Author: Neil Merrett

Parliament “failing” both constitutional and public expectations, NGO claims

Local NGO Transparency Maldives has said that recent claims by parliamentary speaker Abdulla Shahid that the Majlis has failed to meet the expectations of the public were not critical enough, and that the institution was also failing to meet its constitutional obligations.

The NGO’s comments followed a Minivan News interview with Shahid last week where he praised the Majlis for significantly increasing its work rate and increasing the amount of legislation being passed, despite accepting that it had fallen short of the “high expectations” of a public new to democratic reform in the country.

The speaker said that despite overcoming the challenges created by partisan political interests, official statistics had shown that 42 bills had been passed out of a total of 52 submitted to the Majlis last year compared to 2005, where 17 bills were proposed and only five were completed.

Aiman Rasheed, Projects Coordinator for Transparency Maldives told Minivan News that although it shared some of Shahid’s sentiments that there had been improvements within the effectiveness of the Majlis regarding the amount of legislation passed, the NGO was concerned that parliament had failed to work independently and pass vital bills such as a national Penal Code.

“Shahid is right when he says that parliament has failed to meet public expectations,” he claimed. “It is not just in meeting public expectations that is has failed, but constitutional expectations as well.”

Rasheed said that although parliament was holding the president and the executive accountable for their actions, he believed that there was a failure to review legislation in terms of financial and political impacts before it was being being passed from parliamentary committees back to the Majlis.

Rasheed said that the NGO had spoken with 15 MPs from across a number of political parties including the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) as part of a project called Parliament Watch designed to try and put a spotlights on governance and political decision making. From these discussions, Rasheed claimed that the NGO had uncovered a wide consensus of concerns over parliaments ability to review and research the legislative process.

“All the parliamentarians that we have spoken to said that they believed that the current set up is not sufficient for parliament to meet its constitutional requirements,” he said. “There is no proper system of review mechanisms [within parliament].”

Rasheed said that although there was a common practice to send bills to committee for review, the members were themselves MPs and authorities rarely sought to bring in outside assistance to help in the formation of new legislation.

“New regulations were adopted [by parliament] in May 2010 that would allow for external experts to be brought in to be used to help form legislation on certain uses,” he said. “MPs could do this. But they don’t.”

Rasheed claimed that independence was definitely an area parliament “could improve on”. Among other notable concerns raised by Transparency Maldives regarding parliament, the NGO project coordinator said that despite having passed a number of important regulations, the Majlis had still failed to prioritise passing vital regulations such as a Penal Code that has remained in parliament for two years.

“There is constant criticism of the judiciary when MPs know that the legal framework is not sufficient for the laws currently going to courts,” he said.

In addition to calling for greater use of independent review mechanisms within the legislative workings of parliament, Rasheed added that Transparency Maldives was preparing to launch the Parliament Watch project that he claimed is aimed at raising scrutiny and try and external assistance for bills in parliament.

“The aim of Parliament Watch will be to try and make sure bills are up to standard by speaking with MPs and the committees that review them and also try to offer assistance from international NGOs to help overcome any difficulties,” he said.

Speaker’s view

Speaker Abdulla Shahid last week accepted that bills such as outlining a clear and clarified Penal Code, as well as an Evidence Bill to outline judicial reform and policing, had been set back by partisan behaviour between rival parties within the Majlis that had potentially created the impression that there was no interest in having such bills passed.

In order to facilitate a faster moving reform of criminal legislation, Shahid claimed that talks had been opened between the various political stakeholders required to finalise any agreements.

“I met with party leaders and also the chair of all the committees yesterday. There is the general desire amongst the leadership to find ways of increasing the productivity rate of the house. We feel even though we continue to do work ahead of what any other parliament had done, still we are far behind in meeting the public’s expectations,” he said. “The reality is that we need to meet these public expectations. The committee chairs have given me an agreement that they will try and finds ways of fast tracking many of the bills, while political parties supplied an agreement that on issues on which they may disagree, they will endeavour to deal with the technical and more mundane bills faster.”

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Police retain four suspects in custody as “Facebook blackmail” investigation continues

Police are monitoring four individuals suspected of involvement in the alleged blackmail of several political figures though graphic images obtained via social network site Facebook, as they press ahead with the case.

The Maldives Police Service today confirmed that out of the remaining seven suspects held for questioning over the investigation, three had now been released, while another three had been put under house arrest, leaving one individual in police custody.

The case first came to light in February, when police revealed that 14 individuals including a minor had been arrested on suspicion of obtaining hundreds of nude pictures and videos that were stored on computers and external hard drives.  It was alleged that these images had been obtained through fake Facebook profiles that used the identical image of a young woman.

Police said at the time that two profiles with the names of ‘Lyshiaa Limanom’ and ‘Angelic Sharrown’ respectively were used by the suspects to gather files of individuals pictured in some cases performing explicit acts in the presence of minors. Investigators stated that they would also be investigating people pictured in the files for committing crimes.

Speaking today to Minivan News, Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam claimed that despite the release of three suspects, the investigation was “very much continuing” with additional suspects now wanted for questioning.

However, he added that due the “complicated” nature of the case, which relates to allegations of public indecency, police have said that they remain unable to reveal further details of advances that may have been made until the investigation was concluded.

Shiyam added that this could still potentially include actions being taken against any individuals depicted in the seized files if they are found to be in violation of state laws. Unconfirmed reports allege the possible involvement of civil servants and parliamentarians.

“We really can’t say anything yet [about the case],” he said. “However, once the investigation has been completed, we will be sending information to the Prosecutor General’s Office on who to charge with possible offences.”

No arrests have been made in the case as yet, though it was revealed last month that a senior civil servant working at Male’ Municipality has been suspended by the Civil Service Commission (CSC), reportedly in connection to an explicit video obtained by police during the investigation.

CSC Commissioner Fahmy Hassan confirmed to Minivan News at the time that the civil servant had been suspended pending an investigation into the offending video, which had been leaked to the internet and reported to the CSC.

The police investigation has not been without controversy though, with the editor of local newspaper Haveeru questioning the motivation of law enforcement officials in the country over the questioning of two of its journalists.  The questioning was said to concern the identity of sources used in a story said that reportedly identified persons within some of the images and videos.

Haveeru Editor Moosa Latheef told Minivan News that although police had acted politely and professionally in questioning two of its journalists, he believed there was the possibility that the actions taken against his staff could have been “politically motivated” to protect certain reputations.

Police officials responded at the time to the allegations by claiming that the journalists’ questioning was not a ‘political attack’ on media freedom, but a means to try and aid its investigations through interviewing the unnamed sources in the article.

Haveeru said that its journalists had not given the identities of the sources used in the article to police.

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Thasmeen pledges to overcome opposition “challenges” through DQP coalition

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) serving leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali has fired a warning at both the government and rival factions within his own party claiming he will remain in his post and face down challenges of internal and external opposition.

Speaking yesterday at the first rally of a recently formed coalition between the DRP and the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), Thasmeen claimed that he would work to try and hold the government to account over perceived public dissatisfaction with its work, Miadhu has reported. He added that he would work to oppose the government despite internal strife within his party, which serves as the main opposition party in the country.

Speaking at Kalaafanu School in Male’ yesterday, the DRP leader was reported to have said that he believed soaring prices, limited health services as a well as a “flagging economy” and widespread corruption had led citizens to turn to the opposition in a “desperate cry for help”.

However, Thasmeen is under pressure from certain MPs within the DRP following disputes between supporters loyal to himself and those backing his predecessor and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Just last week Ahmed Mahlouf, a DRP MP who is seen as being a major player within the so-called Gayoom faction of the party, called on supporters to boycott Thasmeen’s rally claiming he did not truly represent the DRP.

According to Miadhu, despite these criticisms, Thasmeen claimed yesterday that through its coalition with the DQP, his party would not be disrupted in working to hold the government accountable for having “lost credibility”.

The DRP-DQP coalition was formed back in February this year as a means to outline an “action plan” for opposition parties including providing training for councilors that came to power in local council elections held earlier in the month.

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Parliament falling short of public expectations despite work rate, says Speaker Shahid

Parliamentary Speaker Abdulla Shahid believes the People’s Majlis has had success in passing legislation, at least statistically, yet he concedes parliament has still failed to meet the public’s expectations in terms of its conduct.

Speaking to Minivan News, Shahid – a member of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) – claimed that since constitutional amendments were introduced in 2008 to try and transform parliament from a “ceremonial” institution to a functioning national body, vital regulation was beginning to be passed.  He conceded though that changes were not necessarily occurring in line with public sentiment.

“The three branches of government are trying to deal with a situation where, as in any transition, the expectations of the public are at a very high level. When you have a new democracy come in, citizens will be wanting things to change overnight. [These expectations] have been seen in many countries,” the Speaker said.   “The challenges that we have here – with the judiciary and parliament – are not because we are unable to perform, but that we are unable to perform to the expectations of the people.”

Shahid said that after living for decades under a non-democratic system, he believed peoples’ demands for political reform have been “suppressed” for such a long period of time that their sudden release created a “huge burst” of energy to ensure change that the Majlis was not always succeeding in providing.

“These expectations have been let out, so the public wants changes not today or tomorrow, but amendments that should have perhaps occurred yesterday and the day before,” he claimed, adding that parliament has in recent years undertaken a much more prolific workload regards to passing legislation.

However, Shahid, who is also a member of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), stressed that he was optimistic that, despite recent criticisms of judicial reform and even government economic policy, parliament would be able to catch up in meeting these expectations.

“To give a feel of how much work has been done in the parliament, when you look at the statistics, in 2000 for example, there were four bills submitted to the parliament and these were all completed. In 2001, seven bills were submitted and two of them were completed. In 2004, eight were submitted, four were completed,” he said.

By 2005, Shahid added that official statistics showed 17 bills were proposed and five were completed, followed a year later by another five bills being completed from a total number of 30 that were put forward.  The Speaker claimed that there was limited media experience among the various outlets to detail the work being conducted in parliament.

“No one was talking to the public that 30 bills had been submitted to parliament and only five were completed. No one was talking about this,” he said.

By 2008 – the year that the current Maldivian constitution was put in place -the same parliament-supplied figures showed that out of a total of 25 bills submitted, 15 were put into practice.

By the formation of the currently serving 17th national parliament in May 2009, Shahid said that over the second half of the year, a total of 55 bills, including a number of outstanding pieces of legislation, were all passed.

“The government sent everything back, they just changed the covering note and submitted it, so 55 bills were passed. That year, when the 17th parliament came in with the new constitution, we were faced with the challenge of devising the standing orders and the broader mandate of how to cope with the constitution,” he said. “When the constitution was drafted and adapted, there was no work done to get [parliament] to catch up with constitutional demands. The [Majlis] was just as it was in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. It was just a ceremonial set up here. But the new constitution demanded more constructive development needed to be done.”

As a result of trying to implement these changes, by last year Shahid said that the statistics showed 42 bills had been passed out of a total of 52 submitted.

Amidst this seeming rise in the output of parliament during recent years, the parliamentary speaker said that private and public media, as well as new rights protecting freedom of expression in the country, were responsible for furthering debate between people over whether parliament was functioning properly.

However, the Speaker accepted that subjects such as outlining a clear and clarified penal code, as well as an Evidence Bill to support judicial reform and policing, partisan behaviour between rival parties within the Majlis was creating the impression that there was no interest in having such bills passed.

In order to facilitate a faster moving reform of criminal legislation, Shahid claimed that talks had been opened between the various political stakeholders required to finalise any agreements.

“I met with party leaders and also the chair of all the committees yesterday. There is the general desire amongst the leadership to find ways of increasing the productivity rate of the house. We feel even though we continue to do work ahead of what any other parliament had done, still we are far behind in meeting the public’s expectations,” he said. “The reality is that we need to meet these public expectations. The committee chairs have given me an agreement that they will try and finds ways of fast tracking many of the bills, while political parties supplied an agreement that on issues on which they may disagree, they will endeavour to deal with the technical and more mundane bills faster.”

Aside from MPs working along partisan lines, Shahid said that the issue of language was another significant challenge for MPs to overcome, especially in translating very technical proposals relating to legal definitions into Dhivehi from other languages. While other Commonwealth countries were able to take existing legislation and adapt the document accordingly, the Speaker took the example of the Penal Code. In its original English draft, put together by Professor Paul Robinson at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, the code was said to have perfect sense, yet the Speaker said it did not translate directly into the Dhivehi language.

In the previous parliament, Shahid said that the question had therefore arisen as to whether the text should be adopted as it was or be amended.

“If we adopt something that we ourselves [parliament] can’t make sense of, can the Appeal Court, which is going to punish the average person on the street, use it?”

Under the current parliament, a committee was now said to be reviewing every individual article in the document to ensure it was to the satisfaction of parliamentarians.

Shahid added that similar issues had also been raised in relation to an evidence bill that had been adapted, originally from a Malaysian document.

With the bills now in the process of engagement with the Attorney General and Prosecutor General’s office, both of which the speaker acknowledged parliament had not had “the best of relationships with” during the previous year, there was optimism they could be passed.

“The Attorney General has taken the bill back for redrafting and I understand that it will be submitted back to the committee very soon,” he said. “The process of ‘throwing it out’ or rejecting the bill has not taken place because if we reject the bill, then the message again to the public is mixed: ‘We don’t want the evidence bill’. This is the message if we reject it, but if we accept the bill and approve it, along with the assistance and cooperation of the government and then submit it, then the process is starting to move.”

Shahid claimed he had already seen more engagement between the executive and parliament and was confident the bills would be passed.

Not all of the proposals put before parliament, have been welcomed by the public though. This has been seen, perhaps most noticeably, in the Privileges Bill that led to protests outside the Majlis at the end of last year to try and highlight public dissatisfaction with proposed pay rises and other benefits for MPs.

Although the speaker said that he believed there were “issues” with the Privileges Bill, he claimed these did not detract from its importance for both MPs and judges.

“The members of parliament have certain functions entrusted by the people who elected them. For example the privileges bill in many countries would give the right for the MP to have the right access to parliament. So he cannot be arrested on his way to the parliament for certain offences,” he said. “If there is an important vote in the parliament and the MP is on his way, say there is a narrow margin and the guy gets stopped for traffic offences. The constitution allows him to be held in custody for 24 hours and the vote is then done. I’m not saying that the current government would act like this, but what if we have a government that would?”

The Speaker took the example of the drafting of the new constitution and electing a Speaker for the constitutional assembly back in 2004 as an indication of what could happen.

“One just needs to find out how many members were included when they elected a Speaker. So thinking that the current government would [not act this way] just because of journalists is not right. We have to have the rights of MPs to defend the constitution described in the bill,” he said. “I do not agree with the tax free cars for the members for parliament and I do not agree with many other things, but the international standards have to be respected.”

The bill has recently been returned by the president to be redrafted, with Shahid claiming that he has recommended that they be sent to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in order to be adapted in line with international standards.

When dealing with public perceptions of parliamentarians, particularly with how they are dealt within the media, the parliamentary speaker said that he believed in light of recent, yet rare controversies surrounding journalists being summoned before the Majlis, politicians needed to adapt their attitudes rather than restricting media coverage.

Local media bodies like the Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) hit out at the Majlis earlier this month after parliament cut a live feed to private radio station DhiFM and ordered two of its reporters before a committee over allegations it was in contempt.

No clarification has been given over the exact offense caused during an edition of the broadcaster’s “Breakfast Club” show, though Shahid said he agreed that occasional suggestions of media censorship in the Majlis should be opposed to prevent creating a fear of using free speech.

“I think because we are at the infant stage of democracy, we need the public and especially politicians to develop a thick skin. Because we are public figures, of course we will be attacked and scrutinised – that is the beauty of democracy,” he said. “If you do something right or do something wrong they will talk about you. That is what has happened.”

In addressing media conduct, the speaker said that after years of being restricted or “guided”, journalists had now been “let loose”, yet there was no indication of how many trained reporters were currently operating in the country.

“What I know is that the institutions that are supposed to be regulating or promoting independent media have still not started functioning,” he said.

Shahid claimed that any restrictions emplaced on the media would be a step in the wrong direction for democracy and ensuring people had the right to express thoughts and discuss them – even when this may difficult for the population at large.

The speaker claimed that if a culture developed where MPs resorted en masse to take up litigation against journalists and commentators, then freedoms that had been won in the Maldives would in essence, be retracted.

“My vision is that five years, 10 years, 15 years from now, we will be developed. Our minds, the minds of our children, will be more developed and more tolerant. I have experienced this when we began parliament,” he claimed. “In 2009, when the 17th parliament was formed, the first day the amount of abuse I got as a Speaker on the floor itself was tremendous. A lot of people asked why I took it. But I firmly believed we had a young and new group of people becoming parliamentarians and they hadn’t had experience.”

However, the Speaker said he believed that a lot of members had now grown and learnt to be more responsible parliamentarians, even despite occasions where tempers flared.

Shahid said that the scale of changes within society, as well as the nation’s parliamentary system should not be underestimated though; claiming that the two years that have passed since the current constitution has come into place was still too short a period of time to expect a total democratic transition.

“Things have changed, on paper, overnight. But up here, mentally, are we prepared? Are we able to cope with the change?” he asked. “I firmly believe that if we are able to sustain and consolidate the situation, ultimately, the desired democratic system will be in place. But we have to be very careful not to let the public trust deteriorate to a level whereby the entire system fails and we again slide back into dictatorship.”

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MATATO calls for reviews of resort security

Bolstering security at the lucrative island resorts scattered across the Maldives poses an urgent challenge for government and industry amidst growing national and international crime, the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour operators (MATATO) has claimed.

Mohamed Maleeh Jamal, Secretary General for MATATO, said today that despite a relatively low number of security breaches at the country’s resorts, wider societal issues such as gang crime, piracy and terrorism needed to be hastily addressed by tourism operators and authorities.

The concerns echoed recent comments made to the media by Dr Mariyam Zulfa, Maldivian Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, over fears that rising levels of national crime are beginning to impact the country’s secluded resort business. The tourism industry has this year witnessed a number of isolated criminal incidents at the country’s resorts culminating last week in an attempted robbery at Baros Island Resort and Spa, and the death of one of the attackers.

The Tourism Minister said that while the industry had been working to be proactive in recent weeks to outline new measures alongside police and private companies that are designed to strengthen security against a number of potential “internal and external” threats, the recent robberies and reported presence of piracy in Maldivian waters has made addressing these issues more urgent.

Responding to the Tourism Minister’s concerns, Jamal said that the entire industry would need to face up to addressing preparatory measures for resort security as it outlines a fourth tourism master plan that will cover the tourist sector’s work from 2012 onwards. The current masterplan is said to relate to vital initiatives to develop the country’s travel industry from 2007 up until this year.

“We fear there is a big challenge ahead related to security,” said Jamal.

The MATATO secretary general added that it would be vital to protect the Maldives’ main tourist selling points such as natural beaches and the peace and security afforded by a policy of providing a single resort per island.

“If we lose just one of these factors the Maldives will lose out as a destination,” he said. “We are a hospitable people and we welcome visitors with a smile and we expect record visitor numbers in the coming years.”

Jamal claimed that the full potential of an expected increase in visitor numbers could be disrupted on the back of continued reports concerning local crimes and regional issues like piracy.

The MATATO secretary general added that the security issues currently being faced were potentially a short-term challenge for the industry to overcome.

“We see the importance of collaborations with the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and police to step up patrols across the country’s islands,” he said.

Jamal additionally stressed that the recent concerns were also related to wider societal issues such as drug abuse across the country inhabited islands that would reacquire a more “holistic” approach to prevent criminals from targeting resort islands, though he added that MATATO would also look to speak with property owners for their own suggestions for dealing with any possible threats.

“We are very fortunate here in the Maldives that the resorts are isolated – although there have been a number of incidents they are well managed by the resorts,” he said. “Yet 99 percent of the country is water, this creates a huge task to manage and police.”

Jamal was confident that the Maldives’ tourism industry had in the intervening decades since its inception proved to be capable to adapting in the interests of security as well as profitability; from moving towards the use of supposedly safer sea plane transportation rather than helicopters, or adopting en mass more efficient fire safety procedures in the 1990’s.

“In the past we thought that it may natural disasters that would be are biggest challenge, yet in terms of adaption, although terror threats may not be immediate, more preventative measures need to be in place,” he claimed.

Jamal claimed that despite potential concerns from the presence in neighbouring waters of Somali pirates – whose suspected presence in the Maldives has yet to lead to any attacks – the number of the threats at present facing the industry had remained limited.

Ministerial concerns

After announcing concerns to the media this week about the possible impact criminal activity could have on tourism in the Maldives, Dr Zulfa told Minivan News today that she was referring particularly to the proportional rise in crime and gang behavior in society rather than the tourism industry alone.

However, the tourism minister herself accepted that recent reports of attempted robbery at Baros and a violent theft at Kihaadhuffaru resort in January this year, as well as the potential in the future for attacks from piracy and terrorists had brought an additional sense of “urgency” to addressing security issues.

She added that extensive discussions on the issues of security and safety would form the basis of meetings scheduled between the tourism industry and security officials next month (April 6 to 7).

“The [crime] issue is of a serious concern to me, though is proportional to what happens in the country at large rather than resorts alone,” she said.

Zulfa claimed that in the interests of trying to be proactive in protecting security, the country had been “working for some time” on developing new measures to protect resorts and bolster existing security systems that are in place in the country.

The tourism minister added that ultimately, the government alone could not handle the entire burden of dealing with security challenges and that various stakeholders – from resort companies to airport operators – had so far been very cooperative in trying to ensure they were not “easy” potential targets for criminal attacks.

“As industry representatives we will all be getting together on the April 6 and 7 to have extensive discussions with police and security authorities to address these urgent issues,” she said. “Papers have been earmarked looking at a number of issues including internal and external threats as well as public safety in areas such as watersports and resort design.

Taking the example of safety, Zulfa took the example of large resorts where people might be more isolated and ensuring that mechanisms were in place to ensure guests and staff were able to be assisted efficiently and quickly.

“We are looking to be proactive and have been wanting to do this [outline amended security and safety policies] for some weeks,” she said.

Not all stakeholders within the tourism industry have shared concerns over security though.

Workers’ perspective

Maroof Zakir, Vice President of the Tourism Employees Association of Maldives (TEAM), told Minivan News that although it had not been consulted on the amendments to security in the Maldives, it had not received any complaints from its members concerning fears about safety or security.

“We haven’t had any complaints about security fears from our members, I would say this is not a big problem for resort staff at present,” he added.

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Interpol denies media reports of Maldivians’ involvement in World Cup terror plot

Interpol has criticised media reports in the Maldives following claims that it was hunting two Maldivian nationals over alleged plans to attack the 2011 Cricket World Cup event, adding that it had no such information.

In a statement released today, Interpol said a report in local newspaper Haveeru inaccurately cited it as stating that it was searching for two Maldivians suspected of involvement in a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET) terror plot.

Interpol also reiterated claims made earlier today by the Maldives’ National Security Advisor denying any knowledge of Maldivian involvement in any reported terrorist plots targeting the Cricket World Cup.

“An article entitled ‘Interpol on the hunt for two Maldivians involved in planning Cricket World Cup attack’ and published in the newspaper Haveeru on 26 March 2011 in the Maldives contains serious inaccuracies which require a correction by the newspaper and an express denial from Interpol,” the organisation stated.

“The article states that ‘Two Maldivian nationals, who are believed to be connected to a Pakistani terrorist group, are now wanted by the International Criminal Police Organisation – INTERPOL – for conspiring to  attack international cricketers during the ongoing  2011 Cricket World Cup.’  In fact, there are currently no Maldivians wanted for arrest by Interpol for conspiring to attack any of the 2011 Cricket World Cup events.”

Interpol claimed that a reported confirmation from ” officials” cited in the article, alleging the involvement of “four Pakistanis, two Maldivians and an Afghan” in an alleged terror plot had not been made as the organisation had not received any such information.

Interpol’s statement followed similar claims by Ameen Faisal, the Maldives’ National Security Advisor, who denied that the country’s security forces had been involved in any investigations concerning Maldivian involvement in alleged terror attacks targeting the ICC tournament.

Faisal today issued a statement claiming that Iqbal Mohamed, a suspect taken into custody earlier this month and identified in press reports as being involved in alleged plans to strike the tournament, had been arrested solely in connection to an earlier attack that occurred in Male’ in 2007.  After being taken into police custody on March 10, Iqbal was released by the Criminal Court this week after police reportedly did not supply required information to detain him further.

The statement from Faisal was released to media just twenty four hours after Maldivian police told Minivan News that they had not been supplied with any information relating to an Interpol hunt for two Maldivians accused of being part of a wider terrorist group targeting the high profile cricket tournament being held in Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh.

Attempting to clarify the arrest of a terrorist suspect made at Male’ International Airport earlier this month, Faisal stated that he had no knowledge of any involvement of Iqbal in plans to attack the Cricket World Cup as alleged by international media, including the Times of India.

“Iqbal Mohamed is a Maldivian citizen who had an Interpol Red Notice issued against him in connection to an improvised explosive device which was detonated in Sultan Park, Male’ on Saturday, 29 September 2007,” said Faisal in a statement.

“Iqbal Mohamed was travelling back to the Maldives from Pakistan, via Colombo, when the Interpol’s Major Events’ Support Team, who was in operation due to the ICC Cricket World Cup, identified him and informed the Maldivian authorities in coordination with the security agencies of our friendly neighbouring countries.”

Faisal added that the Maldives had been grateful for the assistance provided by Interpol and regional police services.

Iqbal’s arrest was related to questioning over a homemade bomb attack in Male’ in 2007, where a device built from components such as a gas cylinder, a washing machine motor and a mobile phone exploded injuring 12 tourists – several seriously.

Although police sources have previously claimed that the suspect was believed to have been in Pakistan at the time of the bombing, Iqbal had still been wanted by authorities as part of their ongoing investigations into the 2007 attack over an alleged role in the plan.

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Authorities in the dark over Interpol’s Maldivian terror hunt

Maldivian authorities say they have no knowledge of any investigations of its nationals by Interpol regarding possible  involvement in an alleged terrorist plot to attack players at the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

Sub-Inspector Ahmed Ali of the Maldives Police Service told Minivan News that it had been given no information on any Maldivian nationals wanted for allegedly planning attacks on the World Cup. The only arrest police have confirmed to have made of late that was linked to terrorism was the arrest of local man Iqbal Mohamed over alleged involvement in an attack on the capital in 2007.

Mohamed was himself yesterday released by the country’s Criminal Court. Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed said the decision was made after an apparent “lack of information” supplied by police.

Today’s police comments were made as local paper Haveeru cited officials at Interpol, the international police organisation, as reportedly confirming that two Maldivian nationals suspected of involvement with Pakistani militant organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET) were now wanted for planned attacks at the high-profile cricket tournament being held in Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh.

The report came 24 hours after prominent regional media outlets such as the Times of India claimed that Iqbal Mohamed, who had been arrested by police earlier this month on charges relating to a homemade explosive device attack in Male’ in 2007, was suspected of being part of an alleged terror plot at the cricket World Cup. LeT was implicated in the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, India.

Haveeru said that Interpol representatives had confirmed that two unidentified Maldivian nationals were now wanted alongside four Pakistanis and an Afghan for alleged involvement in plans to strike the tournament; claims it has said were based on “reliable” information.

The report claimed that Interpol’s information had been based on the interrogation of several terror suspects it had arrested, which it was now using to collaborate with officials from South Asian nations like the Maldives over the matter.

Sub inspector Ali said that although the Maldives Police Force was a member of Interpol, it has not been collaborating over the alleged terror investigations of  Maldivian suspects or supplied with any information on the matter.

“A Maldivian (Iqbal Mohamed) was arrested a few weeks back, but we don’t have any new information since then [about these terrorism reports],” he said.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Naseem said allegations of Maldivian involvement in planning potential terrorist attacks during the 2011 World Cup was “old news” and that the Ministry had not been provided with details of any such investigations being carried out by Interpol.

“We really don’t have details about this.  It is a matter for the police,” the spokesperson added.

Representatives from both the Pakistan Foreign Office and Interpol had not responded to Minivan News before going to press.

Interpol has not yet revealed to the media the identities of the two Maldivian suspects it is reportedly hunting, yet Iqbal Mohamed was yesterday identified by the Times of India as a “terrorist” suspect arrested who had been on his way to the Maldives from Karachi with “criminal intent”.

According to the report, Indian police authorities have already issued a general alert ahead of the tournament’s final match scheduled for April 2 in the city of Mumbai, while Australia was said to have last week updated a travel advisory for its citizens calling for a “high degree of caution” for anyone in the region during the event.

Speaking to Minivan News on 15 March, Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed that Iqbal Mohamed had been arrested on arrival at Male’ International Airport from Pakistan on 10 March, after regional authorities had alerted their Maldivian counterparts of his movements.

The arrest, according to Shiyam, was made in connection to an attack in Male’ in 2007, where a device built from components such as a gas cylinder, a washing machine motor and a mobile phone exploded injuring 12 tourists – several seriously.

Shiyam told Minivan News at the time that although Iqbal was believed to have been in Pakistan during the Male’ attack, he had been wanted by police for questioning as part of their ongoing investigations into the 2007 incident over an alleged role in the plan.

The sub inspector claimed that the Maldives Police Service had been waiting for the Prosecutor General to present a case against the suspect ahead of any potential trial in the Maldives and had not been aware of any motivation for his return to the country.

“We really don’t know why has had travelled back to the Maldives, but we have now arrested him.”

However, Iqbal was confirmed to have been released from custody yesterday by the Maldives’ Criminal Court after his arrest on March 10.

Iqbal was himself the subject of a red notice issued by Interpol, which was said to have drawn police attention after Interpol’s Major Events Support Team (IMEST) operating in Sri Lanka during the Cricket World Cup identified the suspect as he was travelling through the country back to the Maldives.

According to Interpol, red notices are a system used to keep the 188 nations that make up its members informed of arrest warrants issued by judicial authorities. Although the notices are not formal arrest warrants, the organisation said that they are used to identify individuals wanted for crimes under a national jurisdiction.

Following Iqbal’s arrest, Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said that he did not believe the suspect’s return to the Maldives raised concerns about further potential attacks in the country.

He claimed that the country’s National Security Advisor had recently addressed the issue of religious fundamentalists after a request from the country’s Immigration Commissioner and found no additional concerns. Zuhair added that the advisor had concluded that there was not thought to be any terror cells operating within the Maldives and claimed there was no need to further heighten national security against such threats.

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Criminal court releases suspect in alleged World Cup terror plot

The Maldives Police Service says it has no knowledge of claims made in international media that a Maldivian national was been arrested for alleged involvement in a planned terrorist attack on the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup currently being held in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India.

A spokesperson for the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) told Minivan News that it was unable to comment on allegations relating to security in another country, while a police official said that they had no information that a Maldivian was involved in any terrorism offences linked to the event and would not comment further on the matter.

According to the Times of India newspaper, Maldivian national Iqbal Mohamed, whom Minivan News reported earlier this month had been taken into custody at Male’ International Airport over his suspected involvement in the 2007 Sultans Park bombing in Male’, was arrested on suspicion of trying to attack this year’s Cricket World Cup event.

Police spokesperson Lance-Corporal Abdul Majeed Moosa confirmed to Minivan News today that the Criminal Court yesterday refused to extend Iqbal’s detention and ordered his release.

Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed said he would provide more information on the decision when staff returned to the office.

The Times has meanwhile reported that that Iqbal was suspected to have been part of plans to strike the cricket World Cup.

“A ‘terrorist’ suspected of planning to attack the cricket World Cup has been arrested after help from authorities across South Asia including in Pakistan,” the Times of India wrote, citing International Police Organisation Interpol’s Chief Ronald Noble.

According to Noble, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Maldivian authorities had worked together to identify, locate and arrest a “terrorist” on his way to the Maldives from Karachi on the grounds of “criminal intent”.

The arrest was made amidst a strict security crackdown in the region during the World Cup, with Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik claiming that fears existed of a major unspecified terrorist attack at the high-profile event.

“There was a serious attempt of an act of terrorism during this (World Cup),” said Malik.

According to the Times of India report, local police authorities have already issued a general alert ahead of the tournament’s final match scheduled for April 2 in the city of Mumbai, while Australia was said to have yesterday updated a travel advisory for its citizens calling for a “high degree of caution” for anyone in the region during the event.

Speaking to Minivan News on 15 March, Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed that Iqbal Mohamed had been arrested on arrival at Male’ International Airport from Pakistan earlier in the month, after regional authorities had alerted their Maldivian counterparts of his movements.

The arrest, according to Shiyam, was made in connection to an attack in Male’ in 2007, where a device built from components such as a gas cylinder, a washing machine motor and a mobile phone exploded injuring 12 tourists – several seriously.

Shiyam told Minivan News at the time that although Iqbal Mohamed was believed to have been in Pakistan at the time of the Male’ attack, he had been wanted by police as part of their ongoing investigations into the 2007 incident due to an alleged role in the plan.

The sub inspector claimed that the Maldives Police Service was waiting for the Prosecutor General to present a case against the suspect ahead of any potential trial in the Maldives and had not been aware of any motivation for his return to the country.

“We really don’t why has had travelled back to the Maldives, but we have now arrested him.”

Mohamed was himself the subject of a red notice issued by Interpol, which was said to have drawn police attention after Interpol’s Major Events Support Team (IMEST) operating in Sri Lanka during the Cricket World Cup identified the suspect as he was travelling through the country back to the Maldives.

According to Interpol, red notices are a system used to keep the 188 nations that make up its members informed of arrest warrants issued by judicial authorities. Although the notices are not formal arrest warrants, the organisation said that they are used to identify individuals wanted for crimes under a national jurisdiction.

Following Moahmed’s arrest, Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said that he did not believe the suspect’s return to the Maldives raised concerns about further potential attacks in the country.

He claimed that the country’s National Security Advisor had recently addressed the issue of religious fundamentalists after a request from the country’s Immigration Commissioner and found no additional concerns.

Zuhair added that the advisor had concluded that there was not thought to be any terror cells operating within the Maldives and claimed there was no need to further heighten national security against such threats.

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Conrad resort claims resolution found to on-site strikes

Strike action at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island resort was bought to an end last night as staff at the site returned to work following alleged disputes over service charge policy, management have said.

In a statement issued today, the resort, which is part of hospitality conglomerate Hilton Worldwide, claimed that operations were returning to normal after being affected in “a small way” by a number of its staff convening in their quarters on Tuesday (22 March) to call for increases in the amount received from service charges.

As the country continues to review labour laws that would outline policies for striking at resorts, possibly outlawing protests by workers on the “shop floor”, the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island said this week’s industrial action had not result in any customers prematurely checking out from the site.

With the wider national Labour Act still awaiting approval in the Majlis, the Conrad resort said that it had attempted to try and open up negotiations with staff following commencement of the strike action on Tuesday evening.

“The hotel respects the rights of all employees to express their points of view in a lawful and non-disruptive manner. As such, team members were invited to discuss the issue with the management team in order to resolve the matter quickly and fairly,” the resort stated. “The staff were unwilling to discuss the matter despite several approaches.”

By yesterday morning (March 23), figures from the Crown Company, which owns the resort in question, as well as representatives from the labour and tourism ministries arrived to discuss the strikers’ grievances – initially without success. However, the company has claimed it was able to find a resolution by 7:00pm on Wednesday evening with staff returning to work “immediately”.

Although the Conrad Rangali Island was unable to provide details to Minivan News of the exact changes it might be making to its operations to conclude the strikes at the time of going to press, the resort claimed in a previous statement that it was willing to review its operations.

“The management’s position is that it is happy to re-evaluate the calculation of the service charge. Additionally, the resort will arrange for independent auditing of accounts to demonstrate that the service charge is distributed in its entirety,” the company said yesterday in a statement.

“The staff had already been informed on Tuesday that salary increases will be offered across the board and are expected to be higher than in previous years following a month-long survey of wage levels in the country.”

‘Sim’ Mohamed Ibrahim from the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) said following the resolution of the strikes that regulations that would outlaw strike action on resort property were currently under the consideration of the country’s parliament.

Sim claimed that the regulations, expected to be passed as part of a new Labour Act outlining a framework for the nation’s work practices had been drawn up by lawyers along with the assistance of a number of bodies including the President’s Office.

“There is regulation in the works that would govern strikes in the country,” he said. “It has been made very clear in public notifications from the labour ministry that has clarified that ‘wildcat strikes’ should not be tolerated.”

Although the strike regulations are still being reviewed within the Majlis, Sim said that they would likely be passed in their final form as part of a national labour act rather than an individual bill relating to industrial action.

He claimed additionally that the regulations were not related to outlawing strikes, but ensuring instead that industrial action did not take place on the private property of resort owners.

To this end of trying to ensure worker’s rights, Sim said he believed that the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture had already sent details of correct resort grievances procedures to the striking workers, which he claimed had not been followed.

Workers’ groups in the country such as Tourism Employees Association of Maldives (TEAM) have been openly critical of initial drafts of the strike regulations though, which it claimed were less about regulating industrial action but rather outlawing them altogether.

TEAM president and serving Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Easa has previously claimed that the organisation openly supported regulations that accepted that there has to be a reason to instigate strikes, as well the manner of how they should be conducted.

Back in November, a bill outlining possible standards for strike action was passed to the Majlis’ National Security Committee concerning possible amendments to regulations for industrial action at the country’s resort properties

The bill was initially passed to parliament in August by the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) in attempts to try and curb strikes such as those seen last year at Kurumba resort that reduced occupancy rates to zero for a period.

Parliamentary debate over the bill has seen both fierce opposition and support from figures across the tourism industry, who have argued that current unregulated strike action is detrimental to travel income.

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