Month: January 2011

ICJ condemns violent assault on Velezinee

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has condemned the violent assault earlier this week on Judicial Service Commission (JSC) member Aishath Velezinee, calling on the government to “immediately launch an independent, impartial, and transparent investigation into this shocking crime.”

Velezinee, President Mohamed Nasheed’s outspoken member on the JSC, was stabbed three times in the back by unidentified assailants on Monday morning while walking in Chandanee Magu in Male’.

“The ICJ is gravely concerned that the attack may be politically motivated. The stabbing took place in daylight in a public space, with no evidence of robbery or theft,” reads a press release issued by the ICJ yesterday.

“Ms. Velezinee’s fearless and controversial advocacy on behalf of justice for ordinary citizens of the Maldives has earned her a constant barrage of verbal attacks from prominent political figures,” said Roger Normand, the ICJ’s Asia Pacific Director. “The government must take swift action, not only to investigate this cowardly stabbing, but equally important, to reaffirm the centrality of rule of law in the new constitutional order.”

After visiting Velezinee at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) shortly after the attack, President Nasheed vowed that “no stone will be left unturned” to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said today that police were not ready to disclose details at this stage of the investigation or confirm if any arrests have been made.

The ICJ notes that Velezinee has publicly criticized the JSC for “abandoning its constitutional mandate under articles 159 and 285 by failing to follow transparent and lawful procedures during the vetting process of the judiciary.”

Article 285 of the constitution mandated the JSC to determine, before 7 August 2010, whether or not the judges on the bench possessed “the educational qualifications, experience and recognized competence necessary to discharge the duties and responsibilities of a judge, [and] high moral character”.

In May 2010, the JSC decided to reappoint all sitting judges unless they have been convicted in court of either a crime with a punishment prescribed in the Quran, criminal breach of trust or treason – a decision that, Velezinee warned at the time, could “rob the nation of an honest judiciary” by giving tenure to 19 judges with either prior convictions by other state institutions or allegations of gross misconduct.

In August, a majority of the 10-member JSC – including MPs of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Speaker Abdulla Shahid and Afrashim Ali, together with the three judges on the commission – decided to reappoint 191 of 197 sitting judges despite Velezinee’s vocal opposition and concerns about the competency and integrity of a number of judges appointed under the former administration.

President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair observed at the time that while two members opposed the move to rush the reappointments – Velezinee and General Public Member Shuaib Abdul Rahman – “a common thread ties all the other eight members. They either belong to the opposition DRP, or they are strong supporters.”

“The outgoing government has made sure it would retain control of institutions like the judiciary,” he noted.

Zuhair explained that while the government was communicating with international institutions on the issue, such as the ICJ, “so far we have been advised to do everything possible to keep to ‘norms and standards’. But that’s difficult when of the 197 judges, only 35 have any recognised qualifications. All the others have a local diploma.”

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“Efficiency” at heart of business concerns for expatriate insurance plan: MNCCI

The Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) has called for greater efficiency in how the country’s labour and immigration officials deal with processing expatriate workers before imposing measures requiring employers to provide insurance packages for foreign staff upon arrival.

Immigration Controller Ilyas Hussein Ibrahim told Haveeru this week that although new applicants for work visas in the Maldives would now be required to have an insurance policy provided to them, a similar requirement for existing expatriate workers expected to come into place in March had been postponed.

Ahmed Adheeb Abdul Gafoor, Treasurer of the MNCCI, has said that although the business organisation does not hold any objections to insuring employees, it was hoping for more consistent and efficient processing of paper work for expatriate workers before implementing a system of mandatory insurance.

Notable issues of concern selected by the MNCCI’s Treasurer included difficulties in acquiring insurance for expatriate workers before they had arrived within the Maldives, the time frame afforded to industry to implement the changes and the actual relationships between the government and insurance providers over the new requirements.

“The current levels of bureaucracy involved with dealing with immigration and labour authorities for expatriates is very inefficient,” he said. “Under the insurance plans, there is no defining of expatriates coming here, so we are having to follow the same procedure for every single foreign worker at the moment.

Adheeb told Minivan News that there has been “concern”, particularly in “high turnover employment areas” such as construction, about the exact requirements for each type of employee bought into the country.

“High turnover [of staff] is a big problem, particularly in the case of small construction projects – of about three months,” he said. “It may be preferable to bring workers out for six months instead of the three required and whenever one expatriate returns home, we have to go through the same insurance process for each employee.

Adheeb claimed that protecting expatriates and keeping skilled workers within the Maldives was very important for business development.

“We have to accept that the Maldives does not have enough local labour force to meet the country’s requirements,” he said. “We need to keep hold of skilled expatriates.”

When asked whether measures such as insurance may bring greater accountability for businesses requiring expatriate labour, Adheeb claimed that a number of construction groups already had their own insurance plans in place and added that he was in favour of insurance programmes over all.

“We have some concerns over this move; for starters, we would like to see the current procedures in dealing with bureaucracy made more efficient,” he said. “I would like to see faster service, some companies are fast tracked [through the application process] but this is not the same for all businesses.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Immigration and Emmigration was unable to respond to calls from Minivan News at the time of going to press.

However, Immigration Controller Ibrahim told Haveeru this week that policies for determining whether suitable insurance policies and enforcing the new insurance rules were in place had not been decided upon, but he was confident employers were getting to grips with the measures.

“Because of the announcement, many people have begun insuring. It is something that must be done in the future. But right now only the new foreign workers are required to insure,” he told the paper.

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Mahloof cautious, but happy, over civil service salary reinstatement

Newly reinstated civil service salary rates that revoke wage cuts introduced back in 2009 should be affordable under the latest state budget, even amidst pressure to reduce the nation’s spending, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ahmed Mahloof has claimed.

Mahloof, who has been outspoken over some of the amendments passed into the 2011 state budget, said that he was “very happy” that the government had moved to revoke a 15 per cent reduction in civil servant salaries that were approved as part of the final budget within parliament.

The MP said he believed that the additional levels of expenditure could be well managed within the budget, especially if the government cut down on the number of political appointees it employed.

“We have been managing these wage levels for a long time, I don’t see there should be any difficulty in maintaining them,” Mahloof said. “However, the government could cut the number of appointees to reduce the budget further.”

Following the decision to reinstate the wages of civil servants and political appointees to similar level before respective cuts of 15 per cent and 20 per cent were made back in 2009, the government estimates that expected revenue for the year will ensure the salaries are sustainable.

The government has come under considerable pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reduce the country’s budgetary deficit, which it has aimed to cut to about 16 per cent in its finance plans for 2011 from a figure of 26.5 per cent announced by President Mohamed Nasheed in November.

However, Mahloof told Minivan News that he was “deeply concerned” about how long the government would consider retaining the wages for after upcoming council elections had been concluded in February.

“I am really happy about the salaries reinstatement, but I see this as a political stunt,” he said. “The president has increased the salaries of the civil service before; the last time ahead of parliamentary elections. We will have to see if they remain in place and for how long.”

The passing of the budget has not been without controversy over the last week, leading to protests involving NGOs, political activists and civil service workers on Male’s streets over proposed amendments to increase the wages and privileges afforded to MPs.

According to Mahloof, the civil servant wage rises had been the result of recommendations forwarded by opposition members.

The DRP MP claimed he would now be turning his attention to addressing concerns over the affordability of possible rises in the salary of his peers in the Majlis that have proved unpopular amongst demonstrators outside of parliament last week.

“Amendments have also be sent concerning the proposed Rf20,000 wage increases,” added Mahloof.

Despite Mahloof’s concerns over the length of government commitment to the salary levels, acting Finance Minister Mahmood Razee said the reinstatement of civil service wages had been an important commitment for government that had not previously been affordable.

“We have had to match our expenditure to revenue,” the acting Finance Minister said. “We are working with the civil service closely on our plans.”

However, in considering other budget recommendations passed by parliamentary majority, such as increasing the salaries and privileges afforded to MPs, Razee said that they would “certainly have to be reviewed” in terms of affordability within the current projected budget of about Rf12.6bn.

“I will be saying the same to the president,” he added.

Razee had previously said that presidential approval would still be required for any amendments to be passed relating to salaries within the Majlis.

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Alhan Fahmy questions impact of Gayoom’s political return

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Alhan Fahmy has heavily criticised former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s return to the Maldives, claiming the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) honorary leader’s sole motivation to re-enter the country’s political landscape is to keep alive his family’s leadership legacy.

Fahmy claimed that he believed Gayoom’s presence will not ultimately help the cause of the DRP.

”No matter how many candidates from the DRP run for the local council elections, the party cannot win these elections,” Alhan claimed. “The DRP cannot also win the presidential elections for the coming 500 years.”

Representatives for the DRP were not available for comment when contacted by Minivan News in regards to Fahmy’s comments. However, DRP Deputy Leader Ibrahim Shareef said earlier this week that the assistance of Gayoom during the local council elections would be welcomed, though he added that the party’s leadership had not at the time been informed of his exact plans.

“He [Gayoom] is our honorary leader and enormously popular right now,” Shareef said. “While we will appreciate his help during campaigning, we have not been informed of his plans right now.”

Gayoom last year publicly announced that he was leaving the field of politics and would not get involved in such affairs anymore.

However, he has since promised DRP members, including former Deputy Leader Umar Naseer, that he would return to help with campaigning in local council elections, though Gayoom stopped short of confirming any future presidential ambitions.

Fahmy, who was himself a former DRP MP elected to parliament on the party’s ticket, was dismissed from DRP after he voted against the party in a no confidence motion concerning Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed back in 2009.

Fahmy has also criticised the religious Adhaalath Party, claiming it was attempting to topple the government by using the religion as a political weapon.

Recently, Adhaalath Party member and former State Islamic Minister, Sheikh Ahmed Shaheem Ali Saeed, resigned from his post over concerns he held about government policy in relation to Islam.

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Elections Commission removes Umar Naseer from DRP’s membership

Elections Commissioner Fuad Thaufeeq has confirmed that Umar Naseer, former Deputy Leader of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), has now been removed from the opposition party’s membership list, calling his dismissal an “internal dispute”.

”The DRP office requested the commission to remove his name from the party’s membership saying that they have dismissed him,” said Thaufeeq. ”So we removed his name accordingly in respect to the party’s wishes.”

Thaufeeq said that both DRP and Naseer have been informed of the commission’s decision.

”We also considered the letter sent to us by Naseer and we have responded to it,” he said. ”The issue with Umar and the DRP is really an internal issue, it is not the part of the commission to get in to such matters.”

Thaufeeq said that according to the DRP’s charter, anyone declining the decision of a disciplinary committee should turn to the party’s appeal committee.   “We informed Mr Naseer that this is the way to resolve his issue,” he added.

Umar Naseer was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.

The DRP last week asked the Elections Commission to remove Naseer’s name from its membership list after the party’s disciplinary committee voted to dismiss him the previous month, leading to a growing war of words between the former deputy and current leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali.

The former deputy leader alleged that Thasmeen was purposely attempting to dismiss him after the DRP council voted narrowly to move ahead with a disciplinary hearing.

Tensions have risen within the party between supporters loyal to both Thasmeen and Naseer, leading to some MPs, including the dismissed deputy, flying out to Malaysia to meet with former president and DRP honorary leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Gayoom returned to the Maldives last week in order to try and “reinstate unity” in the DRP along with assisting its local council elections campaign.

Gayoom described the ongoing war of words within the DRP as ‘disputes’ rather than the formation of faction.

Umar Naseer was formerly the leader of Islamic Democratic Party (IDP), which he later abolished after the presidential elections, despite opposition from the party’s deputy leader and some supporters.  Afterwards Umar joined DRP and got elected as a deputy leader during the last DRP congress.

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Court action may postpone Addu Atoll city council elections

Planned elections to appoint a city council to serve Addu Attoll will be postponed if court action taken by some MPs to revoke the decision to treat the region a single city is successful, Haveeru has reported.

President Mohamed Nasheed has said that if the Civil Court moves to reverse the decision announced back in October to make Addu Atoll’s islands individual wards of a single city, elections would be postponed, according to the paper.

The Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) reportedly filed the case over concerns that the president may not be authorised to award city status to Addu on the grounds that the atoll may not appease the requirements outlined under the country’s Decentralisation Act.

However, Nasheed has said that the Addu city decision was made after consultation with government and opposition parties.

“I didn’t decide to give city status to Addu after waking up one morning,” he was quoted as saying in Haveeru.

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Arabiyya pupils’ rights case reaches Civil Court

The former Attorney General Azima Shukoor has filed a case in the country’s Civil Court over fears pupils may have been denied their rights, SunFM has reported.

According to the report, the case has been filed in court over concerns Arabiyya students may be loosing out on their rights in having to study in other schools due to structural concerns in their old building.

The report said that the case also alleges education authorities have been irresponsible over the treatment of students from Arabiyya School, reported SunFM.

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DRP requests EC to remove Umar Naseer from party membership list

The main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has requested that the Elections Commission remove the name of Umar Naseer, its former Deputy Leader, from the party’s membership list.

The calls follow an escalating war of words between Naseer and the party’s current leader, Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, over the former deputy’s dismissal from the DRP late last year that more recently led to violent clashes at a meeting held at DRP headquarters.

Acknowledging the DRP’s request, Elections Commissioner Fuad Thaufeeq said that Naseer has also sent a letter to the commission in an attempt to counter the calls to remove him.

“The commission is now considering the matter and will go for a conclusion today or sometime tomorrow,” said Thaufeeq.  “Most of the time, these matters end up in the party’s favour.”

However, as the case has not yet reached a conclusion, Thaufeeq said the commission could not say anything on the case.

Umar Naseer was dismissed from his post by the party’s disciplinary committee back in December after he attempted to conduct a protest that was allegedly unauthorized by DRP leadership.

Naseer said in September that Thasmeen did not want him in the DRP. The former deputy leader alleged that Thasmeen was therefore attempting to dismiss him after the DRP council voted narrowly to move ahead with a disciplinary hearing.

Tensions have risen within the party between supporters loyal to both Thasmeen and Naseer, leading to some MPs including the dismissed deputy to fly out to Malaysia to meet with former president and DRP “honorary leader” Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Gayoom returned to the Maldives last week in order to try and reinstate unity in the DRP along with assisting its local council elections campaign.

Gayoom described the disputes in the DRP as ‘disputes’ rather than the formation of faction.

So far, Naseer has not accepted the decision of the disciplinary committee, claiming that the decision was against the party’s charter.

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Adhaalath Party joins political condemnation of Velezinee attack

The Adhaalath Party has today joined a growing number of political voices in condemning the attack on Presidential Member of Judicial Service Commission (JSC), Aishath Velezinee.

Velezinee was attacked yesterday morning in Chandhanee Magu, while she was walking down the street, leading to strong criticism from President Mohamed Nasheed and his cabinet.

Haveeru had reported that attackers travelling on two motorbikes came at Velezinee while she was walking down the street, stabbing her at three separate points in the back.

Police have said that no suspects have yet been charged in connection with the attacks, which they claim serve to highlight growing concerns over gang violence in the capital.

The religious Adhaalath party released a statement strongly critical of the perpetrators of the crime.

”The attack on Aishath Velezinee is a very degraded and an uncivilized action,” said the Adhaalath Party. ” The Adhaalath Party condemns this action in strongest possible terms.”

Adhaalath Party called on Maldivians to stop committing what it called inhumane activities.

”We also call on the concerned authorities to identify the attacker and to present them before justice.”

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that so far no persons had been arrested in connection with the attack and there were no updates on the case yet.

The police issued a statement today expressing concern over the rise in gang violence and called on everyone to co-operate with the police to curb the rise in gang violence in Male’.

”It is very concerning that the gang violence in Male’ is progressing and becoming more serious during a time  police is working to curb the violence under a three year strategic plan,” said police. ”These sort of crimes could be prevented with the co-operation of all institutes, independent commissions, politicians and citizens.”

The Maldives Police Service said that it would take any actions necessary against those committing such serious crimes and would not hesitate to bring them to justice.

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