Category: Politics

Government issues ‘last chance’ rent payment notices to resorts owned by political opponents

The Ministry of Tourism on has issued notices to five resorts warning that their lease agreements could potentially be terminated if the rent owed to the state is not paid.

Minister of Tourism Ahmed Adheeb told local newspaper Haveeru that rents paid by resorts constituted a large portion of national income, and said that only a few of the country’s 104 resorts were paying rent inconsistently.

This inconsistency, Adheeb said, was reflected in the national income and that therefore his ministry was giving these resorts one month to pay their dues or face being shut down by the government.

The resorts include Filitheyo Island Resort and Medhufushi Island Resort, both owned by AAA Hotels and Resorts, a family business owned by opposition Maldivian Democratic Party MP Ahmed Hamza.

Zitahli Resorts and Spa Kuda-Funafaru, Kudarah Island resort and Alidhoo Island resort – owned by Yacht Tours Maldives and J Hotels and Resorts – both companies owned by government-aligned Jumhoree Party (JP) MP Abdulla Jabir, were also issued notices.

Jabir – the deputy leader of the JP – this week turned on the government  following his arrest last week while on the inhabited island of Hodaidhoo, along with another fellow MP and senior opposition politicians.

The other arrestees were MDP MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor – also the party’s international spokesperson – along with former SAARC Secretary General and Special Envoy to the former President, Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, former Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair and his wife Mariyam Faiz.

Police claimed they found large amounts of “suspected” drugs and alcohol upon searching the island with a court warrant. The arrests were made “based on information received by police intelligence,” police said.

The Tourism Minister meanwhile told Haveeru that the government could “immediately terminate” the lease agreements and take back the resorts if rents and fines for non-payment of rent were not paid, but had instead chose to be lenient on the issue and give the resorts 30 days to pay up.

Adhee added that the government would terminate the lease agreements and reclaim the islands if the rent was not paid during the time period.

“This decision is to those resorts which are currently under operation. Not those that are already being developed. Now we have sent the final notice and the resort owners should decide on paying the rent,” he said.

The Minister claimed the government would terminate the contracts in such a way as to avoid affecting tourists currently staying in the resorts, or the employees working there.

“Politically motivated” – MP Abdulla Jabir

Speaking to Minivan News, Jabir blasted the government claiming the motive behind sudden issuance of the “warning notice” was “purely political” and intending to influence the re-submitted amendment to parliamentary regulations to conduct impeachment votes via secret ballot.

Three days ago a similar amendment initiated by the opposition MDP MP Ahmed Shifaz was defeated in the parliament floor by 34 to 39 votes. However, MDP MP Ibrahim ‘Bondey’ Rasheed has again re-submitted the amendment to Parliament’s Privileges Committee.

“I have only heard about this from the media. I have tried contacting the tourism minister since last night but he had been ignoring my calls. Because of the interview he gave to media, now tour operators are cancelling  bookings and the staff are not satisfied to continue working in the resorts,” Jabir said.

Jabir claimed that he had paid a settlement of US$2 million in rent during former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration, which was “agreed as a settlement” for the rent of two islands.

However, Jabir claimed that the current government had chosen not to honour the agreement which resulted in continued addition of fines for non-payment of rent, that now stood at about US$4 million.

“I know following the recent political developments and due to my new opposition to the current government, [President] Waheed has now ordered the tourism minister to issue the repayment notice so to threaten his political opponents,” declared Jabir.

“This is highly politically motivated. He knew I was the one behind the submitting of the amendment to parliamentary regulations to make the impeachment vote a secret ballot. It was I who in the first place drafted that amendment and gave it to MP Ahmed Amir. They know this but I will still continue to work for that,” he explained.

“Will do everything to inform international investors what the President is doing” : Jabir

Jabir said he had known for a long time that President Waheed had “the desire to operate a resort” and desperately wanted “to give a resort or two to one of his children”.

“Now I have decided to hand over the resorts, and I am trying to do the formalities in front of the media. But how can I even do that if tourism minister does not have the courage to answer his mobile phone?”

The JP MP questioned why it was that resorts belonging to opposition politicians were being “targeted” while there were many other resorts which had failed to pay rent.

“What I am saying is very clear. If you want to take the resorts, fine take them. But I promise that I will make sure that Waheed’s ‘scorched-earth politics’ and his failed economic policy is informed to all international investors. Who would really want to invest in a country ruled by such a government?” Jabir questioned.

“Even in the US where the economy is failing, the government takes steps to help  businesses. But here it is the other way around. Owners and young businessmen are being beaten and forced to eat sand,” he said, referring to his earlier allegations of torture during the arrest in Hodaidhoo island.

Jabir stated that he was planning to sue the government for the “damages” he incurred following the decision.

“This notice has already costed me in millions,” he claimed.

MDP MP Ahmed Hamza was not available for a comment at time of press.

Statistics from the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) suggest that more than eight resorts are failing to pay rent, and the government is owed US$25 million.

According to Haveeru, Alidhoo Island Resort – operated by Yacht Tours Maldives owes the government a sum of US$4.7 million while Medhufushi Island Resort operated by J Hotels and Resorts owes the government US$ 5.9 million.

Meanwhile Filitheyo Island Resort owes the government a sum of US$ 5.2 million as both land rent and lease while Zithali Resorts and Spa Kuda-Funafaru owes US$395,859.

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Civil Court again summons DRP MPs Azim and Nashiz over unpaid debt of MVR 117 million

The Civil Court has sent summons to Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MPs Ali Azim and Mohamed Nashiz, regarding  a case concerning unpaid loans taken by Funaddoo Tuna Products from the Bank of Maldives in which the pair were the guarantors.

Both Nashiz and Azim were ordered to produce themselves to the Civil Court at 2:45pm tomorrow.

In 2010, the Civil Court and the High Court ordered the company to repay a loan of MVR 117 million (US$7.6 million) taken from the Bank of Maldives. The Civil Court’s ruling stated that the guarantors are also responsible for the loan.

The case has now been submitted to the Civil Court as the company failed to follow the court ruling to pay within a term of one year.

The Civil Court previously ordered police to summon the MPs to court, but later withdrew the summons ahead of a vote on secret ballots for a no-confidence motion against President Waheed.

MP Azim  alleged that President Waheed Hassan and other senior members of the executive had approached him, offering to cancel the court summons if he agreed to vote for the secret balloting in a way they preferred.

Azim alleged that in addition to Waheed, his Political Advisor Ahmed Thaufeeq and Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza had called him and made similar statements.

MP Riza subsequently voted in favour of the secret ballots. He told local newspaper ‘Haveeru’ that he was “not a fugitive” and would be at the court tomorrow.

A ruling against the MPs would disqualify both from their seat at the parliament as the constitution states that any MP with a decreed debt not paid according to court order will be disqualified.

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High Court of Singapore upholds injunction against MACL, blocking action over ADC in Maldives’ Civil Court

The High Court of Singapore has rejected an attempt by the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) to release an injunction blocking the government from taking action in the Civil Court of Maldives blocking GMR’s offset of the airport development charge (ADC).

MACL is the government party in the concession agreement with Indian infrastructure giant GMR to manage and develop Ibrahim Nasir International Airport, signed during the Nasheed administration.

Opposition parties at the time the agreement was signed – and are now in government following February 7’s controversial transfer of power – first opposed GMR’s development of the airport on nationalistic grounds, and then levelled numerous allegations against the company ranging from corruption to concerns that the deal would allow Israeli bombers to refuel en route to bombing Arab countries.

The opposition had some success in disrupting the agreement in late 2011, after the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) won a case in the Civil Court blocking GMR from levying an airport development charge (ADC) as stipulated in its concession agreement.

MACL in a letter sent on January 5, 2012, instructed GMR to deduct the ADC revenues from the concession fees due the government, while it sought to appeal the Civil Court ruling. However the Nasheed government fell a month later and the opposition inherited the problem, receiving a succession of bills from the airport developer throughout 2012.

In the first quarter of 2012 the government received US$525,355 of an expected US$8.7 million, after the deduction of the ADC. That was followed by a US$1.5 million bill for the second quarter, after the ADC payable eclipsed the revenue due the government.

Combined with the third quarter payment due, the government now owes the airport developer US$3.7 million.

“The net result of this is that the Maldivian government now has to pay GMR for running the airport. On this basis it is likely that the Maldivian government will end up paying about MVR 8 billion (US$519 million) to GMR for the duration of the contract,” wrote Dr Hassan Saeed, President Mohamed Waheed’s Special Advisor, in a recent appeal to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh calling on him to cancel the Maldives’ agreement with GMR.

Saeed is the leader of the DQP, the party that filed the case against the ADC while in opposition, and has strongly opposed GMR’s involvement in the airport development.

As per the concession agreement, the ADC matter was referred to the Singapore Court of Arbitration.

The High Court of Singapore on July 23 granted an injunction in favor of GMR, restraining MACL from taking any step in the Civil Courts of the Maldives preventing the company “from adjustment/set-off of the Airport Development Charge and insurance surcharge, as per MACL’s 5th January 2012 letter, which is now referred to arbitration,” according to the airport operator.

MACL approached the High Court of Singapore in October 2012 seeking to have the injunction lifted. However the court dismissed the application on November 19.

MACL has challenged the validity of the July 5 letter instructing GMR to deduct the ADC from its concession revenues, claiming that it was signed by the former MACL Chairman ‘Bandhu’ Ibrahim Saleem without approval from the company’s board, and noted that he had been subsequently replaced under the new administration.

“The dispute raised by MACL on the validity of the 5th January 2012 letter will be decided in the arbitration proceedings to be held in Singapore,” GMR noted in a statement.

Attorney General (AG) Aishath Azima Shakoor claimed in local newspaper Haveeru on Monday that the Singaporean court had permitted MACL to try the matter in a Maldivian court, and allow the company to sue Saleem for the loss of revenue caused by the July 5 letter.

“But in accordance with the agreement whether MACL had the right to ignore or comply with the letter would be decided by arbitration. Even if a Maldivian Court rules the letter as null and void it would not binding for the arbitration,” Azima was reported as telling the paper.

There was, she said, no impediment to the government terminating the GMR agreement altogether, although this would be subject to compensation payable to GMR to be decided through arbitration.

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MP Yameen proposes Parliament look into EC Member sexual harassment allegations

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Abdulla Yameen has proposed that the Committee on Independent Institutions investigate allegations of sexual harassment against a member of the Elections Commission (EC).

Following a staff protest at the EC in March, a complaint was lodged with the oversight committee that some members were acting in breach of existing laws and regulations. A female employee of the EC who had attended a related committee meeting in June stated then that a member would take hold of her hand while she was serving drinks.

Chair of the committee Independent MP Mohamed Nasheed shared details of the issue. He stated that Yameen was referring to a matter where a female employee had stated that when she served coffee to a particular EC member, he would “take hold of [her] wrist and do something.”

Stating that the accused member had been summoned and questioned on the matter previously, Nasheed clarified that the issue was not an actual complaint filed by any staff member of EC.

Nasheed stated that after reviewing the responses the committee had at the time decided that it was not an issue that needed further attention.

However Yameen said that the matter should be reviewed under the clause regarding Personal Relations of Employees. He proposed that the employee who had made the allegation be summoned to committee to clarify more details of the matter.

Yameen raised the issue the day after the President of the Civil Service Commission Mohamed Fahmy was voted out of his post under sexual harassment allegations.

All PPM MPs who participated had voted against the removal of Fahmy.

Speaking at the debate on Fahmy’s removal, PPM MP Shifaq Mufeed said “We might be faced with an unrecoverable loss if we remove Fahmy, as he is a member of both the CSC and the JSC (Judicial Services Commission). If we remove Fahmy, there may come planned false allegations against other members of independent commissions.”

Elections Commission Vice President Ahmed Fayaz said that he had no knowledge of the matter.

“I have never received a complaint as such from any staff member about any EC members. Nor do I have any knowledge of such a complaint being even officially lodged, verbally or written, at either our commission, the police, gender ministry or anywhere else,” he added.

Minivan News tried contacting Yameen at the time of press, but he was not responding to calls at the time of press.

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IPU’s findings of alleged human rights abuses against MPs to be revealed tomorrow

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) delegation sent to Maldives to tackle alleged human rights abuses of MPs will be holding a press conference tomorrow to discuss their findings.

The IPU’s human rights mission to Maldives comes after increasing reports of political intimidation and turmoil following former President Mohamed Nasshed’s removal from office earlier this year.

The three-day mission from November 20 to 22 includes Philippine Senator Pangilinan from IPU’s Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians and IPUS’s Human Rights programme head – along with two other IPU delegates – conducting several high-level meetings at the invitation of the government.

The talks will include discussions with President Mohamed Waheed, government ministers, the Speaker of the national parliament and other high level parliament and judicial authorities.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP for Galohu North Eva Abdulla, who participated in the meeting of IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians on October 21, said that the IPU has already condemned the attacks and continued harassment of MPs, whilst “expressing concern” at the delay in the investigation and prosecution of wrongdoers.

“What this trip will highlight to the IPU is that MPs are under even more threat now. Not only has not a single case against the police has not been prosecuted, but instead we are seeing that almost every single MP who filed a case with the Human Rights Commission (HRCM) or Police Integrity Commission (PIC) are they themselves being prosecuted in return.

“In addition, the government is targeting the parliament as a whole, as well as individual MPs,” Eva told Minivan News.

According to a press release issued by the IPU on Tuesday (November 20), currently 19 Maldivian MPs from the MDP have lodged cases with the IPU Committee over allegations of “excessive violence, arbitrary arrests, intimidation and criminal charges believed to be politically motivated”.

The IPU also mission intends to address incidents involving the arrests and intimidation of other MPs in the past few days.

Two MPs, along with other senior figures in the MDP were recently arrested for the alleged possession of drugs and alcohol on the island of Hodaidhoo in Haa Dhaal Atoll.

Whilst police said that they had found large amounts of “suspected” drugs and alcohol upon searching the island, MDP alleged the arrests were a politically-motivated attempt to disrupt parliament ahead of a no confidence motion against President Waheed, and an amendment to voting procedure to make such votes secret.

Jumhoree Party (JP) MP Abdulla Jabir – who was arrested during the raid, but has since been released – alleged the way in which the police conducted the raid was like that of a “terrorist killing operation”.

A press release from MDP on November 19, regarding the treatment of former SAARC Secretary General and Special Envoy to former President Nasheed, Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, who was hospitalised as a result of the police operation, claims that the “attack” is part of a pattern which has seen opponents of Mohamed Waheed “regularly imprisoned and/or beaten by police”.

Speaking about the case, MDP’s international spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor – also arrested and allegedly beaten alongside Zaki – said: “The attack against Zaki is an attack against democracy and against India. It is a further example, if one were needed, of the Maldives’ descent into a police state – where the security forces are beyond criticism, and can act with complete impunity”.

In the build up to the vote on taking secret votes in no confidence motions against President Waheed Hassan Manik and other cabinet members, further allegations made by Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ali Azim claim that the president and other senior members of the executive had approached him, offering to cancel the court summons if he agreed to vote for the secret balloting in a way they preferred.

Days prior to the secret voting motion, DRP MPs Mohamed Nashiz and Azim had been ordered to appear in court over the the failure of Funaddoo Tuna Products to repay loans worth MVR 117 million (US$7.5 million) to the Bank of Maldives.

Azim alleged that in addition to Waheed, his Political Advisor Ahmed Thaufeeq and Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza had called him and made similar statements.

The decision by the IPU to carry out the mission was decided at IPU’s 127th Assembly in Quebec City last month in a series of resolutions recommended by the IPU Committee.

According this week’s press release, the committee expressed “deep concern at reports of renewed ill-treatment, detention and harassment of the MPs by law enforcement officers as well as shock at the killing of MP Afrasheem Ali in early October”.

The press release further states: “Maldives has been in political crisis since February when incumbent President Mohamed Nasheed was replaced by his Vice-President Mohamed Waheed. Since then, there has been growing international concern at the political intimidation and serious outbreaks of violence in the country.”

In March, the MDP parliamentary group submitted cases alleging police brutality against the former ruling party’s MPs to the IPU’s human rights committee at the 126th Assembly held at Kampala, Uganda.

The cases concerned targeted police brutality against MDP MPs on February 7 and 8, in particular on the latter date during a heavy-handed police crackdown on an MDP protest march that left scores injured and hospitalised, including former MDP parliamentary group leader and Hulhu-Henveiru MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik and Maafanu South MP Ibrahim Rasheed ‘Bonda’.

Three classified reports by the IPU concerning police brutality against MDP MPs have been shared with parliament and the executive since the transfer of presidential power on February 7, the party revealed last month.

The IPU is a global organisation of parliaments, established in 1889. It works to foster coordination and exchange between representative institutions across the globe. The IPU also offers technical support to affiliated nations. The Maldives has been a member of the organisation since 2005.

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Maldives mulls tourism future as China reaches quarter of all arrivals

China has accounted for just under a quarter of all visitors coming to the Maldives for the first nine months of 2012, contributing substantially to a 3.4 percent increase in arrivals compared to last year despite declines in established European markets.

The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture has said the figures indicated that the country remained on track to meet its aim of welcoming a million visitors in 2012.

Tourism authorities also said that despite the growing importance of China to visitor numbers, European markets remained the main overall contributor to the Maldives tourism sector.  As the country looks to commemorate 40 years since the introduction of the travel industry, officials have said that even declining custom from markets like the UK has begun showing positive trends in terms of demand for more lucrative high-end holidays.

According to the statistics, between January and September 2012, there were 691,608 tourist arrivals in the Maldives.  During September 2012, 76,806 visitors travelled to the Maldives – an increase of 6.9 percent over the same time last year.

In terms of regional demand, the ministry figures showed that European arrivals fell by 2.9 per cent between January and September to 376,674 people over the same period in 2011.  A five percent increase in traffic from Central and Eastern Europe was ultimately insufficient to offset double-digit declines in travellers from northern and southern European countries.

Arrivals from the Eastern Mediterranean region were also up between January and September by 10.4 percent to 5,191 people. In the region, tourists from Turkey and Israel coming to the Maldives increased by 7.6 percent and 21.8 percent respectively over the same period.

During September 2012, European arrivals overall fell 3.2 percent to 33,975 over the same time last year.

The statistics showed that the Asia Pacific region has continued to drive growth in visitors to the Maldives, with 275,343 arrivals between recorded January to September 2012 – an increase of 10.2 percent.

According to the figures, arrivals in September alone from the Asia Pacific region reached 38,483, up 17.5 percent on the same time last year.

Key to this regional growth has been demand from China, which for the first nine months of 2012 accounted for 24.5 percent of all tourism arrivals to the Maldives.

In the Americas, total arrivals from the region rose 12.3 percent to 18,375 for the first nine months of the year, with Brazil Canada and the US all posting growth. The US was the region’s largest market over the period with visitor numbers up 10 percent to 10,899 people.

Visitors from the Middle East were also up for the first nine months of the year by 54.6 percent over the same time in 2011, amounting to 16,211 people. However, visitor numbers for the region fell by 3.3 percent during September when compared to the same period of time in 2011.

Arrivals from Africa between January and September this year were up by 9.8 percent to 5,005 compared to the same period this year.

For every month of 2012 since February, resort occupancy has been down on a single figure basis, a trend continued into September with occupancy at the country’s island tourism properties falling 5.5 percent over the same period last year.

Occupancy rates have also fallen for hotels, guest houses and safari boats when compared to the nine month period between January and September 2011, according to the statistics.

Encouraging figures

Deputy Tourism Minister Mohamed Maleeh Jamal told Minivan News that the figures were encouraging for the industry. Maleeh stressed that this encouragement was not representative just of growth in Asia, but also due to the performance of key markets like Germany and Switzerland.

“Some 55 percent of traffic [during 2012] has still come from Europe,” he said.

However, even in markets like the UK, which for the first nine months of the year saw visitors fall by 13.7 percent to 67,987, Maleeh claimed the decline failed to reflect a changing customer demand for high-end holidays in the country.

Having recently returned from visiting London for the World Travel Market 2012 travel fair, Maleeh said that industry insiders and travel operators he had spoken to at the show identified a shift in the UK market towards more lucrative higher-cost packages.  He added that with the overall economic situation in Europe still uncertain, it was important to keep an industry presence in the region.

“We will be keeping a presence in these markets and wait for them to bounce back.  Countries like Germany and Switzerland have shown good growth,” he said.

Master plan

Along with celebrations to commemorate 40 years since the introduction of tourism, the ministry has said it also expects to unveil its fourth official tourism master plan by year-end. The document is anticipated to outline developments across the industry – dealing with the expansion of biospheres and other “value-adding” focuses – as well as an integrated plan to promote the destination internationally.

“We are working on the fourth tourism master plan in line with groups like the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank to focus on a destination strategy,” Maleeh said.

Following February’s controversial transfer of power, the incoming government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan sought to utilise public relations groups and advertising to try and offset the impact of negative news headlines resulting from the change in government.

This focus has included agreeing a US$250,000 (Rf3.8million) advertising deal to promote the country’s tourism industry on the BBC through sponsorship of its weather services, as well as signing a £93,000 per month (US$150,000) contract with public relations group Ruder Finn to try and improve the country’s image internationally.

Having previously claimed that the “hard days” were over for Maldivian tourism, Maleeh said he hoped the government – currently facing increasing pressure to reduce its fiscal deficit by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – would provide a sufficient promotional budget to support such plans.

“The Maldives should be present in two to three of the largest news sources, these are CNN, the BBC and the National Geographic channel,” he said.  “These are frequently watched by major investors. Tourism is vulnerable and we need to have continuous engagement and visibility, if not, it can be a case of out of sight out of mind.”

While unable to outline the exact scope of the new master plan, Maleeh said that as President Waheed this year announced a strategy to make the Maldives the world’s largest marine reserve within the next five years, the commitment could prove particularly beneficial to tourism.

“Since the foundation of tourism 40 years ago, the environment has always been hugely important to the Maldives. After 40 years the country is still pristine making us very popular with tourists and we welcome any actions to encourage maintaining this,” he said.

Maleeh added that the foundation of reserves in the country at destinations like Baa Atoll was helping the area become a “premium destination within a destination”, adding further value to properties located in an area of strong natural interest.

Along with the potential benefits of operating as a marine reserve, Maleed claimed that the country’s status of being a protected marine reserve would not itself impact on the type of tourism developments being sought in the Maldives. These plans have included ambitious proposals such as the construction of five man-made islands to support leisure developments including a 19-hole golf course in the Maldives.

Maleeh claimed that he did not think these type of projects would be threatened by the Maldives protected reserve status, with developers still being required to work within existing environmental laws that impose several restrictions on the amount of development possible on each island.

“All plans are required to undergo an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and resort developers are very good at working within these parameters,” he said.

In Baa Atoll, which has been awarded the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Biosphere Reserve status, several resort operators have said they remain uncertain as to the direct impact protected marine areas may have on their operations.

Reethi Beach Resort General Manager Peter Gremes has previously told Dhonisaurus that while obtaining the UNESCO reserve status last year was a “prestigious” accolade for properties in the atoll, it was unlikely to impact visitor numbers on a significant basis.

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Parliament votes out CSC President Fahmy over sexual harassment allegations

Parliament on Tuesday voted out President of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Mohamed Fahmy on charges of sexual harassment against an employee.

The 70 members who partook in the vote were split 38 for removing Fahmy, 32 against and 2 abstentions.

The parliament debated on the report on the case submitted by the Committee on Independent Institutions prior to the vote.

Chair of the Committee, Independent MP Mohamed Nasheed, said that in addition Fahmy himself and the employee who had submitted the complaint Aminath Shahma, other members of the CSC and staff members had been questioned by the committee.

Nasheed said that other staff members, including Fahmy’s personal secretary, had made statements which backed Shahma’s allegations, while Fahmy’s defense had nothing to support it. He added that the committee had asked both Fahmy and Shahma if they were willing to repeat their statements under oath, to which Shahma had agreed while Fahmy refused to respond.

After much debate by MPs with opposing views on the parliament floor, Nasheed responded saying the the Committee on Independent Institutions had oversight mandate over the CSC, and that it did not need to conduct a criminal investigation to remove Fahmy from his post.

“What we applied are widely accepted civil standards. Based on our findings, 7 out of the 10 committee members decided that it was more likely that Fahmy had committed this act than that he did not. And that is enough to remove him from his post,” Nasheed said.

He added that this had no relation to Fahmy’s role in the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) – of which the CSC president is by default a member. He also clarified that unlike the claims of some MPs who had spoken in Fahmy’s defense, the Prosecutor General’s office had not sent the case back to the police but rather had asked for additional clarifications.

Workplace harassment: a common problem for women

Many MPs, including independent, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MPs, spoke in favour of removing Fahmy from his post.

DRP MP Rozaina Adam, MDP MPs Eva Abdulla and Mariya Ahmed Didi spoke of workplace harassment being a common issue faced by Maldivian women.

Although MP Visam Ali stated that the matter needed further investigation and submitted an amendment asking for parliament to postpone Fahmy’s dismissal until the authorities looked into the matter more deeply, Rozaina stated that the parliament was not mandated to run a criminal investigation and that it should remove Fahmy as he was believed to have committed an act unacceptable from a man in his position.

“Honour is not something we get just by addressing each other as ‘Honourable MP’, as stipulated by the regulations. We need to prove to our constituents that we work in their interest,” Eva Abdulla said.

“Even the former Auditor General was removed because this parliament through its findings believed him unfit for his post. It was not done after a police investigation.”

“In the JSC, Fahmy actually voted in a way that benefited [the MDP], by voting that the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court is illegal. The MDP will work with principles and not a political mindset,” Ali Waheed said.

“Shahuma stood up and shared this issue with a lot of courage. We cannot turn our backs on this,” he went on, “And this HRCM report – They say they can neither prove whether he has or has not done anything. What have they found? What’s the point of releasing this one day before the vote?”

Removing Fahmy may lead to more allegations

Members of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) mainly spoke in defense of Fahmy, alleging that this could “possibly be a politically-motivated allegation”.

Most of them stated that since a criminal investigation was involved it was better to let the police and courts come to a decision on the matter before the parliament voted on removing him.

PPM MP Shifaq Mufeed said, “Let’s not turn this parliament into an investigative body”, adding that the police were more qualified to run a professional investigation.

“We might be faced with an unrecoverable loss if we remove Fahmy, as he is a member of both the CSC and the JSC. If we remove Fahmy, there may come planned false allegations against other members of independent commission,” he said.

“To Shahuma, I have to say: ‘be patient, madam’. Let the police investigate. We are not going to incriminate Fahmy and take Shahuma’s side, nor are we going to incriminate Shahuma and take Fahmy’s side.”

Adhaalath party member and MP Ibrahim Muthalib also spoke against removing Fahmy in parliament today.

“If we are to make our women nude and exposed, and then send them out to mingle with men, then why speak of protecting them? Honourable Speaker, this cannot be done in this manner. If a man and a woman are in a room alone, Satan will be there as the third person and will encourage sinful activities,” Muthalib said.

“Their place is in their houses, to serve their husbands and look after children. If we give them the opportunity to go out and mingle then we can no longer talk about their dignity and protection. It is people who harass women who are now speaking in their defense here today,” he further added.

Cannot confirm whether or not the harassment happened: HRCM

Meanwhile on Monday, a day ahead of the vote against Fahmy in parliament, the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) released a report on the case.

HRCM claimed that they had not received enough evidence to prove whether or not Fahmy had harassed the employee.

The report further said that although Fahmy had sent a text to Shahuma with an apology, it was unclear what the apology had been meant for.

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President’s Office “not convincing” on abuse of workers’ rights: ITF

A letter from the President’s Office claiming to address the alleged rights abuses made by Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) management has been labelled “interesting, but not convincing” by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).

The ITF previously raised concern over a lack of correspondence from the President’s Office, announcing earlier this month that it was calling on the government to intervene over “union intimidation”, or “face embarrassment wrought by widespread international solidarity action”.

The ITF sent two letters addressed to the President’s Office, the last of which was sent on October 29.

On Monday (November 19) the ITF received a letter from the President’s Office stating that the president had met with representatives from both the Maldives Ports Workers Union (MPWU) and the newly proposed Maldives Trade Union Congress, following the alleged labour rights violations.

Dated November 14, the letter further states: “The Maldives parliament has recently approved the eight conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The president is fully committed in promoting and protecting the rights of workers in the Maldives. The government will take the necessary steps to address the legitimate grievance of the Maldives Ports Workers Union (MPWU) and support the efforts of its members.”

In response to the letter, an ITF spokesperson told Minivan News: “We find it interesting, but not convincing. The MPWU informs us that the problems remain, and need to be addressed.”

President of MPWU Ibrahim Khaleel said that a meeting did take place with President Mohamed Waheed Hassan on November 7 to discuss matters relating to the allegations.

“The president said that he would address the issue, however two weeks have passed and there has been no sign of negotiation and I have had no contact with the President’s Office,” said Khaleel.

Minivan tried to contact President’s Office Spokesman Masood Imad, but could not get through at time of press.

MPL have previously denied all accusations of rights abuse, claiming that staff members in question were disciplined on the basis of “disobedience” and “punctuality”.

MPL CEO Mahdi Imad told Minivan News earlier this month that the company had responded to the ITF, which it said later “apologised” having raised the issue without checking facts.

However, the ITF has rubbished the claims, maintaining that it had so far had no reply from the MPL regarding the concerns. The global trade union dismissed the state-owned company’s assumption that it had “won us over”.

Whilst ITF received no response to the letters sent by the organisation’s general secretary, David Cockroft, it has since been learned that MPL did reply to an earlier letter sent from ITF’s Asia Pacific Office in India.

According to an ITF spokesperson, the Asia Pacific office did not consider MPL’s reply honest or useful, and instead referred the matter to London for further action.

In a letter obtained by Minivan News, originally addressed to ITF, MPL state that they were “extremely surprised” by the rights abuse claims stated in the ITF’s letter.

“We did inquire with the Maldives National Port Workers Union (MNPWU) which is a legally recognised union of any such complaints and they have categorically denied of any complaints they have made to any international body,” the letter read.

The MPWU accused MPL of forming the Maldives National Port Workers Union to shove aside the alleged violation of employee rights by the corporation.

The MNPWU was formed just five days after the MPL received a letter from the Asia Pacific Regional Office of ITF.

The letter concludes with a warning to ITF, stating: “Given the present political situation in Maldives, many such unfounded, unauthoured illegal so called associations and unions could be sending you more such letters, for [the purposes of] defaming the present government internationally.”

MPL CEO Mahdi told Minivan News earlier this month that the workers behind the allegations still had the options of taking their cases to the country’s employment tribunal to resolve any grievances that the company would then have to abide by.

Mahdi claimed that workers dismissed under previous MPL management in 2009 and 2010 had under similar circumstances been reinstated under his stewardship, as well as receiving compensation.

“These people who have been disciplined, they know a tribunal would not come out in their favour,” he said.

Mahdi also denied accusations that he operated MPL in a politically motivated manner, adding that the company was run in a “very technical” way.

“I will challenge anybody who says we are politically motivated, I believe no one has a bigger right than anyone else,” he added.

Mahdi alleged that one of the dismissed workers who had gone onto make accusations about political motivation had come into his own office and shouted at him, adding that billions of companies around the world would discipline such actions by staff of a senior representative.

“This is work disruption, no one is allowed to break work regulations like this. Belittling and scolding me when I’m on the street in public is OK. But here in the work place they must show me respect,” he said.

Earlier this year, sacked MPL employee and President of the MPWU, Ibrahim Khaleel, alleged that the MPL was trying to “fabricate the truth” about the violations of worker rights.

In a letter on July 12 to MPL CEO Mahdi Imad, Chairperson of the MPWU Ibrahim Khaleel said: “Although the constitution guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, it is now common within MPL to stop employees from expressing certain political views, and violate the Employment Act by unfairly dismissing employees and transferring employees to different departments without prior warning or explanation of any offence committed.”

Speaking to Minivan News earlier this month, Khaleel said the company mainly targeted employees who supported the ousted Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

“They send people with cameras to MDP protests to check which MPL employees take part in the protests,” Khaleel said.

In addition to the four employees who have been dismissed at the time, 30 had initially been suspended and 10 have been transferred from their position at the Malé port to Thilafushi Island port, Khaleel claimed.

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PG appeals Kulhudhuffushi Magistrate Court decision to release arrestees in Hodaidhoo raid

The Prosecutor General (PG) has appealed the decision made by the Kulhudhuffushi Magistrate Court to release those arrested during the raid of the uninhabited island of Hodaidhoo in Haa Dhaal Atoll .

According to local media reports, the PG filed the appeal with the High Court on Monday, but it remains unconfirmed as to whether the court has accepted the case.

Speaking to Minivan News, an official from the PG confirmed the appeal was filed but declined to provide any details as the case was pending in court.

Spokesperson for the Department of Judicial Administration (DJA) Latheefa Gasim was not responding to calls at time of press.

The Maldives Police Services (MPS) on last Thursday night arrested two MPs and senior figures in the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), for the alleged possession of drugs and alcohol. Police in a statement released following the arrests claimed that 10 people were arrested during a ‘special operation’ on the island.

Among the arrestees wre ruling coalition Jumhoree Party (JP) MP Abdulla Jabir and MDP MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor – also the party’s international spokesperson – along with former SAARC Secretary General and Special Envoy to the former President, Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, former Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair and his wife Mariyam Faiz.

The others arrested were Jadhulla Jaleel, Hamdan Zaki, two Sri Lankan nationals named Raj Mohan and Anoor Bandaranayk as well as a Bangladeshi named Suhail Rana.

The island of Hodaidhoo was leased to Yacht Tours for resort development in January 2003. According to Haveeru, it was previously inhabited but the population was relocated to Haa Dhaal Hanimadhoo in 1997. Kaashidhoo MP Jabir is Chairman of Yacht Tours.

Police claimed they found large amounts of “suspected” drugs and alcohol upon searching the island with a court warrant.

The arrests were made “based on information received by police intelligence,” police said. Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef told Haveeru that the suspects were arrested with alcohol and “hash oil”.

Following the arrests around midnight, the suspects were taken to Kulhudhufushi in Haa Dhaal Atoll, and Zaki was hospitalised.

Despite a police attempt to extend the detention periods all suspects including the two MPs were released by the Kulhudhufushi Magistrate Court, with the exception of Hamdan Zaki.

The arrests were met with severe condemnation by the opposition MDP and the former Human Rights who both claimed that the arrests were politically motivated ahead of the parliamentary vote to make impeachment votes a secret ballot.

MDP claiming the arrests were a politically-motivated stated that it was an attempt to disrupt parliament ahead of a no confidence motion against President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, and an amendment to voting procedure to make such votes secret. A second no-confidence motion against Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel was withdrawn this week pending the outcome of the secret vote amendment.

“It is such a coincidence that whenever the Waheed government wants to frame those critical of their government, they come up with trumped up charges and very often it is something to do with alcohol,” said former MDP Chairperson Mariya Ahmed Didi, in a statement.

Wife of Jabir and former Human Rights Minister Dhiyana Saeed, who was sacked from her ministerial position following the outburst, claimed that the arrest was politically motivated to threaten MPs ahead of the parliamentary vote.

Saeed along with her husband gave a press conference following the release where she demonstrated through role play, the exact manner in which the police had brutalised her husband, acting out how and where the police had hit him.

“In my career, I have always had to take the side of the police and defend their actions, although I have never found it easy to accept their brutality towards citizens. But this time, I have seen too close the violence they dealt out. No one should be beaten up, regardless of what the charges for arrest are.” She said.

Meanwhile the Jabir claimed that the arrest seemed more like a “terrorist killing operation” that was intended to finish off the MPs who opposed the views of the government.

“We had gone there to have dinner and spend the night on the island, but at about 4:00am, when most of the group were asleep, we were confronted by hundreds of police. They said we were drinking alcohol, so I asked them to show a warrant and they didn’t have one. They then started hitting and beating us, they wanted to kill us,”

“This did not feel like a police operation, it felt like a terrorist killing operation and it should not be acceptable anywhere in the world,” Jabir told Minivan News at the time.

However, police maintained that they handled the operation very “professionally” and had not brutalised anyone while making the arrests. Police also released a video of the operation to the media.

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