Category: Society & Culture

Thirteen year old abused by father in Shaviyani Atoll

Police and the Ministry of Health and Family are investigating a man who allegedly sexually abused his 13 year old daughter on the island of Fokaidhu in Shaviyani Atoll, after luring her to a room with Milo packets.

An official from the island office said the case was reported to the island office on Thursday morning at 11:00pm. He said the man was summoned to the island office by police but was released after questioning.

The official claimed that the case came to the attention of authorities after she confided in someone she knew about the abuse, which was then passed to the island offices by two other youths.

The Family and Children Service took the girl into state protection the same day the case was reported, the official said.

Head of the Family and Children Service Centre Abdul Zaeem refused to comment on the case. Senior Social Service Officer from the Ministry of Health and Family Fathimath Runa said ”if a case like this was reported to us, we would investigate it with the police.”

Police Sergeant Abdul Muhsin confirmed the case was reported to police but ”could not give any details.”

Head of Shaviyani Atoll Police Station Ijlal also refused to provide information ”as the investigation is ongoing,” but noted it was the fourth child-related case reported to the station this year.

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NGO coalition joins forces with Adhaalath Party in protest against new alcohol regulations

The Adhaalath Party has held a joint press conference with a coalition of NGOs against the sale or use of alcohol on inhabited islands.

State Minister for Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, speaking on behalf of the Adhaalath Party, said the message for the government was that ”the consumption and sale of alcohol in a place where Muslims live is unacceptable”, and that the protest would continue until the president invalidated the new regulation.

He suggested that everyone taking part in the protest, which will start at the artificial beach following Asru prayers, should dress in white.

”We will not be violent and we will not call for the resignation of anybody,” he said.

Sheik Adam Naseem said the Prophet (PBUH) had advised all Muslims to stay away from alcohol as it was ”the mother of all the sins”, and said the new regulations made afraid that the country’s teenagers would be led down the wrong path.

The Vice President of Islamic NGO Jamiyyath-al-Salaf, Hassan Moosa Fikree, called on “all the people who love Islam” to take part in the protest.

He said the government had given “a deaf ear” to the organisation’s words and had not responded to any of their letters.

”We cannot be stopped until we achieve what we want,” he said. “In Islam [alcohol] is haram.”

He questioned why the government was trying to “find a loophole” to allow the sale of alcohol on inhabited islands. “Everybody is against it; each and every person,” he said.

Fikree distinguished between inhabited islands and resorts.

“There’s definitely a distinction because resort have regulations,” he said. “Civilians can’t visit resorts regularly any time they want, and there are special rules such as areas of resorts that Maldivians can’t visit. There is a big difference between inhabited islands and resort islands because resorts have regulations and these resorts are especially designed and invented for tourism.”

Permanent Secretary for the Islamic Ministry Mohammed Didi said that while there might “technically” be a problem with resorts profiting from the sale of alcohol, the ministry was not saying anything about the resort businesses.

“For the last 30 years the Maldives has sold alcohol in resort islands. The ministry is not saying anything about the resort businesses, only inhabited islands and the new regulations,” he said.

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Staff at Centara Grand strike over low service charge payments

Management at the Centara Grand Island Resort in North Ari Atoll have increased the service charge allocated to staff after workers held a strike yesterday.

A employee told Minivan News that staff from the housekeeping department, front office and food and beverage department participated in the strike from 10:00am yesterday morning to 4:30pm in the afternoon.

He said the staff held the strike because they were not receiving the service charges agreed to them by management, adding that the management had persisted in giving them the lower amount “claiming that the room revenue was very low.”

“The general manager and someone from labor ministry came and spoke to us and said the service charge would be increased,” he said.

”The general manager gave us three documents guaranteeing they would add $US300 to our service charge from this month onwards.”

He said staff would renew the strike if the management failed to follow the conditions in the document.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Human Resources, Youth and Sports, Ahmed Shinan, said while he was unable to comment on the specifics of the incident, the ministry had received information about the case and a representative from the ministry had visited the island.

The management of Centara Grand Island Resort had not responded to Minivan News at time of press.

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Liquor licenses spark protests across Male

A group of NGOs gathered outside the residence of Economic Minister Mohamed Rasheed last night for publishing regulations permitting the licensed sale of alcohol on inhabited islands.

The protesters called on the minister to withdraw the new regulations, which allow hotels with over 100 beds to sell alcohol and pork to foreigners amid tight security. Newspaper Haveeru reported that some elements of the crowd even called for the minister’s “execution”, calling him “an infidel”.

Police media official Sergeant Athifa Hassan said police received information about the protest around 11:00pm, and immediately attended the scene.

”It was a very peaceful protest and nobody was injured,” she said, adding that the protesters went home at 1:00am.

A second protest was sparked outside the Iskandhar Koshi (police base) after reports that police had discovered 168 bottles of alcohol in a car belonging to Maldivian Democratic Party MP MDP’s Parliamentary Group leader ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik, who is currently in Singapore.

Sergeant Abdul Muhsin from the Maldives Police Service said the protesters gathered in front of Iskandhar Koshi around 10:30pm and were dispersed at 2:30am, reportedly with tear gas.

Muhsin said the protest was “not very violent” but ”three police were injured and five men were arrested.”

Reaction

Political parties including the Adhaalath Party, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Peoples Alliances (PA) and the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) strongly condemned the regulation.

The Adhaalath Party has indicated its intention to host a protest on Friday afternoon, calling on the president to invalidate the regulation “and apologise to the people.”

Vice president of the Tourism Employment Association of Maldives (TEAM) Mauroof Zakir said more than 80 NGOs were present at the protest.

”We called on the resignation of the Minister,” Mauroof said, adding that ”nobody called for his execution.”

He claimed more than 1000 members took part in the protest, the first in a series of planned events.

”We will not say what kind of events and when we will start,” he said.

Spokesperson of the Adhaalath party and State minister for the Islamic Ministry Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said the party would not allow alcohol to be consumed and sold on inhabited islands.

Shaheem said he regretted that the government had not discussed the issue with the Islamic Ministry.

”We invite all political parties and all people against the new regulation to take part in the protest [on Friday] so their voices are heard by the government,” he said.

The use and sale of alcohol was not permitted under the tenets of Islam, he said, ”and nobody under the sky can allow it.”

Vice President of the DRP Umar Naseer said he “knew this would be happen” and ”I am not surprised.”

Naseer claimed the government was trying to promote alcohol in the country “and make everyone drink it.”

”This government consists of alcoholics,” he claimed, accusing President Mohamed Nasheed of “building a bar inside Muleeage three months after he came to presidency.”

”I bet on that,” he said. ”One day let’s go inside Muleeage with journalists to check.”

Secretary General of the PA Ahmed Shareef said the party would be taking part in the protest held by Adhaalath party.

”We are against [the sale of alcohol],” Shareef said. ”Maldivians would not let the government to sell and use alcohol in the inhabited islands.”

He said the party was confused about the government’s policy on the subject.

President of religious NGO Jamiyyath-al-Salaf, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed Ibrahim said the organisation would also take part in Friday’s protest by the Adhaalath Party, and that the entire coalition of concerned NGOs would participate.

”The whole country is against it,” he said. ”We will continue our protest until we succeed.”

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said he was confident that the president would not pass any law against the tenets of Islam, and would discuss the matter with the Islamic Ministry and the Economic Ministry over the coming days.

He said that the regulations would “not technically” become effective until they were published in the government’s gazette, and noted that “the President has not yet made the decision to do so. He has reservations and is seeking advice as to the extent the regulations [can be implemented].”

The ministry of economic developments commented that the regulations would come into effect on 1 March “were not true”, he said, “even if gazetted, as certain criteria have to be met by sellers.”

State Minister for Economic Development Adhil Saleem said the regulations would be effective from 1 March “unless we receive instructions otherwise.”

“We have a mandate to regulate controlled substances,” he said. “This ministry regulates the use of alcohol and pork in this country, and working with police and customs we have formulated regulations we believe are best suited for today’s economy.”

The sale of alcohol, he said, was innately linked to Western tourism in the Maldives and its ability “to provide an environment conducive to foreign investment.”

“The Maldivian people want an international airport at Gan, and there are many development projects to boost economic activity through foreign investment,” he said. “If we want to be [a hub] like Singapore, we have to allow big hotel chains to establish themselves here and create an environment attractive to foreign investment. City hotels create economic activity and jobs.”

Adhil said he felt people were “being misled” over the issue, and “do not understand what this means for the economy.”

“It’s not just the development of airports [at stake] but schools and hospitals. We cannot achieve this development by 2013 unless our revenues increase.”

He claimed that many countries grappled with the issue, “and if you take a religious angle on this, many Muslim countries issue liquor permits to non-Muslims. Some of them have minerals, soil or gold, we have based our economy on tourism. For 15 years we’ve been attracting Western tourism development, and that includes alcohol. If that is unacceptable we should design another industry.”

He noted that many resorts in the Maldives “employ more than 1000 Maldivians, which is larger than the population of some inhabited islands.”

Like those opposed to the new regulations, he said “the real public reaction will be gauged on Friday. Let’s see how many people turn up. If this is something the majority of people don’t want, then no doubt the government will reconsider it. I am defending the new liquor regulations openly in public and I believe we should stand firm against these attacks.”

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Teacher preaches Christianity “to leave country” in lieu of vacation

A computer teacher from India working at Vaikaradhoo School in Haa Dhaalu Atoll has been sent home for allegedly preaching Christianity.

Island Councillor Ahmed Hashim said the teacher had denied Islam and promoted Christianity to her students and other teachers, explaining he had received information about the case on Thursday.

Hashim said as soon as the island office was informed the police were called and the woman taken to the police station.

”During her departure from the island she also telephoned the island chief and requested permission to preach,” Hashim said.

He claimed the teacher was attempting to leave the Maldives “by any means necessary”, and had said as much to her students. He added the woman had requested a vacation but this request had been denied.

Head of the Haa Dhaalu Atoll police station Ibrahim Manik refused to comment on the matter. Sub Inspector of police Ahmed Shiyam meanwhile confirmed that the case was reported to the police but he was unable to give details.

He said the education ministry took action against the woman.

Head of the Education Unit of the Upper North Province Ibrahim Asif confirmed the ministry has sent the teacher back to India yesterday evening ”because the police recommended we do so after their investigation.”

”We fired her and sent back to India,” Asif said, noting that she was not technically deported as she had not appeared in court.

He guaranteed that while the woman might return, she would not receive any post in the ministry.

Principal of Vaikaradhu school Mohamed Rabeeu had failed to respond Minivan News at time of press.

Spokesperson for Islamic Ministry Sheikh Ahmadulla meanwhile said the case was unrelated to the ministry.

”As a matter of fact the teacher was sponsored by education ministry and they took action,” he said, ”so why should we say anything?”

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HRCM gathering government institutions and political parties for human rights forum

Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has called on the president, independent institutions and all the political parties to come together and discuss issues around human rights in the Maldives and express their ideas.

President of HRCM Ahmed Saleem said the commission had sent letters to President Mohamed Nasheed, Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid, Attorney General Husnu Suood and to representatives of all the political parties.

”We want to hear the voice of political parties and government institutions,” he said.

He said the commission intended to draft a report on human rights in the country and visit the atolls after meeting with government institutions and political parties.

”We advise everyone in connection with human rights including the media to cooperate with us,” he said.

Press Secretary of the President Mohamed Zuhair said the president had not decided whether he would attend, but that he would undoubtedly support the assembly.

Secretary General of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Abdulla Mausoom said the party would decide to what to do after discussing it.

He said he do not believe a survey of human rights was necessary, “as for instance is there any use to a survey to find out whether people like to eat?”

He claimed the government had abused the rights of freedom of opinion by threatening private media.

Recently inducted Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Alhan Fahmy said the party would support the gathering, noting that while human rights in the Maldives was progressing day by day, ” there are things to be corrected.”

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Alcohol licenses to be issued to hotels on inhabited islands

Hotels with more than 100 beds will be allowed to sell alcohol on inhabited islands – such as Male’ – according to new regulations approved by the Ministry of Trade and Economic Development.

In addition to tourist hotels, bars at the airport departure terminal will be authorised to sell alcohol. Diplomats at the ambassador level will also be eligible for liquor permits.

The illegal imports law 4/75 authorises the ministry to formulate such regulations. The new law applies to both alcohol and pork products, and will go into effect from 1 March.

The new regulations for liquor licenses were proposed in November 2009, but were withdrawn shortly afterwards due to public outcry and opposition from the Islamic Ministry.

State Minister of Trade Adhil Saleem said a hotel seeking to acquire a liquor license under the new regulations would be required to follow the government’s “strict rules” on the sale of alcohol.

Hotels will not be allowed to have a bar that is visible from the outside, and it must only serve foreigners. Furthermore, the alcohol can only be sold and consumed in designated areas of the hotel.

Maldivians cannot be employed at the bar and all employees of the bar must be registered with the economic development ministry and undergo a police check. Security cameras must be installed in both the serving area and storerooms, and back-up recordings kept.

Moreover, an inventory of the alcohol in storage and daily sales must be maintained and made available to police on request.

Saleem believes a side effect of the new license regulations will be “the proper disposal of empty liquor bottles”.

“Now, it’s not an issue if you find an empty bottle of liquor on the streets of inhabited islands,” he said, suggesting that with the new licenses establishments must dispose of bottles properly.

Sim Mohamed from the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) said the changes in alcohol licensing would have little effect on the tourism industry, “as most people travelling to Malé do so for business, or stay only for the day.”

Mauroof Zakir, spokesperson for a coalition of NGOs against the sale of alcohol on inhabited islands said the issue is intrinsically a serious one.

“Maybe the government thinks it’s only a few people with beards who want to stop this,” he said. “The government is doing what it likes without considering what the people might want.”

He said the Islamic Foundation and the coalition of NGOs “will not support this and will take action against it, within the law.”

Regulations at a glance:

a) alcohol and pork cannot be served outside the bar area, for instance from mini-bars in hotel rooms

b) Maldivians cannot be employed at the bar, while all employees must be registered at the ministry after a police clearance

c) the bar should not be visible from outside and should be located at a place that is not easily visible to those who visit the hotel

d) the hotel should have a separate warehouse to store pork and liquor items and it should have proper security

e) a daily inventory must be kept, including the amount in storage and the amount served

f) the inventory should be made available to police upon request

g) only expatriates registered at the ministry after a police clearance should be allowed to store and remove items from the warehouse

h) there must be a CCTV at the warehouse

i) only those with foreign passports can be served at the bar and Maldivians with foreign passports cannot be served

j) the security guard at the bar must check passports before entry

k) the hotel must establish a private security system approved by police

l) it will be illegal to remove pork and liquor items from the bar or selling it outside the hotel

m) inebriated customers should not be served before they regain sobriety nor should they be allowed to leave the hotel

n) the hotel must establish a breath-testing mechanism approved by police for patrons before they leave the bar

o) cameras must be installed if police request it and CCTV camera footage must be kept for a month

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Maldivian students recruited to wage jihad, confirms Vice President

Vice President of the Maldives Dr Mohammed Waheed Hassan has told Indian media that young Maldivians are being recruited by militant groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan to wage ‘jihad’.

The Indian Press Trust (IPT), among others, also reported that Waheed had claimed an increasing number of young Maldivians “are embracing a version of Islam which is more strict than the traditional Islamic values [of the Maldives].”

The vice president is currently visiting India, which recently signalled its willingness to increase defence cooperation after reports that extremist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, believed responsible for the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, was active in the Maldives.

At the time, Indian news portal Rediff.com reported Indian intelligence bureau sources as saying the group had “nearly 1,000 operatives active in the Maldives”.

Indian media reported that Waheed had asked for the country’s assistance in preventing the passage through India of young people suspected to be attending radical institutions.

“Some of these people are going to Pakistan and Afghanistan and are waging jihad. We want these people back,” he told PTI. “These are students and it is very easy for them to say they are going to pursue education.”

Presidential Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair said the vice president’s comments were based on “certain statistics from education authorities, police and Pakistani authorities.”

“This government estimates there are 200-300 unregistered [Maldivian] students in Pakistan,” Zuhair said.

“The government has made a point of checking up on any student travelling to Pakistan and making sure that what recruiters have told their families is accurate, and that the institutions are recognised by the Pakistani government,” he said.

However, “students are leaving the Maldives with the good intentions of obtaining an Islamic education, but are being told to bypass the government’s legislation and monitoring [processes].”

There was a requirement for someone travelling abroad to study to register with the government, he said. “In the latter stages of the previous government [unregistered] students would be brought back once they reach Colombo,” he noted.

The government was developing a range of Islamic scholarship programs for students at registered institutions in countries like India and Malaysia to try and address the issue, Zuhair explained.

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Man arrested for child abuse and attempting to rape his mother

A 28 year old man from the island of Kolamaafushi in Gaafu Dhaalu atoll was arrested by police for allegedly abusing an eight year old boy on Friday and later trying to rape his own mother that evening.

Police Sub Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed that a man from Kolamaafushi had been arrested in connection with the two crimes but said at the moment police were unable to provide further details as the case was under investigation.

Police atoll commander for Gaafu Dhaalu atoll, Ali Mustafa, said the man was arrested last night around 10:30pm and had a recent record of child abuse. Mustafa said police discovered the man hiding on the beach of Kolamaafushi.

An official from the island office reported the man to police after he was called to the house in the course of his duties and discovered him lying on a bed naked with the child, watching TV.

Before he was arrested by police the man attempted to sexually assault his mother, the official said.

The woman jumped out a window and escaped to a nearby house, pursued by her son.

”[He] ran after her naked and tried to enter that house,” the official said, ”but a man from the house protected the woman.”

The neighbour was injured in a scuffle with the man, he said, while the woman suffered scratches to her neck.

Deputy Minister for Health and Family Mariya Ali said the ministry had received a report of one of the two incidents “but ‘would not like to mention which one.”

”These types of cases been occurring for a long time,” she said, ”but people have been very hesitant to inform [the authorities].”

She said to prevent such incidents from happening the ministry needed the help of the community.

”In every case there is someone from the community who know about it,” she said.

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