80% of young Zimbabwean men will be circumcised in a plan by Population Services International and the Zimbabwe government to cut the incidence of AIDS in the country.
The intention is to operate on 1.2 million men using a ‘conveyor belt’ system that performs 10 operations an hour.
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(0)Attorney General (AG) Husnu Suood has claimed to have discovered a letter signed by the Speaker of the Parliament and Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Abdulla Shahid requesting a former attorney general dissolve a case against Deputy Speaker and Deputy Leader of the People’s Alliance (PA) MP Ahmed Nazim, who has recently been charged for corruption and bribery.
Suood revealed he had the letter at a Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) event at Dharubaaruge last night.
Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair explained that Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid was the executive secretary for the former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom when he sent the letter.
“The letter was sent to the former attorney general, and Suood managed to find it in his office,” said Zuhair. “It was a case related to 500 [electricity] house meters and one other case, both related to the State Electric Company (STELCO).”
Zuhair further said that People’s Alliance party (PA) leader and MP Abdulla Yamin was the Chairman of STELCO at the time.
“The government will investigate all cases of corruption and will send the matter to the Prosecutor General’s office and present those people before the judges,” he said. “If the lower courts find them innocent, we will take it to the higher courts, to the Supreme Court and if necessary, to the international courts.”
Shahid denied the claims and said he had never sent such a letter to a former attorney general.
“I was not even in a position to send a letter to the former attorney general requesting someone’s case be dissolved,” he said. “When people make allegations like this, they should define it so the accused knows how to respond.”
Nazim did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.
(0)Dislikes(0)The economy is controlled by a handful of big, powerful dons who have extensive business interests in all major industries. The dons supplement their income through the illicit supply of drugs, prostitutes and other contraband. They have corrupted the institutions of state through bribery and inducements, and their violent street gangs deal with anyone who dares stand in their way.
Sound familiar? Welcome to ‘Sin City’: Las Vegas in the 1960s.
The parallels between post-war Las Vegas and today’s Maldives are stark. We may not have the casinos of the Nevada desert town but we have plenty of our own vices: street gangs, people smugglers and the king of crime: Brown Sugar.
In recent weeks, it has become clear that many of our own state institutions have also been corrupted by powerful businessmen who made their illicit fortunes under Gayoom’s iron-fisted autocracy.
For ordinary folk, Gayoom’s reign often spelled poverty, misery and torture but for a cunning few, close to the dictator. Vast personal fortunes could be made through lucrative oil contracts, drug dealing and racketeering. The friends and family of the former President were effectively above the law.
Things started to go wrong for the dons, though, in 2008, when a new sheriff rode into town. President Nasheed vowed to clean up corruption and cronyism and sell off rotten state assets to private corporations, threatening the dons’ control over the economy.
The criminal king-pins are fighting back. Secret telephone recordings, aired in the media earlier this month, strongly suggest that a handful of powerful MPs, who made their fortunes under Gayoom, have woven a web of corruption around the People’s Majlis and the so-called independent Commissions in order to protect their vast personal wealth.
The police have arrested MPs Ahmed Nazim, Abdulla Yameen and Gasim Ibrahim for allegedly bribing fellow MPs, such as Kutti ‘I need some cash’ Nasheed, to vote against government bills that threaten the dons’ interests. Now the judges, who were appointed by and owe their loyalties to Gayoom, have freed the powerful MPs and barred police lawyers from court.
President Nasheed is engaged in a bitter fight to try and clean up corruption and stamp out organised crime but has few allies outside his own party.
Las Vegas’ history may, though, provide him with hope. In the 1980s, huge corporations moved into town. They bought up the mobster’s gambling dens and replaced them with glittering skyscraper mega-casinos.
The Las Vegas mafia fought tooth a nail to protect their empires – corrupting policemen, bribing judges and murdering opponents to keep the corporations out. They spun a propaganda war, warning that Las Vegas would lose its ‘soul’ if faceless companies took over.
But in the end, the corporations won. Today’s Las Vegas is hardly a testament to moral purity. But the gangsters have been forced out of town and the corruption, drug dealing and the criminal gangs have largely gone with them.
Whether the Maldives’ will win its fight against the mafia remains to be seen. The $400 million upgrade of Male’ International Airport by GMR & Malaysia Airports bodes well – not only will it boost the economy, it will also stamp out a dodgy airline fuel racket allegedly run by companies close to powerful MPs.
The future of the country, and its democracy, hangs in the balance. Will the mafia win out? Or will President Nasheed finally force them into leaving Las Vegas?
All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]
(0)Dislikes(0)The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has condemned the mistreatment of minors arrested by police in their ongoing special operation to curb unrest and violence in the capital.
A press release issued by the party yesterday states that the party received numerous complaints from parents and members of the public alleging that the boys taken into custody were not fed for over 12 hours, blindfolded and beaten, and had their hair forcibly shaved off.
The statement expresses concern that the unlawful actions of “elements within the police” could undermine growing public support and approval won by the Maldives Police Service for its successes in combating crime and drug abuse.
The party called on the Police Integrity Commission to investigate the complaints and take “immediate action” against the police officers accused of custodial beatings.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Civil Court of the Maldives yesterday issued a statement calling on the country to refrain from any acts that would smear the respect and dignity of the court, and lead to a loss of public confidence in the judicial system.
The Civil Court’s statement followed a court hearing conducted in the Criminal Justice Court regarding the arrest and detention of People’s Alliance party (PA) Deputy Leader and MP Ahmed Nazim, and ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed Musthafa, after the pair were summoned to court on charges of bribing a Civil Court judge and MPs.
Police lawyers in the Crminal Justice Court claimed that both the MPs colluded to bribe a Civil Court judge with US$6000 and a two way air ticket for a trip abroad, and had influenced cases in the Civil Court filed against them.
“After a case is investigated, the deserved sentence shall be passed on judges of this court just like any other citizen, without exemption,” said the statement. “Disclosing information of a case to the media before the investigation is concluded would create doubt and be an irresponsible act.”
The court said that publicising information about a case relating to a judge before it was proven in court, whether it was leaked through an individual, could potentially be considered an attempt to destroy public confidence in the judiciary.
“A large number of cases related to civil rights and various interests are presented to the Civil Court,” the statement said. “Cases that Civil Court judges work on are those related to individuals and cases related to national interest.”
MPs Nazim and MP Musthafa were released by the Criminal Court despite a police requesting and extension of their custody while the investigation was conducted. Police did not mention the name of the Civil Court judge whom they alleged had been bribed.
(0)Dislikes(0)President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed has congratulated opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party on it’s fifth anniversary.
“The President expressed confidence that the government would receive the full cooperation of the DRP in consolidating democracy in the Maldives,” said the president’s office. “He also expressed confidence that the DRP will cooperate with the government in its efforts to find an amicable solution to the current political impasse in the Maldives.”
The president’s office said the president forwarded congratulations to the leader of DRP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, deputy leaders, others on different posts and its members.
Ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) also congratulated DRP on the occasion: “On this delightful occasion we wish the party progress and many successful days.”
Last night DRP held a special rally at the artificial beach to celebrate the party’s fifth anniversary. Leader of DRP, Ahmed Thasmeen Ali and Leader of the Jumhoory Party (JP) Gasim ‘Buruma’ Ibrahim addressed the people who attended the ceremony.
“We were unable to conduct our fifth anniversary as we expected due to the political challenges we have to face now,” said Thasmeen. “Today we are witnessing the executive power trying in different ways to change this country into a dictatorship, and this is the time we have to work against the threat and challenges.”
He said the opposition parties should be ready at the front line to “sacrifice” themselves to prevent the government from demolishing democracy.
“The constitution is fine, there is no place to amend or change it,” Thasmeen said, in reference to Nasheed’s suggestion yesterday that the constitution may need to be amended if the crisis continues.
“I want to say, if the president can’t obey the constitution, then he should resign,” said Gasim. “President Mohamed Nasheed is not a sincere and honest person.”
Gasim pledged that the opposition coalition would “work to eliminate corruption from the country”, and called on the president to resign.
(0)Dislikes(0)“The toughest set of Wall Street regulations and consumer protections against greedy financial practices since the Great Depression” has been signed into law by President Obama, writes Kenneth Bazinet for the New York Daily News.
The new rules will “ensure that it is more profitable to play by the rules than to game the system,” says President Obama.
(0)Dislikes(0)Micronesian master navigator Mau Piailug has died on the western Pacific island of Satawal at the age of 78.
In 1976, without a compass, and using only stars, sun and wind, he navigated a traditional sailing canoe more than 3,000 miles across the Pacific from Hawaii to Tahiti.
This month-long voyage proved that indigenous people had been capable of exploring and colonising the Pacific islands.
The vessel named Hukule’a used in the voyage is currently being restored as part of a five year project that includes training young navigators and visiting ports while circumnavigating the earth.
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