Day: January 9, 2007

Ibrahim Shareef, the MP for Addu, has been expelled from the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) for not cooperating over allegations of sexual harassment.

The MDP’s disciplinary committee took the decision to expel Shareef on Monday, after he refused to appear before them to face questioning and explain his actions. The party had received allegations that he “forcefully fondled” a female staff member at the party’s Parliamentary Group office last month.

The woman who claims she was harassed told Minivan News: “I am very happy with what they have done. It was what I was expecting.”

The decision made by the committee was unanimous, and came after they had taken statements from five people about the allegations. The MDP says Shareef’s alleged sexual misconduct and subsequent lack of cooperation, “contradicted the spirit of the party.”

Shareef, in reply, has said the disciplinary committee is not a court of law and has criticised the MDP, saying it is run by a “family dynasty.” Although it has not been proven that he harassed the woman, one committee member who wanted to remain anonymous said: “I personally feel there was enough evidence to prove he did it.”

The boyfriend of the woman involved says Ibrahim Shareef called him on a number of occasions to plead with him to drop the issue.

Shareef, who was also the Vice-President of the MDP’s Parliamentary Group, fell out with many MDP members late last year after the Group issued a statement distancing itself from the planned November 10 demonstration. He had been one of a group of MPs who were concerned the demonstration would be counter productive. As a result of the letter, he claimed to have received death threats from MDP supporters.

Since then, the split between the Parliamentary Group of the party and the more radical shadow cabinet has widened, with the leader of the Group, Mohamed Shihab, being labelled a “traitor” by some MDP supporters after voting for the government’s budget.

The Secretary-General of the Parliamentary Group, Ali Faiz, has criticised the MDP’s actions over Shareef’s expulsion, saying the decision to expel Shareef was made “too late.” When asked if he thought the MDP had done the right thing in expelling their MP, he said he would rather not comment.

The MDP now has 26 MPs out of a total of 113 across both parliaments, the People’s Majlis and the Special Majlis. Most other seats are occupied by the government’s Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), with a handful of independent MPs occupying the rest.

Shareef has been unavailable for comment.

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Six Maldivian police officers have been sent abroad for training according to the Maldives Police Service.

On Monday, a Police Official said that the officers had been sent to Singapore under an agreement that was being carried out between the Singaporean and Maldivian forces.

Two of the officers sent abroad, Corporal Izmiyyah Zahir and Constable Hassan Saeed, will be enrolled in a senior officer’s basic course.

The four remaining officers, including Chief State Inspector Mohamed Hameed and Sergeant Fareed Ismail, will take part in a community police course.

The Singapore Police Force has a heritage almost as old as modern Singapore itself and it is hoped that some of its experience and professionalism will be brought back to the Maldives.

Recently, both the Police Service and Government have been using international training programmes in an effort to help modernise their practices.

Just last week, eighteen Maldivian trainees returned from a programme based in Australia, which was aimed at improving the administration at Maafushi Prison.

The trainees were the final group to receive training under the Home Affairs Ministry’s current programme to improve prison conditions, however, Deputy Minister Azim Shukoor has confirmed that the government plans to send more people abroad for training in 2007.

“Even if the plan doesn’t work out,” said Shukoor, “we will bring international experts home and conduct the training in the Maldives. We will soon start discussions on obtaining the opportunity to send people abroad for training”.

The most recent training in Singapore was not part of the Home Ministry’s current programme. It was also not the first instance where the Singapore police have agreed to provide training to their Maldivian counterparts.

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