Category: Society & Culture

Training concerns raised as MBC cuts political content from state broadcasts

The Maldives Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) this week announced a temporary halt to all political programming on state media outlets, amidst debate over the need for more independent and informative public broadcasting.

Speaking to local media, MBC Chair Ibrahim Umar Manik claimed that all political programmes on Television Maldives (TVM) and radio broadcaster Voice of Maldives (VOM) would be stopped until both organisations better understood their public service role and could provide “intellectually debatable programs”.

Manik, who was unavailable for comment when contacted by Minivan News at the time of going to press, told Sun Online that “foreign groups” were currently training TVM and VOM staff to overcome challenges in operating as a public service broadcaster. Both broadcasters are reportedly set to instead air dramas and other “social programs” in place of political content, though the “Raajje Miadhu” evening show is still expected to deal with the day’s major headlines.

Local media bodies, as well as politicians, have complained that state broadcasting under both Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Mohamed Nasheed and Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s administrations had been traditionally run for political and commercial benefit rather than as a public service.

Legal battles

The MBC has been previously involved in a protracted legal battle against former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration over whether the executive – via the Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) – or parliament should have responsibility for overseeing state media.

The MNBC was established by Nasheed to run the state media, removing its employees from the jurisdiction of the Civil Service Commission (CSC). In 2010, the then-opposition majority parliament created MBC and demanded the transfer of MNBC’s assets to the new body, which Nasheed’s government refused to do, alleging political partiality on behalf of the MBC board.

Following the controversial transfer of power that saw President Mohamed Waheed Hassan take office in February, MBC was granted control of TVM and VOM.

Informative focus

Despite this politicking over the control of state media, Maldives Media Council (MMC) President Mohamed Nazeef told Minivan News today that he hoped the MBC’s initiative to rethink public service programming would ensure greater informative and education programming on social issues.

“They [the MBC] are trying to do this, but I believe we need a change of mind set,” he said. “The problem they [state media] has is not so much about politicised thinking, but in having a proper knowledge of how public service broadcasting functions,” he said.

Taking the example of commercial broadcasters in the Maldives, Nazeef said that programmes were focused almost entirely on providing entertainment rather than informative and educational content – something he believed was also the case for the country’s state broadcasters as well.

He claimed that as a result of this focus on entertainment, political programs in the country had traditionally focused on bringing together two rival politicians to confront each other rather than on informing the public about issues such as democratic reform, human rights or public health.

From the perspective of the MMC, Nazeef claimed that local public service broadcasters did not presently have sufficient training to operate under a manner expected of non-commercial media organisations, such as providing a greater emphasis on educational content.

He therefore urged caution over the reforms, adding that the MMC hoped to see a greater focus by the MBC on providing training for finding stories and issues concerning social development.

“Democracy came overnight [following the presidential elections of 2008]. People really needed to be educated on what exactly this meant for society,” he said. “ State media should pay much more of a role in informing people.”

“Propaganda machine”

Nazeef said he believed that since its inception, state media, whether in the guise of TVM, or the re-branded MNBC during Nasheed’s presidency, was continuously run more as a “propaganda machine” and commercial outlet than a state broadcaster.

Beyond covering political developments, Nazeef said he hoped that more training and focusses would be provided to cover issues related to health and human rights.

“At present, you do not find awareness programmes in the Maldives media,” he claimed. “Training is definitely needed in how to find these kinds of stories.”

Training calls

The Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) President Hiriga Ahmed Zahir concurred that training was needed to help both TVM and VOM adapt to becoming more public service-orientated broadcasters, as well as opting for political impartiality.  However, he claimed that deep rooted partisan thinking posed significant challenges in allowing for more independent coverage on the issues affecting the public.

To this end, Hiriga said he understood that the MBC had temporarily suspended political programming in an attempts to try and have more issue based programming on both TVM and VOM, particularly for important national issues like dealing with dengue fever.

He claimed that he was therefore broadly in favour of the proposed move by the MBC to adopt a more public service-orientated broadcast model.

“I believe it’s not bad actually. At the moment there is no choice to see any other kind of programs, so there should be much more of a focus on public issues,” he said. “My point is that public broadcasters should not just have programs about politics.”

Hiriga accepted that in the long-term, public broadcasting needed to deal with political issues affecting the nation, but this needed to be handled in a different way to how he believed the state had informed its citizens in the past.

“Certainly there should be more independent and liberal minded people in state media,” he said.

However, Hiriga claimed that ensuring independent political coverage in the country was extremely difficult for journalists in the Maldives due to the partisan politics that often divides the nation down party lines on many issues.

“Most journalists are strong believers on either side of the country’s political divide. This makes it difficult for them to produce stories independently and more training is needed in this area,” he said.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) spokespersons Hamid Abdul Ghafoor and Imthiyaz Fahmy could not be contacted by Minivan News at the time of press regarding the party’s view of the proposed changes to state broadcasting.

However, on March 11 this year, the party announced its intentions to lodge a complaint against the current practices of the Maldives Broadcasting Corporation’s (MBC) state media outlets, alleging that it was broadcasting “blatant propaganda”.

In the letter, the MDP accused the MBC of violating the agreements mandated by the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) Act of August 2010 by producing biased content and not giving adequate exposure to all political groups.

Last month, Minivan News reported on some of the challenges said to be hampering independent reporting and free media in the country.

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Record high convictions of child sex offenders in Ugoofaaru court

The magistrate court on the Ungoofaaru island of Raa atoll has sentenced a  man to 15 years imprisonment for sexually abusing his step daughter.

He was also found guilty of possession of pornographic images and sentenced to additional four months in jail.

The man was arrested from Maduvaree island and charged under the Use of Special Procedures in Dealing with Child Abusers Act which stipulates strict punishments for persons found guilty of sexually abusing children.

Ungoofaru magistrate court has a notable record in convicting child sex offenders from Raa Atoll, which has a population of nearly 20,000 on 16 different inhabited islands.

In a press statement released Monday,  the Maldives Police Service noted that last year Ugoofaaru court had convicted eight people in relation to 10 different child abuse cases.

In February 2011, the court sentenced a man from the island of Kinolhas to 10 years in prison for abusing a 12 year-old disabled girl, and another man from Ugoofaaru was sentenced in April to 10 years imprisonment for sexually abusing a 17 year old girl.

A man from Rasmaadhoo was found guilty of sexually abusing his step daughters aged 12 and 14 for several years. He was sentenced to 15 years in jail while in a similar case a man from Alifushi was sentenced to 20 years in jail for sexually abusing his 17  year old daughter on multiple occasions.

Ungoofaaru court had also sentenced a man from capital Male’  to 20 years imprisonment after he was  found guilty of threatening his 15 year old daughter with a knife and sexually abusing her. His wife from Maakurathu was meanwhile sentenced to six months in jail for hiding her husband’s crime, while another man who had given strong medicine to the 15 year old girl was fined up Rf 200 (US$13).

In October, the court sentenced a man from Kandolhudhoo island for sexually abusing a 13 year old boy and later had that month also sentenced a man from Inamaadhoo island for sexually abuing an 11 year old girl.

The police observed that all cases were investigated by the Ungoofaaru police station in partnership with the Family and Children Centre on the island.

According to the Gender Department, a total of between December 2010 and October 2011, 1,138 cases of child abuse were reported to from atoll family and children service centres. A total of 1,005 cases involved minors while 133 cases involved victims aged 18 and above.

Approximately a third of the 81 cases involving children less than one year-old involved neglect. Sexual abuse was reported in a quarter of the 192 cases for age group one to five, and in a fifth of the 230 cases age group five to ten.

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Increasing density of resort development threatens key tourism appeal, warns former tourism minister

The cabinet has decided to increase the development density of resort islands from 20 percent to 30 percent, in a move tourism authorities of the former government have claimed will impact a key appeal of the Maldives’ destination.

In a statement, cabinet said ministers noted that “opportunities for commercial expansion were limited due to unavailability of land area to develop tourist facilities on leased-out spaces.”

“Members also agreed that, raising the land area limit for construction of tourist facilities, to meet market demand, would largely contribute to the prosperity of the island,” the statement read.

Former tourism minister Dr Mariyam Zulfa said “one of the resort owners behind the [February 7] coup” had pressured her to change the density regulations.

“I privately consulted foreign [resort] investors and the advice I got was not to change this, because the Maldives’ ‘islandness’, a key product feature, would be lost,” she told Minivan News.

“Thirty percent is a huge amount of land to developed as a built up area, and islandness is what makes the Maldives competitive,” she said.

Mohamed Nasheed’s government had debated and provisionally approved increasing the development density to 25 percent, Dr Zulfa said, “but that was before the industry feedback that this was not something to play around with.”

“I can categorically say this is something [resort tycoon and Jumhoree Party (JP) leader] Mr Gasim Ibrahim wanted for a long time. If you do an eyeball inspection of his properties already they more than 20 percent,” Dr Zulfa alleged. “I knew this would happen the moment the regime changed. It doesn’t surprise me.”

Secretary General of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI), ‘Sim’ Mohamed Ibrahim, said the density increase would “allow some resorts to develop more facilities, entertainment and staff amenities.”

“It will give resort developers more flexibility,” he said. “We don’t think it will have an impact [on the competitiveness of the destination].”

Dr Zulfa has previously contended that pressure from several government-allied resort owners had led the new government to declare that 25 year resort island lease extensions could be paid in installments rather than upfront, a decision she claimed took US$135 million out of the budget overnight.

In March, the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) said it had anticipated receiving a total of Rf375 million (US$24 million) for lease extensions, however due the government’s recent decision to accept resort island lease extension payments in installments, the  income received dropped to Rf23 million (US$1.5 million). The government has meanwhile said it has a budget deficit of US$155 million.

Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb was not responding to calls at time of press.

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Six-year old girl dies of dengue shock syndrome

A six year-old girl died at Male’s ADK hospital on Tuesday shortly after being admitted with dengue fever complicated by respiratory difficulties.

Referred to as ‘Dengue Shock Syndrome’, ‘Dengue Haemorhaggic Fever’, or ‘severe dengue’, this type of complication greatly increases the risk of death in cases as blood pressure drops to dangerous levels.

“The girl was brought in at 4:00pm, gasping, blue, in a critical condition and was taken to the intensive care unit where she died,” said the hospital’s Managing Director, Ahmed Afaal.

Afaal was not yet able to confirm the girl’s home island, but confirmed that there would be a thorough investigation into the case as it involved dengue.

Her death is the first dengue-related death to have been recorded this year. A record 12 deaths last year were mostly children suffering from similar complications. Instances of the disease have been rising steadily both within the Maldives and globally.

Health Minister Dr Ahmed Jamsheed he was unable to comment on the issue, as he said he was engaged in SAARC meetings. He did, however, say that a communicable diseases paper would be discussed at the meeting.

The Centre for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC) issued its first warning of the year on March 20, blaming the large amount of construction work in the capital and pools of stagnant water, which serve as breeding grounds for dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) the specific type of insect that carries dengue, the Aedes Aegypti Mosquito, is unusual in that it bites during the daytime. Once infected, humans are the most prominent carriers of the dengue illness, passing the strain on to other mosquitoes when bitten.

The organisation estimates that between 50 and 100 million people a year are infected, with 40 percent of the world’s population at risk. It advises that dengue should be suspected whenever a high fever is accompanied by any of the two following symptoms: severe headaches, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pains, nausea, vomiting, swollen glands, a rash.

It can be difficult to distinguish from the milder Chikungunya disease that can last for up to five days. Even healthy adults can be left immobile by dengue for several weeks while the disease runs its course.

Prevention rather than cure

The government has attempted to raise awareness of the disease in order to prevent the spread of what remains an illness without a specific cure.

After last summer’s outbreak was labelled an epidemic by the government, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) was drafted in to assist with spraying breeding sites, although it did encounter difficulties in accessing some sites.

Such instances led to calls from the now Health Minister Ahmed Jamsheed, head of the CCHDC at the time, for the introduction of a Health Protection Bill that would provide “sufficient resources to ongoing efforts on community education, awareness and health promotion, access to premises with mosquito breeding and legal action against those who do not comply with the law or regulations.”

At the time of last month’s warning Public Health Programme Coordinator for the CCHDC, Dr Fathmath Nazla Rafeeq shared her concerns over the lack of public attention to the Centre’s alerts.

“Since December [2010] we had warned about the increase in dengue cases. But most of the people don’t even remember. They assume that mosquitoes should be controlled if there is a dengue outbreak and everything will be okay when authorities spray fog,” Nazla observed. “Therefore, on most islands, its [mosquito control] is highly neglected. Once dengue starts to spread, people panic”.

She also added that another epidemic would be inevitable if the authorities did not consistently eradicate breeding areas.

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Tsunami watch alert cancelled after 8.6 earthquake and aftershock off Indonesia

An Indian Ocean-wide Tsunami Watch Bulletin was issued on Wednesday afternoon by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre after an earthquake measuring 8.6 on the Richter scale occurred off the coast of Indonesia, followed by an aftershock measuring 8.2 almost two hours later.

The Centre revised its initial update after sea level readings confirmed a “significant” tsunami was generated, and subsequently cancelled the warning five hours after. Any tsunami was predicted to hit the Maldives at 11:49(GMT) – 16:49 Male time, and 11:44(GMT) – 16:44, the Centre reported, but advised that waves could follow for up to two hours after this period. The first wave may not be the largest and further waves could follow in intervals of five minutes to one hour.

The Centre said that the initial shock generated a tsunami measuring 17 cm (6.7 inches), and advised authorities to “take appropriate action”

Such an earthquake had the potential to “generate a widespread destructive tsunami that can affect coastlines across the entire Indian Ocean basin”, according to the centre’s initial report.

Alerts were issued by the Maldivian meteorology department, which extended its alert period by two hours to 7:30pm, following the aftershock.

Residents in the capital Male’ reported feeling tremors with bottles and glass shaking when the first earthquake struck. Several tall buildings, including the government building Velanaage, and schools, were evacuated earlier this afternoon.

Tremors were also reported in the Indian cities of Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.

Bruce Presgrave of the US Geological Survey (USGS) told the BBC that the nature of this quake made it less likely a tsunami would be generated, as the earth had moved horizontally, rather than vertically, therefore had not displaced large volumes of water: “We can’t rule out the possibility, but horizontal motion is less likely to produce a destructive tsunami,” he said.

The 2004 tsunami inundated entire islands in the Maldives, but only caused minor damage in capital city Malé. The northern sea wall and buildings on city’s seafront were damaged. The waves caused minor flooding as well.

Minivan News will provide updates as the situation develops.

UPDATES:

14:30 – According to the BBC, the US Geological Survey has reported that the quake at Aceh quake was centred 33km (20 miles) under the sea about 495km from Banda Aceh.

14:35 – Offices, school and governent buildings in Male’ and Hulhumale’ were evacuated as the people felt the tremors.

14:40 – MET Director Hussain Waheed told state broadcaster: “There is a potential tsunami risk to the Maldives in next two or three hours. But there has been no sign of a tsunami yet. However, he advised the people to be on alert.

14:52 – Deputy Tourism Minister Mohamed Maleeh Jamal told Minivan News that government bodies were now following the instructions of the coast guard and Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF). Resort management had been formed and the government was set to form its crisis management committee established following the 2004 Asian tsunami that struck many islands across the Maldives.

Jamal said he himself had been in the Velaanage Building, where he said that tremors as a result of the quake could be felt.

“All government employees in the building were evacuated to ground level,” Maleeh said of the situation at the time. “We are still waiting for exact details on the situation, but we are working with the military and coast guard.”

Report from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre:

“EARTHQUAKES OF THIS SIZE HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO GENERATE A WIDESPREAD DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI THAT CAN AFFECT COASTLINES ACROSS THE ENTIRE INDIAN OCEAN BASIN.

HOWEVER – IT IS NOT KNOWN THAT A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED. THIS WATCH IS BASED ONLY ON THE EARTHQUAKE EVALUATION. AUTHORITIES IN THE REGION SHOULD TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF A WIDESPREAD DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI.

ESTIMATED INITIAL TSUNAMI WAVE ARRIVAL TIMES AT FORECAST POINTS WITHIN THE WARNING AND WATCH AREAS ARE GIVEN BELOW. ACTUAL ARRIVAL TIMES MAY DIFFER AND THE INITIAL WAVE MAY NOT BE THE LARGEST. A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES AND THE TIME BETWEEN SUCCESSIVE WAVES CAN BE FIVE MINUTES TO ONE HOUR.”

15:07 – Mobile networks are suffering from congestion due to a sudden spike in usage, report major providers.

15:11 – Government spokesman Abbas Adil Riza said the Maldives was evacuating beaches. The National Disaster Management Centre is continuing to issue updated warnings and assess any potential threat: “Right now, we are seeing if there is a threat [from today’s Indonesian earthquake] to this side of the Indian Ocean.

15.18 – David Cameron tells Indonesian President that he is ‘hugely concerned’ about the earthquake, reports the BBC.

15:25 – Bruce Presgrave of the US Geological Survey (USGS), has told the BBC that the nature of this quake made it less likely a tsunami would be generated, as the earth had moved horizontally, rather than vertically, therefore had not displaced large volumes of water: “We can’t rule out the possibility, but horizontal motion is less likely to produce a destructive tsunami,” he said.

15:42 – Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) spokesperson Colonel Abdul Raheem has said that no signs of a tsunami wave within the Indian Ocean have as yet been identified.

“At the moment we are monitoring areas around the country, but have not observed any tsunami,” he said. “We have been in contact with other countries like Sri Lanka and India and they have said the same thing.” Raheem concluded that at present, the Indian Ocean remained calm.

15:44 – Indonesia’s disaster management agency said power was down in Aceh province and people were gathering on high ground as sirens warned of the danger. “The electricity is down, there are traffic jams to access higher ground. Sirens and Koran recitals from mosques are everywhere,” said Sutopo, spokesman for the agency.

The quake was felt as far away as the Thai capital, Bangkok, and in southern India, residents said.

15:49 – Reuters news agency, quoting tsunami warning centre official, has reported the total vertical measurement of the tsunami wave, according to monitoring gauges, was 35 cm (13.8 inches), making the height 17 cm (6.7 inches).

“It doesn’t look like a major tsunami,” Victor Sardina, a geophysicist on duty at the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said. “But we are still monitoring as tsunamis come in waves.”

16:14 – The Centre revised its initial update and said that if generated, the tsunami was likely to hit the Maldives at 11:49(GMT) – 16:49 Male time, and 11:44(GMT) in Gan local time 16:44

16:16 – Sea level reading confirm a tsunami was generated, reports the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre.

16:21 – Met Office Director Hussain Waheed has said that the country has not decided to updated the severity of its warning since the tsunami warning was first raised earlier this afternoon, but will be extending the period of the tsunami watch for at least an hour and a half.

The Met Office said it continues to issue a yellow bulletin, which requires authorities to keep a watch on potential tsunami development.

“Any earthquake of a  magnitude of over 8.0 results in a yellow bulletin being issued,” he said.

With the yellow bulletin in place, Waheed said that the Met Office would be continuing to run a tsunami watch regarding the situation in the Maldives for at least the next hour and a half due to aftershocks that have occurred in Indonesia.

16:25 – The latest (4th) bulletin from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre advises that when no major waves have occurred for two hours after the estimated arrival time (16:49 for Male, 16:44 for Gan, local time), authorities can assume the threat is passed.

“Danger to boats and coastal structures can continue for several hours due to rapid currents. As local conditions can cause a wide variation in tsunami wave action the all clear determination must be made by local authorities.”

16:29 – UNICEF worker Edward Carwardine in Jakarta, Indonesia, told Al Jazeera: “People are quite rightly moving to higher ground, moving away from the coastal areas as fast as they can. I think it’s an indication of how much people have learned from the terrible experiences of a few years ago. We haven’t yet heard of things like structural damage … right now people are looking after themselves and that’s the best thing they can do.”

16:30 – The 2004 tsunami inundated entire islands in the Maldives, but only caused minor damage in capital city Malé. The northern sea wall and buildings on city’s seafront were damaged. The waves caused minor flooding as well.

Following the Indonesia geophysics agency’s extension of a tsunami warning in Aceh province, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre has issued a new warning for the Indian Ocean following aftershocks off the Indonesian coast.

16:35 – The Maldives MET Office has extended the alert for Maldives until 5:30pm local time, following the latest after-shock which measured 8.2 on Richter scale.

16:46 – The Tourism Ministry activated its disaster management policy at 14:15 today, Minister Ahmed Adheeb has said on Twitter. All resorts were informed, tourist recalled to the island and head counts taken.

16:25 – Trans Maldivian Airlines (TMA) Managing Director Edward Alsford said the company is not making any changes to its scheduled activites at the moment. He said that the company did have back up systems in place when necessary. At the moment the sea plane operator was taking a precautionary stance while awaiting further information, he said.

16:45 – Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) CEO Andrew Harrison has said that management were currently monitoring the situation as it developed at the airport, and enacting countermeasures to protect vehicles in the event of a tsunami.

Harrison added that airport management was currently talking to sea plane operators and other airline operators to potentially move some aircraft to protect against any adverse impacts from a tsunami or irregular tidal pattern.

16:54 – People from coastal areas in Indonesia have been evacuated, police have told an Al-Jazeera correspondent. There are no reports of damages or casualties.

16:57 – India’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has played down tsunami reports in the region. The organisation had initially issued a warning for Andaman and Nicobar Island, and an alert to coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

“There is no specific threat. It was a watch and alert. There is no likelihood of any tsunami in the Indian Ocean region,” NDMA Vice President Sashidhar Reddy told the Press Trust of India.

“It is the kind of strike and slip earth quake which does not trigger tsunami. There was no vertical displacement of water under the sea,” he said. “Tsunami possibility is virtually ruled out.”

17: 10 – The tsunami alert period has been extended in the Maldives to 19:30 local time, reports Haveeru.

17:13 – Safari boat operator Danielle Clayton, currently on her vessel in Dhaalu Atoll, said that she and her crew had not experienced any adverse conditions since the country issued a tsunami warning this afternoon.

“We first found out about the situation from Facebook, but since then we have come into the atoll with a number of other [live-aboard] boats,” she said.

Clayton added that they had been visited by the coastguard and remained in touch with other vessels for updates on the situation.

“Our crew are local guys and they have been getting in touch with people too.”

17.15 – Director General of the Department of Meteorology, Hassan Waheed, has confirmed that due to the aftershock the tsunami warning has been extended until 7.30pm local time.

17:16 – The airport has issued a statement noting that a tsunami watch “means there is the potential for a tsunami, not that one is imminent”. The airport continues to be on amber alert and “all seafarer vessels are advised to keep distance from the jetties and moor in the mooring areas located in the outer harbour area.

17:23 – The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre has issued a fifth notification following the earthquake, scaling back the tsunami watch area to Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Diego Garcia. Estimate arrival times for a tsunami in the Maldives have now passed, but the watch period continues for two hours past the estimate (11:49GMT/16:49 local for Male’, and 11:44GMT/16:44 local for Gan).

17:29 – Indonesia’s Jakarta Post reports “small tsunamis” reaching upto 80 centimeters high have hit Meulaboh and Sabang cities in Aceh.

17:59 – The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre has cancelled the tsunami watch alert for both the 8.6 earthquake at 1339 Male time, and the 8.2 aftershock at 1543. “Sea level readings now indicate that the threat has diminished or is over for most areas”, the centre reported.

19:45 – Director General of the Meterological Department confimed the cancellation of the tsunami watch saying: “The danger has passed. The wave was recorded mostly affecting Indonesia. There was only a small rise in our tsunami gauge.”

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Judge declares previous defence statement a “confession” in Kuredu quad-bike case

The Criminal Court has held the third hearing into the trial of 23 year-old Swedish national Filip Eugen Petre, who stands accused of crashing a quad bike on Kuredu Island Resort that resulted in the death of a young newlywed British couple during their honeymoon vacation.

Petre faces charges of disobedience to order for his alleged role in driving the quad bike at the resort on August 6, after it crashed into a tree whilst carrying British nationals Emma and Jonathan Gray.

As the trial resumed today, the prosecution argued that Petre’s lawyer had confessed during the last hearing that his client had been driving the quad bike as it crashed – a view backed by presiding judge Judge Abdul Baary Yousuf.

According to Article 88 of the Penal Code, disobedience to order is a crime and according to Article 88(c), if the result of violating the article is linked to a death, the case shall be dealt accordingly to Islamic Sharia.  The prosecution has previously contended that under Islamic Sharia, if an offender’s action is found to caused the death of a person, the offender shall be punished.

Judge Abdul Baary Yousuf declared in court today that Petre’s lawyer had himself confessed during the trial’s first hearing that his client had driven the quad bike carrying Emma and Jonathan Gray as it crashed on the tourist property.  As a result of this confession, the judge said the state did not have to produce any evidence to prove Petre was the driver of the vehicle during the collision.

Representing the prosecution, State Attorney Aishath Fazna also contended that because Petre had “confessed” to driving the Quad Bike, she did not believe the state had to produce evidence to support this assumption.

However, Petre’s lawyer Areef Ahmed responded that his client had not directly confessed to driving the quad bike and argued that his client continued to deny the charges against him.  Areef additionally claimed that the judge could not declare a verdict regarding the alleged confession during the previous hearing.

Areef contended that his confession could be withdrawn before the case reached to a conclusion, but the state attorney argued that after confessing in the trial there was no way it can be withdrawn.

Previous hearing

In the previous hearing of the trial, Petre’s lawyer told the court that the couple requested Petre drop them at their room, and that the court had to determine the responsibility of Petre in the incident.

However, the state attorney said at the time that witnesses saw Petre asking the couple whether they wanted a ride.

Petre suffered injuries in the accident and was brought to Male’ for medical treatment.

The first hearing of the case was held last Thursday.  During the intial hearing, Petre’s lawyer Areef Ahmed contended that his client could not be charged under Islamic Sharia because his client is non-Muslim.

He told the judge that the crime Petre was accused of committing was carrying people on a vehicle which was not intended to carry passengers, and that his criminal actions started from that moment.

Judge Abdul Baary Yousuf asked Areef to explain this action of his client, to which Areef replied that this was the normal procedure at the resort.

Under the Maldivian constitution, Sharia is turned to by the courts in areas established law does not cover.

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PPM submits amendment to make enforcement of death penalty mandatory

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) has proposed an amendment to the Clemency Act (Act no 2/2010) which would make performing the death penalty mandatory in the event it was upheld by the Supreme Court.

The amendment was submitted by PPM MP Ahmed Mahloof, the third MP to submit an amendment to put the death penalty into practice.

Mahloof’s amendment would require the President to enforce any death penalty if the Supreme Court issues the verdict of death, or if the Supreme Court supports the ruling of the death penalty made by either the Criminal court or the High Court. The move would halt the current practice of the President commuting such sentences to life imprisonment.

Mahloof, in a press conference held in his party head quarters on Monday, stated that he had proposed the amendment in an effort to stop crimes of murder and violence.

He claimed people were of the view that if death penalty or capital punishment is enforced it would bring down crime, and that he had decided to propose the amendment in consultation with several people including fellow parliamentarians.

“I believe nobody would want to die. So if the death penalty is enforced, a person who is to commit a murder would clearly know that if he carries out the act, his punishment would be his life. I believe this will deter him from committing such acts,” Mahloof said.

However, Mahloof admitted that enforcement of capital punishment would not be the sole solution to the problem. He reiterated that in order to achieve a solution, the new penal code and the criminal evidence bill had to be passed.

He also stated that he has been working on drafting a separate bill which is intended to prevent ongoing violence, murder and other criminal activities.

Mahloof has proposed to amend the article 21 of the Clemency Act.

The article 21 of the existing Clemency Act states: “Even if stated otherwise in this act, if the Supreme Court issues a death sentence, or a lower court or High Court issues a death sentence and if the Supreme Court upholds that sentence, the President has the authority to relieve the sentence into a life imprisonment, after consideration of either the state of the guilty, the legal principles behind the issue, consensus of the state or the values of humanity. But once such a sentence is being relieved to a life imprisonment, the guilty shall not be eligible for pardon, under any clause of this act.”

Mahloof’s amendment to the same article reads: “Even if stated otherwise in this act, if the Supreme Court issues a death sentence, or a lower court or High Court issues a death sentence and if the Supreme Court upholds that sentence, the President shall enforce the sentence.”

In Islamic Sharia, death penalty is the punishment of a murderer (one who kills deliberately) and that he is to be killed in retaliation (Qisaas) unless the victim’s next of kin let him off or agree to accept the ‘Diyah’ (blood money).

Previously, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Rasheed and later MP Ibrahim Muthalib submitted similar amendments to the clemency act but both subsequently withdrew these.

MP Rasheed at the time said that he felt he had to present the amendment because of the increase in assaults and murder cases, which had “forced the living to live amid fear and threats.”

After the preliminary debate was concluded and he was given the opportunity to say the last word on the amendment, MP Rasheed withdrew the changes he had originally submitted to parliament citing that he withdrew the amendment because other necessary bills related to curbing criminal activities, such as the Penal Code and Criminal Justice Procedure Bill, had yet to be passed.

In April 2011, MP Ibrahim Muthalib became the second MP who had proposed amendments to Clemency act requiring the state to enforce death sentence.

MP Muthalib at the time told Minivan News that the purpose of the amendment was to uphold Islamic Shariah in the Maldives.

“[The amendment aims] to avoid human beings from changing the verdict determined by Islamic Shariah,” said Muthalib. “It’s the same bill as presented last time. [Referring to MP Rasheed’s amendment]”

On November 2010, Criminal court sentenced Mohamed Nabeel to death for the murder of Abdulla Faruhad, after reviewing the statements of witnesses and finding him guilty of the crime, making it first such sentence to be issued in a case related to gang murder.

The Judge issuing the sentence stated that article 88 clause (d) of the Penal Code of the Maldives stated that murders should be dealt accordingly to the Islamic Shariah and that persons found guilty of murder “shall be executed” if no inheritor of the victim denies the murderer to be executed, according to Islamic Shari’ah.

Previous death sentences issued in the Maldives have included (in 2005) those found to be involved in the death in custody of Evan Naseem, and the perpetrators of 1988 coup.

However none of these sentences were implemented and the guilty were given sentences of life imprisonment.

“An attempt to conceal the real truth”

Aishath Velezinee, formerly the President’s appointee to the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), said the amendment was another attempt by the MPs to avoid “the real issue” and to “deceive the public”.

“The real issue for thriving crime is corruption. The constitution has recognised this and required the judiciary be checked and cleansed.  The JSC breached the constitution, and those MPs are proposing this to cover up the JSC,” Velezinee said.

“Islam upholds justice, and not only has death penalty; it has very clear qualifications for judges too. Neither MP Mahloof, nor any of the Sheikhs, has expressed alarm that the judges are far below standard and some of them are convicted criminals themselves. This is pure politics and abuse of Islam,” she added.

Velezinee also stated that she had earlier sent a letter to the Parliament highlighting the incapacities of the judiciary and the question of public trust upon the the courts and the JSC, when the amendment had earlier been proposed by MDP MP Ahmed Rasheed.

Velezinee claimed that Mahloof’s amendment was an attempt to hide what her letter had highlighted about the Criminal Court and the Judiciary as a whole.

Speaking to Minivan News, MDP MP and spokesperson, Imtiyaz Fahmy stated that the amendment was a “childish act” from MP Mahloof and that it could be a popularity stunt, especially at a time when a very “complete” and “relevant” Penal Code is about to be passed by the Parliament.

The last person to be executed in the Maldives after receiving a death sentence was in 1953 during the first republican President Mohamed Ameen. Hakim Didi was charged with attempting to assassinate President Ameen using black magic.

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Plans to develop residential homes for the elderly stalled

The planned development of private residential homes for the elderly has been temporarily stalled, the Ministry of Health and Family said today.

Director of the Department of Gender and Family Hafeesa Ali confirmed that work on establishing private care homes for the elderly had currently been halted with the change of the government in February.

“There were plans last year to develop residential care homes due to the increasing number of requests to transfer old people to Guraidhoo center. But as you know, several projects from last year have come to a halt now [after the change of government on February 7]. The discussions are ongoing, but I can say it is not progressing as fast as we had hoped,” Ali told Minivan News.

The cabinet of former President Mohamed Nasheed decided in July 2011 to establish private residential homes under its Public Private Partnerships (PPP) scheme.  The pledge for residential homes was made owing to concerns over the increasing number of elderly people being transferred to the state-run Guraidhoo Special Care Centre, which was found by the government to have insufficient space and facilities to accept new charges.

The PPP scheme was shut down last month by the present government, reportedly over concerns sbout the legal processes behind certain privatisation projects.

Beyond the issue of setting up residential homes,  Hafeesa Ali noted that the gender and family department’s wider work to provide shelter and care to the elderly Maldivians had been further obstructed by a limited budget and resources.

“Several elderly people are wait listed to be accepted into the Guraidhoo centre even now. Some of them don’t have any relative or caregiver. But there is no space at the centre and we do not have the capacity to provide alternative housing,” she observed.

According to Health Ministry figures released on April 7 to mark the occasion of World Health Day, 49 people aged between 75 and 80 were found to be living at the Guradhoo center. Among the 49 residents at Guradhoo, eighteen are women and 31 men. Thirteen of them are bedridden, while another thirteen remain in wheelchairs, the statement read.

Most of residents do not have any legal guardian or have been neglected by relatives with no where to live, the ministry added.

According to the statement, only a few family members were reported to have visited elderly relatives at the centre or made attempts to check up on them by phone.

Hafeesa Ali says that the most challenging factor for the department is providing care to the old people under the same roof as people with disabilities or mental illnesses.  Over a 100 people with special needs are receiving treatment at the Guraidhoo facility.

According to recently released ministry figures, Rf12,000 is spent on every resident per month.

Minivan News reported in January of an increasing number of elderly people being abandoned or forced out of family homes to live on the streets.

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Q&A: Former CEO of IGMH Cathy waters

CEO of Indira Gandhi Memorial Hosptial (IGMH), Cathy Waters, left the Maldives on Friday after more than a year at the helm of the country’s largest hospital. Waters, along with Nursing Director Liz Ambler and Medical Director Rob Primhak were recruited in January 2011 by UK-based NGO Friends of Maldives (FOM) and the Maldives High Commission to improve the quality of local healthcare. Ambler and Primhak have also left. Minivan News spoke to Waters prior to her departure.

Waters provided detailed briefing notes on the state of the hospital to accompany this interview (English)

JJ Robinson: What was the state of the hospital at the time of your departure?

Cathy Waters: There are now systems and processes in place so key decisions can be made. People know how to make those decisions and know where the systems and accountability now lie. Patients may not see that initially as a benefit, but we were making sure the foundation and systems were right.

I’m confident those in now in place. Clinical systems to ensure patient care are now there, and there are things such as a proper patient complaint system.

Equally we have introduced a zero tolerance policy to protect staff. We’ve noticed the number of verbal and violent attacks against staff has gone up. I don’t know why – but certainly over the last few months we’ve seen an increase in violence against staff. Now if you go into IGMH you’ll see posters and leaflets in Dhivehi and English.

JJ: One of your main innovations was the introduction of triage. Was this a hard concept to introduce?

CW: Maldivians tend to panic about things you or I would describe as fairly minor healthcare issues. If you were to cut your finger and it bled, you would probably hold a tissue on it, wrap something around it and deal with it yourself. Here, people panic at the slightest bit of blood.

A really good example of this was when we had some of the casualties coming in from the recent protests. A little bit of blood and people wanted to bypass the triage and go straight into the emergency room, when perhaps all they needed was to put a wad of padding over it and have it stitched up in time. There was no urgency about it, but people panic.

The most challenging part has been persuading people that they don’t need to be in the actual emergency room – that it’s acceptable to wait if it’s not something urgent. That has been so difficult to get across. But it is working, and was brought into place in November 2011. Now it’s been in place for a few months we know there are alternations we need to make it more effective.

JJ: You said earlier that you’ve had politicians ringing you up to bypass triage and go straight to emergency?

CW: Absolutely. I think they see it as their right to get access to treatment and the [in-patient] rooms really quickly, and I think in the past that’s why the triage system has failed, because people back down and say ‘OK, come straight to the emergency room.’

We’ve stuck to our principles and said we have to do this properly, because if we start letting politicians in or whoever just because they think they should be in, the whole purpose falls apart. very clear stick to principles.

JJ: Were you able to train triage staff to the point where they could resist that pressure?

CW: Yes, we had to do quite a lot of work, and there’s still a lot to do. We had instances when there were quite a few people waiting and instead of being triaged, they were just waiting for treatment. Then the doctors said let’s just cancel triage and let people into the emergency room. That defeats the whole purpose.

It’s about explaining to people. The most difficult area was when parents come in with children they believe are very sick, when actually it’s not urgent and they just need to see a doctor. But they panic, and that’s the area with the biggest problems. A lot of it is education and helping people realise that they don’t always need to come to hospital – that there are straightforward, basic things they can do.

JJ: How has the Aasandha scheme (universal healthcare) impacted IGMH?

CW: Now Ashanda has been opened to ADK and private health clinics, it’s created major problems for IGMH, because we still have loads of patients coming to IGMH, but we also know that those patients are also going to ADK and private clinics. The dilemma for us is that a lot of the private clinics are run by doctors who work in IGMH. That a fairly difficult area.

JJ: So the doctors end up working less at IGMH?

CW: They would probably argue this, but I would say the difficulty for us is commitment. The average Maldivian doctor will get a third of his income from IGMH, and two thirds from a private clinic. There is a huge incentive for them to do more and more private clinics.

For example, anecdotally a doctor in IGMH may see 6-20 patients in a clinic session. Apparently some of those doctors are seeing 70-75 patients in the same session at a private clinic.

It’s a big problem and the government needs to think about it. If you want doctors to be 100 percent committed to IGMH, you need to do something about increasing their salaries or minimising the amount of time they can do private work.

JJ: How sustainable do you think universal healthcare is in its current incarnation? Does there need to be a monetary barrier to entry?

CW: My view is that it was introduced far too quickly without thinking about what checks and balances needed to be in place. Some patients have already spent their Rf 100,000 (US$6500) entitlement. People see it as their right to spend Rf 100,000, and there wasn’t a public education campaign beforehand so people understand how to use it properly.

There are reports of people going from clinic to clinic and seeing more than one doctor in a day. If they’re not quite happy with what they got from one doctor, they’ll go to the next.

At IGMH the number of non-attendances for appointments has increased because people aren’t paying for it any longer. The patient doesn’t feel they are losing anything, although they are because they are using up their Rf 100,000. We have gaps in our clinics because patients have suddenly got an appointment at a private clinic quicker. And of course we have to work on our appointment system and how people access the hospital.

JJ: We have previously reported on tensions between local and foreign doctors over pay and allowances, such as accommodation. Were these resolved?

CW: It’s still an issue. The problem is that there are lots of inequities. Expat doctors get accommodation, Maldivian doctors don’t. But Maldivian doctors have the ability to do private work, which the expat doctors don’t, so there are some tensions.

Having said that, there are teams of doctors who work really well together. One of the things we have been doing is making sure the clinical heads of department meet once a fortnight, to try and make sure people are working together.

JJ: You have spoken about a contract IGMH had with the State Trading Organisation (STO) to supply medical equipment and consumables, at four times the going rate. What was behind this?

CW: The contract was initiated well before I started at IGMH. It was done for good reasons because there were huge problems with supplying medical equipment, but what we found was that we were paying hugely over the odds for goods we were receiving. Some of the issues with supply are still there, but generally speaking it has radically improved.

We had to do a lot of work on our side. Doctors had been stockpiling, so we have to educate them now that there is no need to stockpile, because it is increasing our expenditure.

It was also a major battle to understand our financial situation. When I first started people were spending money left, right and centre, and there was no financial control. Now we are are very clear about where we are – we don’t like where we are, because it’s not a very good financial position – but at least we know where we are. We are trying to enact a financial recovery plan, but we haven’t been able to go as far with it as we’d like.

JJ: What about the Indian promises to pump money into IGMH? Did you feel they were persistently interested in it?

CW: They came and pledged this money a considerable time ago. The project was supposed to start in April, but it slipped and slipped. It desperately needs to happen. The building is old and bursting at the seams, it is not able to cater to the needs of patients it has, and when it rains it leaks like a sieve. Things like the electric wiring are very old – it all needs to be redone.

JJ: You initially signed for another year, but mentioned concerns about job stability. How did things change at the hospital after the recent political turmoil? Should that be affecting a hospital?

CW: I don’t think it is – the Finance Ministry said, the same as the previous government, that we could not change salaries or appoint new people. So we have vacancies and we have to hold those [closed], with the exception of clinical staff. We argued that we needed to replace senior doctors if they leave. But we are carrying an excess of admin staff we desperately need to reduce. But the previous government stopped us doing that. To enable us to become a more effective organisation we need to do that.

JJ: What was it like working at the hospital, personally? Did you face challenges as a foreigner?

CW: Our chairman said it was not about me as a foreigner, it was about management. There was a general resistance to administration, which I detest. We have tried to bring together management and clinical staff, so we have a stronger team. What was happening before was that you would have different departments working in silos. Yes there’s been resistance – I came in with different ideas, trying to bring in a different style of working, empower staff to make decisions and come up with the solutions. They have the answers.

The language barrier was very frustrating. I was very vocal about not being politically driven, and saying what I thought. But at senior meetings in the Ministry of Finance they would always make a big thing about saying ‘Sorry, we are holding this meeting in Dhivehi’ – even though these were senior people with a good understanding of English.

At one particular meeting they spent most of the meeting slagging off IGMH. Fortunately I had taken another member of staff who was frantically writing things down. They would ask for a response but I couldn’t argue as I didn’t know what had been said. I found it really frustrating and I felt they used it sometimes.

JJ: You said you were keen for a Maldivian to take over after your departure? Is that capacity available locally?

CW: I think that given another six months we would have had a number of people ready to take it on. I had appointed a director of operations, who potentially could.

I made clear in my final comments to the new health ministers that they need to get the right person, and not necessarily make a political appointment, because it is such a key job driving change in the health system. Ultimately it’s their choice, though.

JJ: What do you feel like you’ve got out of the experience personally?

CW: I think I’ve become much more tolerant and patient, and politically aware – with a small and a large ‘P’. Diplomacy skills have been honed greatly. I also had my eyes opened about living in a small place where everyone knows everyone else. If someone was in the same classroom as the President, they think nothing about calling the President and telling him what they think of you.

It also really opened my eyes to the complete lack of confidentiality. People don’t think twice about leaking highly confidential information to whomever.

JJ: What are the top three areas the hospital needs to focus on right now?

CW: Firstly, getting to a stable financial footing, be that through the health insurance scheme, although it is not bringing in enough to allow IGMH to stand on its own two feet.

Secondly, the government needs to decide whether IGMH is a public or a private hospital. That’s a fairly difficult tension they need to resolve.

Third, let whoever is running IGMH run it, and have the confidence to run it, and stop all the political interference. That was the number one frustration – not being allowed to get on and do my job. We’d have a plan, then something completely unrelated would come in from the side and stop something I tried to enact. It was so difficult to keep people motivated when that happened.

There are some fantastic staff at IGMH. Liz the nursing director was also leaving, and we had an amazing leaving do, in traditional Maldivian dress. There are some really special people there.

If I can add a fourth priority: to continue to try and change the work ethic so people only take sick leave when they are genuinely sick.

Some of the senior team are very good, and have taken no sick leave – I haven’t had a day off sick the whole time I’ve been at IGMH. It never crossed my mind to take sick leave unless I was genuinely sick. But people just take loads of sick leave – they see it as their right.

I will miss it. It’s been a fascinating experience.

Biographical note: Cathy Waters arrived at IGMH in Feburary 2011, first as General Manager, and then CEO. In June/July 2011 she was asked to take on the role of Managing Director of the Male’ Health Services Corporation (MHSC). She has 32 years experience working in health care and health care systems, and has previously worked in the UK’s NHS as a CEO and as a Director of a small consultancy company specialising in organisational development and change management.

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