President Mohamed Waheed Hassan has abolished the Ministry of Health and Family in favour of two new separate ministerial bodies.
The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Gender, Family and Human Rights have both now been established following the abolition of the previous healthcare body.
Under these two new bodies, Dr Ahmed Jamsheed Mohamed will retain his post as Minister of Health, while Dhiyana Saeed will head the Ministry of Gender, Family and Human Rights.
Saeed, former SAARC Secretary General and wife of recently-elected Jumhoree Party (JP) MP for Kaashidhoo, Abdulla Jabir, resigned from her SAARC position after criticising former President Mohamed Nasheed for the arrest of Chief Criminal Court judge, Abdulla Mohamed. Saeed was youngest SAARC Secretary General ever appointed and the first female.
Both new ministers conducted their respective oath of office today in-front of Supreme Court Judge Abdulla Areef, according to the President’s Office.
The ministerial changes were made a week after the government announced the abolition of the country’s Health Service Corporations. President Waheed said the service facilities provided by the corporations would be brought under control of the Ministry of Health.
The decision was taken by the cabinet based on the experiences of previous government health policy over the last three years, the government stated. The government claimed that a number of “challenges” needed to be faced in providing healthcare across the country’s atolls.
Just last month, the government announced that 30 state companies providing provincial health and utility services would be abolished to try and streamline various public services.
Seven health corporations charged with overseeing regional medical services were also dissolved in favour of returning their functions to the Ministry of Health and Family.
The now opposition Maldivan Democratic Party (MDP) criticised the decision as reversing the decentralisation policy that had been undertaken in recent years.
“Maldives’ geographical fragmentation means one central board or company will find it impossible to effectively monitor and deliver services in an equitable manner,” former President Nasheed’s former Policy Undersecretary Aminath Shauna told Minivan News at the time.
Regional hospitals
Mohammed Abdul Samad, temporary manager for Gan Regional Hospital in Addu Atoll, told Minivan News Thursday that he personally welcomed the decision to abolish the Health Service Corperations.
Samad claimed that despite the relative success in recent years of Maldives health policy in areas such as cutting infant mortality rates, the quality of health services had been generally declining.
“We are desperately in need for urgent supplies like certain injections. We have so many pending bills and the government has had to arrange money for us,” he said.
Samad, who said he was temporarily overseeing operations at Gan Regional Hospital, added that he therefore welcomed the decision to have the Ministry of Health oversee the former Health Service Corporations’ work.
He also claimed that the government would be better able to provide more technically-experienced health staff rather businessmen to oversee hospital operations.
Samad added that Gan Regional Hospital presently faced significant problems in paying off debts relating to much needed drug supplies.
He claimed that the Health Ministry faced major challenges in relation to hiring trained medical staff at hospitals around the country. Taking the example of Gan Regional Hospital alone, Samad said the site presently had the need to employ additional specialist staff like a second gynaecologist to meet local patient demand, though added that management were unable to find suitable candidates.
President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has launched a scathing attack on his predecessor Mohamed Nasheed, accusing him of corruption, hijacking the Majlis, destroying the judiciary, and called him “a liar lacking in any sincerity”.
Waheed made his remarks at a rally on the island of Kulhudhufushi in Haa Dhaal Atoll on Saturday, after Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) supporters mobbed his car calling him a “traitor.” The MDP alleges Waheed came to power on February 7 following a coup d’état carried out by mutinous elements of the police and military.
Meanwhile, local councils controlled by the MDP have refused to engage with Waheed’s administration. Several MDP councilors rejected meetings with Waheed during his tour of Haa Dhaal Atoll over the weekend.
Speaking on Hanimadhoo island before his visit to Kulhudhufushi, Waheed had appealed to local councils to engage with and support his administration in order to continue providing services to the public.
However, Kulhudhufushi Council President Ibrahim Rameez said he was “ashamed” as an elected representative to meet with an “unelected” president. Waheed was Nasheed’s Vice- President.
Moreover, Rameez claimed he could not support President Waheed as his administration had stopped all development projects in the area. In March, the Economic Ministry halted all public-private-partnership programmes claiming the legality of the contracts needed to be reviewed.
“How can Kenereege Nasheed love the people?”
In his Kulhudhufushi speech, President Waheed painted Nasheed as an authoritarian and corrupt leader who could not tolerate dissent.
“Kenereege Mohamed Nasheed won that election because I became his running mate. Today, he does not understand that,” Waheed said. Further, Nasheed had spurned all the political leaders who had backed him against Maumoon Abdul Gayoom during the 2008 election and “beat” them out of the coalition government established after the election.
Waheed said Nasheed was unable to work with the MDP leadership, forcing consecutive party presidents out of power. The MDP last week took a vote of no confidence against the party’s president Dr Ibrahim Didi and vice-president Alhan Fahmy, a motion that received 95 percent support from the party’s 73-strong national council.
“All the issues MDP faces today are because President Nasheed has hijacked the party and has not allowed young leaders to rule the party,” he said.
He went on to accuse Nasheed’s supporters of “terrorism”, and said he would bring them to justice.
“What kind of democratic party is this? This is not a type of democratic party that we know. But they think there are none more democratic than they are, they shout and scream on the streets, they set fire to and vandalise public property, what kind of democrats are these? These are not democrats. I say they are terrorists. We will not step back in giving them their rightful punishment.”
“If the events of February 7 had not transpired the way they did with God’s will, we would not have a judiciary now. He had decided to destroy the judiciary then. He had decided to abolish the lower courts. Reduce numbers in the higher courts. He had sent the police a list of 60 people to be arrested,” Waheed said.
“Afterwards, he tried to beat down the courageous people who have worked for Islam and the country. He planned for a few thugs within the MDP to attack them. When they tried to attack, our beloved police force came out to stop them. But then he ordered the police not to do so. He ordered the police to leave, and tried to get the military to intervene. He tried to do all of these things, and all his plans exploded in his hands. At that point, he did not know what to do, he knew the people were not with him, he knew there was no longer a police or military officer who would obey him any longer, so he resigned and went home,” Waheed continued.
“Then, he did not think all the people who he’d made promises to, made companies for, given resorts to would lose everything. He thought of that only 24 hours later. He understood after 24 hours had passed. He understood and woke up, and said ‘I have lost everything. This should not happen like this.’ And then all these people he’d made promises to came to see him. Asked ‘Where is the island you gave me? Where is that company you made me? What have you done?’”
“So he had to make up an excuse. Make up some sort of story. So at that point, he said, ‘Let me tell you, the military has established a military government, the military rule the Maldives now.’ He spread this all over the world. Told tourists they must not to go to the Maldives any longer. Nobody should go to the Maldives. There is military rule in the Maldives. He lies, he has no sincerity and now he says he wants to come back to power. Said hold an early election. He says hold an early election. What election can we have?” Waheed said.
The Commonwealth and EU have called for early elections in the Maldives within 2012 to provide legitimacy to those who govern the Maldives. However, Waheed said the earliest date permitted by the constitution for elections was July 2013.
Tension has been rising between the Commonwealth and the Maldivian government after the Commonwealth warned of “stronger measures” against the country if Waheed failed to review the composition and mandate of the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) to investigate the transfer of power. MPs supporting Waheed have submitted a bill to Majlis to preemptively withdraw from the Commonwealth.
Engagement with councils
During his tour of Haa Dhaal Atoll, Waheed appealed to local councils to engage with and support his administration.
Waheed said the majority of the public and majority of parliament supported his administration and that he was “saddened by the small number of people who question this government’s legitimacy and who refuse to accept this government.”
Waheed is backed by all the major political parties in the Maldives except the MDP. The coalition includes President Gayoom’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Jumhooree Party (JP), Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) and the Adhaalath Party.
“I do not believe the Maldivian constitution allows for the existence of state institutions which do not recognize the lawful government. Some councils and councilors have to consider and accept this,” he said.
“Council members play an important role in providing services to the public. We can only provide those services if council members engage with the different institutions and ministries of the government and the president. We want to engage with everyone,” Waheed added.
However, Kulhudhushi councilor Ibrahim Rameez said Waheed’s administration had stopped all development work in the area, including the installation of water and sewerage systems, harbor development, road construction and housing projects. The development of a international port in Kulhudhufushi had also come to a halt, Rameez claimed.
“So how can we support this government?” Rameez said.
In his fiery speech, Waheed pledged to complete Kulhudhufushi road construction by the end of the year, and improve services at the regional hospital on the island.
Earlier in his tour, Waheed had told Nolhivaram and Hanimadhoo islanders that development contracts were under review, and said he would resume projects if the state budget allowed for it. However, he assured financial assistance to the elderly, single mothers and disabled persons would continue under his administration.
“Even though there has been a lot of infrastructure development, that can turn to ashes in a moment. We have seen that happen very recently. That is because good behavioral norms, unity and friendliness have deteriorated amongst us,” Waheed told Nolhivaram residents.
Hence, Waheed said he had started a civic education program to promote unity in the Maldives.
On Hirimaradhoo island Waheed said he would allocate Rf 30 million (US$1.9 million) in the 2013 state budget for development, but that the citizens must decide how to best use the funds.
“I will not lie to you. I will not make promises I cannot fulfill,” Waheed said, and promised not to discriminate based on political party affiliation.
The Addu City Council has also cut off ties with the Waheed administration. At first, the council had released a statement pledging support for Waheed on February 8.
“We hope all development projects in this city, including road development, housing, and water and sewerage, and harbor development projects will continue under your presidency,” the statement read.
However, in the evening on the same day, several police stations and court buildings were set on fire in the city. Four of the six MDP councilors and one MDP MP were arrested. The Mayor Abdulla Sodiq’s arm was broken in an attack. A few weeks later, the council said it would no longer support Waheed. Sodiq has also said all development projects in Addu city have been suspended.
“Traitor”, allege protesters
Waheed’s visits within the Maldives and in Malé have been marred by MDP protests. During his outings, Waheed is often accompanied by a heavy police force.
In his visit to Addu city in late February, several MDP supporters, including women, claimed police used tear gas and batons to subdue protests against Waheed. Amnesty International obtained testimonies from several women who said they had been beaten and released a statement condemning the MNDF for the attacks.
Video footage of the Kulhudhufushi protest show several hundred protestors carrying yellow MDP flags calling Waheed “baagee” (“traitor”). One woman shouts “Leave this island. We don’t want you here,” while another voice calls for Waheed to be hanged. Protesters also held placards calling for early elections.
Police in riot gear hold the crowd back as Waheed passes through in a Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) truck.
Since taking office, Waheed has visited Addu Atoll, Fuvamulah Atoll, Laamu Atoll, Shaviyani Atoll and Haa Dhaal Atoll.
MDP protesters mob President Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s car in Kulhudhufushi on Saturday:
The India-sponsored all-party talks ground to a halt again yesterday, after parties affiliated with the ruling coalition challenged the legitimacy of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s representation.
The ousted party’s President Dr Ibrahim Didi and Vice President Alhan Fahmy were removed from their posts last week in a near unanimous vote by the party’s national council. The pair are contesting their dismissal.
“The Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) delegate walked out questioning the legality of the MDP leadership,” explained Dr Mariyam Zulfa, who represented the MDP at the talks, together with party spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor.
“We are of the opinion that they had planned to derail the talks before they had begun. The PPM delegate said legitimacy of the [MDP’s] leadership was in question. I think it was not a matter for them to decide,” Dr Zulfa said.
“Our representatives went through the protocol and processes and were authorised to attend. This is a plan to stall the talks,” she added.
Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) Deputy Leader Ibrahim Shareef, of the new ruling coalition which the MDP contests came to power in a coup d’état on February 7, said the DRP was now waiting for the Elections Commission (EC) to make a decision on the legality of the MDP’s current leadership, and its authority to appoint representatives to the all party talks.
“[The representatives] must be properly endorsed by the party. Somebody with the authority to nominate the representative of the party, such as President or Vice President,” he said, noting that the DRP was “unhappily” not present during yesterday’s talks.”
Dr Zulfa described the roadmap talks as “a bit of a farce”.
“[President] Dr Mohamed Waheed is purporting to the international community that he is bringing all the parties to the table, but on the weekend he went out in public and said the earliest he would hold elections was July 2013. He is saying one thing and doing quite the opposite. It is very revealing to us,” she said.
“The PPM is behind the coup-led government, and the longer they can stay in power the better it is for them. They have not taken into account the people’s vote – our agenda is to restore the legitimacy of government,” Dr Zulfa said.
The talks previously stalled in March after parties were unable to agree on a priority for the five item agenda, which includes early elections.
“The MDP at first chose to not take part in the talks, and there was such a big outcry from the opposition parties that we were not acting in good faith,” Dr Zulfa said. “Now we are participating, early elections are on the agenda, and they are saying the talks are designed so that MDP will benefit the most from them. It is quite amazing.”
The 50,000-member strong Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said anti-government protests will “intensify” as the country awaits further action from the Commonwealth, while the government has challenged the motives behind ongoing demonstrations.
President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad claimed the now opposition MDP, led by former President Mohamed Nasheed, is not interested in democratic processes to ensure early elections, preferring instead to opt for protests the government has labelled “terrorism”.
The Maldives was set a four week deadline by the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) on April 16 to address the impartiality of President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s independent inquiry commission into the controversial transfer of power, or face “stronger measures”.
President Waheed has already pledged to hold “early” elections by July 2013 – the earliest date permitted, under the constitution, Imad told Minivan News.
Any demands for elections earlier than that date – as requested by international bodies such the Commonwealth and EU– should be achieved through parliament. The MDP presently holds 31 elected members in the 77 seat Majlis chamber, following the recent defection of MDP MP Shifag Mufeed to former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).
“I don’t see a reason why [former President Mohamed Nasheed] is demonstrating other than to promote his lunatic point of view. He is encouraging hooliganism and acts of terrorism like burning down buildings,” alleged Imad. “We have given them a date for early elections and that is July 2013. That is the earliest we can do.”
The comments were made after a few thousand MDP supporters conducted demonstrations over the weekend near the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) building in Male’. The gathering saw MDP members and supporters holding meetings and criticising the alleged role of mutinous elements in the Maldives’ security forces in bringing President Waheed’s government to power.
Meanwhile, several hundred MDP protesters waving yellow flags mobbed President Waheed’s car during a visit to the island of Kulhudhuffushi over the weekend.
The MDP has alleged that February’s transfer of power, in which Waheed took office after Mohamed Nasheed “resigned” following a mutiny by sections of the police and military, was a “coup d’etat”. The party has since refused to accept the present executive’s legitimacy. This led to the MDP twice boycotting the President’s inaugural speech to parliament, as well as a vote last week to approve Waheed’s cabinet and vice president appointees.
“Gentleman’s option”
Imad questioned why Nasheed and his supporters were not choosing to take “the gentleman’s option” by pursuing early elections and a constitutional amendment in parliament: “The job could be done right now if [Nasheed] thinks realistically,” he claimed.
“Nasheed himself loves to take the streets and make a nuisance of himself. He believes he defeated Gayoom on his own but he didn’t. Nasheed was hiding in his house while others were out protesting,” Imad said.
He said that rather than protesting, he believed the MDP would have greater success in seeking a vote through the People’s Majlis, where it remains the majority representative.
The MDP presently stands against a government-aligned coalition of rival parties including the PPM and the then-opposition majority party from which in split in 2011, the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP).
Imad also alleged that Nasheed was a “dictatorial” presence in the MDP and did not care for democratic processes, after the passing last week of two no-confidence motions against the party’s president and vice-president by the MDP’s national council.
Nearly 95 percent of those in attendance voted in support of the no-confidence motions against former MDP President Dr Ibrahim Didi and former Vice-President Alhan Fahmy.
Dr Didi has since submitted an official complaint to the Elections Commission (EC) regarding his ouster by the party, alleging that the decision was not in-line with the party’s registered constitution.
Imad said the party’s of the no-confidence motions reflected badly on Nasheed’s own democratic credentials.
“[Nasheed] is now throwing away elected people in his own party. Clearly an election is not important to him,” Imad said. “ Dr Didi and Mr Alhan are elected members of the party.”
Weekend gatherings
Addressing the MDP gathering outside the MMA building over the weekend, party spokesperson Hamid Adbul Ghafoor told Minivan News that protests were likely to increase in number in the coming weeks.
With two weeks until CMAG’s deadline for the government to review the composition and mandate of the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) expires, Ghafoor said that protests were expected to “intensify”.
He added that despite the presence of riot police during Friday’s demonstration, demonstrators were able to peacefully hold meetings.
“We have set a precedent where we can speak to security forces peacefully about our grievances. I believe the administration now understand that we are not trying to attempt a coup against them,” he said. “This is even though we believe that a section of the police force in this country took money and turned mercenary to overthrow Nasheed’s government [on February 7],” he alleged.
Police Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef told Minivan News that a “few incidents” occurred during the demonstration leading to the arrest of six people.
According to local media reports, riot police blocked roads surrounding the MMA gathering. Water cannons and other crowd deterrents were deployed on site, were unused during the demonstration.
Momentum
Minivan News observed around 4000 people taking part in the demonstration outside the MMA building at the peak of the protest.
Two weeks previously, the party claimed that 10,000 people gathered in Male’ to protest. Another protest last week reportedly consisted of around 6000 people.
MDP Women’s Wing spokesperson Aishath Aniya told Minivan News at the time that interest still remained “strong” among party supporters for protests.
“I don’t see the numbers of protesters decreasing, though [turnout] does depend on the time and place of demonstrations,” she said. “We would obviously get fewer protesters during school hours.”
Aniya claimed that from her experience, during instances where former President Mohamed Nasheed was in attendance, Large numbers of people were attracted to demonstrations when former President Mohamed Nasheed was in attendance, she observed.
There was, she said, “tremendous pressure” among MDP members to mobilise and demonstrate at events attended by the new president around the country.
Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Shifag ‘Histo’ Mufeed yesterday signed for the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) during a meeting in his constituency of Fuvamullah.
The meeting was attended by the party’s leader, former President Maumoon Gayoom. Shifag was pictured in local media with the former President, draped with a garland of pink flowers.
Shifag acknowledged that charges of financial gain were likely to be levelled at any MP crossing the parliamentary divide during the political upheaval.
“I’m not a person who worships money. I feel disappointed and embarrassed that such people exist in our party. However, I want to assure you I will do whatever is in my power for you citizens, for your island, for my island, no matter which colour or which party I’ve signed on to,” Shifag said.
Shifag also explained his previous “abusive” criticism of Gayoom as the “words of a young man”who had not had any other president to compare the 30-year autocrat with.
“I was very young and politically naïve. Our history had not been written down very clearly”, he told people at a rally in Fuvahmulah yesterday.
Shifag claimed during the rally that the fall of former President Nasheed had arisen because of the actions of MDP members who had begun to act in a self-serving and dictatorial fashion.
Former Tourism Minister Mariyam Zulfa said the party had been aware that Shifag had been negotiating with other parties.
“Shifag has always been negotiating with other parties for a better deal for himself. We’ve known that he was was not one of the party faifthful, and that behind the scenes he was negotiating,” she said.
The Fuvahmulah MP had become increasingly critical of the MDP’s leadership in recent times. Last week he chose to go against the party line, attending the Majlis session in which the government’s nominees for the Vice-Presidency and the cabinet were confirmed by the coalition parties.
The official position of the MDP is that the February 7 transfer of power was orchestrated through a coup and, therefore, that the current government is illegitimate.
The MDP’s President and Vice President, Dr Ibrahim Didi and Alhan Fahmy, were removed from their posts last week after the party’s National Congress voted in support of no-confidence motions made against them. The primary reason given was the belief that the pair had been making statements in contradiction of the party’s official resolution of February 8.
Assuaging fears of further divisions within the MDP, Zulfa said that the party was “stronger than ever”.
“It is now that we should be dealing with people who are not loyal to the party philosophy. Even [former party leaders, voted out last week] Dr Ibrahim Didi and Alhan Fahmy – the time to deal with that was now. They were creating divisions at a time we need unity. As leaders they should have been uniting the party rather than questioning the way it was doing things,” said Zulfa.
All three of the parliamentary seats in Shifag’s Fuvahmullah constituency are now held by the PPM which, with the signature of Shifag, now has the largest minority representation in the Majlis with 18 members from a total of 77.
The PPM’s group leader Abdulla Yameen was confident that the party would gain more parliamentary converts, though he admitted that the “dynamic” nature of politics makes predictions difficult.
“The MDP will have to make extra efforts, they have an uphill battle to fight. They will have to arrest the movement of MPs to other parties,” he said.
The PPM’s unofficial numbers in the house became officially recognised after the victory of Ahmed Shareef in the Thimarafushi by-election in April. Prior to this, the Majlis’s PPM supporters were technically classed as independents as the party had not won any seats through the polls.
The party was formed in October 2011 after the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) split. Vice-President of the party Umar Naseer yesterday told Minivan News that he was confident the party could replace the MDP as the majority leader in the Majlis.
Unlike the rules governing the party affiliation of council members, members of the Majlis are not required to stand for re-election after changing political parties.
Climate change activists held an exhibition depicting giant onions on Saturday to highlight the impact of climate change on food security in the Maldives.
Co-founder of the Maldivian Youth Climate Network, Aisha Niyaz, said extreme weather events were becoming increasingly frequent and severe all over the planet due to climate change.
With the Maldives dependent on imports for 90 percent of its food, the country remained vulnerable to food price fluctuations when extreme weather events decreased crop yields in other parts of the world.
The onions symbolised the dramatic increase in onion prices in 2010 and 2011 after flash flooding caused extensive damage to onion farms in India. The price of onions throughout the country jumped from Rf 12 (US$ 0.8) to Rf 25 (US$ 1.6) Aisha said.
“It’s not just sea-level rise or erosion that we should be worried about. Climate change has a huge impact on Maldives’ food security,” Aisha said.
Only 10 percent of land in the Maldives was suitable for agriculture in the Maldives, Aisha noted and expressed concern over the lack of storage facilities for food in the Maldives. The Maldives only had storage capacity to store three months-worth of food, she said.
“We are very concerned about food security in the Maldives. Climate change is not something that is to happen in the distant future. We are feeling the effects of it even today,” she added.
The art exhibition at artificial beach was part of a world-wide campaign led by American-based global environmental organization 350.org as part of its “Connect the dots” campaign.
The campaign has rallied communities from 188 countries around the world, celebrating May 5 as a global “Climate Impacts Day” to highlight the connections between climate change and extreme weather events.
350.org advocates for carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere to be reduced from its current level of 392 parts per million (ppm) to below 350 ppm to preserve the plant. “350 means climate safety,” the organisation said on its website.
The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) youth wing members also held an event to mark Climate Impacts Day, wading into Malé city’s lagoon to call attention to flooding in the city due to high tides. The campaigners also called for democracy to be reinstated to the Maldives.
The MDP alleges the transfer of power on February 7 was a coup d’état and have called for fresh elections.
“On May 5, Maldives experienced the biggest full moon of the year, and the highest tide of the year. This led to flooding in some areas, especially on the eastern side of Malé near the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital,” MDP youth wing president Aminath Shauna said.
“We are vulnerable to flooding even from a full moon. So we wanted to call attention to how vulnerable the Maldives is to climate change and associated sea-level rises,” she said.
“Most importantly, if there is no democracy, we cannot address larger issues such as climate change,” she added. Shauna was the former administration’s focal point for United Nations Framework on Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC).
Shaviyani Atoll Kandhitheemu islanders also held a rally on its beach to emphasize Maldives’ vulnerability to sea level rise.
In 2009, former President Mohamed Nasheed led an underwater cabinet meeting calling for carbon dioxide levels to be lowered to 350ppm.
The police are investigating a security guard of the state owned Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) for allegedly taking indecent images of a 16 year-old girl inside the hospital’s toilet.
The incident was reported to the police on May 3, according to local news Sun.
The police media official said that no arrests have been made yet, but the investigation is ongoing.
The girl was reportedly visiting her father admitted at the hospital.
Senior figures of former President Mohamed Nasheed’s government have accused Indian High Commissioner Dnyaneshwar M Mulay of failing to pass critical information to the Indian government on February 7, as mutinying police and army officers joined opposition demonstrators to overthrow Nasheed’s presidency.
The allegations were published in India’s weekly current affairs and features magazine, Open, following Nasheed’s recent visit to India.
Former National Security Advisor Ameen Faisal told the magazine that he was “surprised” that Mulay was in the company of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s half-brother, Abdulla Yameen, during the upheaval, and made no attempt to contact the elected government.
“I believe that proper information was not passed on to Indian authorities,” Faisal alleged, to Open.
“I was surprised that instead of contacting us, the government [of the Maldives], Mulay was having a discussion with opposition party leaders like Yameen in the Indian High Commission, when the coup was happening. In a situation like this, why call the opposition and not establish contact with the government? Before this happened, I never suspected [any conspiracy]. We were very close,” he said.
“I maintained a close relationship with Mulay. I called him three or four times while the coup was underway. I could not contact President Nasheed. At that point, he was inside the army headquarters and his phone was jammed. I spoke to Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem, instead, for his advice on seeking Indian intervention to control the situation. He told me that President Nasheed did not want any military intervention as it was an ‘internal matter’,” Faisal recalled.
“Later, Naseem called me to request some assistance from India. As the national security advisor, I called up Mulay and sought Indian assistance… He asked me to ask the foreign minister to send a note. I told Mulay that this was no time to be sending notes or love letters.”
Mulay, Faisal contended, “could see what was happening from his window. The whole coup was being telecast live. As a diplomat, he should’ve known that the whole country was in chaos.”
Faisal further claimed that Mulay had earlier informed him that the Indian Navy vessel INS Suvarna was in Maldivian waters three days before the events of February 7, and departed that morning. Open independently confirmed the presence of the vessel in Maldivian waters on that date.
“If the Indian Naval ship was just an hour away, it was in our territorial waters, why was the [Maldives] government not informed of it? What was the Indian naval ship doing there?” Faisal alleged.
Open observed that former President Nasheed appeared careful not to go on record with any allegations himself – and instead deferred to Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) interim Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik, “to speak on my behalf”.
“[Mulay] became so powerful that he started behaving like the prime minister and not a high commissioner. In early 2011, we felt that Mulay was drifting away from the MDP. He wanted to meet leaders of opposition parties. He wanted to be invited to all official functions that took place in Maldives. He was invited to many government functions, but not all. We found that a lot of companies were coming [to the country] for business through Mulay. We were floating tenders for big projects. He would act like a middleman,” Manik alleged to Open.
“Mulay would visit various [Maldivian] islands with his Indian friends, many of them businessmen. The government did not know who they were. Mulay has good connections with opposition parties, particularly Gayoom’s party,” he further claimed.
Manik also alleged that Yameen was present in Mulay’s office on the morning of February 7, while outside, a group of opposition supporters had joined police in an all-out assault on the country’s main military base in Republic Square. A second group broke down the gates of the state broadcaster, and took over the station. President Nasheed subsequently resigned, later alleging this was under duress.
“How many times did Mulay try to talk to somebody in the Government of India when all this was going on? How many times did Mulay call the Indian Government to ask them to intervene? There are 30,000 Indians living here and Indian business interests are at stake. He should have informed the Indian authorities. There is something fishy about Mulay’s response,” Manik told Open.
Open sought response from India’s Ministry of External Affairs, which did not address the allegations, but instead expressed “full confidence” in Mulay.
“The alleged references to the High Commissioner’s conduct in some media interactions by former President Nasheed were raised during his discussions with Indian officials,” noted MEA Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.
“Former President [Nasheed] had clarified that he had not said the things attributed to him in the media. He said that he had known the High Commissioner for three years. The High Commissioner was a poet and he liked him. There were never any issues with the High Commissioner and he would clarify this to the media appropriately,” Akbaruddin claimed.
“We do not think it is appropriate to bring our High Commissioner into the discourse. He enjoys our full confidence.”
Speaking to Minivan News, Mulay declined to comment on the specific allegations, “as my government has already responded”, but described them as “completely baseless, a flight of fancy.”
Yameen confirmed to Minivan News that he had met with Mulay on the morning of February 7.
“It was Mulay who SMSed me and asked me to come and discuss the national crisis,” he said. “Mulay asked me to get a checklist of demands [from the protesters] and try to see if there could be a three-day respite.”
Asked why he believed Mulay had contacted him, Yameen said he believed it was “because PPM was the largest opposition party [at the time].”
Additional allegations made by Manik and published in Open, that Yameen had “ transferred several thousand US dollars from Colombo to some army and police officials by way of travellers’ cheques”. However Yameen dismissed the allegations as “absolute gibberish.”
Vice President of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Umar Naseer, has said the government faces “no international pressure” to hold early elections and will remain in power until 2013.
Naseer also emphasised that he does not expect President Mohamed Waheed Hassan to stand for election during presidential polls scheduled for next year.
PPM deputy Naseer told Minivan News today that beyond a few “powerful” members in the Commonwealth, the present coalition government, in which his party is represented, faced no international pressure to hold fresh polls this year.
The comments were made after former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom also claimed this week that international calls for early elections to be held in the Maldives have grown “faint” and were “not an issue” to foreign dignitaries he had met recently.
The government of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan has nonetheless faced criticisms from international bodies like the Commonwealth and the EU in recent months over its commitment to independently investigating how it came to power in February.
On April 16, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) warned it would consider taking “stronger measures” against the Maldivian government should it fail to revise the composition and work of an independent inquiry panel. The panel, known as the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) was formed by the president to ascertain the exact details behind February’s transfer of power. The Commonwealth has also recommended that early elections be called this year to overcome political uncertainty across the nation.
“We had a small command centre where we do all the protests. I command from the centre and give instructions to my people,” Naseer explained.
“On the protesters’ side, we were informing and educating the police and army through our speeches and television programs.”
Asked by SBS journalist Mark Davis if the opposition had made any other inducements, such as promises that they and their families would be “looked after” if they switched sides, Naseer said “there were.”
“We called on army and police and said that if a person was fired from his position because of their refusal to follow an unlawful order, the opposition would take care of them,” Naseer said.
President Waheed’s government has meanwhile insisted that presidential elections are not possible until July 2013 under the present constitution. The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has refuted this claim, saying that fresh elections could be held within two months should the president resign from his position and hand over power temporarily to the parliamentary speaker. The now opposition MDP also stressed that it believes that the earlier elections can be held, the “better it would be” for the party.
Electoral defeat
Umar Naseer, who had previously served as deputy leader of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) before being dismissed, claimed that beyond the constitutional factors preventing elections this year, the MDP now also realised that they faced electoral defeat.
Recent by-election victories for the party, which have seen the PPM claim two island council seats and a seat in the People’s Majis, showed clear public support for the wider coalition government, Naseer said.
“If [general] elections were held right now, the MDP would be defeated badly,” he said. “The MDP understands this.”
Ahead of any presidential elections, Naseer claimed PPM was now focused on bolstering its presence in the Majlis after last month assuming the minority parliamentary leadership role.
The PPM now has the second highest number of MPs in parliament behind the MDP, which has retained majority leadership in the Majlis chamber.
Naseer claimed the party would continue pursuing a coalition that would allow it to replace the MDP as majority leader in the majlis.
“Our main focus now will be the elections in 2013,” he said.
Naseer added that with uncertainty over whether President Waheed would stand for election to head the national executive beyond 2013, the PPM would be working to strengthen the position of its own possible presidential candidate.
“My feeling right now is that [President Waheed] will not stand during the presidential elections,” he claimed.
Naseer’s comments echoed claims by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom during a Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) gathering near Male’s artificial beach area on Thursday evening (May 3). Gayoom, who served as the country’s autocratic ruler for 30 years before being voted out in the country’s first democratic elections held in 2008, said that he had been meeting various ambassadors accredited to the Maldives of late.
None of these ambassadors, he claimed, had talked about early presidential polls.
The former president added that the two parliamentary by-elections held last month – both won by government-aligned parties – were an indication that the same outcome could be expected nationally if presidential polls were held at present.
There were however mixed fortunes for the government during two island council by-elections held the same day last month, with the now opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) taking one of the available seats.
National inquiry
Gayoom also reportedly used his address to discuss the CNI that has been criticised by the Commonwealth’s human rights body, CMAG, for not being “independent” or “credible” in regards to its work.
During his speech, the former president claimed that despite some foreign criticism, it was up to the Maldives to resolve its own internal issues
“That does not mean we should not consider the advice of foreign partners as they would give us right opinions and views. However, we have to take such opinions and advise into consideration and use what is right for this country,” Gayoom was quoted as saying by local newspaper Haveeru.
The PPM won three out of six by elections held since February’s transfer of power. Alongside these election results, Gayoom claimed that parliamentary approval of the appointment of a new cabinet and vice president –albeit after the MDP refused to participate – proved the legitimacy of the current government.
The former president also used his address to to discuss the future for the PPM, which is set to hold its national congress between September 13 and September 15 this year. Gayoom said that during the event, any member of the party would be allowed to contest for whatever positon they wanted
“This party would not function according to the whim of a single individual, me included,” Haveeru quoted the former president as saying.
“Entrenchment”
Responding to the PPM’s statements, MDP spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor claimed that Gayoom was trying to mislead the public over the international pressure the government was currently under. Ghafoor said he believed pressure was increasing for early elections and an independent review of February’s transfer of power.
“We have got structural assurances from the 54-member state Commonwealth in the form of time frames for both early elections and the CNI review,” he said. “These time-frames have also been backed by India and the US.”
Ghafoor claimed that the MDP was itself hoping for presidential elections to be held as quickly as possible, alleging that government-aligned parties were looking to stall polls for as long as possible in order to damage “independent institutions” like the Elections Commission.
“We believe that the sooner elections can be held in the country the better. While the government believe the later the better,” he claimed. “What they want is to entrench themselves in power before elections can be held.”
Ghafoor alleged that similar attempts to entrench a government into independent institutions had be seen this in many countries that have undergone apparent coups such as Honduras and Fiji.
Ghafoor said he believed that the time-frame set by CMAG for elections to be called during 2012, represented an awareness among the international community that the current government was trying to “entrench” itself into national institutions.
“Last week, we met here in Male’ with five Members of European Parliament (MEPs). They confirmed that they still stood behind CMAG and its calls,” he claimed.
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