the areas of climate change, Islamic radicalism, and drug abuse.

The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), which the Maldives currently chairs, should be “ambitious in helping use its influence” at the upcoming climate summit in Paris, he said.

Small island states could play a role to ensure that the international community reaches a “good and ambitious international commitment to work to reduce carbon emissions.”

“Islamic extremism is another shared concern we have. Like the Maldives, we have people in Britain going off to join IS in Syria, often going through Turkey,” he continued.

“We worry for them, for the grief it causes their families, and we worry for the damage it does in their communities, and the potential threat these people could represent when they return home.”

He observed that the Maldives has “a relatively high number” of jihadis in Syria and Iraq. In January, the police said more than 50 Maldivians are in Syria, but the opposition says the figure could be as high as 200.

Dauris was previously the British high commissioner to Peru.

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Man arrested for selling crosses

The police have arrested a vendor for selling Christian crosses at a street market in Malé.

In a statement on Monday night, the police said the 32-year-old man had been arrested under the 1994 Religious Unity Act for selling symbols of a religion other than Islam.

The police confiscated 25 small crosses from the stall. The crosses were pendants on necklaces.

The police said officers searched other stalls at the market for crosses.

The street market, known as the night market, is held twice a year in the capital Malé.

Islam is the state religion in the Maldives. The Religious Unity Act prohibits the import or distribution of idols for worship and symbols of religions other than Islam.

The commissioner general of customs can prevent the import of items that are related to worship in other religions even if they are not explicitly mentioned in the law.

 

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More than 50,800 eligible for Zakat

More than 50,800 people across the country are eligible for Zakat (alms for the poor) this year, the Islamic ministry has revealed.

Zakat is an obligatory alms tax collected from the accumulated wealth of all able Muslims.

Deputy minister for Islamic affairs Dr Aishath Muneeza told the press on Monday that more than 13,000 people in Malé and 37,800 people in other islands are registered as poor.

Muneeza said the ministry plans to distribute MVR20 million (US$1.2 million) before Ramadan at a rate of MVR400 (US$26) per person, noting that the sum was the highest so far.

The ministry collected a record MVR52 million (US$3.3 million) as property Zakat last year. The registered number of poor in 2014 was more than 53,000.

Muneeza noted that Zakat payments can also be made through Dhiraagu and Ooreedoo.

Newly appointed Islamic minister Dr Ahmed Ziyad said at the press conference that renovation work on several mosques across the country will begin next week with a target of completion before Ramadan.

 

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Home ministry to bring out 100,000 students for parade

More than 100,000 students will take part in a parade in Malé and other islands on Saturday as part of Independence Day celebrations, the home ministry has said.

The ‘Independence 50 office’ under the home ministry revealed today that schools from all 20 atolls and the capital will join the parade to mark the golden jubilee of independence.

“We estimate than more than 100,000 students will participate in the parade. A total of 22 schools in Malé will join the parade,” state minister for home affairs Ahmed ‘Maaz’ Saleem said at a press conference this morning.

However, according to statistics from the education ministry, the number of students in government, community and private schools in the Maldives is 86,799.

The home ministry’s spokesperson Thazmeel Abdul Samad said the students will be dressed in colours of the national flag. In Malé, the parade will be held on the two largest streets – Majeedhee Magu and Ameenee Magu.

Students from the atolls will march in the biggest street of their island, he said.

The government has organised numerous events ahead of the upcoming 50th anniversary of independence on July 26.

Several events have taken place in recent weeks and the home ministry has said it will announce more events in the future.

The events include skydiving, swimming competitions, a sea sports festival, a world record attempt, parades, float parades, an international football tournament, a police football tournament, several music shows and the unveiling of new currency designs.

The government has also started decorating the streets of Malé with national flags and sacrificed 150 goats in a public ceremony in April.

The Independence Day celebrations have drawn criticism over the lack of transparency of expenses made out of the state budget.

However, Saleem said most of the work is done by volunteers.

“We organised the events in a way so that we can enlist volunteers in helping us. But we are handing out material costs and also wages for professional workers,” Saleem said.

Thazmeel also insisted that the expenses were legal and made in accordance with public finance regulations, but did not offer details.

The opposition has criticised the government for holding independence celebrations soon after jailing opposition leaders including ex-president Mohamed Nasheed on terrorism charges.

The opposition had held daily protests and two mass demonstrations on February 27 and May 1. Nearly 200 people were arrested from the May Day protest.

The opposition halted its weekly protest march on Saturday to make way for a float parade.

“How can they stop our protest for a float parade? That’s depriving us of our rights. Any way no one had bothered to come and look at some floats,” MP Rozaina Adam said at a Maldivian Democratic Party national council meeting yesterday.

This article previously stated the parade will take place on Thursday. This is incorrect. The parade is to take place on Saturday. 

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Government rejects ex-president as MDP representative in talks

The government has rejected ex-president Mohamed Nasheed as a representative for talks with the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

In a tweet today, president’s office spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali said the government had rejected Nasheed’s name because he is serving a jail sentence.

Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in jail in March on terrorism charges relating to the detention of a judge during his tenure.

Foreign governments and international bodies including the UN have criticised the trial for apparent lack of due process, while the European Union parliament has called for the ex-president’s immediate release.

Nasheed’s arrest and jailing triggered daily protests and a historic anti-government protest on May 1. Nearly 20,000 people took to the streets and some 193 people were arrested.

The government subsequently called for separate talks with the three allied opposition parties – the MDP, the Jumhooree Party and the Adhaalath Party.

The MDP’s national council yesterday proposed Nasheed, chairperson Ali Waheed and parliamentary group leader MP Ibrahim ‘Ibu’ Mohamed Solih to represent the party in talks with the government.

MDP vice-president Mohamed Shifaz said the party will hold a meeting to decide on a response to the president’s office’s statement.

“But I personally believed that we should be able to determine who should represent us. Not the government,” Shifaz said.

“When they say he is serving a jail term, we need to look at the circumstances in which he was sentenced. The Maldivian public and the world do not accept the trial and its verdict. Nasheed is a former president, and a man loved by a large majority of the public. Maldivians do not see him as a convict.”

In late April, the pro-government majority voted through amendments to the Prison and Parole Act that prohibited inmates from holding high-level posts in political parties. The revised law effectively stripped Nasheed of the MDP presidency.

Some ruling party MPs have also threatened to cut financial payouts to Nasheed by amending the law on privileges and immunities of former presidents to exclude individuals serving a jail sentence.

Speaking to Minivan News, Muaz said the government will proceed with the talks as soon as representatives are decided.

“If there is no legal, medical, physical or administrative obstructions regarding the representatives proposed by the three parties, we will proceed with the talks,” he said in a tweet today.

President Abdulla Yameen’s proposed agenda for talks focuses on three aspects: political reconciliation, strengthening the judiciary and legal system and political party participation in economic and social development

The government has ruled out negotiations over the release Nasheed and former defence minister Mohamed Nazim, insisting the president does not have the constitutional authority to release convicts before the appeal process is exhausted.

The opposition has previously questioned the government’s sincerity, pointing out that several opposition leaders had been arrested from the May 1 protest.

While the Jumhooree Party (JP) has accepted the invitation for talks, the religious conservative Adhaalath Party proposed its detained president, Sheikh Imran Abdulla, among the party’s representatives.

Imran was arrested on May 1 and remains in police custody.

The JP’s representative for talks, deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim was also arrested, but released by the High Court. The police are appealing the court’s ruling at the Supreme Court, a move the opposition says is aimed at barring Ameen from representing the JP.

During the national council debate yesterday, MP Eva Abdulla stressed the importance of talks involving all political parties, including the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

“MDP is the first party that called to solve the political crisis. So we are happy the government took the initiative to hold talks and we accept it. But we want to hold the discussions together, not separately as the government has suggested,” she said.

“We are not going to discussions to talk only about what the government wants. The discussions will include what the government wants, but also what we want. The agenda of the talks also should be set at the discussions.”

The opposition coalition has called for a third mass protest on June 12.

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Fenaka blames arsonists for fire at Addu City office

The state utility Fenaka Corporation has blamed arsonists for a fire at its offices in Addu City on Saturday.

A group of people poured kerosene and set fire to an area adjacent to the Fenaka sub station, which houses a transformer in Addu City. The fire was an attempt to disrupt electricity services in the area, the company said in a statement yesterday.

The station’s doors were damaged in the fire.

“We believe this was an attempt to damage the transformer at the station. If the transformer had been damaged there would have been difficulties in providing electricity to residents in the area as well as Muhyiddeen School,” the company said in a statement.

“We appeal [to the public] not to commit acts that may damage important service infrastructure for the sake of obtaining certain benefits.”

The police said no arrests have been made yet.

The fire comes two weeks after a group of people threw rocks and shattered windows at the home of Fenaka’s regional director Abdulla Zuhair.

A retail shop owner in Addu City Inaz Mohamed said the fire at the Fenaka sub station and the attack on Zubair’s house may be a result of “desperation” due to an unresolved dispute over electricity prices between the power company and local businesses.

Addu City businesses have been protesting since April over what they called a sudden hike in electricity prices.

In March, Fenaka increased prices in Addu and cut electricity subsides in other atolls in a bid to save MVR11 million (US$713,359) per month from the state budget.

Power bills have increased by 30 percent, shop owner Inaz Mohamed Didi said.

Inaz said businessmen in Addu had lodged separate petitions with government offices, the parliament and the courts. “But no one in this government is listening to us.”

He said he does not know who was responsible for the attacks and said businessmen in Addu do not encourage violence and have always prioritised dialogue.

Businessmen across the country closed their shops in protest in April. But the company said its hands were tied as it was only implementing government policies.

Fenaka is the main electricity provider in the atolls and operates in 151 of the 188 inhabited islands of the Maldives.

Addu City deputy mayor Abdulla Thoyyib meanwhile expressed concern over differences in electricity prices, noting that charges in Addu City and Fuvahmulah are up to 37 per cent higher than in capital Malé.

Higher electricity prices reduce investment in the southernmost city, he said.

In early May, Fenaka cut off electricity to several businesses, including a private hospital, when owners refused to pay bills.

Four businesses lodged a complaint with a magistrate court over power cuts. The court initially issued a stay order, but a new judge appointed to oversee the case overturned the ruling and said Fenaka was authorised to cut electricity if businesses fail to pay bills.

Presenting the 2015 budget in parliament, the government said it would target electricity subsidies to the poor.

But businesses and the opposition say the government failed to inform the public of the change in prices.

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Lawyers ‘entertaining’ Nasheed during daily visits, complains home minister

Home minister Umar Naseer has advised former president Mohamed Nasheed’s lawyers not to use their visits to “entertain” the imprisoned opposition leader.

In a letter to Nasheed’s attorney, Hassan Latheef, the home minister said that the legal team was “having fun, laughing and joking, and entertaining him” during daily visits to the Maafushi jail.

“I advise you to make proper use of the opportunity to meet lawyers,” Naseer stated.

The letter was dated May 3, but the legal team said it was only delivered yesterday.

Nasheed is serving a 13-year jail sentence following his conviction on terrorism charges on March 13 over the detention of a judge during his tenure. The 19-day trial was widely criticised by foreign governments, the UN, and international human rights organisations over its apparent lack of due process.

In a tweet last night, Latheef called Naseer’s letter “insane.”

“Stupidity to the max!” the former labour minister tweeted.

Latheef told Minivan News that Naseer did not have the authority to “determine whether we can laugh or not.”

The consultations with Nasheed were “none of Naseer’s business,” he continued and expressed concern with the home minister’s knowledge of confidential meetings between lawyers and a client.

“We fear that the meeting areas may be bugged,” he said.

Latheef said the legal team was only allowed to meet Nasheed once a week for two hours, which poses difficulties as the lawyers were also communicating with the former president’s international legal team and providing documentation.

The lawyers were able to meet other clients on any day at their convenience, he continued, but visits to Nasheed were authorised under strict supervision of the home minister.

In his reply to the home minister – shared on social media today – Latheef said the legal team’s efforts are intended to “save” the former president from the jail sentence and prove his innocence.

“As such, a case has been filed at the UN working group of arbitrary detention,” Latheef noted.

Former first lady Laila Ali lodged the petition last month requesting a judgment declaring Nasheed’s detention arbitrary and illegal.

Latheef said the conduct of the criminal court judges and proceedings at the court were amusing.

“Therefore, laughing at times while talking about the case is only natural,” Latheef wrote.

Latheef urged the home minister not to use his complaints “as an excuse” to narrow or deny the former president his constitutional right to legal representation.

 

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Government awards fisheries loans to 32 women

The government awarded loans worth MVR1.6 million (US$103,761) yesterday to 32 women under a programme to encourage female youth entrepreneurs in the fisheries sector.

Deputy minister of fisheries and agriculture Ahmed Hafiz told Minivan News today that the loan scheme offered loans of either MVR50,000 (US$3,242) or MVR100,000 (US$6,485) to develop fish products.

“As stated in the government’s manifesto, the loans were aimed for youth to encourage youth participation in the fisheries industry,” he said.

A World Bank report released in February revealed that the unemployment rate for women aged 15 to 24 was three times higher than for men in the same age group.

At 22 percent, the Maldives also has the highest rate of youth unemployment in South Asia.

Hafiz explained that loans worth MVR5.8 million (US$376,134) will be issued under the programme with 60 percent allocated for female youth entrepreneurs.

However, 60 percent of the 176 applicants were not young women, he noted, adding that the ministry will award the rest of the loans after the evaluation process.

Hafiz said the response from the public was “good, it was better than we expected.”

The loan programme is funded from the government budget.

Hafiz noted that that the MVR50,000 loans were awarded without collateral. The loans have to be repaid to the Bank of Maldives in five years at an interest rate of six percent.

In March, the government issued MVR8.6 million (US$557,717) worth of loans to 14 boat owners and fishermen under a fisheries loan scheme.

Although 60 percent of the funds were earmarked for youth, President Abdulla Yameen noted at the time that only three of the 14 recipients were young fishermen, and urged more youth – the “target group” – to apply.

President Yameen has pledged to create 94,000 jobs for Maldivian youth. Last year, the government introduced a youth unemployment register, cleared the criminal records for many youth offenders, and launched the ‘GetSet’ entrepreneurship programme.

The anti-corruption watchdog in April ordered the youth ministry to re-evaluate applications submitted for the ‘Get Set’ loan scheme, noting two youth ministry staff were among the proposed recipients.

 

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