Society & Culture – Page 105 – Minivan News

Two men arrested playing football during President’s visit to Kan’ditheemu

Two men were arrested while playing football on Kan’ditheemu island in Shaviyani Atoll during President Dr Waheed Hassan Manik’s visit on January 26, one of whom remains in police custody.

Police Spokesperson Hassan Haneef confirmed to Minivan News that “one person from Kan’ditheemu island in Shaviyani Atoll has been arrested for obstructing police duty and is being held [in the regional capital] Funadhoo for 10 days.”

A source with knowledge of the police investigation confirmed two men had initially been taken into police custody, however one was released without charge.

“The police are responsible for security issues and made a decision based on the rule of law,” Kan’ditheemu Island Council President Nasrullah told Minivan News.

Multiple witnesses from Kan’ditheemu claim that Ahmed “Aabe” Agil was “forcefully” arrested, despite not breaking any laws or causing any disturbance.

Hussain Naushaad, a 19 year-old football player, was also arrested and held in police custody for two hours on Kan’ditheemu. He was released upon Waheed’s departure.

Approximately 30 minutes prior to Agil’s arrest, around 25 youth primarily consisting of students were “warming up” for the daily afternoon football match, on the pitch across the road from Shaviyani Atoll School. The footballers were passing balls back and forth on the main road of Bodu Magu, sources stated.

At the same time, Waheed was headed towards the school, but had not yet arrived.

Naushaad claimed he accidentally kicked the football into the school wall twice.

“A police officer from Funadhoo came and said ‘don’t hit the wall again’. The officer waited some time and then left, so we kept practicing.

“I passed the ball again and it hit the wall, which is when the police officer came and arrested me,” Naushaad explained.

A witness told Minivan News that when Naushaad was arrested many of the players commented to police that “this is not good” and “this is not the way you have to act”.

During the football match that took place immediately following Naushaad’s arrest, two footballs were inadvertently kicked over the fence and into the road. The police then confiscated these balls, according to witnesses.

“If play is prohibited then you must say that before we start. The police came and took two balls that went on the road but never said to stop playing,” sources explained.

According to one witness, Agil told the police “even if you take those balls, we can still keep playing.”

“The police don’t have a legitimate answer [for why he was arrested]. The real problem is that he talked back to the police,” the witness added.

“Most of those playing were students and everyone was shouting ‘baghee’ [traitor], but not directly to any officers in particular,” a witness said.

According to another witness, police believed Agil was “purposefully causing a disturbance and they suddenly ran onto the field and arrested him.”

“He was not resisting arrest or speaking, but the police still took him forcefully. There was no need for that,” another witness said.

“They took him because they are [Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party] bagees and they wanted to arrest him,” yet another witness remarked.

The sentiment was echoed by a further witness: “this is baghee nonsense,” he said.

Agil was arrested in his football practice gear and was not permitted to take a change of clothes, nor did the police inform his wife as to why he was being arrested or how long he would be in police custody, according to a source close to Agil’s wife.

The source added that Agil was being held on Funadhoo and has been permitted to call his wife once a day under strict supervision. He was periodically being taken to the court on a nearby island, because there is no magistrate present to preside over the Funadhoo court.

Agil was initially being held for five days, however this was later extended to 10 days.

Police provoking political polarisation

“This is a sad issue. Aabe is a very, very important youth member of our community. I do not want or like to see anyone arrested,” said the Island Council President, Nasrullah.

A source on Kan’ditheemu alleged the island council keeps a list of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) activists for police, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), and DRP members to “concentrate on”.

The same source claimed that DRP and PPM members are threatening MDP supporters living on Kan’ditheemu, particularly those not originally from the island.

“They are making problems and saying that if those people are supporting the MDP, they will come against them. The day after Waheed’s visit, MDP members had their property destroyed. Motorcycle seats and hanging laundry were slashed with a knife,” the source added.

Asked about these allegations Nasrullah stated, “The 100 percent truth: there is no list of MDP members being targeted, the island council is not supporting this.

“Inappropriate graffiti was also put on an island council member’s wall. We want people to come and visit our island, there will be no one kicked off Kan’ditheemu. No one at the island council level has agreed to such things,” he added.

A source close to the island council stated that youth on the island were just angry about the arrest and were spreading rumours.

“President Waheed’s trip was successful, but sad things have happened because of it. I’m very sorry, deep in my heart I cried,” the source added.

While visiting Kan’ditheemu, President Waheed “expressed [his] appreciation of the unity of the people of Kan’ditheemu in working towards the development of the island, steering clear of any differences.”

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Police arrest 153 people in ‘Our Peaceful Addu’ operation

Police have arrested 153 people in an operation dubbed “Our Peaceful Addu”, with the stated aim of reducing the crime rate in Addu City.

Speaking to the media yesterday at police headquarters, Head of Division Operation Command Chief Superintendent of Police Faruhaad Fikury told the media that the 153 persons were mainly arrested on alcohol and drug related charges.

Police said 120 people were released without any charges while 33 people were still in police custody, including two minors.

Faruhaad alleged police seized a large quantity of illegal drugs in Addu City during the operation, commenced on January 17.

According to Faruhaad, the cases included 71 related to alcohol, 43 traffic violations, and 39 other cases that were reported to police since the operation commenced.

Faruhaad told the press that police have so far searched 296 buildings across Addu City, and conducted 511 searches of individuals.

During the operation 702 vehicles were checked to see if they complied with traffic regulations. 14 vehicles were towed and 13 licenses were suspended, police said.

The division commander said police would conduct similar operations elsewhere in the Maldives.

In July 2010, a similar operation was conducted in Male’ to reduce the crime rate in Male’ City and make Male’ peaceful. Police arrested 60 people, most of whom were released without charge.

On December 4, 2012, during a press conference concerning the investigation into the murder of MP and scholar Dr Afrasheem Ali, Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz called on parliament members not to hesitate in giving more powers to police. Riyaz said at the time that such powers were required to curb growing criminal activity in Maldivian society.

“I know that members of the parliament are hesitant to grant more powers to the police because of the political views they hold. But we need stricter laws to stop such acts from happening. Hesitance to grant more powers isn’t a solution [to resolve] police discrepancies. Powers should be granted and at the same time they can establish a proper accountability mechanism,” he said at the time.

The commissioner said police would have “zero tolerance” towards criminals and would utilise all powers and resources at hand to prevent crimes.

“That means, we will not allow a drunkard to freely wander around the street. Police officers will question suspicious people on the road and they have been given the order to stop and search anyone who they feel is suspected of being a criminal or carrying out a crime,” he said.

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Police cordon off MDP protest site ahead of rally

Police have cordoned off the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s protest site at ‘Usfasgandu’ in Male’ ahead of a rally led by former President Mohamed Nasheed this evening.

The police action came after the High Court ordered police to repossess the area until it delivered a verdict concerning an ownership dispute between Male’ City Council (MCC) and the Housing Ministry.

The MCC , which leased the land to the MDP following the party’s eviction from their site near the tsunami monument, took the matter to court after the Housing Ministry ordered the Usfasgandu site be transferred to the government.

The Civil Court has previously ruled that the Usfasgandu belonged to Housing Ministry, and ordered the MCC to hand over the plot to the government.

However, the ruling was appealed by the MCC in the High Court, which today issued both an injunction on the Civil Court decision and an order that police should reclaim the land pending its decision on the rightful ownership.

The High Court writ issued today stated that the ‘Usfasgandu’ area shall be kept under police charge until the court reached a verdict on the case. The court stressed that no one should use the land plot for any purpose until it had concluded the case.

The High Court warrant stated that its order was issued in compliance with the Supreme Court writ or prohibition number 2011/SC-SJ/04, which says that delaying implementation of a lower court’s ruling is a civil procedure to protect rights in appeal cases.

Speaking to Minivan News following the High Court’s ruling, Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef said yesterday’s request by the Housing Ministry to evict the MDP had been superseded by the new order.

‘’We are now beginning work to do everything we have to do in order to implement the High Court order that was issued today,’’ Haneef said.

The MDP released a statement labelling the repossession of the land as a “blatant prevention of the right to assemble and the right to freedom of expression.”

The eviction of the party from its second protest site would “escalate tensions amongst party grass roots and supporters as the court order coincides with a rally planned weeks ago to be held at the venue tonight,” the party stated.

“The move is also seen as an attempt to create unrest amongst peaceful gatherings to create a pretext to unleash brutal police action to intimidate dissenters of the usurper government,” the statement added.

“The MDP appeals for participation by all concerned in the party’s efforts in instituting urgent action to prevail upon alleged usurper President Dr Mohamed Waheed, to desist from continuing to violate and undermine the country’s constitution and in taking imperative steps to reconstitute democracy in the Maldives,” it concluded.

Site leased

Male’ City Council (MCC) initially leased ‘Usfasgandu’ to the MDP for three months back in March 2012, prompting repeated attempts by the government to reclaim the area on the grounds it was being used for criminal activity, including the practice of black magic.

The MDP moved a few dozen metres down the road to the site after a previous protest camp at the tsunami monument was dismantled and completely repainted by the police and military on March 19, 2012.

On May 29 last year, police raided the Usfasgandu site after obtaining a search warrant from the Criminal Court, ordering the MDP to vacate the area before 10:00pm that day. The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) then began dismantling the protest camp.

The Civil Court however issued an injunction ordering security forces to halt the operation after the MDP challenged its legality. The injunction was to stand until the court reached a verdict and was later upheld by the High Court.

In August 2012, the Civil Court ruled that the police did not have the legal authority to order the opposition MDP to vacate the area. The government has since tried to transfer the land from the council – dominated by MDP councillors – to the government-controlled Ministry of Housing and Environment.

Male’ City Council refused to hand over the land and insisted that the area was “temporarily leased” to the former ruling party in accordance with the Decentralisation Act, and contended that the ministry does not have the legal authority to reclaim council property.

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Government lacks plan to address “bad shape” of airport: dismissed transport minister

Former Transport Minister Dr Ahmed Shamheed has said criticism leveled at the government by Adhaalath Party (AP) President Sheikh Imran Abdulla over a lack of development at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) was justified considering the “bad shape” of the site.

Dr Shamheed, who served under the current government before being dismissed in November 2012, has warned that failure to outline a development plan for INIA after the government evicted the foreign investor renovating the site could be disastrous for the country.

Late last year President Waheed’s government declared void an agreement with Indian infrastructure group GMR to upgrade and develop the airport, and gave them seven days to leave the country. The deal was the Maldives’ largest single foreign investment project, valued at US$511 million.

The Adhaalath Party was a key opponent of foreign development of the airport, demanding it be reclaimed on nationalistic grounds.

However speaking to private broadcaster DhiTV yesterday (January 28) the party’s President Sheikh Imran Abdulla claimed that there had been a worrying lack of progress in developing the site after it had been handed to the state-owned Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL).

Sheikh Imran, an outspoken supporter of attempts to “reclaim” the management of INIA from GMR, raised concerns that the airport was returning to the “bad condition” it was previously in, criticising MACL for lacking a vision to manage and develop the site,” according to Sun Online.

“Maldivian people had great hopes when the airport was reclaimed from GMR. It was been two months since and still, there is no vision for the airport. There is no proper plan for how it will be managed,” he was quoted as saying.

Development plans

Former Transport Minister Shamheed told Minivan News today that he believed Sheikh Imran’s criticisms were fair, adding that if the government did have a plan for development, they had not demonstrated it so far.

“I haven’t heard what the government is planning. They seem to be managing the airport as if everything is perfect. Yet they may have to close down the site in future without further development. If [the government] has a plan they haven’t revealed it yet. All they have talked about is setting up a company to manage the site.”

According to Dr Shamheed, following the decision to terminate the GMR contract last year the government has been facing two key challenges with regard to the airport.

The first of these challenges is securing sufficient financing for completing renovation of the existing terminal and runway. The second key issue, Dr Shamheed said, obtaining expertise and skilled developers to bring the airport in line with international standards as expected of a destination like the Maldives.

“To get the airport to the right level, they will need to bring in outside help,” he claimed. “The airport is in very bad shape right now and work is needed on the runway, all of which cannot be done without finance.”

Minivan News was awaiting a response from MACL at the time of press. Meanwhile, both current Minister of State for Transport and Communications Mohamed Ibrahim and President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad were not responding to calls.

Despite the criticisms, President Dr Mohamed Waheed today asserted that “shockingly big investments” would be coming to the Maldives in unspecified areas.

Speaking at the opening of the MACI BuildExpo 2012/2013 show at the Dharubaaruge convention hall in Male’, President Waheed claimed that despite the decision to void a sovereign agreement with GMR – a decision backed by Singapore’s Supreme Court – investor trust in the Maldives had not been diminished.

Sublease plans

Just last month, Minister of Tourism Ahmed Adheeb stated that the government was not planning to hand over full control of operations at INIA, but might sublease specific development projects to international parties through a “transparent” bidding process.

Adheeb told Minivan News that privatising the only international airport allowed it to become a monopoly which was not in the best interests of the country.

The Maldives cabinet also last month recommended forming a government-owned company to operate INIA through a special contract with the Maldives Airports Company Ltd (MACL).

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Status quo and culture of blame-shifting fueling income inequality: DRP, MDP

The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) agree income inequalities are being fueled by vested interests, faulty government policies and a lack of educational training opportunities for youth.

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik recently commented on the growing nationwide income disparity despite revenues doubling in the Maldives over the last decade, during a speech on Kan’ditheemu island in Miladhummadulu (Shaviyani) Atoll.

“The provision of incentives for the poor, and boosting their living standards to a certain minimum, are some of the efforts that could be undertaken,” Waheed said.

However the DRP and MDP have agreed that the government is grossly out of touch with the systemic problems fueling inequality in the Maldives.

“The political elite lead privileged lives and have no idea what is going on here. Many people like [President] Waheed have spent all their time overseas, which explains why public servants are primarily children of privilege with no life experience,” MDP Spokesperson MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor told Minivan News.

“No one talks about this because they want to maintain the status quo,” he added.

DRP Deputy Leader and Spokesperson Ibrahim Shareef agreed.

“Politicians are blind to the realities of life because of political polarisation. There is no trust, everyone just shifts blame around,” he told Minivan News.

“People in a position to create change must work hard to achieve that change or problems pile up. What President Waheed is saying is one thing – he may be sincere – but let us see if it is different from what he is doing,” Shareef added.

Ghafoor and Shareef both highlighted that work and educational opportunities are very limited and still centralised in Male’. The disproportionate reliance on an inequitable tourism sector creates further income disparities.

“Government has not done enough”: DRP

Shareef told Minivan News the government has not done enough to correct these issues.

The “best and brightest” are forced to leave their islands and settle in Male’ or the resorts primarily located in the atolls surrounding the capital, while the “rich get richer and the poor get poorer”.

“Government policies and vested interests continue to widen the [income] gap that has been created between ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ over the years, and marginalised development.

“Competing with those [privileged] people is impossible unless we form capable structures conducive to equitable development, open ourselves for broad sections of society to participate in the workforce, and enact policies that redistribute wealth,” Shareef stated.

Shareef also discussed problems that have arisen from high economic dependency on the tourism sector, which was structured inequitably during the 30-year administration of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

“Gayoom restricted the tourism sector by only allowing ‘certain families’ and allies to build resorts,” Shareef explained.

“Now Maldivians with the capability and vision to build resorts are rarely provided the license or access to investment capital needed,” he added.

Shareef said more resorts targeted toward the “middle market” are needed, in addition to anti-monopoly laws.

He also believes that the education system does not properly prepare youth for the service based economy, and is instead geared toward servicing the government.

Shareef emphasised that this shortcoming has created a huge economic problem whereby over 100.000 expatriates dominate the workforce, particularly among managerial, accounting, and clerical positions in resorts.

“There is something really wrong with the education system. We have very bright and capable youth, but 67 percent still fail O’Level exams,” he said.

“Thus, there are between 30,000 and 40,000 youth without jobs, however they think they are highly-educated so they do not take ‘menial’ jobs, preferring unemployment,” he said.

Shareef said there was an urgent need to reforming the education system to provide vocational training and raising awareness among youth that learning such skills was dignified.

“If youth are not willing, capable, or trained then the income gap widens. They just stay home loitering, spitting on and abusing passers-by.

“Meanwhile, we import labourers to do everything. This is a huge waste of human resources,” Shareef stated, calling for a ‘master plan’ to tackle the country’s social problems.

“Lack of awareness permits slave labour”: MDP

Ghafoor echoed Shareef’s remarks. He told Minivan News that the growing income inequalities are symptomatic of centralised, inequitable resource allocation – particularly in the tourism sector – as well as the lack of skills training for youth within the education system.

“The political right requires the status quo be maintained, which narrows the tourism base, and keeps the poor poor,” Ghafoor said.

“They take advantage of the lack of awareness [among youth and foreign workers], essentially creating conditions of slave labor,” he added.

Ghafoor explained how the educational skills training vacuum for Maldivian youth leads to a dependency on foreign labourers.

“At present there is a dependency on imported labour. Foreign workers – especially Bangladeshis – work under terrible conditions, for cheap, and this has led to a dramatic increase in human trafficking and human rights abuses.”

Ghafoor emphasised the serious resource allocation problem within government policies which compels youth to relocate to Male’ for employment, or seek resort work.

“The young husbands and wives who do find work at resorts are separated from their families for prolonged periods of time. Where else would employees ‘sleep on the shop floor’ and not be able to return to their families at the end of an eight hour work day? This is really impacting the social fabric of the Maldives,” Ghafoor added.

The MDP had many ideas to correct the income disparities fueled by geographic distance, particularly regarding the tourism sector, Ghafoor said.

“The MDP has a plan for radically changing the tourism approach by focusing on providing adequate compensation through a national minimum wage, locations on or closer to inhabited islands, and protecting workers rights.”

Ghafoor emphasised the need for protecting workers rights as a means to not only reduce income inequalities, but also reduce human trafficking – an issue, he said, that has only been discussed openly in the past three years.

“Proper governance, including the integration of International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards into legislation is essential, as is the development of the Tourism Employees Association of the Maldives (TEAM),” he added.

Developing guesthouses on islands “where the average family can profit” was another option for decentralising the tourism sector and creating jobs on local islands.

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Aasandha director claims service not suspended in India’s Amrita hospital

The Amrita Institute of Technology Hospital in Kochi, India has not suspended Aasandha health care services despite reports in local media to the contrary, the scheme’s managing director has stated.

Local media reported yesterday (January 28) that services offered under the universal health care scheme Aasandha had been suspended due to unpaid bills for treatment provided to Maldivians by Amrita hospital.

However, Aasandha Managing Director Mohamed Niyaz told Minivan News today that services had not been suspended. Niyaz said that Aasandha was instead having to control patient admittance to keep in line with the credit limit recently imposed by the hospital.

“Because of the large number of patients who went to receive treatment at the hospital in December last year and delays in paying those bills, Amrita hospital put a credit limit on the treatment they can offer that is paid for by Aasandha,” he explained.

“We are now controlling the number of patients we are admitting to the hospital in order for Aasandha to not go over the imposed credit limit,” Niyaz said.

An official from Amrita hospital told Minivan News that while it is still treating patients who are covered by Aasandha, there had been a period of four days earlier this month where it stopped admitting patients due to unpaid bills.

“There is a total of 7 million rupees (US$ 130,536) outstanding in payment to be made by Aasandha through Hospital Professional Liability (HPL) insurance, who we deal with.

“We ceased treating outpatients covered by Aasandha for four days, but HPL then paid part of the bill and so we resumed our services,” the hospital official told Minivan News.

The credit cap imposed on Aasandha by Amrita hospital was introduced to match a similar credit cap applied to all other health insurance companies who work with the hospital, the hospital official said.

“Originally we had a special agreement with Aasandha whereby they had no credit cap on the treatment we could provide. However our Financial Controller has now introduced it because it is the same as other insurance companies we deal with,” the hospital official added.

“Even now Aasandha’s credit cap is a lot higher than the other insurance companies. We have a great relationship with the Maldives and we treat our Maldivian patients as our own.”

According to Niyaz, patient treatment is currently being prioritised on a case-by-case basis in order for the service they are receiving to not be “compromised”.

In regard to bill payment, Niyaz claimed there had been a number of factors as to why the money had not been paid to Amrita hospital.

“It takes two to four weeks for the treatment bills to come through after a patient has been discharged from the hospital and then we have to pay for the treatment in US dollars,” he said.

“It takes a further two weeks for us to secure the dollars as we have to buy at a bank rate. We are trying to find ways to work around this problem at the moment.”

During December – a “peak” period for Maldivians wishing to seek medical treatment -Niyaz said there had been some issues receiving money from the Finance Ministry in order to pay the bills.

Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

Niyaz revealed that Aasandha had experienced similar issues at a hospital in Colombo and three other hospitals in India, but that these have all been resolved.

Free health care of up to MVR 100,000 (US$ 6,476) was initially available to citizens under Aasandha. Changes to the system were made by the government in August last year, after concerns the scheme would run out of money.

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Housing Ministry orders police to clear MDP protest site at Usfasgandu

The Housing Ministry has sent a letter to police instructing them to clear the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s protest site at Usfasgandu, the plot of land in the south of the city behind the State Electric Company (STELCO) building.

Police Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef today confirmed to Minivan News that police had received the letter.

‘’We are currently reviewing the case. We haven’t decided [to act] on it yet,’’ Haneef said, refusing to comment further on the matter.

On January 20, 2013, Male’ City Council was ordered by the Civil Court to “hand over” the land used by the MDP for its political rallies to the Ministry of Housing within a period of seven days.

The Civil Court’s ruling also states that the city council’s current use of the area contradicts the agreement made between the council, the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure and the Ministry of Finance and Treasury.

However, Male’ City Council has appealed the ruling in the High Court, which has yet to reach a verdict in the appeal case.

Male’ City Council Mayor ‘Maizan’ Ali Manik today said that he had not officially heard about the issue and would not like to comment on the matter.

Meanwhile, MDP Spokesperson MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said he had not been informed about the letter sent by the Housing Ministry to police.

Male’ City Council (MCC) leased the Usfasgandu area to the ousted ruling party for three months, prompting repeated attempts by the government to reclaim the area on the grounds it was being used for criminal activity, including the practice of black magic.

The MDP moved a few dozen metres down the road to the site after its protest camp at the tsunami monument was dismantled and completely repainted on March 19 2012 by the police and military.

On May 29, police raided the Usfasgandu site after obtaining a search warrant from the Criminal Court, ordering the MDP to vacate the area before 10:00pm. The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) then began dismantling the protest camp.

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Comment: In defence of Scottish Police training the Maldives’ police service

Dear Sir/Madam,

I have just become aware of the Guardian article ‘Maldives police accused of civil rights abuses being trained by Scottish police’ and feel obliged to make comment since I am mentioned in it but wasn’t consulted for a view on the matter.

I spent some time in the Maldives as an independent Police Consultant having been invited by the then Commissioner Adam Zahir to conduct a root and branch review of the Maldives Police Service practices and procedures in the capital Male’. My 2006 report made a total of 76 recommendations for improvement, 95 percent of which were later approved by the Force Executive.

I also spent some time assisting with the implementation of many of these recommendations and was quite confident that real progress was made in developing the service being provided to the public by what was, in effect, a fledgling police force in a developing country.

I was not alone in providing this type of assistance and worked alongside officers from the Australian Police and members of the Scottish Police College and was in fact personally instrumental in introducing the College Training input to them.

My presence in the Maldives was generated by a desire by both the police hierarchy and the government of the day who, to their credit, recognised the need for developmental training for their police staff to devise, implement and improve the delivery of a sound community-based policing model. I was very impressed by the enthusiasm and cooperation I received at all levels to achieve this end.

Quite clearly, radical change in any organisation takes time to establish itself and I was under no naive illusions when I left the country at the end of my contract that it wouldn’t take a while for the changes to become thoroughly embedded in the policing culture. I was content however that they were on track to become a much more efficient and effective law enforcement agency.

The somewhat unforeseen political developments which have taken place in the Maldives since I left are not my concern nor of my making. I spent my professional life in a policing environment which was completely divorced from political interference in operational matters, which is exactly the way it should be everywhere.

That said, any breaches of human rights which have taken place in the country and attributed to law enforcement officers are a real concern to everyone and can only serve to hinder the progress the Maldives makes into becoming a modern democratic state. Misconduct by police officers in any of the ways alleged is highly troubling and needs to be vigorously dealt with and stamped out by the organisation.

Notwithstanding, it is of considerable concern to me that Severin Carrell’s article in the Guardian seeks to establish a connection between my training input and that of the Scottish Police College and others to the alleged “thuggish” and “brutal” conduct of a minority of police officers in Male’, the inference being that the Scottish Police connection has been wholly inadequate or that I/we actually trained them or somehow influenced them to behave in that way, a thought process that is almost too ludicrous to contemplate.

The Scottish Police College can speak for themselves but it is quite obvious to me that elements of the opposition parties and others with axes to grind in the Maldives are mischief making in taking advantage of the current situation and have manipulated the platform of the Guardian newspaper to attack the integrity of the police, whom they see as an arm of the current government, and that the Guardian took the bait hook, line and sinker, producing an article which is so one-sided and biased that it barely merits the column inches it inhabits. The tack it takes however also by implication taints me personally and it is not in my nature to let that pass unchallenged.

The quotes cherry-picked from my 2006 report about the force’s Special Operations Command and used in the Guardian article – an “openly paramilitary organisation” and a “macho elite … most of whom lack basic police training” – were some of many comments intended as constructive criticism of different facets of the force and which formed the basis for structured improvements. Notably the Guardian fails to mention that as a result of these comments the SOC subsequently underwent considerable developmental training in an effort to correct the issues I highlighted.

It is well known in the Maldives and worth commenting on that opposition political parties pay gangs of youths to infiltrate so-called ‘peaceful demonstrations’ and thereby generate violent confrontations with the police to discredit them, but I also note no mention is made by Severin Carrell about that either.

Recent events in the streets of the UK involving some of the worst rioting in living memory serve to highlight that even in so-called developed democracies situations arise where policing is tested to the utmost and mistakes are made in dealing with them. While I abhor the abuse of power by any law enforcement agency it is easy with the benefit of hindsight for people who weren’t there to sit in a cosy armchair and criticise actions taken or not taken by officers at such highly charged scenarios where in reality the use of pepper sprays and batons can often be both justified and legal.

Quite a long period of my police career involved working in a complaints and discipline role and I am the first to advocate harsh treatment of serving police officers who break the rules of their office, especially when it involves blatant criminal behaviour, but it is a different matter altogether when fingers are randomly pointed and uncorroborated accusations are made in the thinly disguised name of a political cause and spread across a UK national newspaper in furtherance of that.

Since working in the Maldives I have an affiliation with the country and its people and the work I did there was genuinely focused on helping to make it a better place to live and work. The fact that things now seem to be unraveling to an extent saddens me a great deal but it is disingenuous in the extreme for anyone to pursue their personal objectives by inferring wholly innocent individuals are somehow to blame for it all.

I would suggest that, as well as apologising to me, if the Guardian wants to get involved in such matters as the Maldives crisis it takes a less naive and more balanced approach and looks much more searchingly at everything going on there, as well as giving more credit for the positive things that have been achieved by dedicated people. Impugning the professional integrity of those striving to do good things may be the Guardian’s idea of a good story but I doubt if many right thinking people would agree.

A final word – the present Commissioner of the Maldives Police Service, Abdulla Riyaz, is a well respected, dedicated and fair minded individual of the highest integrity who has devoted his professional career to the improvement of policing services in his country. I have worked closely with him in the past before he was appointed to his current position and I hold him in high regard. He is well able to defend his own position and actions but I feel it is grossly unfair for his considerable achievements to be undermined in the way this Guardian article has done.

Scottish Police Superintendent (retired), John Robertson, was an independent police consultant to the Maldives Police Service in 2006 and 2008.

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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Adhaalath Party denies supporters physically attacked by MDP

Adhaalath Party representative Hussain Wafeer has denied allegations that Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) supporters “physically attacked” its members on the island of Thulhaadhoo in Baa Atoll last week.

The comments were made after local media reported that a crowd of “violent thugs” – led by an unnamed MDP councillor – attempted to attack Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran Abdulla during a visit to the island.

An unnamed source from Thulhaadhoo previously told the Sun Online news service that the attackers threw stones at the visitors, injuring several people during the incident.

Despite the claims, Wafeer told Minivan News today that while the gathered crowd did not physically attack anyone during the visit, sand was thrown at Adhaalath party representatives.

Wafeer refused to speculate on whether the crowd were true MDP members, or whether an MDP Councillor had been involved in the alleged attack.

“They were waving MDP flags, so we can assume they were MDP, but we didn’t recognise any of the members so we can’t say they were MDP,” Wafeer added.

An official from within Thulhaadhoo Island Council – speaking on condition of anonymity – said that the crowd who greeted the Adhaalath Party officials was both a mix of MDP and anti-MDP supporters. The council source said it was not certain who had thrown sand at Sheikh Imran.

“Some of local women on the island witnessed a Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) councillor throwing sand and causing the trouble, while some people said it was the MDP supporters,” the council official claimed.

“After an hour the riot police showed up and arrested the island President, a councillor and some MDP supporters.”

Adhaalath Party Leader Sheikh Imran Abdulla was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

Following the incident, a senior MDP MP told Minivan News that he had received death threats via telephone from unknown callers whom he believed to be members of the Adhaalath Party.

According to Sun Online, the police have arrested a number of individuals allegedly involved in the incident, including an MDP councillor.

Verbal abuse

Following an MDP protest held in Male’ on Friday (January 25),the Adhaalath Party alleged that demonstrators had verbally abused its supporters and vandalised promotional materials at a membership drive held at a school.

The party also claimed MDP protesters ripped up the party’s banners at the school, which were temporarily put up as part of the membership drive.

Responding to the allegations at the time, MDP MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor claimed that while the party did not encourage such behaviour towards government-aligned parties, he said he would not be surprised if some supporters had ripped up banners during the protest.

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