Author: Ahmed Rilwan

Fiqh Academy VP condemns Sexual Offenses Bill for conditional criminalisation of marital rape

Dr Mohamed Iyaz Abdul Latheef, Vice President of the Maldives Fiqh Academy has condemned the recently passed Sexual Offenses Bill for conditional recognition of marital rape as a crime, and advised members of People’s Majlis who voted for the bill to repent.

Answering a question requesting for comments on the bill Dr Iyaz said on “mvislamqa.com” – a local Islamic Questions and Answers website – that it is a great religious obligation upon the wife to give the husband his “marital rights” when he is in need of it.

“With the exception of forbidden forms of sexual intercourse, such as during menstrual periods and anal intercourse, it is not permissible under any circumstance for a woman to refrain from it when the husband is in need.” Quoting a Hadith (sayings attributed to Prophet Muhammad) he said a woman should respond to her husband “even if she was at the kitchen stove”.

Warning of the dangers of denying it, Iyaz quoted another Hadith which states that if a husband spends the night angry with his wife, “angels will curse the woman till daylight”.

However he instructed men to be gentle with women if a health issue is causing her pain, and said in such cases women will not be cursed by angels.

The bill does not generally recognise marital rape, but it makes four exceptions where marital rape is recognised;

1. while a case for dissolution of the marriage is in a court
2. while the divorce filed by either husband or wife is pending a court
3. sexual intercourse to intentionally transmit a sexually transmitted disease
4. during a mutually agreed separation (without divorce)

Among these, the conditions and penalties for the first situation are lenient in contrast to the other three exceptions. Marital rape under normal circumstances will not be recognised as a crime even if the bill is ratified.

Referring to the conditions outlined, Dr Iyaz said that even if a woman has filed for divorce, she must still show “complete obedience to her husband”, including in having sexual intercourse with him.

The same will apply, he said, even after divorce during i’ddah (waiting period) following a revocable divorce. In case of such a divorce the man can resume the marriage by simply having sexual intercourse with her, and the woman’s consent is not necessary in resuming the marriage, he said.

However, Iyaz noted that the woman has a right to raise the issue with a judge if the man’s intention of resuming the marriage seem to be abuse.

Dr Iyaz – who is currently campaigning for People’s Majlis Hulhuhenveiru seat – said that penalties clearly stated in Islamic Shariah, such as flogging and stoning to death, cannot be replaced. “No legislative assembly has the authority to change that”.

Concluding his answer he advised everyone who voted for the bill to repent.

The bill, passed by the People’s Majlis on 30 December 2013, states that it is not a replacement for Shariah and if there is a Shariah penalty for an offense covered by the bill, it shall be applied along with the Shariah penalty.

It was drafted and proposed by Kulhudhufushi Dhekunu MP Mohamed Nasheed in October 2012, and is now awaiting ratification by the president after which it will come into force. It  covers sexual offences ranging from adultery, sexual acts between two people of the same sex, with family member, animals and even corpses.

A 2007 study by Ministry of Gender and Family revealed that in Maldives 58.2% women agree that they are obliged to have sex with their husbands even if they don’t want to and 29.3% women that took part in the study believed it is acceptable for a husband to beat his wife for refusing sex.

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Government guarantee for GMR, Heavy Load illegal

The government issued a guarantee for Indian infrastructure giant GMR in 2011 and Heavy-Load Maldives Pvt Ltd in 2010 against the Public Finance Act, the Audit General’s Report on Statement of Government Guarantees has revealed.

GMR was granted a US$ 511 million contract to develop the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) in 2011 under President Mohamed Nasheed, but President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan declared the contract void ab initio in 2012 and gave the company seven days to leave the country.

Heavy Load is owned by opposition Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) chairperson and MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik.

According to Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim, the Ministry of Finance and Treasury issued a guarantee for a US$ 358 million loan from a Singaporean bank without any prior assessments the guarantee may have on the economy or the president’s permission.

Regarding the Heavy Load guarantee, the report said the Finance Ministry issued a ‘no objection letter’ the State Bank of India (SBI) concerning a Letter of Credit (LC) opened for Heavy-load.

The LC, amounting to USD 206, 400 (MVR 2,652,240) was issued from a USD 50 million  provided by the government of India and managed by the State Bank of India (SBI) Male’ branch.

The arrangement was for SBI to provide US Dollar LCs for for imports from India when the importers deposited the equivalent amount upfront in Maldivian Rufiya.

The ‘no objection letter’ sent by MOFT to SBI concerning Heavy-Load stated that company would settle the MVR equivalent when their LC expired.

The Auditor General’s report noted that the letter was in contravention to Public Finance Act and that the State Minister who signed the said letter did not have the authority to provide such a guarantee on behalf of the Ministry and, as required by the act, prior approval from the President was not sought in issuing it.

The report stated that both guarantees were not declared in the Statement of Guarantees, despite the Public Finance Act requiring all such guarantees be recorded.

It also said when the company had defaulted in settling the LC, SBI made the Finance Ministry liable as the guarantor, but the Ministry failed to recover the MVR equivalent proceeds of the LC (MVR 2,652, 240) from Heavy-Load.

The Ministry was recommended in the report to take “appropriate steps including legal action if required” against Heavy-load to recover the defaulted payment on the LC.

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Indian PM asks for “amicable” settlement in GMR issue

Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has requested President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom to “amicably” settle the GMR airport issue.

In a media statement regarding Yameen’s first state visit to India, Singh said he had  discussed ways of expanding bilateral economic relations and said that an increase in Indian investments in Maldives would contribute to expansion of bilateral economic relations.

“In this context, I requested President Yameen to amicably settle the issue of Male International Airport and address the problems that some of our investors are facing. “ Singh said.

In 2010, the GMR Male International Airport Pvt Ltd (GMIAL) – a consortium of the Indian GMR Group (77%) and the Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad (23%) — was awarded a concession contract to manage Ibrahim Nasir International Airport in Male for a period of 25 years.

However President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s government – of which President Yameen’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) was a coalition partner –prematurely terminated the concession agreement.

GMR later filed a compensation claim of US$1.4 billion for “wrongful termination”.

Singh said Indo-Maldives bilateral trade is worth INR 7billion (USD 112 million), but the balance is “overwhelmingly in India’s favor”. He said he would like see a more balanced growth in bilateral trade and pledged to encourage flow of Indian tourists to Maldives.

The prime minister said that India “is committed to supporting peace, stability and progress in Maldives” and that he is confident that Maldives will be able to fulfill the aspirations of its citizens under President Yameen’s leadership, and that Maldives will be able to play its due role in the region, opening a new chapter in Indo-Maldives bilateral relations.

Meanwhile local media ‘CNM‘ has reported that the Maldives government is working on an out of court settlement with GMR. Quoting Yameen as saying at a meeting with Indian businessmen, CNM says the the government and GMR are discussing to settle the issue by mutual agreement.

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President discusses trade, security and consular issues with Indian PM

President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom and the first lady madam Fathmath Ibrahim have received a warm welcome from Indian counterpart Sri Pranab Mukherjee at the Presidential Residence Rashtrapati Bhavan today with a twenty-one gun salute and guard of honor.

Yameen, accompanied by a high level delegation arrived in New Delhi on 1 January and is to continue the visit till 4 January.

The president and his delegation has also met External Affairs Minister, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, National Security Advisor and Foreign Secretary and Finance Minster.

Maldives delegation includes Jumhooree Party leader MP Qasim Ibrahim, leader of Maldives Development Aalliance MP Ahmed Siyam Mohamed, President Yameen’s niece Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon, his nephew State Minister for Youth and Sports Ghassan Maumoon, Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb, Minister at Presidents Office Mohamed Hussain Shareef, Economic Development Minister Mohamed Saeed, Health Minister Dr. Mariyam Shakeela.

Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh met with Yameen today and discussed mutual cooperation between the two countries at bilateral, sub-regional and regional levels.

Dr. Singh congratulated the President and the people of Maldive following the peaceful and smooth transition of power with the presidential elections.

The key areas of discussion between the two leaders were security cooperation, trade and developmental assistance, connectivity, consular issues and cooperation at regional and international levels.

Easing of visa and construction material restrictions

A mutual agreement was reached on addressing the concerns of citizens of both countries regarding consular and visa issues. Bringing an end to the Maldivian concerns on visa restrictions imposed in 2012, India agreed to provide visa free entry for Maldivians traveling to the country for medical purposes and to ease restrictions with regards to re-entry within two months. India also agreed to waiver restrictions on importing stone aggregates from India.

Both countries also agreed to give land from Male’ and Delhi for the construction of High Commission buildings of each country. A Memorandum of Agreement for allotment of plot to the High Commission of Maldives was signed at the meeting.

Trade and Development

In terms of trade and development, a mutual understanding was reached on compiling a Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement in the near future.

Responding to a request from the Maldives, India agreed to export diesel, petrol and aviation fuel to Maldives and requested concerned authorities from both countries to meet proceed with necessary arrangements to make it possible.

Economic cooperation in food security, fisheries , tourism, transportation, information technology,, communications and renewable energy was discussed. With regards to the banking and financial sector, improving credit and insurance facilities and assistance in the establishment of development finance institutions was discussed.

India agreed to release USD 25 million Standby Credit Facility for imports from India and assured the continued support in development projects of Maldives.

Specific projects discussed include the Maldives Police Academy, Composite Training Centre for MNNDF and the renovation of Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).

An MOU on cooperation in the field of Health and Exchange of Letters on extending the MoU on Manpower requirements of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital was signed between the two countrie in the presence of the two leaders.

Establishment of the Joint Consultative Commission in 2014 under the Framework Agreement on Cooperation for Development between India and Maldives was also agreed upon.

The agreement signed in 2011 by President Mohamed Nasheed includes mutual cooperation in trade, investment investment, food security, fisheries development, tourism, transportation, information technology, renewable energy, communications and connectivity.

Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, with whom the president met earlier today, said chosing India for Yameen’s for official overseas visit gave a strong message to the people and businessmen of India. President Yameen said that Maldives is open for mega investors from India.

Security Cooperation

The two leaders agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in issues of common concern such as maritime piracy, terrorism, organized crime, drug trafficking. and human trafficking. They also agreed to increase cooperation in providing training and capacity building of Maldives National Defense Force and Maldives Police Service.

They expressed the need for strengthening maritime safety and security in the Indian Ocean region with joint patrolling, aerial and maritime survilance, information exchange and developing an effective legal framework against piracy.

President Yameen also met Indian National Security Advisor Shri Shivshankar Menon and Joint Secretarty Harsh Vardhan Shringla, to ay and discussed bilateral security cooperation. Menon discussed regional security and assured providing India’s assistance in areas of defense and policing. President Yameen noted bilateral relations with India was bolstered during his half-brother President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s administration.

The leaders agreed to enhance connectivity by air and sea between Kochin (India) and Male’ City (Maldives) and other destinations as under the Air Services Agreement between Maldives and India. The leaders discussed starting direct flights between Male’ and Mumbai/Delhi as soon as possible.

Cooperation at regional and international level

Mutual commitment was expressed for UN Security Council early reform, including the representation of geopolitical realities int permanent and non-permanent seats of the Council.

Maldives reiterated the support for India’s bid to win a permanent seat at the council. Both showed support for their bids at non-permanent seats of the council, Maldives for 2019-2020 term and India for 2021 – 2022 term.

Both leaders highlighted the need to strengthen and reform multilateral financial institutions and increased participation of developing countries in global economic decision-making.

The two leaders also agreed to cooperate in strengthening the SAARC and promoting regional cooperation.

President Yameen, in his meeting with Indian Foreign Secretary Sujata Singh assured that India’s priorities will be priorities for the Maldives as well.

The President’s visit was prompted by an invitation from the Indian President Shri Pranab Mukherjee in November 2013, soon after his inauguration. Defense Minister Mohamed Nazim visited India last month, responding to an invitation extended by his counterpart AK Anthony.

Traditional and long standing bilateral relations between India and Maldives were strained under President Dr. Mohamed Waheed following the controversial power transfer of February 2011 and the premature cancellation of Indian Infrastructure company GMR’s $511 million airport project in 2012.

President Abdullah Yameen’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) lead by his half-brother former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was also a coalition partner in Waheed’s government. However since Yameen’s inauguration last November, the brothers have expressed an essential and urgent need to improve Indo-Maldives relations.

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Coast Guard marks thirty fourth anniversary

Maldives National Defence Force’s (MNDF) Coast Guard has marked their 34 anniversary today with a flag hoisting ceremony.

The Coast Guard officers were present, for the first time, in their newly introduced full white uniform.

To mark the occasion, the MNDF also organized a football match between two Coast Guard teams to be held today at Henveiru Stadium.

The new uniforms were first announced by Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim in December 2012. A ten-story building for the Coast Guard and the Ministry of Defense and National Security is soon to be built with India’s grant aid, and Minister Nazim recently sought their help in acquiring two more vessels for the Coast Guard.

In the proposed state budget for 2014 MVR 876.7 million (US$ 57 million), 5.3 percent of it, was allocated for the defense sector. In 2012 ‫‪800.8 million‬‬ was spent on the MNDF alone and in 2013 their revised budget was at MVR ‫‪756.2 million . Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has on several occasions expressed concern over increased military spending following the controversial transfer of power in February 2012.

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Police completed investigations of sixty four cases last week

Maldives Police Service has said within last week they have completed investigation of 64 cases and asked the Prosecutor General to file charges against 109 people.

Among the cases forwarded to Prosecutor General’s Office were 25 cases related to narcotics, 13 related to theft, 10 assault cases and 9 cases of illicit sexual activity.

In addition, cases concerning bounced cheques, concerning mental and sexual abuse of children , disobeying police orders – two cases of each – were sent.

The police said that the organization is expediting investigations to finish at least eighty percent of cases submitted before 2013 within the first hundred days of President Abdullah Yameen’s government.

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Discontinued tourism bed tax will cost state 10 percent of revenue

The People’s Majlis’ failure to extend the country’s tourism bed tax before recess will result in losses of MVR100 million a month, the Finance Minister is reported to have told local media.

As of the start of 2014, the tourism bed tax taken under the Maldives Tourism Act of 1999 will be discontinued because of a deadline added to the act during its second amendment in 2010.

Article 35 – D of the amended act states that within three years of taking TGST (Tourism General Services Tax), the US$8 tourism bed tax per person per night shall be discontinued.

As the TGST was introduced with the year 2011, the current deadline came to pass at 12am this morning.

Quoting the Deputy Commissioner General of Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) Hassan Zareer ‘Haveeru‘ has reported that this will result in a reduction of MVR1 billion – or ten percent of annual state revenue. He said the issue had been brought to the government’s attention. Minister of Finance Abdulla Jihad was quoted as saying that this change would incur a loss of approximately MVR100 million per month from the state cash flow.

On 9 December 2013 MP Abdul Aziz Jamal Abubakr, proposed an amendment to the act – on behalf of the government – extending the deadline for another year. However, it was not passed when the Majlis went to recess with the final sitting of the third session on 30 December 2013. The next session of the Majlis will begin on 1 March 2014.

MIRA statistics reveal that  from January – November 2013 the tourism tax accounted for 9.6% (MVR787,340,577) of the total revenue collected by the authority. Within the same period tourism land rents contributed 9.8%, and TGST 27.3% of the total revenue.

On 29 December the Majlis passed a MVR17.95 billion (US$1.16 billion) national budget, despite concerns from the public and various organisations. The central bank Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) warned that if proposed revenue raising measures in it were not implemented, the budget could not cater for even the recurrent expenditure. The authority anticipates that the resulting budget deficit for 2014 could potentially increase from MVR886.6 million to 4.4 billion (11% of GDP).

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also proposed the implementation of a number of measures to raise revenue and reduce spending.

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MDP reveals candidates competing in Male’ area primaries

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has announced the names of candidates competing in its parliamentary primaries for thirteen Male’ City constituencies.

The party also announced that three candidates won the ticket without a primary because they were the only candidates contesting in primaries for those seats.

The three candidates in question were Medhuhenveiru MP Ali Azim, Galolhu Uthuru MP Eva Abdulla, and Maafannu Uthuru MP Imthiyaz Fahmy, who contested for the constituencies they currently represent.

Among other sitting MP s who are contesting in the primaries are Hulhuhenveri MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik, Medhuhenveriru MP Ali Azim, Henverirudhekunu MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, and Machangolhi Uthuru MP Mariya Ahmed Didi competing for the seats they currently hold.

Majlis Chair and Keyodhoo MP Abdulla Shahid will compete for the newly introduced Henveiru Uthuru constiuency ticket and Maafannu Dhekunu MP Ibrahim Rasheed ‘Bonda’ for the newly introduced Maafannu Medhu constituency (formerly Villi Maafannu).

Candidates competing in the primaries for all constituencies other than the thirteen Male’ City areas were announced last month.

The only sitting MDP MP s who are not competing in the primaries are Maafannu Hulhangu MP Abdulla Abdul Raheem, Hoarafushi MP Ahmed Rasheed, Komandoo MP Hussein Waheed and Gaddhoo MP Zahir Adam.

In addition to sitting MPs, former members of the Majlis and the Constitutional Assembly, senior members in the MDP government, prominent party activists, and other famous national personalities will be competing in the MDP primaries scheduled to be held on 24 January.

The parliamentary elections are to be held on March 22 to elect the 85 members of the 18th Peoples Majlis for a five year term.
The complete list of candidates competing in the MDP primaries for Male’ area constituencies can be seen here.

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Three people arrested for performing black magic nude

Police have yesterday arrested two men and a woman for performing black magic while nude, ‘Haveeru‘ has reported.

They were caught in the act inside a small everyday-goods shop in Male’ named ‘Dhanaala’.

Maldives Police Service said the three people were arrested under a court order in a special operation.

Some suspicious objects that may have been used to perform magic were also taken by the police. According to Haveeru Police entered the shop by breaking its glasses.

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