Day: December 19, 2006

The Maldives yesterday narrowly missed out on being elected to the committee of a UN anti-torture group.

In a meeting held at the Palace of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, a ten-person international subcommittee for an anti-torture protocol was elected by member states. Maldives came eleventh, with 16 votes out of a possible 29. The U.K. topped the poll with 24 votes.

The Maldives government signed up to the UN’s Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) in late 2005. It came into force in June this year.

Only 29 nations have joined so far, not including the United States. The Maldives is currently the only country in Asia to have ratified the Protocol, though Cambodia and Timor-Lester have signed up and are awaiting ratification.

The scheme establishes an international monitoring system to try to prevent torture of prisoners – the subcommittee will work with national organisations, like the Human Rights Commission, to try to achieve this.

The group’s powers will include the ability to make unannounced visits to jails, after which the subcommittee of diplomats will be able to make recommendations to the states signed up. But the body will not have the power to enforce its recommendations.

The government is upbeat about the organisation, calling it: “an historic day for the prevention of torture in the Maldives and around the world.”

In a press release it added: “The Government’s goal is to attain the very highest standards of torture prevention and we welcome international and national scrutiny of our progress towards that goal by the Subcommittee and the national preventative mechanism respectively.”

But the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) dismisses the government’s move as just a ploy to gain “international attention”.

Ameen Faisal, Shadow Defence Minister, says: “Very recently I have been out of [jail] and although they did not torture us, there are various people who have maybe not been physically tortured, but mentally yes.” He remains unconvinced by the government’s rhetoric.

A number of MDP leaders and members have been tortured in the past. They remain fiercely sceptical of the government’s claims to new found respect for human rights.

The ten states elected to the subcommittee were Argentina, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Mexico, Poland, Spain, United Kingdom and Uruguay.

The OPCAT was adopted by the United Nations on 18 December 2002 and formally entered into force, with the twentieth State ratification, on 22 June 2006. The Maldives was one of the 20 original members States of the OPCAT, having signed the instrument on 14 September 2005 and formally acceded on 15 February 2006.

The newly elected Subcommittee is expected to hold its first session in Geneva from the 19 to 23 February 2007.

The 29 States Parties to the OPCAT are: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Benin, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Georgia, Honduras, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Senegal, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Uruguay.

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Police Spokesman, Corporal Shiyam, has said six people have now been arrested after a rash of gang violence in Male’, which has left a total of ten people injured, including three policemen. The police have not released any names to the press.

As a result of the unrest, patrols have been stepped up and there is now a highly visible police presence on the streets.

Investigation is ongoing, but Shiyam says the violence is not political. He says it is the result of long standing gang rivalries. When asked whether many of the gang members were drug users, he replied, “maybe.”

A large amount of private property was damaged, including cars, shops and offices. State newspaper Haveeru reported a total of 17 ‘public places’ were damaged. The newspaper went on to say: “While the mob had been out destroying public property, the Police were nowhere to be seen.”

In response to the claim they had not done enough, police Spokesman Shiyam said: “Police tried to stop the violence.” He insists they did all in their powers to stop the clashes.

It appears this latest rash of violence has been sparked by two specific incidents, the beating of a thirteen-year-old boy, who was hospitalised last week and, on Sunday at around 11:30pm, a violent attack on a man at Trends restaurant.

The incidents sparked retribution which saw trouble escalate throughout Sunday night. Armed gangs were seen roaming the streets with swords, knives, bats and other weapons, causing damage to property.

Gang warfare in the overcrowded capital has now reached a level which the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) says is unprecedented, and “totally shocking.”

There continues to be a serious drug problem in Male’ with many people addicted to “brown sugar”, or heroin, which has been a source of various social problems for some time.

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Two people suffered serious burns last night after being struck by lightning whilst travelling in a dhoni boat, state newspaper Miadhu reports. It is the result of a continuing rash of bad weather that has hit the Maldives, despite the official start of summer just over a week ago.

The men are named as Ibrahim Hameed, 16 and Masoodhu Mohamed, 43, from Vilufushi. Health authorities have not confirmed the reports despite numerous calls to the Buruni Health Post, where they are being treated, as well as the Medical Services Department and Thaa Atoll Hospital.

There have also been reports of two mini-tornados in Thinadoo, Gaaf Daal Atoll and Nilhandoo, Faafu Atoll, which have damaged property.

The National Meteorological Office says 19 millimetres of rain has fallen over the capital Male’ in the last three days, leaving many places flooded. The National Defence Force is now working to clear the flooding.

Numerous floods have also been reported in Laamu Atoll, Maavashu island. Fonadhoo, Isdhu Kaladhoo, Maamendhoo and Gan islands in Laamu Atoll have also suffered flooding. The floods have left several people displaced, taken out electricity and damaged food supplies.

The bad conditions are unusual for December, which is the first month of the official summer time in the Maldives. Recently there were reports that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, who were on their honeymoon in the country, cut their break short because of the continued bad weather.

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