Author: Ahmed Nazeer

“Stigmatisation of persons based on religion pressing human rights concern”: Ambassador Adam

Maldives Ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Iruthisham Adam, has welcomed the council’s resolution to tackle Islamophobia under the framework provided by UN Resolution 16/18.

“Islamophobia and other forms of intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatisation of persons based on religion or belief is one of the most pressing human rights concerns of our time,” said Ambassador Adam.

“The problem is not new but has reached new heights in our globalised world where ideas and information, whether good or bad, moves from one country to the next, and one individual to the next, with startling ease. This, together with the fall-out from 9/11 and the War and Terror, have led to a situation where Muslims around the world face daily intolerance and discrimination,” Ambassador Adam said.

The resolution was jointly proposed by the Maldives during the 16th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

“It provides a comprehensive framework for action including awareness-raising and education, legislative steps and administrative measures,” Iruthisham said. “Most importantly, it was adopted by consensus. Only by working together, by taking action individually and collectively, can states hope to build a world where people of all faiths and religions live side-by-side in an atmosphere of mutual tolerance, understanding and good-will.”

“This last point – the importance of all States working individually as well as collectively – is, we think, key. In the context of tackling Islamophobia, this means that the Maldives does expect countries, especially in the West, which are faced with problems stemming from societal intolerance and vilification of Muslim minorities, to take real and robust action in line with Resolution 16/18. But it also means that we in the Maldives, and in the wider Islamic world, must be willing to also take steps to promote a better understanding of our religion and what it stands for, and to promote dialogue with people of other faiths.”

Ambassador Adam claimed all states had a responsibility to take action against those who promoted violence in the name of religion, and said that it was important to defeat such people “in the battle of ideas.”

“For example, in the Maldives, we are working, in our new democracy, to counter act the false perception that people must make the false choice between devotion to Islam on the one hand, and the full enjoyment of human rights on the other,” she said.

“None of this is easy, for the simple reason that the Maldives does not exist in a vacuum. Rather, we are buffeted by global winds. This is why, in response to the numerous [Universal Periodic Review] recommendations we received on matters of religious tolerance, the Maldives recently announced its intention to organise, during 2012, a major international conference on progressive Sharia jurisprudence and human rights. With this conference we hope to revive the concepts of peace and tolerance, co-existence and inter-faith harmony that exist in Islam.”

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Umar Naseer’s dismissal case to continue despite failure to approach appeals committee, rules court

Former Deputy Leader of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Parrty (DRP) must first appeal his dismissal with the party’s appeals committee before seeking to resolve the matter in court, DRP lawyer and former Attorney General Husnu Suood has argued in the Civil Court.

However Judge Ali Rashee Hussein ruled that although Suood’s argument was the procedure followed in many democratic countries, according to Maldivian law it is not required to exhaust all other avenues before seeking redress in the court system.

Suood claimed that Naseer had not tried to resolve the dispute outside the court despite having the right to do so.

However, Judge Rasheed ordered the DRP to respond to Naseer’s accusations and decided that the suit would continue, claiming precedent in another case in which the High Court invalidated the Civil Court’s ruling and ordered the case to continue.

Naseer was dismissed by the DRP’s disciplinary committee following allegations that he conducted protests without authorisation from the party’s leadership.

Naseer’s lawyer claimed that the party’s charter did not give the Disciplinary Committee the authority to take action against a Deputy Leader and that the Deputy Leader could only be dismissed if one third of the party’s national congress voted in favor of dismissing him.

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MDP files no-confidence motion against Deputy Speaker of the Parliament

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs have filed a no-confidence motion against Deputy Speaker of Parliament and People’s Alliance (PA) MP, Ahmed Nazim.

MDP Parliamentary Group’s Spokesperson MP Mohamed Shifaz confirmed that MDP had filed the motion today.

‘’We have finished all the documentation work and today we handed it to the parliament,’’ said Shifaz.

Shifaz said the party there were many issues with Deputy Speaker Nazim.

‘’First of all, he has many legal cases filed against him in the courts, and there are many issues regarding his integrity,’’ Shifaz said. ‘’Most of the MPs believe that he has to be dismissed. If that happens, it will benefit the work the government is doing to ensure the independence of the judiciary.’’

Shifaz accused Nazim of deliberately delaying work sent to the parliamentary committees in which he has influence.

In retaliation, the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) filed no-confidence motions against Home Minister Hassan Afeed and Finance Minister Ahmed Inaz.

Shifaz claimed that although the opposition filed no-confidence motions against the cabinet ministers, they would not be able to get the numbers required to dismiss them.

”They are dreaming if they think they can dismiss any of the ministers,” he claims..

DRP MP Ahmed Mahlouf meanwhile said that if parliamentarians continued working like this, the parliament would prove dysfunctional.

‘’We can’t work like this. One day MDP will file a no-confidence motion against the Speaker, the next day the opposition will file a no-confidence motion against a cabinet minister and if it continues like this, parliament’s responsibilities will be left undone,’’ said Mahlouf. ‘’I have decided to speak with the political parties myself to let them know that it is not right.’’

Mahlouf acknowledged that during the recent protests over the economy, some MPs including Mahlouf himself had signed a no-confidence motion against Finance Minister Inaz.

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

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Cabinet to reduce duration of criminal records to boost youth employment

The cabinet has discussed the possibility of decreasing the duration of criminal records to encourage greater youth participation in the workforce, after noting that many skilled youth job applications were being dismissed because of criminal records for minor offences.

The matter was presented by Youth Minister Dr Hassan Latheef on June 7 and the cabinet formed a sub-committee to study the issue.

‘’’The Cabinet members noted that youth accounted for over 43 percent of the population, and in the current job market criminal records were a barrier to job-seeking for many young people.’’

The President’s Office said that cabinet ministers had agreed that the existing system, which requires five year-criminal records, barred many educated and skilled youth with minor offences from gainful employment.

‘’Members agreed that lowering the current standards of establishing good character would increase the number of skilled job seekers,’’ President’s Office said.

The government will announce a procedure for conducting background checks of job seekers for criminal records, said the President’s Office.

Press Secretary for the President, Mohamed Zuhair, said the objective of decreasing the duration of criminal records was mainly to help recovered drug addicts who often have difficulties in finding a job due to their record.

‘’The government is currently discussing with all the concerned authorities such as Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS), Parole board, Clemency board and so on,’’ said Zuhair. ‘’When the amendment to the procedure is brought I think the duration of criminal records may be reduced to perhaps three years.”

Currently those arrested on suspicion of violating a law also have a criminal record filed in their police report.

‘’Incrimination is something that this government condemns. We are currently working to solve this issue,’’ Zuhair added.

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DQP threatens government with legal action over fishermen’s subsidies

The Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) has said claimed that Rf100 million (US$6.42 million) included in the government’s budget for the year 2011 for diesel subsidies for fishermen has not been given.

‘’It is a great concern for the fishermen and their families that they don’t have a penny left to take home after working the whole day,’’ said DQP in a statement yesterday.

The party accused the government of failing to develop the fisheries industry for the last two years.=

‘’We call on the government to give out these subsidies immediately,’’ said the DQP, threatening to file a suit for fishermen’s rights if the government failed to deliver the subsidies in 21 days.

Mohamed Zuhair, Press Secretary for the President, told Minivan News that the DQP was not working for the rights of fishermen.

‘’They are politicising the issue for political gain,’’ Zuhair said. ‘’The government has been working on delivering the subsidies program for fishermen and I think it will commence very soon.’’

He said that the government had been trying to establish criteria for the program and would launch it soon.

‘’It is not as easy as just going up to the boat captain and handing over the money. It has to administered,’’ he added.

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President asks parliament to approve Maldivian contribution to UN peacekeeping operations

Cabinet’s decision to contribute Maldivian soldiers to UN peacekeeping operations has been sent to parliament for approval.

Parliament debated the issue and decided to send the matter to the National Security Committee for review.

After an hour long debate between MPs over the issue, Maldivian Democratic Party([MDP) Parliamentary Group Leader and MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik proposed to send the matter to the National Security Committee committee, with 61 MPs voting in favor.

According to 243[b] of the constitution, ‘’if the President, as Commander in Chief, authorises or orders the employment of the military service in defence of the republic or as part of an international undertaking, the President shall without delay submit the authorization to the People’s Majlis. The People’s Majlis may at any time approve the authorisation, or revoke the authorisation.’’

Oppostion Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP with former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s faction, Ahmed Mahlouf, said the issue was concerning.

‘’This is no joke, this is a very serious issue,’’ he said. ‘’I do not think any honorable member would want to send some Maldivians abroad to their deaths.’’

Mahlouf said death was a real possibility in the peacekeeping operations. He also noted that it was possible that terrorists would target the Maldives if Maldivian soldiers were sent to participate in the UN peacekeeping operations.

Religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf recently called on the government to withdraw a decision made by the cabinet to send Maldivian troops to take part in UN peacekeeping operations.

Cabinet decided to finalise the participation of Maldivian soldiers, noting that it was “important for the Maldives to contribute to the efforts of these international agencies and institutions to ensure that every country, every society and every individual has the opportunity to live in peace and security.”

“Taking part in the UN peacekeeping operations will force Maldivian forces to fight against Muslims which is unacceptable,” said Salaf in the statement, opposing the decision.

”Everyone understands that the most of the wars against Muslims have been started without reasonable grounds, just because they are Muslims.”

”Muslims will be obliged to treat [the peacekeeper] as a non-Muslim in all ways, such as if dead, burying without enshrouding the body, burying the body with non-believers, and when dealing with inheritance matters the terms and condition that apply to a non-believer who dies in a war against Muslims will be applied to him,” the NGO claimed.

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Mohamed Imtiyaz appointed as acting Chairperson of MDP

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has issued a statement announcing that following the resignation of the party’s Chairperson MP Mariya Didi, all her responsibilities were handed to the Deputy Chairperson Mohamed Imtiyaz.

Mariya had resigned from her post to stand as a candidate for the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) as the member representing the parliament, after DRP MP Dr Afrashim Ali was removed for misconduct.

Leader of MDP, former fisheries minister Dr Ibrahim Didi, said Mariya’s resignation was a great sacrifice to establish an independent judiciary in the Maldives.

Speaking to the press today, Didi said that within the next two months the new Chairperson of the party would be appointed after 60 days of campaigning, as granted by the party’s charter.

Maryia was not appointed as the member from the parliament to JSC, after the post was narrowly secured by Jumhooree Party (JP) Leader and MP ‘Buruma’ Gasim Ibrahim.

36 MPs voted in favor of appointing Mariya to the JSC, while 38 voted in favor of appointing Gasim to the commission from the parliament.

Mariya congratulated MP Gasim and said she hoped he would carry out his responsibilities as a member of the JSC with sincerity for the benefit of the citizens and the best interests of the nation.

She also thanked all the MPs that voted for her.

Today’s parliament session ended after MDP MPs left the parliament chamber.

DRP MP Ahmed Nihan said that it has become a major issue that MPs were leaving the parliament, forcing the speaker to cancel the session.

”I think MPs have to seriously think about this now,” Nihan said. ”It has become a major issue.”

Nihan said that after MDP ”bought” former DRP MP Ali Waheed, he had been “very inactive” in parliament.

”Nowadays he just roams around the parliament singing songs and often goes to the tea room. He hasn’t been doing any work at all,” Nihan said. ”However, Gasim’s appointment to the JSC is a great victory for the citizens in this delicate situation.”

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Dhoonidhoo inmates on hunger strike

Inmates at Dhoonidhoo Police Custodial have declared themselves on hunger strike, a person familiar with the matter told Minivan News.

‘’All inmates detained in Dhoonidhoo Police Custodial, except for foreigners, have declared themselves on hunger strike,’’ the source said on conditions of anonymity. ‘’Inmates have been continuously obstructed from obtaining their rights.’’

The source claimed that the main reason of the hunger strike was because of the ‘’spoiled food’’ that had been fed to the inmates recently.

‘’All the inmates felt ill after consuming the food they were brought the day before yesterday, and the inmates complained,’’ he said. ‘’A senior police officer met with the inmates and told them that the food’s quality had been decreasing due to the change in the dollar exchange rate and that the price of products was increasing.’’

He said the police had told the inmates that the budget allocated for inmates’ food was not increased after the dollar exchange rate was altered, and promised that police would try to solve the issue.

‘’The inmates have to be brought out for walking once every two days, now inmates are brought out to walk once every week,’’ he said. ‘’The inmates have not been provided with other essential things they need such as razors, towels, brush, tooth brush, soap. The authorities have said they do not have the budget to provide those things to Maldivians, but the foreigners in this detention centre get all of them.’’

The source said the inmates have said they will continue the hunger strike “until the police meet their demands”.

Inmates started the strike yesterday at 3:00pm, the source said.

A police spokesperson denied that such incident was taking place at Dhoonidhoo Police Custodial.

Dhoonidhoo is used to detain persons accused of committing crimes pending investigation, with prison sentences mostly carried out in Maafushi.

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Criminal Court finds two businessmen charged with drug trafficking innocent

The Criminal Court has ruled that the Prosecutor General had been unable to prove that two businessmen Abdulatheef Mohamed and Hassan Ali charged with drug trafficking were guilty of the crime, due to lack of evidence and witnesses presented to the court.

Abdulatheef was arrested by police after they discovered more than one kilogram of illegal narcotics inside his car trunk.

However, the court said that there was not a single piece of evidence presented to the court suggesting that the illegal narcotics were imported with the knowledge of both Hassan and Abdulatheef.

The Criminal Court ruled that there was no reason to suspect that Abdulatheef and Hassan had an intention to traffic drugs.

During the investigation period of Abdulatheef, the Criminal Court summoned and ordered his release, a day after the High Court invalidated a letter sent by the Criminal Court to police asking to release the suspect under house arrest.

The Criminal Court first asked police to keep Abdulatheef in detention until his trial reached a conclusion. However the Criminal Court later sent a letter to the police changing the court’s first decision and asking police to switch Latheef’s detention to house arrest.

The police then appealed at the High Court to invalidate the letter. The High Court judges determined that the order in the letter was not consistent with the applicable laws concerning detention, and overruled it.

Latheef was arrested last year in December, as he was about to drive off in his car after loading some vegetables into the trunk.

Police officers attended the area, stopped his car and unpacked the loaded items in his presence and discovered 1083.4246 grams of illegal narcotics containing the substance Tetrahydrocannabinol (found in cannabis).

The Prosecutor General appealed at the High Court asking for Abdulatheef to be detained until his trial reached a conclusion and to rule that Criminal Court’s order to release him was unlawful.

However, the High Court ruled that there was no grounds to overrule the Criminal Court’s decision.

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