Year: 2010

Overseas travel advisories jeopardising tourism industry, claims DQP

The Dhivehi Qaumy Party (DQP) has criticised the government for jeopardising “the essential pillar of the Maldivian economy” after it claimed travel advisories to the country had been upgraded to ‘caution’ in several countries, including New Zealand and Canada, in the wake of recent political demonstrations.

“There was no doubt that any harm to the tourism industry, which is considered to be the government’s only real source of income, would have serious repercussions and cause pain and misery throughout society,” the party warned, in a statement.

“While the reality of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) is slowly dawning on the international community, the travel warnings issued by Canada and New Zealand show the extent to which these countries are concerned,” it said, going on to accuse the government of “encouraging unrest, squabbling and violence”.

“This is undoubtedly what happens when power is in the hands of an individual without any intelligence or character,” it claimed.

Travel advisories in many developed countries are notoriously cautious. When Minivan News visited the New Zealand travel advisory site, SafeTravel, it found the entry had not been updated since October 7, 2008.

“Presidential elections are due to take place in October 2008,” the site noted. “Violent protests associated with the ongoing political reform process have occurred in Male and on some non-resort islands. New Zealanders are advised to avoid any demonstrations and political rallies as they have the potential to turn violent.”

The Canadian equivalent was last updated on November 25, 2009 and contains no official travel warnings, but instead urges travellers to ‘excercise a high degree of caution’, the second of four alert levels.

“Canadians should exercise caution and maintain a high level of personal security awareness at all times, as the security situation could deteriorate rapidly without notice,” the site notes.

The Australian government travel advisory website SmartTraveller also flags the Maldives at the second of its five warning levels, “Exercise Caution”.

“We advise you to exercise caution and monitor developments that might affect your safety in the Republic of Maldives because of the risk of crime and civil unrest,” the site warns Australians, further recommending “you should avoid public gatherings and demonstrations as they may turn violent.”

The site similarly urges travellers to “Excerise Caution” in France, Sweden and Belgium.

Sim Mohamed Ibrahim from the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) observed that “in many countries it is a legal requirement for the government to inform citizens of anything that could be a danger.”

“There is political unrest in this country and sometimes demonstrations,” he said, explaining that it was very hard to explain to people hearing news reports about such things overseas that the incidents were restricted to Male’ and some inhabited islands “and not in tourist resorts.”

“The press is available to all over the world and if you read news about the Maldives a lot of stories about groups like the Adhaalath party, who are a political party but for all intents and purposes a religious party,” he said, explaining that the perception of rising extremism in the country risked becoming “the greatest problem facing the tourism industry in the future.”

“With the rhetoric in some newspapers and at public gatherings it appears to be on the rise, and it will be very easy for the Maldives to be branded alongside other countries [where fundamentalism is prevalent].”

“Certain elements of the extremist movement are in total opposition to parts of the tourism industry, such as the import of alcohol and pork for consumption by tourists. It has nothing to do with the Maldivian population, but still people are saying it should not be allowed.

“It is very sad because the vast majority of Maldivians are moderate, just like our fathers and grandfathers,” he said.

Vice President of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Ibrahim Shareef meanwhile noted that “for the past 40 years the Maldives has been a peaceful country. But once we introduced a new political system in the name of democracy, there have been many political confrontations.”

Aggressive rhetoric from the President during an election was one thing, Shareef said, “but once elected he must be a symbol of unity.”

Travellers assessed risk carefully and were very cautious, he said, especially since the Maldives was an “expensive destination.”

“We have to put our house in order,” Shareef urged.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Dhigufarufinolhu “destroyed” to construct harbor, claims government

Dhigufarufinolhu, a sandbank in Baa Atoll, has been “destroyed” to construct a harbour for the Royal Island Resort,  claims Mohamed Zuhair, Press Secretary of the President’s Office.

The resort is owned by Republican Party Leader and Maamigili MP Gasim Ibrahim.

While the harbour was being constructed for docking speedboats, Zuhair said the sandbank and the resort were not in the same landmass.

“The sandbank has a massive lagoon. In between the resort and sandbank there is deep blue sea,” he said.

Zuhair said that the destruction of the sandbank would have dire consequences for the ecosystem as its lagoon was home to a plethora of marine life.

“All the plankton, fish, bait, sea turtles who come ashore to lay eggs, corals in the area and many seabirds fled after the sandbank was destroyed,” he explained.

Zuhair added that the government has received a numerous complaints about the environmental impact of the construction.

“All the bait the [fishermen] caught there is gone, all the seabirds, which they used to locate fish, are gone after the harbor was constructed,” Zuhair said.

He further claimed that all living coral in the areas was now dying because of the spread of silt produced during the construction.

However, he added, the government could only take any action when the case was reported officially.

”The former government awarded that sandbank in the 1970s,” he said.

Environmental impact

According to Google Earth, the distance between the sandbank and the resort is approximately 1,065 feet.

The lagoon of the sandbank was approximately 2.9 kilometers in length and 1.3 kilometers in width.

Ibrahim Naeem, director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said sandbanks were an essential part of the ecosystem.

”Birds and turtles go there, fish in the area die if there are no rocks,” Naeem said. “The plankton and corals in the area will also die if a sandbank is destroyed.”

Naeem stressed that silt was a very dangerous substance.

”If it gets inside the respiratory system of a fish, they will have difficulty breathing,” he said. ”If it reaches the eye they will suffer from poor eyesight.”

He added that “whether Gasim or Hassan” was responsible was immaterial as the environmental impact would be the same.

Moreover, he said, construction of harbours was generally very harmful to the environment.

Gasim said he was out of the country and could not comment on the matter.

Likes(2)Dislikes(0)

Man dies while fishing

A man has died in an accident while fishing in a boat near Dhaalu Atoll Kudahuvadhu, police report.

Police identified the man as Mohamed Hussein, 48, of Dhirimaage in Dhaalu Atoll Bandidhu.

Police reported that the incident took place at 11:20am.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

JSC decision could “rob nation of an honest judiciary”, warns member

The Judicial Service Commission’s (JSC) decision yesterday to reappoint all sitting judges unless they have been convicted of either a crime with a punishment prescribed in the Qur’an, criminal breach of trust or bribery was “nothing less than treason to rob the people of an honest judiciary”,  claims Aishath Velezinee, the president’s member on the commission.

The decision was approved with five votes in favour, two against and one abstention.

Writing in her personal blog, Velezinee warns that the new standard for judges’ conduct could give tenure to 19 judges with either prior convictions or allegations of gross misconduct.

If the decision is validated, she writes, the country “stands to inherit” seven judges found guilty of criminal breach of trust by the relevant authorities but not convicted in court; five judges with allegations of criminal breach of trust; two judges who face prosecution for criminal breach of trust; one judge on trial for sexual misconduct; two judges found guilty of sexual misconduct but not tried at court; one judge guilty of a crime with a punishment prescribed in the Quran; and one judge guilty of sexual misconduct and accused of criminal breach of trust.

“It is indeed a sad state of affairs, and an insult to all those honest judges whose integrity and good name is compromised by today’s decision,” writes Velezinee.

Confidence in the judiciary

Velezine told Minivan News today that the JSC decision could lead to eroding public confidence in the judiciary.

Article 285 of the constitution stipulates that the JSC shall determine before 7 August 2010 whether or not the judges on the bench posses the qualifications specified by article 149.

The criteria in the constitution requires that he or she “must possess the educational qualifications, experience and recognized competence necessary to discharge the duties and responsibilities of a judge, and must be of high moral character”.

The JSC’s decision went “against the purpose” of the constitutional provision, said Velezinie: “I believe this was a decision taken by four men raising their hands. It is a matter of national interest as public perception will be affected if people can’t trust the honesty of judges.”

Moreover, it was of the utmost importance to inspire public trust in the judiciary “to avoid democracy failing because of a weak judiciary”.

Velezinie said official records show that some judges “have convictions from other institutions” such as the former Anti-Corruption Board.

“As you know, in the past we did not have a culture where everything was decided by the courts,” she said, adding that the judgments were passed in accordance with the old constitution.

After delaying and “failing in its primary task” of reappointing judges until August last year, a subcommittee chaired by Civil Service Commission President Dr Mohamed Latheef was formed to draft guidelines for the standards.

But, she added, the final report of the committee comprised of “four judges and Dr Latheef” was only presented last Sunday.

Abuse of power

Both Velezinee and Attorney General Husnu Suood have accused Supreme Court Justice Mujthaz Fahmy, president of the JSC, of “abusing the authority of his position” to delay and obstruct the reappointment process.

While Velezinee said Mujthaz Fahmy was among the 19 judges with prior records, Suood accused Fahmy of holding up the promotion of rival judges for “personal reasons”.

Suood said the judges on the commission were “not cooperating” with the task of reappointing judges.

Supreme Court Justice Mujthaz Fahmy
Supreme Court Justice Mujthaz Fahmy

However, Judge Fahmy has denied the allegations: “Velezinee is lying if she really said that. That’s incorrect information.”

Fahmy stressed that the process of screening judges for reappointment had not yet begun and yesterday’s meeting was to “discuss the guidelines drafted by the subcommittee”.

The commission will go through old records and judges with prior convictions in court would be “disqualified”, he said.

Fahmy said he had “complete confidence” that the process could be completed by the August 7 deadline.

Apart from reappointment, he added, the commission has been active with hearing complaints, evaluating judges for promotion and formulating regulations and a code of ethics.

On the allegations of abuse of power, Fahmy said he doubted Suood would have accused him of it as the commission’s proceedings take place in accordance with the regulations and all members have an equal say.

“I wouldn’t say that judges have an undue influence in the commission as we don’t have a majority,” he said. “There are three judges on the ten-member commission”.

“Runaway judiciary”

Meanwhile, Ibrahim Ismail “Ibra”, former MP for Male’ and chairman of the drafting committee of the Special Majlis, the assembly that revised the constitution, said the substance of the criteria in article 149 was not limited to convictions.

“The assumption is that judges will have a higher than average standard of conduct,” he said. “Judges should be exemplary figures. So even if they have not been convicted of a crime, it does not mean they automatically have the code of conduct expected from a judge. They are expected to exhibit moral standing.”

He added that the JSC’s decision was tantamount to “the lowering of the standard expected from judges”.

Moreover, he said, the JSC was not empowered to “set standards by themselves” as the constitution grants that power to the People’s Majlis.

The parliamentary committee on independent institutions could order the commission to overturn its decision, Ibra continued, or establish standards and criteria for judges’ qualifications in the Judicature Act.

Ibra predicted that the decision will lead to escalating tension between the executive and the judiciary, which would have “very negative consequences”.

“Sadly, because of the actions of some judges who want to subvert the constitution for their own purpose, the credibility of the entire judiciary will be diminished,” he said.

While the Supreme Court was making “some headway” in reforming the judiciary, the courts did not inspire “a great deal of confidence from the public”.

Ibra speculated that judges understood “a divided Majlis cannot not hold the judiciary accountable” as the “comics in there can’t agree on anything”.

In the absence of effective oversight, he ventured, the judiciary was “having its heyday”.

Parliament exercising its authority to set minimum standards for judges would not be a solution either, Ibra argued: “Because the JSC is dominated by judges and the old guard, they will disregard it and even strike down laws.”

Judicial independence

In June last year, the Judges Association called for a constitutional review to change the composition of the JSC to allow only members of the judiciary on the commission.

The procedure for the removal of judges laid out in article 154 requires the JSC to find that the judge is grossly incompetent and submit a resolution to parliament for the removal of the judge.

A judge could only be dismissed if a two-thirds majority of MPs present and voting support the resolution.

Ibra said some judges were misinterpreting the “independence of the judiciary” to mean that “judges were above the law”.

“What I see happening is that some people are arguing that no organ of the state can influence or dictate anything to the judiciary,” he said. “That is not independence. That is putting them above the law.”

After two years of the JSC, he added, most people would agree on “the wisdom of the Special Majlis” in constituting the commission.

According to Article 158 of the constitution, the JSC shall consist of the speaker of parliament, an MP and a member of the general public appointed by parliament; three judges each elected from the Supreme Court, High Court and the trial courts and a private lawyer elected among licensed lawyers; the Chair of the Civil Service Commission, a person appointed by the president and the attorney general.

“In retrospect if I could change anything in the constitution, I would argue that the time has not yet come to keep any judges on the commission,” Ibra said.

Moreover, he said, the current judiciary faced an acute lack of qualified professionals with an “adequate” grasp of the constitution and the laws of the country.

“What I see is a runaway judiciary that will become increasingly tyrannical, that will pass judgment on people and no one can hold them accountable.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Addicts, dealers and NGOs: dealing with drugs in the Maldives

A coalition of local NGOs conducted a workshop yesterday to review new drug laws proposed by the government.

Ahmed Adam, chairperson of drugs NGO Journey, said drug abuse was a “national issue” that urgently required a solution.

”We wish the MPs would cooperate with us hope they do not think this bill was politically motivated,” he said.

A number of participants at the workshop expressed concern about the difficulty they had reaching MPs. Adam said MPs had not even attended meetings to discuss the bill despite numerous invitations.

Among the NGOs represented at the workshop were Journey, Hand to Hand, Maldivian Detainee Network and Transparency Maldives.

History of drug use

Adam, a recovered drug addict, spoke briefly about the history of drug use in the Maldives.

Historical documents that reveal travellers who visited to the Maldives in the 16th century observed opium being used inside the palace, he said.

Moreover, in the 18th century, Indian traders introduced cannabis to the country.

”In 1972, with the advent of tourism in the country, most people started smoking grass,” he said.

The government was only alerted to what was happening much later, he added.

Adam said ‘brown sugar’, the low-grade heroin that is prevalent in the country, was introduced after the mass arrests of marijuana users in the early 90s.

A drug centre was established for the first time in the Maldives in 1997.

NGOs discussion

The discussions at the workshop focused on both the reasons why people get hooked on drugs and methods of prevention.

NGOs were divided into four groups and together discussed the drug epidemic and ways to solve it.

Among the factors identified that drove people to drug use were parental neglect, congestion and lack of privacy and space at home that draws children out to streets, peer pressure, lifestyle decisions as well as lack of job opportunities and proper role models.

The NGOs argued in favour of categorisation of drugs in the bill and called for the introduction of different methods and models for treatment apart from the existing therapeutic community (TC) model.

TC was not adequate for all types of drug addicts, they insisted.

While drug smuggling could be prevented by imposing penalties on customs officials suspected of accepting bribes, higher penalties should be imposed on convicted drug dealers, they agreed.

Drug traffickers and money they earn

Minivan News spoke anonymously to an individual who divulged information on drug trafficking in the Maldives.

He claimed that he sold drugs because he felt “pity for the sick people” [drug addicts] and did not want “to isolate them from society.”

He added that he did not face “any trouble” in attracting customers.

”If we sell good quality stuff to one person, he will go and tell his friends that we have good stuff and they also will start buying from us,” he said.

He claimed to earn “at least Rf15,000 every day” (US$1167) selling drugs, approximately Rf465,000 per month (US$36,186).

”Everyday one person will buy at least three to five packets, sometimes people from the islands come and buy 40 packets also,” he said, claiming that each 0.03 gram packet (of brown sugar) cost Rf100.

Almost one or two kilograms were smuggled into the country at a time, he explained.

The rise in crime was because drug addicts needed to feed their addiction, he said.

“All gangs are operated by people and money. Gangs earn money by selling drugs. If someone gets stabbed also the gangs would provide them with medication and financial assistance.”

Moreover, he said, “gangsters” would not have any source of income without dealing drugs.

“Real drug dealers” meanwhile, do not use drugs themselves, he said. The drug of choice for Maldivian youth was brown sugar, he added.

“There’s also hash oil, ‘white stuff’ and Charas [resin from the hemp plant] also in the market.”

While more treatment facilities and job opportunities should be offered to combat drug addiction, he said, ”drug dealers should be stopped first, but [the government] can never do that. Drug dealers are assisted by high-profile people in the country,” he said.

“First, they should figure out who they are and stop them, then come after the drug dealers. Then there will be no drug abusers in the country.”

Likes(1)Dislikes(0)

Boy drowns in Male swimming pool

An 11 year old boy drowned last night in the swimming area in south Male’, after he became entangled in some rope underwater.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that police received a report of the incident at 10:20pm last night.

”Police officers were there within five minutes,” Shiyam said.

Shiyam said that police officers noted that the boy was not breathing when he was taken out from the water.

”We provided first aid to the kid before he was taken to hospital,” Shiyam said, “but he dead when we took him to the hospital.”

A person familiar with the incident told Minivan News that the boy went to the sea with a group of children who were of almost the same age, including his own brother.

He said that the kids were playing a game in the sea.

”They were playing a game where each one of them went under the water holding their breath, and picked up sand,” he explained.

He said that when the boy did not resurface for a while everybody started to panic.

”His brother went down to see what happened to him and he also did not come up,” he said. ”The boy’s leg was stuck in a loose rope tied to a stone beneath the water.”

He said the boy’s brother tried desperately to save him, ”but he was out of breath and had to come up. His brother was still under water.”

He said that shortly afterwards two men came and were able to pull the boy from the water and call police.

”His brother who tried to save him is still admitted to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital,” he said. ”He was taken to IGMH because he had breathing problems because he hold his breath for a long time,”

He said the boy who died was a student in Imaduddeen School.

He was buried after the Afternoon Prayers today.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

DRP calls on MIFCO to raise purchasing price

The opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has called on the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) to raise its purchasing price for tuna to Rf10, reports Miadhu.

Speaking at a rally in the fishing village of Gaaf Alif Villigili, DRP Vice-President Ibrahim “Mavota” Shareef said the price had been raised to Rf10 in the past and there was no reason it should stay atRf7.

Shareef claimed that the fisheries ministry was not informed before Adhil Saleem, state minister for economic development, took over management of MIFCO’s Koodoo Fisheries Complex.

The controversy over Koodoo shows the lack of coordination and organisation in the government, Shareef said.

Moreover, he said, despite Adhil Saleem’s efforts, the greivances of Koodoo staff, who had staged protests last month over reduced benefits and working hours, were still unresolved.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)