Category: Politics

Army’s intervention in immigration is progress, not policy failure: Human Resources Minister

Human Resources Minister Hassan Latheef has denied that his ministry and immigration authorities failed to deal with longstanding internal concerns over corrupt “discretionary” practices, after the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) temporarily took over border control this week.

The country’s defense forces have taken over front-line immigration services as well as the employment arm of the Human Resources Ministry amidst an ongoing investigation into allegations of what Immigration Controller Abdulla Shahid claimed was corruption in the work permit system.

Speaking to Minivan News today, Latheef claimed that cabinet’s decision to deploy the military to oversee immigration was further encouraged by the revelation that the Maldives remained on the US State Department’s Tier 2 Watch List for human trafficking. The report criticised the country for having increasing number of migrant workers from Bangladesh and to a lesser extent, India, being subjected to forced labour in the Maldives, as well as showing little evidence of increased efforts to tackle the problem.

Latheef claimed that despite an apparent lack of direct action on suspected human trafficking, his office had supplied a database of information and accounts from 16,000 illegal immigrants working in the country that had been used to identify companies and employment agencies suspected of foul play.

However, with foreign worker exploitation estimated to rival fishing as the second greatest contributor of foreign currency to the Maldivian economy, the human resources minister claimed that it was now vital to bring about regulatory reforms that would cut out the “discretionary powers” among both civil servants and political figures in government departments like his own.

“Giving too much discretion – to anybody, especially when money is so much involved – leads to corruption. Even I do not require any discretion for that matter. It should be in black and white,” he said.

Latheef claimed that these concerns should not be viewed as an indication of complete failure within the ministry’s handling of expatriate workers.

“I wouldn’t say that the Department of Immigration or human resources failed in this. We have done a lot of work, a lot of substantial work that has provided us with lot of findings especially the [information] about the 16,000 illegal expatriates I was referring to. That’s quite an achievement.”

Latheef said he accepted there had been delays in taking action against alleged corruption within the country’s visa system, which he claimed was identified immediately after coming into office in 2008.  The minister added that it had not been possible for the combined efforts of his ministry and the immigration department to resolve them alone.

“I do admit there is a delay in taking action, but I don’t see how this can be resolved without a third party getting involved. I think the MNDF is ideal for this and that is the decision we took in the cabinet,” he said. “It’s not like one morning I woke up and discovered that something was wrong. I discovered this on November 12, 2008. The very first press conference I gave in 2008, in December if I’m not mistaken, I did mention there are a lot of issues and faults in the database of the ministry and I have been working on this since.”

Latheef said that a number of findings had been passed onto the police as part of ongoing investigations, though he said that the different functions of government meant the ministry could not move by itself to try and combat the alleged corruption within it.

“I’ve submitted cases to police and raised issues with the cabinet, so it’s time everyone understands what I was trying to say back in 2008 and 2009. Now I’m very happy that the MNDF has come to my office and they are doing the work that I have tried to do. I do see some good things in it.”

With three years of concerns over the ministry’s role in assigning and regulating work visas to foreign workers, Latheef claimed that the ministry would now need to demonstrate a significant and visible change in policy to restore confidence in its operations.

Among these changes, the minister claimed, would be new software systems and database management software implemented in conjunction with the National Centre for Information Technology (NCIT) and the MNDF, as well as tighter legislation.

Through this proposed legislation, which Latheef said had begun to be put into force from the middle of this month, the government is said to be hoping to provide a much more comprehensive system for dealing with expatriate workers along with new IT systems designed to reduce discrepancies in visa numbers.

“Discretionary powers”

With large sums of money involved in the national trade in human trafficking, Latheef claimed it was vital to move away from a system of allowing individuals wide-spread discretionary powers to approve or disapprove visa applications.

“The previous regulations we have had allows a lot of discretionary powers for the directors and assistant directors who are sitting in the ministries, giving them the right to reject or issue quotas,” he said. “It is not an oversight – it is a deliberate work of the previous government I should say.”

Amidst additional challenges said to be facing the government, Latheef said that streamlining communication and collaboration between different ministries had been a significant issue since the government of President Mohamed Nasheed had been voted into power in 2008.

Earlier this week, Immigration Controller Abdulla Shahid told Minivan News that the relationship between the Human Resources Ministry and the Immigration Department prior to the MNDF’s intervention had been “strained”, and that there was no shared IT system linking the records of both.

In addressing the claims, Latheef said that he believed that the appointment in February of Abdulla Shahid to the post of immigration controller had already led to changes in inter-departmental policy concerning visa allowances.

“Especially with the former controller [Ilyas Hussein Ibrahim], it was not easy to hold discussions on any matter. I’m not criticising his policies or administrative capacity. But as politicians, we should be able to sit down and discuss anything we want to and try and find a comfortable solution – especially when we are in the same government,” he said. “Now it is very much easier for me. Even today I had a meeting with the controller [Shahid] and the defense minister discussing this [visa] issue.”

The human resources minister claimed that distrust in the past between his own office and the Department of Immigration had perhaps prevented important information being shared between the two bodies.

“For instance, the Immigration Department would not share with us the information on issues of working visas because of mistrust they had – and vice versa. With these new developments, all this information could be viewed by a lot more government agencies,” he said. “I’m not sure on this, as we are still discussing the matter, but the police should be a party that are able to see and view all our data from the ministry. If we issue a work permit to anyone, there should be other agencies in the government who should be able to view this from their computers. It’s always a check when someone else is watching you.”

Ultimately, Latheef said that he believed cabinet ministers had to show more trust in their own judgments on key policy issues, rather than relying wholeheartedly on civil servants from within their departments.

While claiming that he was not aware of anyone within his ministry who was deliberately trying to undermine the government, Latheef said that he was concerned some politicians were relying too much on civil servants who had held their positions for almost two decades.

“I’m not aware of anyone who is deliberately following an agenda of the previous government in this ministry, but knowingly or unknowingly, some people tend to work in alliance with [them],” he said. “In other words, sometimes they forget the government has changed and that it is a new bunch of people running the country now, with a very different manifesto and manner of administration and its time they understand that. That has been there, even in this ministry.”

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Parliament deadlocks over control of influential committees

Parliament has deadlocked as the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) grapple for control of parliament’s most powerful and influential committees.

Parliamentary regulation dictates that composition of committees such as the 241 ‘National Security’ and Finance Committees is determined based on party representation, which has shifted following the recent defection of three opposition MPs to the ruling party.

One of these former opposition MPs, Ali Waheed, chairs the National Security Committee.

In a bid to head off MDP control of the committees, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Party Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali was meeting with Jumhoree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim to discuss a potential coalition agreement, DRP MP Ahmed Nihan confirmed.

Of parliament’s 12 committees the MDP control five seats, the DRP 4, while the rest were chaired by Independents, Nihan said.

While agreeing that greater representation entitled the MDP to greater committee presence, “there are certain circumstances it which committees concerned with public accountability, finance and national security should [be held] by the opposition,” he said.

The cancellation of sessions this week due to the deadlock not only delaying the passing of many important bills, he said, but “also compromising the work of my own committee on social services. We are working on a Right to Information Bill with stakeholders and experts from all over the world.”

DRP Deputy Leader Ibrahim Shareef said the MDP’s bid for control of the committees was “a real matter of concern”, and also claimed that oversight committees in many other countries, such as the UK and India, were headed by opposition figures.

He acknowledged that the DRP was in discussions with other opposition-aligned parties regarding the forming of a coalition. The party is already formally allied with the People’s Alliance (PA) and the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), but not yet Gasim’s Jumhoree Party.

“We are in discussion,” he said. The party was, he said, “open to everything”, and acknowledged that a formal coalition agreement with the Jumhoree Party would strengthen the party regardless of the factional battle current waging between Thasmeen and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s ‘Z-DRP’.

“There are many positions on which we agree. Gasim was once deputy leader of the DRP and his political and ideology remain similar,” Shareef said.

The MDP’s play for the committees comes as the party is seeking to pass a number of bills it regards as critical for the country’s future prosperity, notably a package of economic and taxation reforms it has pledged to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). If debate over the bills erupt, their fate is likely to be decided by the Finance Committee, which in 2009 increased state budget expenditure by 20 percent.

“We do not oppose modernising and reforming the tax system, but it is a concern when government expenditure is 55 percent of GDP and the government is not doing enough to bring that down,” Shareef said.

The government’s proposed income tax only targets people earning more than Rf 30,000 a month – “taxing the rich is not a problem,” Shareef said – but many such earners include landlords, he noted.

“Rents will just go up, and this will have an adverse effect on people who can least afford it,” he said. “Taxation would be a huge drain, particularly for people already paying high rents in Male’.”

MDP Parliamentary Group Leader and MP Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, MP Eva Abdulla, MP Ahmed Hamza and MDP Spokesperson Ahmed Haleem were not responding at time of press.

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Gaza flotilla begins controversial journey despite sabotage allegations and UN concerns

A flotilla of ships hoping to breach an Israeli naval blockade to deliver cargo they claim contains vital aid and support for Palestinian territories has begun its journey from the Mediterranean Sea this week.

The commencement of the flotilla’s journey comes just over a year after several members of a similar fleet of vessels were killed and injured after clashes with Israel’s military last year.

The Al Jazeera news agency reported yesterday that despite Israeli claims that latest the ten vessel “Freedom Flotilla II” was a “dangerous provocation” by organisers that would be intercepted accordingly, ships were now making their journey to the city of Gaza amidst alleged attempts to apparently sabotage individual vessels such as the Swedish ship Juliano in Greek waters.

Israel’s attempts to block the flotilla, which military officials have told media reflects fears that the ships could be used to smuggle weapons into Palestine, has proved to be increasingly controversial topic in international diplomacy.

While Israel was condemned by numerous states over its suppression of a similar fleet in 2010, the UN has called on flotilla organisers to cancel their plans, requesting for a focus instead on using legitimate channels to supply aid to the country. The organisation has additionally called for more direct action from Israel to cut restrictions it has imposed on Gaza.

The Maldives was amongst the nations that were openly critical of the Israeli military response last year to the original “Freedom Flotilla” that reportedly led to nine people being killed aboard the MV Mavi Marmara vessel during an assault in international waters. An estimated 60 activists and 10 Israeli soldiers were also injured in the scuffles that the Maldives’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned “in the strongest possible terms”.

Israeli fears

Reporting today for the Washington Post, Joel Greenberg wrote that Israeli officials were believed to have stepped up the intensity of their attempts to discredit the organisers of the latest flotilla with claims that the ships’ crews were openly waiting to attack any troops working to intercept their vessels.

“On Tuesday, Israeli newspapers were filled with reports from unnamed military officials, charging that sacks of chemicals, including sulfur, had been loaded onto flotilla vessels with the aim of using the materials against Israeli soldiers,” Greenberg wrote in the paper.

The report claimed that some sections of local media were using headlines such as “Coming to Kill” alongside pictures of some of the vessels in the Flotilla in their coverage.

To counteract these fears, military officials have pledged to prevent the flotilla’s vessels from reaching Gaza and not ruled out the use of unspecified “force” in their aims.

Certain high profile figures believed to be aboard the flotilla have continued to stress that they are planning the trip as a non-violent protest against foreign policy pursued by Israeli forces.  Last week, the UK-based Guardian newspaper published an interview with American writer Alice Walker, who claimed that she would be taking part in the flotilla as a passenger on the vessel, the Audacity of Hope, to deliver letters of goodwill to the people of Gaza. Israeli opposition to the ships, which Walker claimed was effectively the equivalent of attacking a mailman, would be an act that would be recorded “hilariously” in history.

“Why am I going on the Freedom Flotilla II to Gaza? I ask myself this, even though the answer is: what else would I do? I am in my 67th year, having lived already a long and fruitful life, one with which I am content,” she wrote. “It seems to me that during this period of eldering it is good to reap the harvest of one’s understanding of what is important, and to share this, especially with the young. How are they to learn, otherwise?”

However, in the realms of international diplomacy, support for the flotilla has proved to be much more of a dilemma.

Diplomatic dilemmas

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last month raised concerns about plans for a second “Freedom Flotilla” to sail to Gaza asking numerous governments based around the Mediterranean Sea to avoid encouraging the provision of aid through the flotilla. Ban claimed that Israel was being urged to end its closure of Gaza, with legitimate crossings to the country needed to ensure civilians in the strip were adequately supplied.

“The Secretary-General reiterated that, while he believed that flotillas were not helpful in resolving the basic economic problems in Gaza, the situation there remains unsustainable,” the UN said in a statement.

The international organisation has itself established a separate panel of inquiry that it has said was designed to look at the conduct of Israel’€™s military in response to the flotilla sailing to Gaza last year. The working period for the group was extended earlier this year after its four members decided more time was needed to reach an outcome.

Isreal’s blockade of Palestinian territories was imposed back in 2007 over security fears at the democratic election of a government consisting of members of the Hamas group, which do not recognize the country’s right to exist. Both Hamas and the Fatah movement it ousted are now said to have agreed to form a unified government ahead of fresh elections, according to the UN.

Last year, the UN secretary general openly criticized the legality of Israel’s blockade of Palestinian borders asking for a cessation to the policy, despite the country making amendments allowing foodstuffs and certain other civilian goods to pass. Ban reportedly lambasted the Israeli policy of closure as “wrong” as well as being unsustainable whilst talking to international media during a visit to Palestinian territory last March.

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Maldives remains on US State Department’s human trafficking watch list for second year

The Maldives remains on the US State Department’s Tier 2 Watch List for human trafficking, a list signifying an increasing number of victims and little evidence of increased efforts to tackle the problem.

The report comes days after the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) was called to temporarily take over the front line work of the Immigration Department and Human Resources Ministry pending an investigation into corruption and falsification of work permits.

Migrant workers from Bangladesh and to a lesser extent, India, are being subjected to forced labour in the Maldives, primarily in the construction and service sectors, while women and girls are also being subjected to sex trafficking, the report said.

An unknown number of the up to 110,000 foreign workers in the country – a third of the population – “face conditions indicative of forced labor: fraudulent recruitment practices, confiscation of identity and travel documents, withholding or nonpayment of wages, or debt bondage,” the report noted, adding that 30,000 workers had no legal status in the country.

Bangladeshi nationals were especially vulnerable to labour trafficking, the report stated, citing “diplomatic sources” as claiming that half the Bangladeshi workers in the country had arrived illegally, having paid between US$1000 and US$4000 in ‘recruitment fees’.

“In addition to Bangladeshis and Indians, some migrants from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Nepal reportedly experienced recruitment fraud before arriving in the Maldives,” the report noted.

“Trafficking offenders in the Maldives usually fall into three groups: families that subject domestic servants to forced labor; employment agents who bring low-skilled migrant workers to the Maldives under false terms of employment and upon payment of high fees for purposes of forced labor; and employers who subject the migrants to conditions of forced labor upon arrival,” the report revealed.

The State Department reiterated claims from the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) that female migrant workers were also being trapped by employers who were using threats and intimidation to prevent them from leaving.

More commonly, “Recruitment agents collude with employers and agents in the Maldives to facilitate fraudulent recruitment and forced labor of migrant workers.”

Domestic trafficking was also observed, whereby “some underage Maldivian children are transported to Male’ from other islands for forced domestic service, and a small number sexually abused by the families with whom they stayed. This is a corruption of the widely acknowledged practice where families send Maldivian children to live with a host family in Male for educational purposes.”

The US State Department’s report was critical of the Maldives for human trafficking enforcement in the country over the reporting period, and noted that it had not investigated or prosecuted any trafficking-related offences despite the scale of the problem.

“The government did not investigate or prosecute any labor trafficking cases, but is reportedly investigating two child prostitution cases,” it noted.

It was especially critical of the government’s treatment of those found to be victims of trafficking: “The Maldivian government did not ensure that victims of trafficking received access to necessary assistance during the reporting period. The government did not develop or implement formal procedures for proactively identifying victims, and did not identify any specific cases of trafficking. The Maldives did not provide access to services such as shelter, counseling, medical care, or legal aid to foreign or Maldivian victims of trafficking. The government did not conduct any anti-trafficking or educational campaigns, nor did it take any measures to reduce demand for forced labor within the country.”

The report noted that the Maldives’ general policy for dealing with trafficking victims “was to deport them.”

“Authorities did not encourage victims to participate in the investigation or prosecution of trafficking offenders. Due to a lack of comprehensive victim identification procedures, the Maldives may not have ensured that expatriates subjected to forced labor and prostitution were not inappropriately incarcerated, fined, or otherwise penalised for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked.”

The report also observed that while the Maldivian Constitution outlawed forced labour and slavery, a person legally married to a minor was exempt from the heavy penalties of the Child Sexual Abuse Act passed in 2009, and that “none of the offences specified in the legislation, including child prostitution, would be considered a crime.”

Positives

The report did highlight the ratification by cabinet by a Human Trafficking Plan in February 2011, but observed that this had no law enforcement component, and failed to distinguish people smuggling from trafficking.

Furthermore, a blacklist of 16 employment agencies and private companies by the Labour Relations Authority (LRA) showed no sign of being enforce.

A “rapid assessment” on human trafficking commissioned by HRCM in 2010 had not been finalised, the State Department report observed.

The report urged the government to develop procedures whereby government officials could identify victims of trafficking, and provide them with access to services for victims – particularly translators. It also urged greater efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking offences.

The final recommendation was “take steps to ensure that employers and labor brokers are not abusing labor recruitment or sponsorship processes in order to subject migrant workers to forced labor” – one that appears to have been preempted by this week’s corruption probe of Immigration Department and Human Resources Ministry.

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Parliament cancelled over fight for control of committees

Tomorrow’s sitting of parliament has been cancelled to allow political parties to resolve a protracted dispute over the composition of standing committees, following the defection of two opposition MPs to the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) several weeks ago.

After adjourning today’s sitting twice to continue discussions with parliamentary group leaders, Speaker Abdulla Shahid announced the cancelation of both today and Wednesday’s sittings shortly after 1:00pm to grant an additional day for the parties to reach a compromise.

If the talks were to end unsuccessfully, said Shahid, the matter would be brought to the floor for a final decision when parliament sittings resume on Monday.

Parliamentary committees, which reviews approved legislation and exercises oversight over the executive and independent institutions, have not been functioning since the beginning of the current session.

The dispute has centred on which party would control voting majorities of powerful committees such as the ‘241’ (National Security) Committee, Economics Committee and Public Accounts Committees (PAC), all of which are presently chaired by opposition MPs.

Under article 170 of the Majlis rules of procedure that stipulates proportional representation, MDP are assured five out of 11 seats in the committees (45 percent) and four for DRP-PA (39 percent) while the two remaining slots must be filled by either Independents or MPs of minority opposition parties Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) and Jumhooree Party (JP).

Eight Independent MPs and four minority opposition MPs together account for 16 percent, posing a dilemma in dividing two seats among them.

At a press conference yesterday, MP Ibrahim ‘Ibu’ Mohamed Solih, newly-elected parliamentary group leader of the MDP, explained that the ruling party’s share of parliament (up from 39 percent to 45 percent) should be reflected in the committees.

The MDP MP for Hinnavaru revealed that the party was ready to accept a compromise of “six committees for us and the other six to the DRP-PA (Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party-People’s Alliance coalition),” adding that MDP was willing to leave the position of deputy chair of MDP-majority committees to the DRP-PA.

DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali meanwhile told newspaper Haveeru that the opposition would require half the seats of the Security Services Committee and the PAC in particular.

The embattled opposition leader argued that the opposition could not hold the government accountable should it lose control of committees designed to watch over executive functions, suggesting that the talks had stalled over this point of contention.

Thasmeen said that the crux of the problem was the fact that neither the MDP nor opposition parties controlled a clear majority of 39 seats in parliament.

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Military mans immigration during departmental and ministerial corruption probe

Immigration Controller Abdulla Shahid has confirmed that corruption of the work permit system is a major focus of an ongoing investigation into the Immigration Department and Human Resources Ministry.

Front-line staff at both immigration and the area of the ministry handling employment have been sent home, and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has taken over their duties.

President Mohamed Nasheed has said the police investigation – which has already resulted in several arrests of suspected traffickers – is expected to take two weeks. Afterwards, staff will be invited to return to work, the President’s Office said in a statement.

Shahid told Minivan News today that people had been found to be attempting to enter the country with falsified permits.

“We believe we have 40,000 illegal immigrants, and we know two departments are involved: Immigration and the Human Resources Ministry,” he said.

“Something has gone wrong in one of these departments, and we are going to find out what it is.”

The Immigration Department’s records for expatriates working in the country show 21,000 people unaccounted for in records held by the Human Resources Ministry, he said, a discrepancy representing six percent of the country’s entire population.

Shahid acknowledged that the relationship between the Human Resources Ministry and the Immigration Department prior to the MNDF’s intervention had been “strained”, and that there was no shared IT system linking the records of both.

“We know there are a lot of loopholes and minor things that have been overlooked,” he said. “For example, 10 days ago an immigration officer was arrested after collecting a deposit which disappeared from the system the next day.”

Shahid said he expected the police investigation would discover “a lot of things.” A report will be presented to the President on conclusion of the two weeks.

The investigation, he said, was a very time-consuming task “involving a lot of data.” In the mean time, he acknowledged there had been some delays at the airport and “hiccups” as the MNDF took over immigration duties.

“We did some orientation for them, but this is not a permanent situation,” he emphasised.

Shahid dismissed the idea that tourists arriving at the airport would be intimidated by the sight of the military.

“They work uniforms of the MNDF are very similar to the immigration uniforms,” he said.

Nexbis upgrade

The government last year signed a contract with mobile security technology vendor Nexbis whereby the immigration system would be upgraded to include biometric identification of work visa applicants, reducing the reliance on potentially-forged documentation.

The upgrade was stalled when the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) expressed concerns about the deal. Cabinet has since requested the Immigration Department review the project, and if necessary, renegotiate.

“We will enter negotiations soon – we can’t agree with the figures [in the contract],” Shahid said. “The ACC has from the very beginning said it is wrong.”

“The contract says we will charge arriving and departing passengers US$2 – this year we expect a million foreigners, so that is US$4 million. Then for every work permit card we issue we pay Nexbis US$15 – currently we charge Rf50 (US$4). At present rates of arrival that US$5.5 million per year.

“The Nexbis contract is a 20 year contract – which means the total cost to the country at present-day arrivals is US$110 million. If you calculate the increased percentage of arrivals over the 20 years, it’s more like US$200 million.”

Such a deal was, Shahid said, “The worst possible thing we could do to border control. Sri Lanka’s system cost US$2.2 million to install and develop. We could get a luxury system [installed] for US$4 million. Why should the Maldivian government spend US$200 million over 20 years, when it’s highly unusual for an IT contract to last more than five? I will never agree to this – the contract should never have been signed.”

The ACC had “a lot of grounds” to investigate the deal, he suggested, adding that as the project involved imposing a tax, approval was also required from parliament prior to signing.

Nexbis shares fell 6.3 percent on the back of the ACC’s original announcement. The company subsequently issued a statement claiming that speculation over corruption was “politically motivated” and had “wrought irreparable damage to Nexbis’ reputation and brand name”, and revealed its intention to take legal action.

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Letter on lack of child care facilities

I totally agree on the importance of women’s contribution to our economy and our job market.

So, let me share my experience. I have noticed that the practiced rules and procedures for employees do not encourage women to work.

If one looks at a working woman who requires no-pay leave for a short intensive course, leaving behind her young child with an expatriate baby-sitter, it’s not a difficult thing. But if a woman requests no-pay leave due to a problem with her child – for instance, if it is suffering from being severely underweight and no one is available at home to take care of the child, she has no choice other than to resign from her job. This means the existing rules and procedures for employees are encouraging the importing of a baby-sitter for each and every woman working in this country.

I think this is a serious issue that has to be addressed without any delay. Why has a concept like day care centres not been set up? I have noticed there is a Hulhumale’ ferry service for those living in Hulhumale’ to go to Male’ for their work. Also there is now a bus service between Hulhumale’ jetty and various locations of Hulhumale’.

I take interest in the issues, hidden and untold, and I thought I would try to bring this important issue to all concerned to comment on.

Regards

Mohamed Saeed

All letters are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write a letter, please submit it to [email protected]

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Climate change and “practical” development among talking points as Gayoom visits Bangladesh

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has called on members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to be more realistic in their aims for collaborative development during a visit to Bangladesh this week.

Gayoom, who was invited to the country by the University of Science and Technology of Chittagong (USTC) to attend a convocation scheduled for tomorrow (June 29), was reported to have asked SAARC leaders to be “practical” and outline more achievable developments in the region, according to the local Daily Star newspaper.

While unaware of the exact purpose of Gayoom’s visit, which has included meeting Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, parliamentary supporters of the former president claimed that the apparent statesman-like nature of his comments did not signify a return to active politics beyond attempts to try and settle divides within the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) that he helped found.

Outside of the domestic political sphere, the 73-year old former head of state has this week been speaking to local media about his own concerns on the importance of addressing issues like climate change and higher education, along with outlining what he perceives as the main challenges facing SAARC nations.

Gayoom said he believed that technical limitations and issues of resources had set SAARC members back in the “very high goals” set by each nation, though he said he believed the organisation had not failed in its plans and had great potential – particularly from regional enterprise.

“There must be more cooperation among the private sector of the SAARC countries,” the Daily Star quoted him as saying.

A spokesperson for President Mohamed Nasheed, who in 2008 successfully unseated Gayoom after 30 years in power during the country’s first ever democratic general elections, was not available for comment at the time of going to press on the visit.

Gayoom retired from active politics in early 2010, appointing  MP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali as leader of the country’s main opposition party.

The former president remains a divisive figure in Maldivian life and politics following 30 years of autocratic rule that has inspired fierce support and criticism in equal measure depending  on individual political persuasion in the country.

However, MP DRP Ahmed Mahlouf, who along with Gayoom has been linked to the factional Z-DRP movement that now opposes incumbent party leader Thasmeen, said the former president remained a popular figure among SAARC member states for his work in the field of regional development.

“He has done a lot for the region and I wouldn’t be surprised if SAARC leaders praise him for his efforts,” he said.

Despite his reputation, Mahlouf said that the visit to Bangladesh should not be seen as an indication that Gayoom would run for president in 2013, adding that the former president had shown no interest to change his mind on retiring from front line politics.

“[Gayoom] has not really been commenting much on the current government despite concerns he has.  Right now he is working to try his best and solve disputes within the DRP, something Thasmeen is trying to prevent,” he claimed.

“I would like to see him form a new party under his own image.”

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Parliament accepts Police Integrity Commission Act for vote

The parliament today accepted the Police Integrity Commission Act presented by People’s Alliance (PA) MP Abdu-Raheem Abdulla, with the objective of making the Police Integrity Commission an independent body.

Out of the 67 MPs present, 36 MPs voted to accept the bill for preliminary debate and decide whether or not to pass it into law.

According to the bill, members of political parties or political activists would be banned from being member of the commissions.

The father, mother, son, daughter, wife or husband of a police officer would also be blocked from being a member of the commission, according to the bill.

Appointing members to the commission would be parliament’s responsibility, and a member of the commission could be dismissed if a parliament majority found that person incompetent or incapable.

The President of the Commission also will be determined by the parliament in a sitting by popular vote.

The PIC currently operates under the Police Act, and the Commissioner appointed by the President.

According to the bill, it would be prohibited for the PIC to disclose any information a commission member receives in an investigation unless for the investigative purposes of a lawful body.

Parliament’s finance committee is responsible for determining the wages and allowances of the commission members, the bill states.

The police are obliged to inform the commission within 24 hours if anyone dies, attempts suicide or is seriously injured while under police charge, according to the Integrity Commission Act.

The bill also rescinds all articles concerning the Police Integrity Commission from the Police Act.

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