Minivan News – Page 215 – Minivan News

Two detained on suspicion of sexually exploiting minor on Thinadhoo

The Maldives Police Service has detained two individuals Thursday (October 17) on suspicion of sexually exploiting of a 17 year-old minor on the island of Thinadhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll.

Police have confirmed that the two suspects, both 18 years of age, were taken into custody at 12:00am on Thursday.

Investigations are continuing into the case, which was first reported to island police on October 15.

One of the suspects held in custody has a criminal record concerning illicit narcotics, according to police.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Three arrested in connection with Raajje TV attack

Three individuals have been arrested in relation to last week’s attack on Raajje TV, local media has reported.

The suspects are aged 18, 21, and 24 and police are said to be searching for more people involved in the attack that destroyed the station’s premises on Boduthakurufaanu Magu in Male’.

Six assailants were seen committing the attack on CCTV, which included the stabbing of a security guard.

The role of the police in the attack was criticised by Reporters Without Borders who urged the police to bring the arsonists to justice.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Fears of judicial process being used to derail election justified: Eurasia Review

Will anyone believe that the highest court in Maldives has met three times at midnight in the last three weeks to give executive directions to the Elections Commission in the conduct of the presidential elections, asks Dr S Chandrasekharan for the Eurasia Review.

Of these, two of the recent meetings were to satisfy a particular individual who after requesting the court to postpone the elections by a month, is now using all means to ensure that fresh elections do not take place on the 19th as rescheduled by the Election Commission.

On October 11, the Supreme Court met at midnight to order the Election Commission to restart from scratch the process of re registering an estimated 65,000 voters who wished to vote at a place different from their home island.

Following these orders, the political parties had to rush with the new finger print forms to re register through the department of National Registration. There were long queues of thousands of people waiting to be re registered and the computer systems also broke down. Still the assistants processing the forms had to do it manually and issue receipts pending the restoration of the system. The task undertaken was a stupendous one and yet the staff worked overtime to complete the registration before the deadline.

The MDP has pointed out that it is “extremely concerned” that the Supreme Court is interfering in the electoral process for political reasons, “issuing unconstitutional rulings and acting with impunity.”

The Election Commission Chief said on 13th that “there are groups of people who want to block the vote . . . those who know that they may not do well, so they are trying to buy time and make the election difficult.” This is certainly a reference to Abdulla Yameen the PPM candidate.

The PPM supporters went to the extent of even obstructing the smooth conduct of re registration on the 15th and threatened the officials. The Maldivian Police took its own time to come to the scene (five hours) and remove the protesters.

President Waheed also appears to be indirectly supporting the PPM candidate. Though he formally withdrew his candidacy yesterday in his speech on Eid-al-Adha, he made a mischievous comment that there is “room for doubt”over the integrity and fairness of polls. He is still the chief executive and it is surprising that he not only abdicated his functions to the Supreme Court, but also has taken sides in the ongoing difficulties experienced in the conduct of the presidential elections.

The Human rights committee of the UK’s Bar has pointed out that the verdict is troubling in the context of the ongoing international criticism concerning lack of independence of the Maldivian judiciary and lack of adequate separation of powers.

In an earlier paper of June 14, 2013 (Paper 5509) I had mentioned that there is a fear of the judicial process being used to prevent Nasheed from contesting. These fears appear to be justified now.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

HRCM has complete confidence in Elections Commission, says acting chair

Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) member Ahmed Tholal – currently acting chair or president – has told local media that the commission had complete confidence in the Elections Commission’s (EC’s) ability to conduct the upcoming presidential election freely, fairly and in a transparent manner.

The remarks come after the HRCM issued a press release on Thursday (October 10) stating that a letter has been sent to the EC concerning alleged “discrimination” in taking measures against political parties for illegal activities.

“As the Elections Commission is an independent state institution, [the HRCM] urged [the EC] to not discriminate among political parties and treat all parties equally when issuing warnings and taking measures concerning an illegal activity,” the press release stated.

While Tholal declined to comment about the HRCM’s letter, newspaper Haveeru reported that the letter was sent by commission member Ahmed Abdul Kareem without the knowledge of the other members.

HRCM regulations require that such decisions are made with the participation or vote of all members.

“We noted in our report after the election that it was conducted well. So we have that confidence this time as well. HRCM is ready to provide cooperation required by the Elections Commission at this stage,” Tholal was quoted as saying.

He added that the HRCM did not have any concerns or dissatisfaction with the EC.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday (October 11), EC Chair Fuwad Thowfeek said two members of the HRCM contacted him, apologised and explained that the press statement was issued by just one member without the knowledge of the rest.

“The two members have said they condemn the act as it was done without their knowledge,” Thowfeek said.

He added that HRCM Chair Mariyam Azra was currently out of the country as well.

“So we don’t find it easy to accept what just one member said because two members have informed me that it wasn’t a decision made by the Human Rights Commission,” Thowfeek said.

The two HRCM members told Thowfeek that they were “ashamed” because of the sole member’s personal antagonism.

Kareem has however denied the allegation that the letter was sent without the knowledge of the other members, claiming that the decision was made following consultation among the five members regarding a number of complaints against the EC.

While the letter was signed by Kareem alone, he claimed that the decision to send it was approved by a majority of the commission.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

HRCM calls on authorities to ensure inmates are able to vote

The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has issued a statement calling on authorities to ensure that inmates detained at state penitentiaries and police custody are able to vote during the presidential election.

The HRCM stated that the police, human rights and Gender Ministry as well as the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation (DPRS) should complete the things they have to, in order to make sure all persons detained in their facilities are able to vote.

The commission said it had sent a letter to the Supreme Court to discuss the verdict regarding the issue.

On September 5, a source within the Maafushi Prison told Minivan News that more than 200 inmates were not registered to vote because they do not have national identity cards. The source claimed that inmates have to pay the prison department to renew their ID cards but that there are inmates in the cells who have no way to get money.

He said that inmates have contacted politicians and been told it is the responsibility of the Home Ministry to make ID cards for all the inmates who do not have them.

The source also claimed that inmates have complained about both the Prison Department and the Home Ministry stealing the money the government had given them to get ID cards for inmates.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Maldives entrepreneurs braving “culture war” to pursue guesthouse growth, AFP reports

The full story can be read here on Minivan News’ spin-off travel website Dhonisaurus.

“Most visitors arrive at the country’s airport island, take a speed boat or seaplane to their expensive coral-fringed private resort and spend the next week relaxing in blissful ignorance of the country around them,” writes Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalist Adam Plowright.

“It has been this way for decades, the result of a deliberate policy of keeping wealthy vacationers — mostly Westerners and often newlyweds — on uninhabited islands separate from the local Muslim population.”

The potential nonetheless for expanding mid-market tourism in the Maldives through the “niche” guesthouse segment emerged as an early election issue in May after senior opposition and government figures clashed over how best the country’s inhabited islands might profit from visitors.

Plowright himself observed that despite the Maldives’ reputation as one of the world’s most exclusive holiday destinations, the opening of guesthouses across the country over the last five years has appeared to upset some religious conservatives in the country.

Under the country’s laws, traditional holiday staples such as the sale and consumption of alcohol and pork products, and women publicly sunbathing in bikinis are outlawed unless on designated ‘uninhabited’ islands set aside exclusively for resort developments.

Plowright added that with the local Maldivian potentially facing public flogging should they be convicted on charges of ‘fornication’, the religious conservative Adhaalath Party had maintained that tourism be kept separate from the country’s inhabited islands.

“If the hippy-type of travellers come, along will come drugs and narcotics which even now our society is suffering from. Things like nudity are not acceptable in a place where people are living. The people complain that they are praying in the mosque and just outside there are tourists in bikinis,” Adhaalath Party Vice President Mauroof Hussain told the AFP.

“While fundamentalist interpretations of Islam imported from the Persian Gulf and Pakistan are progressively taking root in the Maldives, Hussain’s views lie far outside the mainstream and are ridiculed by many,” the AFP claimed.

The Adhaalath Party remains a key supporter in the upcoming election of Jumhoree Party (JP) presidential candidate and businessman MP Gasim Ibrahim, who operates a number of exclusive island resorts through his Villa Hotels company.

The presidential candidate’s resorts have thrived on supplying married and unmarried guests alike with holiday staples associated with the Maldives; including sun bathing, alcoholic beverages and diving expeditions.

Yet despite the prevalance of exclusive island resorts to tourism growth in the Maldives, efforts over the last half decade to expand guesthouses has led to a “torrent” of entrepreneurs like 25-year-old Ibrahim Mohamed opening tourist properties in an attempt to bring more US dollars directly into the local economy, according to Plowright.

Chinese tourists take big spending to Maldives: The Wall Street Journal

“Rich Chinese who are sick of crowds at home during major holidays have discovered the Maldives, the tropical islands that typically draw jet-setters from Europe looking for an exotic locale,” writes Wei Gu for ‘The Wall Street Journal’.

“The Maldives has become the most desired destination for the Chinese, according to a report from China’s Tourism Bureau. Chinese tourists now dominate travel to the island country, with 103,734 arrivals in the first seven months of 2013, up 66 percent from the same period in 2011, according to its Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture.

Chinese visitor numbers dwarf those from the UK and Italy, which are in second and third place with 60,021 and 53,493 tourists, respectively.

During the recent Golden Week holiday, Zhu Hong, a partner in fashion boutique Shanghai Tang, joined with a group of eight business acquaintances for a private-jet trip to the Indian Ocean islands. The luxury-goods executive is now on his seventh passport after running out of pages on the previous six. Most of his friends, who are Shanghai property developers, haven’t spent as much time abroad, so they were eager to tag along with a well-travelled English speaker.

Unlike many Chinese who often travel with business associates, Mr Zhu normally prefers to spend holidays with his family, but made an exception because his son was training for a tennis tournament.

They stayed in villas on the water in the Maldives, but hardly dipped their toes in the water. They spent most of their time playing a popular Chinese card game called fighting the landlord.

‘Although I wished they have spent a bit more time on the beach, they really saw this game as an engaging intellectual challenge,’ Mr. Zhu said.

Well-off Chinese who are tired of beaches in Southeast Asia are looking for a new destination.

For Chinese passport holders, the Maldives is one of the few countries in the world that doesn’t require the hassle of a visa. Its white sand and lush green water couldn’t be more different than the travel scene in China during Golden Week, one of two weeks during the year when nearly the whole country is on holiday.”

Voters, monitors, media banned from taking phones, cameras, files into polling area as per Supreme Court guidelines, advises EC

All eligible voters who wish to vote on Oct 19 somewhere other than their permanent address must re-register using the new fingerprint forms.

Voter re-registration will close at 4:30pm today. Forms are available at all island council offices, Addu City Council departments, diplomatic missions and at www.elections.gov.mv. In Malé forms will be accepted at the Elections Commission’s registration center on Handhuvaree Hingun.

Check your registration status online, or by SMSing 1414 ‘VIS ID#’, or call the hotline on the same number.

Voting will begin at 7:30am on Saturday, October 19 and polls will be closed at 4:00pm, the Elections Commission (EC) announced at a press conference last night. Those in the queue at 4:00pm will be allowed to vote, said EC Commissioner Fuwad Thowfeek.

Two ballot boxes will be placed in Sri Lanka and one each in India, Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

The previous requirement for more than 100 voters to register for a ballot box to be kept overseas would not be enforced this time, Thowfeek said, adding that ballot boxes would be placed in resorts and industrial islands whether or not the registration exceeds 50 persons.

The re-registration deadline for persons voting outside their home islands is 4:30pm today, after the Supreme Court ordered the EC to restart the registration process in line with the court’s guidelines.

Thowfeek explained that while forms submitted on October 9-10 with fingerprints in accordance with the Supreme Court guidelines would be valid, re-registration forms processed before the annulled September 7 presidential election as well as for the postponed second round scheduled for September 28 would be invalid.

Among the 16-point guidelines imposed on the EC by the Supreme Court judgment annulling the first round of the presidential polls was a requirement to include fingerprints of persons submitting re-registration forms as well as the fingerprints of two witnesses, if the form was submitted by a third party.

“Registration by forms submitted in September have been invalidated now. So until registered, a person’s name will be under his or her permanent address [on the voter registry]. Until a person registers elsewhere they have to vote in the place of the permanent address,” Thowfeek said.

“We do accept that this is a very short period we are offering to citizens. But as you know, because of the Supreme Court verdict we cannot provide a long period for any process. The verdict states that the first round of the presidential election must be held before the 20th of this month.”

In line with the Supreme Court guidelines, Thowfeek said voters would not be allowed to take phones, handbags or any other item into the polling station, advising voters to keep phones at home.

“The Elections Commission and relevant authorities should make it illegal for any person (including officials) who enters the polling station to carry phones, handbags, files or any item (excluding pens) that could be considered to infringe upon the rights of candidates and ensure that no such action takes place,” reads point 10 of the Supreme Court guidelines.

To abide by the guideline, EC member Ali Mohamed Manik revealed that media monitors would not be allowed to bring cameras or phones into the polling station.

“We sincerely apologise to you for this because in the past monitors took cameras and phones but we have to abide by the [Supreme Court] judgment,” he said.

The EC was given legal advice recommending that “any persons” stated in the guideline included media monitors as well, Manik said.

As elections officials would not be allowed to carry phones either, Manik said a communications official would be stationed outside each polling place.

In addition to a communications official, a second official would be added to supervise the handing out of tokens.

Asked if the EC could provide assurances that the voter registry would not include underaged citizens or the deceased, Thowfeek explained that in line with the Supreme Court judgment, the main source of the registry would be the database at the Department of National Registration (DNR).

“The department is tasked with maintaining [records] of births and deaths. So if they are maintaining the list correctly, I believe it shouldn’t include the names of any deceased,” he said.

In the past, Thowfeek said, the EC sought lists from the DNR and island councils, which were cross-checked to compile the voter registry.

The DNR has provided regular access to its database as well as identity card (ID) photos for the EC, Thowfeek said, adding that the ID card photos would be used along with the voter lists at polling stations.

Regarding the recent resignation of EC member Ibrahim ‘Ogaru’ Waheed, Thowfeek said Waheed informed the commission that he was advised to resign by doctors as it was “not advisable to work in a stressful environment” due to his health.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Civil Court upholds JSC’s “indefinite suspension” of High Court Chief Judge

Civil Court ruled yesterday (October 9) that there are no grounds to annul the the Judicial Service Commission’s (JSC) decision to suspend High Court Chief Judge Ahmed Shareef, reports local media.

Shareef filed a lawsuit at the Civil Court for a second time against the JSC on June 20, 2013, challenging his indefinite suspension by the judicial watchdog.

The initial suspension came just hours after the High Court had temporarily halted the hearings of a case lodged by former President Mohamed Nasheed against the JSC.

Nasheed had accused the judicial watch-dog of exceeding its mandate when appointing the three-member judges panel to the Hulhumale Magistrate Court currently hearing a criminal case against him.

According to the JSC Chair Justice Adam Mohamed Abdulla, the suspension of Shareef – amongst the three judges presiding over Nasheed’s case – was a “precautionary” measure while investigation of the complaint was proceeding.

JSC Chair and Supreme Court insisted at the time that the disciplinary action had no relation to the former president’s case.

On June 17, the first case submitted by Shareef – requesting the court issue an injunction halting the suspension – was dismissed by Civil Court Judge Hathif Hilmy after the claimant did not attend the hearing and failed to provide the court with a valid reason for his absence.

The Civil Court ruling stated that Shareef’s suspension did not violate Supreme Court rulings, Article 141 of the constitution, Article 38 of the Judges Act, or the JSC Act according to local media.

Additionally, the court ruling stated that it is not mandatory for the JSC to establish investigation committees in response to complaints, referring to Article 23 (a) of the JSC Act.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)