Day: November 29, 2010

Two Maldivians arrested in Trivandrum for drug smuggling

A pair of Maldivians have been arrested in Trivandrum Airport for allegedly trying to traffic drugs to the Maldives.

Haveeru reported that 24 year-old Mohamed Waheed Adam and a 14 year-old were arrested on Sunday.

The newspaper reported that the two Maldivians attempted to boarded a flight at 12:30pm flight on Sunday were being held in the airport after illegal drugs were allegedly found in the child’s baggage. The Malayalam newspaper also reported that hash oil was found hidden in the child’s trousers.

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Bullet shell discovered in dinghy of rescued Somalis

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has said that officers who searched the vessel of seven Somali castaways yesterday bought ashore in Gnaviyani Atoll have discovered a bullet shell inside the boat.

Several incidents of Somali nationals being washed up or brought to the Maldives after being found lost at sea have been reported during the last twelve months.  This has led to allegations that piracy originating from Africa may have reached the Indian Ocean – suspicions that are yet to have been proven beyond circumstantial evidence.

The latest vessel thought to have gone adrift from the country was found floating near the reefs of Fuvamulah in Gnaviyani Atoll late yesterday afternoon, leading to a search of the boat by MNDF officials.

”The bullet shell was found inside waste materials in their dinghy,” said MNDF Major Abdul Raheem. ”Only one was found.”

Abdul Raheem said the seven men aboard the vessel had now been handed over to police for investigation.

Island Chief Muneer Hussein said the vessel was discovered yesterday around 5:30 pm.

”They were flying white flags and calling for help,” he said.

Muneer said people on the beach signaled them to come ashore.

”They ran their vessel’s engine and came ashore,” Muneer said. ”With the help of some boys near the beach the boat was beached.”

He said the castaways spoke a little English and said they were from Somalia.

”They said they had been drifting in the sea for two months, but appeared to be in good condition and were fairly strong,” he said.

Some opposition politicians have moved to criticise the government over the real identities and nature of castaways being found in the country.  Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ali Waheed has said that there is a big concern lately that a large number of Somalis are being found drifting into Maldivian waters.

Waheed claimed that the government has failed to provide  sufficient information for civilians on the true nature and number of castaways being found in the country, alleging a possible cover up.

”The people [Somalis] we saw yesterday do not have the appearance that they have been drifting in the sea for a long time, neither did their vessel,” he said. ”The government have not been disclosing information to the citizens and media about the recent similar incidents.”

Six badly malnourished Somali nationals were discovered adrift near the island of Makunudhoo in June after spending three months at sea – one was almost buried alive because his condition was so bad that police and islanders believed he was dead. According to an island official who spoke to Minivan News at the time, he was only saved from being buried alive because of an island superstition that the area “might become haunted if a rotten dead body was buried.”

Seven were rescued on December 1, 2009 and a further five people on December 5, while seven were rescued on May 12,  2010.

While local reports have speculated that some of the rescued Somali nationals may have been involved in piracy before becoming lost and finding their way to the Maldives, the evidence so far has been circumstantial.

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Israeli eye surgeons visiting Maldives to “illegally harvest organs”, claims Islamic Foundation

The Islamic Foundation of the Maldives has reiterated calls to the Maldives government to “shun all medical aid from the Zionist regime” with a team of seven Israeli eye surgeons due to arrive in the country next month, claiming that Isreali doctors and surgeons “have become notorious for illegally harvesting organs from non-Jews around the world.”

An article on the Foundation’s website titled “Beware of Israeli eye surgeons” claims Israeli medical teams have harvested organs from dead Haitians after the devastating earthquake that struck country as well as from Palestinians killed in fighting in the longstanding Arab-Isreali conflict.

“The health authorities in Maldives have to take utmost caution in allowing Israeli medical surgeons into this country and Maldivians who apply for treatment from these doctors have to take precautionary measures to avoid any foul play,” it reads.

A day after the government-run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) announced the imminent arrival of the Israeli doctors, the Islamic Foundation called on the government not to normalise relations with the Jewish state or “accept any sort of assistance from Israel as long as they are in the lands of Palestine.”

President of Islamic Foundation Ibrahim Fauzy told Minivan News last week that the Foundation does not recognise Israel as a state, asserting that “it is also against our religion to have relationships with Jews.”

IGMH has meanwhile invited interested patients to register before December 2 for a screening process before treatment.

In November last year, Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed narrowly survived a vote of no-confidence forwarded by the opposition for his role in the government’s plans to normalise relations with Israel.

Dr Shaheed has stressed that the government has not signed an agreement to establish diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Humanitarian mission

Speaking to Minivan News today, Political Counsellor at the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi, Itay Tagner, stressed that the delegation was coming to the Maldives “on a purely humanitarian mission”.

“Top eye doctors from Israel are coming voluntarily with the full cooperation of the government, the Health Ministry and the Disaster Management Centre,” he said, adding that the delegation will operate “under guidance of the relevant authorities.”

The team of surgeons will conduct eye camps in Male’, Gaaf Dhaal Thinadhoo and Addu Atoll Gan “for free, for no cost”, Tagner explained, and will bring surgical equipment, including a mobile surgery unit.

He dismissed the claims by the Islamic Foundation as “ridiculous and outrageous” with “not one gram of truth to it”.

“They are just trying to spread hatred,” he said. “This is a beautiful partnership between two peoples. It is nothing political. It’s just doctors from one country coming to another to build bridges between people.”

Tagner argued that Isreal “has no problem with Islam”, pointing out that 20 percent of its population were Muslims “who enjoy full rights as citizens”.

Asked if the Embassy was concerned about opposition from some segments of society, Tagner said that “the camps will be taking place with the full cooperation, assistance and sponsorship of the Maldivian government,” he said.

“It has been coordinated for a long time. I have been to the Maldives recently and I saw nothing but preparations. Everybody was very excited.”

He added that a 10 to 15 minute procedure performed by the eye surgeon could restore eyesight to the blind: “Once you see a person come out after 15 minutes and his whole life has changed, that picture is worth more than ten thousand words.”

“A doorway for Jews”

Addressing supporters at a rally Thursday night, opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Afrashim Ali claimed that Israelis and other foreign elements that “should not be allowed to enter a 100 percent Muslim country” will gain a foothold in the Maldives as a result of handing over management of the Male’ International Airport to Indian infrastructure giant GMR.

“[The airport deal with GMR] will open a big doorway for the people of Israel, who are brutalising Palestinians without any justification, to come to the Maldives and take over,” he said.

The leader of DRP’s religious wing asserted that it is “expressly forbidden” to give any assistance to Israel as “they forced Palestinians out of their homes and brutalised them only because they say ‘We are Muslims’.”

He added that “the loss of this airport from Muslim hands” would open “a huge door to help those who deliberately, antagonistically torture Muslims.”

Warning of the consequence of foreigners exerting influence on domestic affairs, Dr Afrashim said that “when foreign kings and businessmen and company heads get a foothold in a small country like the Maldives, the result will be that they will never leave.”

He added that the second step of the foreign invasion would be to “sow discord” and ferment chaos “to destroy the country”.

To back his assertion, Afrashim quoted from the Quran 27:34: “She said: ‘Verily! Kings, when they enter a town (country), they despoil it, and make the most honourable amongst its people low. And thus they do.’”

“They will destroy Islam in the Maldives,” he warned.

Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference today, Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed said that the Maldivian government and people wished to declare its “support and cooperation” to the Palestinian people on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinians.

“The Maldives is a country that has always been with the Palestinian people,” he said. “We have always called for the freedom of the Palestinian people and advocated for their rights.”

Moreover, the government was trying to establish stronger ties with Palestine, said Shaheed, noting that President Mohamed Nasheed has had phone conversations with Palestinian leaders and had appointed an ambassador to Palestine.

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Leaked diplomatic cables will include 3325 from US Embassy in Colombo

The US diplomatic cables leaked by whistle-blowing website Wikileaks includes 3325 as-yet unreleased missives from the US Embassy in Colombo, making the Embassy in Sri Lanka among those hardest-hit by the scandal.

Wikileaks, in conjunction with several newspapers in the UK and Europe such as the Guardian, will stagger the release of 250,000 cables over the next few days. Today’s leak has already sparked diplomatic crisises all over the globe.

Correspondence already released includes urging by Saudi Arabian leaders for the US to attack Iran to disrupt its nuclear programme, while leaders in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates described the country as “evil”, an “existential threat” and a power that “is going to take us to war”.

The Guardian’s newspaper’s report on the leaks noted that former president of the Jordianian senate, Zeid Rifai, had told “a senior US official” to “bomb Iran, or live with an Iranian bomb. Sanctions, carrots, incentives won’t matter.”

The leaked cables included allegations that Russian intelligence agencies were using mafia bosses to conduct criminal operations, with one cable claiming that the country was “virtually a mafia state.”

According to the Guardian’s report, the cables also identified “intense US suspicion” around the “extraordinarily close relationship” between Russia Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in relation to “lavish gifts”, “lucrative energy contracts” and “shadowy” contacts.

The cables identify Saudi Arabian donors as allegedly “the biggest financiers of terror groups”, and disclose an “extraordinarily detailed account” of plans to disguise the bombing of al-Quaeda targets with the assistance of countries such as Yemen.

Hacking attacks directed at Google, which prompted the search giant to leave China, were reportedly ordered by a senior member of the Chinese politburo after he typed his name into the popular search engine and found disparaging articles written about him.

One of the most controversial leaks concerns a directive requesting the specification of communications equipment and IT systems used by top UN officials and details “of private VIP networks used for official communication, to include upgrades, security measures, passwords, personal encryption keys.”

Maldives Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed noted that former US President Richard Nixon had tapes of his conversations leaked in the early ’70s.

“Nixon used a few choice phrases to describe some close allies. It didn’t damage [international] relationships, but he may have upset some of the people he referred to,” Dr Shaheed said.

The correspondence includes 3325 as-yet unreleased cables from the US Embassy in Colombo, some of which may concern the Maldives.

Dr Shaheed told Minivan News that while he doubted the dispatches would be as sensational “as some people think”, “it will make the US uncomfortable when some of its confidential reports go public.

“However I don’t think it will damage US ties in this region because, by and large, this not central region for US diplomacy and they US has not been brokering difficult negotiations – what the US has been saying here it has been saying very publicly,” he added.

Dr Shaheed confirmed that the US Embassy in Colombo had notified the Maldivian government that the release of the cables was likely, “however they don’t know what the contents are or the areas they will [concern].”

Cultural Affairs Officer and Spokesperson for the US Embassy in Colombo, Glen Davis, told Minivan News that the US would not be commenting specifically on the contents of the leaked cables.

“Cable traffic is very preliminary; pieces are incomplete and read out of context, they are easy to misconstrue,” he said.

“A disclosure like this is bad for contacts, harmful to global engagement and makes it difficult to tackle problems such as organised crime and nuclear proliferation. Washington has taken very aggressive action to ensure the privacy of future communication is secure.”

Davis added that the US Embassy was “determined to keep doing what we’re doing, and reassure the people we work with. It’s hard to see [how the leak] will lead to constructive results.”

The UK High Commission in Colombo said it was official policy “not to comment on the substance of leaked documents.”

However, it condemned the “unauthorised release of this classified information, just as we condemn leaks of classified material in the UK. They can damage national security, are not in the national interest and, as the US have said, may put lives at risk. We have a very strong relationship with the US Government. That will continue.”

The diplomatic cables were drawn from the US government’s Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPDIS), a separate US military-run internet that is accessible to approximately three million Americans. The US reportedly suspects that the leak originated from the same source as the Iraq and Afghan war logs, 22 year-old US soldier Private Bradley Manning, who was posted as a junior intelligence officer in Baghdad.

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Maldivian and US servicewomen talk defense challenges

Servicewomen from the US Navy and the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) last week got together to discuss their respective roles, Miadhu has reported.

Female sailors serving on the Naval vessel, the USS Momson, met with counterparts from across the Maldives’ police, border security and defense forces to share experiences on the individual challenges they have faced in their careers, the paper said.

According to the report, the US representatives also discussed their feelings on serving away from home all over the globe.

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Supreme Court to hold first hearing on cabinet controversy

The first hearing of the case filed in the Supreme Court against the government regarding the cabinet endorsement controversy is scheduled to be held tomorrow at 10:30 pm.

The case was filed in the court by Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ali Waheed and by Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), according to the Supreme Court.

The parties filed a case seeking a court order to declare that ministers who did not receive parliamentary consent should be removed from  their posts.

Former Attorney General and DRP Council Member Azima Shukoor will argue the opposition’s case in court. The present Attorney General’s office will act as the defendant in the case.

Following weeks of political stalemate, parliament voted last week to approve five out of 12 cabinet ministers reappointed by President Mohamed Nasheed in July.

After MPs of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) boycotted the sitting before voting began, the remaining MPs voted against the nominees Finance Minister Ali Hashim, Education Minister Dr Musthafa Luthfy, Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed, Fisheries Minister Dr Ibrahim Didi, Home Minister Mohamed Shihab, Defence Minister Ameen Faisal and Attorney General Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad.

The government however insists that as none of the ministerial appointees received 39 votes against – the majority required to pass a no-confidence motion – all cabinet members shall remain in their posts.

Recently MDP Parliamentary Group leader and MP Moosa Manik has said that the Supreme Court have no authority to remove ministers from their position and said ”I can assure that the court will not even issue such an order.”

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Comment: Clearly rejected

Among the wheeling and dealings we’ve seen in the Majlis, the issue of Cabinet Ministers has been one of the most convoluted and silly arguments we’ve seen.

Can the Cabinet Ministers be questioned? Can’t they be accepted or rejected together? Are they just nominated or actually appointed? And therefore once chosen by the President, are they Ministers or Ministers-in-waiting? And in what capacity are they beholden to the Majlis?

Within two days the Supreme Court will decide on these questions. In two days, hopefully the drama will end, rather than begin anew.

Why are they going to court?

The Majlis has rejected seven Cabinet Ministers. MDP does not like this and would like all of their Ministers to keep their portfolios. Was approval necessary? Yes. Can the Majlis reject a Cabinet member without a vote of no confidence? Yes, but only when the President asks for their approval and acceptance of that appointment.

Nowhere is it written in the constitution that there is only one way to remove a Cabinet Minister, as Reeko Moosa suggests.

Article 101 of the Constitution states that a vote of no confidence is possible, but it does not say that a vote of no confidence is the only way to remove a Minister. There are in fact two ways: 1) A vote of no confidence; or 2) A rejection when appointed.

Once appointed, s/he is a Minister

The opposition claims that individuals were nominated rather than appointed. They claim that the President can choose people, and that those people would only become Ministers once they have approval. This is false.

The President does not nominate, he appoints. The moment those individuals take their oath by either the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, or his representative, those individuals become Ministers of the Cabinet of the Republic of the Maldives as per Article 131 of the Constitution.

Article 131 states: ‘A member of the cabinet shall assume office upon taking and subscribing, before the Chief Justice or his Designate, the oath of office.’

The only thing that might be left up to debate is whether the Chief Justice could choose to simply not provide himself or his representative to swear the appointees in, and refuse to do so until each individual had parliamentary approval.

But in this case, Abdullah Saeed (Chief Justice at the time) did not do so. If you think back, though, you will remember that the cabinet was re-sworn at the same time that the MNDF had locked up the Supreme/High Courts and taken away the key. Not surprisingly, after Abdullah Saeed had sent his representative to swear in the cabinet he was given back the key to his office.

Nonetheless, once these individuals were sworn in, they were fully fledged Ministers, with every power, right, authority, and responsibility afforded them. All talk claiming they were just acting as ministers is just silliness. But if these people are already Ministers, do they still need approval? Isn’t it just a formality?

Approval or rejection necessary

Article 129C and D of the Constitution state:

C. Except for the Vice President, the President must receive the approval of the People’s Majlis for all appointments to the cabinet.

D. The President shall submit to the People’s Majlis, within seven days of making appointments to the Cabinet, the names of the appointees to the Cabinet for approval to the People’s Majlis.

Article 129C clearly states that the President “must receive approval” of the Majlis. Therefore, if any Cabinet Minister is rejected, then they are no longer Ministers of the cabinet. The only way they can continue is if the President swears them in again, where they will then have seven days before the President is required to send their names to the Majlis for a second time.

I do not believe there is any impediment to repeating this as many times as the President wants. Though I’m sure rejection after rejection by the Majlis would appear a complete farce in the eyes of the public.

Together or one by one

As to the issue of whether the cabinet should be approved together or individually, that is completely up to the preference of the Majlis Members. It is a tiny insignificant point that the constitution makes no reference to.

MDP thought there would be a bigger chance to get everyone approved if they are lumped together, because then DRP could be made to look stubborn and completely against all betterment of the nation if all of the cabinet members were wholly rejected.

One usually expects the entire cabinet to come to approval only once in a presidential term. It was assumed that after the approval of the entire cabinet, if a minister was dismissed, it would be done on a case by case basis.

But alas, that was not how things went down in this scenario. In this case, there is another instance which was particularly odd as well in the issue around whether Minister’s couldn’t be questioned.

Questioning Ministers

So, can a Minister be questioned? Of course, but only about the job at hand.

The opposition wanted to evaluate and judge each Minister before giving their approval. They claimed that a summons for this purpose required Ministers to come.

This is false. Ministers are only required to attend the Majlis for questions regarding their duties and responsibilities – not their qualification. In fact, under Article 98 of the Constitution, they can question any head of any government office if they so chose to. To answer falsely, or withhold information would directly violate the constitution.

The Supreme Court agreed with this evaluation in stating at the article in the Majlis rules of procedure that required their presence to judge their qualifications was outside of the constitution.

The bottom line and 2011 budget

The seven Ministers who were rejected by parliament remain rejected. However, until that rejection was decided by a vote of parliament, they were proper Ministers.

They were therefore required to answer summons that related to their job, but not to summons to simply scrutinize them on their qualifications.

The only way for the President to have Ali Hashim, former Finance Minister, present the budget is to reappoint him and swear him in. I believe Ali Hashim is one of our most capable Ministers, and if not for being caught in the crosshairs of political maneuvering, his position would not be in question.

It is a shame and a travesty that this issue is dominating so much of the public’s time and that these Ministers are losing their livelihoods over it. It is a shame that so many other bills that need passing, like those on drugs, evidence, and the penal code are left on the sidelines while we quibble about Ministerial portfolios.

While I have my own claim and object to GIP (Gaumee Itthihaad Party) not receiving its three cabinet portfolios in Economic Development, Education, and Fisheries as was understood in the MDP Itthihaad Coalition agreement, I still do not condone spending time on this issue when so many more desperate issues are waiting to be addressed.

There are procedures for cabinet appointments that should have been followed. There once was a clear understanding of how to go about all of this. But instead of it being a simple and day long matter, it has led our nation to constitutional crisis. Instead of following procedure we all now look at the constitution from a thousand different angles and wrest every type of meaning we can from every line before proceeding in the way most beneficial to us.

I am not a government apologist trying to hide constitutional violations, nor an opposition sympathizer trying to topple the government. I’m just trying to make sense of a now convoluted issue.

I pray that the Supreme Court protects the constitution and laws it was created to uphold and that their life time tenures ensures justice free of political sway and maneuvering.

I pray that we can move forward from this upcoming Supreme Court decision and find a way to create a whole government dedicated to the MDP Itthihaad manifesto confirmed two years ago.

I pray our conscience prevails and sanity finally reigns.

Note: Article 87 states:

A. Unless otherwise provided in this Constitution; all decisions made by the People’s Majlis shall be decided by a majority of the votes of members present and voting (Approval or rejection of Cabinet Ministers is done this way as it is not mentioned anywhere else.

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