Category: Politics

President of Timor-Leste says farewell to the Maldives

José Ramos-Horta President of Timor-Leste (East Timor) said his goodbyes to President Nasheed and the Maldives yesterday evening.

Just after 10 pm, a press conference was held in the VVIP lounge at Malé International Airport.

President Ramos-Horta arrived in the country on the evening of 13 February on a state visit. He described the Maldives as “paradise islands” and thanked the “president, government and people of Maldives for welcoming us with open arms.”

New avenues of cooperation

President Nasheed said Dr Ramos-Horta’s visit is a good beginning to strengthen bilateral relations and has opened up “new avenues of cooperation between both nations”.

He added the two men compared notes and were “very easily able to come to a number of understandings” as they “share similar personal lives, conditions [and] situations”.

During President Ramos-Horta’s visit, agreements of education, culture, tourism and visa arrangements have been signed by the Foreign Ministers of both countries. These agreements are purposed to enhance cooperation and strengthen ties between the countries.

President Ramos-Horta said he was “feeling at home” and “learning about [the] enormous progress that this country has made since independence in spite of extraordinary odds of geography and environment”.

He also said that he hoped the Maldives would “be able to assist advice on how we can build up our own…maritime security” and to “develop our own tourism strategy…in the years to come.”

Dr Ramos-Horta said he had learned a lot from his visit to the Maldives and would be taking this knowledge home.

“[I] will tell my compatriots and colleagues in leadership to learn from this country, [where] in true adversity, they [have] managed to build a prosperous society, with imagination, with vision, with hard work. So that is one inspiration I take from my visit,” he said.

Climate change

The two leaders discussed climate change, sustainable development and poverty eradication, and hoped to encourage other Asian leaders to join them in seeking practical solutions to these pressing issues.

“One of the issues of common concern to us is the issue of climate change. As vulnerable island states we will make every effort to work together…[and] to take further steps beyond Copenhagen”, said Dr. Ramos-Horta.

He added that although he didn’t show up in Copenhagen, and “I was probably the only president who didn’t show up,” through “wise leadership and determination” and by mobilising other Asian leaders, the next round of climate change summit, COP 16 Mexico 2010, could be reached with a “commitment by all”.

He also commended President Nasheed for his hard work and good results at COP15, saying that “…not many small island nations, not many developing countries, had this impact” and he will “look forward to work[ing] on a regular basis with His Excellency, the president”.

Joint statement

Additionally, the Presidents issued a joint statement which was read during the press conference.

Nasheed said they came up with a statement that “would indicate how we may be able to proceed in the work that both countries can jointly achieve.”

The statement spoke of implementing innovative, practical and pragmatic approaches to the problems of climate change, poverty eradication and sustainable development. President Nasheed added that they hoped to achieve bigger targets for cutting carbon emissions for COP16.

The joint statement reads: “Asia is undoubtedly the most affluent, dynamic and promising region in the world [but] is also one that faces the greatest challenges ranging from demographic pressure to extreme poverty and environmental degradation.”

President Ramos-Horta finalised his visit by addressing President Nasheed and saying, “I hope I will be able to reciprocate in my humble home in Timor-Leste your generosity, your hospitality and we hope you can visit us soon. I thank you and may God bless you.”

President Nasheed responded by saying “Spending time with the president of East Timor is well worth it and I certainly treasure the moments.”

President Ramos-Horta was led to a Singapore Airlines airplane on a red carpet where soldiers, generals, ministers and other senior members of government wished him farewell .

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Thasmeen endorsed as DRP leader and presidential candidate

Ahmed Thasmeen Ali has been endorsed as leader of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and its presidential candidate, during the party’s third annual congress.

841 delegates out of 882 attending voted for the proposal by the party’s council to automatically make the DRP’s leader its presidential candidate. A further proposal put forward by Umar Naseer and Aneesa Ahmed calling for a primary election was overruled as it was contradictory.

Yesterday evening, during a dinner for DRP supporters, former party leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom said the party “must unite and work in the spirit of democracy.”

”The DRP should be a party that does not fear to debate democratically,” he said. ”It should be a party that believes having different minds and different thoughts is democratic, and should work united.”

Gayoom said the party had to realise that “obeying the will of the majority is the spirit of democracy.”

Gayoom previously endorsed Thasmeen as his successor during his announcement that he was retiring from politics. Thasmeen was then elected leader by default as no other member of the party stood against him.

However Naseer, former president of the Islamic Democratic Party (IDP) and DRP member, said that Thasmeen “must not [automatically] be the DRP’s candidate for the presidential election; it has to be taken by a vote.”

Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed told newspaper Miadhu that the DRP would not be democratic or successful if it continued its “clan-style” decision making, noting that the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has “by far the best internal democracy in the country”.

MPs from the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), including MP Ahmed Easa, had criticised Thasmeen’s automatic election as “undemocratic”, particularly after Gayoom’s public endorsement.

“It’s unbelievable that nobody else stood up for the DRP leadership,” Easa commented.

Two days after Thasmeen’s election as leader, president of coalition party People’s Alliance (PA) Abdullah Yameen, widely believed to have leadership ambitions, sued Thasmeen for debts of US$100,000 in the civil court. The DRP however quashed speculation that the DRP-PA coalition was under strain.

DRP spokesperson Ibrahim Shareef confirmed that Yaameen was invited to the congress but did not attend.

Last night Gayoom rallied the party, telling the assembled congress that the party should remain united, “even though I am no longer the party’s leader.”

”DRP is a national tree growing up from a seed we buried, and to water and provide food for the tree is a responsibility of all the members,” he said.

The DRP should boost the role of its MPs in parliament and ensure the party continued to have wide appeal, he suggested, while pursuing the goal of winning the next presidential election.

DRP MP Ali Waheed said Gayoom’s words were still in his ears.

”He showed us the example, we all will follow him,” he said. ”We will do our best to work united and reach our goals.”

After the congress the DRP would start its journey to win the next presidential election, he said.

DRP MP Ahmed Ilham said the party was encouraged by Gayoom’s words.

”We will reach our targets within the next leadership,” he said, ” and walk on the path Gayoom showed us. Gayoom is the founder of DRP, 98 per cent of it belongs to him.”

Umar Naseer, a candidate for DRP’s vice presidency, said he was very encouraged by the speech, and if elected “would give all my will to follow Gayoom’s advice.”

”Even if I lose, I will not stop our work,” he said.

Ibrahim Shareef said the party would work as much as it could to follow Gayoom’s advice.

”Without a doubt we would win the next presidential election,” he said. “Half of the people who voted for MDP are now against them.”

He responded to Shaheed’s description of the party as “clan-like” by calling him a ”political prostitute”, with ”words that do not have any political weight.”

MDP spokesman Ahmed Haleem said the MDP had closely watched the DRP congress and noted that ”Gayoom’s brother Yameen was missing.”

That meant the DRP was now in control of Thasmeen, he said.

”I think the next leadership of DRP will be great,” Haleem said, ” Thasmeen is a very talented person and he is very democratic.”

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DRP’s leader will be party’s presidential candidate

The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has decided that their candidate for presidential election will be the party’s leader, a decision made during the first day of the party’s third annual congress.

DRP spokesman Ali Solih said the party decided during today’s meeting that it would not hold primaries to elect the party’s presidential candidate, with “only a few of our supporters calling for primaries.”

DRP’s national congress meeting started at 3pm in Dharubaaruge, with former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom speaking at the opening ceremony.

DRP MP Ahmed Ilham said more than 900 DRP supporters attended the national congress.

He also said that former president Gayoom was given the special title of DRP’s ”Zaeem” (leader).

Former president of Islamic Democratic Party (IDP) and candidate for the DRP’s vice presidency Umar Naseer, who had called for primaries, said he respected the decision of the party.

”An amendment was approved concerning the party’s leadership, including a provision for the party’s leader to become the presidential candidate, which meant the amendment I presented was cancelled,” Umar said.

Spokesman for the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Ahmed Haleem said that DRP’s decision not to hold primaries showed that the party’s members had confidence in current leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali.

Haleem said he did not want to comment on whether he considered the decision to be democratic.

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Crime boosted by lack of witness protection, claims judge

A senior judge at the criminal court has claimed that a lack of witness protection is the main reason the justice system has failed to check rising crime rates.

At a press conference last week, Senior Judge Abdulla Mohamed said many witnesses are bribed or threatened and many fail to testify in court for fear that they or their families will be in some way hurt.

Prosecutor General Ahmed Muizzu agreed the issue was “very serious.”

“Because [the islands of] the Maldives are so small, it makes our job [of protecting witnesses] more difficult,” he said. “In some cases, witnesses are being threatened or intimidated. In other cases they might be bribed or offered rewards.”

Another major concern raised regarding witness protection was the lack of space to hold witnesses and criminals separately, with witnesses and the accused made to sit next to each other in the court houses. Muizzu says that this is something that the courts are trying to address.

He agreed with the judge that witnesses should be allowed to testify anonymously, and said improvements were being made such as allowing witnesses “to testify via video or audio link.”

Muizzu also noted that “there are some issues of witness protection that are pending in parliament.”

The police are also trying to formulate laws to improve witness protection. Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said police brought up the issue of witness protection long ago, without response.

“Police get threats as well,” he said. “It’s a major concern for us; we need to give better protection to witnesses.”

Without a witness’ testimony before the prosecution, a case can be dismissed due to lack of evidence. Muizzu explained that “in most cases, confessions made to the police will not have any weight, so it is very important that the witnesses testify for the prosecution in court in order to prove the case.”

Judge Mohamed criticised the lack of cooperation between government institutions, claiming that this was causing delay and even the collapse of many important criminal cases.

The prosecutor general admitted “there have been some instances when there has been delay on our part”, but said he believes that all branches of government are doing their best.

“Our prosecutors do appear in approximately 40-45 cases in criminal court every day, and we do cooperate to the best of our availability of human resources.”

He said there are areas that could be improved, especially witness protection.

“The court will definitely need the cooperation of the police and the prosecution to effectively discharge their duties. And we are prepared for that.”

Shiyam said, “If there is anything police need to be mindful of, judges should tell us what needs to be corrected. They should at least phone senior officers.”

He insisted police are working “hand-in-hand” with other government institutions. “All authorities must come together to provide better security,” he said.

Spokesman for the President’s Office, Mohamed Zuhair, said the government is “strengthening and improving facilities for all institutions and courts.”

He said issues of space for institutions such as the criminal court would resolved when the ministries move to the new Wellaanage complex, soon to be completed.

He also criticised judge Abdulla Mohamed for failing to take his concerns to the “proper channels.

“I don’t believe people in the judiciary should access media to give political messages,” Zuhair said.

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“In victory be magnanimous”: President of Timor-Leste visits Maldives

Visiting President of Timor-Leste (East Timor) Dr José Ramos-Horta was met with a seven-gun salute this morning at the president’s jetty, the first day of his state visit to the Maldives.

The two countries signed an agreement to promote cultural exchange and encourage travel through a visa agreement.

Introducing the Nobel Peace prize-winning head of state, Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed said Timor’s experience with transitional justice following its independence provided valuable insight for the Maldives’ own process of national reconciliation.

“His excellency [Ramos-Horta] is no ordinary head of state – he is a renowned, fearless and uncompromising champion of human rights,” Nasheed said. “We can learn from their experiences building democracy and of transitional justice.

Ramos-Horta thanked Nasheed for the invitation, joking that “some people at home were suspicious as to why I was going to the Maldives on Valentines Day. I had to show them the letter from the president to prove it was not forsecret romantic purposes.” He also said he was “nervous about coming, in case the President invited us to a meeting underwater.”

He pledged Timor’s support for the Maldives’ bid to join the UN Council of Human Rights, praising Nasheed’s “creativity, commitment, and conciliatory and compassionate approach to past political opponents”.

Timor Leste, like the Maldives, was one of the few countries “to have ratified ever human rights instrument, on day one our our succession to independence,” Ramos-Horta said.

“It took 24 years of occupation [by Indonesia] before we freed ourselves, and tens of thousands of people died. And yet there is no anger or resentment between us and former occupiers – we have the best possible relationship, and thousands of Indonesians are still living in Timor without abuse or discrimination.

“The greatest act of justice is that we are free. We are free because Indonesia also freed itself in 1999 with the fall of the Soeharto regime. Indonesia won by freeing itself of East Timor – and they did. If you look monthly import-exports, [Indonesia] wasted a lot of money on Timor. Now our import bill to them is huge, in the millions of dollars. Our independence restored Indonesia’s honour and dignity.”

Ramos-Horta said a conciliatory approach following Timor’s independence had led to heavy criticism from “heroic bureaucrats” in the United Nations and Brussels, who favoured an “international tribunal to try everyone in Indonesia who was involved in the crimes of the past.

“[Such an approach] would have shown on our side a lack of wisdom and insensitivity to an Indonesia [which was itself] in turmoil and in transition to democracy.”

Ramos-Horta said he himself had “lost brothers and sisters, some of whom we cannot even recover the bodies. That happened to thousands of people.”

“Each country has its realities; its challenges and complexities,” he explained. “I prefer to be criticised for being soft on people who committed violence in the past than be criticised for being too harsh or insensitive in putting people in jail. Our approach fits our reality, an approach the president of the Maldives and I share – the need for magnanimity.”

“Immediately after our independence in 1999, I said: ‘in victory be magnanimous. Don’t rub the wounds of those who feel they lost. Make they feel they won, also.'”

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DRP claims MDP influencing Elections Commission

The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has accused the Elections Commission (EC) of failing to register members who have shifted to the DRP from the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

Mohamed Hussain ‘Mundhu’ Shareef, spokesman for the former president and DRP member in charge of the Noonu atoll branch, said he noticed the problem when 66 newly-joined DRP members from the island of Miladhoo in Noonu Atoll failed to appear on a list from the EC.

”As soon as we figured out these people were missing from the EC list, we scanned it to see whether people from other atolls were missing as well,” he said.

That recount revealed many more DRP members from Haa Alifu Atoll and Gaafu Aalifu Atoll missing from the list, Mundhu claimed.

“People who shifted from Adhaalath party and Qaumeee party were in the list, but those who came from MDP were not there,” he said, accusing the MDP of influencing the EC.

He said that the DRP had sent a letter to the EC two weeks ago to clarify why the people were missing from the list “but they have not responded.”

President of Elections Commission Fuad Thaufeeq said the claims made by the DRP that members were missing from the list were untrue.

He said that by law people could only be members of one political party, “and sometimes when people try to join a party without resigning from another registered party, we will not register them.”

Thaufeeq furthermore stressed that the commission was working independently ”and nobody can influence us.”

Spokesman for MDP Ahmed Haleem said the EC was an independent institution and accused the DRP “of inventing a new story about MDP everyday”

”They spread these type of rumours just to gain popularity,” he said. “They can’t get famous without saying something against us,” he said.

DRP MP Ahmed Mahloof said he had heard no information about the issue while MDP MP Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik claimed “nobody from MDP would resign to join DRP.”

”The EC works independently; it was elected by the parliament,” Moosa said. “They were elected not only by the vote of MDP MPs but DRP MPs voted for them as well.”

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Comment: We think violence is okay

This government clearly has every kind of trouble imaginable when it comes to the religious front. We have extremists, conservatives, suspected missionaries, Taliban freedom fighters, Afghan parliamentarians, jihadists, and zealots of every denomination. So what is the government doing about it?

This government is led by some of the most liberal minds in the country. But that is to their detriment. They cannot make liberal policies because they will be attacked for it. They are constantly threatened, warned, and then shunned by the conservative community. The only reason Adhaalath tolerates MDP is because MDP has fundamentalists like Fareed, and Adhaalath is getting their own ministry as a result of that tolerance.

But that does not seem to be enough. So now, the only way to get these people (meaning conservatives and not just Adhaalath) on our side seems to be to ensure that there is no doubt as to the fact that we will not unduly prosecute them – even if justice demands it.

Appeasement

When the Himandhoo residents attacked the police with knives, batons, and rocks they crossed the line. They chose violence. We cannot tolerate violence in any form. If they had blocked entry and sat in front of the mosque in non-violent protest, then this would be a different story. But that was not the case.

I’ve written about the human rights which must be afforded prisoners and today I want to remind everyone that these rights apply to our police officers as well. We all know members of the armed services, and we know them to be diligent, caring and disciplined citizens. And though there are institutional problems, they deserve to have the support of the people for working towards the lawful protection of the nation. When the Himandhoo residents attacked them, they crossed the line.

Mr President, I have a tremendous amount of love and respect for you, but this is not something that members of the liberal community can find acceptable. Even though we understand the reasons for it, there needs to be more due process, if for no other reason than to honor the policemen who were forced to go up against them.

How can the Himandhoo residents just be released again? These are residents from an island which has been heavily influenced by Lashkar-e-Taiba, the largest terrorist group in our region. They constantly violate human rights, create a repressive environment, and allow child abuse in the form of underage marriage. They actually picked up arms against the government in defense of a radical and conservative ideology. Will a simple workshop convince them of the error of their ways? No.

Violence is okay

Instead we will send a message to the conservative community that their actions were okay. That it was understandable. I mean, they were only defending a mosque right? Only defending their holy place. So it is okay right? No. It is not okay. They blocked entry and threatened other Muslims. The police could have easily taken off their shoes and entered the premises in a respectful manner, but instead the Himandhoo residents chose violent confrontation.

Many specific mosques are becoming places that are forbidden to many of us now. Even in Male’ – many mosques are hostile to certain people praying in them and all forbid women from the main spaces. One of the first moves the Islamic Ministry made was to shut down all women’s mosques. And where was the backlash?

Those of us who do nothing are sending the message that this kind of action is okay. And this message is being spearheaded by government policy. Recently we released nine Maldivians who were arrested on the Waziristan-Afghanistan border.

When the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was questioned about this, Shaheed said that “if we release anybody, it is because our laws require them to be released.” So then why were these people repatriated in the first place without any accompanying documentation of charges? If they have not been tried or convicted, then why are they not formally charged before being released? Why did Shaheed allow them to be brought to the Maldives without any investigation in their actions or collaboration with the Pakistani government? Why did he not seek information about the three Maldivians who died in Pakistani custody? And finally, why did he pass the buck to the Maldivian Police Service saying that the Maldives Police Service had determined that “the best thing to do was to release them to their families and put them under surveillance”, while their activities abroad were investigated?

So do the Police now have an international investigative unit? Do they have the money and capacity to pull off this kind of investigation? No. These people are the rest of our problem now. That we are repatriating our would-be jihadists is apparently of no concern. That Lashkar-e-Taiba is active in Himandhoo (and anywhere else in Maldives) is also apparently no big deal.

Against extremism

Though appeasement does seem to be rampant, at least we have been making some headway against fundamentalism. The rapidly formalised defense agreement with India was aimed at protecting our boarders from terrorism. The Maldives was a focus because Lashkar-e-Tabia, who was responsible for the Mumbai Terrorist attacks, as well as being linked to the Sultan Park Bombing and Himandhoo, is obviously active in our country. We have also objected, very mildly, to having Afghans come for official negotiations without informing the government beforehand.

All in all, we release violent jihadists and the Himandhoo residents. With Shaheem, from the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, on the delegation who visited them, it’s quite obvious that this is a religious issue and not just a matter of the previous government “treating them unfairly.” It is an active policy of appeasement towards the conservative religious community. But toward what end? Maybe it is because there are so many of them that we can no longer stand against them. Maybe we are finally giving in to the threats and warnings. Maybe it is just so we have a little bit of support and cooperation. Or maybe it is so they don’t blow up the Holiday Inn once it finally gets issued its liquor license.

www.jswaheed.com

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

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Israel trains Maldives in mass casualty management

A team of experts from the Israeli Foreign Ministry are training 35 Maldivian officials in emergency preparedness, with a focus on the management of mass casualties.

The experts from the ministry’s Agency for International Development Cooperation arrived on 27 January to run a two week course drawing on Israel’s experience with emergency response.

“Israel is one of the best in the field when it comes to emergency response,” said Abdulla Shahid, chief coordinator of the Maldives’ National Disaster Management Centre.

Many aid agencies had conducted disaster-response training in the Maldives after the “wake up” call of the 2004 tsunami, Shahid said, “but much of it was ad hoc and it wasn’t run under a proper department until this government came into power.”

He acknowledged while that there was little the Maldives could do to prevent a tsunami, it was possible to prepare for them; “things such as monitoring how you alter the environment and construct buildings. Artificial – reclaimed – islands were the worst hit and suffered the most number of casualties. Male’ is more than half artificial,” he noted.

Earthquakes were also a concern, especially because of the country’s “very poor building and construction standards – God forbid if anything happened.”

“On 15 July 2003 there was an earthquake 270 miles southwest of Addu measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, which shook the whole of the southern Maldives. So we cannot say we are not an earthquake-prone country,” Shahid said.

“Since the earthquake in Haiti we’ve had to rethink [our approach]. A lot of warning was given by Haiti’s neighbours, particularly by the US Geological Survey. But they were not taken very seriously.”

Shahid also observed that “a quarter of the world’s crude oil travels within 20 miles of the north of the Maldives.”

Terrorist incidents, “especially given the state of the world at the moment”, were not being discounted either, Shahid said.

“In fact, mass casualty scenarios were the main focus of the Israeli training,” he said.

Politics

Working with Israel on aid projects was not politically difficult, Shahid said, despite parliament’s no-confidence motion against Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed after he said at a press conference on 15 September 2009 that the the government was in the process of establishing ties with Israel, and he did not see any reason not to pursue it.

Shaheed narrowly survived the no-confidence voting with 37 MPs voting in favour, two short of the majority needed to remove the foreign minister.

Vice president of the Adaalath party Asim Mohamed said the Maldives “should collaborate with anyone willing to help us in our development.”

Shahid meanwhile noted that “we were working with Israel throughout the no-confidence motion.” The issue, he said, “had nothing to do with Israel and 100 per cent with local politics.”

The Israeli trainers had travelled to 18 islands across the country without incident, he explained, “and received warm welcomes and typical island hospitality.”

The government was exploring further training projects with Israel around developing paramedics and agriculture, “two areas in which Israel is state of the art.”

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DRP denies rumours of internal dispute over primaries

Reports of internal disputes in the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party over whether to hold primaries in the run up to the party’s congress are incorrect, the party has claimed.

Despite a court case the between DRP leader elect Ahmed Thasmeen Ali and coalition partner People’s Alliance (PA) leader Abdulla Yameen, and earnest debate over whether the party will hold primaries rather than automatically put its leader forward as a presidential candidate, the DRP insists the party is united.

DRP spokesman Ibrahim Shareef said ongoing rumours over splits in the party were untrue.

”People think the party is dividing because these are the days before our elections, so we are competing with each other – that’s why some people think we are having internal disputes,” Shareef said.

Shareef said in reality there were no internal disputes in the party.

However former president of the Islamic Democratic Party (IDP) and DRP member Umar Naseer claimed that among the DRP MPs there are MDP supporters ”who wear blue T-shirts and pretend to be DRP supporters but actual fact are MDP supporters.”

Umar said it would be “very beneficial” for the party if the amendment of to hold a primary election was approved, as ”everyone must have the right to run for the presidential election.”

He said that he had not yet decided whether to do so himself.

Spokesman for the former president Ibrahim ‘Mundhu’ Sharef said rumours of internal strife within the DRP were being spread to encourage people to dislike the party.

Mundhu said ”the DRP is a democratic political party, and we solve all our problems peacefully.”

He claimed the DRP’s large membership base supported the party because of the love they have for former president Gayoom “and not for money or by force.”

In contrast, only 18 per cent of the population supported MDP “according to several polls we took.”

MDP spokesman Ahmed Haleem claimed that disputes were occurring within the opposition party naturally “as it changes into a democratic party. This happens in the early stage of any democracy,” he said.

“The DRP was largely based around former president Gayoom,” he said, “and their disputes over whether to elect a presidential candidate through a primary is due to the number of undemocratic people in the party.”

“Hopefully the DRP will become a democratic party very soon,” he added.

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