Author: Ahmed Nazeer

Eight men rob expats, collide with coconut tree

Police are investigating eight men who allegedly robbed five Bangladeshi farm workers of Rf8000 (US$622) on Fonadhoo in Laamu Atoll, before attempting to flee in a car.

One of the suspects was seriously injured when the car hit a coconut tree during a high speed police chase. Police arrested two of the men, one of whom was admitted in Laamu Atoll Gan regional hospital, and the other who is to be transfered to Male’ with a serious elbow injury.

Fonadhoo police station is now investigating the case.

Island Chief of Fonadhoo Ahmed Yousuf said the men were not islanders from Fonadhoo, but were travelling from Mundhu in Laamu Atoll.

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“Careless contractors” to blame for cracked buildings, says government

Carelessness on behalf of contractors was to blame for large cracks that appeared in several high profile shops in Male’ on Thursday, a investigation by the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) and Housing Ministry has found.

On Thursday evening the foundations of the Seylam building, adjacent to the Agora supermarket on Male’s main road Majeedee Magu, slid due to the construction of Jambuge next door.

Residents living in the building abandoned it and were forced to move to other areas that evening, while police cordoned off the area as people gathered to see the cracks.

Speaking after the incident, Deputy Minister for Environment Dr Mohamed Shareef said that shallow foundations of both buildings had structural weaknesses that caused them to slide when nearby contractors pumped water from underground.

‘’We found out that the Checkmark building [a prominent garment shop next to Agora] had a shallow foundation of 1.3 metres and building next to it had a foundation of 2.5 meters, and when the Jambuge contractors evacuated the water from the foundations, it caused the foundation of the Checkmark building to slide,’’ said Dr Shareef. “The Checkmark building was also constructed very weakly and carelessly.’’

Dr Shareef said although similar incidents could lead buildings to fall, “there was no serious damage caused this time.’’

‘’The government can introduce sophisticated laws, but if people are not implementing it won’t do any good,” he said. “Police and the ministry can’t always observe whenever a building is constructed, and contractors should pay more attention to nearby buildings when constructing take the safety precautions.’’

He suggested that it would be more helpful if the contractors “gained some knowledge about engineering.”

The dense construction of high concrete buildings around Male’ on often shallow poorly-constructed foundations has occasionally led to fears that parts of the city could collapse if too much pressure is placed on the brittle reef.

State Minister for Fisheries and Agriculture Dr Mohamed Ali revealed in May this year that cracks had been discovered in Male’ reef that could potentially cause the reef to collapse.

The cracks in the Malé reef were “serious problems because it is the reef on which we are building this infrastructure.”

In January sheet piles near Nasandura Palace Hotel slid and created a hole on the street outside. Some experts suggested that the cause of the cracks were heavy structures on the reef such as buildings, and warned there would be consequences if heavy structures were built in these sensitive areas.

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19 year-old alleges torture in police custody

A 19 year-old has alleged that he was arbitrarily arrested near his home on Monday night and tortured in police custody.

Ali Shuaib, 19, showed Minivan News bruises and swelling on his leg, hand and nose.

“Police arrested me while I was waiting near my house to have a chat with my friend,’’ he explained. “While waiting there, before the police squad arrived, we saw a group of people fleeing; we did not knew what was going on and we did not pay much attention.’’

Shuaib claimed a squad of police officers arrived after a short while and told him not to move.

“Unaware of the situation, I stayed calm, they came and checked me, told me I was clear and had nothing with me,’’ he said. “But they said their superiors had ordered them to detain me for 23 hours and they handcuffed me and took me to Galolhu Police Station first.’’

At the Galolhu Police Station, he continued, police officers filled his detention form and transferred him to the ‘Atholhuvehi’ custodial in Male’.

‘’While I was there, a police lance corporal came and asked ‘what the hell I was doing there’. His voice was aggressive and he spoke rudely,’’ he claimed. “I told him it was none of his business because police custodial is not his property.’’

After some verbal sparring, Shuaib claimed that the police officer hit him in the face.

“I hit back and fought in my defence,” he said. “A while later the whole duty shift came and attacked me, they hit me in the chest and back with their ankles, hit my foot with a tin trash can.

“Then when I was almost unconscious they put me in solitary confinement, handcuffed in a cross position with both hands and feet locked together. They even stepped on my back and pressed hard while I was kept in that position.”

The next duty shift came in after about two hours, he continued, and removed the handcuffs and transferred Shuaib to another cell after offering him water and medication.

“When I was released from the handcuffs I could hardly breathe; the next duty shift came and gave me water and poured water on my head and kept me on a chair till I felt better,’’ he said.

Shuaib was released without being presented to court.

“It is very common now, police arrest any person they wish and keep them in custody for 23 hours,” he claimed.

According to the Constitution of the Maldives, any person detained should be presented to court within 24 hours of arrest.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam told Minivan News today that if such a case was filed with the police, “police will investigate the case applying professional standards and take necessary action.’’

Shiyam said if Shuaib was not confident with the police he could file the case with the Police Integrity Commission. No case had been lodged, he said.

Shuaib was recently arrested on suspicion of crimes including murder, robbery and assault, but was released without charge.

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said that custodial torture is “strictly prohibited” by the president.

“It is not something that should happen, and there are many ways [Shuaib] could pursue the case,” Zuhair said. “He could file the case at the Human Rights Commission, and Police Integrity Commission, and the case would be investigated.’’

On July 15, police and the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) arrested almost 60 people, including minors, in a joint special operation to curb escalating gang violence in the capital.

Many of those who were arrested  in the special operation alleged that they were mistreated and abused during their arrest and detention.

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Three police officers injured in drug bust

Three police officers were injured in an special operation conducted last night to arrest an alleged drug dealer.

“Police went to Henveiru Kahafathi with a court warrant after receiving information that suspected narcotics were hidden inside the house,’’ said Sub-Inspector Mohamed Dawood. “A person named Mohamed Ahmed attempted to obstruct the duty of the police and attacked three police officers using two knives.”

The acting head of the Drug Enforcement Department (DED) said that police discovered 18 bullet-sized packets of suspected heroin worth of Rf65,000 (US$5,058) hidden inside the bathroom of the house.

‘’I presume he attacked the police to protect his illegal drugs,’’ he added.

The suspect trafficker is now in police custody.

‘’In another operation conducted this week, police seized eight cases of vodka inside a dhoni (traditional boat) docked at Male’,” he said. “Police checked the dhoni in the presence of an expat working in the Dhoni and he is now under arrest.’’

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Mass absenteeism at foreign employment section provokes lockdown

Staff at the foreign employment section of the Ministry of Human Resources, which handles visa applications for migrant workers, have gone on strike.

Human Resources Minister Hassan Latheef told Minivan News today that he has not been able to identify a specific reason for the strike, which has “jammed” the service.

‘’Only this morning we learned that they were not coming out for work,” he explained. “Every day many people come for the services from the department and we had to transfer the staff of other departments to that section. People gathered near the gate of the ministry and were furious as they had to wait long.’’

He added that irate members of the public had locked the gate from the outside while all the staff were in the building.

“We reported to the police and they arrived and broke the lock,’’ Latheef said. ‘’And the department commenced providing services again.’’

The ministry is now trying to ascertain why the employees have gone on strike.

“I do not think that it is a coincidence that all the staff were absent on one day and none of them is responding to calls,’’ said Latheef.

Permanent Secretary for the Human Resources Ministry Mahid Shareef also said the reason for the mass absenteeism was yet to be clarified.

“They usually complain about the lack of staff there, but we do not know whether that is the reason they did not come for work today,’’ he said.

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Umar Naseer cannot overthrow government, responds Reeko Moosa

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)  MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik has hit back at Deputy Leader of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Umar Naseer, who earlier warned that the party would topple the government if former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was handled “outside the chart”.

“Outside the chart” was a phrase used by President Nasheed that has been widely interpreted by the opposition as “acting outside the Constitution”, ostensibly in his detention of the Gayoom’s brother and People’s Alliance MP Abdulla Yameen on charges of treason and bribery, after he was released by the court.

Naseer’s heated rhetoric came in response to Nasheed’s speech at the launch of historian Ahmed Shafeeg’s book, which alleging that 111 Maldivian citizens were held in custody and tortured by the former administration.

Naseer warned that if Gayoom was handled “outside the chart”, “the next day we will file a no-confidence motion against the President and we will make it the end of his regime.”

Reeko responded that the opposition coalition DRP and People’s Alliance (PA), led by the former president’s half brother Abdulla Yameen, would find it impossible to overthrow or topple Nasheed’s government, “inside or outside the parliament.”

“No matter how many times Umar warns that this government can be overthrown if the president acts outside of the chart with regard to the former president, MDP is the only party that has the capability to overthrow a government by going out on the streets, or achieve anything,’’ Moosa said.

He added that in the event of a trial concerning torture allegations against the former government then Naseer – a former police officer – might be also investigated himself, alleging that he “is a person famous for taking part in the tortures [conducted] by the former administration.”

“Umar is a person attempting to destroy one party after the other,’’ Moosa alleged. “Now he’s trying to create aggression inside DRP, and divide the party.”

Naseer did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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MPs exchange blame over cancellation of parliament session

MPs from both the opposition and ruling party have blamed each other for the cancellation of parliament’s session today.

Speaker of the parliament Abdulla Shahid cancelled the session after MPs began raising their voices against the speaker and deputy speaker of parliament, Peoples Alliance MP Ahmed Nazim.

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ahmed Nihan said the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs deliberately created an uproar inside the chamber to make the speaker cancel the session.

‘Tthey did that because today there were two very important issues in the agenda, the endorsement of the new cabinet and appointment of new Auditor General,’’ claimed Nihan. ‘’Some of the MDP MPs are not in town, and they knew they were out of number to vote.’’

‘’MDP MPs have even told me like that, and also said they will keep doing it like this until their MPs are back.’’

Nihan also claimed that MDP was obstructing the country from being a democratic nation.

‘’MDP MPs think that this is a parliamentary government, they are not following the pulse of the people – in fact, they are putting forward their self-animosity,’’ he said. ‘’They are killing democracy.’’

MDP MP Ahmed Easa claimed that the speaker of the parliament scheduled a false report that was produced by Nazim himself without the consent of the financial committee.

‘’They deliberately sought to cancel the session, they knew uproar would be triggered inside the chamber when that report is scheduled again for it happened yesterday too,’’ said Easa. ‘’’The Speaker and Deputy Speaker want to smear the respect for MPs in front of the citizens.’’

Easa said all the work at the committee stage were always conducted very unfairly and against the parliament regulation.

‘’If you looked into how members of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) were appointed you will understand how unfairly marks were allocated for the people who expressed interest,” he claimed. “There were six people with PhDs, yet the committee omitted their names.”

Collectively, the Maldives MPs are paid Rf4.7 million (US$366,000) per month.

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NGO coalition sets up table in front of Arabiyya to hear parent’s complaints

The same NGO coalition that once worked against the banning of alcohol in inhabited islands has now launched a campaign against the education sector of the Maldives, today setting up a table in front of Arabiyya school to collect complaints from parents.

‘’We have received several complaints from parents from different eight schools in Male,’’ said Ibrahim Mohamed, an official of the coalition’s analysing committee. “Parents are co-operating with us and raising their voices, many of them have concerning issues.’’

Ibrahim said the parents were demanding the education sector uphold the religion and article number 36[c] of the constitution.

Article 36 [c] reads ‘’Education shall strive to inculcate obedience to Islam, instil love for Islam, foster respect for human rights, and promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all people.’’

“The education sector of the Maldives is now operated not only against the constitution of the Maldives also against the manifesto of ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP),’’ Ibrahim claimed.

“The fact that President is not taking any action against this proves that he also has an agenda in this.’’

Ibrahim referred to article 67[g] of the constitution and said that making Dhivehi and Islam optional [at A-level] violated the article.

Article 67 (g) demands the preservation and protection of the state religion of Islam, culture, language and heritage of the country.

“It is against democracy to dismiss the voice of the citizens,’’ he said. “We regret that our president is dismissing our voice and refusing to meet us.’’

Yesterday the NGO coalition and some parents gathered near the President’s official residence and demanded to meet the president, before a riot police squad arrived and dispersed the crowd.

The series of gatherings triggered when the education ministry expressed an idea of making all government schools co-educational. Currently all but four are co-educational.

The NGO coalition, religious NGO Salaf, Adhaalath Party and the minority opposition People’s Alliance (PA) strongly condemned the idea.

Deputy Minister of Education Dr Abdulla Nazeer recently told Minivan News the ministry had not decided to mix female and male students in the secondary grades.

“But we have decided to establish primary grades in all the schools,’’ Nazeer said. ‘’So Majeediyya School, Dharumavantha, Ameeniyya and Hiriya will no longer be solely for secondary education.’’

Secondary education will be provided in all the primary schools as well, he added.

The Education Minister Mustafa Luthfy has come under pressure from religious NGOs and other concerned people, following the ministry steering committee’s proposal to make Dhivehi and Islam as optional subjects for A level students.

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Transparency Maldives urges parliament to expedite the appointment of Auditor General

NGO Transparency Maldives has called on the parliament and the executive to expedite the appointment of the new Auditor General.

“Some police investigations and several cases in court based on audit reports have been affected because of the missing Auditor General,” said the NGO’s spokesperson, Aiman Rasheed.

Aiman declined to reveal what the cases were and who they concerned.

‘’The executive has recently alleged that some of the parliamentarians are corrupt, and that could potentially be true, but we are demanding they expedite the appointment of the Auditor General. It’s been nearly five months now,’’ Aiman said.

Aiman noted that the Auditor General’s office was not functioning fully because there was no Auditor General.

“Although we have not said what the cases are and who they involve, we have relevant information that this issue has become an obstacle to the continuing the investigations and court trials,’’ he said.

Parliament in March voted to dismiss Auditor General Ibrahim Naeem, with 43 voting in favour of the no-confidence motion and 28 against, shortly after Naeem demanded a financial audit of past and present government ministers.

The Auditor General was accused of corruption by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for using the government’s money to buy a tie and visit Thulhaidhu in Baa Atoll.

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