Author: JJ Robinson

Senior Maldivian judges met their counterparts from other South Asian countries during a two-day colloquium on equality and non-discrimination, held by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Four members of the Maldivian judiciary, including Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Abdullah Saeed, met 18 judges from eight other countries at Bandos Island Resort to share experiences of implementing human rights law and international treaties.

The UN’s coordinator of the event, Rory Mungoven, emphasised that the while the colloquium had only invited two judges from all other countries, “this was a regional event, not a Maldives focused event.”

“This was the first event of its kind in the region and I think it’s very significant that it happened here in the Maldives,” he said.

“You have a new constitution, a newly emergent judiciary, and a government that has engaged very positively with the UN on human rights issues,” he added.

The new constitution came into effect last year introducing a separation of powers and a bill of rights.

Mona Rishmawi, head of the UN’s Human Rights Commissioner’s branch of equality rule of law and non-discrimination, said the Maldives had experienced many changes over the past few years and like any country going through constitutional change and testing relationships under the separation of powers, “clearly has serious issues to address.”

“There are really significant issues [facing] this country and I think meeting like this and seeing how other countries establish courts, what is the rule of jurisprudence, case management and how you deal with a backlog, is very important for new courts and especially important for a judiciary trying to re-initiate itself under different rules.”

Abdullah Saeed, chief justice of the Maldives Supreme Court, acknowledged the judicary faced obstacles. “We are in a stage of infancy [regarding] the separation of powers and so there are some issues arising in terms of understanding constitutional principles,” he said.

While he considered the process mostly peaceful, some conflict with other branches of government “was natural” for a fledgling judiciary, he said, adding that a “presidential system of government is not a very easy system in any jurisdiction.”

Saeed expressed hope that parliament would pass the new evidence bill, which would allow increased use of forensic evidence by the courts and lessen reliance on direct evidence.

The evidence bill is at committee stage and if passed will offer witness protection and forms of evidence other than just confessions as in the past.

“When this bill is passed as law it will give clear ideas and guidance of how to use new ways of [admitting] material or circumstantial evidence, especially evidence based on forensic science,” he said.

The result of the last presidential election proved that we are a divided country. There is no glossing over this fact. But those who wanted to build a new, modern and democratic Maldives just edged out those who wished to remain in an old, stagnant country rooted in autocratic values.

The deposed ruling elite out did not go quietly. Unable to accept the change, they fought back. Perhaps it was a belief that the government, facing tough times due to the economy, could be toppled on the streets.

Opportunity knocks

Now, just over a year on, it is clear that we need a new way of thinking. There is a role for constructive opposition in any democratic system of governance. Some ascribe the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party’s (DRP) behaviour to posturing in the lead up to their congress. Now, their congress is over and a new leadership is in place.

DRP Leader Thasmeen Ali and his team no longer need to pander to the bitter activists in his party. He should recognise that in order to mount a successful challenge for the presidency in 2013, he will have to shake off the ‘activist’ label that his party has inherited through their actions of the last year. The party needs to appear mature and able to contribute substantially to national development during this presidential term – even if another party is in power.

Similarly, the government also needs to recognise that even with their new recruits it does not have an absolute majority in parliament. There needs to be give-and-take for things to be achieved. President Mohamed Nasheed has already indicated in a recent radio address that his government stood ready to work with other political parties in the interest of the nation. Now is the time to follow through on this promise.

Bipartisan politics

The opening of parliament tomorrow presents a unique opportunity for all parties and factions within the Majlis to enact important and necessary legislation. Indeed, readers will recall that the most commonly heard statement on the campaign trail during the parliamentary elections was that successful candidates would work to implement the government’s manifesto programme.

MDP candidates argued that they should be elected to ensure that the government’s programme was implemented successfully. Opposition candidates said that they should be elected to ensure that the government did not deviate from their pledges. There was a broad recognition and acceptance of the merits of the pledges.

We cannot afford a repeat of the “do nothing parliament” that graced our television screens and blocked the airwaves during the last session. MPs pursued petty and vindictive agendas such as the motion of no confidence against the foreign minister. The public expects much more from their elected representatives. And it is high time that MPs woke up to this reality.

As parliament begins its sitting for this year, it faces two important bills. One needs to be passed because the constitution says so. The other is critical to ensure that the country remains fiscally solvent.

The first is the decentralisation bill. It is a constitutionally required piece of legislation and the stipulated deadline has already passed. Effective local government has always been a big demand in the islands. This is a demand that needs to be met early on in the parliamentary session.

Parliamentarians should not allow a petty debate over semantics (‘provinces’ or ‘atolls’) stand between the people and their ability to take on municipal functions at the island level, and local development programmes through economically viable units at the sub national level.

The other important item on the Majlis agenda is reform of the tax system. One of the governing party’s central pledges was to lower the cost of living. Regressive taxation, through customs duties should be replaced with a proper and efficient taxation system. Furthermore, the steep decline in government revenue last year needs to be reversed.

This is why it is of paramount importance that the business profit tax is introduced as soon as possible and an ad valorem tax for the tourism sector ensures that resorts are taxed per bed night on a percentage basis rather than the flat $8 that is currently the case. This reform is both more equitable and will see the fruits of the country’s largest industry passed onto the people.

No more distractions

Of course politicians need to work together on other issues. Malevolent political agendas outside of parliament also need to be put aside. The distraction of the regulation to allow foreigners to purchase alcohol in city hotels (in addition to resorts as is currently the case), is a case in point, and has cast a shadow over the country.

The hysteria that has been whipped up over an issue that would not really affect Maldivians’ lives, and actually go to improve it through the curb on alcohol by restricting the 800 “bars” in Malé, is nothing more than political posturing by those with a political, rather than religious, agenda. But the government’s position that it would not push ahead with the regulation if people did not wish for it was probably the sensible thing to do given the circumstances.

There is also the distraction of public sector restructuring. The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has been used as a political tool. It has been acting like a labour union and not been fulfilling its constitutional mandate. The Commission needs to be reappointed before August 2010 according to the constitution, and hopefully this will happen sooner rather than later so that the country can put this sorry episode behind it. A genuinely independent CSC needs to be appointed to guide public sector employees through these hard times.

Though there are signs that the economy will pick up this year, tough times are still not ever. Redundancies and wage cuts will inevitably hurt people. This is an opportunity for all in the political sphere to work together to ensure that the effects are mitigated. Job creation in the productive sectors of the economy is needed. The social protection system needs to work to ensure that no one falls through the net.

In short, it is time for politicians to put nation first – at least until 2013.