Author: Minivan News

Former environment minister presents scientific paper at Copenhagen conference

Former Environment Minister Mohamed Aslam has presented a scientific paper at the ‘Impact 2C’ conference in Copenhagen, Denmark about changes caused to island size by climate change.

According to a press statement from the office of former President Mohamed Nasheed on October 30, Aslam studied changes in size and sea level for 184 islands in Huvadhoo atoll (Gaaf Alif and Gaaf Dhaal atolls) from 1969 to 2013.

Aslam found that 43 percent of islands underwent significant changes. While 50 percent shrank in size, 23 percent grew and 27 remained unchanged.

Natural defences of the coral islands in the Maldives were changing due to climate change, Aslam concluded.

Former President Nasheed meanwhile stressed the importance of Maldivians participating in climate change discussions, forums and research projects.

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Two men stabbed in café

Two men were stabbed in a café in Malé around 6:30am this morning by a group of men on motorbikes.

Eyewitnesses told local media that the assailants fled on motorbikes after stabbing the victims inside the K Mart café in the Henveiru ward of the capital.

Both victims were taken to the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital for treatment of injuries.

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Prosecutor general questions timing of MMPRC audit report release

Prosecutor General (PG) Muhthaz Muhsin has questioned the timing of the Auditor General’s Office’s release of a special audit report of the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Company (MMPRC) implicating Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb in corrupt transactions worth US$6 million.

Muhsin told Sun Online yesterday that the report’s release on the same day (Thursday, October 30) that President Abdulla Yameen ratified amendments to the Audit Act that could see Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim replaced was questionable.

The timing of the report’s release would create doubts and questions among the public, Muhsin said.

“I am not questioning the status of his post,” he added.

The Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) meanwhile issued a press release on Thursday contending that the report was politically motivated, “baseless” and intended to defame Adeeb – also the party’s deputy leader.

The ruling party condemned Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim for basing the report on “falsehoods”.

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party has meanwhile called on the PG to prosecute the tourism minister for corruption and abuse of office.

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T-GST rises to 12 percent

A Tourism Goods and Service Tax (T-GST) hike from eight to 12 percent approved by parliament in February has come into force today.

The tax hike was approved as part of revenue raising measures proposed by the government to raise additional revenue anticipated in this year’s budget.

One general manager has from a prominent resort told Minivan News that bookings appeared to be down for the month of November, with both guests and operators aware of the “double tax” as the T-GST increase combines with the bed tax.

“November will be tough,” he explained. “Top end resorts will really feel this. There’s no way further increases could be stood.”

Representatives from the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) have also opposed the continuation of the bed tax alongside the T-GST increase, though the IMF has suggested that a 12 percent tax rate on the Maldivian industry remains “quite low” due to its high rates of return.

Other measures included reintroducing the US$8 tourism bed tax, reversing import duty reductions, raising airport departure charge for foreign passengers from US$18 to US$25, leasing 12 islands for resort development, and introducing GST for telecommunication services.

Introduced in 2011, T-GST generated around MVR2 billion (US$129 million) between January and September this year – equal to just under 24 percent of all government revenue.

In its latest quarterly economic bulletin, the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) warned that total revenue collected in 2014 could be lower than budgeted due to compromises by parliament in passing the revenue raising measures.

“For example, initially the 2014 budget anticipated the implementation of Tourism Goods and Services Tax (T-GST) hike— from 8% to 12%—in July 2014 but it was delayed to November 2014,” the central bank explained.

“Similarly, the continuation of the Bed Tax was delayed by a month and it is to be discontinued after November 2014, as opposed to the anticipated collection of Bed Tax throughout the year.”

In addition, the MMA explained that payments for resort lease extension fees, which had been anticipated to be received in full under the proposed budget, were later revised to be paid in instalments over 18 months.

Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad told parliament’s public accounts committee last month that the revenue shortfall would amount to MVR1.5 billion. Consequently, the initially projected MVR1.3 billion deficit in this year’s record budget is now expected to rise to over MVR4 billion.

Last month, the finance ministry imposed cost cutting measures in a bid to rein in the ballooning budget deficit.

The parliamentary subcommittee that reviewed the revenue raising measures had recommended revising the government’s proposals following consultations with the MATI.

Appearing before the subcommittee, MATI Secretary General Ahmed Nazeer also questioned the practicality of collecting resort lease extension fees upfront.

Only 17 out of more than 100 resorts offered the opportunity by the administration of former President Mohamed Nasheed to extend leases with a lump sum payment were able to do so, Nazeer said.

Resort owners had amended their lease agreements to pay extension fees in installments during Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s administration, Nazeer noted, and revising agreements for a third time could present legal challenges.

Speaking with Minivan News today, the anonymous GM suggested the government focus on its own austerity measures, or risk losing guests to more “cost-effective” destinations, though the IMF earlier this year had

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High Court annuls JSC procedure for appointing new judge

The High Court has annulled procedural rules put in place by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) for appointing a new judge to the appeals court bench.

Lawyers Anas Abdul Sattar and Hassan Fiyaz had challenged the legality of some provisions in the rules. In its ruling, delivered on Thursday (October 30), the High Court ordered the judicial watchdog to formulate new rules for selecting and appointing a judge.

Nine candidates have applied for the vacancy on the nine member High Court bench following the transfer of former Chief Judge Ahmed Shareef to Juvenile Court.

Applicants include Criminal Court Judges Abdulla Didi and Muhthaz Fahmy, Family Court Chief Judge Hassan Saeed, Civil Court Judges Aisha Shujune, Mohamed Hussain Mazeed, Mariyam Nihayath and Abdulla Jameel Moosa, Hulhumale’ Court Marriage Registrar Hassan Ali, and UNDP Assistant Resident Representative Aishath Rizna.

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Latheefa Gasim elected to represent lawyers on JSC

Attorney Latheefa Gasim won yesterday’s polls to elect a lawyer to represent the legal community on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

Latheefa won the polls with 238 votes while her closest contender, former Deputy Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem, secured 163 votes.

In mid-August, the AG Office postponed the election for a second time after the Supreme Court struck down section 11(a) of the regulations enacted for conducting the polls, which state that polling mechanisms would be established on inhabited islands with at least five registered voters.

The apex court had declared that all licensed lawyers eligible to vote in the elections – including magistrates of island courts – should be able to do so anywhere in the country without registering.

The order prompted the AG Office to repeal the procedural regulations as the “essence” of the annulled clause was assuring “secrecy of the ballot”.

Latheefa had previously served on the JSC as former President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s member on the 10-member judicial oversight body.

Shameem meanwhile thanked voters on Twitter following the polls and expressed gratitude for support despite “nonstop rain, flooding and difficulties in communication.”

Among the other contestants, Mohamed Faisal received 63 votes, Anas Abdul Sattar received 19 votes, and Rusdhulla Ibrahim got 10 votes.

The AG Office had enacted new regulations (Dhivehi) in line with the Supreme Court order (Dhivehi). Lawyers and magistrates in other islands were allowed to vote via fax from a polling station arranged by the AG Office.

Once the faxed ballot paper with the name, signature and fingerprint of the voter is received by the AG Office, an election official at the office was to omit the section with the name and cast the ballot into a ballot box in Malé.

After withdrawing his candidacy, lawyer Mohamed Fareed had objected to judicial interference in the election following an earlier Supreme Court’s ruling allowing all licensed lawyers, including sitting MPs and judges, to vote in the election.

“The belief that an election in the Maldives may proceed without Supreme Court interference is against the facts, reality. This is the reality now,” he said at a press conference.

With voting mechanisms set up on every island, magistrates would be forced to vote for the judiciary-backed candidate Latheefa Qasim, he suggested.

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Everything will change once Rilwan is found, police commissioner tells Haveeru

Police Commissioner Hussein Waheed has said that everything happening in Maldivian society would change if missing Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan were to be found.

In an exclusive interview with Haveeru, Waheed denied police negligence in the investigation while again refusing to reveal any specifics into the investigation’s progress.

“Saying that Rilwan hadn’t been found, I don’t believe any slips have been made in the investigation which would justify the accusation. But there are lessons to be learned with every investigation. We are learning the lessons,” he said.

Rilwan’s family yesterday lodged an official complaint with the Police Integrity Commission, accusing police of negligence in investigating the 28-year-old’s disappearance, as well as disrespect shown towards the family.

Waheed today repeated suggestions previously made by the home minister that non-governmental and media organisations were partially responsible for the apparently stalled investigation.

A reports commissioned by the Maldivian Democracy Network suggested radicalised gangs were the most likely culprits in the abduction 83 days ago. Police later dismissed the findings as irresponsible, though home minister has since acknowledged gang involvement in the disappearance.

“No one should think that we have forgotten about Rilwan’s case,” Waheed told Haveeru today.

“There are many different analyses. Considering the current progress of the investigation, and given that I manage investigative teams, I cannot, at the moment, give you 100 percent confirmation that a gang or group was involved in this.”

Asked if investigations had led police to believe Rilwan was still alive, Waheed only replied that they had found no evidence he was dead.

Numerous international group – most recently Amnesty International – have called upon police to expedite investigations.

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Fuvahmulah couple the latest to travel to ISIS territory for jihad

A couple from Fuvahmulah are reported to be the latest Maldivians to have left the country in order to wage jihad in Syria.

Local media has reported that Ahmed Munsih and his wife Suma Ali told family last night that they were already in Syria and that they would not be returning.

The news follows reports last week that four members of the same family, from Raa Atoll Meedhoo, had travelled to ISIS held territory –  currently comprising large swathes of Syria and Iraq.

Police Commissioner Hussain Waheed told Haveeru that efforts were underway to discourage those wishing to travel for jihad.

In September, an online jihadist group Bilad Al Sham Media – believed to be based in Syria and the Maldives – claimed that a total of four Maldivian men had now been killed while fighting in the Syrian civil war.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has claimed that up to 200 Maldivians are on jihad, telling international media that ex-security servicemen were often among those travelling to fight abroad.

“Radical Islam is getting very, very strong in the Maldives. Their strength in the military and in the police is very significant,” the opposition leader told the UK’s Independent newspaper last month.

On September 5, a protest march took took place in Malé with participants bearing the Islamic State’s flag calling for the implementation of Islamic Shariah in the Maldives.

‘We want the laws of the Quran, not the green book [Maldivian constitution]‘, ‘Islam will eradicate secularism’, ‘No democracy, we want just Islam’, and ‘Shariah will dominate the world’, read some of the placards carried by protesters.

The UK government last week said it was aware of ISIS sympathisers in the Maldives, and that it will continue to “engage” with the government regarding religious moderation.

In late August, Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon condemned “the crimes committed against innocent civilians by the organisation which identifies itself as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.”

Dunya’s remarks followed Islamic Minister Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed’s declaration that the ISIS would not be allowed to operate in the Maldives.

“ISIS is an extremist group. No space will be given for their ideology and activities in the Maldives,” Shaheem tweeted on August 24.

Intelligence service provider ‘The Soufan Group’ has estimated that as many as 12,000 fighters from at least 81 countries have joined civil war in Syria

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Palm trees used by MDP to curse President Yameen, alleges senior government official

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) were using areca palm trees planted in Malé by the city council for black magic to curse President Abdulla Yameen with ill health, an anonymous senior government official has alleged.

“The palm trees were planted with black magic,” the unnamed official told newspaper Haveeru today, claiming that the sorcery or black magic was the reason for the main opposition party’s concern and preoccupation with the felling of the trees in the early hours of October 24.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed alleged that masked Specialist Operations (SO) police officers in plainclothes chopped down the palm trees with machetes.

Patrolling police officers from the Maafanu police station arrested two of the perpetrators, Nasheed told the press on Tuesday (October 28), claiming that the suspects were handed over to the SO on the orders of a senior official from the SO command.

The pair were taken to the police Iskandhar Koshi barracks on an SO vehicle, he claimed.

Commissioner of Police Hussain Waheed held a press conference yesterday and denied police involvement in the incident, dismissing the opposition leader’s allegations as “baseless”.

Haveeru meanwhile claimed to have learned that the palm trees were cut down because senior government officials believed the MDP was using the trees to practice black magic.

The local daily claimed that senior members of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) believe that the trees were planted for use in black magic or sorcery, noting that several areca palm trees were uprooted during anti-government protests in January 2012.

The MDP-dominated city council planted the palm trees – donated by the Indian High Commission – in October 2011 as part of efforts to make the capital greener.

President’s health

Haveeru also referred to rumours of President Yameen undergoing brain surgery in Singapore to remove a tumour following his most recent unofficial trip to the country.

President’s Office Spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz had dismissed the rumours as false and assured that the president and first lady were in good health, after MDP leader Nasheed had questioned Yameen’s absence from the country.

A close associate of President Yameen told the newspaper that the president did not seek treatment for a brain tumour.

Instead, the associate claimed, the president sought treatment for infections caught during his Hajj pilgrimage and had to be admitted at a Singapore hospital.

The anonymous government official said the president’s close associates believe that black magic or sorcery using the palm trees were responsible for the president’s ill health.

The associates advised President Yameen that the palm trees were the cause of his health problems, the senior official said.

“[They] believe that [President Yameen’s] health worsens with every palm frond that falls off the areca palm trees. And that his health would worsen further with every tree that blossoms,” the anonymous official was quoted as saying.

The official further claimed that the housing ministry had sent a letter to the home ministry requesting the trees be taken down.

“Those who [chopped down the trees] did it because the home ministry wouldn’t,” the president’s close associate told the local daily.

“This has to be done for the sake of national security as well. That is the palm trees can be taken down when the head of state’s life is in danger,” he was quoted as saying.

“President Yameen got relief when the palm trees were cut down. And the black magic is being exposed by the MDP’s actions, isn’t it? Less than 24 hours after the palm trees were cut down, [MDP MP Reeko] Moosa [Manik] announced he would contest in the [MDP’s presidential] primary.”

Allegations supported

Police officers have also told Haveeru on condition of anonymity that former President Nasheed’s allegations were true.

“We were on duty that night. The police command said masked men were cutting down the trees,” a police officer claimed.

A second police source alleged that the two or three groups of officers from the SO SWAT who cut down the trees were wearing SO balaclavas or masks.

“The Maafanu police caught two groups. They caught one on Lily Magu and he fell when they struck him on the back,” the police source alleged.

Credible sources have corroborated the claims to Minivan News, revealing that the incident has caused a rift between the SO and capital police commands.

In May 2012, police raided the MDP’s Usfasgadu protest camp over “suspected black magic performed in the area.”

The search warrant obtained from the Criminal Court alleged that on May 25 “MDP protesters threw a cursed rooster at MNDF officers.”

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