Category: News in Brief

Cabinet backs national mental health policy

The government will implement a national policy on mental health in accordance with a plan presented by the Ministry of Health and Family.

The decision was made following today’s Cabinet meeting.

Among the policy’s main objectives are improving accessibility to mental rehabilitation programs; decentralising services for medical and psychological health; and providing sufficient financial support to the mental health sector.

The mental health sector has historically been a weak point in the nation’s profile. According to a recent report from the Ministry of Health and Family, the issue is closely related to drug and sexual abuse–both of which are serious concerns for the Maldives.

Stating that “1 out of every 3 women have experienced some form of sexual abuse with varying degrees of severity between the.ages of 15-49,” the report observes that “mental health issues and drug misuse can be congruently mapped.

“Various studies, in the Maldives, have indicated that most female clients who misuse drugs have experienced childhood sexual abuse. Additionally, other studies have revealed the lack of educational and vocational opportunities and the lack of inexpensive leisure activities.”

As of 2006 the Maldives had few mental health services and no clear mental health policy, a World Health Organisation (WHO) report found. Addressing that point, a 2011 report on the nation’s prison system recommended establishing a clear mental health act “to address the rights of offenders with a mental illness or mental disability.”

Meanwhile, a number of former inmates have reported suffering from mental disorders which either developed or were exacerbated during their time in prison.

In other news, the Cabinet also discussed the Ministry of Islamic Affairs’ proposal to make Male’s Islamic Centre a national building.

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Umar Naseer issues wooden weapons to supporters

The 23 December coalition’s steering committee armed supporters outside the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) office last night with wooden clubs and sticks, stacked outside, reports Haveeru.

Opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Vice President Umar Naseer told local media the group was “armed and ready with wooden clubs to defend themselves” against activists from the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), who allegedly confronted them with knives.

Emphasising that the wooden weapons were only meant for defense, Naseer allegedly urged opposition members standing guard outside the building not to initiate a confrontation. He added, however, that the weapons were mean to show protesters that the coalition was willing to stand alongside their supporters on the front lines, local media reports.

Naseer alleged that the MDP activists had evidently consumed alcohol, and that police had not responded to the coalition’s phone calls.

Meanwhile, MDP labelled Naseer and the coalition’s committee as “ready for a rebellion”, local media reports.

Approximately 20 MDP protesters proceeded to shout vulgar commentary outside the DRP office before dispersing.

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Police arrest sorcerer

Police have arrested a man for practicing sorcery in Male’, and have launched an investigation.

The alleged sorcerer was arrested a 3:00am in Maafaanu, according to police.

Earlier this month a 76 year-old man was found murdered with multiple stab wounds on Kudahuvadhoo island in Dhaalu Atoll.

Ali Hassan, whom islanders alleged was a sorcerer, was found knifed at an uninhabited house around 8:00 pm on Sunday night.

The appalling murder left many islanders on Kudahuvadhoo shocked and frightened.

“Because the wounds are so inhumane, some people believe the death was caused by Fanditha [sorcery] or Jinni [evil spirits],” said one, under condition of anonymity.

Days later, local religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf asked the authorities to enact legislation to make sorcery or black magic illegal in the Maldives.

During a religious program broadcasted live on local radio SunFM, Salaf President Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed said the Anti-Sorcery Act is required to “protect the people from evils of sorcery”, and prosecute suspected sorcerers.

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Maldives among top 10 Chinese tourist destinations

The Maldives is ranked fifth overall in a list of top destinations for Chinese tourists, placing alongside Bali, Indonesia.

Hong Kong topped the list, followed by Seoul and Phuket Island.

The list was complied by the Chinese Tourist Academy, analysing the top travel destinations during China’s peak ‘Golden Week’ tourism season.

Chinese tourists, mostly on package tours, now make up the largest single demographic of foreign nationals visiting the Maldives. The economic impact of rising visitor numbers was credited with shielding the country’s vulnerable tourism-driven economy from the 2008 European recession, which hurt the country’s traditional markets.

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‘Island President’ shows Maldives as ‘canary in the coalmine’ of climate change: Aspen Times

The Island President, an award-winning documentary about President Mohamed Nasheed’s environmental campaign at the Copenhagen Climate Summit, has been screened in Aspen Colorado ahead of its upcoming US release.

Several pre-release screenings were held in Male’ last year, to generally positive local reactions. Overseas, the film has been compared to a humanising version of Al Gore’s Academy Award-winning documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, which catapulted climate change to the top of the public agenda on its release.

“An Inconvenient Truth put a lot of inconvenient, and disturbing, facts and predictions in front of viewers. But the film, which earned the Academy Award for best documentary, didn’t put much of a human face on the environmental catastrophe of which it warned,” wrote Stewart Oksenhorn for the Aspen Times. “Featuring the wooden Al Gore alongside the PowerPoint presentation of statistics and forecasts didn’t do much to humanise the issue.”

“The Maldives, a nation of low-lying islands in the Indian Ocean, could be well considered the canary in the coal mine regarding rising temperatures and waters. The Maldives is also a tiny country, and combines the lack of influence with Nasheed’s small physique and sing-songy voice, and he comes off not as a bully but as an unlikely, and easy-to-like, voice in the environmental movement.

“’He’s real,’ said Director Jon Shenk. I’n a funny way, he’s an everyday guy who says everyday things. He’s not an untouchable figure like Gandhi. He’s willing to compromise.'”

“‘He plays like he has nothing to lose,’” said Shenk. “’He’s been pushed to the edge with torture. I think of him as this guy who wakes up every day and says, ‘Well, here’s another day I wasn’t supposed to have — what am I going to do with it?’”

“'[The film] is as much about leadership and political issues,’” he said. “It’s not uncommon for people to watch ‘The Island President’ and say, ‘Wow, I wish I had a president like that.’ You dream about this guy as your next leader.”

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Chief Justice says lower judges lawfully appointed

Justice Ahmed Faiz has dismissed claims by President Mohamed Nasheed that lower court judges were unlawfully appointed and therefore their rulings need not be obeyed.

President Nasheed has also stated that he will withold the salaries of lower court judges.

Faiz has claimed that all judges were appointed and sworn in according to rules and regulations put forth by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) which is tasked with overseeing the judiciary.

Faiz added that the constitution awards the JSC the authority to decide if judges meet necessary criteria, and to decide on actions against those judges who do not meet these criteria.

According to local media Faiz stressed that only the Parliament can decide on issues relating to salaries and other benefits to the judges.

“The violation of such rules and regulations would result in the failure of democracy and rules of governance”, the Chief Justice added.

President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair has countered that Faiz’s statements are prejudiced and do not carry any legal bearing.

Zuhair added that the President’s decision to withhold salaries is not final and is currently being “discussed”.

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National airline gets new chairman

Mohamed “Pilot” Naeem of Maafannu Dhullisaage was last Thursday appointed chairman of Island Aviation Services (IAS), the Maldives national airline.

Naeem’s resume includes airport director and director of civil aviation.

The position was vacated when Mohamed Umar Manik (MU Manik) resigned from the post earlier this month.

Manik had served as chairman for seven years.

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Work permits to go cyber next month

Applications for work permits in the Maldives may be submitted on-line starting February, the Human Resources Ministry (HRM) has said.

The system changeover will take place on February 1, 2012.

HRM has worked with the National Centre for Information Technology (NCIT) to create the internet-based work permit system.

According to local media, applications for new worker quotas must be submitted through the new system as well, while employment agencies are also asked to register via the new system.

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30 Sri Lankan prisoners injured during prison riot

Rioting inmates in Sri Lanka’s main remand prison in capital Colombo were met with tear gas and gunfire on Tuesday, January 24.

Approximately 30 inmates were wounded including five prison officials, media reports. Most injuries were minor however two individuals are in critical condition.

Most injuries were gunshot wounds sustained below the knee, indicating an intent not to kill.

Colombo Page reports that 187 hardcore LTTE suspects have since been moved into a separate prison facility.

According to media reports inmates began rioting at Magazine/Welikada prison to protest overcrowding and the poor quality of food, setting fire to some buildings in the process. The prison’s record room was targeted, reports the BBC, however the damage is not irrevocable.

Head of Sri Lanka’s prison department admitted to BBC reporters that prison conditions were below standard.

In 2010 over 50 police and prison guards were wounded in a clash with inmates after attempting to seize cell phones which were being used illegally.

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