Author: Neil Merrett

Union raises job security fears following strike action at Kanuhura resort

The job security of almost 100 staff at the Kanuhura resort in Lhaviyani Atoll is in doubt after they participated in strike action at the property this week, the Tourism Employees Association of Maldives (TEAM) has alleged.

TEAM Secretary General Mauroof Zakir claimed the job security of about 90 members of staff who took part in industrial action at the resort on Monday was uncertain after they were requested to take paid leave away from the site next week.

Legal representatives for Kanuhura’s parent company, the Sun Resorts Group, told Minivan News that the company was attempting to resolve a salary dispute with its staff and had sought assistance from both the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and the Labour Relations Authority (LRA) to liaise on the issue.  The company added that with salary negotiations ongoing it was also trying to maintain operations at the resort, which had been impacted by a number of employees failing to report to duty over the last two days.

Team Secretary General Maurouf claimed that staff at Kanuhura staff last month gathered at the property to demand a rise in monthly wages to US$250 per month – an amount he claimed to be in line with other nearby resorts. Minivan News understands that staff also requested an increase in service charge payments, which was currently being considered by Sun Resorts Group management.

According to TEAM, staff at Kanuhura were earning an average basic wage of between US$175 – US$200 per month.  Staff had been told by company officials they would be receiving an increase in salary by January 20.

The proposed salary increase of between US$25 to US$30 was however deemed insufficient by the majority of staff who had demanded a wage increase, Mauroof claimed.

“Most do not want to accept this increment and there was a work stoppage involving an estimated 95 staff,” he said.

Mauroof added that resort management had since requested that staff involved in this week’s strike action take paid leave of seven days – a request he claimed had been met with suspicion by employees.

“Right now [the resort] does not have accommodation to hire new staff. I do not think they will reinstate the existing workers once they leave,” he claimed.

While not organised by TEAM, Mauroof said the union backed the stance taken by staff in the pay dispute.

“Staff have done everything according to regulations. They raised their concerns last month and wrote to management about the matter,” he said.

Mauroof said there had also been an isolated incident in which a fire had occurred at two guest bungalows on the property, an incident he said was thought to have been an accident.

Replacement allegations

Hussain Rasheed, a senior butler who claims to have worked at the resort for eight and a half years, told Minivan News that some 30 to 40 staff who had taken part in strikes at the resort this week had decided against continuing their employment. He claimed these staff, who were promised a package of three months in wages and a month in service charge payments by cheque, were instead requesting cash payments before leaving the property.

Rasheed also alleged that while remaining staff had apologised for their role in the strike action and wished to stay in their positions, all staff who had taken part in the week’s protests had been requested to take paid leave for at least four days. However, he claimed that no assurances were given that staff would be able to return to their jobs at a later date.

Rasheed alleged that resort management were already in the process of bringing expatriate workers to the island over the last two days to take up roles at the resort.

“They have brought 35 expatriates to the resort from Male’, and they have told me [the imported staff] are being given a basic salary of US$200,” he said.

Rasheed claimed that after having spoken with the new workers, they had admitted to not knowing where their passports or documentation were, and questioned the legality of their employment status.

He claimed that issues had been raised with the Maldives Police Service and the Department of Immigration and Emigration.

Kanuhura response

Speaking to Minivan News today, a legal representative for Sun Resorts Group – who asked not to be named – said workers have taken part in industrial action at the resort last month over calls for a review of wages and service charges.

The representative said that officials from both the Tourism Ministry and the LRA were once again being invited to oversee discussions between both parties.

“The had demanded an increase in salary and service charge payments. The company agreed by January 20 to implement a wage increase. On the matter of service charge payments, we said we would respond to staff by March [2013],” the source said.

“The company’s HR Manager who was here yesterday spoke with staff, who did not accept the proposal offered. They once again went on strike and we have asked the LRA and Tourism Ministry [for assistance].”

While negotiations with state officials and staff ongoing, the legal spokesperson said the company did not wish to discuss the numbers of staff involved in the strikes or the wage rises being offered.

The source also declined to comment on individual accusations raised by staff concerning attempts to employ expatriate staff to take their roles.

“In cases such as this there are likely to be a number of allegations raised. We do not wish to comment on them individually,” the source claimed. “Right now we are trying to manage the resort with what we have. There are about 30 to 50 staff not reporting to work.”

The legal source said that despite efforts to try and manage with reduced staff some operations had been adversely affected as a result of the strikes.

“Some guests have registered complaints with us,” the company representative added.

Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb Abdul Gafoor nad Deputy tourist head Mohamed Maleeh Jamal  were not respong to calls from Minvan News at the time of press.

Freedom of assembly

Under the new ‘Freedom of Assembly Bill’ recently passed by parliament, demonstrations outside a number of public places including resorts and airports, have been outlawed.

The regulation also states that although demonstrators do not need to seek authorisation ahead of a gathering, police must be then notified of any pre-planned demonstrations before they commence.

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Maldives government ratifies ILO conventions on worker rights

The Maldives government has ratified eight “fundamental” International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions designed to bring legislation on employee rights and trade unions in line with international standards.

According to the ILO the conventions, which were ratified by authorities on January 4 this year, outline rights in a number of areas including allowing staff freedom of association and the prevention of child labour and discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, race or age.

The ratification of the conventions comes as foreign governments and civil society organisations continue to raise concerns about rights abuses of expatriate workers in the Maldives.

Foreign labourers are estimated to account for a significant proportion of the country’s workforce.  Just over a quarter of the Maldives population of 394,451 people is estimated to be made up of foreign workers, according to recent statistics supplied by the Department of Immigration and Emigration.

The official immigration figures found that the expatriate workforce in the Maldives had risen by September 2011 to 99,369 people from just 57,968 registered workers in December 2009.

According to the local coordination team overseeing the ILO’s work in the Maldives, many of the rights outlined in the eight fundamental conventions are already included in the country’s constitution and the Employment Act 2008.

However, the project’s organisers told Minivan News this week that its main challenge was to try and implement these laws by working with the government as well as employer and employee organisations.

“Ratification of the conventions will be beneficial to workers and workers organisations as it will improve the national labour standards concerning the freedom of association and collective bargaining rights and also help ensure better implementation of these standards in practice,” a project coordinator for the ILO told Minivan News.

“Respect for freedom of association and collective bargaining rights can lead to better labour management relations and co-operation between them. This will reduce costly labour-management conflicts and promote industrial harmony and social stability.”

The eight fundamental conventions ratified by the Maldivian government this month are:

  • The Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29)
  • The Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105)
  • The Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87)
  • The Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98)
  • The Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100)
  • The Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111),
  • The Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138),
  • The Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)

With the ratification of these conventions, which will come into effect in a year’s time, the ILO project’s coordinators have set three main objectives that it will aim to meet  over the course of the next three years.

These objectives include introducing a legal framework to implement international labour standards, improving the capacity of national mechanisms to resolve labour disputes and strengthen worker and employer organisations to try to improve overall working conditions and productivity.

In a statement released following the ratification of the conventions, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Samad Abdullah praised the government’s ratification of the conventions as a “major achievement” for the present administration.

Dr Samad cliamed that the conventions would allow the country to break new ground in protecting labour rights in the country.

“It is also an important accomplishment in the government’s human rights agenda and one which will fill an existing gap in the national human rights framework,” he stated.

According to the ILO, the Maldives has become the fourth country to ratify all eight of the organisation’s fundamental conventions in the South Asia region. The Maldives became a member of the ILO back in 2009.

Beyond signing the convention on labour rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this month also inaugurated an initiative targeted at raising awareness of the human trafficking issue in the Maldives.

The strategy, entitled ‘Blue Ribbon Campaign Against Human Trafficking’ is expected to include activities to try and raise awareness among students and the business community.

Rights concerns

Both these commitments have been agreed as the Maldives has come under continued criticism for its treatment of foreign workers.

Indian authorities by the end of last year warned that tightened restrictions enforced at the time on providing medical visas to Maldivians were a “signal” to the country’s authorities to address a number of concerns about the nation’s treatment of migrant workers.

A commission spokesperson expressed concerns over a number of practices being used by both public and private employers in the Maldives such as the confiscation of passports of some migrant workers.

Meanwhile, back in November, the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) called for an end to discrimination against foreign workers, criticising Maldivian society for failing to recognise “the significant contribution” expatriates have made to national development.

However, concerns about worker treatment in the country are not exclusively focused on migrant workers.

A letter from the President’s Office claiming to have addressed alleged rights abuses by the state-owned Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) had been labelled “interesting, but not convincing” by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) last November.

The ITF previously raised concern over a lack of correspondence from the President’s Office, announcing the same month that it was calling on the government to intervene over “union intimidation”, or “face embarrassment wrought by widespread international solidarity action”.

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Human traffickers sabotaging border control deal: Nexbis

The Malaysian IT company at the center of legal wrangling over a deal to provide a border control system (BCS) to the Maldivian government has alleged “criminal elements” could be behind efforts to scupper the agreement.

Vice President for Nexbis Nafies Aziz told Minivan News that “intelligence” received by the company suggested groups backing the country’s lucrative human trafficking industry could be seeking to stymie the introduction of its BCS to undermine national security controls.

The comments were made following an appeal hearing held at the country’s Supreme Court on January 9 to block an unanimous vote by parliament to terminate Nexbis’ agreement with the government over allegations of “foul play”.

The country’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) said that regardless of its concerns about human trafficking in the Maldives, a case regarding the Nexbis’ deal had been submitted to the Prosecutor General (PG’s) Office under the previous government.

Meanwhile, a source with knowledge of the present immigration and border control system said that should parliament’s termination decision be upheld, the Immigration Department would be returning to “a pen and paper system” for monitoring arrivals to the country.

The Maldives has come under strong criticism internationally in recent years for the prevalence of people trafficking, and the  country has appeared on the US State Department’s Tier Two Watch List for Human Trafficking for three years in a row.

In a statement to Minivan News, Nexbis Vice President Aziz said that the company was now awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision concerning its appeal hearing on January 9.

“The ACC in the previous Supreme Court hearing submitted that there was no implication on Nexbis or any corruption whatsoever in the contracting state of the Border Control System project,” he said. “The Border Control System is fully implemented and is operational in Male’ International Airport.”

Responding to allegations of wrong-doing in its signing of a border control agreement with the Maldives government, Aziz alleged that “criminal elements supporting human trafficking” had been identified through its “intelligence” as potentially funding a campaign to halt its agreement.

“Stakeholders across the political spectrum have in the recent past all highlighted the growth of human trafficking in the Maldives and pointed out to hundreds of millions of dollars of illegal gains made by the criminal elements behind the growth of human trafficking in the Maldives who stand to lose out the most from the full implementation of the Maldives Immigration Border Control System,” he claimed. “To that end, as the public can clearly see, there is an elaborate amount of money that is being spent to campaign against the Border Control System and the security it will bring to the country.”

Aziz also contended that any attempts to weaken border controls in the country would only serve detrimental to the nation due to not only an “influx of illegal immigrants to the country,” but also the nation’s international standing.

“In addition to this, the Maldives has been on the US State Department’s Tier 2 Watch List for Human Trafficking for three years running now and may possibly be re-classified this year into Tier 3, which is the worst category, if proper controls and systems are not put in place,” he said.

“The implications are far reaching and would again impact the people of Maldives as countries around the world begin imposing stringent visa requirements on Maldivians.”

Aziz said it had become “imperative” for Maldives’ national security that supposed efforts by human traffickers to sabotage its agreement did not succeed.

“The full implementation and operation of the Nexbis BCS will undoubtedly help curb issues of human trafficking, identity fraud as well as weak enforcement controls. The Border Control System encompasses a total end-to-end solution for a Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) contract term as stipulated by the National Planning Council,” he said.

“This is a proven and internationally certified system, and shall provide the required border control capabilities including foreign worker management and mobile enforcement features, which will increase the efficiency of the current immigration processes. The biometric capabilities of the system are certified to be of the highest performance worldwide for speed and accuracy,” he said.

Immigration Controller Dr Mohamed Ali was not responding to calls at the time of press.

However, a source with knowledge of the current immigration and emigration system – who asked not to be identified – told Minivan News that border control authorities were facing “lots of problems” in performing their function. These problems were said to have arisen due to ongoing wrangling over the Nexbis deal.

While not wishing to comment on Nexbis’ allegations of possible criminal involvement in efforts to halt the project, the source claimed that a failure to implement a BCS like that being offered by the Malaysia-based firm would “strengthen the hand” of human traffickers operating in and out of the country.

The source said that the biometric systems included within Nexbis’ system were a step towards curbing a common practice of returning illegal immigrants – in some cases with criminal convictions – to the Maldives under new identities.

With the Supreme Court yet to decide on the legality of parliament’s decision to terminate the Nexbis agreement, Minivan News understands the company’s BCS is still being used at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) to screen arrivals.

However, the source said that Nexbis technical staff who had implemented the border system had been removed from the project, meaning that any bugs or issues with the technology were unable to be resolved.

“We need the system to capture biometric details from passengers in cases where people are changing names. This would make it impossible to create false passport under separate names as people are doing right now,” the source said.

The same source also said the automated system would allow authorities to run background checks on passengers on incoming flights.

A decision to uphold parliament’s decision to cancel the Nexbis agreement – a stance the government has said it will honour – would see immigration officials having to use “a pen and paper system” for monitoring immigration, the source claimed.

ACC view

The MVR 500 million (US$39 million) BCS project moved ahead last year after a series of high-profile court battles and delays that led Nexbis to last year threaten legal action against the Maldivian government should it incur losses for the work already done on the project.

The Malaysia-based mobile security provider has come under scrutiny by political parties who claim that the project is detrimental to the state, while the Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) has alleged corruption in the bidding process.

Despite Nexbis’ claims that “no implication” of corruption had been registered by the ACC, the corruption commission’s President Hassan Luthfee said his department would only have previously sent a case to the PG’s Office if it held concerns with the agreement.

However, Luthfee also conceded his department had been made aware of issues regarding human trafficking in and out of the country.

“We have received complaints about people smuggling to the country, but we have not been able to start an investigation as the size of such a case is beyond our capacity,” he claimed, adding that the ACC was not tasked to investigate such matters.

“This is just too big a case. [For example] there have been some claims that ships from Sri Lanka and India are travelling to the Maldives around 20 kilometres from Male’ and transferring people to fishing vessels, and from there they are distributed as laborers across the country. These are reports I have received.”

Migrant concerns

Speaking on January 13 at a ceremony to celebrate National Day, President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik stated the Maldives was being “forced” to take measures against changes to the “national character” due to the rising number of migrant workers in the country.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier this month inaugurated an initiative targeted at raising awareness of the human trafficking issue in the Maldives.

The strategy, entitled ‘Blue Ribbon Campaign Against Human Trafficking’ is expected to include activities to try and raise awareness among students and the business community.

The Foreign Ministry announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with multiple local media outlets in the country as part of the campaign’s aim to raising awareness of human trafficking and other related issues.

Meanwhile, late last year, Indian authorities told Minivan News that tightened restrictions on providing medical visas to Maldivians was a “signal” for the country’s government to address a number of concerns about the nation’s treatment of migrant workers.

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Party switching adding to lack of public confidence in parliament: Transparency Maldives

Political figures and civil society organisations have expressed concern at a perceived accountability failure within the Maldives’ democratic system, which they allege allows MPs to switch freely between rival parties for personal gain.

Local NGO Transparency Maldives claimed the lack of mechanisms for investigating the alleged use of incentives to encourage MPs to transfer to other parties had done very little to “allay fears” among the general public of parliament being a corrupt institution.

Ibrahim Shareef, Deputy Leader of the government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), claimed while MPs were not necessarily having their allegiance bought by rival parties, there was “always a temptation” for elected officials to transfer to a party expected to come to power. He claimed such activities were likely a factor in growing public disillusionment with democracy.

The issue arose after Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ilham Ahmed was reported in local media as stating this his allegiance was “not for sale”, despite his “love and admiration” for Jumhooree Party (JP) Leader Gasim Ibrahim.

“Gasim is someone whom I love very much. He is a very good friend of mine since Television Maldives and through my teenage years. But loving or being close to someone is not reason to change parties,” Haveeru reported Ilham as saing.

While aware of MP Ilham’s comments, JP Spokesperson Moosa Rameez maintained it was against the values of the party to offer incentives to encourage MPs to join up.

“We have our doors always open for people who believe in our policies to join us. There have been no attempts made to bring Ilham to JP ,” he told Minivan News.

The JP is a coalition partner of the PPM within the government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik.

Corruption fears

Transparency Maldives Project Director Aiman Rasheed maintained that a lack of investigative mechanisms and regulations within the Majlis to outline rules for MPs wishing to switch political parties had helped to further erode public trust in elected officials.

Rasheed pointed to a report published by Transparency International last year concluding that 90 percent of a surveyed group of Maldivians believed that the People’s Majlis was the most corrupt of the country’s institutions.

The “Daily Lives and Corruption: Public Opinion in Maldives” report surveyed 1001 people in the Maldives between April 23 and April 29 of 2011 to capture public perception of corruption in the country.

Rasheed maintained that reports and allegations of MPs switching to other political parties for incentives was one of a number of factors that had led to dwindling trust in the country’s parliament.

“The problem is that all these claims [of MPs switching parties or being bought] remain allegations. No one is doing any investigation into these claims and these is no interest in doing so,” he claimed.

“What this serves to do is erode trust in parliament, which our Public Opinion in Maldives report found to be seen as the most corrupt national institution. Parliament is not doing anything to allay these fears and it is really hard to verify such allegations.”

Rasheed claimed that Transparency Maldives was concerned that parliament was failing to do its duty by providing details of MPs’ interests and finances to the public.

He stressed that although efforts were taken to try and make an MPs assets and interests publicly available, parliamentarians themselves failed to agree on procedure for doing this.

Party switch

Ahead of presidential elections scheduled for later this year, Shareef warned there was a “real danger” MPs would switch to rival parties to protect their political careers, regardless of ideology or political allegiance.

“The Maldives is in a transition state to a democracy, however the situation has been very volatile in the past five to six years,“ he claimed.

Shareef claimed a lack of understanding within the country about the workings of a democratic system had also led to difficulties following a switch from autocracy after general elections were held in 2008.

“Democracy is a word we all talk about.  But the Maldives is a mostly youthful nation that chose to believe that democracy would bring solutions to all our problems. However, over the last few year that had been growing disillusionment with [former President] Mohamed Nasheed,” he claimed.

Shareef alleged that politicians on both sides of the country’s political divide sought to be in power by making unrealistic promises spread through what he believed was mostly privately-owned, politically biased media services.

“The media is being controlled and used as a tool to mislead [island] communities about MPs. There is always a temptation for MPs to go where the wind blows strongest,” he claimed.

“If it looks like a party might be coming to power, many MPs without a strong ideology might choose to switch to them to ensure they can keep their well-paid political positions.”

Shareef claimed that rather than earning condemnation from constituents for switching their political allegiance, MPs would at times decide to swing towards parties that would provide them with the greatest benefit in line with voter preference in their communities.

“Royalist stance”

As well as criticising the ideology of the opposition MDP, Shareef also hit out at coalition partner the PPM, which he accused of favouring a “royalist stance” towards leadership in the country.

The PPM was formed back in 2011 after a split between supporters of current DRP leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali and those of his predecessor and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Gayoom had previously been the autocratic ruler of the country for 30 years from 1978 to 2008, when he was defeated in the country’s first democratic elections by former President Mohamed Nasheed.

Shareef accused the PPM of holding a deeply conservative ideology in favour of what he labelled a constitutional monarchy. He claimed such an ideology was focused on maintaining the former President’s legacy through his immediate heirs.

“They represent a very deeply conservative ideology of invoking a golden age of 30 years [of autocratic rule],” he said. “If you carefully observe, the top ladder of the PPM represent a legacy of Gayoom that will be maintained though his children.”

Shareef contended that traditionally, the president of the Maldives seemed as far away and distant to the everyday lives of the Maldivian people as the president of the US.

“Until recently, people saw the president as someone with divine authority to rule the country from Male’,” he said. Shareef claimed that efforts to change would be difficult.

When contacted by Minivan News today, PPM MP and Parliamentary Group Leader Abdulla Yameen said the party was busy with its congress and internal elections to decide on its key positions ahead of presidential elections later this year. He declined to comment on the issue.

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Government schedules talks over reforming sexual abuse laws

The Maldivian government has said it remains committed to legislative reforms regarding the treatment of minors and other victims of sexual offences in the country.

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad told Minivan News the government had scheduled meetings next week with the both the environment and Islamic ministries to amend local laws that he contended, in certain cases, punished sexual abuse victims as if they were criminals.

The government last week announced it was looking to review legislation in the country in line with relevant authorities amidst international media coverage of a decision by the Prosecutor General (PG’s) Office to press charges against 15 year-old girl for having “consensual sexual relations”.

In a case unrelated to these charges, the girl’s stepfather was also facing criminal charges for alleged sexual abuse of the minor after authorities last year discovered a new born baby buried in the outdoor shower area of a home on the island of Feydhoo.

Judicial authorities told Minivan News earlier this month that the charges against the 15 year-old were yet to be filed with the Juvenile Court at the time.

Director of the Department of Judicial Administration Ahmed Maajid was not responding to calls today.

Victimisation

After pledging last week to review laws on the back of a number of similar cases where young women had been victimised and punished by authorities – Masood claimed that discussions would be held next week on the treatment of minors and adults who had been sexually abused.

“If needs be we will come out with legislation were victims [of sexual abuse] are treated as victims,” he said. “It’s incredible that sometimes these victims are actually being seen as perpetrators [of crime] under the law.”

Masood added that the government would be making further announcements on its future plans to address these concerns once it had held talks scheduled for next week with ministerial and legislative authorities.

Acting Minister of Gender, Family and Human rights Dr Mariyam Shakeela, Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed and Attorney General Azima Shukoor were not responding to calls at time of press.

NGO criticism

The filing of criminal charges of “consensual sexual relations” against the 15 year-old girl were slammed this month as an “absolute outrage” by NGO Amnesty International.

The NGO’s Maldives Researcher Abbas Faiz stressed that suspected victims of rape and sexual abuse required counselling and support rather than facing prosecution.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) Vice President Ahmed Tholal told Minivan News at the time Amnesty’s statement was released that he was hugely concerned about the number of reports of sexual abuse against minors in the country.

Fornication offence

Back in September 2012, a 16 year-old girl was sentenced to house arrest and 100 lashes for fornication with a 29 year-old man.

Permanent Magistrate of Hulhudhuhfaaru in Raa Atoll, Magistrate Abdul Samad Abdulla, sentenced the girl to eight months house arrest, and public flogging once she reaches the age of 18.

Ali Rashid, an official of the Hulhudhuhfaaru Magistrate Court,referred Minivan News to Article 25 of the act detailing special actions to be taken in cases of sexual offences against children (Act number: 12/2009).

Article 25 says: “Unless proven otherwise, it cannot be considered that a child between ages 13-18 had given consent to committing a sexual act. And unless proven otherwise, it will be considered that the sexual act was committed without the child’s consent.”

In November 2011, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, speaking in parliament, raised concerns about the issue of flogging in the Maldives.

Pillay said at the time: “This practice constitutes one of the most inhumane and degrading forms of violence against women, and should have no place in the legal framework of a democratic country.”

Her statements and calls for discussion on the issue were met with outrage from then political opposition and religious conservative Adhaalath party, giving rise to protests and demonstrations. The Foreign Ministry, under the former government of Mohamed Nasheed, dismissed the calls for discussion on the issue, stating: “There is nothing to debate about in a matter clearly stated in the religion of Islam. No one can argue with God.”

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President should have ratified political parties, privileges bills: DRP MP Mausoom

Government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Deputy Leader Dr Abdulla Mausoom has expressed disappointment at President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik’s failure to ratify two controversial bills outlining parliamentary and political party regulations.

Dr Mausoom today told Minivan News that he believed the president should have ratified both bills before then seeking to make changes to specific clauses once they had been passed into law.

He claimed such an act would have allowed President Waheed to remove potential doubts that he may be acting to protect his own political interests by not approving the bills.

The President’s Office confirmed Thursday (January 10) that the People’s Majlis privileges and powers bill and the political party bill had been returned to parliament for reconsideration Thursday (January 10) after originally being passed late last year.

Among the key features outlined in the two bills were potential punishments for anyone attempting to stymie or disrespect the Majlis and its work, as well as a requirement for all political parties to have 10,000 registered members or face being dissolved by the country’s Elections Commission (EC).

Both bills have been criticised in part by NGOs and smaller political parties in the country over fears about the perceived impacts they may have on the democratic development of the Maldives.

However, speaking to Minivan News today, DRP Deputy Leader Mausoom said that he believed the president should have opted to ratify the bill, which he contended has certain regulations and requirements that had long been overdue in the Majlis, before then attempting to enact amendments at a later date.

Dr Mausoom claimed that with Dr Waheed’s own Gaumee Ithihaad Party (GIP) facing being dissolved as a result of being short of the 10,000 registered members required by the political parties bill, his failure to ratify it could lead to doubts over the partiality of the president’s decision.

“Maybe they are concerned they would not be able to get sufficient member numbers if it is passed,” he suggested.

As of January 13, 2013, Ethe lection’s Commission figures indicate that GIP has 3,218 registered members. Ratification of the political parties bill would have given President Waheed’s party three months to have obtained 10,000 members or face being dissolved by the EC.

Listening to minorities

Despite the comments, Dr Mausoom said the DRP was undecided on how to proceed over whether to seek a compromise in amending the two bills,  or support the existing provisions.

“The bill defining privileges for the Majlis is long overdue. While there may be some room for fine tuning, the bill itself is a must,” the DRP Deputy Leader added.

Dr Mausoom said that with the political parties bill, he understood that major concerns existed regarding the requirements for 10,000 registered members.  He claimed the DRP would take into account the views of minority parties in the Maldives before making any decision on the matter.

“There is thought that any political party should be able to obtain 10,000 members if it is to represent the views of the people, but there is also an argument to leave regulations as is it,” Dr Mausoom said.

“It is best to decide after listening to minority parties on the issue. We have always advocated as a party to listen to minorities whoever they are.”

Political parties were first authorised in the Maldives in May 2005 following an executive decree by then-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Political parties have remained governed by a regulation requiring 3,000 members for registration.

This regulation did not stipulate that parties whose membership falls below the figure would be dissolved.

In March last year, EC Chair Fuad Thaufeeq told Minivan News that these regulations were “vague” as parties were not required to maintain 3,000 members once formed.

Despite a failure to ratify the two bills, Dr Mausoom rejected the notion that a divide had been formed between the president and the country’s legislature, adding that there were always likely to be differences of opinion within the present coalition government after it came to power in February 2012 under disputed circumstances.

“There is no friction between parties and the president. When we came to power, we had no unified policy, however any issues with have with the president we will raise with him,” he said.

Bill criticisms

The proposed amendments to regulations on political parties and parliamentary privileges were among a number of bills recently passed within the People’s Majlis that were attacked by local NGOs Transparency Maldives (TM) and Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN) earlier this month.

In a joint statement, the NGOs expressed concerns that clauses within the bills threatened to “weaken the democratic, good governance system” and “restrict some fundamental rights,” in the Maldives.

The political parties bill in particular has come under fierce criticism from smaller political parties in the country. Earlier this year, Special Advisor to President Waheed and Leader of government-aligned Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) Dr Hassan Saeed warned he would seek to invalidate the bill should it be ratified by the president.

He told local media at the time that the bill infringed rights enshrined in the constitution and that he would file a case at the Supreme Court requesting the law be struck down.

Dr Saeed was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

Late last year, the religious conservative Adhaalath Party accused the Majlis of directly attempting to “eradicate” Islamic ideology from Maldivian politics and limit its efforts against what it alleged were attempts to secularise the country.

Adhaalath Party Leader Sheikh Imran Abdulla said he suspected that “black money” from Indian infrastructure company GMR was behind the decision to insert the clause requiring 10,000 members. The government late last year voided a sovereign agreement with GMR to develop Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) – a decision strongly backed by the Adhaalath Party as part of a self-claimed “national movement”.

Imran claimed at the time that “a person with a brain would not deny” that the decision by parliament’s Independent Institutions Committee to raise the prerequisite to 10,000 members from 5,000 at a late stage was made “because the Adhaalath Party would be disqualified at that number.”

Parliamentary Speaker Adbulla Shahid, Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim and the Majlis’ Minority Leader Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Abdulla Yameen were not responding to calls from Minivan News at the time of press.

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Finance Minister aims to “rearrange” ministerial, independent institution spending

Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad will hold discussions over the next week with government departments, independent institutions and the Maldives judiciary to try and reorganise their respective spending allocated within the 2013 budget.

Jihad has told Minivan News this week that he would be meeting with all state departments and various institutions to ascertain the likely financial difficulties they expect to face over the next year after after the proposed 2013 budget was cut by over MVR 1 billion (US$65 million). He stressed that efforts to reorganise funds would not impact the amount of spending assigned to each ministry, but rather how existing money was being spent.

The comments were made after the proposed MVR 16.9 billion (US$1 billion) forwarded to the People’s Majlis was reduced to MVR 15.3 billion (US$992 million) before gaining approval last month.

The parliamentary committee that had reviewed the budget at the time had originally recommended MVR2.4billion (US$156 million) worth of cuts that some of its members claimed could be made largely by reducing “unnecessary recurrent expenditures” within the budget.

The Budget Review Committee’s proposal for a MVR 14.5 billion (US$947 million) budget – in line with recommendations by groups like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – was met with mixed reactions from opposition and government-aligned parties at the time.

With the budget now passed, Finance Minister Jihad said that his department intended  to look at the entire amount of state financing allocated this year on a department-by-department basis to identify the most significant spending shortfalls.

The finance minister said the review would allow his department to rearrange the budget within each ministry, as well as independent institutions and the courts to better cover spending needs over concerns the state may face “some difficulties” in future.

Jihad claimed that the proposed “rearranging” of state financing would not require parliamentary approval as the allocated overall spending for each body and institution would remain the same.

However, despite the efforts to reallocate monies within each ministry, Jihad maintained claims that the present budget was likely to be insufficient to cover costs over the next year.

“We will have to submit a supplementary budget this year,” he contended.

People’s Aliance (PA) party MP and Finance Committee Chair Ahmed Nazim was not responding to calls today. Fellow Finance Committee member MP Riyaz Rasheed was also not available for comment at time of press.

Supplementary

Finance Minister Jihad has previously told local media that with services being provided by the government expected to double during the coming year, it would become more difficult for the state to manage its budget.

“Because the budget is reduced, it will become difficult to manage expenses at a certain point. We think that a supplementary budget has to be introduced,” he was quoted as telling the Sun Online new service.

According to the Finance Minister, talks have already taken place with various offices to reduce their budgets.

Budget amendments

The estimated MVR 15.3 million budget was passed by parliament with eight additional amendments on December 27.

Amendments voted through included the scrapping of plans to revise import duties on oil, fuel, diesel and staple foodstuffs, as well as any item with import duty presently at zero percent.

An amendment instructing the government to conduct performance audits of the Human Rights Commission and Police Integrity Commission and submit the findings to parliament was passed with 53 votes in favour, ten against and four abstentions.

Amendments proposed by opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ali Waheed to shift MVR 100 million (US$6.5 million) to be issued as fuel subsidies for fishermen and MVR 50 million (US$3.2 million) as agriculture subsidies from the Finance Ministry’s contingency budget was passed with 68 votes in favour.

A proposal by Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Dr Abdulla Mausoom to add MVR 10 million (US$648,508) to the budget to be provided as financial assistance to civil society organisations was passed with 57 votes in favour and three against.

Revenue measures

Of the measures proposed by the Finance Ministry to raise revenue, revisions to import duties, raising the Tourism Goods and Service Tax (T-GST) from eight percent to 12 percent in July 2013, increasing airport service charge from US$18 to US$25, leasing 14 islands for resort development and imposing GST on telecom services were approved within parliament.

The Finance Ministry had however proposed hiking T-GST from 8 to 15 percent in July 2013 and raising airport service charge or departure tax from US$18 to US$30.

Rightsizing the public sector to reduce deficit

Amidst proposals to balance state spending during 2013, recommendations to reduce the public sector wage were made by the auditor general and submitted to parliament prior to the budget being passed.

Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim observed that of the estimated MVR 12 billion (US$778 million) of recurrent expenditure, MVR 7 billion (US$453.9 million) would be spent on employees, including MVR 743 million (US$48 million) as pension payments.

Consequently, 59 percent of recurrent expenditure and 42 percent of the total budget would be spent on state employees.

“We note that the yearly increase in employees hired for state posts and jobs has been at a worrying level and that sound measures are needed,” the report stated. “It is unlikely that the budget deficit issue could be resolved without making big changes to the number of state employees as well as salaries and allowances to control state expenditure.”

Following the report, the The Budget Review Committee made cuts to overtime pay (50 percent), travel expenses (50 percent), purchases for office use (30 percent), office expenditure (35 percent), purchases for service provision (30 percent), training costs (30 percent), construction, maintenance and repair work (50 percent) and purchase of assets (35 percent).

The committee estimated that the cuts to recurrent expenditure would amount to MVR 1 billion (US$64.8 million) in savings.

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Maldives government to review laws that “victimise” sexually abused minors

The Maldivian government has today said it will review and potentially “correct” laws in the country it claims victimise young women and minors who have suffered sexual abuse.

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad told Minivan News the government would be holding consultations with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and other relevant authorities to discuss how minors who have been sexually abused were being treated in the country.

The comments were made as the Prosecutor General (PG’s) Office today confirmed it had pressed charges against a 15 year-old girl from the island of Feydhoo in Shaviyani Atoll for having “consensual sexual relations”.

A spokesperson for the PG’s Office said the charges against the minor were unrelated to a separate case against the girl’s stepfather over allegations he had sexually abused her.

“Protected, not punished”

President’s Office Spokesperson Masood Imad said that from government’s perspective, the 15 year-old girl was a victim who needed to be protected, not punished by authorities.

“We will be talking with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs over this manner and will review and correct the problem,” he said.

Masood claimed that the Maldives had experienced a number of similar cases of late where young women had been victimised and punished by authorities – a situation he said the government was looking to prevent.

“We are reviewing this right now and if we have to go to the extent of changing existing laws then we would look to do this,” he said.

While unable to comment on specific cases at time of press, Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) Vice President Ahmed Tholal told Minivan News that he was hugely concerned about the number of reports of sexual abuse against minors in the country.

Acting Minister of Gender, Family and Human rights Dr Mariyam Shakeela and Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed were not responding to calls at the time of press.

The reported handling of the case by authorities has garnered significant attention this week in both local and international media.

Charges

A PG’s Office spokesperson today confirmed that the charges against the minor were related to a separate offence of Sharia Law, which had been filed back on November 25, 2012.

The 15 year-old last year gave birth to a baby that was discovered buried in the outdoor shower area of a home on Feydhoo – her stepfather was later charged with sexual abuse, possession of pornographic materials and committing murder without intent.

The spokesperson said that another charge was filed against the girl’s mother over claims she had failed to inform authorities of the alleged sexual abuse of her own child.

Judicial authorities told Minivan News earlier this week that the charges against the 15 year-old were yet to be filed with the Juvenile Court at the time.

Director of the Department of Judicial Administration Ahmed Maajid was not responding to calls at time of press.

NGO criticism

The charges against the 15 year-old girl have been slammed as an “absolute outrage” by NGO Amnesty International.

In a statement released yesterday, Amnesty International’s Maldives Researcher Abbas Faiz stressed that suspected victims of rape and sexual abuse required counselling and support rather than facing prosecution.

“We urge the Maldivian authorities to immediately drop all charges against the girl, ensure her safety and provide her with all necessary support,” the NGO’s statement read.

Amnesty Intentional also raised concerns that should the minor be found guilty of “fornication” as reported in the media, she could potentially be flogged in line with sentencing for similar cases held in the country.

“If found guilty of ‘fornication’ the girl could be punished with flogging. She would likely be kept under house arrest until she turns 18 when, under Maldivian law, the flogging can be carried out. Flogging is a violation of the absolute prohibition on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment,” Amnesty International stated.

“The Maldivian authorities should immediately end its use regardless of circumstances. The fact that this time a 15-year old girl who has suffered terribly is at risk makes it all the more reprehensible. Flogging is not only wrong and humiliating, but can lead to long-term psychological as well as physical scars.”

Fornication offence

Back in September 2012, a 16 year-old girl was sentenced to house arrest and 100 lashes for fornication with a 29 year-old man.

Permanent Magistrate of Raa Atoll Hulhudhuhfaaru, Magistrate Abdul Samad Abdulla, sentenced the girl to eight months under house arrest, and for public flogging once she reaches the age of 18.

Ali Rashid, an official of the Hulhudhuhfaaru Magistrate Court, said at the time that the girl had been sentenced for fornication because she had confessed to it. However, the 29 year-old male with whom she was co-accused had denied the charges.

“The man said he hadn’t committed fornication, but he admitted to having hugged and done certain other things with the girl. This amounts to sexual assault of a minor under the law. That’s why he has got the minimum sentence possible under the relevant law, 10 years in jail,” Rashid explained.

The official of the Hulhudhuhfaaru Magistrate Court referred Minivan News to Article 25 of the act detailing special actions to be taken in cases of sexual offences against children (Act number: 12/2009).

Article 25 says: “Unless proven otherwise, it cannot be considered that a child between ages 13-18 had given consent to committing a sexual act. And unless proven otherwise, it will be considered that the sexual act was committed without the child’s consent.”

In November 2011, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, speaking in parliament, raised concerns about the issue of flogging in the Maldives.

Speaking on the issue, Pillay said at the time, “This practice constitutes one of the most inhumane and degrading forms of violence against women, and should have no place in the legal framework of a democratic country.”

Her statements and calls for discussion on the issue were met with outrage from then political opposition and religious conservative Adhaalath party, giving rise to protests and demonstrations. The Foreign Ministry, under the former government, dismissed the calls for discussion on the issue, stating: “There is nothing to debate about in a matter clearly stated in the religion of Islam. No one can argue with God.”

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Juvenile Court denies fornication charges filed against 15 year-old girl

Judicial authorities have denied that a 15 year-old child abuse victim is facing charges of fornication at the Juvenile Court, despite media reports to the contrary.

Local newspaper Haveeru reported yesterday (January 6) that the Prosecutor General’s (PG’s) Office pressed charges of fornication against a female minor from Shaviyani Atoll Feydhoo at the Juvenile Court following the conclusion of a police investigation.

Director of the Department of Judicial Administration Ahmed Maajid however told Minivan News today that no case against a minor for fornication had been submitted to the court at present.

The Maldives Police Service (MPS) has meanwhile confirmed that it had forwarded a case to the PG’s Office against a 15 year-old female for undisclosed reasons.

Back in June 2012, the same minor – a school student at the time – gave birth to a baby later discovered buried in the outdoor shower area of a home on Feydhoo. The discovery led to the arrest of four people, including the 15 year-old girl’s mother and step father.

Haveeru reported yesterday that the victim’s mother and step father had been charged with the murder of the baby. According to the newspaper, the girl’s step father also faces charges of possession of pornography and sexual abuse of a child.

Under the Child Sex Offenders (Special Provisions) Act of 2009, the penalty for child sex abuse is 10 to 14 years but can be extended to 15 to 18 years if the accused was in a position of trust with the children he or she abused.

The girl’s mother meanwhile faces charges under the 2009 law of deliberately concealing the alleged sexual abuse.

Charges

Department of Judicial Administration Director Maajid claimed that while no case had as yet been filed against the 15 year-old at the country’s courts, he understood that she faced criminal charges on a separate matter not related to the death of her child.

“As far as I know, the girl is being charged over a separate case of fornication, unrelated to the issue of the baby found buried,” he said.

Maajid claimed that although minors could not be charged for any crime under Islamic Shariah, Maldivian law did allow suspects under 18 years of age to be tried in the country’s Juvenile Court depending on the individual circumstances of each case.

“A minor is exempted from criminal liability in Islamic Shariah. Under Maldivian law, a minor of 15 to 18 years of age may be tried as a juvenile offender,” he said.

Maajid explained that juvenile offenders could be generally charged for any type of criminal offence.

Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed today that a case had been filed against the 15 year-old girl, but was unrelated to the discovery of her dead child last year. However, Haneef said that further details on the charges could not be given at present due to the child’s status as a minor in the eyes of the law.

The Police spokesperson referred the matter to Prosecutor General (PG) Ahmed Muizzu, who was not responding to calls today. Minivan News was awaiting a response from the PG’s Office at the time of the press.

Dr Mariyam Shakeela and Dr Aishath Rameela, the respective Acting Minister and State Minister for the Ministry of Gender, Family and Human rights were also not responding to calls at time of press.

In September last year, a 16 year-old girl was sentenced to house arrest and 100 lashes after being found guilty of fornication with a 29 year-old man.

Desperate measures

There have been a number of recent incidents reported in the media where pregnant women have been forced to take desperate measures such as self-induced abortions, infanticide or abandoning infants.

On December 26, 2012, police announced that a baby had been discovered abandoned on the side of a road in the Maafannu Ward of Male’.

Earlier the same month, a 26-year old male and 20-year old female were reportedly arrested in connection to the discovery of a five month-old foetus buried on a beach on the island of Maradhoo Feydhoo in Seenu Atoll.

Over the last two years, three other newborns have been found dead in the country.

Over the same period there have been two separate incidents where newborn children were discovered abandoned but alive.

Two foetuses were reported discovered during this two year period, one hidden in a milk tin and the other at the bottom of Male’s municipal swimming pool. Another fully-developed baby was thrown into a park having apparently been strangled with underwear tied around its neck.

The Centre for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC) has previously described these incidents, as well as the figures detailing an increase in the rate of sexually transmitted diseases, as evidence of a sexual health crisis in the Maldives.

Nazeera Najeeb, head of the reproductive health unit of the CCHDC, told Minivan News in an interview last year that the centre was witnessing an “alarming” increase in cases of underage and unplanned pregnancies, where some girls are getting pregnant “without even knowing it”.

“These unwanted pregnancies are subsequently resulting in more unsafe abortions, baby dumping or infanticide,” she noted.

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