Riding the waves

While one surfer rides a wave with apparent ease, another does an elaborate 360 degree turn on his body board. This is enough to draw a throng of onlookers to the Surf Point in Male’. Many of the young men who circle the capital on their motorbikes before break fast are brought to a halt by the mesmerising waves and those riding them.

With Ramadan drawing to a close, Wataniya and the Maldives Surf Association have teamed up to host four-day surfing competition, Wataniya Virasee. “We wanted to hold an entertaining event for Ramadan and have fun with the public,” said Maryath Mohamed, public relations officer at Wataniya.

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Amnesty calls for moratorium on flogging

Amnesty International has urged the government of the Maldives to impose a moratorium on flogging as a matter of urgency.

In an email to Minivan News today, Abbas Faiz, senior researcher for South Asia, said the international human rights organisation believed the government should act immediately to abolish “this cruel, inhumane and degrading” punishment altogether.

“It is the responsibility of the government of Maldives to ensure that no one is sentenced to flogging, and no one is subjected to flogging,” said Faiz.

He added the Maldives was a signatory to the United Nations Convention against Torture as well as the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture.

Faiz’s comments come in response to a Minivan News article published last week about an 18-year-old woman who was publicly flogged last week for pre-marital sex.

The woman was sentenced to 100 lashes and a year of house arrest after confessing to having sex with two men on separate occasions.

While the whereabouts of one of the men is unknown, the other has denied his involvement and both have consequently escaped conviction.

Statistics from the department of judicial administration’s website revealed that in 2006, out of 184 people sentenced to lashing, 146 were women.

“The law is specifically discriminatory against women,” said Faiz. “Official figures suggest the vast majority of people who are flogged are women. This shows that the law is specifically targeting women.”

Speaking in her personal capacity, Dr Farahnaz Faisal, high commissioner to the UK, said she was concerned about women bearing the brunt of the punishment.

“In this day and age we have DNA testing,” she said. “If there’s a case of a child being born out of wedlock, there’s no reason why a woman should be punished and a man should get off scot-free.”

On Amnesty’s call for a moratorium, Farahnaz said there was a moratorium on other punishments such as the death penalty.

“Sharia has never been applied to its fullest in the Maldives,” she said.

Flogging is one of the sentences under hudud, the class of crimes that have fixed punishments under Sharia law. They include theft, sex before or outside of marriage, the consumption of alcohol and apostasy.

The application of hudud varies from country to country. “Many Muslim countries have abolished flogging,” said Faiz. “This punishment can also be abolished in the Maldives.”

Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed said Sharia had only been enforced in the Maldives in the last 30 to 40 years. “The traditions we follow have been very very moderate,” he said.

In the past, he continued, Maldivians were too “squeamish” to enforce the punishments stipulated under Sharia.

Recalling the Moroccan scholar and explorer, Ibn Battuta, who worked as a judge in the Maldives in the 14th century, Shaheed said a number of Maldivians fainted when Battuta ordered a thief’s hand to be amputated.

While amputation was introduced in 1953, he added, it was discontinued seven months later after the fall of the First Republic and subsequent Penal Codes did not contain either amputation or stoning.

However, said Shaheed, flogging survived from a local tradition of punishing political opponents.

Shaheed urged MPs to adopt the new Penal Code as soon as possible. While flogging still exists under the revised Penal Code, it is reduced to a symbolic act, he said, clearly defining how much force to use.

“That should go hand in hand with a moratorium,” he said.

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“A 180 Degree Turn”: The Head Of TVM On The Channel’s 30 Years

State broadcaster Television Maldives (TVM) – currently the Maldives’ only television channel – celebrated its 30-year anniversary last week.

But 2008 will see drastic changes. It is the first year in which the channel faces competition from private broadcasters, as well as the challenge of covering the country’s first ever multi-party presidential elections.

Aiman Rasheed asked the channel’s CEO Ali Khalid for his thoughts on changes in progress, the challenges of rising media competition, and the ongoing political pressure exerted on TVM.

History

TVM was founded on 29 March 1978, and has dominated the Maldivian airwaves for three decades. Its signal originally covered a 40-kilometer radius, but now reaches all 20 atolls, plus over 100 countries via satellite.

Meanwhile an operation that started with just eight staff has now expanded to 240, and broadcasting time has increased from 90 minutes to 18 hours and 30 minutes per day.

And in an effort to expand coverage of news from the 200 inhabited islands scattered over 20 atolls, TVM has established 20 local bureaus to gather and cover local stories.

Winds Of Change

Khalid tells me the Ministry of Information – of which TVM is a department – has initiated changes to its structure and functioning to ensure quality programs are delivered to the Maldivian public.

“Recently, we’ve had three foreign consultants [led by US consultant Terry Anzur] working with our staff, and we’ve had major changes to the way we work.”

TVM now has dedicated anchors for the morning, afternoon and evening shows, and has brought “a more balanced approach into the newsroom.”

“TVM has taken a 180 degree turn,” in terms of political openness and structure, says Khalid. “But we need to go further.”

Building Trust

Following the custodial death of Evan Naseem in 2003, riots broke out in Maldives. Furious Maldivians poured onto the streets to express their anger and frustration with the government.

TVM became a focal point for the growing discussion on media freedom, as activists, reformists, politicians and the public accused the channel of spreading government-biased news rather than the impartial truth.

“There is a lot of mistrust and pressure on TVM, and a couple of times crowds have thrown stones,” recalls Khalid. “Maybe that [stone throwing] was with reason.”

Khalid adds that “there are many things we [TVM] did right, and much [more] we could do right.”

Political Pressure

With TVM operating as a wing of the Ministry of Information, many believe it cannot be independent.

“We have opened ourselves more, and have built a certain level of trust [with] the political parties,” Khalid claims.

He argues the channel is neutral in terms of giving airtime and coverage to political parties, but agreed it cannot throw off its “shackles” until it becomes an independent entity.

The broadcasting bill, according to Khalid, would ensure TVM is “seeded as an institution much like the Human Rights Commission and Civil Service Commission,” run by a board as agreed in parliament.

An MP will be on the board, which will “dictate policies […] and ensure impartiality,” added Khalid.

“I look forward to passage of the broadcasting bill in parliament,” Khalid said, “and then there will be no dictating of anything by anybody.”

VIP Crew

The largest opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have often complained of not receiving TVM airtime, as have other opposition groups.

With MDP’s presidential primaries slated for 25 April, local media outlets DhiFM and Jazeera are hosting debates between the three presidential contenders.

As part of increased impartiality, Khalid told Minivan News “TVM in principle agrees to airing [the debates],” provided that “we [concerned parties] can agree on a guideline and standards.” At the time of publication, the first debate had been aired nationally.

Yet suspicions over TVM’s bias are increased by the rumoured “VIP crew” within TVM, whose sole purpose is covering the president’s activities.

But Khalid says: “It is not completely like that. This crew does other jobs too.”

“It’s just that these people are acquainted with the right people,” he contends. “We cannot send any person to the President’s Office, Parliament and the cabinet.”

However, Khalid concedes “we [do] cover Gayoom’s activities as head of state.”

“Kakkakako”

TVM’s reputation took a further bashing when three employees were sacked from their jobs in December 2006, with charges of “violating office ethics, disrupting staff meetings and spreading false rumours”.

The three producers, Ibrahim Muaz, Ilham Mohamed and Ahmed Zahir, have filed cases of unfair dismissal, with Muaz and Ilham’s cases now decided in their favour.

Though the trio was dismissed on the above mentioned charges, two employees from TVM, who wished to remain anonymous, told Minivan News they were dismissed because of being involved in a website called “Kakkakako.”

This site featured leaks from the channel, and criticised TVM as government biased.

“It would be wrong to accuse them [the three producers] of that [Kakkakako website] now,” says Khalid. But he adds confusingly: “We have considerable reason to believe it was them, though not enough to prove it.”

The court ordered TVM to compensate both Muaz and Ilham and reinstate Muaz’s job. However, when the state failed to pay, the producers filed another case which led to the channel giving in and compensating the producers.

“90% of the issue has been settled,” Khalid says – but “we have asked the Attorney General to appeal the court ruling.”

Though the producers have been compensated, they would have to pay back the state if the High Court overturns the previous ruling.

Competition

Whilst such issues from the past rumble on, new regulation has allowed private companies to break the state monopoly over the media, bringing new pressures on TVM from a different direction.

Seven FM radio stations have been licensed and six have started broadcasting. Another three parties have been licensed for telecasting, with Dhi TV and Villa Television (VTV) expected to inaugurate in mid 2008.

Khalid claimed the “competition is within ourselves and not them.” But he admits: “We have to break our bureaucracy, change the way we report, operate and gather information, otherwise we will be left behind.”

Even though media has been privatised, “there will be a vacuum that private company would not fill, because at the end of the day they want to make money.”

Key people from high posts within TVM have now left for companies such as DhiFM. But Khalid says that though “we’ve lost key positions such as head of news department, we have staff who can eventually fill these positions.”

And he adds: “If you believe that you are in a position beyond competition, then your game is over. Three years back, we had no competition, we were sleeping and we had the choice of saying, whatever we do, take it or leave it.”

Future

Khalid tells me that “there is no staff [member], be it a cameraman, journalist or even receptionists and cleaners, who have not received some sort of training in the past two years.”

Saying that TVM staff are much more “receptive to change,” Khalid said that his focus would be to “train staff to become leaders.”

“Because in a competition,” he adds, “whoever makes leaders fastest are the winners in the business.”

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Maldives Culture Editors Speak of their Struggle for Free Speech in the Darkest Days of Gayoom

Minivan News spends 15 Minutes with Michael O’Shea, who co-edits of maldivesculture.com with his wife, Fareesha.

Maldives Culture was one of the first websites ever to criticise Gayoom’s government. Micheal, who lives in Australia, tells us of the persecution he and his wife have suffered for speaking out against the regime.

MN: Your website, maldivesculture.com, is still banned by the government of Maldives. Can you describe the reasons for this? Also, a lot of Maldivian dissident writers found refuge in your site, and through your work the world outside have discovered the kind of life they have to live. For example, your publication of Sandhaanu Ibrahim Luthfee’s letters helped to underline this problem. Please tell us why you are inspired to help Maldivian writers.

OS: The banning of our website by President Gayyoom is indication of its importance in the battle against his dictatorship. It is an honour to be banned by a regime like Gayyoom’s, and an honour we share with another important website – Dhivehi Observer. Gayyoom also bans or suppresses the best books about Maldives – ‘People of the Maldive Islands’ by Clarence Maloney, ‘The Maldive Islanders’ by Xavier Romero-Frias, and ‘Iyye’ (Yesterday) by Abdul Hakeem Hussein Manik. As far as we are concerned, Maldives Culture is in exalted company.

It may come as a surprise to some people that Maldives Culture has not always been critical of Gayyoom. At first, it was established in Australia in 1999 as a Maldives history and social research site. At that time, we did not know about Gayyoom’s institutionalised torture and theft of government funds. When Maldivians living overseas, and in Maldives, sent us emails and documents about Gayyoom’s crimes, we doubted their authenticity. We had heard little about rampant corruption and Gayyoom’s NSS terror tactics while we were working in southern Maldives in 1996 and 1997. People living in dictatorships were easily fooled until the Internet became available. Like many other Maldivians and foreigners, we were deceived by the regimes’ propaganda, and thought Gayyoom had the interests of his country at heart. How wrong we were!

We began to realise our mistake when we published extracts from a Maldives Internet discussion forum that Gayyoom had closed down. Our motive in publishing these extracts, and highlighting the strong family links among his ministers, was simply to attract more readers and encourage sensible and informed debates, but the reaction from Gayyoom and his supporters was rabid. For months, we received lengthy and obscene emails, rape and death threats, and military-style orders to cease publication immediately. It shocked us, and made us wonder what Gayyoom, his family and his NSS generals had to hide. Meanwhile, other Maldivians realised we were genuine, and they sent us articles and information that exposed Gayyoom’s atrocities and methods, and the extent of the criminal conspiracy that had gained control of the country. As we translated, edited and published these revelations, Gayyoom declared us public enemies and persona non grata in Maldives. He used his links with corrupt police and security services in India and Sri Lanka to order our arrest if we travelled there.

Gayyoom and fellow senior officers from the NSS tried to destroy our reputations and website by similar methods to what they are using now against the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). However, their virulent campaign helped turn Maldives Culture into a symbol of free speech and independent thought. The vicious torture and shootings of unarmed prisoners in Maafushi prison in September 2003 proved the accuracy of Ibrahim Luthfee’s predictions about the jail and details of torture practices, which had been published by Maldives Culture in the preceding months. Gayyoom’s public lies that torture did not exist in Maldives, was exposed for all to see; particularly, for the population of Male’ and the people of Sri Lanka where wounded prisoners were airlifted for treatment.

There was a profound change among our writers after those awful events. They ceased to be polite about the dictator. Gayyoom lost all legitimacy. They realised his removal was the only thing that could save their families and society from destruction. All countries need a moral core if their people are going to believe in their nationalism, and Gayyoom was and remains a direct threat to the essential beliefs that hold Dhivehi Rajje together.

The strength of Maldives Culture isn’t due to any single person, it has been a combined effort by many brave and intelligent Maldivians. Gayyoom never forgives people who refuse to submit to his criminal ways. Like a petty gangster, he demands ‘respect’ through threats, violence and bribery. Maldives Culture has refused to bow to his slanderous intimidation and obscenities, and we have deflected his lawyers’ harassment. Any hint that we might accept a bribe to cease publication (US$1-2 million dollars has been mentioned) was swiftly rejected. We have defied Gayyoom and told him to stick his money where it belongs – in the hands of the hardworking Maldivians who earn it. Readers will now understand why we remain banned.

We would like to take this opportunity provided by this Minivan interview to express our regrets to some Maldivians who have been personally and unnecessarily hurt by articles we published in the past. Early on, we did English translations of Haveeru articles about court cases involving members of the Maldives film industry. We now understand that these prosecutions were part of a vendetta organised by members of Gayyoom’s family and their associates. We regret the additional suffering that our translations caused.

Another lapse of editorial judgment was the publication of allegations of corruption against Gayyoom’s former attorney-general Mohamed Munnavar and former minister Ibrahim Hussein Zaki. We are still unsure whether these allegations were part of a slander campaign by Gayyoom against these two men who had been excluded from the dictator’s cabinet after the Maafushi jail shootings, or whether the allegations were a product of internal politicking among the groups who were forming the Maldivian Democratic Party. However, what has become clear is the genuine commitment of Munavvar and Zaki to the movement for democratic reform in Maldives. We apologise to both Munavvar and Zaki, and we regret that publishing the allegations initially made their good work more difficult.

Maldives Culture has grown and transformed as it strived to reflect the changes occurring in the consciousness of Maldivians in Dhivehi Rajje and overseas. In 2006, there are many excellent websites that accurately and honestly portray the country and its people. Maldives Culture is now an archive, link and support centre for the Maldives democracy movement and its supporters among foreign academics, businesspeople, bankers and diplomats. At last, the editors are able to concentrate on what we do best – translations and historical research. The crimes of President Gayyoom are fertile ground for such work.

MN: On the 16th of February, you published a translation of the Dhivehi Tareekh that covers Maldives history from 1558 to 1848. Can you tell our readers about this enormous work you have done and what inspired you to complete this work?

OS: The Dhivehi Tareekh is the most important surviving compilation of early Maldives history. This compilation was begun at the beginning of the twentieth century from a variety of earlier sources, and like any state-sponsored work, it has its deficiencies. Every country censors its own history, and historians re-write it to suit the political and social demands, and knowledge, of a particular time. There are many examples of that in other histories I am familiar with, namely, the histories of England, USA, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Indonesia, Eastern and Southern Africa, and the Middle East. This does not detract from the value of these histories. It just means they have to be read with the writers’ and compliers’ intentions and background in mind. All histories are based on original documents that have been written by people with their own agendas, or by writers acting under orders, or writers being paid by people who have certain expectations. How many government documents and newspapers today tell the truth? The Dhivehi Tareek is no different, and no better or worse than any other country’s official history.

However, there is one very important deficiency in the version of the Dhivehi Tareek that was published by the Gayyoom regime, and that is the deliberate removal of the centuries of Maldives history before 1558. We know the records exist (or existed), because H. C. P. Bell and his assistant W. L. De Silva saw them and fortunately translated them in an abridged form during the 1920s. They are to be found in English in Bell’s ‘The Maldive Islands’, first published in 1940, and available in Male’ as an expensive reprint . However, like the Dhivehi Tareek, Bell’s book is hard to read and not indexed. It is a big book, and a lot of the interesting information is hidden by poor presentation, or has to be extracted from the extensive small-print footnotes. The original Dhivehi Tareek has no chapters, table of contents or index. The Thaana script style used in the original has no spaces between words or sentences. Even Maldivians have great difficulty reading the Tareek in Dhivehi because it uses many Urdu and Arabic expressions that are no longer understood.

Our translation of the Dhivehi Tareek was a group effort, and we were helped by many Maldivians, both in Dhivehi Rajje and overseas. Majid Abdul-Wahhab in New Zealand was particularly helpful, and the translation has been achieved in part through his detailed knowledge of Male’ and its culture, and his expertise in Urdu and Arabic.

The Dhivehi Tareek is mainly a history of the Male’ aristocracy, rather than a history of Maldives. Other Dhivehi literary sources and English language books have to be read to understand the history and culture of normal Maldivians and the atolls. With regard to the English sources, I recommend the English translation of Francois Pyrard’s account of his five year stay in Male’ at the beginning of the 1600s, and Xavier Romero-Frias’ recent book ‘The Maldive Islanders’.

The completion and publication of our translation of the Dhivehi Tareek provides a basis for serious historical research in Maldives and in overseas universities. I have spoken to professors of history who say that Maldives has no real history as far as they are concerned. Well, now Maldives has at least a partial history that even professors cannot deny.

MN: Prior to this translation, you have also published a timeline, noting down important historical events that occurred in Maldives from 1900 to the present period. Please tell us about this.

OS: The timeline is based on the style of the Dhivehi Tareek, and we have also called it the Fahuge (Recent) Tareek in recognition of the work of Maldives historians whose work was used to construct it, particularly the late Abdul Hakeem Hussein Manik who was the best historian Maldives has ever had. We don’t agree with all his ideas and conclusions, but there is no doubting his integrity. Hakeem saw many dictators come and go. He knew their strengths and weaknesses as men and leaders. The most important lesson for Maldivians from his work is that even the best of men are corrupted by too much power.

The timeline is designed for use by Maldive and foreign writers, historians, researchers, diplomats, aid agencies, businesspeople and anyone else who work with Maldivians. President Gayyoom has suppressed all historical research into Maldives. He has many crimes to hide, and an intelligent and oppressed population to deceive. Control over history and the elimination of objective historical analysis, are essential for dictatorships. Only then can dictators define a country and its people in their own deceptive image. The timeline makes it much more difficult for President Gayyoom to fool his own people and foreigners. The latest debate over democratic reform in Maldives is a prime example. President Gayyoom has once again tried to argue that Maldivians are too stupid and uncontrollable to have democracy. This is a lie. In fact, Maldivians are better educated than the populations in other countries in South Asia and the West when democracy was established there in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The timeline shows that Maldivians have been seriously debating the benefits of democracy since the early 1930s. It also shows how, for nearly thirty years, Gayyoom has been using the same arguments and brutal methods to crush reform that Abdul Majeed, King Shamsudeen, Hassan Fareed, Mohamed Ameen, and Ibrahim Nasir had used before him. Their ideology is essentially fascist, founded in the same evil ideas that inspired the ruinous dictatorships in Europe and Russia. In the West today, fascist ideology has been adapted by unethical public relations firms and advertising agencies. Gayyoom’s alliance with the PR industry is as natural as Gayyoom’s friendship with Saddam Hussein and Adolf Hitler’s pet film-maker, the unrepentant Nazi, Leni Riefenstahl (now deceased).

The truth is far more powerful than lies. No matter how sophisticated lies and their presentation are, the truth will defeat them. This is the foundation of real human progress. Truth in history has been denied for Maldivians by Gayyoom and his supporters. They have banned any book that attempts to reach the truth. They have tortured, intimidated and isolated any Maldivian who dares to speak or write accurately about the country. They have slandered foreigners who write realistically about Maldives and its social, political and economic problems. The timeline provides a background, resource and a guide to counter the continuous stream of lies and propaganda that Gayyoom has used to sustain his dictatorship.

MN: In your opinion, given the ongoing struggle by Maldivians to become free from an authoritarian system, what does the future look like for Maldivian writers?

OS: Before the age of the Internet and cheap video filming techniques, dictators could easily control information, publications and films. Writers can now find places to publish their work that dictators will never be able to stop. This is one reason why the future for Maldivian writers is bright. Another reason is that conflict is the vital ingredient for any good story. By conflict, we don’t mean just physical violence. It can be a clash of ideas, personalities or desires. Look at any good story and it is full of interesting conflicts. Maldives today is brimming with conflicts. There are stories everywhere just waiting to be told.

For potential short film-makers, there is an exciting Internet development – the increasing number of short films that are being downloaded from a variety of sites and watched by millions. At present, a good video download site linking to most of them is http://javimoya.com/blog/youtube_en.php but there are many others too.

To make a successful short film, a script is needed. It is similar to, but not the same, as writing a short story. Scriptwriting is an opportunity the writers of Maldives should not ignore. A scriptwriter needs to think in sequences of images. The writer must let the images tell the story, and use talking (conversation or a background narrative) only when absolutely necessary. If Maldivian writers learn this skill, then they will produce films that foreigners want to watch. The writers will also have to learn video-making processes, or co-operate with those who have the skill or potential to direct, use video cameras, sound recorders and film-editing programs. A good script, a computer with an editing program, a reasonable video camera and sound recorder are all you need. Short films can be a powerful tool against the dictatorship in Maldives, and a good way of tackling other problems the society faces. The actors don’t need to be identifiable, they can be illustrations or even fish. Video is a powerful medium, and Maldivians have the intelligence, imagination and environment to adapt their films in unique ways.

Books, articles and films that tell the truth about Maldives will appeal strongly to foreign and local audiences. Humour is an important ingredient, but a really successful film or piece of writing needs to be more than just funny. Maldivian writers won’t be successful if they only write what they think their bosses or families want to read. Like any other form of real education, influential books and films challenge people’s ideas and preconceptions. Honest books and films define a nation and make it stronger and more powerful than any amount of weapons or strutting soldiers.

MN: Do you think the government’s reform agenda will ever be implemented?

OS: The government’s reform agenda will never be implemented while Gayyoom and his associates are in power. There is a simple reason for this. If real legal and political reforms take place, Maumoon Gayyoom, Abdulla Yameen, Ilyas Ibrahim, Anbaree Abdul Sattar, Adam Zahir and Mohamed Zahir will face criminal charges and life imprisonment. Gangsters are not stupid. No amount of diplomatic niceties and public relations lies conjured up by international bankers and other organisations can change this fact.

If Gayyoom and his associates manage to flee the country and find safe haven somewhere else, then we believe the reform agenda will be implemented swiftly and peacefully. If they stay, then the awful violence that has plagued the country in recent years will continue, just as the dictator’s father predicted before his death in the early 1980s.

MN: What message would you give to opposition forces in Maldives?

OS: Stay united. The regime’s only hope is that the movement for reform will disintegrate through infighting. The reformers must remember that Gayyoom has tortured and beaten them to weaken their will and judgment. It is normal for healthy political parties and allies to argue among themselves, but if they lose sight of their real issues, they will lose.

The Maldivian Democratic Party and its allied parties have been tremendously successful because they have pulled together all Maldivians who hate the dictatorship, and these Maldivians are an overwhelming majority. There will be splits and factions, perhaps even before the next elections. Maldivians must ensure that such splits do not seriously weaken the movement for reform. A new government in Maldives might even have to accept a coalition with non-criminal members of the DRP. The NSS too, has a vital role to play in a new reforming government. It is quite possible for the NSS to become an organisation worthy of Maldivians’ respect and affection.

Maldivians can be united in their respect for each other, their healthy and tolerant religious beliefs and legal institutions. Another dictator, no matter how benign that person is at first, will be corrupted with power and responsibility. Democracy is neither easy nor perfect, but it makes a country remarkably strong and resilient because it makes all people share that power and responsibility.

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Velezinee Defends Adduvas’ Decision to Publish Details of Government Loans

Minivan News spends 15 Minutes with Adduvas editor Aishath Velezinee about her decision to expose parliamentarians and regime officials who took soft loans from President Gayoom.
In a press release last Thursday by spokesperson Mohamed Hussein Shareef (sent only to pro-regime dailies) the government denied any wrong-doing, claiming the soft loans reduced bribery and corruption among MPs and officials.
In a thirteen-point rebuttal, Shareef claimed that loans schemes are made available to staff working in government institutions in many countries. He said Adduvas’ exposure of the soft loans scheme was “disrespectful” to the dignity of the individuals involved.
“To take a loan is not a crime. It is also not theft. Banks also give out loans. Money given out as loans is money that has to be returned. And as a private individual it is not revealed who has taken out the loan, nor are the figures of such loans revealed to the public. To protect the dignity of individuals it is a universal human right. Hence, to violate a financial right is a violation of that individual’s right,” he said.
“It is not apparent that Adduvas has given to the public the relevant information regarding the loan schemes. It is also evident that no attempt was made to inform regarding the mortgaging of properties, the conditions under which the loans were granted, not the way this scheme is operated and for what reasons.
“Enough information regarding the loans was already available so there was no need to give and further details,” Shareef stated.
Speaking to Minivan News, Velezinee defended Adduvas’ decision to publish the soft loans exposé.
“I cannot understand why, if the privacy issue did not arise when the finance minister revealed in parliament details of loans given from account 2003 [payments to pro-regime newspapers], why privacy should be an issue when information is made public with reference to account number 2060 [payments to pro-regime MPs and officials],” she said.
Velezinee said she was not worried about her wellbeing and the wellbeing of the magazine for having raised such a sensitive issue. “When we first published, I didn’t know what might happen next. After two weeks they [the government] came up with this statement, probably after pressure from heavy-weights in the government who are mentioned in the article. I didn’t feel threatened by the statement. I think it is silly at this late stage for them to come out with this statement. They should have reacted at the beginning if they had a problem, not after two weeks.”
“Getting this information was unexpected. It landed in my lap. It was being kept quiet by the government. We picked Majlis members who had received loans who were sitting in the People’s Majlis. Why were they given loans at this time? Also, presidential office staff and the Commissioner of Police [were given loans] and they have not paid back a single cent. Adam Zahir got the second loan just after the 2003 Maafushi Jail shootings. When he was being investigated, he was given Rf. 2 million. Why?
“There is a lot more information that we have. The government’s statement said that in all other countries government’s give people loans. But, if this is a public service why are loans at 6% interest it not available to the general public, who have to take bank loans out at a rate of 12% interest. Why aren’t these loans available to the rest of us?
When asked what her thoughts were on the recent announcement that military personnel are banned from reading Minivan, Fiyes and Adduvas, Velezinee said the announcement was unconstitutional.
“It is an attempt by the military to undermine the constitution by prohibiting freedom of expression. I sent a letter to the Minister of Information and copied it to the Attorney-General and the Defence Minister. The military’s letter claimed that Minivan, Fiyes and Adduvas are trying to bring down the government, which is completely false. If it was the case, this country has laws to close media down so why are we still publishing? We have heard before that detainees are banned from reading Adduvas, we took that matter up in our letter too.
Velezinee was asked if she believed the government’s claims to support press freedom.
“I would love to believe ‘New Maldives’. This young blood, they are trying to mingle with the people, in cafés and tea houses. They are talking reform but we are not seeing this in practice. New Maldives is talking about freedoms but others, such as the military and police, are acting against people enjoying these freedoms.”
“There is a big discrepancy between what one person in the cabinet is saying and what others are doing. Is it that there is a new Maldives and an old Maldives inside the cabinet? Are there splits inside the cabinet? Some Ministers are talking about this reform, while their colleagues are doing something different.”

Minivan News spends 15 Minutes with Adduvas editor Aishath Velezinee about her decision to expose parliamentarians and regime officials who took soft loans from President Gayoom.

In a press release last Thursday by spokesperson Mohamed Hussein Shareef (sent only to pro-regime dailies) the government denied any wrong-doing, claiming the soft loans reduced bribery and corruption among MPs and officials.

In a thirteen-point rebuttal, Shareef claimed that loans schemes are made available to staff working in government institutions in many countries. He said Adduvas’ exposure of the soft loans scheme was “disrespectful” to the dignity of the individuals involved.

“To take a loan is not a crime. It is also not theft. Banks also give out loans. Money given out as loans is money that has to be returned. And as a private individual it is not revealed who has taken out the loan, nor are the figures of such loans revealed to the public. To protect the dignity of individuals it is a universal human right. Hence, to violate a financial right is a violation of that individual’s right,” he said.

“It is not apparent that Adduvas has given to the public the relevant information regarding the loan schemes. It is also evident that no attempt was made to inform regarding the mortgaging of properties, the conditions under which the loans were granted, not the way this scheme is operated and for what reasons.

“Enough information regarding the loans was already available so there was no need to give and further details,” Shareef stated.

Speaking to Minivan News, Velezinee defended Adduvas’ decision to publish the soft loans exposé.

“I cannot understand why, if the privacy issue did not arise when the finance minister revealed in parliament details of loans given from account 2003 [payments to pro-regime newspapers], why privacy should be an issue when information is made public with reference to account number 2060 [payments to pro-regime MPs and officials],” she said.

Velezinee said she was not worried about her wellbeing and the wellbeing of the magazine for having raised such a sensitive issue. “When we first published, I didn’t know what might happen next. After two weeks they [the government] came up with this statement, probably after pressure from heavy-weights in the government who are mentioned in the article. I didn’t feel threatened by the statement. I think it is silly at this late stage for them to come out with this statement. They should have reacted at the beginning if they had a problem, not after two weeks.”

“Getting this information was unexpected. It landed in my lap. It was being kept quiet by the government. We picked Majlis members who had received loans who were sitting in the People’s Majlis. Why were they given loans at this time? Also, presidential office staff and the Commissioner of Police [were given loans] and they have not paid back a single cent. Adam Zahir got the second loan just after the 2003 Maafushi Jail shootings. When he was being investigated, he was given Rf. 2 million. Why?

“There is a lot more information that we have. The government’s statement said that in all other countries government’s give people loans. But, if this is a public service why are loans at 6% interest it not available to the general public, who have to take bank loans out at a rate of 12% interest. Why aren’t these loans available to the rest of us?

When asked what her thoughts were on the recent announcement that military personnel are banned from reading Minivan, Fiyes and Adduvas, Velezinee said the announcement was unconstitutional.

“It is an attempt by the military to undermine the constitution by prohibiting freedom of expression. I sent a letter to the Minister of Information and copied it to the Attorney-General and the Defence Minister. The military’s letter claimed that Minivan, Fiyes and Adduvas are trying to bring down the government, which is completely false. If it was the case, this country has laws to close media down so why are we still publishing? We have heard before that detainees are banned from reading Adduvas, we took that matter up in our letter too.

Velezinee was asked if she believed the government’s claims to support press freedom.

“I would love to believe ‘New Maldives’. This young blood, they are trying to mingle with the people, in cafés and tea houses. They are talking reform but we are not seeing this in practice. New Maldives is talking about freedoms but others, such as the military and police, are acting against people enjoying these freedoms.”

“There is a big discrepancy between what one person in the cabinet is saying and what others are doing. Is it that there is a new Maldives and an old Maldives inside the cabinet? Are there splits inside the cabinet? Some Ministers are talking about this reform, while their colleagues are doing something different.”

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15 Minutes with the Adhaalath Party

Minivan News spends 15 Minutes with Shaheem, spokesperson for the newly-registered Adhaalath (Justice) Party.

MN: We’ve heard that you’re boycotting the all-party meetings to discuss the Political Parties Bill. Is this true?

Shaheem: The invitation to attend these meetings was extended with the understanding that these meetings would include the three registered political parties. However we failed to see the delegates from one party. Hence we notified the chair [Attorney-General Hassan Saeed, head of the Law Commission who held the meeting] of that. We did not wish the meeting to go on. It is the MDP [Maldivian Democratic Party] delegates who have failed to attend. In reality the MDP is one party who are doing a considerable amount of work to establish a fair democracy in the Maldives. Hence we do not wish the meeting to continue in their absence. Once we notified the chair they decided not to continue with the meeting. They stated that they would try to hold an all-party gathering on the 22nd of this month. They left the door open until the 22nd for written comments about the regulations pertaining to political parties to be submitted.

MN: Will you be prepared to participate in the meeting on the 22nd if MDP Chairperson Mohamed Nasheed (Anni) remains under arrest?

Shaheem: We have always stated that the government should release Anni. That’s the Adhaalath Party’s position. Those arrested in connection with the events of August 12/13 were arrested for political reasons. If they were arrested for going against the law then it isn’t legal. That’s the way we interpret it. Hence we have always called upon the government to release them with immediate effect. About your question – we have not yet reached a decision on it.

MN: Are you prepared to submit in writing to the Attorney-General your thoughts on the Political Parties Bill as he has suggested or will you also boycott this as the MDP is doing?

Shaheem: In reality what’s happening now is our senior-most people are presently in Fua Mulaku to open a branch. They’ll be coming to Male’ today. We are having a committee meeting tomorrow to discuss this. So we’ve not reached a decision on that issue. As soon as we reach a decision we can inform you or anyone else in the media.

We hope to discuss these issues [the Political Parties Bill] in a meeting in a friendly atmosphere in the presence of delegates from all three parties. Considering that we are trying to establish an entirely new system we will need the assistance and co-operation of everyone at this juncture. We do not wish to go ahead while sidelining one party.

MN: Can you tell us about the main point of discussions held during yesterday’s Adhaalath Party press conference?

Shaheem: At 10.15 last night we had a press meeting at our temporary office yesterday. We wished to enlighten the public and the press about our previous meeting with the Law Commission as the government media had misinterpreted what we had said. That was the reason for last night’s press conference. We answered the questions posed by the press in a fit manner. Our answers would cover the meeting as well as policy issues.

MN: Did you call for President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom or the government’s resignation during the press conference?

Shaheem: Yes. We, on behalf of our party had strongly voiced that all political prisoners be released. We do not feel that we would be able to continue this peacefully otherwise. Hence in the interests of the reforms we are pursuing we call upon the government to dissolve/resign and appoint an interim government.

MN: How do you feel about the way your party has been reported in the government press, such as Haveeru and Aafathis?

Shaheem: It is quite clear to us that the press coverage by the media is very much one sided. And Haveeru had not given a complete report of the Law Commission meeting. They barely touched the surface. There was no mention of the Adhaalath party. Everything is very biased. We want a free and fair press. How else can the truth be told? It is very wrong for newspapers to be in supportive of a certain group. We don’t support it. We want a free and fair press. When the reporting is biased you cannot in all fairness say it’s reporting.

MN: According to the Constitution, it is the President who holds the mandate on defining issues of religion. Does the Adhaalath Party think Gayoom is able to fulfill this duties in a fit manner?

Shaheem: According to article 38 of the constitution it is the President that is fully empowered to define issues of religion. In the Maldives the current status is such that religion has slid back a long way. There is a great loss of respect for the tenets of religion and society is riddled with corruption. Our youth are addicted to drugs; theft, robbery and other criminal activities are common. There are so many massage parlors. The one thing we can deduce from all this is that the powers empowered to the President in defining issues of religion are not utilized in an apt way. He is to be held accountable.

In our meeting we had expressed this reality. Hence we call for broader powers for the Supreme Council dealing with issues of Islam. And the character of the Supreme Council should be free and protected and should be empowered to act in the service of Islam throughout the Maldives.

We have called for the Supreme to appoint the most learned people in the Maldives as members. And we have also called for the Supreme Council to be made the 4th power in the separation of powers. It has to be made a separate power. It has to be a separate, free and sovereign power of the state… While we talk of the separation of 3 powers I propose that this be made the 4th power. It does not mean that religion is separated from the state. Our call is for an Islamic state to protect religion by giving it a separate character.

MN: Can you tell us how close the Adhaalath Party and the Maldivian Democratic Party are policy-wise?

Shaheem: Actually the Adhaalath Party is an independent and sovereign party. The Adhaalath Party does not necessarily conform to the views of others. Adhaalath Party will only back anyone working to institute fairness and justice. Whether it is the DRP or the MDP, the Adhaalath Party will assist anyone from not deviating from the path of righteousness.

In the same manner if Adhaalath Party deviates from the path of righteousness, other parties have the right to work to get Adhaalath to conform to the path of righteousness. Therefore we will maintain friendly relations with all parties. That is the relationship we have with everyone who seeks reform. There are no connections with any party – political or otherwise – up to now. We do not belong to any particular party. We are an independent sovereign power.

MN: Would you be prepared to work with the MDP to quash the injustices in the Maldives?

Shaheem: Yes. Against all injustices… We will co-operate in any work done to quash injustices. We will support anyone – whether it is the MDP or the DRP – working to institute fairness, justice and democracy in the Maldives. We applaud them. We call upon everyone to work to bring about reform within the framework of the Constitution; while abiding by the law.

MN: if the government were to change would you be prepared to work with the MDP during a changeover?

Shaheem: We have not entertained such thoughts yet – to partake in a coalition. If the nation should come to such a juncture, then we will think about it.

Listen to Shaheem’s Interview

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Strong winds damage houses in Male’

Strong winds have caused damage to a number of houses in Male’, in the present rainy weather that is affecting the Maldives.

The NSS have reported that the fifth storey roof of Henveiru Dhonannaruge was ripped off by the wind and crashed in to a room of Ranvillage. A tree in G. Femora was also uprooted by the winds and the falling tree broke MWSC’s water meter in the building and collapsed a 13 feet section of the house wall. Also in this incident, a 15 foot section of the wall of adjacent house Fiyavahi also toppled down it has been reported.

www.southasianmedia.net

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Why Male’s Gangs Won’t Speak To Police

State media are broadcasting images of six men wanted in connection to gang fighting which has plagued the capital for over a week. But while police have been unable to track down their suspects in an island less than 2.5 square kilometres in size, Minivan News journalist Susannah Peter, who arrived in the Maldives less than three months ago, was able to meet two of the wanted men for coffee last night.

Here, the two fugitives and other members of the Kuda Henveiru “family” tell her why the police can’t infiltrate their world. They describe police aggression towards gang members, and explain the family will protect them because none believe the authorities will investigate the fighting fairly.

Scapegoats?

Ahmed Alif Rauf, 21, and Ahhmed Simhan, 21, greet me cheerfully as I am ushered inside a brightly lit, cosy front room. One of their friends offers me a cup of coffee, while another “family” (they prefer not to use the word “gang”) member draws up a seat.

Yet both men, members of the Kuda Henveiru group, one of two main gangs in Male’, are hiding from police who want them in connection with the street violence that allegedly led to the death of their fellow “brother” Chotey last Sunday night.

Alif tells me they fear they “will be made scapegoats” if they turn themselves in before Hussain Razeen (Raburry) leader of rival gang Bosnia and also wanted by police, is arrested first.

“The Government support Raburry and Bosnia,” he claims. “So the police don’t want to arrest him, even though they have heard he is back in Male’.

“If we are arrested first, the police will blame it all on us, even the death of Chotey [Ali Ishar, a fellow member of the Kuda Henveiru family who died after a knife attack last Sunday]” Alif says.

“Why would they do anything to harm a brother, one of their closest friends?” another gang member interjects, shaking his head sadly. “They wouldn’t do that, it makes no sense.”

At this point, another young man enters the room and perches on the sofa, looking slightly nervous and edgy. He is introduced as an eyewitness to Chotey’s attack, and asks not to be named.

He says he saw two rival gang members near Chotey’s house, and rushed back to warn his “brother.” But it was too late. Chotey had gone to a nearby shop, and was attacked when he left.

The eyewitness has named three men he says were among those who stabbed Chotey, although Minivan News has withheld the names.

Police have been trying to get in touch with the eyewitness, he tells me. “But I’m afraid they will arrest me,” he says, twitching slightly. “Because I know Raburry did this, and they don’t want to have to arrest him.”

He adds he has received “death threats” from Bosnia members since the attack on Chotey. “I am scared for my life,” he says quietly. “And I’ll never forget what I saw that night. I have nightmares about it.”

Police Aggression?

News of Chotey’s death sparked unrest throughout the capital, amid accusations of police heavy handedness.

“They only get there once the trouble is over, and then cause unrest,” says Alif, grimly.

And he claims police intimidate Kuda Henveiru members even as they gathered to pay their last respects to Chotey late last Sunday night.

As, “brothers” gathered along with “mothers, sisters and children,” at Malé’s Artificial Beach, a Kuda Henveiru haunt, police and Star force officers arrived.

“We were preparing go to the cemetery, where Chotey’s body had been taken, when one of the STAR Force officers pushed a brother,” one member claims.

“And they started hitting women and children, arresting some and not others,” he says. “It was one of the scariest times I have had, because I was worried women would get hurt.”

Trust

Gang members have named ten of the “family members” they arrested, although the sister of a member, who does not want to be named, tells me “they arrested many more, but will not tell us who they are.”

And police, who arrested her brother, “beat him repeatedly” with truncheons, while they waited to take him to the station. Her brother, who she says is still in custody, suffered leg and head injuries, and is now in Malé receiveing medical treatment.

Police Media Coordinator Sergeant Shiyam told Minivan News last week he “could not comment” on allegations of police violence. And of course many people will doubt claims made by anonymous gang members.

But what is clear is that distrust of the authorities among Malé’s powerful street gangs is obstructing the investigation into Ali Ishar’s death and the violence surrounding it. And if the distrust is not breached, more violence will result.

“We don’t believe Ishar’s family will get justice from Government or Police,” says one brother. “We’ll have to fight ourselves to get justice for him. There won’t be deaths, but there will be violence.”

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