Author: Ismail Humaam Hamid

Public outrage after two children suffer burns in fireworks display

Two children and an adult suffered burns during a government organized fireworks display at the Raalhugandu area in Malé last night, sparking public outrage.

Local media reported that a father, his child and another child were burned from falling gunpowder. The father and child were treated at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, while the other child was taken to the Senahiya military hospital for treatment.

Pictures of the burn victims circulated on social media last night, showing that all three of the injured suffered burns on the hands.

Only the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) is allowed to operate fireworks in the country, with all profit from the fireworks going to the military welfare company the Sifainge Corporative (SifCo).

Speaking to Minivan News , MNDF spokesperson Major Adnan Ahmed said the military operates fireworks with stringent safety precautions, and is investigating the incident from last night.

“We cordon off the area during fireworks. Spectators are only allowed to stay at 300 feet distance from the fireworks operating area,” said Adnan.

Adnan said the three who were injured last night were standing outside of the cordoned area when they got burned, but refused to comment further on the incident. Meanwhile, minister of defence Moosa Ali Jaleel expressed his condolences to the victims in a tweet last night.

However, several social media users have slammed the government over the mishap, with one questioning as to why the government was holding children’s day fireworks six days after the actual date.

Fireworks displays have become commonplace in the Maldives during the past year, with the government and ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) using such displays to celebrate “victories.”

Most recently, the PPM used fireworks on May 2 to celebrate the government’s “victory” over the May Day protesters the previous day.

Nearly 200 individuals were arrested at a mass anti-government rally on May 1, including opposition Maldivian Democratic Party chairperson Ali waheed, Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla and Jumhooree Party deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim.

The government also used a fireworks display to celebrate President Abdulla Yameen delivering his presidential address at the parliament, amidst protests from opposition MPs over the arrest of former President Mohamed Nasheed.

Nasheed has since been sentenced for 13 years of imprisonment over terrorism chargers for the military detention of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed in 2012.

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Islamic Ministry unveils special prayer garb for women

The ministry of Islamic affairs has unveiled special prayer garb for women today, following alleged complaints over women failing to wear the appropriate clothes at the mosque.

The new garb consists of a white burka with a large white underskirt. An un-named individual donated the first 50 pieces of clothing to the Islamic Center today.

“Sometimes, when women who go to the mosque to pray they do not wear appropriate clothes, which leads them to reveal awra. That’s why the individual donated the garbs on his own accord” said deputy minister Mohamed Ali today.

The islamic ministry plans to place similar pieces of clothing at mosques throughout the country. The mosques will be responsible for washing and laundering the prayer clothing.

Women usually pray in a separate area at mosques. At many mosques, the women’s quarters are walled off by wooden walls.

Speaking to Minivan News, deputy Islamic minister Dr. Aishath Muneeza said that the ministry had been considering placing prayer garb at mosques before the donation from a private individual.

“We receive a lot of complaints, mostly from tourists. In other countries, a lot of mosques provide prayer garbs and socks so that there is easy accessibility into the mosque,” she said.

Dr. Muneeza said it will not be compulsory for women to wear the new clothing, but said it is provided for women who may not have clothing suitable for prayer when they enter the mosque.

“For example, now very busy women can also pray at a mosque, instead of going all the way home to pray,” she said.

Photo courtesy of Raajje.mv

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Power cut at Addu hospital in dispute over electricity subsidy

A private hospital in Addu City is operating with a backup generator after the state owned utility Fenaka Corporation cut off its power supply.

Fenaka stopped providing electricity to the International Medical and Diagnostic Centre (IMDC) around 1:30pm yesterday after the hospital refused to pay electricity bills in solidarity with other businesses in the southernmost atoll.

Shops and business across the country have refused to pay bills in protest over the government’s decision to cease electricity subsidies in March, which led to monthly charges doubling and tripling in some cases.

“We are running the hospital on our backup generator. However, we still cannot produce enough electricity for the whole hospital,” said IMDC’s manager Fathuhulla Anees.

Anees said the hospital was only able to start the generator at around 11:00pm last night, causing a lot of difficulties in providing medical assistance to the 10 patients currently admitted at the 38-bed capacity hospital in the Hithadhoo ward of Addu City.

Hospital staff worked by candlelight until technical problems with the generator were resolved.

“We had to discharge some of the patients and transfer others to the regional hospital, because we were unable to provide urgent services,” he said.

Fenaka is the main electricity provider in the atolls and operates in 151 of the 188 inhabited islands of the Maldives.

Former health minister Dr Mariyam Shakeela – a shareholder in the Simdi Company that operates the hospital – has condemned the corporation’s move as inhumane.

In a tweet last night, Shakeela slammed Fenaka for cutting off electricity services to a hospital “without giving the opportunity to find a solution”.

Fenaka also reportedly cut off electricity to the Simdi showroom in Hithadhoo on Sunday.

Shakeela lost the health minister’s post in August last year after pro-government MPs voted against her reappointment to the cabinet. She has since been critical of the president Abdulla Yameen’s administration and has participated in an anti-government rally on May 1.

A businessman in Addu City meanwhile has filed a case at the Hithadhoo magistrate court seeking a court order to compel Fenaka to continue providing services despite unpaid bills. The court initially granted a stay order pending a judgment in the case.

Anees, who is also suing Fenaka over the power cut, said the magistrate court has since ruled against the businessman.

“They wanted to cancel the stay order, so they just ruled that Fenaka can cut power if bills are not paid. I don’t believe we will get justice from the new magistrate at the court,” he said.

Anees said that the hospital will not pay the bill until the court orders them to do so. The hospital refused to accept bills for March and April.

“We are not paying it because we are not able to. We are not paying it because we think it is unjust and discriminatory,” he said.

Electricity charges in Addu City and Fuvahmulah are up to 37 per cent higher than in capital Malé, according to figures from Fenaka.

The government’s decision to cut electricity subsidies to businesses in March left more than 5,700 businesses in the atolls facing millions extra between them in electricity charges.

The government previously provided Fenaka with about MVR11 million (US$713,359) a month to subsidise electricity for atoll businesses, but this cost must now be borne by the companies themselves.

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116 May Day detainees released, 129 facing charges

Some 116 people out of a 193 arrested from an antigovernment protest on May 1 have now been released, but the police is seeking charges against some 129 individuals.

The Prosecutor General (PG) office says it is researching the police’s claims, and will decide on prosecution shortly. Protesters face charges of disobedience to order and obstruction of police duty, offences that carry a MVR 3000 fine or six-month jail term.

Approximately 20,000 protesters took to the streets on May 1, demanding the release of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed and ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim. But violent clashes erupted when protesters attempted to enter Malé’s main Republic square at dusk.

Police used tear gas, pepper spray and stun grenades to disperse protesters. Two police officers were also beaten by protesters resulting in indiscriminate arrests.

Meanwhile, police arrested two men, including Jumhooree Party council member Ali Hameed, from a street protest last night. The two were released within a few hours.

Police say the opposition’s protests must not disrupt public order, and have said the opposition must seek prior permission before organizing demonstrations, despite the constitution saying no prior notice is needed.

May Day arrests

Opposition leaders – Adhaalath party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) chairperson Ali Waheed and Jumhooree Party deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim – were also arrested on May Day.

The arrests are the largest from a single protest in a decade. MDP lawyers say detainees were kept in packed cells and were denied medical treatment. Lawyers also said three men arrested on suspicion of beating a police officer were brutalized.

The criminal court granted a blanket 15-day remand for 173 of the 193 arrested. Some 20 women were released after police failed to present them at court within the required 24 hours. Opposition leaders were also remanded for 15 days.

Lawyers have lodged complaints with the high court over the criminal court’s decision to remand all 173 protesters. Appeal hearings over the remand of Imran, Waheed and Ameen have concluded. But the high court has not specified when a verdict will be issued.

Meanwhile, a ninth suspect in the beating of the police officer handed himself in last night. All nine have been remanded for 15 days.

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Two sentenced to death over crimes committed as minors

The juvenile court has today sentenced two young men to death over a murder committed when the pair were minors, but the two are unlikely to face the death penalty.

The two unnamed 19-year-olds denied charges over the stabbing and death of Hussain Waheed in Malé in December 2013. They were 16 at the time.

Waheed had died of heart failure due to the stab wounds to his chest.

Speaking at the UN human rights council last week, legal affairs secretary at the president’s office, Aishath Bisham, said “it would be legally impossible to issue the death sentence” if the accused denies murder charges at any stage of prosecution.

One of the suspects was charged with murder while the other was charged with being an accomplice to the murder. Another 14-year-old was arrested at the time and charged with assaulting an individual on the scene.

The juvenile court sentenced the pair based on testimony by four eyewitnesses. All nine heirs of the victim have asked the court to implement the death penalty.

In 2014, the Maldives repealed a six-decade-old de facto moratorium on the death penalty, ostensibly to tackle a surge in fatal stabbings. Over 30 people have been killed in violent crimes in the past seven years.

Under the new regulations, individuals as young as seven years of age can be sentenced to death if convicted of wilful murder.

The juvenile court has now sentenced a total of four young men to death for murders committed when they were minors. Two young men convicted of wilful murder in the death of Abdul ‘Bobby’ Muheeth were also sentenced to death in May 2013.

The government says capital punishment can only be enforced if all three tiers of the judiciary find the accused to be guilty and if all heirs of the victim request the death penalty. Bisham also said the president is required to review if due process was followed before he enforces the death sentence.

The last person executed in the Maldives was Hakim Didi, who was found guilty of practicing black magic in 1953.

The common practice has since been for the president to commute all death sentences to life imprisonment through powers vested in him by the Clemency Act. The new regulations has revoked president’s authority.

Several countries at the Universal Periodic Review, including France, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Namibia, Spain, Australia and Montenegro expressed concern over Maldives’ decision to end the unofficial moratorium on the death penalty.

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Anti-government campaign takes religious turn

The opposition’s campaign against President Abdulla Yameen’s “authoritarianism” has taken a religious turn, while Minivan News has learned the government is labeling the campaign as one that promotes Islamic radicalism.

On Friday night, the religious conservative Adhaalath Party’s Sheikh Ilyas Hussein held a sermon attended by thousands, where he warned of a calamity if brutality becomes common, and appealed to the security forces to be compassionate towards citizens.

“If there’s one group of people I respect in Maldivian society, it is the police officers and soldiers, because I believe they are carrying out a religious and national duty. I know the burdens they have to bear.

“But do not harm anyone without a just cause. No matter how high up the order comes from, do not harm anyone without just cause. Allah is watching. On the days He switches on his CC cameras, there will be nothing you can do,” he said.

Ilyas’ sermon comes amidst a crackdown on the opposition with the arrest of opposition leaders including Adhaalath president Sheikh Imran Abdulla, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) chairperson Ali Waheed and Jumhooree Party deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim.

The three were arrested after a 20,000 strong rally on May 1. Nearly 200 people were arrested and scores were injured in violent clashes.

Protesters were calling for the release of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed and ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim, who were jailed on terrorism and weapons smuggling charges, respectively.

The Adhaalath Party had played a key role in Nasheed’s ouster in 2012, but formed an alliance with Nasheed’s MDP in March when Nazim was sentenced to 11 years in jail.

Opposition aligned Raajje TV is now broadcasting clips of Ilyas’ sermon with scenes of police arresting, beating, and pepper spraying protesters on May 1.

Ilyas and nine other Islamic scholars from the Adhaalath Party and the MDP also held a press conference on Saturday, where he said the majority of religious scholars are now against the government.

“We are announcing today that we do not accept the ongoing tyranny in the Maldives. We especially cannot tolerate such brutal acts from our leaders,” he said.

President Abdulla Yameen has refused to listen to the citizen’s concerns, he said, adding it is now obligatory on Muslims to protest.

Former state minister for Islamic affairs Dr Mohamed Didi said brutality is haram or forbidden in Islam and urged the government to review the “politically motivated trials” of Nasheed and Nazim.

“We call on all the Maldivian citizens to work together to stop this tyranny. If we are unable to do so, if tyranny continues, it will damage all of us, our entire nation and society.”

Sheikh Shuaib Abdul Rahman, a former member of the judicial watchdog, says citizens could pray for a curse on tyrants and unjust judges. Prayer is a powerful weapon, he said, adding that police officers will have to bear responsibility for any acts of brutality, even if they are committed on their superior’s orders.

President Yameen had previously turned down calls for dialogue, saying he will not release Nasheed and Nazim. Instead, the pair must seek an appeal at the high court, he said.

An information brief from the Maldivian mission in Geneva on May 1, obtained by Minivan News, claimed that the organizers of the protest had “mobilized people known to have radical connections in the Middle East and elsewhere, and paid for their travel to Malé and join the demonstration with the explicit purpose of creating violence.”

“The police have intelligence that some of the hardcore radicals Sheikh Imran has paid for were activists who took part in the incident on the island of Himandhoo in 2007,” read the brief.

Dozens, including police officers, were injured in clashes in Himandhoo when police attempted to enter a mosque in search of evidence related to a bombing in Malé.

Ambassador-at-large at the ministry of foreign affairs Mohamed Naseer has also told Sri Lanka’s The Sunday Leader that the May Day protesters had attempted to promote Islamic radicalism through the protest march.

Meanwhile, an anonymous video surfaced on YouTube today warning senior officials in the government of a suicide attack if they do not release Sheikh Imran.

“We came up like this cause we don’t have other option left. We will never let this country become a Mafia gang,” says a masked individual, against the backdrop of the Maldivian flag.

“We call on immediate release of Sheikh Imran Abdulla and stop mistreating him. We assure we will never let Sheikh Imran be dealt like Nasheed and Nazim,” said the individual in the video.

“If you sentence Sheikh Imran falsely, as our religious scholars said, we can have your life and blood. We will stop this! If necessary we do not hesitate to go for a suicide attack!”

A police media official said they have now started looking into the video.

 

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Home minister vows to keep ex president in jail

Home minister Umar Naseer has vowed to keep ex-president Mohamed Nasheed in prison despite growing calls for his release by the international community.

“We will not free Nasheed. This government will not free him. I repeat it,” Naseer said in an interview on pro-government private broadcaster Dhi-TV on Thursday.

Nasheed is serving a 13-year jail term on terrorism charges relating to the arrest of a judge during his tenure. Foreign governments, international bodies including the UN and Amnesty International have criticized the trial for lack of due process.

The EU parliament in April passed a resolution calling for Nasheed’s immediate release and have urged member states to warn tourists on Maldives’ human rights record on their travel websites.

However, Naseer said the government “will not back down an inch” even if the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) is backed by 50 foreign governments. He went on to describe the MDP as a “lie factory.”

“There is no way will we hand the country to MDP. We will not back down an inch even if they come with 50 countries behind them,” he said.

“The government is built upon a very strong foundation. There is no way we will budge.”

Naseer said the MDP had planned to torch several buildings during a mass antigovernment protest on May Day. Nearly 200 people, including opposition leaders, were arrested when violent clashes erupted between the police and protesters.

Approximately 20,000 people had taken to the streets on May 1 over Nasheed and ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim’s imprisonment.

Although the opposition has criticized the police for excessive force and brutality during the protest, Naseer congratulated the police force, saying they are the “most professional” force in the region.

He said the police had ten years of experience in controlling protests and condemned protesters for beating two police officers.

“MDP can only deceive others [the international community], not Maldivians,” he said.

The home minister once again denied allegations he had made of president Abdulla Yameen’s involvement in the brutal murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali in 2012.

Naseer had contested against Yameen during the Progressive Party of the Maldives’ (PPM) presidential primaries of 2013. When he lost, he held a public rally accusing Yameen of corruption, vote-rigging, illicit connections with criminal gangs, and said he saw a suspect in Afrasheem’s murder meeting with Yameen.

Naseer was expelled from the PPM when he refused to apologize for his remarks. He joined the Jumhooree Party (JP), and was given a cabinet portfolio after Yameen won the second round of polls with JP’s backing. The party left the ruling coalition in January.

“I said I saw a suspect in Afrasheem’s murder, after he was released, at the PPM office seeking a meeting with president Yameen. I did not say there is any connection between president Yameen and Afrasheem’s murder,” he said.

Naseer on Thursday said he had made the comments because of the “rivalry in the campaign,” and said the investigation does not suggest the president was involved in the murder at all.

In recent months, several defectors from the ruling coalition, including MP Ahmed Mahloof, have claimed president Yameen will know the truth behind Afrasheem’s murder.

In December 2012, then-police chief Abdulla Riyaz had said that Dr Afrasheem’s murder was politically motivated with a local gang offered MVR4 million (US$260,000) to carry it out.

The late moderate religious scholar and Progressive Party of Maldives MP was brutally stabbed to death on October 1, 2013 in a murder that shocked the nation.

Riyaz, now a JP MP, was summoned to the police last week when he said he would reveal details of Afrasheem’s murder “when the time comes” in an interview with a local TV station.

Hussain Humam, the chief suspect in the murder and the only person convicted of the crime so far, has alleged president Yameen and tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb’s involvement in the killing.

However, Adeeb accused the opposition of orchestrating Humam’s remarks in a “character assassination” attempt. Humam had said at the first hearing of his appeal at the High Court last month that president Yameen and Adeeb “will know best” the details of the murder.

Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom meanwhile told reporters that president Yameen should sue opposition politicians alleging his involvement in the murder for defamation and strongly condemned the insinuations.

 

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Half of Maldives resort workers sign petition for US$600 minimum wage

Approximately half of the Maldivians working in the tourism sector have signed a petition demanding that the government set a minimum wage of US$600 for resort workers.

Some 5,300 out of 11,426 Maldivians employed in the multi-billion dollar industry have signed the petition launched in April by the the Tourism Employees Association of the Maldives (TEAM).

The petition was circulated in 77 of the Maldives’ 108 operating resorts.

The Maldives does not have a policy on minimum wage and setting one will require an amendment to the Employment Act.

“Only three to seven percent of all tourism revenue is spent on employee wages. The average resort worker only earns US$ 250 per month,” said TEAM’s vice president Ahmed Saleem.

The tourism worker’s organization says setting a minimum wage of US$600 will be easy, claiming a resort “has the capability to earn enough revenue to pay off all wages in one night alone.”

“We know how much resorts earn. We know how much taxes resorts pay to the government. We also know how much is paid in wages, and that is very little compared to the rest,” said secretary general Mauroof Zakir.

The petition also asks the government to set an eighty percent quota for Maldivians in the tourism industry policy. Current laws require 50 percent of resort employees to be local, but the rule is not widely enforced.

Preliminary figure from the 2014 census indicated that foreign employees amount to 59 percent of all tourism employees, with 16,342 expatriate workers.

“Over US$358 million is transferred out of the country as wages for migrant workers annually,” said Mauroof.

He said implementing the quota would help achieve the current government’s pledge of creating 94,000 new employment opportunities within its five year term.

The petition also wants president Abdulla Yameen to honor a pledge to make shares in resorts available to their rank-and-file employees, a rarity in the country where resorts are owned by private companies controlled by a few individuals.

In February 2014, President Yameen said that by the end of the year, a number of resorts would be floating a portion of their shares to the public, and urged Maldivian employees to become shareholders.

The petition also demanded the government to pass a Trade Union Act through the parliament.

Deputy tourism minister Hussain Lirar said that the government will consider the petition.

“The industry consists of a lot of stakeholders, not only TEAM. We will have to hold discussion with all of them before implementing new regulations,” he said.

Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb said he could only comment on the petition once he sees its demands.

Meanwhile, TEAM members today said the organization will hold a rally on May 30, where “resort workers will come to Malé and present the petition to the relevant authorities.”

The petition is going to be submitted to the president, the vice president, the parliament, the tourism ministry, the economic ministry, the attorney general’s office and the youth ministry.

“We are willing to negotiate with the government, but if the government does not heed our demands we will use constitutional rights to strike as a means of protest,” said Mauroof.

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Opposition condemns police obstruction of protests

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has accused the police of disrupting demonstrations and obstructing freedom of assembly by asking for prior notice for protests.

The opposition has continued nightly gatherings despite a crackdown on a mass antigovernment protest on May Day. Nearly 200 were arrested and scores were injured in violent clashes on Friday.

The police have now ordered the MDP to give prior notice despite a constitutional provision guaranteeing freedom of assembly without prior notice.

In a statement today, MDP said: “On May 2, the police barged into the opposition gathering and attempted to confiscate the sound system and asked to stop the gathering without giving any legal reasoning. The activity continued despite the warning.

“On May 3, the police’s special operations team again disrupted the gathering and arrested Jumhooree Party Council member Sobah Rasheed. On May 4 and 5, police disrupted peaceful gatherings. When the protest spilled onto the streets, the police arrested people indiscriminately.”

Former president Mohamed Nasheed’s running mate in the 2013 presidential polls was arrested, but was released, the party noted.

The opposition is protesting over the imprisonment of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed and ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim.

 

Since the May Day protest, the police have stopped and confiscated the sound system used in a lorry to announce daily gatherings, the statement read. The individuals on the lorry were arrested.

The police, however, have said the MDP has rejected repeated calls for dialogue over the protests.

In a statement on Tuesday, the police insisted the opposition’s protests must not obstruct others’ rights or daily life in the capital. The MDP had provided prior notice, but had failed to act as indicated in the notices, the police said.

The MDP spokesperson Imthiyaz Fahmy said they had asked police to provide discussion points in writing prior to the meeting, but had not received a reply.

The police statement was “very irresponsible,” he said, insisting that the party has always accepted invitations to hold discussions.

“It is also very hard to attend such discussions when the party’s chairperson and president have been jailed. What discussions can we have without our leadership?” he said.

The party’s chairperson Ali Waheed, Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla and JP deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim were arrested on May 2 for “intimidation.”

The MDP has now written to the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) and Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) urging the oversight bodies to ensure the constitutional right of freedom of assembly.

Freedom of expression and right to assemble are constitutional rights, the MDP said, calling on the independent commissions to investigate violations.

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