Day: January 17, 2007

The trial of Minivan Daily’s Deputy-Editor, Nazim Sattar, has been postponed again after the journalist was summoned to court at 12:30pm today. No date was given for the next hearing, a common government practice.

Nazim is being tried for ‘disobedience to order’ for an article that appeared in Minivan Daily on 2 August, 2005. In an unusual twist, Minivan Daily’s editor, Aminath Najeeb, has been summoned as a witness by the prosecution.

Today would have been the third court session in the trial, which focuses on a news story in which MDP member, Ahmed Abbas, is quoted as saying: “What we should do to those in the Star Force who beat us, is to seek them out individually and for us to act in such a manner that makes them feel that beatings result in pain, otherwise they will not be subdued.”

Abbas was jailed in early November in the run-up to an opposition mass protest which was cancelled for fear of excess violence.

The Star Force is the hardcore elite unit of the Maldivian police feared by many. They are recognisable for their distinctive blue patchwork uniforms. The Force says a number of their officers have been verbally abused by members of the public over the past year. They claim that the article is responsible for this abuse, which has left the crack paramilitary unit in a state of “mental trauma.”

Star Force member Hussain Shahil (MA. Cool Stone/ Male’) claims he was called a “fat rascal” by a member of the public following the publication of the Minivan article.

“In addition to this, on 25 January 2006 the day when Mohamed Nasheed’s (G. Keneryge’) trial was held in Dharubaruge, I was part of the security team there, when [a member of the public] said to me, “You are the one who hit me, don’t assume you are unidentifiable just because you’ve donned a mask on your face,” Shahil said in his witness statement.

Star Force member Ali Moosa (MA. Kamiyabuge/ Male’) says he was also called a “rascal,” five months after the publication of the article:

“On 3 January 2006…we were on our way to the Gaaf Dhaal, Thinadoo Police Station, when a group of around ten people followed us and, indicating Constable Mohamed Nishan, threatened us saying, “This is the rascal who lifted and carried Anni [MDP Chairperson Mohamed Nasheed], you cannot step out of here”.

Lance Corporal Mazin Mohamed (Male’ Municipality Special Register/ Male’), meanwhile, said he was so terrified by the article he “dared not step out of the house for sometime.”

A fourth Star Force witness, Ahmed Nishan (popularly referred to as ‘Star Baby), also claims to have been “traumatised” by the Minivan article.

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Dhiraagu, the largest telecommunications company in the Maldives, has awarded Telecom Italia Sparkle – the wholesale global operator part of the Telecom Italia Group – one of its first international links via submarine cable.

The agreement means older satellite technology will be replaced by the Dhiraagu Submarine Cable Network – DSCN (being composed of the international cable system between Maldives and Sri Lanka and the inter-atoll domestic cable) to provide telecommunications services to the Maldives.

The circuit will be routed on the recently inaugurated Maldives – Sri Lanka cable which was built under partnership between Dhiraagu and Sri Lanka Telecom. It will then be connected to a cable system in Palermo, Italy.

“We are extremely delighted to have strengthened our good business relationship with Telecom Italia Sparkle. This will allow us to expand our worldwide connectivity, in a manner that will further improve our customer experiences, by taking advantage of the global reach and quality of service TIS has to offer”, said Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ismail Waheed.

Dhiraagu was set up in the Maldives in 1988. Like many big companies in the Maldives, it is majority owned by the government, who hold a 55% share. The remaining stake is held by the UK based company Cable and Wireless, which has worked in the Maldives providing telecoms services on behalf of the government since 1977.

Dhiraagu is a private company and does not publish its profit or other financial information.

The company held a monopoly on telecommunications services in the Maldives until 2004, when the authorities began issuing licences. Two other companies, Rajje Online and Kuwaiti company, Wataniya Telecom International, now also operate in the country.

Dhiraagu have come in for much criticism throughout their 18-year history. Throughout the nineties many complained of excessively high pricing. More recently, with the growth of an opposition movement in the country, the company has struggled to garner trust among users.

Many fear their SMS messages and internet activity may be seen by a third party and that phone conversation may be heard by government authorities due to the company’s close links to the Gayoom regime. Some have also accused Dhiraagu of cutting SMS messaging services during key protests by the opposition, which the company has denied.

Dhiraagu remains the only provider of landlines in the Maldives.

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British Tory MP, Gary Streeter, has arrived at Male airport for a five day visit to the Maldives to hold discussions with the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and the government.

He was received at around 10pm last night by a crowd of hundreds of cheering MDP supporters calling for the President’s resignation, chanting “Maumoon isthiufaa”.

During his visit, he will meet with the MDP’s shadow cabinet members, the Parliamentary Group and make an address to the party’s National Council. He will also visit the island of Thinadhoo, in Southern Huvadhoo Atoll to meet party members and speak at a meeting on Friday evening.

The MP for Devon South West will also meet with various government officials, including Elections Commissioner, Kaaf Dhaal Ahmed Maniku. He is scheduled to hold a round table discussion with members of non governmental organisations and journalists, and to make an address to the NGO Maldives Forum.

Streeter is Chairman of Conservatives Abroad, the Party’s International Office and the Conservative Human Rights Commission. He has asked a number of questions in the House of Commons about the pace of reform in the Maldives and is known to have a keen interest in Maldivian politics.

The purpose of his visit is also to discuss the possibility of greater cooperation between the MDP and the UK Conservative Party, with the help of the Westminster Foundation which works to promote democracy and help political parties with similar ideals around the world.

Part of the work of the Tories’ International Office is in building and supporting democracy in emerging countries, while the Human Rights Commission works “to champion the cause of people all over the world whose basic human rights are being abused”.

Streeter is a trained lawyer and currently sits on the UK Government’s Home Affairs Select Committee. He served as Minister in the Lord Chancellor’s Department in John Major’s government from 1995 to 1997. He has also been shadow secretary of state for International Development, Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party and a Shadow Minister in the International Affairs Department.

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