Category: Politics

Foreign reserve US$250 million on Gayoom’s departure, Mundhu tells Asian Tribune

Spokesperson for former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Mohamed Hussein ‘Mundhu’ Shareef, has been quoted in the Asian Tribune as saying that the Maldives had a foreign reserve of US$250 million when the former President left office.

“When the IMF recommended cutting down on public servants, President Nasheed went ahead with slashing the number of civil servants. At the same time Nasheed continued appointing endless political appointees and state ministers. If Nasheed thinks it will be all hunky dory in three months time just because he implemented a managed float of the rufiyaa, he is mistaken. He does not understand the dynamics of economics,” Mundhu told journalist Poorna Rodrigoo.

He blamed the dollar shortage on “businessmen holding large amounts of money abroad”, and noted that the economic uncertainty had led to “many Sri Lankan businessmen having second thoughts over investing here and Lanka appears a better investment than the Maldives for foreign investors.”

Ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ilyas Labeeb, on parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, meanwhile recently contested that figures from the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) showed that US$104.6 million was transferred out of the Maldives in 2008, the year of the election, compared to US$30-40 million in 2005-2007.

“Most dollar transfers made overseas was done during the period between October-November 2008. It was between the time that [Gayoom] faced defeat in the presidential election and the time that President Nasheed took the oath of office,” Ilyas said at an MDP rally earlier this month, according to newspaper Haveeru.

Opposition split

Speaking on the internal split currently troubling the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Mundhu said that while leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali retained “legal authority”, Gayoom, the party’s ‘Honorary Leader’, still retained the party’s “moral authority” and majority support.

“Of the DRP’s 32 member council, Thasmeen has the support of 18 members and he controls party’s disciplinary arm too. So there is no doubt that as the leader he has the party’s legal authority. But it is former Leader Gayoom who commands the moral authority of the party and the majority support of nearly 46,000 party membership. If one happen to see the number of supporters attending Thasmeen’s rallies and Gayoom’s rallies, it is easy to assess who has the greater support,” Mundhu was reported as saying.

“Above all, Thasmeen is presently in a financial crisis personally and that has made matters worse for him. As of now we will stay in the party and will do our best to change the leadership.”

The Gayoom faction is pinning much hope on the 2012 congress to change the party charter and hold primaries to elect a new presidential candidate.

On whether Gayoom’s faction in the DRP would create a new party, Mundhu said: “We worked hard and formed the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party. It has taken lot of our time and energy. We gave our lives to the party. We are the real DRP. We do not want to let go of it. Why should we leave the DRP. Also it is a administratively a nightmare to form a new party in the Maldives given the fact that it involves lot of traveling to each and every island. It is a landlocked country and we do not have resources to do that.”

Read the full interview

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

MPs baulk at publicly declaring assets

Parliament yesterday reached an impasse on making MPs’ annual financial statements public after voting against a proposal put forward by the Ethics Committee.

According to Article 76 of the constitution, “Every member shall annually submit to the Secretary General of the People’s Majlis a statement of all property and monies owned by him, business interests and liabilities. Such declarations shall include the details of any other employment and obligations of such employment.”

Tasked by Secretary General Ahmed Mohamed in November 2010 to determine whether MPs’ financial statements should be released to other state institutions upon request, a majority of the 11-member Ethics Committee decided that the information should not be made available unless ordered by a court of law.

In a frenzied debate after the committee presented its report to the floor, MPs were however divided over the need for a public declaration of assets.

While several MPs argued that such sensitive information about MPs’ personal lives should not be made public at a time when “defamation and slander about MPs” were widespread in the media, others contended that the constitutional provision did not give MPs a choice in the matter.

“Some MPs have said the constitution does not say anything about making [the statements] public. The constitution doesn’t say that it should be released only if ordered by a court either, but that’s what we’re trying to do, and it is not acceptable,” argued MP Mohamed Thoriq of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), adding that the information should be published on the Majlis website and accessible to all citizens.

Hamdhoon Abdulla Hameed of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) urged MPs to consider that “if this information is not revealed or made public at all, the pointed fingers will be pointing towards all of us.”

Backing the committee recommendation, Minority Leader “Reeko” Moosa Manik said that while he agreed with the constitutional principle of publicly declaring assets and wealth, it was not advisable in “today’s political atmosphere.”

The MDP parliamentary group leader remains embroiled in an acrimonious feud with private broadcaster DhiTV, owned by business magnate “Champa” Mohamed Moosa.

Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) MP Riyaz Rasheed concurred with Moosa, claiming that parliament should be concerned about concerted efforts by some media outlets to “disgrace and humilate MPs.”

“This is not being done by DhiTV’s owner or its management, we know that now” he said. “But previously we believed that it was planned and carried out by the management there. But that is not the case.”

Echoing a claim made by several MPs in past weeks, Riyaz alleged that unsuccessful candidates for parliament and their family members or associates were behind hostile media coverage of parliament.

“In truth, when the financial status of MPs is made known, some MPs will be worried and others will embarrassed,” said minority opposition People’s Alliance (PA) MP Abdul Azeez Jamal Abubakur.

“That is, those who have a lot of money might be very worried and those who do not will be embarrassed. Therefore, at a time when our status is being revealed in the media, I don’t accept at all that these facts should be available to just anyone.”

Independent MP Mohamed Nasheed meanwhile argued that MPs should not shirk from their constitutional responsibilities by blaming the media. “We will answer in the media to the things said in the media,” he said.

Impasse

At the end of the debate, the committee’s recommendation that financial statements should be released only if ordered by a court of law was put to a vote.

While the committee’s proposal was defeated 34 to 25, a motion proposed by Independent MP Ahmed Amir stating that financial statements should not be made public unless it was required for an investigation by a state institution did not pass either.

The MP for Kudahuvadhoo’s motion received 20 votes in favour and 38 votes against.

Since neither proposal was accepted, Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim declared the matter “void”.

“However, the Secretary General’s request for counsel on this matter has not been decided one way or the other,” he said. “So the Secretary General will go ahead with it according to the rules of procedure.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Parliament cancelled over ‘lack of work’

Today’s main parliamentary session was cancelled the basis of there being no work on its agenda.

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Dr Abdulla Mausoom has meanwhile claimed that the Majlis was nonetheless “on track” with its legislative duties and was being unfairly criticised for a perceived spike in gang violence across the country.

Speaking to Minivan News, Dr Mausoom claimed that despite the cancelation of a scheduled meeting in the Majlis’ main chamber today, committee work was still continuing in the parliament, which he believed was playing its part in pushing legislation to allow law enforcement officials to deal with violent crimes, despite certain “public perceptions” to the contrary. The opposition party MP claimed that parliament was stepping up its workload to ensure the government, as the country’s executive branch, had the right powers and capabilities to uphold the law.

While alleging that current statistics indicated that there were an estimated 460 people on the country’s streets who should be held in custody over their suspected involvement in criminal activity, Mausoom said he believed that national media had incorrectly created an impression that potential parliamentary failings were solely responsible.

“There are people who have been sentenced [for criminal behaviour] that are currently out on the street. There is a public perception that a lack of legislation has led to this,” he said. “The media perception is that more legislation is needed to do their work and that they have to be detained somehow. However, I do not think this is the case.”

Mausoom said that the formation by the president of a National Crime Prevention Committee and the passing during the current parliamentary session of a number of bills, such as measures to punish individuals carrying items that can be used as weapons, served to highlight that the Majlis was working to try and deal with public concerns about gang violence and other major crimes.

“MPs and opposition parties have made agreements to try and work together to ensure major bills are passed quickly,” he said. “Two of the bills currently in the Majlis relate to criminal process and witness protection, but these will take time as they are very technical.”

Mausoom added that he understood possible frustrations from the public that parliament’s main session had been cancelled and would not reconvene till next week after Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim said that certain MPs wishing to present bills to the floor were unavailable to do so today.

However, Mausoom claimed that “public perceptions” about the cancellation of today’s main session and wider concerns that MPs may not be acting professionally were failing to address wider societal problems concerning crime that he believed represented a failure of the government to deal with the issue.

“The Majlis is not the executive [governing] branch, we are the legislative branch,” he said. “My question to the government would be; what is the missing piece of legislation that is preventing you from doing your jobs and protecting people?”

Mausoom’s comment come after parliamentary speaker and fellow DRP MP Abdulla Shahid told Minivan News last month that he believed that while the Majlis had become much more productive in the number of bills and legislation it was passing, the institution had still failed to live up to public expectations.

“The three branches of government are trying to deal with a situation where, as in any transition, the expectations of the public are at a very high level. When you have a new democracy come in, citizens will be wanting things to change overnight. [These expectations] have been seen in many countries,” the speaker said at the time. “The challenges that we have here – with the judiciary and parliament – are not because we are unable to perform, but that we are unable to perform to the expectations of the people.”

Shahid accepted that subjects such as outlining a clear and clarified penal code, as well as an Evidence Bill to support judicial reform and policing, were vital areas needed to be addressed by MPs, with partisan behaviour between rival parties within the Majlis creating the impression that there was no interest in having such bills passed.

In order to facilitate a faster moving reform of criminal legislation, Shahid claimed that talks had been opened during March between the various political stakeholders required to finalise any agreements.

“I met with party leaders and also the chair of all the committees yesterday (March 30). There is the general desire amongst the leadership to find ways of increasing the productivity rate of the house. We feel even though we continue to do work ahead of what any other parliament had done, still we are far behind in meeting the public’s expectations,” he added.  “The reality is that we need to meet these public expectations. The committee chairs have given me an agreement that they will try and finds ways of fast tracking many of the bills, while political parties supplied an agreement that on issues on which they may disagree, they will endeavour to deal with the technical and more mundane bills faster.”

Aside from MPs working along partisan lines, Shahid said that the issue of language was another significant challenge for members to overcome – especially in translating very technical proposals relating to legal definitions into Dhivehi from other languages.

While other Commonwealth countries were able to take existing legislation and adapt the document accordingly, the Speaker took the example of the Penal Code. In its original English draft, put together by Professor Paul Robinson at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, the code was said to have perfect sense, yet the Speaker said it did not translate directly into the Dhivehi language.

The speaker’s comments were generally shared by certain local NGOs like Transparency Maldives, which claimed that it believed parliament was additionally failing to meet its responsibilities as set out in the national constitution.

Aiman Rasheed, Projects Coordinator for Transparency Maldives, told Minivan News earlier this month that although it accepted that there had been improvements within the effectiveness of the Majlis concerning the amount of legislation passed, the NGO was concerned that parliament had failed to work independently and pass vital bills such as a national Penal Code.

“Shahid is right when he says that parliament has failed to meet public expectations,” he claimed at the time. “It is not just in meeting public expectations that the Majlis has failed in, but constitutional expectations as well.”

Rasheed said that although parliament was holding the president and the executive accountable for their actions, he believed that there was a failure to review legislation in terms of financial and political impacts before it was being passed from parliamentary committees back to the Majlis.

Rasheed said that the NGO had spoken with 15 MPs from across a number of political parties including the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and the DRP as part of a project called Parliament Watch designed to try and put a spotlight on governance and political decision making. From these discussions, Rasheed claimed that the NGO had uncovered a wide consensus of concerns over parliament’s ability to review and research the legislative process.

“All the parliamentarians that we have spoken to said that they believed that the current set up is not sufficient for parliament to meet its constitutional requirements,” he said. “There is no proper system of review mechanisms [within parliament].”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

War of words escalate between rival opposition factions

Main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Abdulla Abdul Raheem has accused coalition partner People’s Alliance (PA) Leader Abdulla Yameen of “trying to destroy the DRP”, claiming that his opposition to the government is motivated by a desire to conceal an alleged illegal oil trade worth US$800 million.

At a DRP Galolhu centre opening on Monday night that saw the war of words escalate between the rival opposition factions, the DRP MP for Maafanu West called on Yameen to swear off claiming to hold the government responsible, because “you are more ruthless and a much bigger thief than that.”

“I will dare to say this, you are a much more ruthless and Jewish person,” he continued. “Don’t come in front of us again and say ‘hold the government accountable,’ we know that behind those devious plans lies the matter of that illegal oil trade.”

DRP Deputy Leader Ali Waheed meanwhile told supporters that they “should not run around forever considering any of our political leaders a god.”

“We don’t believe in a tribe, we believe in principle,” said Waheed, adding that origins or family descent did not matter in “today’s political reality”.

The DRP MP for Thoddoo went on to say that people came out to vote in appreciation of Gayoom’s contribution to the nation, “but it does not mean that [Gayoom] should come back, or that you should endorse your brother [Abdulla Yameen].”

In an appearance on private broadcaster Villa TV this week, Yameen defended his party against complaints of PA using the DRP’s name to organise rallies to promote his bid for the presidency.

“If by holding rallies there, Yameen is being promoted, if they accept that reality, then Thasmeen is free to hold rallies every night,” he suggested.

DRP Secretary General Abdul Rasheed Nafiz told press on Monday that the party has officially requested the Maldives Police Service, Male’ City Council and the Elections Commission (EC) to disallow activities held without official approval.

The move comes after the Gayoom faction organised a rally Saturday night in defiance of a council resolution requiring authorisation before using the party’s logo or seal.

Nafiz warned that the party would have to take the matter to court if the authorities proved unable to resolve the dispute.

In a statement from ‘Honorary Leader’ Maumoon Abdul Gayoom read out at the rally, the former President called on the DRP council – which the ‘Gayoom faction’ has boycotted in protest of Thasmeen’s “dictatorial” leadership – to retract its decision to recommend MPs Ahmed Mahlouf, Ahmed Ilham and Gayoom’s lawyer Mohamed Waheed for disciplinary action.

Faced with similar charges that saw Deputy Leader Umar Naseer dismissed in December, Ilham however contends that “a Deputy Leader can be dismissed only if a third of the party’s congress votes to dismiss him.”

At the ‘Thasmeen faction’ rally, Waheed, one of four Deputy Leaders elected at DRP’s third congress last year, derided his former colleagues claiming that “not even ten people in our rival faction’s front rank possess A’ Level certificates, how can they run the country?”

Spilling over

Meanwhile at Monday’s parliament sitting, MPs of the rival factions exchanged heated words and accusations during the debate on an amendment to the Clemency Act.

DRP MP for Mid-Henveiru Ali Azim accused PA MPs of “using another party’s name and its flag” to hold rallies to attack and undermine the DRP leadership.

Azim was cut off by Deputy Speaker Nazim – presiding over the sitting in the absence of Speaker Abdulla Shahid – who advised the MP to stick to the topic.

Picking up where Azim left off, Ali Waheed raised the issue of appointing a new Auditor General, a post that has remained vacant for a year.

“Are you afraid [to appoint an Auditor General]? What are you afraid of?” Waheed asked the PA Deputy Leader. “Shouldn’t you appoint one [by now] if you’re not afraid of the US$800 million oil and the flags?”

In March 2010, Nazim pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to defraud the former Ministry of Atolls Development.

Waheed went on to criticise opposition leaders for being “obsessed with winning power” and “completely lacking sincerity” for solving national problems.

“Opposition parties are attacking Kenereege Mohamed Nasheed. But matters amongst us are worse than Kenereege Mohamed Nasheed, Honourable Speaker,” he said.

Echoing Waheed’s sentiments, Abdulla Abdul Raheem asserted that “you can’t do things in this country anymore the way US$800 million of oil was illegally traded using STO.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Comment: The big picture, rethinking policies

In the past couple of weeks, we have seen several responses to the growing gang violence in the country with high level committees set up to look into the matter.

We also saw a national security seminar for the tourism industry in response to recurring raids on resorts which left a 19 year-old dead two weeks ago.

These are immediate and reactionary measures. We can only do so much to prosecute young criminals and fill up the already crowded jails. If we want real answers to these problems, we need to look at a bigger picture.

The same applies to the exchange rate situation. Beyond devaluation, there is much to do to fix the macro-economic situation. To me the key words are ‘long term’ and ‘priorities’. We need long term strategies and to identify the right priorities to solve our growing economic and social problems.

A long-term growth strategy

The economic section of the government’s manifesto ranges from pledges on cost of living, tourism, fisheries, agriculture, SMEs, water, sewerage, employment, environment and to date, implementation of these pledges appear to be ad-hoc and piecemeal. There is no overall direction to regain recovery and growth of the economy.

The government talks about diversification of the economy. The government also declared that Maldives is open for business and wants see increased investments and private sector role in as many sectors as possible. Fiscal adjustment measures have been initiated here and there and now there is a growing reference to market forces and a market based economy.

We need to look above all these plans and the long list of manifesto pledges and decide on what the economy should look like in the next 5 to 10 years, what the share of tourism would be, how growth can take off and what impact we want to see on incomes, on private sector and on job creation. Above everything we need a long-term economic growth strategy that is clear and consistent.

Setting the right priorities

The government’s manifesto and the five year development plan are overly ambitious with 5 key pledges and 20 odd other pledges. Many ministries are overwhelmed with new policies, projects and programmes everyday where there is only a limited pool of technical expertise and managerial staff to roll them out. In my opinion, political disillusionment and public frustrations are a result of too many promises. Investors, donors, private sector and the public are often confused, not knowing the real direction of the country’s economic and development agenda. To me, the priorities are simple and straightforward. We need to decide on growth sectors and growth hubs.

Growth sectors

We constantly talk about the high level of dependency on tourism and the vulnerability of the economy to external shocks. We are increasingly seeing a decline in fisheries and despite many efforts, share of agriculture is still negligible. The government often refers to plans to diversify tourism and fisheries. There are the long standing debates on our competitiveness in potential sectors such as ports services, off-shore financial services as in the Caribbean and Maldives specialising as a knowledge-based economy, as a hub for  R&D on climate change, marine research and even to the extent of specialising on democratic and human rights research.

The reality is that as a small island nation we cannot do it all. We need to focus on one or two sectors and we need to prepare our labour force, our laws and institutions to specialise in these sectors and equip the private sector and gear donor assistance and foreign investments to develop these sectors.

Growth hubs

We have a tradition of not giving consideration to population and migration in development planning. The failure to predict and prepare for the explosion of school leaving population gave rise to joblessness and the related youth problems we see today. The failure to plan for an explosion of migration to Male’ from the atolls has caused over-crowding, harsh living conditions, congestion and pollution in Male’ which in turn causes crime and violence that keeps escalating. If we fail to plan for an ageing population in the next 15 years, the consequences could be worse.

The government insists on extending services to all islands and on increasing accessibility of services through connectivity and transport. The reality is that service provision even with ferries to 200 islands is unrealistic. It is costly to not only invest but to maintain high quality education, healthcare, social services, security, utilities, harbours and not to mention airports. We cannot afford it if the government wants to achieve a balanced budget. We cannot afford it even otherwise given the limited human capital. Attempts to expand tourism to all parts of the country have not had a major impact on reversing migration or on local economic growth. The resorts run on a parallel economy and have not opened up economic opportunities for islands except for remittances of employees.

Additional flats on the islands is definitely no solution. Those who move to Male’ are looking for better education, healthcare and better job prospects. The government cannot guarantee all three services to every single island in the country. Villingili and Hulhumale’ have not relieved housing pressures and living conditions in Male’. These satellites islands are simply getting filled up with migrant families everyday and this trend will accelerate when additional flats are built in Hulhumale’ or in Gulhifalhu. Housing pressures, living costs, overcrowding in schools and hospitals will only worsen.

The government needs to decide on one or two growth hubs in different parts of the country based on population needs and migration patterns. The dispersed 200 inhabited islands will never have scale for commercial development and economic growth. The government should leverage investments, people, infrastructure and direct services to the growth hubs. It is the only option for improving quality of life of people in Male’ and outside of Male’.

Economic and social transformation

The real solution to gang violence, drugs and crime and the exchange rate situation is therefore a long term growth strategy that prioritises sectors for economic diversification and hubs for population concentration.

Thirty-odd election pledges on 200 islands is simply impossible. I echo Imran’s conclusions in an earlier article that we need a ‘bold government that shows leadership’. We need to acknowledge the big picture, give up reactionary and ad-hoc approaches, and show consistency and vision. The government should stop jumping on big ideas and take the national institutions, investors, donors and the public towards a focused and realistic recovery and growth path.

Without thinking long-term and without setting priorities, I don’t see how we can really solve the growing problem of dollars, drugs, crimes, violence, social disillusionment and even political frustrations that we see everyday across all parts of the country.

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Investigation compromised as documents concerning Gaamaadhoo bones disappear

Crucial files relating to an investigation into human remains found on the site of the former Gaamaadhoo prison have gone missing, the President’s Office has claimed.

President Mohamed Nasheed announced on October 10 last year that DNA tests in Thailand had revealed that human bones discovered on the island a year before matched the age and estimated period of death of Abdulla Anees, Vaavu Keyodhoo Bashigasdhosuge, an inmate officially declared missing in the 1980s.

“The mysterious disappearance of Abdulla Anees is an important case in investigating the alleged torture, violation of human rights and killing of many inmates during the previous 30 year dictatorial regime,” the President’s Office said in a statement, announcing the appointment of new members to the Presidential Commission tasked with investigating allegations of police torture and mistreatment of prisoners in custody.

Amin Faisal, Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad and Mohamed Shafeeq were today tasked by the President with investigating the case of the missing files, “as this disappearance points to a deliberate attempt to hide evidence to obstruct an ongoing investigation.”

A senior source in the President’s Office told Minivan News that following the President’s announcement on October 10 last year, police had been asked to investigate the disappearance of Abdulla Anees in light of the discovery of the bones.

“People want to see justice for what happened,” the source said. “Human remains were discovered and there is a strong reason to believe that something bad happened. However it looks like the investigation has been compromised.”

Minivan News understands that the original file was stored at the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation (DPRS), while copies were kept by police. Both sets of documents were reported missing.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam told Minivan News that he had met with the unit investigating the case.

“Copies of necessary documents concerning other government authorities had been misplaced, but they have been but found now,” Shiyam said.

No further documents were missing from the police side, he added.

State Home Minister Ahmed Adhil told Minvan News that the two authorities had been searching for the files “for the last couple of days.”

“Police have informed the Home Ministry that they have located copies of the files, but the original was held by the DPRS and is still missing. We don’t count copies of papers so we don’t know whether any important documents are missing unless we find that original,” he said.

Adhil said the Ministry could not yet say whether the files had been misplaced or deliberately removed, although the theft of the documents “is a very close possibility.”

The Home Ministry had requested police investigate the matter, he said.

“We have to reform the DPRS; we’ve been saying that since this government came to power. There are a lot of weak areas in the DPRS and we have to do a lot of upgrading. These sorts of things have been happening for the last couple of years – this is the culture, and it’s time we faced it.”

Political background

President Nasheed announced the results of the DNA test last year at the launch of a book by elderly historian Ahmed Shafeeq, who contends that at least 111 people died in custody under the former government.

Nasheed said at the time that he was intimately familiar with Gaamadhoo prison, having spent three years there for dissident journalism in opposition to the rule of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

When he heard that the bones had been found, Nasheed said he had wondered if they belonged to Anees.

A former prison guard, Mohamed Naeem, of Gaaf Dhaal Hoadhendhoo Muraka, had told the police investigators that Anees had died in Gaamaadhoo prison.

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair told Minivan News at the time that the Maldivian Democratic Party had voiced concern over the disappearance of inmates.

“There were allegations that some were killed in jail and buried,” said Zuhair.

“There were also allegations that some people were dropped in pits where they made lime for construction.”

Allegations of torture and deaths in custody remain a sensitive political subject in the Maldives, as the opposition has outright denied involvement or complicity in human rights abuses that occurred during the former administration.

Officials of both former and current governments have however spoken about a “culture of torture” they claim still persists in elements of the police and DPRS. Many senior members of the present government, including the President, allege abuse and torture at the hands of the former government.

When he took power in a peaceful transition that surprised many analysts, President Nasheed pledged that Gayoom would be allowed to remain in the Maldives and live in peace in dignity as a former statesman, so long as he remained outside active politics.

However that pledge has conflicted with considerable pressure from within his own party to prosecute the former President and those under his administration for a host of human rights abuses, and allegations of corruption. Frustration over perceived inaction led several senior MDP officials to form a ‘Torture Victims Association’, claiming they would seek redress against the former President in international courts.

Gayoom has shown particular sensitivity to such allegations, going as far as prosecuting local media for defamation for publishing official audit reports suggesting, at the very least, misappropriation of state funds.

Following Nasheed’s statement at the launch of Shafeeq’s book, Gayoom wrote a letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron claiming that Nasheed was waging a compaign of intimidation and harassment against himself and his family.

“In a book authored by this Shafeeq, which was ceremoniously released [on October 10] by Mohamed Nasheed himself, it is accused that I also ordered the man’s arrest and supposed torture in prison. In a country of just over 300,000, it is safe to assume that even one ‘missing person’ would not go unnoticed, let alone 111,” Gayoom told the British PM.

“All such allegations of corruption, mismanagement and misappropriation of funds and property are basedless and completely untrue, as are those of torture, repression, and unlawful detention during my presidency.

“Nearly two years after the MDP government assumed presidency, Nasheed and his government have failed to uncover a single shred of evidence to substantiate any of these allegations,” Gayoom added.

Shortly afterwards, Gayoom declared that he was returning to the Maldives to help the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), of which he remains the ‘Honorary Leader’, campaign in the local council elections.

The MDP voiced its dismay, aware of Gayoom’s continued popularity in many of the islands, prompting Nasheed to controversially warn Gayoom to stay out of the Maldives “for his own safety”, in reference to the death of former presidents who were killed after their resignations.

After the local Council elections Gayoom spearheaded a split in the opposition, disowning DRP leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali whom he had previously endorsed as his successor.

A not uncommon outcome

Political and social turmoil rooted in the dichotomy between revenge and reconciliation is not unique to the Maldives.

Peter Godwin, author of The Fear: The Last Days of Robert Mugabe who visited the Maldives during the Hay Festival last year, observed that a country’s inability to confront or reconcile with its turbulent past led old wounds to fester.

Transitional justice was a vast subject falling between the two clashing camps of ‘revenge’ and ‘reconciliation’, and mired in shades of grey.

“You can listen to each argument and be convinced by both,” said Godwin. “I think it is one of those things where you have to look at each case separately. But the thing that never works is not doing anything about it; moving on and pretending it hasn’t happened.

“Because that is one of the things that has gone wrong in Zimbabwe. It has festered. You can feel the people seething. And the weird thing is that the children of the people killed and tortured are even more taken up with the cause than the parents. It doesn’t fade away – it magnifies with the passing of generations.”

The decision, he said, should lie with the victims and their families, he suggested.

“It’s very counterintuitive. The victims, who were put in jail and tortured – are the main victims who suffered during the authoritarian rule of a repressive regime. These people have the inherent right to decide what to do.

“You would imagine that these people would be the most radical, but a curious thing happens. In my experience – and I’m not alone, my view is shared by a lot of NGOs – the main thing that people who have been through the firing line want is acknowledgement.

“Not an ‘eye-for-an-eye’, just acknowledgement. The further you get away from the actual victims, the more radical you get. The people who didn’t risk their own lives in opposition – they don’t have the authenticity of victimhood.

What countries grappling with the enormity of such problems must do “is ventilate”, he suggests.

“You have to bring it into the mainstream. You have to bring it into public debate. You have to basically talk it through. It’s odd that the solution turns out to be the ventilation of it, as it becomes acknowledged in the media and public discourse, and ultimately in the way people write their own history.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Parliament accepts amendment to Clemency Act to uphold death sentences

Parliament today accepted the amendment presented by Jumhoree Party (JP) MP Ibrahim Muthalib which requires the death sentence be implemented as execution if the Supreme Court upholds a death sentence issued by a lower court or if the Supreme Court itself issues a death sentence.

Out of the 59 present MPs there were 14 MPs who declined the amendment and three MPs that did not vote on either side.

MDP MPs Alhan Fahmy, Eva Abdulla, Hamid Abdul Gafoor, ‘Reeco’ Moosa Manik, Ilyas Labeeb, Imthiyaz Fahmy, Ibrahim Rasheed, Rugiyya Mohamed, Mohamed ‘Colonel’ Nasheed, Ahmed Rasheed, Mohamed Aslam, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and DRP MPs Ali Azim and Hussein Mohamed voted to dismiss the amendment.

Meanwhile MDP MPs Ahmed Easa, Ahmed Hamza and Independent MP Mohamed Nasheed were the three that did not vote on either side.

If the amendment is passed the president will not have the authority to grant clemency on those sentenced to death and law enforcing agencies will be left with no other choice but to execute those sentenced to death.

Statistics from the Criminal Court show that over the past 10 years, it has sentenced 14 persons to death which have not implemented. Police later arrested them for committing other offenses.

Before Muthalib presented this amendment, Maldivian Democratic Party MP Ibrahim Rasheed who also voted to dismiss the bill today presented the same bill weeks ago and withdrew it in the last minutes.

Rasheed said he will present the bill after some belated bills in the parliament were passed.

When presenting the amendment Muthalib said the objective of the amendment was to uphold Islamic Sharia in the Maldives.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Justice Procedure Bill presented by MDP Parliamentary Group leader Moosa Manik was approved by the parliament recently and has been sent to the National Security Committee to review.

The Maldivian judicial system defers to Islamic Shar’ia law in cases where existing laws and regulation are found not to apply. In an interview with Minivan News in 2008, Minister for Islamic Affairs Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari claimed that three crimes punishable by death under Islamic Shar’ia were murder, adultery (by those already married) and apostasy.

Critics of the amendment have pointed to the state of the judiciary as a reason for delaying the bill, with one judge last week acknowledging that 31 serving judges had criminal records. The judiciary has also been criticised by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), which questioned the independence of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC).

The last person be judicially executed in the Maldives was Hakim Didi in 1953, who was executed by firing squad after being found guilty of consipiracy to murder using black magic.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Devaluation marks failure of economic policy: Yameen

The government’s decision to devalue the rufiya and replace the fixed exchange rate with a managed float marks the failure of its economic policy, claims minority opposition People’s Alliance (PA) Leader Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom.

Addressing supporters at the ‘Gayoom faction’ rally last night, MP Yameen, half-brother of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and long-serving Trade Minister in his cabinet, argued that the only circumstance where devaluation was advisable was to make the country’s exports cheaper and more competitive.

“[But] if the country does not produce a lot of goods for export, there will be absolutely no benefit from devaluing the currency,” he said, adding that the decision to devalue was both “political” and “an admission of failure.”

Following its inability to deal with the dollar black market two years after the formation of a parallel market, “what the government did was arrange a mechanism to auction the dollars [that they believe is being hoarded].”

The decision to devalue was therefore “political” as opposed to based on sound economic reasons, he said.

Yameen added that he believed the exchange rate would never fall below the pegged rate of Rf12.85.

“Since the way to get a good price for a scarce commodity is through an auction, they had to do this out of necessity and as a last resort, because they have no other way,” argued the MP for Mulaku.

However, he continued, the changes would be to no avail unless the country’s ballooning fiscal deficit is substantially reduced as urged by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Yameen went on to lambast the government’s infrastructure projects as well as preparations for the upcoming South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit to be held in Addu City as “unnecessary spending.”

Conceding that floating the rufiya could solve the black market problem, Yameen however argued that those who had dollars would hesitate to release it if they did not have confidence that the rufiya would not depreciate further.

As a consequence of devaluation, Yameen predicted, inflation would rise by 30 percent: “For a person who gets Rf1,000 [as income], the value of what he can spend is actually Rf600, because of inflation. So, for example, if a can of Nespray [powdered milk] is sold for Rf28 today, with the change in the price of the dollar, we are saying it is going to cost Rf38…the biggest burden will be borne by the poorest.”

To back his assertion, Yameen referred to GMR’s recent 50 percent hike of lease rents at the Male’ International Airport, a decision likely to lead to a corresponding increase in air fare for domestic travel.

President Mohamed Nasheed meanwhile insists that the economy would stabilise over the course of the next three months and that the managed float was necessary “to ensure long term stability and prosperity of the Maldives.”

MMA speaks

Breaking its long silence on the dollar shortage, the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) issued a statement Thursday estimating that allowing market forces to determine a price within the 20 percent band of fluctuation would “solve the present dollar shortage in the near future.”

“We would like to take this opportunity to inform the Maldivian people that the MMA has undertaken various different efforts to solve the foreign currency problem,” it reads, adding that the central bank was in the process of strengthening the legal framework for monetary policy.

The MMA statement reveals that the Maldives had a managed floating exchange rate between Rf8.50 and Rf11.50 from 1987 to 1994.

On April 10, 1994, the floating rate was replaced with a fixed peg, which was then increased by nine percent in April 2001.

While dollar shortages had been experienced “occasionally in the past” due to strong demand coinciding with the Hajj (pilgrimage) or school holiday season, the MMA explains, an expansionary fiscal policy since 2004 coupled with the global recession in 2009 led to the formation of the dollar black market.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Gayoom reprimands DRP council for decision to discipline Mahlouf, Illham and Waheed

Honorary Leader of the main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom called on party’s council last night to take back its decision to recommend MPs Ahmed Mahlouf, Ahmed Ilham and Gayoom’s lawyer Mohamed Waheed for disciplinary action.

In a statement read out by daughter Yumna Maumoon at the ‘Gayoom faction’ rally at artificial beach, Gayoom warned that taking disciplinary action against the three council members would lead to further weakening of a party already riven by internal conflict.

“At such a critical moment, with party unity severely shaken and members despairing as a result of the decisions taken by the party’s council and the disciplinary committee, in violation of the party’s charter and democratic principles and with total disregard to the feelings of the party’s members, ever since Ahmed Thasmeen Ali assumed leadership, I deeply regret [the council’s decision] as it goes completely against the wishes of most common members and would only split the party even further,” Gayoom’s statement read.

Advising the council to retract the decision, Gayoom noted that “taking action against those you disagree with is not done anywhere that is run along democratic principles.”

“And [disciplinary action] is not allowed either by the Maldivian constitution or Islamic principles,” he said.

Deputy Leader Ilham and MP Mahlouf stands accused by the council of misleading the public about Thasmeen, disregarding the best interests of the party and violating the party’s charter.

Ilham however told Minivan News last week that “a Deputy Leader can be dismissed only if a third of the party’s congress votes to dismiss him.”

The DRP MP for Gemanafushi argued that any decision by the disciplinary committee to dismiss him would therefore be invalid.

Beginning with rumblings of discontent at the third DRP congress in March 2010 over disagreement regarding a presidential primary, the worsening factional split within the main opposition erupted in December that year following the dismissal of Deputy Leader Umar Naseer.

After condemning Thasmeen of “running the party dictatorially”, Gayoom has since withdrawn his support for Thasmeen as DRP’s presidential candidate for 2013.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)