Month: January 2011

Police urge peaceful rhetoric from MPs amidst local election violence

Police are urging caution within the rhetoric used by the country’s politicians amidst concerns that numerous “small” clashes between followers of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) in recent days could escalate into major violence.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that a number of violent clashes between apparent supporters of the MDP and DRP had been brought under control by police recently, including confrontations on Kaandehdhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll yesterday following the arrival of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Gayoom, who is also the honorary leader of the DRP, was said to not have been caught up in the confrontations, according to party representatives.

However, the attacks have led to claims from prominent DRP MPs such as Ahmed Mahloof that a small number of their counterparts within the MDP deliberately incited their own supporters to injure opposition party members. Mahloof claimed that there was also video evidence to prove support his claims, although the MDP has denied any of its members were involved in encouraging the violence.

Sub-Inspector Shiyam said that no arrests had been made following the clashes on Kaandehdhoo, which lasted “a few hours”, and that injuries recorded as a result of the confrontations were not thought to have been serious, however he said that similar violence in recent days had affected power supplies on some islands.

Shiyam said that the police service was not blaming any individual political party for the apparent outbursts, but conceded there had been a number of cases of violent confrontations, particularly between MDP and DRP supporters of late ahead of next month’s local council elections.

“We would call on the leaders of political parties to ensure they have control of their people,” he said. “They have to be aware that small clashes can turn into big confrontations.”

Upon arriving on Kaandehdhoo yesterday along with Gayoom and former DRP Deputy Leader Umar Naseer, Mahloof claimed that around 200 MDP supporters had shown up to protest alongside supporters of the opposition party.

“We understand that MDP supporters want to come out and raise their voices, but we cannot accept violence,” he said. “They [MDP supporters] attacked Umar Naseer and I have two broken fingers.”

Mahloof claimed that the trouble started when Gayoom had arrived on the island as part of his campaign strategy for the upcoming local council elections, before MDP supporters began to move towards where the former president was staying.

This movement was thought to have led to confrontations between rival supporters, sparking the violence that followed.

“Mr Gayoom himself didn’t see anything,” he said.

Mahloof alleged that MDP MPs Mohamed Qasam and Mohamed Nazim were involved in directly inciting the violence that took place on the island and that he had video proof to support his claims and would be consulting police over the issue.

“We are saddened to say that the MPs arrived with a group of thugs,” he claimed. “These are people who should try and do things in a democratic way.”

Ultimately, Mahloof said that although clashes between supporters had begun before Gayoom’s arrival on the island, the DRP were not a violent party and he himself did not want to encourage any further attacks from its supporters in the run up to the local council elections and beyond.

However, he suggested that there was only so much some supporters may be willing to take.

“We hope that the MDP leaders and the president will discourage supporters from again planning to attack us,” Mahloof claimed. “There are so many people who would be willing to die for Mr Gayoom.”

Allegations that MDP MPs were directly involved in the violent confrontations were strongly denied by party spokesperson Ahmed Haleem, who claimed that he was certain that Gasam and Nazim would not have supported attacking opposition members.

“They are going to talk with supporters and try to encourage non-violence within the party,” he said. “They are responsible MPs.”

Haleem claimed that the DRP was itself always trying to “put the finger of blame” on the MDP to try and insinuate there was violence within the party.

However, the MDP spokesperson alleged that it was the development of factions within the DRP between supporters of current leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali and former head Gayoom that was leading to a number of violent confrontations during the election campaign.

“The DRP have been responsible for violent acts against Thasmeen from within Gayoom’s faction of the party,” he claimed. “The MDP is not a party of violence.”

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Letter on Addu City

It makes me sick to the stomach that, aside from the prevailing Male’-Supremacist attitude of most residents in the capital, people take the “case” of Addu’s possibility of gaining a ‘city’ status to score political points [http://www.meedhoolive.com/?p=8763] in an otherwise non-issue.

Sure, our Constitution and laws are problematic, not least thanks to the “opposition” Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party and its shady allies which formulated them. Now, no thanks to Maumoon’s feudal system, we have inherited a “labyrinth of bureaucracy” which is hindering efficient governance and making sure Maumoon’s ominous 30-year agenda — of keeping ordinary Maldivians poor and ignorant so that his cronies can siphon away our riches — is alive and continuing, much to the horror of ordinary Maldivians.

While most Maldivians are OK with turning a blind eye on more grievous problems like child abuse, why can’t for once in this instance, people like Jumhooree (Republican) Party’s Ibrahim Muttalib, who is also a Member of Parliament, keep his mouth shut when we know that making Addu a city is for the benefit of one of our Maldivian communities who have suffered several decades of economic neglect. Addu’s potential itself should suffice it to gain ‘city’ status because that is exactly what it is going to become in the next three years.

When politicians like Muttalib try to make an issue where there is none – just because the Maumoon regime inspired laws allow so many bureaucratic hurdles – I get really pissed off. I have yet to hear Muttalib ever condemn publicly child abuse and domestic violence — when he was so vocal against “alcohol”.

So who cares whether Addu gaining a city status is done through the Maumoon-laid “correct” bureaucratic networks when all Addu people need is to do what needs to be rightfully done (it’s as simple as that) so that they could get on with their lives.

If I was President Nasheed, I would give no concern to these little irritations like Muttalib and just get on with it. If Muttalib is against Maldives’ reform, then go away from public life. What are you doing here in the first place?

Hilath Rasheed, Male’ City

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JSC seeks to gag Velezinee with new secrecy regulations

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has appointed a special three-member team to decide on the best course of action against JSC member Aishath Velezinee, for removing official documents from the Commission’s premises.

The JSC, which is yet to adopt a Standards of Procedure a year after the 26 January 2010 deadline, earlier this month passed new secrecy regulations that make it an offence for members to reveal any Commission business to the public without prior authorisation.

The regulations were passed at a meeting on 17 January at which Velezinee was not present, and the agenda of which, seen by Minivan News, did not indicate any plans or proposals for new secrecy restrictions.

On 24 January, days after passing the new regulations, the JSC set up a special committee comprising Vice Chair Afraasheem Ali, Member Abdullahi Didi, and Deputy Legal Representative Abdul Faththah to discuss how best to apply the new regulations against Velezinee, who it alleges removed a documents file from the presmises on that day.

It is the first time in the history of the new democratic government that a member of an independent Commission, set up by the 2008 Constitution, is being subjected to an internal investigation.

The unprecedented move by JSC is made all the more surprising by the inclusion among the three special investigators a member of the Commission’s staff.

It is rare, if not unknown, for a junior staff member to be placed in a position of deciding disciplinary action against a state official they have been appointed to serve.

Velezinee, an outspoken critic of the JSC’s refusal to adopt a Standards of Procedure as required by the Constitution, earlier this month accused several fellow members of corruption and treason.

She has published a large cache of JSC documents, including audio recordings of Commission meetings, on her personal website as evidence, she says, to support her accusations.

Velezinee also runs a Facebook page dedicated to Article 285 of the Constitution, which regularly carries electronic copies of various official documents from the Commission.

She maintains that the JSC, unlike other independent Commissions set up by the Constitution, should conduct its business publicly. She has lobbied for media access to JSC meetings, a proposal that has not met with unanimous support from other members.

She has also called for an open inquiry into her allegations against the JSC, and has repeatedly challenged Commission Member Abdulla Shahid to respond to her charges of treason against him.

According to Velezinee, Shahid, also Speaker of the Majlis, while straddling two of the democracy’s three separated powers, is gradually executing plans – through the JSC and the Majlis – to take over the third.

Shahid, who has defended himself in the media against other allegations of corruption such as those related to the privatisation of Male’ International Airport, has remained silent on the charges made by Velezinee.

Speaker Shahid is currently travelling the country on a political campaign with opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) leader MP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, and could not be contacted for comment.

Notably, the JSC’s investigation into Velezinee’s decision to remove Commission documents does not make any reference to her publication of JSC internal documents on the internet.

If the JSC were to refer to Velezinee’s publication of the documents, it would be forced to acknowledge her accusations against Speaker Shahid, and itself.

According to a JSC internal memo, also made public by Velezinee, the three investigators will focus their deliberations on what course of action to take against her for removing the documents.

What an offending member does with the documents is not up for regulation or deliberation, as of yet.

Meanwhile, as the JSC considers disciplinary action against one of its own for retrospective infringement of newly-passed secrecy regulations, the Anti Corruption Commission and the police are investigating the JSC.

It is also currently facing allegations of bias in its recent High Court appointments made by two failed candidates, a Civil Court judge and a Family Court judge.

The case is now at the Supreme Court. JSC Chair Justice Adam Mohamed Abdulla, who is on the Supreme Court bench, is yet to recuse himself from the case despite the possibility of a conflict of interest.

This is the second time in less than six months that the JSC has had to face allegations of bias in a court of law. Earlier this month, the Civil Court threw out a professional negligence case against the JSC where it stood accused of not performing its Constitutional duty to investigate judiciary misconduct.

Judge Mariyam Nihayath dismissed the case on a technicality – slovenly time keeping by the plaintiff – but not before the JSC admitted it did not have a standard system in place for dealing with complaints of judicial misconduct.

It also became known during the hearings that the JSC received and failed to investigate over 100 complaints received last year.

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) visited Male’ on a fact finding mission related to the independence of the country’s judiciary last year. Although the mission was reported as having been completed in September last, its findings are yet to be made public.

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Island security not a concern despite resort robbery, say police

Police have confirmed that a safe containing thousands of rufiyaa was taken during a burglary at the Kihaadhuffaru resort in Baa Atoll on Tuesday, but insist that security at other lucrative tourist destinations in the country should not be a concern for staff and visitors.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that a safe containing around Rf5,000 (US$390) had been stolen from an office area at the resort and that “no serious injuries” had been reported by staff caught up in the theft.

Shiyam added that investigations were continuing into the incident and that it was currently working to corroborate “different reports” it had received regarding Tuesday’s theft.

A spokesperson for Kihaadhuffaru said they were also unable to reveal details about the incident at present, though confirmed a burglary had taken place.

Haveeru today reported that a group of masked men brandishing “machetes and swords” had arrived on the island resort by dingy during the early hours of Tuesday, before threatening members of staff and stealing the contents of a safe on the site, citing an unnamed source.

“The masked men tied the hands of the male receptionist with a cable tie and kept him inside after taping his mouth and whole body,” the paper reported.

Shiyam said that he was unable to confirm the details of the report, but added that no guests were thought to have been attacked or robbed by the intruders on Tuesday, with only the resort’s safe taken during the heist.

Although Shiyam said that the police were remaining vigilant concerning any follow up robberies, the sub-inspector said that he did not believe resorts would need to review existing security measures in light of the Kihaadhuffaru theft.

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MDP “destroying the sanctity” of Adhaalath, claims religious party

The political Adhaalath Party led by State Islamic Minister Sheikh Hussein Rasheed has accused the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) of “attempting to destroy the sanctity of the Party” by misleading the public over its work.

”Although the Adhaalath Party is an institute in the current government, [it] is a party that supports justice and rights, and has expressed its opinions under the responsibility of integrity,” the group said in a statement. “Even if we were not an institute of the government, we will always keep our work to this policy.”

The party statement claimed that it was very concerned that some MDP officials were trying to misrepresent its work as the ideas of just a few specific individuals rather than an entire party in a manner that could damage the “sanctity and honour” of the party.

“Adhaalath Party will never just follow the decision of individuals, we will always follow the decision of the party’s discussion committee,” the party stated. ”All the opinions the Adhaalath Party has expressed and all the work it has conducted was done according to the decision of our discussion committee.”

Officials of the religious party have also advised politicians to avoid personal confrontations and stick to political discourse instead.

Unnamed government officials recently described scholars like Sheikh Ibrahim Fareed and the vice leader of the Adhaalath Party’s religious council, Sheikh Ilyas Hussein, as “hate preachers” in an interview with India-based magazine The Week.

The party has claimed that senior officials of the current government, including former Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed and Home Minister Hassan Afeef, made false allegations against a number of the country’s religious leaders, including the vice leader of the Adhaalath Party’s religious council, Sheikh Ilyas Hussein.

Minivan News attempted to contact MDP’s parliamentary group spokesperson and MP Alhan Fahmy, who was unavailable for comment at time of going to press.

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MAPS promotes itself to a college and commences academic year

The Modern Academy for Professional Studies (MAPS) institute has promoted itself to college status this week and commenced the academic year.

The college has introduced new courses in the field of accounting and said it was scheduled to introduce further areas of study later this year.

MAPS college claimed that it was looking forward to introducing degree-level courses in the future and added that it was currently seeking for affiliates from the UK and Australia in order to achieve its goal to teach such programmes.

The college currently offers management courses in Travel and Tourism, Human Resources, Business and IT to the level of Diploma and Advance Diploma.

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Supreme Court to look in to High Court judges case

The Supreme Court of the Maldives has today announced that it will conduct a trial on the issue of appointing High Court judges that had originally been scheduled for the country’s Civil Court, amidst ongoing debate over the institution’s right to influence the workings of a higher authority.

The case was first filed in Civil Court last week by Criminal Court Judge Abdul Baary over concerns that there were policy and legal issues related to the Judicial Service Commission’s (JSC) appointment procedures, such as giving higher priority to appointees on the basis of gender.

Judge Baary claimed in Haveeru at the time that the JSC policy stated that if a female and a male scored even marks, higher priority should be given to the female when appointing judges for the High Court bench. This, he said, was against the Constitution and the Labour Act.

A Writ of Prohibition was issued by the Supreme Court last week in an unprecedented step against the Civil Court designed to order the institution to hand over the case to determine whether it had the authority to deal with the functions of a higher court.

The Supreme Court has today ruled that the issue was a constitutional matter and that the Civil Court did not have the authority to decide on constitutional matters such as the legality of appointing members to the High Court bench.

”If the matter was conducted in the lower court, the case would get appealed and would cause a delay in the appointment of High Court judges which will lead to a loss of basic rights for the administration of justice,” said the Supreme Court in a statement posted on their website.

High Court judges appointed by the JSC last week included Juvenile Court Chief Judge Shuaib Hussein Zakariya, former Law Commission member Dr Azmiralda Zahir, Civil Court registrar Abdu Rauf Ibrahim, lawyer of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Abbas Shareef and Civil Court Chief Judge Ali Sameer.

A JSC spokesperson was unavailable to comment on the issue at the time of going to press, though told Minivan News that the commission had not had any communication with the Supreme Court over today’s decision.

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UK medical experts to help manage IGMH

The Malé Health Services Corporation (MHSC) is expanding its senior management team with three health professionals from the UK, who have been recruited to support the health transformation agenda of the MHSC, accelerate quality improvements, and rigorously hone cost efficiency.

The volunteers were recruited with the assistance of UK-based NGO Friends of Maldives and the Maldivian High Commission in London who together,have selectively been placing health volunteers around the Maldives through the International Volunteer Programme (IVP).

The three volunteers will initially come for one year, extendable to two years, and say they hope to leave a lasting, positive legacy within the MHSC, by developing local leaders in the medical sector.

Cathy Waters will start as the new General Manager of IGMH at the beginning of February 2011. Waters has 17 years of senior health management experience, including eight years as a Chief Executive in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), where she demonstrated exemplary management of staff, personnel issues and substantial budgets in the face of major financial challenges.

Waters has also worked effectively as a senior management consultant, achieving organisational change and strategic development targets. Amongst her many qualifications, she has two Masters Degrees (one in Business Administration), an Advanced Diploma in Coaching, a teaching certificate in further education and is a qualified nurse, midwife and health visitor.

Waters says she believes wholeheartedly in involving the public and service users in providing better health care, and in coaching and developing individual health professionals into new and sustainable roles.

Liz Ambler will begin in the role of Nursing Director for MHSC in mid-March. She currently works for the UK’s Department of Health, whilst her specialist clinical background is in blood disorders and cancer care. With significant senior management experience in UK, the Middle East and Africa, she has a proven track record of improving health care quality whilst reducing expenditure.

Ambler has a Nursing Degree, a Masters in Public Health and a postgraduate certificate in Global Development Management, and says she “can’t wait to get stuck in” training, auditing, and developing clinical guidelines with MHSC’s nurses.

Liz is passionate about nursing, improving patient safety and motivating others to achieve good governance.

Rob Primhak has been appointed as Medical Director of MHSC and will make an initial visit mid-February 2011, before starting in earnest in July when he retires early from his Consultant Paediatrician post to take up this new and challenging role.

Primhak has 35 years of clinical and research expertise, primarily in the fields of respiratory medicine and treatment of children and newborn babies, both in UK and Papua New Guinea. He has successfully introduced innovative services and demonstrated a life-long commitment to the education and training of doctors, through the establishment of new curricula and training programmes. He aspires to leave a lasting impression on clinical governance at MHSC through development of health professionals and clinical quality standards.

“We look forward to working with the UK experts in revamping health care quality at MHSC, and are very optimistic about their successful team efforts in turning around IGMH”, said Mr Zubair Muhammad, Managing Director of MHSC.

Lucy Johnson is the Health Lead for UK-based NGO, Friends of Maldives.

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British High Commission raises concerns over “UK” lottery and job scams

The British High Commission (BHC) in Colombo is warning Maldivian and Sri Lankan nationals to protect themselves against scam e-mails that claim to offer UK-based lottery jackpots and job positions, which it has said have already stung a large number of people from around the region.

Citing an anecdotal increase in the number of scam e-mails worldwide, the BHC has said that it “regularly” receives enquiries from Maldivians and Sri Lankans concerning unsolicited lottery winnings and job offers promising “good” things for recipients that respond.

“The sad truth is that many people are being cheated with job offers and lotteries that do not exist,” the commission stated. “Statistics show almost three million people fall victim to scams annually, losing an average of £850 (Rf17,000) each and sometimes a great deal more.”

According to the commission, genuine UK lotteries are not allowed to be entered by individuals living outside of the country, either by expatriates or foreign nationals.

The release added that legitimate competitions do not inform people via e-mail that they have successfully won jackpots and that all such competitions are required to be registered in the UK as well as having their own websites.

In terms of job offers, the commission stressed that similar precautions should be taken in regards to e-mails offering work in the UK, where companies normally require a recruitment procedure including a face-to-face interview with successful applicants before appointing a position.

The BHC claimed that the UK government, including its trade and investment divisions, do not send out unsolicited e-mails with job offers directly or through employment agencies. Genuine job positions within the government are offered on official websites.

However, any individual with doubts concerning the authenticity of e-mail offers can look up genuine UK companies that are required to be registered at www.companieshouse.gov.uk, while the addresses of businesses operating in the country can be checked at www.upmystreet.com.uk, the commission said.

“If you have been cheated because of a job or lottery scam, we advise you to report it to the Sri Lankan police authorities,” the BHC stated. “The UK government has no jurisdiction to investigate or take out criminal prosecutions in Sri Lanka. Moreover, the BHC cannot speak on behalf of any company or individual sending e-mails, be they spam or otherwise, unless it concerns [the commission] directly.”

Further information on detecting possible scam correspondence can be found here.

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