Author: Ahmed Nazeer

Baa Atoll ‘running out of water’, say residents

A prolonged dry spell has led to critical shortages of fresh water on several islands in Baa Atoll.

The islands of Kendhu, Kihadhu and Kamadhu in Baa Atoll are among the islands afraid that they might completely run out of rain water if the government does not provide aid.

Island councilor of Kendhu Adbul Rahman said the water stored in the tanks was running low as it had not rained for a long time.

”We use rain water for cooking, cleaning and drinking, and it would be very difficult for us if the tanks run out,” Rahman said.

Rahman said water tanks on some of the island’s had run dry, forcing the occupants to now sharing water with neighbours.

”It is possible all the tanks with be empty if does not rain soon,” he said, explaining that the islanders were doing a survey “and after that if we think we should ask for help from the government, we will.”

He said this happened every year during at same time, and noted that the government helped only last year.

Island chief for Kihadhu Adnan Ibrahim said that six 5000 litre tanks on the island were now empty.

”We just sent the message to the Atoll office,” Adnan said. “People are now sharing water from those neighbour whose water tanks are not empty.”

Adnan said there were water tanks on every house,  but many of them were now empty.

”The government has provided us a 10000 litre water tank but it is too big and not usable,” he said. ”It’s too long and its very difficult to clean.”

He said the islanders relied on only rainwater for everything.

Island councilor of Kamadhu Ahmed Shafeeq also said their water tanks would be empty very soon if it did not rain.

Shafeeq said the government had helped them only last year when their water tanks ran out.

”if the government did not provide aid we might run out of water,” he said.

Press secretary for the president’s office Mohamed Zuhair, State minister for Home Affairs Ahmed Adil and Atoll Councilor Mohamed Habib did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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MDP condemns DRP accusations that the party backed attacks on the media

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has refuted claims made by the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) last week accusing the ruling party of masterminding recent attacks on the media.

Four gang members stormed the studios of television station DhiTV last week, and hours later an employee of newspaper Haveeru was left in a critical condition after he was stabbed outside the building.

In an interview with DhiTV the following day, DRP vice president and spokesperson Ibrahim Shareef said he believed the MDP was behind the attacks on media, adding that he does “not believe the MDP is trying to bring press freedom to the country,.”

DRP vice president and MP Ahmed Ilham did not say he blamed the MDP for the attacks, but he critcised the government “for trying to kill the media in many [other] ways.”

The government had cut points from the broadcasting license of radio station DhiFM “to try and threaten them,” he said.

Police criticism of DhiFM for its coverage of a protest outside Muleaage in January led to the station having five points deducted. Together with police attempts at the time to stop the broadcast, the incident was treated as attack on press freedom by the station and the Maldives Journalists’ Association (MJA).

Three members of the MJA have meanwhile flown to Colombo with the intention of lobbying diplomats and journalists, “seeking international support for press freedom in the Maldives.”

MJA President Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir said that “President Nasheed’s words promoting press freedom are not being matched by action. Our goal is to seek international pressure so that the President will act on his promises.”

Under the Maldives’ current broadcasting legislation, points are deducted for any breaches of the broadcasting code of conduct, up to a maximum of 100, as decided by a committee appointed by the Department of Information.

Spokesperson for MDP Ahmed Haleem said the party had “sacrificed much” to bring press freedom to the Maldives and regretted DRP’s accusations that the party was somehow responsible for the attacks on the media.

”They don’t know what to talk about now, so they are spreading these untrue stories,” Haleem said.

Haleem claimed that Ilham was “very new to politics” and ”really does not know the way things go.”

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Police special operation nets 22 gang suspects

In a highly-publicised special operation intended to reduce gang crime in the capital Male’, police arrested 22 men suspected of being key players in gang violence.

Police sub inspector Ahmed Shiyam said the men were arrested in different areas of Male’ are were notable “gangsters” involved in gang violence.

Shiyam also said police had collected chairs, sofas and weapons from places where gangs lived, to stop gang members congregating, storing them in the police tow yard.

He said the special operation to protect Male’ from gang violence would not to be stopped until the city became a peaceful place.

Meanwhile, a group of NGOs including the Maldivian Detainee Network, Transparency Maldives, Rights for All, Strength of Society, Maldives Aid, Madulu, Democracy house and NGO Federation released a statement condemning the recent rise in gang violence in Male’.

The NGO’s reported that police statistics show that during last year there were 12 murder cases reported to police and 11 of them were sent to Prosecutor General’s office.

The NGOs called on the president and parliament to pass the necessary bills as soon as possible to avoid gang violence.

They furthermore called on the government institutions concerned with gang crime to fulfill their responsibilities.

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Haama editor fined Rf5000 for defaming Yameen

Editor of Haama News Saif Azhar was fined by civil court last Thursday for defaming the character of People’s Alliance (PA) leader Abdulla Yameen.

Civil Court Judge Maryam Nihayath ruled that an article published in June last year claiming that Yameen had US$32 million in his HSBC bank account was defamatory.

Saif was fined Rf5000 (US$385), currently the maximum penalty for defamation in the Maldives. Yameen also has lawsuits pending against Ibrahim Waheed, the journalist who wrote the article, the editor of Jazeera Daily Fayyaz Faisal, the owner of Haama Daily (Axis Maldives) and Ahmed Muhsin, the assistant editor of TVM.

Yameen had sought Rf2,570,000 million (US$192,000) for psychological damages and Rf21,775,305 (US$1.67 million) for material damages, claims which were dismissed by the judge.

Azhar said he was not in town when the article was published and had no knowledge of it, claiming that his journalist Ibrahim Waheed had written the piece.

”In the article we mentioned that the source [of the information] was online news website Manadhoolive,” he said, ”but the judge decided that we had not referred to any source.”

He said the same article published in Haama News was also published in the newspaper Haveeru.

President of the Maldives Journalism Association (MJA) Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir said the association did not support journalists defaming people’s character.

”We do not support journalists writing stories without any evidence or proof,” he said. ”It’s a practice everywhere to fine journalists.”

Secretary General of the PA Ahmed Shareef said the outcome of the case showed that the country was strengthening its judicial service.

”Journalists have to be more responsible and careful when publishing articles,” he said.

Yameen failed to response Minivan News at time of press.

The former editor of weekly magazine Sandhaanu was also recently ordered to pay Rf5000 (US$389) for defaming Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon, the former president’s son.

Ghassan took Abdulla ‘Fahala’ Saeed to the civil court seeking Rf3.375 million (US$262,600) over an article Fahala had written in the 118th edition of Sandhaanu magazine.

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Attacker may have been released on rehabilitation program

One of the men charged with attacking the manager of Habib Bank, Mohamed Anjul Jameel, was previously imprisoned but may have recently been transferred to house arrest under the rehabilitation programme, according to reports today.

The 56 year-old was stabbed when four men broke into his apartment on the sixth floor of Machangolhi Uraha in Male’. On his release from hospital, Jameel said he was leaving the Maldives, and vowed never to return.

Daily newspaper Haveeru cited an official from the Department for Penitentiary and Rehabilitaion Service (DPRS) as claiming that 20 year-old Abdulla Aseel, of Galolhu Coralsea, had been released on the 27th of February.

The newspaper reported that Aseel had been sentenced for possession of three grams of drugs, while a person in authority familiar with the matter confirmed to Minivan News that Aseel had been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

However State Minister for Home Affairs Ahmed Adil said the claims made in Haveeru were yet to be confirmed.

Mohamed Zuhair, Press Secretary for the President’s Office, also said the government had yet to verify the claims.

Managing Director of the DPRS, Mohamed Rasheed, responded to enquiries from Minivan News but said he would only answer questions during office hours.

Zuhair acknowledged that the government had transferred many prisoners to house arrest.

”In the first round we transferred 200 inmates, and in the second round 119 inmates,” he said, explaining that ”it would be unfair for the people to think that everyone transferred to house arrest will be engaging in crimes.”

He explained that ”if a woman commits a crime, that doesn’t mean you can think that women will commit crimes.”

Another of the three men arrested for the stabbing of the bank manager, Ali Shuaib, was also arrested last year in connection with a murder case last year. Shuaib was investigated over the killing of a Bangladeshi man by hitting him with a three-foot long log, but he was acquitted.

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President asks German scholars to help interpret Sharia law for the Maldives

President Nasheed has asked German scholars with expertise in Sharia law to help apply it to certain fields in the Maldives, during his visit to Berlin.

“I have done my homework and I am quite aware of the amount of German discourse in Islamic jurisprudence”, President Nasheed said, according to German news site deutschenachrichten.

Nasheed told the German press that Maldivian law was based on Sharia, but warned them about “jumping to the wrong conclusions.”

“We are a tolerant and free country, and we want to keep it that way,” he said.

Press S for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair said that Germany was a country where a large number of experienced and professional scholars live.

”In the 20th century, the highest standard of Islamic universities was also in Germany,” Zuhair said.

Zuhair said the government had discussed the request for German assistance with the Islamic Ministry, which had expressed its approval.

However spokesperson for the Islamic Ministry Sheikh Ahmadullah said he had no information about the matter and did not want to comment.

Zuhair explained that “many Islamic books also were preserved in Germany” and believed that “German religious scholars would be more experienced than Maldivian scholars.”

”The origins of Sharia code would not be changed,” Zuhair said. ”They will only help in some areas like taxation.”

He said the president had received very positive answers in response to his interest.

State Minister for Islamic Affairs Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said if good advice was given “it should always be heard and acted upon.”

Shaheem said people should realise “that there are Islamic scholars all around the world, and not only in Arabic countries.”

“The are good scholars in many countries,” Shaheem said, “even in those where Islamic people are in a minority.”

”Even a scholar like Sheikh Bukhari (a famous scholar of the Hadiths) was not from an Arabic country,” Shaheem explained.

“If a scholar in another country can give the right information on Sharia law, we have to accept it. But if anyone gives the wrong information, we have scholars here who can tell us the right way to implement Sharia.”

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Bill on government preschools to appear before parliament

A bill governing pre-schools has been presented to parliament by Independent MP Ahmed Shiyam and was accepted by all 64 members present.

If the bill is approved the government would assume responsibility for funding the country’s preschools, which are now largely privately operated.

Deputy Minister for Education Shifa Mohamed said preschools were very important as they represented the first stage of education.

But she also noted that it was very difficult for the government to handle and develop preschools at a time when it was focusing on widening the availability of higher education.

”It would be very difficult for the government to handle the preschools as the country’s economic condition is also not very good, and I do not think the approved budget would be sufficient,” Shifa said.

She called on the MPs to include sufficient funding in the budget and increase it as necessary.

Press Secretary for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair said the government supported the preschool bill, approved by the majority of MDP MPs as well.

”Every one dollar spent on preschool education represents seven dollars saved in secondary,” he explained.

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Thirty coconut palms vandalised on Nadella

A group of people have cut down 30 coconut palm trees on the island of Nadella in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, the same area where President Mohamed Nasheed had promised to develop a football stadium.

Councilor of Nadella Abbas Ali told Minivan News that given that the price of one grown palm tree was Rf500 a sapling Rf100, the incident on Monday night represented a total loss Rf3500 to the community.

“Some of the people earn money by selling coconuts and items made from palm trees,” he said.

”In that area there are 430 palm trees belonging to 25 people. It is a very big loss for some people.”

”Apparently they had used electric or petrol saws.”

Abbas said the Island office informed about it to the police yesterday morning.

He said the islanders had disputed the development of a football stadium in the area because recently land was reclaimed to develop the stadium in another area.

He said the palm trees were growing 300 feet away from where people lived.

Mohamed Rasheed, a man who lost two palm trees in the incident, said the trees had belonged to his grandfather and he had been waiting for them to get old so he could use the logs.

”I also use the palm trees to get coconuts,” he said.

Head of Gaafu Dhaalu police station Ahmed Naseeh said the police yet to begin investigating the case.

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