Day: March 21, 2010

ACC charges an attempt to stop recovery of stolen millions, says Auditor General

The Auditor General Ibrahim Naeem today responded to charges of corruption put against him by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), claiming the case was an attempt to discredit his office and prevent him from reclaiming the government’s money stored in overseas bank accounts.

The ACC has forwarded two cases concerning Naeem to the Prosecutor General’s Office, alleging that Naeem used an official credit card to purchase personal items and fund a private visit to the island of Thulhadhoo in Baa Atoll.

“A lot of the government’s money was taken through corrupt [means] and saved in the banks of England, Switzerland, Singapore and Malaysia,” Naeem claimed, during a terse press conference.

”There are houses and assets of the government saved in those countries,” he said, ”and there is the government’s money stored in personal accounts.”

The ACC’s cases against him were, he said, made by people “attempting to harm [my] office because we are trying to bring all this money back to the country.”

He pledged he would “bring all the money back within the year.”

Press Secretary for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair observed that Naeem was being accused of defrauding the government of a “comparably negligible amount of money compared to the millions he’s exposing. It’s not surprising he has powerful enemies.”

The first allegation of making personal purchases was a mix-up between a personal and a corporate credit card, Zuhair claimed. “He bought a tie and later paid when he realised his mistake.”

The second claim, that Naeem had used government money to chartered a boat to Baa Atoll for person reasons, was met with scorn by the Auditor General.

“It was not a personal trip. Neither the parliament nor the president can decide whether my visits are official or personal,” he said.

Zuhair said he expected the Prosecutor General would now send the case to court where the Auditor General would most likely absolve himself of the charges.

“The fact that parliament is already considering a no-confidence motion probably amounts to legal double-jeopardy,” Zuhair noted.

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Pain and politics: Torture Victims Association inaugurated

The Torture Victims Association (TVA) held its inaugural meeting last night, following its founding in January 2010 by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Naseem, Tourism Minister and human rights lawyer Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad, and Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed.

Naseem, who is president of the organisation, said the organisation’s purpose was to support torture victims and “prevent these types of things from happening again in Maldives.”

He said the organisation was founded “so there is a place [torture victims] can go and talk about what happened to them, and take some solace, get some comfort.”

“[Torture] happened a lot, openly,” said Naseem, who says he was himself a victim of torture.

“It happened under several governments… through government institutions. It wasn’t the exception, it was the norm here.”

A political thing

The TVA has come under scrutiny already for being an MDP-led NGO, of which President Nasheed has just become a member.

“It’s non-governmental, and it is not a political organisation,” Naseem insisted, “it is totally egalitarian.”

Torture through silence

“At the [inaugural] meeting, there were victims who were tortured as well as people who torturered through their silence,” Sawad said. “Through their silence, they condoned a culture of torture.”

The previous government has been accused of torture, but none of the accused have been taken to court.

The first step in bringing justice to victims of torture is, according to the TVA, gathering information and evidence.

“Gathering information is the very initial stage,” Naseem said. “We also need the support of the people of this country. It’s a traumatised society. Families have been traumatised.”

Creating a historical record of torture in the Maldives, and breaking the silence, are two major steps forward, claims the TVA.

“We are the only country in the world who doesn’t have a historical record regarding this,” Naseem noted. “In the Pol-Pot regime, in Nazi Germany, in Kosovo, they know how many people were killed. But here, we don’t know. We just see in the papers that some people have been lost. That’s it.”

Dr Sawad said the entire culture of torture “has been called a myth by powerful members of our community. But it happened. With that acknowledgement, we can focus on accountability.”

Kevin Laue, a lawyer with London-based human rights NGO Redress, is working with the TVA to seek justice for victims of torture.

“Finding out what happened is key…then we can decide what needs to be done,” said Laue.

Politics

Mohamed Hussain ‘Mundhu’ Shareef, spokesman for the former president, said there has been no formal response from Gayoom to the TVA’s allegations “because they are not an entity we recognise as being worthy of response.”

“Just look at who’s in charge. When the association starts with a name like Reeko Moosa, who hates Gayoom, there is very little reason to take them seriously.”

Mundhu said the TVA wanted people to believe it is was an NGO – impartial, free of government intervention and politically unbiased – but he said suggested that it had been formed as a “political ploy… to divert people’s attention from the failures of this government.”

When asked whether the number of politicians in the Association could be a liability for the impartiality of their work, Naseem answered, “what can you do?”

“All the people who participated in the human rights movement in the Maldives are now in government, so you can’t avoid it. Some went to jail, some people were brutalised and some people died. You can’t say it’s the government, we are human beings.”

Naseem reiterated that the TVA is “not a political thing” and it only becomes political when people are looking for a “quick fix.”

“A process like this takes years,” Naseem said. “We work through the government and the judiciary, and if the government doesn’t get involved, it is much better.”

The TVA says members of the former government “cannot” admit to torture allegations because they would be tried in court, but Mundhu said that none of the “ridiculous claims of defamation of character” against former president Gayoom have held up in a court of law.

“Gayoom is the single most popular individual in this country,” he said. “The government should be ashamed of accusing him of torture.”

Accountability

Dr Sawad said the TVA does not believe it was up to the government or the state to decide what would happen to the torturers.

“It’s for the victim to launch the claim and for the judicial system to decide. And we are here to facilitate that,” he explained.

He added that the TVA wants to “document and push the claims of torture within the judiciary.”

“If we believe that the claim has not been addressed through the domestic judicial system, we are prepared to take it to the next level.”

Laue said that “if [torturers] are not prosecuted [in the Maldives], we must not forget torture is a crime which is under universal jurisdiction.”

Assuming there is enough evidence, Laue claimed a perpetrator could be arrested and tried in a foreign country, extradited or sent to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

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MDP condemns DRP accusations that the party backed attacks on the media

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has refuted claims made by the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) last week accusing the ruling party of masterminding recent attacks on the media.

Four gang members stormed the studios of television station DhiTV last week, and hours later an employee of newspaper Haveeru was left in a critical condition after he was stabbed outside the building.

In an interview with DhiTV the following day, DRP vice president and spokesperson Ibrahim Shareef said he believed the MDP was behind the attacks on media, adding that he does “not believe the MDP is trying to bring press freedom to the country,.”

DRP vice president and MP Ahmed Ilham did not say he blamed the MDP for the attacks, but he critcised the government “for trying to kill the media in many [other] ways.”

The government had cut points from the broadcasting license of radio station DhiFM “to try and threaten them,” he said.

Police criticism of DhiFM for its coverage of a protest outside Muleaage in January led to the station having five points deducted. Together with police attempts at the time to stop the broadcast, the incident was treated as attack on press freedom by the station and the Maldives Journalists’ Association (MJA).

Three members of the MJA have meanwhile flown to Colombo with the intention of lobbying diplomats and journalists, “seeking international support for press freedom in the Maldives.”

MJA President Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir said that “President Nasheed’s words promoting press freedom are not being matched by action. Our goal is to seek international pressure so that the President will act on his promises.”

Under the Maldives’ current broadcasting legislation, points are deducted for any breaches of the broadcasting code of conduct, up to a maximum of 100, as decided by a committee appointed by the Department of Information.

Spokesperson for MDP Ahmed Haleem said the party had “sacrificed much” to bring press freedom to the Maldives and regretted DRP’s accusations that the party was somehow responsible for the attacks on the media.

”They don’t know what to talk about now, so they are spreading these untrue stories,” Haleem said.

Haleem claimed that Ilham was “very new to politics” and ”really does not know the way things go.”

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Police special operation nets 22 gang suspects

In a highly-publicised special operation intended to reduce gang crime in the capital Male’, police arrested 22 men suspected of being key players in gang violence.

Police sub inspector Ahmed Shiyam said the men were arrested in different areas of Male’ are were notable “gangsters” involved in gang violence.

Shiyam also said police had collected chairs, sofas and weapons from places where gangs lived, to stop gang members congregating, storing them in the police tow yard.

He said the special operation to protect Male’ from gang violence would not to be stopped until the city became a peaceful place.

Meanwhile, a group of NGOs including the Maldivian Detainee Network, Transparency Maldives, Rights for All, Strength of Society, Maldives Aid, Madulu, Democracy house and NGO Federation released a statement condemning the recent rise in gang violence in Male’.

The NGO’s reported that police statistics show that during last year there were 12 murder cases reported to police and 11 of them were sent to Prosecutor General’s office.

The NGOs called on the president and parliament to pass the necessary bills as soon as possible to avoid gang violence.

They furthermore called on the government institutions concerned with gang crime to fulfill their responsibilities.

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Galana to supply 1.02 million barrels of jet fuel

Galana Petroleum has won a tender to supply 1.02 million barrels of aviation fuel to the Maldives, reports Reuters.

The deal with the Middle Eastern petroleum company will see the Maldives paying a “premium” price of $3.59 a barrel, Reuters reported.

Other potential suppliers included the Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) and European firm Vitol.

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Petrol bombs and weapons found in Gan

Members of Gan Police Station and Fonadhoo Police Station found petrol bombs and weapons in the Mukurimagu Ward of Laamu Gan during a special operation, reports Miadhu.

The police received reports of the weapons at 3:15am and found them near the Aquveni area of Mukurimagu Ward.

The weapons included petrol bombs, knives, steel pipes and wooden planks. Police said these items would most likely have been used as weapons for assault.

No suspects have yet been arrested or interrogated. Gan Police Station is investigating the matter further.

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Sheikh Fareed claims judges are bribed

Sheikh Ibrahim Fareed has called upon judges to be fair when issuing sentences, reports Miadhu.

During a lecture entitled ‘To Whom Hellfire is Calling’, held on Friday night at the artificial beach, Sheikh Fareed alleged some judges were being bribed and ruling against their conscience despite overwhelming evidence.

Sheikh Fareed said that without a fair judiciary many social illnesses would be inflicted on society, which would result in punishment from God.

Sheikh Fareed also said talking about politics and ‘wasting time’ were useless, and that the time should be used for productive causes.

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Vice President on official visit to Saudi Arabia

Vice President Mohamed Waheed has departed the Maldives for an official visit to Saudi Arabia.

Dr Waheed’s visit is mainly focused on lobbying the upcoming Maldives Partnership Forum, or Donor Conference, to be held on 28-29 March.

The vice president met with the Saudi Finance Minister Dr Ibrahim Al-Assaf on 20 March, briefing him on the Donor Conference and thanking the Saudi government for its support of the Maldives.

Dr Al-Assaf said Saudi Arabia would participate in the Donor Conference and would continue its support to the Maldives.

Vice President Waheed then met with Governor of Riyadh Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud.

They discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to strengthen them, especially in the areas of economic cooperation.

Governor Prince Salman assured the Maldives of further economic assistance, saying it was the duty of Saudi Arabia to assist Islamic countries around the world.

Vice President Waheed then met with Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Dr Mohamed Bin Obeid Al-Marzoi.

Dr Al-Marzoi said it would encourage GCC countries to participate in the Donor Conference and the GCC itself would participate in the Conference.

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