Author: JJ Robinson

Rainbow Warrior visiting Maldives as part of two month Indian Ocean tour

The Rainbow Warrior – flagship of environmental NGO Greenpeace – is visiting the Maldives as part of a two-month tour of the Indian Ocean.

“Greenpeace has come to the Indian Ocean in order to learn about fishing activities in the region, and to talk to communities, governments, officials and the tuna fishing industry, with the intention of working together to combat overfishing and to stop destructive and illegal fishing,” the international organisation stated.

During the vessel’s visit to the Maldives, the crew will document the pole and line fishery in the southern atoll, hold a one-day conference on sustainable tuna, involving political, fishing and commercial sectors joint monitoring and surveillance with the Maldivian coast guard in Maldivian waters. The vessel will be opened to school children in Laamu Gan.

Executive Secretary of the International Pole and Line Foundation (IPNLF), Athif Shakoor, who is coordinating the Greenpeace visit, told Minivan News that the Rainbow Warrior’s visit was significant for the Maldives, as was the organisation’s endorsement of pole and line fishing methods.

“Pole and line fishing is more sustainable and central to employment in many communities,” he explained.

As a sustainable fishing method, pole and line fishing could be marketed as a premium brand and the higher prices passed to the fishermen, Shakoor said.

Minivan News has previously reported that retail premiums for pole and line-caught fish were being largely absorbed by the supermarket chains that sold them, leaving Maldivian fishermen to compete with the technologically-advanced and substantially less sustainable fishing vessels of other nations.

In October 2011, Minivan News reported concerns from fisheries authorities and industry that the country was effectively “under siege” by the vessels of other nations – particularly the French and Spanish – which had ringed the Maldives’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) with ‘Fish Aggregation Devices’ (FADS).

Fish such as tuna are naturally attracted to the floating object, such as a buoy, typically fitted with a sonar device capable of determining the quantity of fish below, and a satellite uplink that communicates this to the nearby fishing vessel. The vessel’s net does not discriminate between the predators and scavengers attracted by the target fish population around the FAD.

The local canning industry has also expressed concern about being unable to buy fish at a competitive price from local fishermen, who were instead selling their catch to canning conglomerates in Thailand, which were then labelling and exporting the product as a ‘Maldivian’ pole and line product with little oversight of the supply chain.

The Rainbow Warrior

The first Rainbow Warrior was bombed by French agents in 1987 while it was in New Zealand preparing to lead a flotilla of ships in protest against French nuclear testing. The explosion killed a Greenpeace photographer.

After two years of international arbitration the French government was ordered to pay Greenpeace US$8.159 million.

The second Rainbow Warrior vessel was commissioned in 1989. In 2005 the vessel ran aground on a coral reef in the Philippines while inspecting it for coral bleaching, and was ordered to pay US$7000 for the damage caused. Greenpeace paid the fine but claimed the Philippines government had given it outdated navigational charts.

The third – and current – Rainbow Warrior is 57. 92 metres in length, can accomodate 30 people, has a large conference room and helipad, and is powered by five sails with a backup diesel electric engine.

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Malidves slips to 95th in ‘Ease of Doing Business’ index

The Maldives has slipped 16 places in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business report for 2013, ranking 95th out of 185 economies measured.

Much of the drop is due to the introduction of a new taxation system, which previously saw the Maldives at the top of the index. Taking into account the business profit taxes, pension payments and others, the report calculates the Maldives’ total tax on gross commercial profits for a business in its second year of operation profit as 30.7 percent, well below the South Asia average of 40.2 percent.

The Maldives is rated 167th – worse than Afghanistan – for ‘getting credit’, a measure of the availability of credit information and the effectiveness of collateral and bankruptcy laws in facilitating lending.

While the rating is particularly hurt by the lack of a credit ratings registry, the Maldives scores several points lower than the regional average for protecting the rights of creditors.

The Maldives ranks higher than the regional average for resolving insolvencies, with an asset recovery rate of 50 percent (compared to the regional average of 33 percent) in half the time (1.5 years).

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Gangs thriving amid political instability, political support: Guardian

Political turmoil in the Maldives is fueling gang violence and criminal impunity, reports the UK’s Guardian newspaper.

The gangs are thriving not only because of the drug trade, but due to political parties employing gang members to assault opponents, destroy property, and boost numbers at rallies.

“It’s been a good few months. We’ve been doing well,” one gang leader told Guardian journalist Jason Burke, revealing that the gang had been “providing political parties with muscle to intimidate opponents, swell meetings and provide security.”

“There’s so much demand, we’ve had to appoint someone just to run that side of our operations. Requests are coming in all the time,” the gang leader told the newspaper.

According to the Guardian’s report, “Ibrahim’s outfit of more than 70 members works around the clock, trafficking heroin, enforcing its territory and carrying out what he calls ‘political work’. Ibrahim asks for MVR 10,000 (US$650) for 10 of his gang members to attend a demonstration for an hour. The rate charged for roughing up a political opponent – damaging his car or house – is between MVR 25,000 and MVR 50,000 (US$1650-3250), but for a stabbing the price would be much higher: US$25,000 at least.

“It’s not bad, enough to pay our expenses for a month,” Ibrahim told the paper.

The newspaper noted that corruption meant that “police officers can easily be persuaded to ‘lose’ evidence and judges can be bought off. Nor is prison much of a deterrent. Phones, cigarettes, DVDs, ‘anything except women’ is easily available,” the gang leader informed the paper.

The Guardian’s article echoes the findings of a report into the Maldives’ gangs by the Asia Foundation, published last month, which revealed that politicians and businessmen are paying gangs tens of thousands of rufiya to assault rivals, damage property, and in some cases have them killed.

“Political and business elites exploit gangs to carry out a range of illegal activities that serve their political or business interests in exchange for financing the gangs,” stated the report, which collected data through 20 focus groups and 24 in-depth interviews with gang members.

Politicians are described as being involved in symbiotic relationships with gangs, who depend on the gangs to suppress opponents and carry out tasks to help maintain their popularity or to divert media attention from political issues.

“Politicians have asked us to cut the TVM cable for MVR 25,000 (US$1620), to light up a bus for MVR 10,000 (US$650). Also in the recent political riots we were involved in things like burning the garbage collection area,” said one gang member.

“We were given some amount of money, two of us and the 10 people who accompanied us were paid some amount, we had to set fire and run from the spot and be seen in another area. We got paid to do this by a political group. Sometimes in return for the work we do, we also get to party in their safari boats with girls and alcohol,” they added.

In other cases, gang members were paid MVR 20,000 (US$1230) to destroy shop windows. Interviewees also stated that being offered immunity from prosecution was normally part of this deal.

Leaders, who deal directly with the politicians, were reported as earning up to MVR 1 million (US$65,000) a month via such activities.

One member even described instances where murder contracts were handed out.

“We may be given a file with all the information about the person and be told and told we may be paid in millions to carry out the killing,” explained one member.

The gang leader who spoke to the Guardian said that he had made enough money and was now looking for a quieter life: “I’m not sure where I’ll go. Maybe [Sri] Lanka. Maybe India. Out of here anyway,” he told the paper.

“People around the world [need] to know how things are here. This is a paradise, but not everyone is an angel. Things have gone this far because of politics,” he said.

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State expenditure rises 13.5 percent for first eight months of 2012

State expenditure for January to August this year increased 13.5 percent on the same period last year, according to figures from the Department of Planning.

According to statistics from the Finance Ministry, the Maldives is facing a budget deficit of MVR 2.1 billion (US$136 million) on the back of revenue of MVR 7.7 billion (US$499 million), and expenditure of MVR 9.8 billion (US$635 million).

Meanwhile, revenue figures published by the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) for September showed an increase in revenue of 16 percent compared to the same month in 2011, however this was 2 percent less that expected.

More than a third of total revenue (36.4 percent) came from tourism land rent, an increase of US$1.8 million on the previous year to 14.6 million, followed by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) which increased US$2.6 million to US$7.2 million – representing 28.6 percent of total revenue for the month.

Source: MIRA

The MIRA figures do not include import duties which are received by customs.

The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA)’s September review observed that while an increase in tourism arrivals had registered improvements in both monthly and annual terms, real GDP growth was expected to fall to 5.5 percent in 2012, a fall of two percent on 2011.

“As per the latest government cashflow statement, the overall fiscal deficit of the government
worsened during Jan-Aug 2012 compared to the same period of 2011,” the MMA observed, predicting a higher than expected budget deficit for the year.

Fishing – the Maldives’ second largest industry after tourism and responsible for almost 40 percent of the country’s employment, has steadily declined in terms of both catch and export earnings. MIRA’s figures for US dollar earnings highlight the country’s near total-dependency on tourism as a means of earning foreign exchange.

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Government spending MVR 5 million on 136 political appointees

The government spends MVR 5 million a month (US$325,000) on 136 political appointees, approximately US$4 million a year, according to statistics obtained by local news outlet Sun Online.

The monthly spend includes 19 Minister-level posts at MVR 57,500 (US$3730), 42 State Ministers (MVR 40,000-45,000, US$2600-2900), 58 Deputy Ministers (MVR 35,000, US$2250), five Deputy Under-Secretaries (MVR 30,000, US$1950) and 10 advisors to ministers (MVR 25,000, US$1620).9\

President Mohamed Waheed is officially paid (MVR 100,000, US$6500) a month, Vice President Waheed Deen (MVR 75,000, US$4850).

Waheed’s Special Advisor Hassan Saeed, the Chancellor of the National University and the Controller of Immigration are paid at ministerial level.

On paper, the annual MVR 60 million spend on political appointees is approximately MVR 40 million less than the spend on political appointees during the former administration.

Figures released by the Ministry of Finance in July 2011 showed that the executive was spending MVR 99 million (US$6.5 million) annually on 244 political appointees, two percent of the state’s total wage bill.

The country’s 77 MPs are meanwhile paid a base salary of MVR 42,500 (US$2,750) per month, a further MVR 20,000 (US$1,300) per month in allowances for phone, travel, and living expenses, and a further MVR 20,000 in committee allowances.

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Half of former President’s legal team barred from court

Two of former President Mohamed Nasheed’s lawyers have been barred from representing him by the Hulhumale Magistrate Court.

Nasheed is being tried for ordering the detention of Chief Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed during his final days in office, a move Nasheed’s government defended on grounds of national security after institutions responsible for holding the judiciary accountable failed to do so.

Spokesperson for the Department of Judicial Administration Latheefa Gasim was reported as informing local media that lawyer and former Youth Minister Hassan Latheef had been barred from the trial as the state had called him as a witness.

Another of Nasheed’s defence lawyers, Ahmed Abdulla Afeef, was barred as he had not signed new behavioural regulations for lawyers recently issued by the Supreme Court.

This regulation, published earlier this year in June, prevents lawyers from openly criticising discrepancies within the courts, among other restrictions.

Following its publication a number of the country’s top lawyers held a crisis meeting to try and amend the regulations, including Prosecutor General Abdulla Muiz, Deputy Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem (now resigned) and Independent MP Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed.

Nasheed has two remaining lawyers: former President’s Office Legal Advisor Hisaan Hussain and Criminal Court lawyer Abdulla Shair.

Latheef was not responding to calls at time of press, while Hisan told Minivan News that Nasheed’s defence counsel were preparing a statement on the matter.

A legal source familiar with the Nasheed case told Minivan News that Afeef was one of the lawyers who contested the legality of the Supreme Court’s issuing of behavioural guidelines for lawyers, which he had refused to sign in protest.

“He submitted the matter to the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) in writing. However in the interest of this trial he has submitted the documents to sign the decree,” the source stated.

Latheef, meanwhile, had been summoned as a witness by the state to prove that Abdulla Mohamed had been kept on the Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF) training island of Girifushi, “a fact not disputed by anyone,” the source said.

“The court is right – a key witness cannot serve as a defence lawyer because of conflict of interest,” the legal source added, “but it looks like a deliberate attempt by the Prosecutor General to sabotage the defence counsel and make its work difficult.”

Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have previously alleged that the trial is a politically-motivated effort to convict and bar the former President from competing in future elections.

During the first hearing, Nasheed’s defence challenged the legitimacy of the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court which it alleged had been created by the JSC without constitutional authority.

The JSC has also appointed the three-member panel of judges which overseeing the trial of the former President. The Commission’s members include two of Nasheed’s direct political opponents, including Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid – Deputy of the government-aligned Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) – and Gasim Ibrahim, resort tycoon, media owner, MP and leader of the Jumhoree Party (JP), also a member of the governing coalition.

UK lawyers to assist defence

The MDP has meanwhile confirmed that two senior UK-based legal experts – one a specialist in Shariah Law – will be joining the defence team: Sir Ivan Lawrence QC and Barrister Ali Mohammed Azhar.

One lawyer told Minivan News that the appointment of two foreign legal experts in a domestic trial was an “unprecedented” development in the Maldives’ legal history, however Nasheed’s legal team has stated that the foreign lawyers will be unable to represent the former President in court and will instead provide advice and counsel.

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Go through process, but do not allow trial to disenfranchise former president: McKinnon

While the Maldives’ judiciary is “not the strongest of the democratic institutions in the Maldives”, the international spotlight would encourage a fair trial of former President Mohamed Nasheed, Sir Don McKinnon has told ABC Radio Australia.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Maldives told the channel that the international community was watching the matter “very closely”.

Nasheed was arrested by the police on Monday acting on a warrant from the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court, where the Prosecutor General has filed charges concerning the former president’s detention of Chief Judge of the Criminal Court, Abdulla Mohamed, while in office.

Nasheed has maintained that the detention was justified on grounds of national security following the failure of other institutions to hold the judge accountable, and alleged that the charges against him are a politically-motivated attempt to prevent him from contesting the 2013 elections.

“All the major players that have been talking to the Maldives recently are also saying go through your processes, but do not allow this to disenfranchise the former president,” McKinnon told ABC Radio.

Asked whether he shared Nasheed’s concerns that he would not be tried fairly, “I think on this particular case [the judiciary] know very well that there’s more than just a few Maldivian people watching this trial.”

“The international players are watching and I believe that the Maldivian judiciary will be very careful,” McKinnon said.

“It certainly can be fair and it should be fair. These people know exactly what is expected of a judiciary, but there is a high level of political sensitivity in that country, there’s a tense atmosphere which does get more difficult from time to time. But there is still the possibility of having a fair trial, yes,” he said.

Asked about the country’s future, McKinnon suggested that “we who live in Western countries expect things to happen very fast. I began my dealings with the Maldives probably about seven years ago, encouraging them to have a new constitution, have free and fair elections, which they did. And that was the first time they’d really had free and fair elections in 2008.

“Now on that basis Maldives democracy is really only four years old, so there’s still a lot of elbowing people around, much of the political structure within the Maldives is based on personalities, there’s not great ideological divides, there are six or seven different parties in and out of the margins right now. There are many things that it is grappling with that it’s never had to grapple with before, and the important thing is the international community give them support to allow this very fledgling democracy to mature.”

Failure to defend democracy

Former President Nasheed has meanwhile told the UK’s Guardian newspaper that the international community had failed to defend democracy in the Maldives, saying that it was “difficult for me to believe that democracy is sacred for the international community”.

“The people of the Maldives have lost faith with the international community … which has taken a very narrow view,” Nasheed told the paper.

“It is very certain that they can’t win [the election] with me [standing] as a candidate so they are trying all sorts of ways to stop me … It is really quite chilling,” he said, noting that his party had decided to boycott the election if he was excluded from running.

“No travel ban”

The government has meanwhile issued a statement noting concerns raised by the UK, US and European Union regarding the arrest of Nasheed.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dunya Maumoon – daughter of Nasheed’s predecessor Maumoon Abdul Gayoom – said the government was “fully committed to strengthening democracy and rule of law in the Maldives”.

“[Nasheed was released from police custody after the first hearing. He was taken into custody following a court order issued by the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court, after he ignored court summons and refused to appear for the first hearing of the case which had been originally scheduled for 1 October 2012 and rescheduled for 7 October 2012,” she said.

“Contrary to claims by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), and also by Amnesty International, police did not use excessive force during the arrest of the former President Nasheed. His safety and security had been the priority and no one was harmed or pepper sprayed during the operation,” the statement read.

“The Police Integrity Commission (PIC) and the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) had been invited to observe the operation. While in custody, former President Nasheed was afforded the right to an attorney and meet with his family members. There is no travel ban on him and he is currently travelling out to some of the atolls.”

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UK, EU express “concern” over arrest of Nasheed

The UK and the EU have issued statements expressing concern over the arrest of former President Mohamed Nasheed.

“Along with our international partners, we call on the Maldivian authorities to ensure any trial is fair and transparent,” said UK Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt.

“These latest developments underline the need for all parties to resume dialogue and work together to implement the democratic reforms identified by the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) in August. We look forward to peaceful, free and fair elections next year, in which all political parties are able to participate fully,” Burt added.

Meanwhile in Europe, “it is with great concern that the High Representative [of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton] learned about the arrest of former President Nasheed of the Maldives.”

Ashton “recalls the assurances given by the Government of the Maldives as regards the personal safety of Mr Nasheed and his right to a fair trial,” her office stated.

“In view of the importance of the next presidential elections, the High Representative reiterates the need for credible and transparent elections allowing for the full participation of party candidates.”

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has been released from custody following the first hearing of a trial in the Hulhumale Magistrate Court concerning his detention of Chief Criminal Court Judge, Abdulla Mohamed.

Nasheed was temporarily held at Dhoonidhoo detention facility on Monday (8 October) ahead of yesterday’s hearing after he broke a travel ban imposed on him by the court.

The former president and his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have maintained that the charges of detaining Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed are a politically motivated attempt to prevent him from contesting the 2013 election.

“The Prosecutor General’s only objective is to ensure I cannot contest next elections,” said Nasheed, at a rally on Tuesday night following his release from court.

“What is the specific moment during the orchestration of the coup that all political actors were noting as most important? The moment when Abdulla Ghazi (Judge Abdulla Mohamed) was released. The coup d’etat that was brought in this country was made possible because our criminal justice system has failed.”

The US Embassy in Colombo earlier issued a statement urging “all parties to find a way forward that respects Maldivian democratic institutions, the rule of law and the Maldivian constitution, as well as protects human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

“We urge all sides to remain calm, reject the use of violence and to avoid rhetoric that could increase tensions. It is our expectation that former President Nasheed be given every due process that the law allows,” the embassy stated.

“In response to statements that somehow the United States was involved in the detention of former President Nasheed, the Embassy strongly denies that claim,” it added.

“We note that all US law enforcement cooperation [with the Maldives] includes activities that focus on professionalisation and professional development of the police and places special emphasis on the need to adhere to international standards of human rights and the strengthening of democratic institutions and the rule of law.”

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Nasheed released from custody, travel ban still in place

Additional reporting by Mohamed Naahii

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has been released from custody following the first hearing in the Hulhumale Magistrate Court concerning his detention of Chief Criminal Court Judge, Abdulla Mohamed.

The trial began around 4:20pm this afternoon. The court was packed with attendees, most of whom were Nasheed supporters. Nasheed’s wife Laila Ali and family members were also present.

At the beginning of the trial, the state read the charges.

Responding, Nasheed stated that the trial reflected the “grave” situation that the democracy of the Maldives is in.

“Honorable judges, this charge against me is a deliberate attempt by the prosecutor general to bar the presidential candidate of the largest opposition political party of this country from contesting the next presidential elections,” Nasheed declared.

“The Maldivian constitution explicitly states that the powers of the state derives only from the people and there is no stronger power than that of the power of the people. That power of the people will only be restored through free and fair elections,” he said.

“Honorable Judges, I sincerely ask of you to consider this fact before you proceed with the trial. My lawyers will continue advocating on behalf or me from now on,” he said.

Former President’s member on the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) and outspoken whistleblower Aishath Velezinee has maintained that Nasheed’s detention of the judge was justified given the failure of both the JSC and parliament to hold the judge accountable for allegations of serious ethical misconduct.

Lawyers take over

On her opportunity to speak, Nasheed’s lawyer Hisaan Hussain raised procedural irregularities concerning the case that was being heard.

Firstly, she questioned the judges as to whether a magistrate court could hold a trial on an island other than the island on which the magistrate court was established – despite the case been filed in the Hulhumale Magistrate Court, the hearing was held in the Justice Building in Male’.

Hisaan also asked the court to decide on the claim that the magistrate court was formed in contradiction with the Constitution and the laws of the country, before it proceeded with the hearings. The matter is currently being considered by the Supreme Court.

Member of Nasheed’s legal team, Abdulla Shair, also raised a point on procedural irregularities citing that the magistrate court’s order to detain Nasheed was unlawful because such orders should legally only come from a court set up in the locality of the defendant’s permanent address. Nasheed is based in his family home in Male’.

Shair challenged that it should be the Criminal Court ordering nasheed’s detention, as Nasheed’s permanent address was located in capital Male’.

The lawyers asked the court to temporarily suspend the hearings until it had resolved the procedural irregularities. However, court rejected the proposition.

Responding to the procedural issues raised, the court rejected all but one of the issues raised without giving any reasoning.

The court however responded to Nasheed’s lawyer Abdulla Shair’s point of procedure, and stated that the court followed a precedent set by the High Court.

Responding, the state challenged that no lawful authority of the country had decided that Hulhumale’ Court was legitimate, and it was within the power of the prosecutor general to file charges in a court with relevant jurisdiction.

The state presented more than 32 pieces of evidences it claimed proved that Chief Judge of Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed was detained unlawfully, including the judge himself.

Other evidence produced included audio and video of the Judge’s detention, and speeches given by Nasheed.

The State also presented an evidence list of figures from both Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and Maldives Police Services (MPS).

In response to the presented evidences, Nasheed’s lawyers asked the three member panel of Judges to give them a time period of 30 days to study the evidences and prepare a defence.

The judges however gave a period of 25 days. They announced that the next hearing would be held on November 4, 2012.

Supporters of Nasheed cheered when he came out of the hearing. With Nasheed’s detention order expired following his attending of the hearing, Nasheed is technically free.

However, the previously imposed travel ban is still in place and Nasheed is confined to Male’.

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