Category: Politics

Afternoon deadline set for MPs’ budgetary amendment proposals

MPs had been given until 4pm this afternoon to recommend amendments for the 2011 State budget after the completion of a parliamentary joint committee evaluation on Thursday, Ahmed Nazim, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament has said.

Nazim has said that following a multi-party evaluation that took place last week by both members of the country’s finance and economic committees, the 2011 budget is expected to be tabled tomorrow in front of parliament, with discussions expected to take a few days.

The passing of the annual budget is constitutionally required to be completed before the end of the previous calendar year, with the government said to be keen on spending cuts as part of plans to try and reduce the country’s budget deficit to about 16 per cent.

There had been concern over when the evaluation process was set to be completed; however, it is thought that there will be a few days worth of debate as within parliament as members attempt to ensure amendments within the final expenditure document before passing it through the Majlis.

The government is under considerable pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reduce the budget deficit, which President Mohamed Nasheed last month said was around 26.5 per cent.

Acting finance minister Mahmood Razee today said that he believed there had been “no major changes” to the main objectives of the budget during the evaluation, particularly in regards to the predicted deficit.

“We believe that the 16 per cent figure will be maintained,” said Razee in relation to the government’s stated aim of trying to cut the deficit.However, with a deadline on member-supported amendments set for this afternoon in parliament, Razee added that there could be a number of recommended changes yet imposed on the final budget.

“Any potential changes will now depend on amendments being supplied by MPs,” he said. “We expect the final vote to take place about December 29.”

However, there has been some criticisms of the budget – both among opposition MPs like Ahmed Nazim and independent members like Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed – over claims that there is insufficient detail about the exact nature of certain government spending projects.

Nasheed, an independent MP who was not involved with the evaluation committee, said last week that he had identified some preliminary concerns over spending allocation, particularly in areas such as decentralization, despite stating optimism the budget would be passed before the New Year deadline.

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MJA condemns protesters’ blockade of journalists

The Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) has said that two journalists and a cameraman from the Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) were verbally attacked and obstructed from covering a protest by the Adhaalath Party in Male’ last Friday .

The MJA has claimed that protesters had been found to have deliberately obstructed MNBC staff, as well as allegedly “verbally attacking”  its journalists.

”As freedom of gathering and freedom of journalism are rights guaranteed under the constitution, any act that obstructs from gaining these rights are not acceptable,” said MJA.  “And we condemn any person that encourages such actions.”

The MJA said that despite any considered bias in MNBC’s broadcasts, ”we call on everyone not to obstruct the work of any journalists working in MNBC, and it is not something this organisation will support.”

During Friday afternoon, the Adhaalath Party held a protest against the government’s decision to transfer all the students to the land of EPS School until the new Arabiyya School building was finished.

Arabiyya school was closed after cracks in the building’s wall led to it falling, a development which was linked to the structure’s age.

Some students were forced change to other schools because the capacity in the building they were transferred was inadequate for all the students.

However, parents and students were unhappy because of a wish to study in Arabic.  Arabiyya is the only such school in the country thought to offer such a service, according to protesters.

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Comment: Holy Politicians’ strategy for solving the Israel-Palestine conflict and resisting reason revealed – sort of

The arrival of Eye from Zion, a specialist Israeli NGO of ophthalmologists, appears to have presented our Holy politicians with their best campaign fodder yet.

There must have been much strategising and pulling together of ranks among them. One can almost hear the tactics and the commands now at the Holy Politicians HQ (HPHQ). Wouldn’t it be nice to be a fly on the wall?

In the spirit of transparent governance – a la Julian Assange – yours truly is publishing below a sort of MuniLeak; transcribed excerpts from a secret meeting at the HPHQ situation room that never of course happened last week. Here is what one might have imagined being discussed by key campaign strategists during a brainstorming session on how to get the most political mileage out of Israel and its band of doctors.

The session was led by a man – true identity hidden from view by a balaclava fashioned from a beard connected to a turban – who assigned tasks for each set of key players among important HPs:

“You, the academics and the professionals, take to the airwaves immediately – you find a way to ground this hatred in theology. Buy airtime on national TV. Make sure you get a doctor in, perhaps a lawyer too.

Get a Holy Joe Public as well. Discuss, in an appropriately learned circle, the hypothesis that Eyes = Zionism. Infer, in scholarly tones, that the woman who leaves her eyes uncovered is an undercover Zionist. Espouse the dangerous links that Eye Care and the optics chain must surely have with Zionists – just look at their logo. It has an eye on it, only a fool would be blind to what they are really saying: I heart Zionists.

Anecdotal evidence works well with the audience. The doctor must have a few personal stories to tell – how about one where he eyeballed a Zionist in a white coat lurking around the eye surgery…? We must also find one among us who would be willing to testify on record – “Zionists took my eyes!” Can we upload his testimony on YouTube, perhaps?

Meanwhile, any elected government official must use their position to get the message across loud and clear: we must hate Jews to love Palestinians. Get the Friday Sermon – that’s the key – there is no other audience quite as captive, or suggestible, as those seeking religious guidance.

All those men, unable to leave until we have finished what we are saying – no matter what we say. Brilliant! If we can get them to take to the streets afterwards, we have it. Excellent. How should we approach this?

We must use the Qur’an, it is our most powerful tool. Remember that Dutch politician, that MP Geert Wilders? I know, he hates Islam and Muslims, but a good tactic is a good tactic – whoever uses it. Wilders found ways to pick and choose verses from the Qur’an to make the outrageous claim that our Holy Book sanctioned the 11 September 2001 attacks.

He made a film out of it, super-imposing verses of Qur’an on video footage of the attacks. Despicable.

Unlike Wilders, we are not abusing the Qur’an to spread hatred against Muslims, we are using it to spread hatred against Jews – that makes our actions right and Wilders’ obviously wrong. The end always justifies the means (and the contents) of the message – let’s not forget Goebbels’ genius!

Hands up if you like the idea. Right, we have a consensus. We must get a government official in a high place to execute the plan. We already have the power of the sanctity of the Islamic Centre behind us, if we can give maximum possible authority to the voice that speaks from its pulpit on Friday, we’ll nail it. Any suggestions? Yes – getting an elected government official from the Islamic Ministry itself, with a doctorate, that is a good plan. Excellent. You are worried that we may not be able to locate such a figure?

You think that no one with that level of education and such high office would be willing to use their knowledge and position to incite hatred? Leave it to me – I know for a fact there is at least one who would think it an honour, a privilege and a right.

The Holy Shopkeepers – they must all contribute a roll of blue and white cloth from their fabric shops. The Holy Wives at home, they must begin embroidering the Star of David, double-quick. By the time the sun begins to set on Friday, if we get even half the people who were urged to hate Jews at the noon sermon to appear on the streets with their freshly made Israeli flags to burn and messages of hatred written in English to hoist, we are half-way there.

Throughout all this, we should continue our successful tactics for setting the news agenda.
First we must make absolutely sure that the media remain wholly oblivious to the obvious: Israel is not home to Jews only; Israel is not the only home of Jews. Make sure the media does not mention the million plus Muslims who are Israelis and make up 30 percent of the country’s population.

Avoid at all costs, also, any media recollection of the history of Maldivian relations with Israel, established in the 1970s. This would make it seem like these are relations established just recently – the political leverage we can achieve from that my brothers, is boundless.

The media, also, appears to have little or no idea that there are many different ways in which hundreds of thousands of people across the world – Muslim and non-Muslim – daily demonstrate their empathy with the Palestinian plight and their disagreement with Israeli policies without resorting to anti-Semitism, hatred and violence.

If we remove any connections between realpolitik and the ongoing Israel/Palestine conflict, we can easily reduce the complexities of the situation to a simple equation: loving Palestinians = hating Jews.
Campaign tactics always work when they are simple. What a beauty this one is. Nor must there be anything in the media about the long Maldivian tradition of support for the Palestinian cause without ever needing to hate either Israel or Jews.

People must not remember such draconian traditions – peace is passé. We all know that this type of tolerance among Maldivians is born out of the ignorance of the Right Islam. Remember, the ultimate goal is to make them believe most of the last two millennia never happened – that is the key to our perpetual rule.

Speaking of setting the news agenda – we must always remember to thank God for how lucky we are to have the type of media we do. None of our counterparts in any other democracy across the world has it so easy – we are blessed here with a free media that has no idea of its powers or responsibilities, and remains wholly unbound by any such thing as a code of ethics or a set of principles by which to abide. Fourth Estate, Public Watchdog,

Muckraker…these are concepts that are yet to even enter the realm of Maldivian media consciousness. Glory be!

If any of you feel a bit guilty about the visually impaired who are denied treatment, just think of this: for every Maldivian whose heart is filled with anti-Semitism, who had never before thought of separating Jews from other human beings solely on the basis of their religion and now does so, the world moves one step closer to finding a solution for the Israel/Palestine conflict.

We must ensure that our progress along this noble path is recorded. Not just for posterity but also for the present. We must appreciate the value that every single picture of a man, woman or child burning an Israeli flag is worth a thousand – Rufiyaa? Riyal? Dollar? AFA?

Our donors would have documentary proof, with those pictures, that we are worth all the money they are pouring into us. Every picture is evidence that we attained our goal of increasing the number of Muslims who hate. That we have managed to spread this message of hate amongst a people who were at peace for centuries – that is our biggest success so far.

Let us continue on our glorious path –remember this: only reason can resist us. Let us ensure fanatical hatred leaves little room for rational thought.”

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].

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Opinion divided over budget evaluation deadline

Acting Finance Minister Mahmood Razee has said progress is being made within an ongoing multi-party evaluation of the 2011 State Budget, despite claims by Ahmed Nazim, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, that talks “have not gone well” due to a lack of details on planned state spending.

Opinion appears divided within the ongoing parliamentary joint committee evaluation, which is being overseen by members from both the country’s finance and economic committees, upon how near the budget is to being agreed upon by parliament before the deadline of the New Year.

Razee, who was allowed to present the budget this month despite ongoing battles in the Majlis over cabinet appointments, said he was confident the government could still meet its aims to cut the country’s budget deficit to about 16 per cent, despite allowing for concessions requested by opposition MPs.

The government is under considerable pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reduce the deficit, which President Mohamed Nasheed last month said was around 26.5 per cent.

Speaking to Minivan News today, Razee claimed that the parliamentary joint committee was generally “committed” to trying to find an agreement that would allow for reductions of the budget deficit. He therefore hoped to have the evaluation completed by Sunday, December 27.

“The basic principles [of the budget] remain the same, the budget deficit needs to be reduced and this is accepted by most parties,” said Razee. “We maybe will need to make some adjustments during the evaluation. A budget deficit of 16 per cent is what we are targeting given the current circumstances.”

Ahmed Nazim conceded that a need to meet a looming New Year deadline to approve the 2011 budget would require members within the parliamentary committee to put aside their political differences and “let bygones be bygones”.

However, the parliament Deputy Speaker claimed that the finance Ministry has “not been communicating” with the Majlis on the budget, a situation he said that was reflected within the evaluation process.

Nazim cadded that anticipated delays in providing information on the budget could make the discussions “go right to the wire” in terms of meeting an evaluation deadline of December 30.

“We are not looking for concessions, the government has a mandate to pursue its own economic policies,” he said. “But there are so many problems with the budget, which is lacking details regarding a number of projects and figures.”

As the evaluation process has continued, Nazim claimed that Information had been arriving “in bits and pieces” to help provide greater detail on budgetary spending, however he said expected that the evaluation process will ultimately take a “long time” to complete.

“We are looking for a reasonable budget,” said Nazim. “Reasonable, like for example, with housing funds, where the government is looking to sell land in Male’, but where is the land that can be sold? They have gone on to say it will actually be land in Huhlumale’ and other islands.”

Due to the levels of cost involved, the Deputy Speaker added that the evaluation committee has “asked for breakdowns” regarding individual expenditure – pointing to an apparent lack of funding in the budget for the Maldives National Broadcasting Corperation (MNBC), despite the government admitting it will be providing money.

“There is no budget [for MNBC], yet they have given Rf54 million [to the broadcaster],” claimed Nazim.

Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed, an independent MP who is not involved with the evaluation committee, said that despite holding some preliminary concerns over spending allocation, particularly in areas such as decentralisation, he believes the budget will be completed within its New Year deadline.

“I think it will be done, there is willingness,” he said.

However, Nasheed claimed that he had been concerned that the initial budget had failed to outline any finance plans for local councils once they are expected to be formed following February’s elections.

IMF concerns

Beyond trying to outline funding of the state for the year of the ahead, the passing of the annual budget within a constitutionally mandated deadline of the end of the calendar year is also being seen as vital to groups such as the IMF.

Back in November the IMF delayed its third disbursement to the country because of the government’s inaction on the matter of the budget deficit during 2010, pending the release of the 2011 budget.

While the IMF program itself is worth US$92.5 million, other foreign donors and investors consider the IMF’s opinion of a country’s fiscal policies when making decisions.

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Islamic Ministry has “no issues” with government despite Shaheem resignation: Mohamed Didi

The Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Islamic Affairs has claimed that both himself and Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari have no “major issues” with the government despite today’s resignation of Islamic State Minister, Mohamed Sheikh Shaheem Ali Saeed.

The resignation, which has not yet been officially confirmed by the President’s Office, has been linked by figures within government to alleged differences of opinion between the State Minister for Islamic Affairs and President Mohamed Nasheed, particularly in relation to recent protests that have taken place in the country concerning the work of an Israeli NGO.

Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Mohamed Didi, said he had been taken by “surprise” this afternoon after being informed of the State Minister’s decision to resign by a colleague within the ministry.

“This is a complete surprise to me, I wasn’t aware of the decision until I saw some news reports and a member of staff here then told me,” he said.

Speaking to Minivan News this afternoon, Didi said that although he had yet to speak with Shaheem about his decision to resign, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs would continue to function as normal as Dr Bari remained in his position.

“I don’t see any differences as a result of the resignation while the Minister is still here,” he said.  “As part of the Ministry’s policy, there is no difference of opinion between us and the government.”

Dr Bari is a member of the religious Adhaalath Party along with Shaheem.

In looking to at the long term status of the Adhaalath Party in the Islamic Ministry, Didi said it was “a bit early” to tell what sort of action, if any, might be taken as a result of the resignation.

While the President’s Office confirmed that it had received a letter from Shaheem today, it was unable to disclose the contents of the document until they had been seen by the President himself, who is currently away on a visit to the country’s northern atolls.

Press Secretary for the President, Mohamed Zuhair, told Minivan News that in light of a recent number of protests against government policy that had allegedly involved Shaheem, “it was possible that the State Minister may have decided his position was untenable”.

Zuhair claimed that there had perhaps been concern that as both a prominent member of the Islamic Ministry and the religious Adhaalath Party, Shaheem had appeared to “overstep boundaries” by allegedly using his Friday sermons to incite “political protest” and “demonstrations” against the government he worked for.

“Things came to a head this morning when a group of parents from Arabiyya School came to the President’s Office over concerns about funding, a  political advisor then held a meeting with them about their concerns,” he said.  “Protests then took place outside containing a number of individuals considered to be members of the Adhaalath Party.”

Zuhair claimed that “well wishers” to the government, said to include members of the Adalaath Party, had suggested that some of these protestors may have “met last night with Shaheem”.  He claimed that if this was true, then this could have amounted to “provocation” against the government from one of its own state ministers, making Shaheem’s position difficult to maintain.

Both Dr Bari and Shaheem were unable to respond to calls from Minivan News at the time of going to press.  However, Shaheem last week spoke at a mass protest meeting gathered against eye surgeries being conducted in the country by an Isreali medical NGO called Eye from Zion, which had met with the president during their visit.

According to Haveeru, the speech given by Shaheem “warned of ‘direct action’ if the government continues with its ‘anti-religious’ policies.”

“The President’s Office sent me a letter giving a warning to not to speak about Islamic studies,” the paper quoted him as saying during his speech.  “Where is their shame? What is the meaning when they ask to keep quiet in response to the head of Islamic affairs in the Maldives?”

Correction: The article had originally incorrectly stated that Permanent Secretary Mohamed Didi was a member of the Adhaalath Party.  Minivan News apologises for the error.

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JSC to show Civil Court samples of its extra-constitutional complaints procedure

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has been asked by Civil Court to provide examples of its use of a self-modified procedure for investigating complaints against the judiciary as an alternative to Constitutional stipulations, in defence against allegations of negligence.

The JSC is currently defending itself against allegations of professional negligence made by Treasure Island Limited, which accuses the Commission of failing in its Constitutional duty to uphold ethical and disciplinary standards of the judiciary.

Judge Nihayath, who is overseeing the case, asked the JSC yesterday to submit “two or three” examples to Civil Court in order to demonstrate how a proposed alternative to Constitutional procedure was being used to deal with complaints.

Judge Nihayath has not yet received an answer from the JSC to her inquiry about the number of complaints the commission has received and agreed to cancel a hearing scheduled for this morning until December 27, 2010.

The negligence case focuses on three separate complaints made to the JSC last year, which Treasure Island alleges related to misconduct by a number of judges, including some prominent figures of the tourism industry, over a sum of money amounting to over a million US dollars.

JSC legal representative Abdul Faththah told the court at last week’s sitting that Constitutional stipulations regarding how the JSC dealt with complaints were very “time-consuming”, leading to new procedures being adopted.

At the time of the complaints in 2009, he said, the Commission was experiencing a lot of housekeeping problems and Members’ time was valuable.

As an independent body set up by the 2008 Constitution with the mandate to maintain the ethical and disciplinary standards of the judiciary, the JSC is required to put any decision regarding a complaint against the judiciary to a members vote.

Article 163 stipulates that it is only by consensus or, failing that, a majority decision of the 10 member Commission, that any such decision can be taken. It is also required to maintain a record of every such decision, and how each member voted.

Instead, the JSC revealed last week that it had set up an alternative mechanism that Faththah described as a process of “administrative screening”.

The alternative process is said to have constituted all complaints being “administratively” pre-screened by the JSC Chair who, acting on his own, decided whether or not they contained allegations of judiciary misconduct.

Only complaints hand-picked by the JSC Chair were passed on to members for their deliberation or decision.

Valuable time was saved by the modified procedure, Faththah told the court. He also told Judge Nihayath that existence of the “administrative screening” process was proof that JSC did not have a specific mechanism in place for dealing with complaints, as had been alleged by Treasure Island.

Treasure Island has accused the JSC of arbitrarily dismissing its complaints of misconduct against two judges, therefore failing in its Constitutional duty to uphold the ethical and disciplinary standards of the country.

The court earlier agreed to Treasure Island’s submission that JSC be made to produce documentary evidence of having followed proper procedures in dismissing its complaints of misconduct against Interim Supreme Court Justice Mujthaz Fahmy and Civil Court Judge Ali Naseer.

JSC was asked to provide the court with the minutes and agendas of the meetings where the decisions were put to a members’ vote, and also the records of how they voted.

JSC was unable to provide the evidence at last week’s hearing. Faththah told the court of an alternative system of “administrative screening” instead.

Judge Nihayath asked the JSC yesterday to submit to court a sample amount of “two or three” other complaints dealt with according to the extra-constitutional procedure.

An answer from the JSC to her inquiry about the number of complaints the commission has received was not made available as of this morning.

Judge Nihayath was expected to rule today on whether or not to summon as witnesses the Speaker of Parliament, Abdulla Shahid, former Attorney General Husnu al-Suood, former Civil Service Commission Chair Dr Mohamed Latheef, and High Court Chief Judge Abdul Ghani Mohamed.

The decision was deferred to the next hearing on 27 December after Judge Nihayath acceded to Faththah’s request to cancel today’s hearing.

Faththah said the Judge’s 40-minute delay in starting the procedures meant he would be late for a funeral prayer at noon. The hearing had been scheduled for 11am.

Treasure Island had also asked the court to summon Member Aishath Velezinee as a witness; a request that was rejected outright on grounds that she had been present at all preceding hearings.

Judge Nihayath had also rejected an earlier application by Velezinee for Third Party entry to provide information she alleged the JSC was withholding from the court.

The JSC rejected 122 complaints in 2009. Of over 140 complaints received since the beginning of the year, none have been investigated.

The JSC also faces allegations that it has failed to adopt a standard of procedure by which its behaviour is bound, an issue that has caused deep internal division with the Commission. The JSC Act required the standards of procedure to have been adopted by last January.

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Elections Commission calls for “changes” to party registration after “dead” members row

The president of the Elections Commission (EC) has hit back at criticism from the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) that suggested the independent body had failed to carry out its duty after it removed deceased members from the party’s registry, by claiming the entire political membership system requires legislative “changes”.

EC President Fuad Thaufeeq told Minivan News today that it had acted on “information supplied by Island Officers” on December 2 this year, which found that six people on the DQP’s membership registry had died during 2010, requiring their removal under the commission’s regulations. He claimed that new regulations currently awaiting approval in the Majlis are expected to remove similar confusion and “concerns” in the future over remaining a member of a political party after death.

Thaufeeq was responding in particular to criticism of the EC made this week by the DQP, with the party alleging in a statement that 32 of its members had been removed from registration within the party after they were found to be deceased.

The DQP is now reportedly set to file charges against the EC, which the party claimed needed to be “stronger and more careful in order to achieve democracy” or risk losing the public trust.

“Because Elections Commission has neglected its duty, DQP has decided to file charges against the Elections Commission. It has been decided to request the court to recheck the cases of all the members who were removed from the party’s registry,” the party reportedly stated, according to Haveeru.  The DQP was unable to respond to Minivan News at the time of going to press.

However, Thaufeeq said he was unsure why the DQP had stated that 32 of its members had been removed from its registry, with the EC having removed just six party members that were found to have died between January 1, 2010 and early December 2, this year.

“I don’t understand what is behind the issue,” he said. “When we notified the party earlier this month [of the six membership removals], we asked them to inform us of any objections [the DQP] had – they have been silent.”

Beyond the current DQP criticisms of the EC, Thaufeeq claimed that political party members were required to be removed from a registry once they had left the organisation or died; a rule he said was important to ensure that political funding allocated to parties on the basis of their membership size was correct.

The EC President added that he believed that for a number of the country’s political organisations -including the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and the opposition Dhivehi Rayytithunge Party (DRP) – there appeared to be reluctance to update memberships.

“They are very keen to add membership, but not so concerned about reducing their numbers,” he said.  “Initially we expected all these areas [informing the EC of members who have left a political party or died] to be carried out by the parties themselves,” Thaufeeq said. “When we started getting many complaints from former members that their parties were not removing their registrations, we started acting on the issue ourselves.”

Multi-party “problem”

Thaufeeq claimed that updating member registries has become a problem common among “almost every political party in the Maldives”, with the EC acting to remove any members that it can verify to have died or left a particular part.

The commission said that it uses information sourced from a number of bodies like Island Officers, the Ministry of Health, the Department of National Statistics or confirmation by the deceased’s family to verify its records.

“We don’t think the DQP case is too significant,” he said. “This is a straight forward case; when a person is dead they cannot remain a member.”

According to Thaufeeq, the EC is looking for the approval of new legislation in parliament that will “outline changes we want to bring to the registration system.” “These laws have been sent to parliament for approval, which we believe will provide solutions to the current problems [of membership registries],” he claimed.

Membership benefits

Thaufeeq put forward a number of suggestions to what he believed may indicate why the issue of registered party members appeared to be a concern for political organisations.

Primarily, he claimed that under current government funding agreements for registered political parties, 40 percent of allocated expenditure was divided equally among the group. The additional 60 percent was then rewarded on the basis of parties with the highest memberships, Thaufeeq claimed.

“Also, a group wishing to register as a political party must initially have more than 3000 registered members to qualify. After that, there is no regulation or rule that would change back their status if they fall below this figure,” he added. “There are political parties with less than 3000 members.”

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Joint committee’s budget evaluation underway

A parliamentary joint committee formed to evaluate the 2011 state budget was underway today, though a finalised plan for national spending is still thought to be a few days away, Acting Finance Minister Mahmood Razee has said.

Speaking briefly today during a recess of the joint committee, which is formed from members of both the finance and economic committees, Razee said that the discussions would likely be ongoing during the next few days and that he was unavailable to comment on any outcome before then.

Haveeru reported yesterday that Gasim Ibrahim of the Jumhooree Party (JP) had been endorsed as chair of the evaluation committee that consists of 21 MPs. The paper reported that 12 votes will be required to pass any matter through the committee.

The Chair position was contested by nominations from the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which favoured Bilehdhoo MP Ahmed Hamza, and the Dhivehi Rayytithunge Party (DRP), which proposed Parliament’s Deputy Speaker, MP Ahmed Nazim. Both nominations failed to receive the required number of votes, Haveeru said.

The budget approval, which is constitutionally required to be complete before the end of the year, has come amidst a period of upheaval within the Majlis over the appointment of ministers, which includes a head of finance for the country. This upheavel resulted in Acting Finance Minister Mahmood Razee delivering the state budget after the country’s Supreme Court ruled on December 10 that that ministers rejected by a parliamentary vote could not hold their positions.

Parliament allowed Acting Finance Minister Mahmood Razee to present the 2011 state budget, despite Speaker Abdulla Shahid said that he would be seeking legal advice over whether this was permissible.

Deputy Speaker Mohamed Nazim put forward a motion to declare a “special situation” whereby Razee would be granted the authority to formally present the motion. The chamber voted 55-9 in favour.

The text of the Constitution requires the “Minister of Finance” to submit the budget for approval “prior to the commencement of each financial year” – in the Maldives, the calendar year.

Seven ministers – Finance Minister Ali Hashim, Education Minister Dr Musthafa Luthfy, Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed, Fisheries Minister Dr Ibrahim Didi, Home Minister Mohamed Shihab, Defence Minister Ameen Faisal and Attorney General Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad – did not receive a majority of votes from 42 MPs in attendance within parliament last month.
Following the vote, Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, head of the opposition DRP, took the case to the Supreme Court arguing that Ministers rejected by parliament should be dismissed from office.

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Political figures join protests in surge of anti-Zionist sentiment

Anti-Zionist protests continued over the weekend reflecting the anger of some Maldivians about Israeli medical assistance being supplied to the country, leading to a rally held by the Tsunami Memorial on Friday with a host of high profile political figures speaking at the event.

Hundreds of people gathered at the protest with some carrying banners in both Dhivehi and English with messages ranging from “Say no to Israeli terrorism” and “Jews said Allah is poor” to “We are with anyone who fights Israel & USA” and “Bloody Zionists”.

The protests are said to be directly focused on deporting an Israeli NGO called Eye from Zion that is conducting eye surgery at a number of hospitals around the country. The religious NGO Islamic Foundation of the Maldives (IFM) said the protests were also targeted at rising concern over “President Mohamed Nasheed’s decision to have closer ties with Israel.”

A host of speakers including State Minister for Islamic Affairs, Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed and former Deputy Leader for the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP, Umar Naseer, addressed attendees, voicing their opposition to accepting any aid from Israel amidst anger at its foreign policy towards Palestine.

Miadhu reported that Sheikh Shaheem spoke during a sermon on the day of the protest claiming that “the history of Jews was deception, trickery, rebellion, oppression, evil and corruption.”

“So it is not it is not acceptable that one who would stab the ummah in the heart could heal the eyes?” he reportedly said. “This philosophy is not acceptable.”

Alongside these comments, Naseer claimed that no aid should be taken by an Islamic state such as the Maldives until Israel settles the issues of occupation in Palestine in solidarity with other Muslims. The IFM claimed that other similar protests were held in Addu Atoll and Fuamulaku over the weekend.

Some 739 people in Male’ and 879 in Addu and Fuvahmulah had registered for treatment at eye camps run by the NGO as of December 9.

Last week, the co-founders of the IFM said that although they were not directly involved in the protests, it would not discourage its members from joining so called anti-Zionist demonstrations such as flag burnings and peaceful protests that have taken place over the last month over concern about the visit of ‘Eye from Zion’.

IFM co-founders Ibrahim Nazim and Ibrahim Fauzee said that they did not wish to “prohibit its members” from taking part in the ongoing protests that it saw as a “spontaneous reaction” to concerns over Israel’s attitude towards Palestine.

Nazim said that the IFM did not favour violence as an organisation and claims by “other organisations in the country” that Jewish people were planning to take over the country were setting back legitimate concerns over the visit of Eye from Zion and Israeli foreign policy.

“What I feel is that some groups are trying to win publicity by making radical statements,” he said. “We do not believe this is good and in the long-term it is not be favourable [towards effectively opposing Israeli activities in the Maldives].”

Fauzee added that he believed the protests reflected the fact that “many people in the Maldives do not accept Israel as a state.”

In response to the anti-Zionist protests and criticism that the government was engaged in a pro-Israel agenda, Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said that the government “holds friendly relations with Israel, as it does almost every other nation in the world.”

“We are not at loggerheads with any states, though we have some differences with Burma over the treatment of [formerly arrested dissident] Aung Sun Suu Kyi,” he said. “There is nothing special in terms of agreements with Israel.”

Though Zuhair claimed that the Maldives government has been “consistent on criticising Israel over Palestine and other foreign policy issues it did not agree on”, this was not a barrier to humanitarian cooperation, he said.

Zuhair added that by having bilateral relations with a large number of nations, the Maldives was able to benefit from cooperation based on technical assistance, education and humanitarian aid.

He claimed that the medical expertise offered by Eye from Zion was a strong example of this.

“We ourselves don’t have the means for this type of surgery, which has so far treated 140 patients in Male’ and 40 people across islands in the outer atolls,” Zuhair added. “In this case, the patients that thankful for the treatment they have received, which outweighs the protests against [the doctors].”

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