Author: Ahmed Rilwan

Politicians, gangs and religious extremists threaten media freedom

Maldivian journalists have reported threats from political parties, gangs, religious extremists, parliamentarians and the government.

A landmark “Threat Analysis Report” by the Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) found that 84 percent of journalists surveyed reported being threatened at least once, while five percent reported being threatened on a daily basis.

Journalists identified political parties to be the top source of threat. Gangs, religious extremists and parliament placed second while the government was rated third.

The MBC also unveiled a “Broadcast Content and Complaints During Presidential Election 2013” on Wednesday which found former President Mohamed Nasheed received the most negative coverage of any of the presidential candidates across all stations except opposition aligned broadcaster Raajje TV.

Threats

The Threat Analysis Report is aimed at identifying threats to journalism and media freedom in the Maldives between 2011 and 2013.

Of the journalists surveyed, 29 percent said they felt the threats were serious and could threaten their lives while 27 percent said they were hesitant to report due to threats.

Over 30 percent said they were reluctant to report on gang activity.

Threats came in various forms, with 20 percent delivered in person, 18 percent via social media and 15 percent through telephone calls. Journalists also reported being stalked and family members being intimidated.

However, a significant percentage of the journalists threatened (43 percent) did not report threats to the authorities.

Television stations meanwhile reported being vandalized. These include an arson attack that destroyed Raajje TV offices in October 2013 and an attack on Villa TV in March 2012. TV stations have reported these cases, but said they are not happy with police progress in investigating cases.

The TV stations have expressed concern that gangs and religious extremists may step up the scale and seriousness of attacks in the future.

Broadcast media told the MBC that media threats are caused due to attempts by political forces to control the media and failure by journalists to practice ethical journalism in a turbulent political environment.

Police refusal to support and cooperate with media outlets as well as lack of tolerance for different views were also identified as underlying reasons for threats against the press.

Access to information

All TV stations and 72 percent of journalists reported difficulties in obtaining information from the government and other state institutions.

Access to information is rated as the second biggest obstacle to free media in the Maldives. The top obstacle is political influence while discrimination in providing information is rated third.

The management of TV stations said stations are self-sustainable and said they do not believe their content is influenced by financiers.

However, they told the MBC that journalists do not practice fair, responsible and ethical journalism in the Maldives.

Meanwhile, 54 percent of journalists said their stations allowed practice of free, fair, responsible and ethical journalism. But 69 percent acknowledged presence of “activist journalists” in the Maldivian media.

Only four percent of journalists said there was no editorial independence at the stations they worked at.

Presidential election content

The MBC monitored prime time content of nine television stations before the first round of presidential elections – between August 7 and September 6, 2013 – to compile the report on Broadcast Content and Complaints During Presidential Election 2013.

According to the report President Nasheed received the least (8.69 percent) coverage on public broadcasting channel Television Maldives (TVM). Jumhooree Party leader Gasim Ibrahim (18 percent) gained the most coverage on TVM  followed by current President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom (16 percent).

Each of the commercial channels monitored gave a significantly large percentage of positive coverage for a single presidential candidate.

The only exception to this was Jazeera channel which divided coverage more equally compared to other channels but favored Nasheed by approximately five percent, the MBC said.

The rest of the channels were divided among the candidates as follows; former President Dr. Mohamed Waheed dominated DhiTV, DhiFM and Channel One, Gasim dominated Villa TV (VTV) which he owns, President Yameen dominated Channel 13 and SunTV Plus, while President Nasheed dominated RaajjeTV.

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Environmental regulations violated in Eydhafushi dredging: EPA

Environmental regulations were violated in dredging work conducted on the island of Eydhafushi in Baa atoll, the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) said today.

Speaking to Minivan News, EPA Director General Ibrahim Naeem said the agency is currently investigating violations of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) terms during the dredging.

Naeem said the main issue was failure to build a “bund wall” to contain excess dredge spoil from spilling into the ocean, an issue which also came up last month in the dredging of Meedhoo in Dhaalu atoll.

The Meedhoo project was halted by EPA for noncompliance with EIA requirements, while the Health Protection Agency warned of possible health risks caused by unsafe dredging.

Using the rainbowing technique – the propulsion of materials through the air in a high arc – rather than using pipelines to take the the sand closer to the land, left a large part of the island’s shoreline vegetation and many houses near the beach covered in fine sand and sea water.

As the Eydhafushi project is expected to be concluded in three days, the EPA has not sought not to halt the dredging as was done with the Meedhoo project,

Naeem however assured that all necessary action will be taken in accordance with laws and regulations.

“Everything should be done in accordance to the regulations, we are trying to minimise the [environmental] impact. Our intention is not to become an obstacle to these projects, not to stop them. We all want development, but we need to protect the environment. It is the environment that we sell and we depend on,” Naeem said.

He said following the Meedhoo incident, the agency advised the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure to ensure that Eydhafushi dredging is carried out in accordance to regulations.

“We will not let another project go on like this, we will take action under article 6 [of the Environment Protection and Preservation Act],” he said.

The article authorises the EPA to stop ongoing projects to prevent any negative impact on the environment.

The project aimed at reclaiming 25.79 hectares land at Eydhafushi is funded by the state budget and implemented by Netherlands’ Boskalis International.

Yesterday, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Dr Mohamed Muiz said the project will be completed within four days. The minister was unavailable for comment at the time of press.

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

Eydhafushi is an inhabited island of Baa Atoll, which was declared a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 2011.

According to the EPA, Eydhafushi falls into the ‘transitional area‘ of the reserve, which under the “Statutory framework of the world network of biosphere reserves” has to be an area where “sustainable resource management practices have to be promoted and developed”.

“Since it is a biosphere reserve there are certain standards have to be met, even in buffer zones and transitional areas. Developmental activity should be carried out in an environmentally sustained manner, it should go beyond the usual acceptable standards with mitigation as well. We should maintain the terms which were agreed upon with UNESCO. They will be monitoring the situation,” Naeem said.

Naeem said it was likely for UNESCO to take action if the terms are not met.

Mohamed Aslam, who was the Minister of Environment and Housing when Baa Atoll was declared a biosphere reserve, said it was disheartening to see such violations by the state, noting that it was particularly sensitive since the incident has taken place within the biosphere reserve.

“Development and human intervention will always have an impact, but some practical mitigation measures to minimize the impact are agreed upon through the EIA process,” Aslam said, stressing that the Ministry of Housing must follow these measures and should also be held legally accountable for failure to do so.

“We [the Maldivian Democratic Party government] also used the same methods and reclaimed a number of Islands through the same company. There was Kulhudhufushi, Velidhoo, Thulhaadhoo, Hinnavaru Dhidhoo, GulhiFalhu. We took all the environmental mitigation measures. It can be done. It is disheartening to see a government which pledged to obey laws doing this, one ministry disrespecting the mandate of another like this,” Aslam said.

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Government seeks to remove borrowing limits from MMA

The government has submitted an amendment to the Fiscal Responsibility Act to scrap borrowing limits from the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).

The amendment was proposed to remove all limitations on government borrowing imposed by article 32(a) of the law and authorise the central bank’s board of directors to make decisions concerning lending in consultation with the Minister of Finance and Treasury.

The act stipulates that money borrowed from the MMA must be repaid within 91 days at an interest rate that is not lower than the market rate at the time.

The article also sets limits on the amount that can be borrowed, which must be no more than one percent of average government revenue (based on the previous three years).

The amendment was proposed on behalf of the government by Maavashu MP Abdul Azeez Jamal Abubakr and its first reading took place at yesterday’s sitting of the People’s Majlis.

According to the government, the purpose of the amendment is to ensure that funds for providing basic services can be accessed as required.

Another amendment was proposed to article 39(b), which allows the president to defer enforcement of some provisions of the fiscal responsibility law by 12 months if they require establishment of certain procedures or mechanism.

The second amendment proposed by Kinbidhoo MP Moosa Zameer seeks to increase the period for delaying enforcement from 12 to 36 months.

The stated purpose of the amendment was providing more time for the government to prepare for implementation and prevent challenges it may pose to the functioning of the government “as the state’s cash flow is very tight at the moment.”

With the enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility Act on May 6, 2013, President Dr Mohamed Waheed issued an executive decree to delay the enforcement of four articles.

These were article 10 on the publication of an annual fiscal strategy statement, article 28 on activities of local councils, article 32 which limits government borrowing from MMA, and article 34 which requires maintenance of government deficit at a certain level.

Prior to the resignation of former Governor Dr. Fazeel Najeeb’s in January, MMA criticised the government on several occasions over excessive spending and dependence on borrowing, particularly as a means to finance budget deficit.

In its professional opinion on the 2014 national budget, which was submitted to the People’s Majlis in December 2013, the MMA noted that overdrawing from the state’s Public Bank Account (PBA) to accommodate government spending significantly increased the amount of rufiyaa in circulation and reduced the foreign exchange reserves to alarming levels.

The PBA overdraft facility was misused by the government, according to the MMA, using it to finance long term budget deficit even though it was intended to manage cash flow within a short period of time.

The amount overdrawn from PBA started increasing in October 2012 and reached MVR2.5 billion by 9 December 2013. At the time MMA noted the government had unpaid due treasury bills, treasury bonds and PBA overdrawing debts worth MVR945 million.

Newly-appointed Governor Dr Azeema Adam meanwhile gave assurances of the central bank’s assistance to the government to finance the budget deficit through a market mechanism.

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Death penalty can be implemented starting today: Home Minister

The death penalty can be implemented in the Maldives starting today following the publication of procedural regulations in the government gazette, Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer has said.

Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, Naseer said the chances of killing an innocent person after completing all the procedures in the regulation – titled “procedural regulation on investigating and penalising the crime of murder” – was “far-fetched” and “almost impossible”.

The regulation was formulated under the Police Act and the Clemency Act with the objective of specifying the procedures for investigating murders and implementing death penalty, and came into force today.

While Maldives has been maintaining an unofficial moratorium on the death penalty since 1953, several people have been sentenced to death over the years. The common practice had been for the president to commute all death sentences to life imprisonment through powers vested in him by Clemency Act.

With the new regulation, the president will no longer have this authority if a person is sentenced to death for murder by the Supreme Court, Naseer noted.

Both President Abdulla Yameen and Vice President Mohamed Jameel have expressed their support for implementing death penalty.

Procedures

The regulation only allows implementation of death penalty for intentional homicide or premeditated murder and only when the sentence is delivered by the Supreme Court.

A death penalty committee comprised of the Prosecutor General, Chief Justice (or someone appointed by him) and the Commissioner of Prisons have to send a written confirmation to the president that all procedures of the regulation have been followed.

After receiving this confirmation, the president is required to send an execution order to the Commissioner of Prisons within three days.

Within seven days of receiving this order, the Maldives Correctional Service (MCS) has to carry out the execution using lethal injection.

Naseer said the executions will take place at a building in Maafushi Prison, which is currently under construction.

Mediation process

The regulation requires Ministry of Islamic Affairs to mediate between the victim’s family and the convict.

Through this process, which reflects the Shariah principle of qisas (retaliation), family members who are ‘warith’ (heirs in Shariah law) will be given an opportunity to pardon the convict with or without receiving blood money.

The execution will not be carried out even if a single member of the family chooses to pardon the convict.

The family is given a ten-day period following the mediation to come to a decision.

“A first step”

According to the regulation, implementation of death penalty can be delayed if the convict is underage, till he or she is 18-years-old and if the convict is pregnant, until she gives birth and the child is two years old.

If a medical board appointed by the Commissioner of Prisons finds the convict is of very weak health, the sentence will be delayed till he recovers.

Responding to a question about implementing stricter punishments for other crimes as well, Naseer said the decision to implement death penalty for murder is just a first step and noted that “the Quran was also revealed through different stages.”

“Look at this as a first step. God willing, this government will take all necessary action for keeping peace and creating a safe environment for our citizens.” He said.

Naseer also noted that there maybe some countries and organisations which would be concerned over the decision, but said the Maldives will go ahead with it as a sovereign nation and a 100 percent Islamic country.

“There will be some parties who will be concerned about this. Concerned countries, concerned NGOs. Some counties are not too pleased with it [death penalty, but we will know about the issue of executing people in this country, the overcrowding of prisons in this country, how much the criminal environment is more lively in this country. And we are a hundred percent Islamic country and there are certain values that we all believe in,” Naseer said.

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Fatwas against registering marriages a huge challenge: Family Court chief judge

Fatwas claiming that registering marriages at the court is unnecessary and un-Islamic are posing serious challenges to the Family Court, Chief Judge Hassan Saeed has said, suggesting the formation of an official state institution to issue fatwas.

“As Maldives is a 100 percent Muslim country, legally mandating some people to issue fatwas officially will encourage people to follow the law,” Saeed was quoted as saying by newspaper Haveeru.

Registration of marriages was a common practice in all countries, he observed, calling on religious scholars to publicly discuss and clarify such issues.

“Is there any basis in law or Sharia to say that [registering marriages] is not an Islamic requirement? You cannot say it is okay to perform a marriage hiding inside a room with two random witnesses [to whom] you give some treat,” Saeed was quoted as saying.

The Family Court issued a statement last week announcing that it will not register marriages performed by individuals without the court’s involvement, which would be in contravention of the Family Act.

Complaints regarding the refusal to register such marriages will also be rejected by the court, the statement noted.

As such marriages have come to the court’s attention, the Family Court noted that it could not accept cases related to divorce or other disputes as the marriages were not registered officially.

The rights of couples and their children could only be protected through wedlock within the bounds of law, the court said, insisting that marriages could only be performed or sanctioned by the state.

Marriages performed outside the Maldives are registered by the Family Court upon submission of legal documentation.

The penalty for violating the Family Act is meanwhile a fine of up to MVR1,000 or banishment to another inhabited island for a period less than six months.

The issue of unregistered marriages was raised by the court in 2010 as well.

Religious extremists in the Maldives have both endorsed and performed such marriages, claiming that even private, out-of-court marriages should be treated as legal as long as the minimum Shariah requirements for marriage are met.

Some cases of out-of-court marriages include child marriages, which are to a large extent illegal in the Maldives.

Under the Family Act, children under the age of 18 can get married at the court if he or she has reached puberty and has received a special permission from the court.

The Child Sex Abuse (Special Provisions) Act however states that engaging in sexual activity with a child through a marriage performed in accordance to Islamic Shariah principles shall not be considered child abuse.

In October 2009, the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives looked into a case involving the marriage of a nine-year-old by religious preachers, whilst police investigated a similar case earlier that year.

In 2007, local media reported that a 14-year-old girl was married privately to an older man on Himandhoo island – a hotbed of religious extremism at the time.

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Government plans massive operation to deport undocumented workers

The government today announced a massive operation to detain and deport undocumented workers.

“Within three to four months the whole Malé will be cleaned,” said the Minister of Defence and National Security Mohamed Nazim – also in charge of the Immigration Department.

“They can’t live in Malé. When I say this, it will happen – I am not just saying it.”

Nazim told media the government is planning a “very strong operation” to reduce the number of undocumented migrant workers in Maldives “for the safety and security of everyone and for the economy”.

He said the operation would be carried out jointly by Maldives National Defence Force, the Maldives Police Service, the Department of Immigration and Emigration, and other relevant institutions.

Those detained in the operation are to be be deported using the money deposited by their employers when they were recruited.

A special facility has now been assigned to keep those who will be detained in the operation. Local councils will implement the operation in the atolls.

Nazim said the operation will begin before Ramazan and will target all undocumented workers – from those at the local market, to those wiping motorcycles.

Those deported will have to wait 5 to 10 years before being allowed to enter Maldives again, as opposed to those recently deported through a special voluntary repatriation program, who have the option to return in six months.

The defense minister noted that the capacity of institutions will be considered when carrying out the operation, as the government “does not want to detain so many people and take care of them”.

Actions such as imposing fines and restricting quotas will be taken against those who employ such workers, while a public awareness programme will be carried out simultaneously.

Limiting quotas for agencies

Nazim today announced that, within the year, the recruitment of foreign workers will be limited only to employment agencies.

In this regard, quotas – the maximum number of foreign nationals that can be employed by a single employer – will be issued only through employment agencies.

“Instead of individuals requesting for a quota, they should go through [recruitment] agencies to get the quota. They should apply to agencies and do it through those agencies,” he said, noting that individuals can still employ foreign workers, but can also only do so through agencies.

Nazim said the main reason for the change is the current difficulty in holding individuals accountable.

When the government allowed individuals to recruit foreign employees directly, in 2009, the Association for Employment Agencies expressed concern that the move would increase the number of undocumented workers.

In addition to the approximately 110,000 migrant workers employed in the Maldives, the number of undocumented workers have been estimated to be as high as 44,000. Many workers live at congested labor quarters owned by locals.

Authorities reported a good response to the recent voluntary repatriation scheme, with over 4,000 workers reported to have left the Maldives between December and the end of March.

Meanwhile, the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) today announced that, starting from Sunday, immigration related payments such as the visa fee and fines will be collected from the newly established ‘Huravee Collection Center’ on the third floor of the Huravee Building.

Commissioner General of MIRA, Yazeed Mohamed said that similar collection centers will be established around the country to make such payments easier. And said that the authority is working to establish a tax collection center in Hulhumale as well.

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Woman gives birth on a boat while waiting for emergency assistance

With additional reporting by Daniel Bosley

A woman has given birth on a boat traveling from Naifaru to Malé early this morning, after the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) were unable to provide immediate emergency assistance.

The MNDF have confirmed that they were contacted by the boat at around 3am while it was located near Gaafaru, on the northern side on Malé atoll.

“Our vessel was engaged in another operation – we have five or six to handle every day,” explained Deputy Spokesman Captain Ali Ihusaan. “We attempted to guide the boat into Gaafaru but the captain said the channel was too narrow.”

The MNDF Coast Guard was unable to send assistance because it had only one vessel in Malé at the time – a fire launch normally reserved for fire-related incidents.

“The real delay was getting a doctor ready to go,” said Ihusaan. “If we go without professional medical care and the condition worsens, that’s a whole different situation.”

According to Vnews, both the mother and baby were weak when they reached Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital and, while the mother is now in good health, the baby is said to be having breathing difficulties.

The woman was reportedly travelling to Malé after being advised to do so by doctors in Naifaru, Lhaviyani atoll, due to possible complications which may occur at birth.

The Ministry of Health’s 2014 health profile had noted that the recent strengthening of emergency obstetric care at the atoll level has included the upgrading of atoll level health centres to hospitals.

Maternal mortality rates in the Maldives were recorded at a record low of 13 per 100,000 live births in 2012 – ahead of both the Millenium Development Goals target of 125, and the Health Ministry’s own Health Master Plan which aimed to reduce the number to less than 50 by 2015.

Vnews reported that the husband contacted Minister of Defense and National Security Mohamed Nazim as well, to which he responded saying he was trying find a way to provide assistance.

“I told MNDF officials that if anything happens to the baby or mother they should take responsibility for that. But they spoke in a very rude manner saying ‘what taking of responsibility [are you talking about]’ and that there wouldn’t have been any problems if you left earlier,” Vnews quoted the husband as saying.

The MNDF spokesman told Minivan News that the service’s night staff are well trained and used to handling “emotional” callers, suggesting that the husband’s recollection of the conversation would have been affected by his “agitated” state.

After the mother’s condition started worsening, her husband called the Marine Police for assistance. They were on their way when she gave birth on the boat – reportedly assisted by her husband and two family members.

Marine police reached the boat near Kuda Bandos island, following which the mother and baby were transferred to the police speed boat.

After coming across the Coast Guard vessel – which had completed its previous operation – on their way to Malé, the physician and nurse with them came aboard the police boat and provided medical assistance until they reached the capital.

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Is the government protecting the youth from drugs?

Last weekend’s raid of the Anbaraa island music festival was defended by police as being part of law enforcement efforts to “safeguard youth and the society from dangers of drugs”.

But how successful are the current methods in keeping the youth away from drugs?

Beginning with soft drugs in the seventies, and later with the introduction of heroin around 1993, the drugs issue became a national epidemic in the nineties with the number of drug-related offenses increasing rapidly since that time.

The National Drug Use Survey (NDUS) of 2011-2012, conducted by the UNODC, revealed that there were 7,496 drug users aged between 15 and 64 years in the Maldives. According to the survey, 72 percent of the drug using population was under the age of 24, and 48 percent of the drug users in the capital Malé were between 15 and 19 years.

A 2003 Rapid Situation Assessment by the Narcotics Control Board revealed that the age at which young people start using drugs ranged between 10-27 years (a mean age 16.8 years).

Those young people are often arrested and sentenced to long periods in prison, while more and more join them in becoming frequent users and addicts.

It has been suggested that Maldivian prison population could be reduced by up to two-thirds if the government would decriminalise the offence of drug usage and propose mandatory rehabilitation.

Rehabilitating rehab

The NDUS report said the Maldives’ response to the drug problem appeared to be skewed heavily towards the criminal justice system rather than health and social welfare systems.

Considering this, the report proposed turning this around by approaching the issue from three broad angles – supply reduction, demand reduction, and harm reduction.

One key achievement in this change was the Drug Act, introduced in 2011 with provisions for treating drug users instead of opting for incarceration. Under the Act, the National Drug Agency (NDA) has been mandated as the lead agency dealing with all issues related to drug prevention, harm reduction, and treatment.

A Drug Court was also formed under the new act as part of a policy shift away from taking a punitive approach against small-scale drug offenses.

Earlier this month, the NDA reported that 101 offenders have completed their drug rehabilitation programme. But how successful is this programme?

Mohamed Shuaib, the CEO of ‘Journey’ – a support NGO for recovering addicts – said the rehabilitation programme in the Maldives had failed completely.

“Three months later they start using again. While a lot of money is spent on these programmes, right now it is just a small prison. There is no good treatment programme there,” he said.

He highlighted various failures ranging from the programme’s structure and staffing capacity, to unrepaired damages at the buildings and the lack of capacity in the programme itself.

Mohamed Rashad – the 24-year-old found dead after a heroin overdose on April 1 – is a testament to this failure. He passed away within 24 hours of being released from the Himmafushi drug rehabilitation centre.

A full programme

Earlier this month, the Drug Court’s Judge Mahaz Ali Zahir said that the NDA had informed the court that one of its centres was full in April last year. Again this month the second centre in Maafushi was also reported to be full.

“People in prisons who have been sentenced to rehabilitation are also waiting for such an opportunity. If this stays this way the [expected] result of [establishing] the Drug Court will not be seen,” the judge has said.

Judge Mahaz called on authorities to speed up the process of sending cases to the court, stating that out of 1,616 cases only 19 were submitted within a month of the incident.

Fathimath Afiya, the Chairperson of the Society For Women Against Drugs (SWAD) said the rehabilitation programme currently only existed “just for name’s sake”.

“We visited the [rehabilitation center] place for an assessment just around the time the new government came to power. And it is true, the programme is there just for name’s sake,” she said.

“There is no stable programme. The place is full. There are so many issues. While the Drug Court is sending more and more people, there is no stable programme for them.”

Afiya said the government had started taking action regarding the issue now, and that SWAD was closely following it.

“SWAD is lobbying to work towards a long term strategic solution, based on a strategic action plan and prevention policy. The government is listening to our recommendations and bringing small changes already.”

She said the importance of following a systematic plan is to work realistically towards a solution instead of having every new government introducing something new with each new term.

Long term reform

Journey’s Shuaib also noted the importance of having a long term plan to addressed the issue.

“There have never been any research and evidence based prevention programmes in the Maldives. It is always an ad hoc approach. Our outreach teams have observed that there are a lot of new users now.”

Shuaib said prevention is of the utmost importance and, since children start using drugs, parental guidance and providing children with information will help them make the right choice.

“Even in the US their policy was using guns and force but it did not work. So now they are reforming their drug policy to focus on prevention. Prevention is more important. Young people who were using hash oil three or four years back are now using heroin,” Shuaib said.

Speaking to Minivan News, one recovering heroin addict said the programme ‘s failure could be connected to the Drug Act itself.

“Every one at the programme does not always want to deal with their issue. Many  just don’t care about it and are there only because they have been ordered to do so. This makes things harder for those of us who genuinely want to get better,” he said.

While Minivan News was unable to get a comment from NDA regarding the issue, all NGOs expressed hope that the programme can be saved, with the agency currently taking steps towards reform.

Supply, demand, and harm

In terms of supply reduction, drugs confiscated by the Maldives Customs Service while being imported to the Maldives in 2013 include 6.98 kg of heroin and 10.73 kg of hashish oil, while the numbers in 2012 were 4.12 kg of heroin along with 8.39 kg of hashish oil.

This is relatively small amount compared to what is being imported to the country, considering the huge demand. The 24 kg of heroin seized by police last month gives an idea of the true scale of the problem.

Last year police dealt with 38 cases of buying and selling of drugs and 130 cases of trafficking drugs, while there were 2,139 drug use cases and 833 possession cases. Even less is done with regards to major drug dealers.

With regards to large-scale drug dealers, previous attempts by former President Nasheed to apprehend some of the nation’s most prominent drug dealers failed to bear fruit. Among them, Adam Naseer was found innocent by the Criminal Court despite police finding over MVR6million (US$461,500) in cash and drugs just outside his home.

In  June 2011, police arrested another ‘top dealer’ Ibrahim ‘Shafa’ Shafaz, finding 896 grams of illegal drugs in his apartment.  This February he left the Maldives for ‘medical treatment’ and has appealed his eighteen year jail term to the High Court from abroad.

While NGOs seem hopeful about fixing the rehabilitation program, a complete change in policy and approach to the drug issue is needed to protect the youth from drugs.

These examples only provide further evidence – if it is needed – that a more efficient way must be devised, moving away from the criminal justice system approach, towards a method based more closely on supply, demand, and harm reduction.

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President Yameen call on the military to maintain discipline and professionalism

President Abdulla Yameen has called on military officials to maintain discipline and professional standards in their service.

“The state wants to make soldiers professional. The security of the state depends on the professionalism of soldiers.”

“Political ideology should not enter the ranks of soldiers,” said Yameen – the commander in chief of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).

Yameen’s comments were made during a ceremony held in Malé to mark the 122nd anniversary of the military service in the Maldives. The occasion also saw the launch of the military’s own television station and the presentation of numerous awards.

Yameen said disciplinary action has to be taken in order to maintain professional standards. He noted that some “very honorable” members of the military lost their jobs recently, but that this has to be accepted as “the military way of life”.

Though the president noted that the military had gained the love and trust of Maldivians, he warned that such confidence was very fragile.

“The confidence in you from the state and citizens is not guaranteed in any way. It is a very delicate confidence, it is a very delicate contract.”

“Action take during a single incident could lose the society’ confidence in the military. Let us recall the recent past. 2012 presented a strong example of this from the military institution,” Yameen said.

MNDF TV

During the ceremony, President Yameen launched MNDF’s official television channel ‘Addana TV’.

MNDF deputy spokesperson Captain Ali Ihsan told Minivan News today that the channel is currently being received only within the military premises and will be broadcast for the general public after the necessary license is acquired from the Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC).

MBC has confirmed that MNDF has not yet registered any television channel for public broadcasting.

While programming is currently limited to just two hours, the future schedule will provide details on the activities of the military and raise awareness of laws, as well as providing entertainment.

The channel will be maintained by the Media and Publishing Service unit of the force and is currently being funded by “well wishers”, explained Ihsan, as well as the MNDF cooperative society SIFCO and its joint venture company SIWEC (owned 90 percent by SIFCO, and 10 percent by the government).

At last night’s ceremony, commendation letters and certificates were awarded to servicemen for various achievements, and honorary shields given to institutions, servicemen, and other individuals in recognition of their services.

Minister of Defence and National Security Colonel (Rt) Mohamed Nazim was honored with the ‘Sincere Service Medal’ for his services towards the development of the military service, the numerous opportunities provided for soldiers, and the “great amount of love for the military in his heart”.

Speaking at the ceremony, Nazim promised the modern and quality equipment necessary to improve the services of the military.

Chief of Defense Force Major General Ahmed Shiyam was also awarded with the same honor for productive works in his personal capacity, and his future plans to reform the military.

The ceremony was concluded with a special prayer and the official MNDF song.

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