Police have arrested an under aged boy and two men with empty bottles of liquor in the island of Thulhaadhoo in Baa Atoll.
Police said they were arrested yesterday afternoon at about 1:00pm.
Two bottles containing alcohol were also found in the place, said police.
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(0)The High Court has ruled that Maafushi Court’s ruling that prison officers on the island be allowed to grow their beards was unlawful because Maafushi Court gave no opportunity for the defendant – the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS) – to say anything before the case was concluded.
The High Court also said that Maafushi Court’s ruling stated that the case was presented to the court by eight parties, but said that in the form presented to Maafushi Court there was only one person listed as the petitioner.
The High Court’s ruling, delivered by High Court Judges Shuaib Hassan Zakariyya, Abdulla Hameed and Yousuf Hussain, delivered the verdict made no mention about the legality of prison officers growing beards.
Last year a group of prison officers working for the DPRS filed a case against a requirement that male officers shave off their beards.
Maafushi Court Judge Ibrahim Hussain at the time ruled that men should not be told to shave their beards ‘’to make them look like women’’. All Prophets, from Adam to Mohamed (PBUH), grew beards, the judge observed.
In September last year, Rector of the Faculty of Sharia Law, Dr Ibrahim Zakariyya Moosa, reportedly said that a female student wearing the face veil studying at the Faculty of Sharia Law would be asked to remove it during class or face being expelled if she refused to do so.
Later the girl filed the case in the Civil Court, which has not yet reached a verdict.
Speaking to the press, current Attorney General Azima Shukoor said wearing the face veil in class should not be banned.
(0)Dislikes(0)Anti-government crowds disrupted a ceremony marking the anniversary of the Japanese tsunami in Male’ on Sunday night.
The ceremony was held at Nasandhura Palace Hotel. A member of the Japanese embassy’s diplomatic staff said that 100 guests were expected, adding that it would have been more were it not for the current “security” concerns in the country.
The capital has seen nightly protests since the end of last year. This period of unrest has seen marches, police brutality, and a controversial change of President.
The ceremony began with the Maldivian and the Japanese national anthems followed by a minute’s silence, before the Japanese ambassador to the Maldives, Ambassador Nobuhito, gave a brief speech.
Nobuhito cited the reasons for the ceremony as being condolences for those lost, gratitude for the help received and to give reassurance of Japan’s recovery from the tsunami’s destruction. Following the tsunami, the Maldives donated 86,400 tins of tuna to Japan, which has been one of the country’s major aid partners.
Outside, hundreds of anti-government demonstrators gathered at the gates of the Nasandhura Palace Hotel.
President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Abdul Samad Abdulla, spoke about how the 2004 tsunami had brought the people of the Maldives together.
“Gayoom removed some charges against detained opposition members to unite the country,” Dr Samad claimed.
Many in the room seemed distracted, turning their attention towards the raised voices that could now be heard outside.
Dr Samad rounded off his speech by suggesting that it was more than just adversity that united the Maldivian and Japanese nations, it was a mutual commitment to human rights, to the rule of law, and to democracy.
Outside, this commitment was being questioned. Riot police rounded on the crowd, visors down, shields at the ready. Some people in the crowd shouted “baaghee (traitor) Waheed”.
Refreshments were barely touched before an announcement was made that the reception was now ending.
Leaving the hotel and walking a little way down the road towards the crowd, Minivan News asked a passing soldier why the people were there. The soldier smiled and said simply, “They think the government is not the government.”
A young man on the other side of the police barricade grinned and said, with similar poignancy, “Nice Maldives, huh?”
Meanwhile
Once the more prominent guests had safely left the area, the security forces began to recede back towards their headquarters.
Simultaneously, the MDP camp by the Tsunami monument was silent as former President Mohamed Nasheed fielded questions from the Women’s Wing, or ‘Women’s Spirit’ of the party.
The atmosphere here was one of stark contrast to the disorder and tension outside the Nasandhura Palace Hotel.
The scene at Raalhugandu resembled that of a traditional conference. Rows of seated women faced Nasheed, whose head table contained a panel of the MDPs prominent female members.
The discussions were observed by thousands of MDP loyalists who listened in near silence as the women’s concerns were aired.
MDP Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said that the event was an attempt at a new “creative form of direct action.”
Japan is also providing 250 million yen (US$3million) as foreign aid to the Maldives government to purchase industrial products produced in the affected areas of Japan, to accelerate the economic progress of those areas.
The agreement was signed between the two countries today at the Maldives Foreign Ministry.
According to a statement released by the ministry, the purchased equipments will be utilised in the health, education sectors and at the Maldives Polytechnic and Male’ Health Corporation.
(0)Dislikes(0)Attorney General Azima Shukoor has expressed doubt over the legality of the privatisation of state property that took place under the last government.
Talking last night on DhiTV, the Attorney General said that the correct legal processes had not been followed.
“We have noted that when the state properties had been transferred, no detailed list or opening balance sheet had been created. And these properties have been leased to other parties or councils in the absence of any legal guidelines,” Shukoor said.
“That’s why the Auditor General is involved in the process of transference of state property from one entity to another. But that role had been bypassed.”
The Attorney General informed DhiTV that her office, as well as the Anti-Corruption Commission would be investigating. Regarding the GMR airport deal, she said that a decision had not yet been made.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik has dismissed all board members of the seven regional utilities companies and health services corporations, and appointed two seven-member interim boards to oversee all seven utilities and health services companies respectively, the President’s Office has said.
The dismissal was to streamline the companies’ work, said the President Office, and the interim board will revise, strengthen and re-formulate the operating procedures for the companies.
The interim board of the utilities companies consists of: Ibrahim Athif Shakoor (M. Aasthana, Malé), Mohamed Ahmed Didi (M. Honey Dew, Malé), Dr. Abdulla Firaq (Fiyathoshige, Haa Alif Thakandhoo), Mohamed Faiz (Ma. Havana, Malé), Abdul Matheen Mohamed (Naares, Raa Hulhudhuffaru), Shimad Ibrahim (Dhilshaadhuge, Gaaf Alif Dhevvadhoo), and Mohamed Nimal (M. Kokahandhuvaru, Malé).
The interim board of the health services corporations consist of: Ibrahim Mohamed (M. Muleege, Malé), Mohamed Iyad Hameed (M. Moodhoo, Malé), Mohamed Ibrahim Manik (Medhuge, Thaa Guraidhoo), Dr. Abdulla Afeef (Hudhuvilaage, Seenu Meedhoo), Aminath Rasheedha Aboobakr (H. Thiyara, Malé), Ali Shareef Mohamed (Tulipmaage, Haa Alif Hoarafushi), and Hussein Fahmy (M. Fathaha, Malé).
President Waheed also reappointed the Veshi Fahi Malé Programme’s steering committee in February.
(1)Dislikes(0)The UK and Germany have lifted all travel restrictions to the Maldives, reports Sun Online.
Speaking to the press at Berlin’s ITB Fair, Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb said he had met with UK and German foreign office officials and the media, and had been able to assure safety for tourists in the Maldives.
“Our main message is that Maldives is a safe destination for tourists. We have given them this confidence. In the past three days, I met with senior officials and the media to give them this message and confidence. The results of it have been good. Because of it Germany has lifted travel advisory. So has the UK,” Adeeb told Sun Online.
The ITB Berlin Fair was held from March 7-11. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) revised travel advice to the Maldives on March 8. The UK and Germany issued travel warnings to the capital Malé following the events of February 7, 2012.
(0)Dislikes(0)The MDP intends to lodge a complaint against the current practices of the Maldives Broadcasting Corporation’s (MBC) state media outlets, Television Maldives (TVM), and the radio station, Voice of Maldives (VOM).
In a letter, the MDP accused the MBC of violating the agreements mandated by the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) Act of August 2010 by producing biased content and not giving adequate exposure to all political groups.
TVM and VOM were, the MDP argued, “being blatantly used as propaganda outlets of the coup regime, while the ongoing peaceful political activities of the MDP are being sidelined with little regard to the MBC’s mandate and the nation’s laws under which the MBC is functional.”
“State media airwaves are being clogged incessantly with interviews, views, opinions, and press conferences detailing the regime’s vision by regime loyalist political parties,” MDP alleged.
“On March 6, MDP’s request to buy airtime to broadcast a crucial press conference by Maldives’ first democratically elected President Mohamed Nasheed was met with silence.”
The MDP also accused the group of allowing politicians from the Dhivehi Quamee Party (DQP) and Jumhooree Party (JP) unfettered access to TVM studios and editing booths in contravention of its independent credentials.
JP MP Abbas Adil Riza, named in the letter as one of the MPs seen at TVM, strongly denied the accusation. He was unaware of the complaint and said he did not wish to see the letter. Also named in the letter are the JP’s Ali Hashim and the DQP’s Adbulla Ameen.
The letter reads “MBC is legally bound and mandated to ensure impartiality and independence in its role as a public service provider”.
“According to Article 2 (c) of the Maldives Broadcasting Act the MBC must facilitate nationwide, equitable, and acceptable transmission and broadcasting. According to Article 3 of the Broadcasting Act the MBC is an independent commission of the State.”
The timing of this complaint appears to be related to the Corporation’s failure to respond to MDP requests for media coverage of a speech by former President Mohamed Nasheed on March 6. Copies of the letter were sent to the MBC as well as to the independent media watchdog the Media Council of the Maldives (MMC) on March 7.
The MMC’s duties as prescribed in the Maldives Media Council Bill, is to preserve media freedom and promote ethical practices, as well as to investigate any complaints filed.
Minivan News itself experienced difficulty when trying to contact the MBC for comment on the issues raised by the MDP.
After a group of police, military and opposition supporters stormed the state broadcaster on February 7, shortly after an assault on the military base in Republic Square, President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s government rebranded MNBC as TVM – the broadcaster’s title under former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s administration.
MNBC was established by Nasheed to run the state media, removing its employees from the jurisdiction of the Civil Service Commission (CSC). In 2010 the then-opposition majority parliament created MBC and demanded the transfer of MNBC’s assets to the new body, which the Nasheed’s government refused to do, alleging political partiality on behalf of the MBC board. Days after the events of February 7, TVM was handed to MBC by the new government.
After this takeover, Chairman of MBC Ibrahim Umar Manik expressed his commitment to run the state media with “impartiality” and within legal bounds.
“As stated in the law, we will operate the two stations as a public broadcaster by bringing independent news, information and programs,” Manik claimed.
Maldives Media Council
President of the Maldives Media Council Mohamed Nazeef said he was not yet aware of the MDP complaint although he stated that he would “be very interested” if it were to come to his attention.
His desk is the first place such complaints go to when received, at which point it is standard practice for the Council to attempt a resolution before the official investigative procedures are initiated.
A member of the Council’s Secretariat said no official complaints had been received in recent weeks although there had been a slight increase in the number of people making informal complaints in person.
Discussing the current condition of public media in the country, Nazeef said that he had “noticed an improvement” in the weeks since the Nasheed administration ended.
“[Public Broadcasters] can’t do the same thing as before. They have to give equal time to all political parties,” Nazeef said.
He said he believed that there was little difference between the Gayoom and the Nasheed eras, in terms of media impartiality.
“Television Maldives was same before [under Nasheed] as it had been for thirty years under Gayoom, apart from 2007 and 2008, when it was a little more lenient,” he said.
The most pressing concerns, in the opinion of the Council President, are the lack of social programming and need for better education in the sector. A typical area mentioned as being in need of improvement was investigative journalism.
“This is where the media fails in the past twenty years,” Nazeef continued, “most people are trained for private broadcasting.”
Nazeef recently discussed these issues with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which advocates a robust media as the key to sustaining democracy.
(0)Dislikes(0)Police have arrested five Thai nationals and three male Maldivians inside ‘Herbal Beauty Salon’, located in the second floor of Maafannu Sherrif.
Police said the eight individuals were arrested after the police received information that prostitution was conducted at the location.
Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed that five Thai women were arrested and three other Maldivian men were also arrested.
Shiyam said the men were still in police custody and that police were investigating the case.
The criminal court identified the five arrested Thai nationals as Neetha Seng Thong, Sutheetha Thanuvathu, Thaaniga Thuan Youth, Pacha Pon Punpheythu and Nicharda Konfan.
The three Maldivian men arrested as Hassan Zareer, Male’, Mujuthaba Abdulla of Hinnavaru in Lhaviyani Atoll and Ibrahim Abdul Hafiz of Ihavandhoo in Haa Alifu Atoll.
According to police the group were involved in sexual activities when the police raided the beauty salon.
Shutting down alternative medical centres that conduct sexual activities were one of the five demands made by the then-opposition coalition while Mohamed Nasheed was in power.
The former government then closed all the massage parlors and spas nationwide including those used for tourism purposes.
In a statement the Adhaalath Party has congratulated the police for the closing ‘Herbal Beauty Salon’ and thanked the Islamic Ministry for their role in it.
The party also appealed to all the citizens to cooperate with the government to erase prostitution from the Maldives.
According to local media, those arrested were taken to the Criminal Court, where their detention period was extended to five days.
(0)Dislikes(0)Former President Mohamed Nasheed has predicted that the people he believes to have been behind his removal from office will soon reduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) by one third.
Speaking on his tour of Kaafu Kaashidhoo, Nasheed said that the small number of businessmen accused of being behind last month’s coup d’état would resist sharing even a minor portion of their wealth with the people.
He criticised the government for allowing resort owners to pay bed taxes in instalments, contrary to his own administration’s lump sum policy which, he argued, helped fund public services.
Nasheed’s tour also took in Kaafu Gaafaru before his return to Male’ yesterday.
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