Category: Society & Culture

Finance Committee seeks to reform Aasandha without charging public

The Health Ministry has suggested to Parliament’s Financial Committee that a co-payment be introduced to the Aasandha health care programme in order to mitigate the system’s spiralling costs.

Members of the committee were keen not to impose any fee on the public, however, and insisted that the focus of efforts should be on reducing costs and introducing controls that will reduce demand over time.

They were said to be open to the idea of charging a small fee for outpatient care. Aasandha Chairman Thorig Ali Luthufee told Miadhu recently that outpatient care had made up 65 percent of the costs incurred in the first three months.

In the same article, Luthufee noted that the programme did not have the standard controls required of such a scheme.

The cost of the system, introduced in January this year, has come under increasing criticism as the projected budget looks increasingly unrealistic. Ahmed Nazim, head of the Parliamentary Financial Committee recently described the system as a “hole in the government’s pocket”.

After yesterday’s meeting Nazim told Sun Online that the current Rf720 million (US$46million) budget for the scheme would run out by August or September.

The current costs of Rf3 million a day (US$200,000) would take the yearly cost to over Rf1billion (US$2.3 million).

The sustainability of the Aasandha scheme has become a particularly prominent issue as the government looks for ways to slash spending in order to reduce the budget deficit.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) told the People’s Majlis last week that urgent measures should be taken to reduce expenditure, warning against further borrowing or printing of money.

Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad yesterday informed local newspaper Haveeru that the budget was being sent to Parliament for revision after it became clear that the government’s income would fall Rf2billion (around $130million) short of its anticipated expenditure this year.

Jihad warned that the country must avoid resorting to selling treasury bonds due to the country’s unsustainable levels of debt.

Members of the formerly ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have criticised the current government’s financial policies. Former President Mohamed Nasheed argued that money has been wasted on police and military bonuses whilst the former Tourism Minister Mariyam Zulfa has argued that around $150 million has been lost after the government opted to change the way island lease extension payments were made.

Recent figures from the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) revealed that this lost revenue amounted to over Rf350million ($22million) in March alone.

Chairman of the National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) and State Minister of Home Affairs Thoriq Ali Luthfee had said previously in the local media that the Aasandha scheme “cannot continue to operate without interventions to control the demand.”

He alleged that the scheme was introduced “for political motives” without any proper planning.

Nazim echoed these concerns last week, telling Minivan News that the system had been “introduced in a rush” and had “gone horribly wrong.”

The Financial Committee is in the process of producing a report on Aasandha in an attempt to resolve these problems which Nazim reports as having resulted to “abuse on a massive scale”.

Regardless of opposition suspicions regarding the government’s long term intentions with the programme, however, Nazim has maintained his determination to continue the program on a more sustainable footing.

“Aashanda is here to stay”, said Nazim.

Likes(1)Dislikes(0)

Nearly 60 islands hit with water crisis

Aishath Haseena* and her sisters, clutching empty bottles, rushed to the water tank near the mosque as soon as the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officials finished re-filling the tank. It had been empty for over two weeks.

“Water tanks in almost all the houses are empty now. So everyone started to collect water from the public tanks. But, two weeks back, the public tanks also ran out of water,” Haseena, a resident of Hithadhoo in Addu Atoll, told Minivan News today.

While 90 percent of the atoll’s population depend on rain water – often collected in household water tanks as a principal source of water – the reduced rainfall during the dry season (January-June) leaves several islands across Maldives in a severe annual water crisis.

According to the National Disaster Management Center (NDMC), so far this year 58 islands have reported water shortages and asked for emergency water supplies.

“We have received requests for water from 58 islands facing severe water shortages. We are working with the MNDF to supply emergency drinking water to those islands as soon as possible,” NDMC Project Director Hisaan Hassan said.

Among the worst-hit areas were the islands of Addu city, with a population of nearly 30,000. The MNDF is now providing the islands with water from the desalination plant situated on the Southern Regional Harbour on Hithadhoo island.

“People were buying bottled water from shops when the MNDF started refilling the public water tanks, including schools and mosques,” Haseena observed. “People were very worried, because they use rainwater for drinking and bottled water is so expensive. Everyone can’t afford them on a regular basis,” she added.

According to MNDF media official Lieutenant Abdulla Mohamed, last week nearly 10 tonnes of water were supplied to the islands daily.

Meanwhile, Mohamed also noted that 35 tonnes of water were collected from the Felivaru fish processing plant and carried to islands of Baa and Raa atoll on a finish vessel. The water was discharged into both public and household water tanks using pipes, he explained.

“We are also facilitating NDMC to provide water to rest of islands facing shortages” Lieutenant Mohamed noted.

Background

All islands in the Maldives do not have a functioning water supply and distribution network that can ensure sufficient supply of safe freshwater during dry periods, except Male’, Vilingili and Hulhumale’, which are home to over a third of the total population.

While surface fresh water is generally lacking throughout the country, key problems pertaining to freshwater security relate to the of increasingly variable rainfall patterns induced by climatic change and the management of saline groundwater.

Until recently, groundwater was commonly used for all purposes including drinking and cooking, however, following the 2004 tsunami the underground water wells in most islands were contaminated by sewage, waste and salt water – thus increasing the use of rainwater.

However, the rain water storage is limited with an  average household storage capacity of 2500 liters on most islands. And due to the changing weather patterns and prolonged dry periods, the islands experience severe shortage of drinking water, prompting calls for emergency water supply.

Current figures from NDMC show that in the dry seasons of 2009 and 2010, the Maldivian government supplied desalinated water to over 90 islands at a cost of Rf10 million (US$640,000). The average cost of this service is expected to rise with fuel prices.

NDMC noted that the centre is working to find a sustainable solution to the annual water crisis, which is being “discussed at policy level”.

Meanwhile several internationally funded projects have been initiated over the past years to provide sustainable water solutions.

The Ministry of Housing and Environment and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) last year signed a US$8.5 million project to provide “climate smart freshwater solutions” to three densely populated islands; Ihavandho in Haa Alif atoll, Mahibadhoo in Alif Dhaalu atoll and Gadhdhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu. This project is estimated to provide clean water to more than 6700 people.

The United States government is meanwhile providing US$7.1 million towards an integrated water resource system on Lhaviyani Hinnavaru and Haa alif Dhihdhoo islands, under an agreement signed last year between the two governments. Both islands have approximate populations of 4000.

* Name changed on request

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Comment: Underground music scene leads growing youth movement

When I first wrote this article, I introduced my topic explaining that the new MDP government were in the tricky process of negotiating outside influences on the Maldivian population, whilst maintaining their own cultural heritage.

Now, when I come back to update my article I find that the disarray, brutality and suspicious circumstances with which the MDP has renounced its position leaves me lost for words. This short article cannot cover such a controversial and unexpected set of events.

Instead I want to reflect upon my experiences of the Maldives last summer: on my teaching placement with Salaam School, as well as my impressions of the youth movement in Male’, which at the time seemed to be blossoming -albeit in its infancy. I hope to bring to attention of the readers the importance of a creative outlet in the development of a young society, and the passion and virtue I witnessed in the growing Maldivian youth movement.

My experience of the Maldives comes from working under Salaam School; a charity funded ‘mobile’ school, which toured the islands of the Maldives offering pop-up classes in vocational training to unemployed young people. The courses were a great success, and sought to educate youth and strengthen communities.

Salaam School was founded in Male, the Maldives in 1999 by Maldivian local Aminath Arif; an inspirational woman who advocated equal rights to education, she was a mentor to the young generation of the Maldives. I had the honour of teaching a two month course in ‘Computer Administration and Book Keeping’ over the summer of 2011. Unfortunately, I arrived in Male’ too late to meet Aminath, and ultimately, the death of Aminath Arif was the death of Salaam School.

The loss is something which I believe is still felt across the Maldives. Aminath Arif died in a tragic accident on July 8, 2011, and without her management in Salaam School, its courses inevitably ran dry. Without her leadership, none have successfully taken control of the school with the integrity it requires.

In order to understand Salaam School and its intentions better, it helps to look a little at the history, and the trouble that Aminath found when launching the school. When I arrived to teach, Salaam School had been aimed at teaching ICT and the leisure industry, however, Aminath’s original vision for the school was a creative-based education, focusing on music, language and art as a means of tapping creative potential and encouraging freedom of expression. Aminath’s essay, ‘The Maldives Must Value the Arts Education’, written in 2010, can be found on Minivan News, and articulates her struggles when first opening the Salaam School. Aminath writes:

New Maldivian artists, new forms of art and new opportunities developed to a peak in the early 90s and slowly started receding because as the Maldives entered the era of the nineties, political control on whatever brought people together was held in check.”

Then returned the Islamic-educated ‘scholars’, adamant to put a stop to all forms of performing arts and visual images.

Both the intentions, one for political purpose and the other to spread the new messages of Islam, coincided perfectly, brutally fragmenting and replacing the hopes of the Maldivians with confusion, fear and disconnection within themselves, within families and within communities.

In order to contest the growing control over artistic expression and community collaboration, Aminath attempted to set up Salaam School. Unfortunately, Salaam school was never able to reach the goal of becoming a fully fledged arts school, and had to change its primary focus in order to get funding. Now, fast-forwarding to today, the course I taught on the small island of Thimarafushi was the last of its kind. It was a hollow victory to conduct my final exams and leave the small island to return to the capital of Male’, knowing that Aminath was no longer campaigning for the intellectual and creative liberation of the youth of the Maldives.

The fight for liberation is now bestowed upon the new generation. In Male’, the underground music scene is bubbling away under the surface of the city. Live music is an outlet for countless young men and women, who attend secret gigs in various locations across the capital. Heavy metal is one of the newest genres to take off; its loyal fan base spreads the news of upcoming gigs to peers by word of mouth. Recording studios, too, are hidden in garages and outhouses around Male’. Small music shops are popping up on the streets, boasting a whole range of Maldivian and Western instruments.

As well as music, the surfing culture has been growing rapidly. Surfers Against Sewage are cleaning up the beaches, and post hand-made signs along the coast campaigning against litter. Many DJs are hoping to combine surfing and music by holding surfer’s parties, where young people go to socialise and collaborate. Music, as Aminath rightly pointed out, unifies all of these young people and offers solidarity in a climate which seeks to isolate.

Unsurprisingly, the police crack down on any live music or DJs, and they quickly cut off any live music or parties. However, the police’s intolerance to music does not deter the next generation. They are on a path towards a conscientious future: the values underpinning the youth movement are an inspirational mix of heritage, community and environment. Over the next few years, the youth movement will be gathering momentum, and hopefully the authorities will not be able to catch up with them.

I hope to demonstrate that the Maldives would benefit from more charities, like Salaam School, which seek to facilitate a creative outlet for the next generation in the Maldives. The creativity which is burning inside of every young person needs to be praised and encouraged. Without a doubt, the next generation in the Maldives are environmentally and politically engaged. Their efforts to clean up the shores, campaign for democracy and collaborate with their peers demands attention, approbation and encouragement.

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

Likes(1)Dislikes(0)

Police play down political motivation for burglaries, dhoni fire

Politicians and public figures linked to both government-aligned parties and the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have raised concerns about a spate of potentially politically motivated crimes, though police urge caution in drawing early conclusions.

Early this morning, the Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF) confirmed that its fire team put out a blaze that badly damaged a dhoni based in the waters around Hulhumale’. The vessel has since been confirmed to belong to high-profile Jumhooee Party (JP) member Mohamed ‘Inthi’ Imthiyaz, who recently left the MDP.

Both the MNDF and the Maldives Police Service confirmed to Minivan News that they were currently investigating the cause of the blaze, stressing it was too early to tell if the incident was being treated as arson or an accident.

The fire, which saw a man hospitalised with severe burns, is the third incident involving prominent political figures to be investigated by police during the last three days.

Police have confirmed they are also looking into break-ins that occurred Saturday morning at offices belonging to Vice-President designate Waheed Deen and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Interim Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik. Both offices are based in the same building in the capital of Male’.

Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef said that forensic analysis of both these crime scenes and the dhoni fire were under way, but said that it was not yet possible to ascertain if there was any link between the incidents. Sub-Inspector Haneef added that findings from the cases would be cross referenced, but he did not wish to speculate if a common motivation existed between the incidents before ongoing investigations were concluded.

Dhoni fire

Addressing the dhoni fire today, vessel owner Mohamed Imthiyaz said that he was also unsure if his boat was destroyed intentionally or by an accidental fire.

However, Imthiyaz claimed that the blaze occurred after he had received threatening messages from alleged MDP supporters after making a public speech two days ago criticising the party. Imthiyaz was himself previously a member of the MDP before joining the JP, which is part of the coalition government of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

“I have received [SMS] threats from people I know are MDP supporters and I have passed on their numbers to police,” he added.

Imthiyaz said he believed that public figures needed to be “careful” about their security in the current political climate, particularly considering the potential involvement of organised crime in attacks and vandalism.

Heavy Load

A spokesperson for MDP MP Reeko Moosa Manik’s Heavy Load company was in no doubt that the enterprise had itself been the target of a political attack over the weekend.

The company’s headquarters, based in Male’s Jazeera building, was broken into early Saturday morning along with the offices of the Six Senses resort group and Vice President Deen’s Bandos Island Resort – all situated at the same address.

“[The break in] was definitely politically motivated. The intruders broke in to damage and vandalise equipment like computers that could have been taken for profit. They also wrote threats all over the walls of the office,” the Heavy Duty spokesperson said.

Following the break in at Heavy Load, local media reported yesterday that several messages were left for Moosa Manik across the office. These messages reportedly read, “Moosa, you may have escaped this time but you will be killed,” and “We will vote for you next time if you put some cash next time”.

Attacks

A number of attacks and cases of vandalism against political figures has been making headlines recently.

Late last month, three former ministers who served in the government of former President Mohamed Nasheed were reportedly attacked along with their wives on the street’s of Male’, leading to condemnation of the crime by President Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

The president has also criticised MDP supporters on his Twitter account following reports of attacks on police officers and the car of Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hassan’s during the same month.

“Violence by Nasheed’s supporters keeps increasing,” the president wrote at the time.

The MDP itself moved to issue a statement following these incidents condemning attacks on police officers and calling for supporters to mantain peaceful protests against the government it alleges has come to power in a “coup d’etat” In February.

The offices of broadcaster Villa TV (VTV) were also heavily damaged in March during clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces .

VTV is owned by MP ‘Burma’ Gasim Ibrahim, the leader of the Jumhoory Party (JP) – part of Dr Waheed’s government coalition.

Likes(1)Dislikes(0)

Maldives “lagging behind” on tackling malnutrition

The Maldives is “lagging behind” in addressing malnutrition, a senior medical expert has said, as the country continues to work towards meeting the UN’s Millennium Development Goals for health.

Public Health Programme Coordinator for the Center for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC), Dr Fathmath Nazla Rafeeq, told Minivan News that malnutrition in the country was “quite alarming” considering the number of medical advances made in the country over the last few years.

Her comments, made on World Health Day, relate specifically to fears over the national promotion of healthy diets, including issues of vitamin deficiency in expectant mothers and children, to the consumption of high-calorie junk food and energy drinks by young people.

According to figures published in 2009 by the World Health Organisation (WHO), 17.8 percent of children under five years of age were found to be underweight in the Maldives according to international standards for ascertaining health in young people. The same figures found that 6.5 percent of children were classed as overweight in the country. 20.3 percent of children in the same age group were found to be suffering from ‘stunting’, a term describing children suffering growth retardation as a result of poor diet and infection.

Hunger for information

Co-founder of the NGO Advocating the Rights of Children (ARC), Zenysha Shaheed Zaki, believes parents and schools across the Maldives require greater access to trained nutritionists, reflecting a demand for education on healthy eating.

ARC is focusing on overcoming a widespread cultural prevalence for convenience foods in the country by promoting healthier lifestyles – particularly among younger people.

Dr Fazla said that the government continued to rely on NGOs to helping to promote healthier lifestyles across the country’s atolls.

“The state cannot do this alone. Therefore we welcome the support of NGOs to improve health across the country,” she said.

Though not all educational programmes relating to nutrition in the country in recent years have succeeded, the CCHDC claimed in certain cases children were able to teach their own parents about the need to cut down on junk food like french fries and other dietary offenders, as a result of their own learning.

Dr Fazla said there was also a strong concern about the amount of high-calorie junk food being consumed by school-age children.  She also said that the number of expectant mothers suffering with anaemia – a condition that can have health impacts for children later in life – also needed to be addressed.

Energy drinks

Dr Fazla stressed that beyond just dealing with food intake, the government continued to be concerned about a growing trend among parents providing children with caffeinated energy drinks. There was, she said, a common misunderstanding that such drinks were the same as sports drinks designed for rehydration after physical activity.

“We understand that some parents are under the misconception that sports drinks are the same thing as energy drinks,” she said. “Right now we are looking to address concerns about giving energy drinks to children.”

Rather than solely treating nutrition as an education issue, Dr Fazla claimed that wider national issues of food security and supply were also important to the debate about the quality of the nation’s eating habits.

Supply issues

Supply issues are hampering efforts to encourage healthy eating in the Maldives, said Dr Fazla.

“There is a perception among some people that when we encourage people to eat fruits, these be products like apples and oranges – things grown in in other countries, rather than locally available produce like papaya,” she added.

“We also have to think about affordability. I can go to tell someone to buy vegetables, but for products grown on farms say in India there are a lot of variables like shipping costs that impact the prices of such goods.”

Dr Fazla stressed that projects were underway to try and encourage a wider variety of agriculture, but issues of food security and availability should not be understated.

She was ultimately optimistic the country could succeed in fostering a culture of healthier eating among young people, and the rest of the nation.

“We should be able to overcome the challenges of how to feed our young properly,” she claimed.

Awareness issues

ARC yesterday launched a new website for its HEAL campaign, originally launched in April last year, designed to introduce young children to a five-point program designed to promote healthier lifestyles.

According to ARC co-founder Zenysha, the NGO is educating parents and schools to replace fast foods and flavoured soft drinks with fruits and vegetables, water and a generally more active lifestyle. Efficient promotion of ARC’s message remains a major challenge, she said.

“Raising awareness [of healthy eating] among young people is a key challenge we face right now. There are a few nutritionists in the country, but the ARC has had to get two nutritionists from New Zealand to help with our work,” she said. “There is a lot of demand among parents and pre-schools for dietary advice and information. We have had nutritionists meeting with parents at pre-schools in Male’, Hulhumale’ and Villingili – events that were popular, but people are still demanding more advice.”

Children were often wary of being taught lessons, Zenysha said, so ARC was attempting to combine education with games and activities to raise awareness about the importance of healthier eating.

The HEAL plan emphasises the importance of healthier snacking, such as yoghurt or dried fruits and nuts, eating a mix of different coloured fruits and vegetables, avoiding processed foods like sausages and burgers, and aiming for at least an hour a day of physical activity.

Drinks are also included, with parents being asked to reduce their children’s consumption of added-sugar drinks such as packaged juices and flavoured milk, by favouring bottles of water and lower fat or skimmed milk.

Though the HEAL campaign was launched back in April 2011, the launch of the new website this weekend represents an ongoing collaboration with nutritionists to promote a national discourse on the need for healthy eating.

Zenysha said information on the website was at present solely provided in English, though attempts were underway to provide Dhivehi translations.

ARC said it was also looking to schools to try and have a single day each week where children are invited to bring lunches and snacks consisting solely of fruits and vegetables.  Water would also be encouraged in place of added-sugar drinks.

Meanwhile, ARC said it had been invited by a large number of groups and organisations around the country to attend events in order to promote the HEAL campaign, providing games and activities to help parents and children better understand the need for nutrition.

After a festival held last year to promote its nutrition message, Zenysha said the NGO was now looking to hold a similar, much larger event to promote child nutrition in 2012.

ARC had now been in operation for two years and was seeing strong support from government, fellow NGOs and the private sector, though difficulties were still felt in attracting active volunteers, she said.

“While we have lots of interests in our campaigns, we are a relatively small team, so getting trained volunteers for our projects can be difficult,” she said.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

‘Noon’ campaign targets VP’s business

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has continued its campaign against the businesses of those it alleges to be involved in financing a coup on February 7. Yesterday’s protests occurred outside the Shell Beans cafe, owned by the new Vice President Mohamed Waheed Deen and his family.

The group continued its ‘Noon’ campaign (meaning ‘no’ in Dhivehi), gathering outside the popular restaurant on Male’s northern harbour front.

Former Education Minister Shifa Mohamed said she was pleased with the protest, having forced the cafe to close at one point.

Shifa said “I don’t think [the staff] truly know what kind of order they are working for. We will protest until they know what these people have done. We will ask foreigners to boycott Shell Beans.”

The campaign was launched just under two weeks ago and has gathered 1900 supporters on its Facebook page. The boycott’s list of products to target includes Granini juice, Lavazza coffee, Red Bull energy drinks, Marlboro cigarettes and Lindt chocolate.

These products are imported to the Maldives by Euro Store. Shops under boycott include MP Saleem’s ‘Redwave’ grocery chain and MP Mahloof’s clothing store ‘The Jeans’.

Protestors also called for a boycott of Gasim Ibrahim’s Villa Gas and his airline Flyme. The campaigners alleged Gasim Ibrahim to be one of the main financiers of the coup.

Rasheed Carpentry and Construction Company, alleged to have ties to defense minister Ahmed Nazim, and PPM VP Umar Naseer’s security services Alarms and Whale Submarine tourist attraction are also included in the list.

After the protest the group from the MDP women’s wing, marched back towards the newly established demonstration area at Dharubaaruge. Shifa stated that the group will shortly be sending representatives to Thimarafushi and Kaashidhoo. Both constituencies are to hold by-elections in one week’s time.

The group also intends to engage in demonstrations tonight, focussing on the World Health Day theme. Shifa stated that she was particularly concerned with the recent discussions in parliament regarding the Aasandha health care scheme.

“We are very concerned. It is the only successful measure of redistribution [of wealth] that we have given to the people. They are trying to take it away,” Shifa argued.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed, addressing his followers at Dharubaaruge on Wednesday night, argued that the government was wasting state funds that could finance the scheme on promotions and bonuses for security forces personnel.

The Maldives Police Service (MPS) recently announced plans to promote 1000 officers, whilst the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) announced two years of allowances was to be paid to qualifying officers in a lump sum.

After financial problems with the scheme were discussed in the People’s Majlis this week, Financial Committee Chairperson and Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim described the current application of the scheme as a “hole in the pocket of the government” but vowed to reform the system, assuring that “Aasandha is here to stay.”

Likes(1)Dislikes(0)

Indian resort worker beaten and mugged in local hotel

An Indian national working in a local resort was attacked with a hammer and mugged while in Male’ city, allegedly by a former employee of the same resort.

The victim, identified by India’s Express News Service as 24 year-old Ramakrishnan Sadanandan from Thiruvananthapuram, was reportedly attacked at 2:30pm on March 31 while staying in a local guest house.

According to the victim, he was  attacked and robbed of US$200.

“They forcibly entered my room holding an identity card, pushed me to the bed and started beating me with a hammer,” Sadanandan told the Express News Service.

“They took my mobile phone, cash worth US$200, camera and gold chain, and ran away. I informed the hotel authorities about the incident and they called the police,” he said.

Sadanandan, who works as a front office supervisor at Medhufushi Island Resort and Spa, said that the police had “only registered the complaint”. He has also filed the complaint at the Indian High Commission in the Maldives.

Speaking to Minivan News, Sadanandan said that he had been continuously threatened in the last two days and warned that he would not be allowed to leave the country safely.

However Sadanandan said that he is planning to leave the country as soon as possible and if required he would seek the assistance of the Maldives Police Service.

A person familiar with the matter told Minivan News under condition of anonymity that Sadanandan and the person who had attacked him both had worked on the resort. Sadanandan was the senior officer to the person who had attacked him.

According to the source, Sadanandan was warned prior to the attack, and “was lucky that he was at a hotel or else the he would have ended up in huge trouble”. The source also said that Sadanandan had audio recordings of the attacker in which he had been threatened.

A police media official confirmed to Minivan News that the case had been lodged with police and that efforts were underway to arrest the people involved in the crime.

Speaking to Minivan News, First Secretary of the Indian High Commission in the Maldives, S.C Agarwal, said “I think the Maldivian society needs to be a little bit more sensitive to the foreigners.”

“Foreigners come here because they are invited to come here by the Maldivian community. They are issued with visas and work permits. If they are being mistreated, in the long term it will bring long term consequences to the country,”  he said.

Agarwal added that foreigners deserved to have their rights and liberties respected once they entered the country with valid documents.

Regarding the case of Sadanandan, Agarwal confirmed that the High Commission had received the complaint on day the event took place.

Agarwal also said that a similar incident occurred about 10 to 15 days ago, in which an Indian woman was mugged on the street and had her mobile phone stolen. However, he said that the police had arrested the perpetrators on the same day and the mobile phone was retrieved. However she had declined to proceed with the case because she did not think she would succeed as a foreigner.

Despite the reluctance of foreigners to report such crimes, the Indian High Commission had received more than 400 complaints in the last five months. Most related to labour issues, but some included mugging and robberies affecting the Indian community.

“In my last five months in working in the High Commission, I have received about 400 complaints from the Indian community here. And that is not good,” Agarwal said.

The Indian High Commission had advised Indian nationals not to carry large sums of money in their pockets, and to take precautionary measures at all times, he added.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Hearing held into deaths of Emma and Jonathan Gray at Kuredu Island Resort

The Prosecutor General’s Office (PG) has pressed ‘disobedience to order’ charges against 23 year-old Swedish national Filip Eugen Petre, the driver of the King Quad 700 that crashed into a tree and caused the death of a tourist couple honeymooning at Kuredu Island Resort last year.

The first hearing of the case was held in the Criminal Court yesterday.

Petre’s lawyer Areef Ahmed contended that his client could not be charged under Islamic Sharia because his client is non-Muslim, local newspapers reported.

State Attorney Ahmed Nashid told the court that every soul was protected under Islamic Sharia and that Petre was charged for disobedience to order because it was a case involving two deaths.

Nashid also contended that under Islamic Sharia, if an offender’s action caused the death of a person, the offender shall be punished.

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.

The judge told Areef that he was not asking about the procedures of the resort, but was asking whether his client had acted right in the incident.

The judge kept repeating the question to Areef, and said that one’s disobedience was not a reason for others to disobey.

Areef then told the judge that he need time to answer the question.

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 resulted a death, the case shall be dealt with according to Islamic Sharia.

While this can include the death penalty, in practice the Maldives commutes this to up to 20 years imprisonment.

The young tourist couple from West Yorkshire, Emma and Jonathan Gray, were riding on the quad-bike as passengers when it collided with a tree around 4:00am on August 6.

On August 6 last year police were informed by resort management at 4:15am that two guests had been found with injuries beside one of the resort’s roads

A statement from police that day stated that a third individual, later identified as Petre, was injured in the incident and was taken to hospital.

Jonathan’s mother Cath Davies recently told the Halifax Courier that the prospect of Petre facing the death penalty was “shocking. It’s absolutely horrendous,”

“We never expected there to be an outcome like this. It’s good they have dealt with it. It’s great they have investigated it properly. But I wouldn’t want it to be carried out. It’s not going to bring Jay and Emma back. It’s not going to make us feel any better. It doesn’t seem right. I just find it quite abhorrent,” she told the paper.

Following the incident in 2011, Filip’s father Lars Petre, a shareholder in the resort, provided a statement to Minivan News in which he described the accident as “by far the most tragic event in my life, and words cannot describe how saddened we are. I and my family are deeply concerned with errors on some of the media reports and we are also deeply saddened by some accusations made at my son.”

“My son Filip Petre (23 years) was taking the two guests home, to the other side of the island, when he experienced some difficulties with the bike, and crashed headlong into a tree on the road. The crash took two lives and badly injured my son.

“He fell unconscious with the crash and woke up some time later to find the two deceased also lying on the road. He immediately called for help and worked alongside with the doctor who arrived to try and save the victims of the crash, while he was bleeding himself.

Another British national, 42-year old Sharon Duval, died on Kuredu in October 2010, also while honeymooning with her husband, after her body was found on the beach by another guest.

Likes(1)Dislikes(0)

Don’t follow our example, Pakistani civil society warns Maldives

Civil society organisations in Pakistan have expressed alarm over the political crisis in the Maldives, urging the country not to make the same mistakes as Pakistan and calling for the Maldives’ suspension from SAARC until democracy is restored.

Civil society activists from organisations including the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research, the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, Sindh Development Forum, former Supreme Court judge Nasir Aslam Zahid and human rights activist Iqbal Haider addressed the Maldives’ situation at a joint press conference on Saturday.

“At least two countries in South Asia – Pakistan and Bangladesh – that have faced martial laws and coups in the past know very well how people suffer when democracy is brought down,” the civil society representatives said, according to newspaper Pakistan Today.

“We believe that democracy and governance are two different matters and the failure of governance should not be equated with the failure of democracy. An elected regime is brought in by the efforts and votes of the people through the institution of elections and the exit of an elected government should also follow the same procedure.

“There is no way use of force or coercion should be allowed to overthrow a democratically elected government. We also believe that if South Asia is to progress as a region, it will have to adopt democracy as a system of governance,” the representatives said.

“We also stress the need for the Pakistani government to take a strong stand with regards to the events in the Maldives. There are a lot of similarities between the Maldives and Pakistan. Like the Maldives, the elected government of Pakistan too came to power after a very long struggle against military rulers that had held power unconstitutionally for a long time,” they said.

The Pakistani civil society representatives warned that the Maldives was now following the same path of decline that had mired Pakistan in political, religious and economic turmoil.

“The growing strength of religious forces in the Maldives seeking to assert their political prowess and their role in the overthrow of the government is also a point where Pakistan could relate to its South Asian neighbour. The elected governments in Pakistan have battled and are still struggling with the same phenomenon.

“South Asia, as a region, has lost resources and valuable time over the quest by powerful military institutions to assert dominance over the state. This has to be discouraged and a culture of promotion of democracy needs to be cultivated,” the representatives stated.

“We also urge the government to call for the activation of the SAARC mechanisms to prevent the undemocratic move in the Maldives. A joint stand from the platform of SAARC needs to be taken to condemn the events in the Maldives. We also urge all South Asian publics to take this matter seriously and support their respective governments in condemning the action.”

Civil society organisations in the Maldives have been noticeably quiet since the controversial events of February 7-8.

Off the record, several civil society figures have said they have avoided making a stand for fear of politicisation.

“I don’t think taking the right stand means we are politicised,” said another, on condition of anonymity.

“To be frank, we’ve really tried to work on these issues but we’ve hit a wall with the media, [particularly broadcast]. We’re just not getting the time and attention we used to [under Nasheed’s government].”

Several NGOs, including Transparency Maldives, the Maldivian Democracy Network, the Maldives NGO Federation and Democracy House sent a letter to new President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan on February 29 – three weeks later – requesting observer status on Dr Waheed’s Committee of National Inquiry (CNI) into the circumstances surrounding the change of government.

The NGOs subsequently met with Dr Waheed and the CNI in an attempt to ensure the composition was acceptable to all political parties, as Nasheed’s MDP has currently boycotted the inquiry claiming it consists of key Gayoom loyalists.

The NGOs sent a second letter on March 15. Minivan News understands that they are still awaiting a reply.

“The onus is on the President to change [the composition], as the CNI has said it cannot,” said an NGO representative.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)