Day: May 3, 2010

Maldives among few countries to improve press freedom

UNESCO World Press Freedom Day began with the news that the Maldives index has improved slightly following its 53 point leap last year, an achievement attributed to the new Constitution.

The Maldives is now ranked 102, equal place with Tanzina and Albania and marginally ahead of Turkey and Indonesia. The Maldives is still categorised as ‘partly free’, the reasons for which should be revealed when the country report is released in the coming days.

The rise came despite recent gang violence directed at media organisations and an attempt by police to block radio news coverage following emphatic protests outside MNDF headquarters and the President’s residence in January, drawing concern from the Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) and a number of media outlets.

Worldwide the index declined across almost every region in the world, for the eighth consecutive year, with one in six people now living in an environment without a free press. The only region to improve was Asia-Pacific, with significant strides in Bangladesh and Bhutan.

According to Freedom House, the international body that runs the index, countries are assessed on the developments of each calendar year, including the legal environment in which media operate, political influences and economic pressures.

Meanwhile, the two-day South Asia Regional Consultation on Freedom of Information: The Right to Know was launched in Holiday Inn this morning, by Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture Dr Ali Sawad.

Delegates from the media, government and civil society organisations in countries including Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka met discuss the development and implementation of freedom of information laws as a means of combating corruption and enshrining free press as a fourth estate.

In a video address, UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova noted that “every time we turn on the TV, turn on radio or go on the internet, the quality of what we hear depends on media having acess to accurate and up to date information.”

“The obstacles in the way of our right to know take many forms,” she said, “from lack of resources, to lack of infrastructure to deliberate obstruction. Far too many journalists suffer harassment, intimidation, and physical assault – all in a day’s work.”

Bokova called on government and civil society “to promote freedom of information all over the world.”

Many of the sessions on the first day of the conference focused around promoting freedom of information laws at a state level, however media representatives from countries including Bangladesh and Bhutan noted that even where freedom of information laws were available, they were not always used effectively by journalists.

Dehli Bureau Chief of The Hindu and keynote speaker Siddharth Varadarajan implied that freedom of information laws were less critical to freedom of the press “than our inability as journalists to transcend market forces and commercial considerations… and tendency to report trivia.”

Newspapers in India regularly sold “campaign coverage packages” to politicians come election season, he noted, a practice which “seriously compromises citizens’ trust in media content.”

A further consequence of such practices, he added, was a sense of dissatisfaction among journalists “at our inability to use the power at our disposal.”

“We have a responsiblity to be tougher, harder, and to call a spade a spade,” he said.

In his address, Dr Sawad similarly emphasised the responsibilities that came with the freedom of the press.

“With every right comes responsibilities,” Dr Sawad said. “In a free nation with free expression, the media must not forget its obligations to citizens to report fairly and accurately.”

The Maldives, he said, “has a very young free media, coming out of a culture where it was state owned and regulated. We have the challenge of dispelling the myth that the state represents media.”

Dr Sawad explained since its election, the current government “has committed to a step-by-step dismantling of the Department of Information, formerly the ministry of Information, to replace it with a stronger private media.”

State broadcasters Television Maldives (TVM) and radio station Voice of Maldives (VoM) had been placed under the new Maldivies National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC), “a separate corporate entity with its own board and budget.”

A key challenge for the fledgling private media however was capacity building and training of its journalists, he explained.

“Private media has a very hard task. A lot of you are just past high school, with a keen professional interest in the field. But as we settle down and lay the foundations of democracy, we have to have to have the capacity to deliver democracy. You cannot give that objective to someone without the capacity to deliver it – the government has delivered democracy, but it has yet to be delivered to the people. ”

“Before the government lies the task of training, educating and strengthening the free press. As we celebrate UNESCO World Press Freedom Day, I call on the media to take up the challenge to deliver democracy with a sense of responsibility.”

The sessions continue tomorrow when President Mohamed Nasheed will launch the Journalist of the Year Award and Sukumar Muralidharan from the South Asian Chapter of the International Federation of Journalists will launch the South Asia Press Freedom Report.

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Election dream still alive, says Dr Hassan Saeed

The dream of the 2008 presidential campaign is still alive and within reach of the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), its newly elected leader Dr Hassan Saeed has said.

Speaking at the party’s first congress on Saturday night at Bandos Island Resort, Dr Saeed, who resigned from both the former and current governments, said it was not too late to realise the aspirations of his presidential campaign.

“Our leaders don’t have to always go begging to Europe or the Middle East,” he said. “[Our leaders] won’t have to say with pride that I begged more and secured more money than my predecessor.”

Dr Saeed said Maldivian politicians have never ruled to serve the the people: “They rule to fill their pockets.”

Hard times

Apart from difficult economic circumstances, Saeed continued, islanders were struggling to pay their electricity bills, the cost of living was rising and the government was ruthlessly dismissing elderly security guards.

Dr Saeed said his law firm, Raajje Chambers, was under pressure from banks to take prominent businessmen and resort owners to court to reclaim unpaid loans.

“As a result, it is likely that many resort owners in the country will go bankrupt in the near future,” he said. “Thousands of employees could lose their jobs.”

Meanwhile, development of over 60 resorts was stalled due to failure to secure loans.

While government expenditure increased threefold in the past five years, the quality of life for citizens has not seen any improvement.

“Political posts have increased from 500 to 1,000,” he said. “But has the service from political appointees to the people similarly increased? It has not. The number of police officers has increased by thousands. Crime has not fallen. As the Chief Judge of the Criminal Court in 2003, I earned Rf4,000 (a month). Today the person in that post receives Rf30,500. Has the justice system been strengthened? Has [the judicial process] become faster?”

Moreover, he added, the number of embassies abroad has increased threefold without a corresponding spike in foreign investment.

Looming bankruptcy

The state of affairs today was so dire that local businesses were unable to get foreign loans at an interest rate of even 12 per cent, said Saeed.

“The 65 resorts in the country have not been developed because they couldn’t get loans at even 15 per cent, let alone 12,” he said.

Moreover, he added, the government was giving away assets cheaply and handing over management of schools to foreign parties without considering the benefits to the Maldivian people.

The former special advisor to the president said the government has not given any thought to enriching Maldivian businesses or putting struggling small business back on their feet.

“Maldivians are a talented, educated, young and industrious people,” he said. “All that Maldivians need is just a little opportunity. What Maldivians want is a day when they won’t be forced to fill a form to join the ruling party whenever there is a change of government.”

He added the DQP will not falter in its “national jihad” and would work together with other parties to reach its goals.

“God willing, we will win the upcoming local council elections and the presidential elections after that,” he said.

Power

In his speech, Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, who was dismissed from his cabinet post last year, said the country was in a state of “despair and hopelessness”.

Those who had claimed not to want power was now trying to stay in power at all costs, he said.

While the former government spent Rf4.8 million a month on political appointees, he said, the figure has climbed to Rf9.1 million a month under the Nasheed administration.

Vilufushi MP Riyaz Rasheed, one of the party’s two MPs, said the party has now matured and was ready to play its part in the political arena.

“We did not come out to topple the government. We will try to hold the government accountable…[Only] the people can change the government,” he said.

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Pollution in water surrounding Malé poses serious health risks, warn doctors

Sewerage and contaminants infiltrating the water and reefs around Malé have been a concern for many years, but as the population grows, so does the amount of sewerage going into the water, and the health and environmental risks this could pose are spiralling.

Business Development Manager at the Malé Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC), Hassan Saeed, said waste in Malé is simply “disposed into the sea.”

He said at the moment there is no governing law that prohibits sewerage from being dumped into sea, and it is just being discharged at 50-100 metres below the surface.

Saeed said the seweage is not treated before being discharged, but is collected from households and then directed to the sea.

“So far it’s safe,” Saeed said. “We are discharging it into deep water and the currents take it away from the island.”

He said the MWSC has tested the waters near the swimming tract and artificial beach, and the Ministry of Health has also done independent studies.

He noted that the discharge pipes near the swimming areas have been extended up to 600 metres in length, to ensure they are taken further away from swimmers. “We have tested near the tract and we have found it is safe in that area,” he said.

The issue of safety had been raised before, he said, and added the government is looking into investing in treating the water.

“We are also ready to do that, the treatment of sewage,” he said, “but total investment is very high. We might have to ask the public to pay for it, it’s very costly.”

Saeed explained a lot of land space was needed for a water treatment plant and would require a high investment. He noted the project could also be carried out on a barge, if necessary, but said the cost for that would probably be higher than doing it on land.

“If we have to do it in a floating area, then we will need a lot of investment,” he added.

Garbage around Malé harbour
Garbage around Malé harbour

Medical concerns

Dr Abdul Azeez Yousuf from Malé Health Services Corporation said pollution in the water is a concern, since it is “a question of considerable contamination” and added there is “not an easy solution” to the problem.

He noted that since it’s not just sewerage in the water, but also many chemicals, it could cause many diseases, including ear and throat infections diarrhoeal diseases.

Dr Yousuf said the government had looked into the issue in the past and “have done some damage minimising” to improve the state of the water in the artificial beach and swimming tract.

The biggest problem, Dr Yousuf said, are all the boats in the harbour. “They don’t have proper sewerage disposal,” he said. “It goes straight into the sea.”

Medical doctor at the Central Clinic in Malé, Dr Ahmed Razee, said he has treated cases of gastro-enteritis caused by infections from the water.

“I am able to say very emphatically that yes, people can develop gastro-enteritis from swimming in Malé lagoon,” Dr Razee said.

He noted that “theoretically, the possibility [of getting gastro-enteritis] is very much real,” and “in medicine what we say is if something is possible, it will happen.”

But he added that “as far as the local population is concerned, and people who are continuing to go swimming, even if there was an infection, they would probably all have immunity to it, most of the common organisms.”

He explained it’s like traveller’s diarrhoea, “because you’re not [as vulnerable] to the germs that are in your surroundings.”

Dr Razee said the more “ominous thing is the presence of typhoid in the water and enteric organisms.” He said although enteric typhoid has been almost “wiped out” in Malé, “we do see some sporadic cases.”

He noted though, due to constant travelling between the Maldives and neighbouring Sri Lanka and India, “we cannot definitely say that the few cases we have seen have been locally infected.”

People get typhoid fever from contaminated water, Dr Razee explained, and noted it is a “bacteria which is excreted in the stool, so where the stool goes, the bacteria goes”.

He said “the waters are polluted with bacteria” that could cause digestive infections, and was mostly due to the boats in the customs area of Malé.

“There are a lot of boats which are more or less permanently moored there, and they are using the sea as a toilet,” he said. Additionally, “the sewage that is treated in Malé is not treated to eliminate bacteria, so it’s almost raw sewage, in an unrecognisable form, that is being let out into the sea.”

Dr Ramzee was considerably angry at those working in sewerage disposal. “These people are making so much profit, where is their social responsibility?”

“They, as professionals and scientists, know they are not doing what they are supposed to be scientifically doing,” he said, adding “it is the responsibility of the sewage company to ensure they do not pollute the water. They make millions of dollars out of these poor folks.”

Media Coordinator for Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) Zeenath Ali Habib said “we haven’t got any cases regarding the matter” and it is “not a concern” for the hospital.

Environmental impact

fish feeding off sewerage which is discharged every half an hour
Fish feeding off sewerage vented from a Male outlet

Ali Rilwan from environmental NGO Bluepeace says his organisation is “concerned with the contamination from sewage” seeping into the coral around Malé reef.

Rilwan said “there are all sort of things” contaminating the water, including heavy metals. The contaminants are reaching Malé reef from five outlets, he said, noting that “the reef is decaying.”

Another major concern is these contaminants reaching people through the food chain; if the fish get infected, people who eat it could also be infected.

Photographs courtesy of bluepeacemaldives.org

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JJU to establish Juvenile Act to take action against irresponsible parents

The Juvenile Justice Unit (JJU) will draft a ‘Juvenile Act’ outlining the actions that can be taken against irresponsible parents.

Spokesperson for the Juvenile Court Zaeema Nasheed said the JJU held a meeting with Prosecutor General’s Office, Police, Department of Gender and Family and the Juvenile court to discuss the draft bill, which it believes will help reduce the number of children becoming involved in crime.

”We have noticed that many children are led to crimes due to a lack of care from their parents,” Zaeema said. ”To reduce the number of children involvement the crimes, we should take action against irresponsible parents.”

”In the Maldives there are no laws on irresponsible parents.” Zaeema added. ”That’s why we face difficulties prosecuting such cases.”

”Sometimes when we go to deliver the chit from the court, the kid’s Mum or Dad says that they do not know where he lives or how to contact him,” she said.

”It is irresponsible for them to not know where their children live.”

She said that according to the law parents should protect children from danger, but that the divorces were leading the children to become isolated join gangs.

”When a couple divorces when they have children, then due to lack of care the child becomes isolated and they start going out to the streets,” she said. ”When they go out like that, they meet the gangs and join them and then they become involved in crime.”

She said that children usually became involved in crimes such as assault and battery, fornication and drug related cases.

Head of Child Section in Health Ministry Saudhath Afeef said that the discussion’s main target was to increase awareness among parents and children.

”With children we can make them understand that they also have responsibilities at their level,” Saudhath said. ”We can make aware parents by running advertisements and by holding awareness programs.”

She said that parents should not leave children on the streets saying that they “are grown up now”.

”The discussion are not finished yet,” Zaeema said. ”We will hold more meetings continuously.”

Deputy Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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Man stabs child in front of police officers and flees on motorbike

Two men on a motorbike stabbed a 16 year old child in front of two police officers last night on Ameenee Magu near Imadudeen School, before fleeing.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that the two police officers were investigating a motor vehicle accident when the incident occurred.

”A car and motorbike hit each other and police were investigating the accident,” Shiyam said. ”The victim was the person on the back seat of the motorbike which hit the car.”

Shiyam said the boy’s condition was not very serious.

”He is now hospitalised in Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital,” Shiyam said.

He said that the police ran after the two men but did not manage to catch them.

He said that case was under investigation and he was unable to give further details.

A witness at the scene told Minivan News the boy was stabbed in two places right in front of the police, at 8:45pm.

”He injured his lungs and arm during the incident,” the man said.

The witness added that bystanders ran after the pair when the boy shouted in pain, but the two men managed to flee.

He said a team of forensic police came and discovered a knife under a parked pick-up behind Imaduddeen school.

He said that the road was bright and there were a lot of people on the street when the incident occurred.

There was also a stabbing near the Central Hotel last week and a man was seriously injured.

He has since been taken to Sri Lanka for medical treatment.

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President Nasheed meets with Chinese President

As part of his official visit to China for the Shanghai World Expo 2010, President Mohamed Nasheed met with Chinese President Hu Jintao yesterday at the International Convention Centre in Shanghai.

President Jintao said President Nasheed’s visit was a historic one and represented the importance of relations between China and the Maldives.

He thanked the government and people of the Maldives for their support of China and hoped to strengthen bilateral relations to benefit both countries. He said he hoped to increase mutual trust, economic and trade cooperation, and improve communication and coordination between the two governments.

President Jintao continued to say China would assist the Maldives in overcoming economic challenges, and pledged 50 million Chinese Yuan (US$7.3 million) in grant aid for the Maldives.

The Chinese president added climate change was an issue equally important to China as it is to the Maldives and assured support to the Maldives on the issue.

President Nasheed thanked the Chinese government and people for making an important contribution to the social and economic development of the Maldives.

He said the Maldives was facing many developmental challenges due to climate change, with fresh water and housing both in short supply.

President Nasheed encouraged Chinese companies working in renewable energy technologies to invest in the Maldives, thus improving their bid to become carbon-neutral by 2020 and creating an example on green technologies.

President Nasheed also briefed President Jintao on the recent sixteenth South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit that took place in Bhutan last week, as China is an observer country of the SAARC.

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President returns to the Maldives

After their official visits to Bhutan and China, President Mohamed Nasheed and First Lady Laila Ali have returned to the Maldives.

The president visited Bhutan for the Sixteenth South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit, which was held in Thimphu on 28 and 29 of April.

President Nasheed met with several SAARC country leaders during his first visit to a SAARC summit.

They departed for China after the summit to attend the Shanghai World Expo 2010 and inaugurate the Maldives Pavilion at the fair.

The president also met with Chinese President Hu Jinato and with Honourary Consuls to the Maldives in China.

First Lady Laila Ali also met with the Honourary Consul in Shanghai, who donated US$20,000 to Kudakudhige Hiya home for children in Vilingili.

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GIP hopes Dr Waheed will run for president in 2013: Taqfeeq

Secretary General for Gaumee Ithithihaadhu Parly (GIP), Ahmed Tafeeq, has said a potential bid by Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed to run for president in 2013 is a positive development, “as there is no other personality as educated and qualified”, reports Miadhu.

After recent criticisms from Dr Waheed regarding the government, first on VTV’s show Hoonu Gondi (Hot Seat) and later at a GIP rally, speculations that he will run for president in the 2013 elections have erupted. But Dr Waheed said he has “no idea where this is coming from,” noting he still has not decided whether or not he will run in the elections.

Tafeeq said his party, also Dr Waheed’s party, has the right to raise issues regarding how the country is being run, and said the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) should welcome the Vice President’s criticisms.

According to Miadhu, MDP has said if Dr Waheed is running for president, “there is no point in remaining in the VP’s position as there would be a very distinct and clear conflict of interest.”

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President meets with Honourary Consuls in China

As part of their official visit to China, President Mohamed Nasheed and First Lady Laila Ali met with Honourary Consuls to the Maldives in China.

President Nasheed met with Honourary Consul in Shainghai, Yang Guisheng, and with Honourary Consul in Hong Kong, Bob N Harulela.

President Nasheed called for more dynamic roles of Honourary Consuls in the development of the Maldives, noting they could play an important role in developing stronger relations and increasing commercial ties between the Maldives and their countries.

The president noted the areas the Maldives needed most assistance, and the consuls assured assistance to the Maldives and said they would be more engaged in finding new investments for the Maldives.

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