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JSC votes not to suspend Supreme Court Judge in sex video, due to “lack of evidence”

Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has decided not to suspend Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed, who is currently under both police and JSC investigation following the circulation of a sex video apparently depicting the judge fornicating with an unidentified foreign woman.

Four members of the JSC voted in support of a motion on Wednesday to not suspend the Supreme Court Justice, over due to “lack of evidence”.

The decision disregarded the recommendation of the JSC’s own five member committee investigating the judge’s conduct in multiple leaked videos.

The four members who supported the motion to not suspend the judge included parliament representative, resort tycoon and presidential candidate MP Gasim Ibrahim, Attorney General Aishath Azima Shukoor, President Waheed’s representative Latheefa Gasim, and Chair of the Civil Service Commission, Mohamed Fahmy Hassan, who was recently dismissed by parliament in no-confidence motion over allegations of sexual harassment, but later reinstated by the Supreme Court.

JSC members Shuaib Abdul Rahmaan, Ahmed Rasheed and Abdulla Hameed did not support the motion.

Following the decision, JSC Deputy Chairman Abdulla Mohamed Didi and Latheefa Gasim resigned from the five-member committee investigating the matter.

The video of the Supreme Court Justice allegedly indulging in adultery came into media limelight following the arrest of Ahmed Faiz – a senior Council Member of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s Gaumee Ihthihaad Party (GIP) and former Project Advisor at the Housing Ministry.

Snapshots taken from the video began circulating on social media networks Twitter and Facebook, prompting a police investigation. The police formally notified all relevant authorities including the JSC, the Prosecutor General and President Waheed regarding their investigation into the case.

The JSC is also investigating a further two videos involving the Supreme Court Judge, including spy cam videos of Hameed discussing political corruption of the judiciary with a local businessman, and a meeting with former Immigration Controller Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim.

A question of “details”

Gasim Ibrahim had previously defended Justice Hameed during a campaign rally, claiming that the alleged sex-tape was a “fake”. He was criticised by former Attorney General Husnu Suood for breaching the JSC’s code of conduct.

Attorney General Shukoor defended the commission’s decision claiming that the five member sub-committee needed more details on the case in order to suspend the judge, claiming the decision not to suspend Hameed was to give the committee time to come up with these details.

“The motion was passed when called for a vote. Therefore it must be noted that there was no motion calling to take action against the Supreme Court Justice during the meeting,” read the statement by Shukoor, defending the decision.

Discrimination between judges

JSC member Shuaib Abdul Rahmaan told Minivan News the commission’s enforcement of disciplinary action towards higher and lower court judges lacked consistency, despite all judges sharing the same code of conduct.

“Criminal Court Judge Abdul Baari Yoosuf was previously suspended and asked not to report for work [during a JSC investigation into his alleged sexual assault of a female lawyer].

“However, in the case of Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed, despite there being much stronger evidence, the commission members are reluctant to take action. Last time, even Azima Shukoor and Gasim Ibrahim voted in favour of suspending Baari,” Shuaib said.

He dismissed Shukoor’s statement stating that a motion to suspend the judge would be re-tabled.

“No, there was no decision reached at the meeting to re-agenda the matter,” he said.

Asked about the specific details the commission was seeking from the sub-committee, Shuaib said that these carried no weight and would not change the course of the investigation.

According to local media reports, the decision led to a falling out between members of the JSC including its Vice Chair Abdulla Didi – who chaired the meeting due to the absence of the commission’s chair Supreme Court Justice Adam Mohamed.

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Former President Nasheed submits candidacy for 2013 Presidential Elections

Former President Nasheed has filed his candidacy papers with the Elections Commission to contest September’s Presidential election.

“As mandated by the Election Commission, President Nasheed sought and received clearance from the country’s judicial courts and other state institutions prior to submitting his candidature as the Maldivian Democratic Party’s Presidential candidate,” said the MDP in a statement.

A large group of MDP supporters and party leaders accompanied the former President to the commission to submit the papers.

Nasheed and the MDP maintain the former president was compelled to resign during a police and military mutiny on February 7, 2012. His successor and former vice-president, Dr Mohamed Waheed, maintain the succession was legitimate.

“Today we submitted the election forms and begin the task of restoring democracy to our country. It has been a slippery slope but we have come a long way. Despite all the barriers and hurdles that were put in our way, we never gave up. Undoubtedly because of the resilience of the people of the Maldives, we are confident of winning this election in the first round with a handsome majority,” Nasheed declared.

Following February 7’s controversial transfer of power, the former President was charged over his detention of Chief Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed, after parliament and the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) failed to taken action over its extensive list of allegation against the judge.

Nasheed and the MDP dismissed the charges as a politically-motivated attempt to convict and obstruct Nasheed from contesting the presidential elections, pointing to the presence of political opponents on the JSC, including a rival presidential candidate, which had created both the court hearing the charges and appointed the panel of judges hearing the case.

The international community reacted with calls for the presidential election to be “free, fair and inclusive”, and concerns over the state of the judiciary were echoed in a special report by UN Special Rapporteur Gabriela Knaul.

The Nasheed trial subsequently stalled at the high court level, after Chief Judge of the High Court Ahmed Shareef issued an injunction. A day later the JSC suspended Shareef for what it claimed was an unrelated matter. He is currently contesting his suspension in court.

In his statement today, Nasheed stated that he had “received clearance from the courts and other state institutions” prior to submitting his candidature to the Elections Commission.

The Elections Commission has said it will formally announce accepted candidates 48 hours after receiving submissions.

At a press conference in Male, Nasheed thanked his supporters for ensuring he would be allowed to contest the election, and expressed gratitude to both his legal team and international actors. He also thanked reporters for their coverage of the MDP’s activities since the transfer of power in February 2012.

During the press conference Nasheed noted the current rapid political realignments taking place, such as the defection of the Adhaalath Party from President Waheed’s coalition to Gasim Ibrahim’s Jumhoree Party and Waheed’s decision to run as an independent candidate.

Following Nasheed’s press conference Waheed’s remaining coalition partner, the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), followed suit.

Also observing that several senior members of the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) had left the party, Nasheed invited the defectors to join the MDP.

Asked by reporters as to whether he was concerned about election rigging, Nasheed did not discount the possibility but said he believed that “the election will be free and fair after the voter list is properly finalised and observers, monitors and agents are able to participate.”

“When the tide has turned it becomes very difficult for anyone to swim against it,” Nasheed said.

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President seeking US$300 million credit facility from Saudi Arabia for “budget support”

The government has confirmed it is in discussion with Saudi Arabia, seeking a long-term, low interest credit facility of US$300 million to help overcome “fiscal problems”.

President’s Office Spokesperson Masood Imad confirmed President Waheed had held discussions with senior Saudi Arabian dignitaries including Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud over the proposed credit facility, during his recent visit to the country.

“The president has initiated the talks so it is just a matter of working out the details now,” Masood said, explaining that the funds would be used for “budget support” and development projects.

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has meanwhile said the government would still be required to secure parliamentary approval for the funding.

MDP MP and Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said that the heavily partisan parliament now effectively controlled state finances as a result of former opposition politicians – now part of President Waheed’s government – imposing tighter spending restrictions on former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration.

Ghafoor argued that with the MDP failing to recognise the legitimacy of the present government due to the controversial transfer of power last February, he did not believe there would be support for approving the credit agreement with Saudi Arabia due to the government’s existing extravagant borrowing levels.

The party accused the current government of reckless financial management, pointing to a potential US$1.4 billion compensation bill facing the state for deciding last year to abruptly terminate a US$511 million airport development contract agreed with infrastructure group GMR.

The compensation claim amounts to four times that of the Maldives’ current state reserves should it be awarded by a Singapore court overhearing arbitration hearings between GMR and the government.

“Since we do net see this government as legitimate, we do not see why we should support them,” he said. “They have put us into debt with their handling of the airport development and another bill for a border control system.”

Earlier this month, Malaysian security firm Nexbis invoiced the Department of Immigration and Emigration for US$2.8 million (MVR 43 million) for the installation and operation of its border control system technology in the country, in line with a concession agreement signed in 2010.

Immigration Controller Dr Mohamed Ali confirmed at the time that Nexbis had submitted a bill seeking charges for the period its system has been in use, as work continues on replacing the Malaysian company’s border controls with new technology provided by the US government.

Development delays

In April this year, Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad sought authorisation from parliament to divert MVR 650 million (US$42 million) allocated for infrastructure projects in the budget to cover recurrent expenditure.

Jihad warned that government offices and independent institutions might be unable to pay salaries or electricity and phone bills if funds were not transferred from the MVR 1.8 billion (US$117 million) Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP).

Earlier the same month, Jihad also announced that the government had decided to delay all new development projects that were to be financed out of the state budget due to shortfalls in revenue.

The decision to suspend new projects was revealed after Housing Minister Dr Mohamed Muiz told local media at the time that he had been instructed not to commence any further infrastructure projects included in the 2013 budget, such as harbour construction or land reclamation.

Both Finance Minister Jihad and Economic Development Minister Ahmed Mohamed were not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

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Police summon mother of MDP MP for questioning

Police have summoned the mother of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ali Waheed for questioning as part of a joint investigation with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

Zuhra Abdulla of Honey Moon House in Thoddu, Alifu Alifu Atoll was summoned to Thoddu Island Council, police confirmed to Minivan News.

According to a police spokesperson, Zuhra invoked her right to remain silent.

Speaking to Minivan News, Ali Waheed confirmed that his mother was summoned to the island council by police for the investigation of a case concerning him.

He alleged the investigation was political and an attempt to distract from what was “a really happy day for MDP” following former President Mohamed Nasheed’s submission of his candidacy for the 2013 presidential election.

“[Police] are concerned and worried because they have failed to fulfill their promise to their supporters to jail former President Mohamed Nasheed,” Ali Waheed contended.

”We will not be cooperative to any political investigation,” he said. ”These are little sticks thrown at us because today Nasheed had filed his candidacy at the Elections Commission”.

On February 20, 2013, police declared they were investigating a corruption case involving Ali Waheed in which his mother purchased a land in Male’ for MVR 7.938 million (US$514,000) in October 2011.

At the time, President of the ACC Hassan Luthfee confirmed the institution was also investigating a case concerning the Thoddoo MP.

“We have earlier received complaints regarding the MP taking bribes following his defection from the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) to the MDP. There were also claims that he utilised the money he received as bribes to buy a house. We are investigating the matter,” Luthfee said.

In May 2011, Ali Waheed switched sides from DRP to MDP claiming a lack of internal democracy within his former party.

In August 2011, Ali Waheed won a beachfront house for Rf4.6 million (US$300,000), bidding Rf3020 per square foot. At the same time, Ali Waheed’s wife also won a house from the 36 beachfront residential plots on Hulhumale, bidding Rf 3020 per square foot, for Rf 4,749,651 (US$310,000).

Waheed and his wife were the third highest bidders for the property, under the Hulhulmale Development Corporation (HDC)’s housing programme.

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Dead dolphin found with puncture wound to head

A dolphin with a puncture wound to the head was found dead and stranded on Hoadedhdhoo Island in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll yesterday morning (July 17).

In the early morning hours of Tuesday a Hoadedhdhoo resident discovered the dead dolphin on the west side of the island – which faces away from the interior of the atoll towards the open sea.

The dolphin showed no signs of life, but had sustained a visible puncture wound which was bleeding onto the hard, flat coral that surrounds the island like a buffer.

“I think fishing boat people injured it because its head was bleeding. The dolphin looked like its head had a puncture from a fishing hook,” a Hoadedhdhoo government official told Minivan News today (July 17) on condition of anonymity.

This incident could be a potential issue for the Maldives’ fishing industry, which is known for its environmentally sustainable pole and line method, where no nets are allowed, preventing bycatch which makes it ‘dolphin safe’.

The source said he believed the dolphin must have died recently because there was no foul odor coming from the body at the time it was discovered.

A white object in the dolphin’s mouth was a piece of coral probably put there by small children that had been playing near the body, the source explained.

The source noted that “not a lot” of fishing boats are seen off the coast of Hoadedhdhoo. However, large pods of dolphins have been observed in the channel slightly north of Hoadedhdhoo.

About five or six years ago a small dolphin was found dead on the same side of the island, however it did not appear to have sustained any injuries, another Hoadedhdhoo resident told Minivan News on condition of anonymity.

Dolphins essential for Maldives’ ecosystem

Following the reported incident, Minivan News contacted the Maldives Marine Research Centre (MRC) to determine the species and age of the dead dolphin.

“From the characteristics of its body shape and erect dorsal fin, it appears to be a common spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris). They can be easily identified by a long slender beak with a black tip and black lips, while their bodies are mainly grey with three toned coloration,” MRC Assistant Research Officer Mariam Shidha told Minivan News today.

While it was difficult to determine the exact size of the deceased dolphin based on the photographs, it is “most likely to be an adult”, since adults range between 1.8 – 2.1 meters in size, while they mature at the size of 1.5 – 1.7 meters, explained Shidha.

“Dolphins are important to our ecosystem because they are apex (top level) predators which control the populations of fishes and squids to keep it all balanced,” Shidha emphasised.

She explained that stranding of cetacean species – a such as whales, dolphins, and porpoises – “do not happen that often” in Maldivian waters; at most two to three per year are reported.

“[Moreover,] in the Maldives its a very rare thing for a dolphin to be injured by a fishermen since they are not a bycatch of pole and line fisheries,” she said. “However, in the Pacific Ocean, fishermen sometimes purposefully catch dolphins as they use other [unsustainable] fishing methods in order to get to the yellowfin tunas that swim underneath dolphins.”

“The MRC has had no reports of such deliberate acts of abuse or harm to dolphins [in the Maldives],” said Shidha. However, any incidents of people harming dolphins or strandings should be reported to the MRC.

All dolphins and whales are protected under the Maldivian Law and almost all the species of dolphins found in Maldivian waters are listed in the IUCN’s red list of threatened species, noted Shidha.

The MRC is working to raise awareness about why dolphins are essential for the environment in the Maldives.

“We are educating the public on the importance of protecting these charismatic fauna which are so important for the functioning of the ecosystem,” emphasised Shidha. “Also we have held a Cetacean Symposium and outreach programs for school children.”

Fisheries Ministry

“When we find a [stranded] dolphin it’s important to know how it happened. However, I don’t know how we can investigate [in this case],” Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Ahmed Shafeeu told Minivan News today.

“The type of pole and line fishing we have [in the Maldives] is done in a way that doesn’t harm dolphins,” said Shafeeu. “We have not had reports of dolphins being caught, it’s very unlikely.”

“Although an accident or something can happen, in that case the dolphin should be released immediately,” he emphasised. “Catching dolphins in any way [intentional or unintentional] is not allowed by law.”

“Sometimes dolphins are found washed up on the shore [of an island]. In those cases the incident should be reported to the local island council,” explained Shafeeu. “[But] there is no specific regulation that requires island councils to report to national offices if an animal is found.”

“However, if there are concerns of malpractice or someone is known to be deliberately hurting an animal, then it should be reported [to the relevant authorities beyond the island level],” he added.

‘Dolphin safe’

Environmentally-friendly, sustainable pole and line fishing allows Maldives’ tuna to be certified as ‘dolphin safe’, enabling it to be sold as a “premium” product for the European and US markets.

The ‘dolphin safe’ certification is provided by the Earth Island Institute (EII), an international non-governmental organisation (NGO).

Earlier this year EII Associate Director Mark Berman explained to Minivan News that EII’s ‘dolphin safe’ policy requires that “no tuna company will deal in sea turtles, sharks, dolphins, whales, or their products. All efforts to minimise bycatch of these species is mandatory”.

A November 3, 2011 EII press statement read, “the Maldives tuna industry has adopted a policy to ensure that no dolphins are ever killed in tuna nets.”

“That Dolphin Safe standard is respected all over the world”, Dolphin Safe program Associate Director Mark Berman told Minivan News at the time. “Major tuna importing nations will not buy tuna from governments that harm dolphins.”

According to the EII website, the companies licensed with the dolphin-safe label must meet the following criteria:

  • No intentional chasing, netting or encirclement of dolphins during an entire tuna fishing trip;
  • No use of drift gill nets to catch tuna;
  • No accidental killing or serious injury to any dolphins during net sets;
  • No mixing of dolphin-safe and dolphin-deadly tuna in individual boat wells (for accidental kill of dolphins), or in processing or storage facilities;
  • Each trip in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP) by vessels 400 gross tons and above must have an independent observer on board attesting to the compliance with points (1) through (4) above
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Maldivian suspect arrested over US$122,000 Male’ hotel theft

Police have arrested a Maldivian national in connection with the theft of over US$100,000 from a safe at the Relax Inn Hotel in Male’ yesterday (July 16) .

Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed that a case had been filed yesterday over the missing money, with investigations continuing into the matter.

Haneef said that officers were currently working on trying to reclaim the funds taken form the hotel, reported in local media to amount to US$122,000.

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Adhaalath Party enters coalition agreement with resort tycoon’s Jumhoree Party

The religious conservative Adhaalath Party (AP) has declared it has entered into a coalition agreement with resort tycoon Gasim Ibrahim’s Jumhoree Party (JP).

The AP recently severed its coalition agreement with President Mohamed Waheed, following his remarks to the AFP newswire that it was “better to work with” the self-claimed Islamist party, despite suggesting some elements in the party held “extreme views”.  He told media at the time that excluding the party from mainstream politics risked marginalising its members, having a “negative long-term effect”.

In a statement announcing its new coalition partner, the AP praised Gasim’s campaigning for the 2013 election and said it believed the presidential candidate was “the person most capable of defending the country from foreign influences, to safeguard the country’s highest of priorities, and that he is capable of working in an independent manner.”

Local news outlet Sun Online observed that the AP had similarly allied with the JP ahead of the 2008 presidential election, noting that the party’s then spokesperson and current Minister of Islamic Affairs, Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, had qualified the alliance on the grounds that “a person capable of controlling four wives is more than capable of controlling the country.”

Following its departure from Waheed’s ‘Forward with the nation’ coalition last week, the Adhaalath Party was reported to have been in talks with the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).

While the extent of the Adhaalath Party’s electoral support in the coming elections is uncertain (the party received 0.9 percent of the votes in the 2009 parliamentary election), its numbers make up the bulk of the ranks of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and it remains a loud voice in Maldivian politics.

Independent MP Ibrahim Muttalib, while not elected as an Adhaalath MP, has since declared association with the party. His bills have included motions calling for a blanket ban on the sale and import of pork and alcohol in the Maldives, a luxury tourism destination with an economy dependent on over 100 resorts targeting the lucrative UK, German, French and Russian markets.

Gasim Ibrahim meanwhile remains one of the country’s single largest importers of alcohol, with customs records for 2011 showing his Villa Hotels chain – including the Royal, Paradise, Sun, and Holiday Island resorts – importing approximately 121,234.51 litres of beer, 2048 litres of whiskey, 3684 litres of vodka and 219.96 kilograms of pork sausages annually, among other haram (prohibited) commodities restricted to ‘uninhabited’ islands.

The Adhaalath Party also endorsed a flogging sentence given in February to a 15 year-old rape victim found guilty of a separate fornication offence, on the grounds that “if such sinful activities are to become this common, the society will break down and we may become deserving of divine wrath.”

After an Avaaz petition calling for the repeal of the sentence reached more than two million signatures – double the country’s annual tourism arrivals – Waheed’s administration pledged to appeal the matter. The case remains stalled in the High Court.

Gasim in March 2013 complained he had lost US$16 million as a result of a selective tourism boycott, orchestrated he claimed by his political rivals the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

While in coalition with Waheed, the Adhaalath Party also notably clamped down on singing and dancing, including requesting in April 2012 that the Education Ministry cancel the Maldives’ inter-school singing competition on the grounds that singing was haram in Islam.

Gasim was meanwhile heavily critical of the MDP’s recently-launched youth policy, titled ‘Entertainment without fear’, accusing former President Nasheed of being a “monster” guilty of “every despicable act ever to be found in the world”.

“He doesn’t understand what the law says, so a crazy person like him may say that he would give the opportunity for people to limitlessly entertain themselves. Look, it is not something Allah has given us human beings,” Gasim declared.

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Nasheed pledges to bridge islands in capital and build 12,000 new housing units

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Presidential Candidate, former President Mohamed Nasheed, has pledged he will connect the islands within the Male City via a bridge and will build additional 12,000 housing units should he be elected president in September’s elections.

Nasheed made the remarks during a campaign gathering in the Henveiru ward of Male’ on Tuesday evening.

Speaking during the gathering, Nasheed claimed the MDP believed in interconnecting the islands in order to resolve issues of congestion and over population in the city.

Although located in Kaafu Atoll, Male’ City is not administratively considered a part of the atoll. It currently consists of Male’ Island, Villingili Island, the airport Island Hulhule, Industrial island of Thilafushi and artificially reclaimed islands Hulhumale’ and Gulhi Falhu.

Except for Hulhule and Hulhumale’, the remaining islands are currently interconnected by ferry boats which have at times proven ineffective due to bad weather.

Previous plans

Nasheed had previously during his presidency reiterated the necessity for the government to built a bridge connecting the islands of Male’ and Hulhumale’ – an artificially reclaimed island built to combat the rising population of Male  – claiming that the existing ferry system was insufficient to accommodate the growing populations on both islands.

In December 2011, Nasheed’s cabinet decided to proceed with the construction of a bridge between Male’ and Hulhule, under the Male’ decongestion plans which the government said was intended to provide affordable housing for the people, and resolve other social issues.

Following the ousting of Nasheed’s administration two months later, his successor President Mohamed Waheed announced it had been trying to get a US$150 million loan (MVR 2.31 billion) from Turkey’s Exim bank to fund the project.

“We are presently in discussion with Turkey’s Exim bank to obtain a US$ 150 million loan for this project. The decision has been made to travel to Turkey for this purpose, but the loan is not yet confirmed,” Finance Minister Jihad told local media at the time.

President Waheed’s Housing Minister Mohamed Muizzu earlier said that government had received proposals from several international companies to construct such a bridge.

The Minister at the time claimed that two companies from China, one each from South Korea and Turkey had expressed interest in building the bridge.

“The companies have held discussions with me over building the bridge. The companies have also submitted ways to obtain funds. I hope that the project can begin before too long,” the minister said at the time.

Pledged 12,000 housing units

Nasheed during his speech on Tuesday said his vision was to provide 12,000 new housing units for the people of Male, and stressed that such a project is feasible.

“Our target is to connect Male’, Hulhule, Villingili, Thilafushi and Gulhifalhu and build a road that connects all these islands,” Nasheed said.

He further said that total cost of building the needed bridges stood at around US$100 million, and that it was possible for such a project to be completed through Public Private Partnership (PPP).

The former president highlighted that funds needed to build the 12,000 housing units could be generated through the sale of lands that would be reclaimed from Gulhifalhu and Hulhumale’.

“By reclaiming the land and by selling those lands, this project can be completed. We will make that project a successful project and hopefully by the end of 2015, we will try to build housing units for all those who are currently in need of it,” Nasheed said.

Speaking about the previous Veshi Fahi Male’ de-congestion project which was initiated by Nasheed himself during his presidency, said that he had learnt of many people who wished to see the project expanded during the MDP’s door-to-door campaigns.

Nasheed promised the project would be expanded and enhanced in an MDP-led government, which would provide affordable housing to residents of Male City.

The Veshi Fahi Male’ de-congestion programme was a flagship project of Nasheed’s government under the MDP’s manifesto pledge to provide affordable housing.

The project was launched on November 10, 2010 to ease congestion in the capital and develop the Greater Male’ Region, composed of Hulhumale’, Villingili, Thilafushi industrial island and Gulhifalhu.

Approximately 125,000 people are believed to reside in about 16,000 households in Male’; the total number of households in the Maldives is estimated to be 46,000.

“Once the reclamation of these islands are completed there would be space for more housing units even after building the targeted 12,000 units,” Nasheed said.

“MDP is proposing well-rounded policies. MDP is proposing an opportunity for development, a vision to help the people of this country find a better alternative,” he added.

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Former President Gayoom to receive Maldives’ “highest honour”

The government has announced that former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom will receive the country’s “highest honour” – the Nishaan Ghaazeege Izzaiytheri Veriyaa (NGIV).

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad confirmed to Minivan News that the decision to bestow former President Gayoom with the NGIV was approved at a cabinet meeting held yesterday (July 16). He stressed however that the timing of the award was not related to recent political events such as criticism of President Waheed by the Gayoom-led Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

According to Masood, previous recipients of the NGIV have included former Maldives President Ibrahim Nasir and present British monarch Queen Elizabeth II.

Gayoom presently serves as leader of the PPM, which is part of the coalition government and the second largest party in the country in terms of MP numbers.

While aligned with the government, the PPM has on numerous occasions in recent months publicly criticised President Waheed and some of his decisions as head of state. The party has most notably accused the president of using state resources to gain an unfair campaign advantage ahead of this year’s presidential election, as well as not listening to the advice of his coalition partners on key foreign investment issues.

The PPM confirmed earlier this week that it was yet to make a formal decision on whether to discuss retracting support for the coalition government, despite receiving a number of complaints from members about the conduct of President Waheed.

Bureaucratic system

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood rejected any suggestion that the decision to award the NGIV honour to Gayoom was related to the party’s recent criticisms of the government.

He said figures chosen to receive the honour were nominated by members of the public and then processed through the country’s bureaucratic system, before being forwarded to the cabinet for approval.

Masood added that very few dignitaries had so far been presented with the award, though he suggested that former President Mohamed Nasheed, who controversially resigned from government in February 2012 on the back of a mutiny by sections of the police and military, may also be in contention for the honour at some point.

“I hope and pray Mr Nasheed will one day get [the NGIV] as well,” Masood said.

Minivan News was awaiting a response from former Home Minister and current PPM vice presidential candidate Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed at time of press.

Not a “major issue”: opposition MDP

Responding to news of the honour today, the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party said it did not see former President Gayoom receiving the NGIV as a “major issue” at the present time.  The MDP accuses Gayoom during his autocratic rule of numerous human rights abuses such as the imprisonment and torture of his opponents.

Speaking at a rally today, the MDP’s candidate for this year’s election, former President Nasheed, noted that the NGIV was traditionally given to figures in honour of efforts to protect the independence of the Maldives.

Although he questioned Gayoom’s role in protecting national independence, Nasheed said that as one the most prominent “elder statesmen” in Maldivian politics, the former president was an appropriate candidate for the honour.

Gayoom oversaw 30 years of autocratic rule in the Maldives, before losing to a coalition backing former President Nasheed in the second round of the country’s first ever multi-party democratic election in 2008.

The MDP has previously maintained that Gayoom has been a key figure behind the controversial transfer of power on February 7, 2012, which the party has claimed was a “coup d’etat.”

The allegations were rejected last year by a Commonwealth-backed Commission of National Inquiry.

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