Author: JJ Robinson

Arab League calls on UN Security Council to “shoulder responsibility” of Libyan no-fly zone

The 22-member Arab League has called for a no-fly zone across Libya, arguing that President Muammar Gaddafi has compromised the country’s soverignity by using the air force to bomb his own population.

Meeting in Cairo, the League called on the UN Security Council to “shoulder its responsibility” and implement the no-fly zone. The US – which as part of NATO would undoubtedly contribute most of the military resources for such an action – has so far been leery of intervention given its controversial history in the region. US military chiefs have earlier stated that a no-fly zone would effectively be a declaration of war, as military assets such as surface-to-air missile defence systems would have to be destroyed in order to police the zone.

Backed by air cover, Gaddafi’s forces have been steadily pushing untrained and disorganised rebel militia groups back west toward their stronghold in Benghazi. Three days ago, after near-unanimous global condemnation of Gaddafi, the rebels abandoned the oil town of Ras Lanuf and surrendered in Misrata and Breqa.

A witness to the fighting in Bin Jawwad told the UK’s Independent newspaper that the rebels had been pushed back by fighters from Yemen, Egypt, Syria, Algeria, some of whom appeared to be drugged. An Al-Jazeera cameraman, Ali Hassaon Al Jaber, was killed when his vehicle came under fire near Benghazi.

The Libyan government continues to insist that the insurgents are al-Qaeda militants.

Meanwhile, Bahrain’s Sunni elite are reportedly entertaining the prospect of inviting Saudi Arabian forces into the country to crush growing calls for reform from the majority Shia population. Saudi police meanwhile reportedly fired at protesters in the country’s eastern town of Qatif during protests on Friday.

Seven demonstrators were also killed in Yemen, a day after police fired teargas and live ammunition at protesters injuring over 100 people.
Last week senior Maldivan officials warned that the local economy would “collapse within hours” if the price of oil were to skyrocket on the back of regional instability – particularly in Saudi Arabia.
The Maldives currently spends 25 percent of its GDP importing fuel, mostly marine diesel, and is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to oil price fluctuations.
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Civil Court overturns dismissal of female badminton champion from national team

Female badminton champion Neela Ahmed Najeeb has won the right to be reinstated in the national badminton team, after the Civil Court yesterday overturned the Badminton Association’s termination of Najeeb.

Chief Judge of the Civil Court Ali Sameer ruled that the Association’s termination of Najeeb on May 20, 2009, was against the Association’s own regulations, and ordered it to reinstate her within seven days.

Najeeb, formerly the only female badminton player on the national team, holds a string of championship medals and has competed in several international competitions. The 25 year-old was suspended from playing last year after clashing with her Indonesian coach, whom she alleged attempted to make her run for four hours as punishment for missing a training session – something she was physically unable to do at the time.

Najeeb and her lawyer Mizna Shareef of Shah, Hussein & Co, contended in court that Najeeb’s suspension contradicted the termination procedure of the Constitution of the Badminton Association, as she was not given a chance to defend herself.

“I think this must be personal – this is not what you do to an athlete. You don’t just terminate them,” Najeeb told Minivan News, in an earlier interview. “I think Maldivian players deserve better. If you have a problem with a coach, [sporting associations] are supposed to advise you – but the Badminton Association takes everything personally.”

Prior to her termination, Najeeb had been selected to travel to Greece on June 10, 2010 for a youth training session conducted by the International Olympic Committee, however this was scuttled by her dismissal as endorsement from the Association was required.

“Our argument was that Neela’s termination contravened the Association’s constitution,” Najeeb’s lawyer Shareef said today. “They argued that Neela was not terminated but suspended, following a meeting in October. But we have letter from May saying she was terminated – you can’t suspend someone you’ve already terminated, and the court saw right through it.”

Shareef speculated that Najeeb’s case could be the first time a Maldivian athlete has successful contested a case against a sporting association.

President of the Badminton Association Ali Amir said he was unable to comment on the outcome of the case as he had yet to be informed of it.

Najeeb meanwhile said she was looking forward to competing in the Maldives International Challenge in June.

“I think things will be different from now on. I want to get back to the Association and see my next target,” she said.

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BBC team detained, tortured by Gaddafi forces

Three BBC journalists covering the civil unrest in Libya were arrested and tortured by forces loyal to President Muammar Gaddafi, before being subjected to a mock execution.

Soldiers fired shots past the heads of the journalists, and they were made to wear hoods and told they were to be killed. At one stage the journalists were held in a cage while Libyan captives around them them were tortured. All journalists were in the country with permission of the Libyan government.

Describing the other prisoners, Turkish cameraman Goktay Koraltan said “I cannot describe how bad it was. Most of them were hooded and handcuffed really tightly, all with swollen hands and broken ribs. They were in agony. They were screaming.”

UK national Chris Cobb-Smith said the three journalists were lined up facing a wall while a man put a submachine gun next to their necks and pulled the trigger.

A Palestinian reporter for BBC Arabic, Feras Killani, was interrogated and then taken to a carpark where he was beaten with a pipe and a long stick. Killani then had a mask taped to his face through which he struggled to breathe.

After the BBC and the UK Foreign Office intervened, a Libyan man “who spoke perfect Oxford English” arrived and signed the paperwork to release the three reporters.

“They took us to their rest room. It was a charm offensive, packets of cigarettes, tea, coffee, offers of food,” the reporters said.

The BBC team had been covering a battle 30 miles from the Libyan capital when they were arrested at a checkpoint.

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Municipality civil servant first to be suspended in Facebook blackmail scandal

A senior civil servant working at Male’ Municipality has been suspended by the Civil Service Commission (CSC), reportedly in connection with one of the explicit videos obtained by police from a Facebook blackmail ring.

CSC Commissioner Fahmy Hassan confirmed to Minivan News that the civil servant had been suspended pending an investigation into the offending video, which had been leaked to the internet and reported to the CSC.

“We do not have knowledge of how the video was released, or whether he was being blackmailed,” Fahmy said.

Fahmy noted that there had been previous such incidences that prompted investigations, and these were occasionally unproven.

Police arrested 14 people involved in the alleged Facebook blackmail ring last month, in which profiles featuring an attractive blonde woman in sunglasses were reportedly used to extract explicit photos and videos from those who befriended her. Almost 3000 people – mostly Maldivian – befriended the various fraudulent profiles, with names like “Angelic Sharrown” and “Lyshiaa Limanom”.

”While some of the pictures were taken of people while drunk, other pictures were taken without the consent of the persons,” police said, when the arrests were announced.

Some of the people in the videos appeared to be performing explicit acts in the presence of minors, police said, adding that this could lead to further investigations of those pictured.

”The case relates to the rights of many citizens and affects the social policy of the Maldives, and may also affect the safety of the society,” said police at the time.

Information gathered so far had revealed that people from all levels of Maldivian society were affected, “including underage females juveniles, young women, professional and semi-professional persons, and people of both genders working all across the country.”

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Maldives celebrates International Women’s Day

The Maldives celebrated the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day yesterday evening at a function jointly organised by the UNFPA and NGO Thirees Nuvaeh.

Speakers included the country’s first female MP and former Health Minister Aneesa Ahmed, serving MP Eva Abdulla, Sheikh Mohamed Qubadh Abubakru and Savithri Goonesekara, Emeritus Professor of Law at the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka.

UNFPA Country Lene Christiansen observed that women in the Maldives carried a lot of responsibility, with the country having of the highest ratios of female-led households in the world at 47 percent. Half of the time this was due to migration of the spouse for work, and in one in six cases, because of the divorce or death of the spouse, she explained.

However female unemployment was three times higher than for men, she noted, and had a mere six percent representation in parliament. In addition, a third of women aged 15-49 had reported suffering physical or sexual violence.

Christiansen also noted the rising practice of home schooling of girls, “which denies them access to the school system including higher level education, and restricts other opportunities in life.”

“The constitution upholds gender equality and non discrimination, but in reality women are disadvantaged and cannot participate in economic and political activities,” she said.

Civil society had a crucial role to play as “a watchdog” for women’s rights, and in ensuring that politicians were held accountable to the female half of their constituencies.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Eva Abdulla claimed that the Maldives’ newfound freedom of expression, which many women had fought for, was now being misused “to attack and demean women in the name of religion.”

Instead, Abdulla said, “Islam is the religion that taught us to respect our mothers and our women above all else.”

“We have been reluctant to address this issue head on. Women have been under constant attack for two years and we have not been able to counter it – we simply don’t have confidence [do to so],” she said.

Equality was, she said, about ensuring women had equal access to opportunity – something that had not happened despite the efforts of women to bring about democracy and human rights in the Maldives.

“A lot of women were involved in the last five years of the democratic movement,” Abdulla said, “but [afterwards], men inherited all the jobs.”

In her speech, Goonesekara emphasised that “women in the West had to fight for aspirations for equal life chances and for their rights a century ago. They struggled for the right to vote, to work, and for safe and fair conditions of work and employment.”

The origin of women’s day stemmed from working women, she said, who united after a fire in a US garment factory at the turn of the 20th century that killed 146 women.

“We have to remind ourselves that we are members of the international community,” she said, “and sometimes in our countries our own traditions and governance are seen as something different from those of the international community. But we live in a connected world and are bound by principles of the UN charter on human rights.”

“Equality,” she said, “is a much misunderstood word, but it is precisely about giving women equal life chances and sharing the world with men.”

The event concluded with entertainment including Boduberu/Dhigudhandi by Villigili and Hura Groups, Dhivehi Peoms, Bandhi, Raivaru, and Buzura Dance.

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“Shared corruptions” with Maldives worth hundreds of millions, reports Democratic Voice of Burma

The Burmese authorities actively helped the Maldives “cover its tracks” while the Singapore branch of the State Trading Organisation (STO) funneled discounted OPEC oil to the junta using fraudulent paperwork and sold it at a premium, the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) has reported.

The DVB is describes itself as a non-profit news organisation providing accurate and unbiased news to Burma.

Referring to a draft report into the activities of STO Singapore compiled by forensic accountancy firm Grant Thorton on request of the Maldives government, “STO Singapore appear to have purchased fuel from Shell Eastern, the Singapore Petroleum Company and Petronas, and then sold it to STO, its parent company, or to third parties,” DVB said.

“The Maldives is given a special, cheap allocation of oil by OPEC because of the cartel’s preferential treatment for 100 percent Sunni Muslim nations, so the tiny island state under [former President] Gayoom would assume a far larger allocation of oil than the residents of the country needed,” it added.

Shipments destined for the Maldives would never arrive, and bills of lading recording receipt of cargo were missing, the report stated.

Details of the operation first appeared in an article by India’s The Week magazine, which identified the intermediary in the transaction between the two countries as Mocom Trading Pvt Ltd, a joint venture with a Malaysian company called Mocom Corporation Sdn Bhd, that was incorporated in 2004 to sell the oil allocation.

Mocom was one of only four foreign companies permitted to sell petroleum to the junta, alongside Daewoo, Hyundai and Petronas, the report stated – permission granted directly by Burma’s Energy Minister Brigadier-General Lun Thi.

The company had four director-shareholders: Kamal Bin Rashid, a Burmese national, two Maldivians: Fathimath Ashan and Sana Mansoor, and a Malaysian man named Raja Abdul Rashid Bin Raja Badiozaman, who was also Chief of Intelligence for the Malaysian armed forces for seven years. Then Managing Director of STO Singapore Ahmed Muneez was also a director.

According to the Grant Thorton report, the contract with Mocom Corporation revealed that a 40 percent commission on profits under the arrangement was paid directly into an account held by Rashid with the United Overseas Bank account in Singapore. The profits whereabouts beyond this point remain unknown.

When the story first broke, former STO chairman Abdulla Yameen, half brother of Gayoom and now leader of the opposition coalition party People’s Alliance (PA) party, told Minivan News that such trading was not illegal as STO Singapore was an “entrepreneurial” trade organisation that was licensed to trade in goods as well as supply the needs of the STO: “Even now the STO buys from one country and sells to those in need,” he said.

Yameen has acknowledged using the STO’s accounts to transfer money from the Maldives to his children in Singapore during his time as Chairman, but claims this was a legitimate means of avoiding foreign exchange fees.

The Week article had cited a source in the Singaporean police as stating that both Yameen and STO Singapore were under investigation. Minivan News contacted Singaporean police seeking to confirm the report, but was told by a police spokesperson that “It is inappropriate to comment on police investigations, if any.”

Obfuscation and heroin links

The DVB reported on several Burmese companies named in the Grant Thorton report as linked to Mocom.

“Among the companies who did business with the Maldivians was Kanbawza Bank, owned by Aung Ko Win, who is close to Burmese vice-general Maung Aye,” DVB reported.

Kanbawza Bank was “no stranger to controversy”, it noted.

“The bank was started in Shan state by the then-unknown and apparently ‘asset-less’ teacher, Aung Ko Win, who happened to meet and befriend Maung Aye. From mysterious profits made in the Shan hills – once the world’s largest source of opium – the bank has grown to become one of the biggest and most important financial institutions in Burma.”

Other companies which were doing business with the Maldives included Golden Aaron and S H NG Trading Pte Ltd, recorded active trading in 2002. During this period, according to the invoices obtained by Grant Thorton, STO revenue increased dramatically to $US78.8 million.

Both these Burmese companies are facing international sanctions, noted DVB, and are owned by Steven Law and his Singaporean wife, Cecilia NG. Law’s father, Lo Hsing Han, is described by the US government’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as “the godfather of heroin”.

Most of the Maldives’ heroin since the 1990s is of the ‘brown sugar’ variety of Afghan or Pakistani origin. However, according to the UN Office of Drugs and Crime Representative for East Asia and the Pacific, Gary Lewis – cited in the DVB report – a wave of ‘china white’ heroin appeared on the streets of Male’ in 2003.

The vast majority of this variety, many times stronger than brown sugar, is produced in Burma.

The DVB report concluded that details such as those appearing in the Grant Thorton report currently “ask more questions than they answer.”

But the outline of STO Singapore’s operations thus far suggested that the “shared corruptions” between Burma and the Maldives were “worth hundreds of millions, [from] which [it] will take generations to fully recover.”

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Maldives’ first Islamic bank opens for business

The first Islamic bank in the Maldives opened today, promising Shariah-compliant banking services. President Mohamed Nasheed attended the opening ceremony this morning.

In an interview with Haveeru, CEO of Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) Harith Harun said the bank entered the market with capital of Rf150 million (US$12 million), and would operate current, savings and term deposit accounts structured so as to avoid the payment of interest.

Harun told Haveeru the bank would also provide credit facilities to businesses and individuals under Murabahah (sale), Ijarah (lease) or Musharakah (equity participation), as well as trade finance, remittance and ancillary services.

Minimum initial deposit for a savings account would be Rf1000 or US$100, Harun said, Rf2500 or US$250 for a current account, and Rf5000 or US$500 for companies.

Harun told Haveeru that there was a strong demand for Islamic banking services in the Maldives. However he said the bank also faced issues with laws preventing foreign ownership of land, and would be unable to provide home-financing until the law was rectified. A 15 percent tax on the transfer of properly was also “disadvantageous”, he told Haveeru.

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Saudi Arabia bans protests, drafts troops ahead of weekend demonstration

Saudia Arabia has drafted 10,000 soldiers and banned all protests and marches after reports of a 20,000 strong uprising brewing in Riyadh this coming Friday.

Saudi rulers have already offered its citizens benefits worth US$37 billion in a bid to insulate the country from the wave of revolutionary turmoil currently affecting the Middle East.

The UK’s Telegraph newspaper reported that Saudi’s Interior Ministry had issued a statement on national television warning that protests “contradicted Islamic laws and social values”, and threatened violence against any disruptive elements.

In response, Saudi opposition groups were reportedly circulating Facebook messages encouraging demonstrators to stack the front lines on Friday with women, to prevent security forces from firing on the civilians.

Along with the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi’s campaign of violence repression against his population, tensions in Saudi have also been exacerbated by the Shia uprising in nearby Bahrain.

Small demonstrations have erupted across the Saudi in areas home to Saudi’s Shia Muslim minority, many calling for the release of prisoners allegedly being held without trial.

Maldives’ economy could “collapse in hours”

Saudi Arabia sits on 20 percent of the world’s oil reserves and is its single largest producer of crude. Regional tensions have already pushed the price of oil to US$116 a barrel.

Yesterday, UK Aid Minister and former oil trader Alan Duncan speculated in the country’s press that the price could rocket as high as US$200 a barrel while a full-scale regional meltdown could see it hit US$250 a barrel.

”Two hundred dollars is on the cards if… anyone is reckless and foments unrest,” Duncan said. ”It could be very serious. If crude oil doubles, you’re going to have a serious spike [in petrol prices]. Try living without it for a week.”

One country that cannot afford to live with it for even a day is the Maldives, which spends 25 percent of its GDP on fuel – primarily marine diesel. That currently represents a daily expenditure of US$670,000 to meet the country’s fuel needs, approximately US$800 per person per year in a country where the average annual income is under US$5000.

If that price were to hit Duncan’s estimate on the back of Saudi unrest, “the Maldives’ economy would collapse with hours”, predicted a senior government source.

Civil war in Libya

Western countries have meanwhile put troops on standby as Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi fights back against a growing uprising in the troubled country.

British SAS forces have already been active in the country evacuating UK nationals, many of whom worked in the country’s oil industry. The UK press reports that eight SAS soldiers were captured by Gaddafi’s forces while escorting a British diplomat to meet opposition leaders, although UK authorities would not confirm or deny the report.

Much of eastern Libya is under rebel control, including the town of Benghazi and, after several attempts by Gaddafi to retake it, Zawiyah near Tripoli. The opposition also now control the oil port of Ras Lanuf.

Rebel forces reportedly captured two tanks during the fighting on Saturday, but apart from the equipment brought by an estimated 6000 defecting soldiers, the opposition is considerably outgunned by those loyal to the 41 year old autocracy.

Gaddafi has used foreign mercenaries and aerial bombing in an attempt to quell the uprising, and some opposition groups have tentatively stated that they would approve of foreign intervention to create a no-fly zone in a bid to ground Gaddafi’s airforce and stop it from bombing protesters. Two airforce officers who disapproved of their orders flew their planes to Malta and requested asylum.

Some civilian fighters have armed themselves with rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns, reports a Telegraph journalist in the country, but the majority are armed with little more than “hammers and barbecue skewers”.

“Much of the rebellion is being fought by welders and engineers, shopkeepers and waiters, a dishevelled army of civilian volunteers commanded by a handful of military officers who have agreed to join the fight,” reports the UK’s Telegraph.

Interpol has put out a global alert against Gaddafi and 15 others including his family members and close associates, “in a bid to warn member states of the danger posed by the movement of these individuals and their assets.”

The Maldives Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Naseem, has called on leaders at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to assist the countries undergoing a democratic transition in the Middle East.

Naseem said the Maldives welcomed the spread of democracy in the Muslim world, and praised the bravery and determination of those citizens in Egypt, Tunisia, Tunisia and elsewhere “for asserting their fundamental rights and freedoms, and for believing in a better future.”

“The Muslim Awakening heralds the end of power of the few for the few, and the beginning of a new era founded upon universal values, individual freedom, and mutual respect and tolerance,” Naseem said. “The Awakening also puts to bed, once and for all, the notion that Islam is somehow inherently incompatible with human rights and democracy.”

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“Staff sniggered” after tourist alleges electric shock from exposed wiring

A 37 year-old British woman who claimed to have suffered an electric shock while staying at Adaaran Club Rannalhi in September 2010 is taking legal action against the resort, reports the South Wales Echo.

Amanda Llewellyn-Pace, who was visiting the resort from Cardiff with her husband Rhodri for their fourth wedding anniversary, claimed she was “nearly killed” crossing a bridge at Rannalhi when seawater lapping across it came into contact with exposed wiring.

Llewellyn-Pace told the Echo that she was flung onto her back by the jolt and had to be rescued by her husband, who was wearing rubber-soled shoes.

Her husband, a London-based quantity surveyor, said that “hotel staff were sniggering, and this was at a so-called four-star hotel.”

According to the Echo, Llewellyn-Pace was returning from a snorkelling trip when she crossed the two-metre wide bridge in bare feet. She told the newspaper that the bridge became live whenever a wave crossed it due to loose wiring in the circuit used to light the walkway.

“My legs felt like they were in a clamp, like something was grabbing my legs. Obviously nothing was,” she said, claiming she was still on painkillers and having physiotherapy six months after the incident.

An assistant manager at the resort confirmed that the management was aware of the matter and that the couple were taking legal action.

“It was a very rainy day and there was some work going on [to the bridge],” the assistant manager said, adding that there had been signage boards in place and that the work was not electrical, but due to a broken wooden area of the bridge.

“There was no evidence [of the electric shock] and there were no eyewitnesses,” the assistant manager said. The guests had informed the front office of the incident but declined to be taken to a doctor, the resort said.

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