The Deputy Commissioner of police Mohamed Rishwan has been reportedly suspended for allegedly disobeying an order from Home Minister Hassan Afeef concerning the Thulusdhoo atoll office, reports SunFM.
SunFM reported that the Home Minister ordered police to take over the Atoll Office in Thulusdhoo and that the Deputy Commissioner had refused to do so without a court order.
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said he did not want to comment on the issue, and could not confirm whether the report was true.
Afeef told Miniban News that the position of Deputy Commissioner “is not given by me and [the matter] is not related to me.”
Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair told Minivan News that he had not yet received the information.
”The police are an independent body,” Zuhair said. ”They work under the law.”
Zuhair recommended Minivan News contact Commissioner of Police for comment, however Ahmed Faseeh was not responding to calls at time of press.
He said that if something like this had occurred, the press office would be informed. “I have not received such information yet,” he said.
Zuhair said the government had decided to file a case in the court to solve the issue in Thulusdhoo, in which the local population have clashed with police over whether Kaafu councilors are permitted to relocate the atoll office to Thulusdhoo. The government has disputed that the councilors have the authority to do so.
President Mohamed Nasheed has appointed 64 year-old Korean pop singer Yoon Hyung-ju as honorary consul of the Maldives in Korea.
A report in Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper, one of the country’s largest publications with a circulation of 2.2 million, claimed that Nasheed had offered the position to Hyung-ju when the singer visited the country at the government’s invitation from February 21-23.
The President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair confirmed to Minivan News that Hyung-ju had been offered the position, “although the paperwork has not been completed yet.”
Hyung-ju, who is currently writing a song called ‘Save the Maldives’ for distribution across Asia and other parts of the world, told Chosun Ilbo that he wanted to let people in Korea know about the environmental challenges faced by the Maldives.
“I’ve long wanted to be a diplomat, and the dream came true at a late age,” Hyung-ju said.
“The reason I quit medical school when I was young wasn’t that I wanted to focus on my singing career but because I wanted to have a free-spirited life, travelling around the world.”
Hyung-ju said he had been introduced to the Maldivian Foreign Affairs officials when the diplomats visited Korea last year. It was these officials who had urged the President to make Hyung-ju an honorary consul, he claimed.
“Many people know the Maldives only as a tourist destination, but it is suffering from a number of difficulties. I will devote my remaining life to be of help to them,” the singer said.
Zuhair said that having a popular figure in Korea as honorary consul could “highlight Maldivian values and culture for would-be visitors.”
The job, he said, was unpaid and did not come with a diplomatic passport, although it “would include some privileges.”
South Korea is a major Asian tourism market for the Maldives, along with Japan and more recently, China. Minivan News understands that the Maldives is currently assessing whether to participate in this year’s World Expo, to be held in Korea.
President Nasheed’s previous appointees to the post of honorary consul include David Hardingham, founder of UK-based NGO Friends of Maldives.
Police have accused Kaafu Atoll councilors of entering the Thulusdho island office without the permission of police, after the Thulusdho island court ordered police to hand over the keys. Police did not comply.
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that ”police are still watching over the building. When the councilors entered using force, we did not try to stop them.”
Shiyam said that police have not yet given the keys to the councilors.
”I don’t think anyone gave them the key, so police are active in the area to watch over the assets and valuables inside the building,” he said.
Local media today reported this morning the police were “laying siege” to the Atoll Office in Thulusdho and blocking the entrance, but said later that the building was handed over to the atoll councilors after minor confrontations between police and citizens of Thulusdhoo.
On Saturday, in a council meeting held in the Kaafu Atoll Office in Maafushi, the newly elected Kaafu Atoll councilors decided to move the current Atoll office in Maafushi to its former premises based in Kaafu Atoll, Thulusdhoo.
However, after the decision was made, police confiscated the keys of the former Kaafu Atoll office in Thulushoo and councilors were not allowed to enter. Councilors then requested the island court order police to hand over the keys.
The Court yesterday ordered the police to hand over the keys to the atoll councilors, and also court ordered the police not to obstruct the work of Atoll Councilors.
In a meeting with the press today, Home Minister Hassan Afeef said that the councilors did not have the authority to decide where the council’s office should be located.
”The passed the resolution not after discussing with us,” SunFM quoted Afeef saying. ”There will be no law that gives authority to the council to decide where there office will be located.”
Meanwhile the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has expressed concern over the violence occurred in Thulusdhoo.
HRCM said that the commission was observing the commotion since yesterday and noted that it was “worsening day by day.”
”We call on all the concerned authorities to solve the issue by negotiating,” said the HRCM. ”And we all call on everyone to keep their actions within the law.”
The Adhaalath Party has complained that tourists have been wearing improper clothing and consuming alcohol on Hulhumale’ beach in public, and that the area was becoming “a place where Maldivian families cannot visit.”
The sale and consumption of alcohol is banned on inhabited islands. Resorts – and the airport hotel at Hulhule’ – are classified as ‘uninhabited’. As a result, the hedonistic concept of Western resort tourism has been able to peacefully coexist with the more conservative Islamic population on local islands. But the promotion of mid-market ‘guest house’ tourism on inhabited islands such as Hulhumale’ blurs the separation between the two.
“People who own beach front houses have developed guest houses in the area, and as a result tourists coming to the guest houses have started to use the Hulhumale’ beach they would aresort beach,’’ said the Adhaalath Party in statement. “They have been in the beach wearing clothes that do not properly cover their body, and are swimming likewise.’’
The Adhaalath Party cited “a reliable source” as claiming that tourists have been “putting up umbrellas and consuming alcohol under them on Hulhumale’ beach.”
The Party said that such things “should not occur on any of the inhabited islands of the Maldives.”
“It is not permissible under the law, religion or on social grounds,’’ said the party. ‘’It violates many rights of the Maldivians who visits the beach, when they see nudity and alcohol consumption.”
The party also said that it was “a serious issue” and that the concerned authorities should try and resolve.
Secretary General of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI), ‘Sim’ Mohamed Ibrahim, acknowledged that such occurrences would be a challenge for mid-market tourism in the Maldives.
“The way it is currently structured is that alcohol is banned and there is a dress code for inhabited islands. Unless the regulations are changed – and I’m not saying they should be relaxed – tourist areas will need to be separated from local areas. In Male’ people cannot drink alcohol openly and nobody wears bikinis – it isn’t a problem.”
Ibrahim suggested that unless there were demarcated tourist areas, “there will always be these kinds of issues. It’s not an Adhaalath party issue or necessarily a religious issue – Western tourist dress is very different from traditional Maldivian dress.”
Separate tourist areas on inhabited islands would also be for the benefit of tourists’ privacy, he suggested. “They should be able to have a holiday in the Maldives, but they need privacy.”
Tourists, he agreed, should also be made more aware of Maldivian cultural traditions.
A UK national who lived in Hulhumale’ for a year until recently said she had not heard of foreigners living in Hulhumale’ using the beach in such a manner. But there were many new boutique hotel and guest house developments being constructed along the beach and there had been, she said, one instance of police being called after several tourists were seeing wearing bikinis “on a quiet corner of the beach.”
“Two foreign girls were also reported to police for wearing bikinis on the beach, but when police arrived they were wearing boardshorts and shirts,” she said.
The India Club Maldives (ICM) has donated 42.2 litres of blood to the National Thalassemia Centre (NTC) at a blood donation camp on February 25.
Voluntary donors from many nationalities including, Indians, Maldivians, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis, Nepali, Palestinians donated blood.
Acting High Commissioner of India G Narayanaswamy thanked the donors and supporters, saying that such events had much greater value than other cultural activities the India Club has conducted. Narayanaswamy also extended his thanks to Dr J.T. Rao of ADK hospital, Mohamed Zubair, Managing Director of Male Health services Corporation (MHSC), and Dr Farzana of the National Thalassemia Centre.
This is the fifth time the India Club has held a blood donation camp.
Police questioning of two journalists over sources said to have seen indecent images used in the alleged bribery of high profile legal and political figures has raised suspicions that the conduct of law enforcement towards the media may be politically motivated, the editor of Haveeru has claimed.
Amidst ongoing investigations into a blackmail ring that allegedly used fake profiles of a young blonde woman on the Facebook website to obtain indecent and graphic images of a large swathe of Maldivian society, police last week obtained a court order to search the computers of some Haveeru staff.
Police officials said they ultimately opted not to conduct a search on Haveeru’s premises, but that the questioning of the journalists involved was important to an ongoing investigations into the suspected blackmail ring that has already seen a number of suspects arrested, including minors.
However, the questioning has been condemned by media groups such as the Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) as a step to suppress rights to a free media outlined under Article 28 of the constitution passed in 2008.
Haveeru Journalists Ahmed Hamdhoon and Ismail Naseer volunteered to take part in police questioning about an article published by Haveeru on February 22 concerning the content of images acquired through Facebook. The paper maintains it does not have any of the files in question.
Haveeru Editor Moosa Latheef told Minivan News that although police had acted politely and without aggression in requesting the identity of the sources said to have viewed the indecent images – a request he said was denied just as politely – the case could have serious ramifications for the national media in the future. Latheef stressed particular concern that should police repeat their conduct of looking to question journalists about their sources or stories.
“We are very much enjoying the press freedom in the Maldives right now. But I’m afraid that if the police or other institutions try to interfere with our [press] freedom then they will create an atmosphere where we are unable to fulfil our responsibilities,” he said. “If this repeats then we could have journalists who are afraid to write about issues. No one wants to go to the courts to defend himself or herself [over stories].”
Latheef said that in general, it could become very easy to begin such a case by accusing a journalist – or anyone – of having illegal content such as pornographic images on their computer. Yet on a wider level, the editor was wary about police being able to gain access to the computer files of the country’s journalists and their contents that could include confidential sources vital to break stories.
While the paper’s editor accepted that there were situations such as national security issues that could warrant a court to request the identity of a journalist’s source against commonly held industry ethics, he claimed such requests should remain very rare cases.
Latheef said that the Facebook bribery allegations were a story not about an issue of national security, but one concerning prominent members of the government, parliament and the judiciary, which paled in consequence to some of the stories he said Haveeru has previously published.
“Why are the police coming after us? We have written much more serious things about national issues like about corruption in the government, the opposition and the judiciary. This is not so serious news,” he said. “It will not damage any group as much as individual politicians, so if they have done something against their ethics, they can resign. They can submit their resignation to the president, or to the concerned parties or the judiciary. It is not like the national issues we have seen last August during the constitutional crisis.”
Latheef claimed that although he was not happy with the current government and opposition, he added that there had not been any interference with Haveeru’s output from either side of the national political spectrum in recent years.
“They didn’t interfere in anything like this. This why I’m considering why this time are police trying to get these sources? I suspect that the in some way perhaps the president or even an opposition leader may have tried to save someone close to them,” he said. “I am not sure, but maybe, the political influence may be behind this police action. Otherwise I don’t think police would take this kind of thing very seriously.”
Haveeru’s editor added that his suspicions were also raised by the nature of the police submissions to the Criminal Court for a warrant to investigate the paper’s office, which he said mentioned only that the investigation included members of the judiciary as opposed to other branches of state like parliament and the government.
“They did not mention the actual writing of our news report. We included that government officials, those in executive power, citizens and members of the judiciary may also be involved in these videos. They mentioned in their submission to the court of only the judiciary [being included in the article].”
The editor claimed that he believed the submission was made to specifically ensure a court order against the paper’s staff, conduct which he derided in a Haveeru press release that was published yesterday.
Latheef claimed that no one at Haveeru had any of the alleged indecent images or to his knowledge seen the content; with reports by Hamdhoon and Naseer based on the accounts of “trusted” sources that included political insiders. However, he said it was accepted that police were also required to do their duty.
“They [police] suspected Haveeru had the porn [images and video files alleged to have been collected through the false Facebook sites] that they are investigating. That would be a criminal offense so it is police duty to investigate these kind of things,” added Latheef.
The Maldives Police Service has denied any allegations that its decision to seek a warrant from the country’s criminal court to search the computers of two Haveeru journalists – which was not carried out in the end – was a politically-driven attack on press freedom.
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that in light of the ongoing serious cyber crimes investigation into the Facebook profiles, attempts were made to to obtain further information from the sources used in Haveeru’s article.
“For that we needed more cooperation from Haveeru so we sought a court order to go ahead with this,” he said.
Shiyam claimed that the questioning was not therefore a ‘political attack’ on media freedom but a means to see what help the people mentioned in the article would be to the police investigation.
President Mohamed Nasheed has called for the United Nations to deploy peacekeepers in the troubled gulf state of Libya, in an effort “to contain” its leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The Libyan government, a 42 year autocracy under Gaddafi, is facing rising international censure after using African mercenaries and military hardware – including anti-aircraft missiles – against civilian protesters.
At least 300 people are believed dead in the uprising while armed opposition groups now control much of the east of the country including Zawiyah, a town just 30 miles from the west of the capital of Tripoli. The British SAS meanwhile evacuated more than 500 British oil workers from a staging point in the Libyan desert, using C-130 Hercules transports.
“I feel that the UN should now be thinking about peacekeeping in Libya – on the ground intervention. This is very important,” Nasheed said on ‘Walk the Talk’.
“It is very disturbing to see the whole thing being played out, and everyone talking about their nationals – we all humans and sovereignty cannot be played over humanity,” Nasheed said.
“It is very disturbing to hear everyone talking only about their own nationals. People should be talking about Libya and the people. You kill an Indian, you kill a Libyan, what difference does that make? You’ve killed someone.”
Direct action was needed, Nasheed said, rather than the further economic sanctions that had been imposed.
“[The international community] are talking about sanctions – but Libyans already can’t import anything,” he said.
Nasheed noted that Gaddafi had survived the extreme political turbulence of the last 3-4 days, and said he was “very jittery” about the prospects of the leader stepping down voluntarily.
“Certainly he should go – I’ve no doubt about that,” he said. “It is our responsibility to make sure that at the end of the day we don’t have headlines saying 500,000 people are dead from aerial bombing in Libya.”
The Maldives, Nasheed said, was a “laboratory case” for the current call for democracy in the Middle East and the ousting of autocratic leaders.
“For the last 100 years Maldivian leaders have tried to emulate Egypt. There was Gayoom, but other leaders before him also studied in Egypt.
“What they need now are political parties. We will always support movement in any country when people want to be free – it is very important for development that countries haves strong political parties and free and fair elections.”
The uprisings had showcased that there was “no contradiction between Islam and democracy”, Nasheed said. “We are a 100 percent Muslim country and we have been able to galvanise the public for political activism, we’ve been able to amend our constitution, we able to build political parties, we have had free and fair presidential elections, parliamentary elections, local elections, we have separation of powers, we have a very vibrant independent media, we have all the fundamental rights – but all that requires space for organised political activism.”
A theocracy based around an extreme religious idea, Nasheed said, was simply “The camoflage of a standard dictatorship – except in the name of God.”
Issues such as Israel and Middle East peace issues could be more easily dealt with in a free and democratic country, Nasheed said.
“We have been able to have a number contacts with Israel now – the people have no issue with that.”
Queried by the interviewer about the widespread public anger Nasheed faced when reaching out to Israel, Nasheed claimed that “there is always organised opposition, and there should be and we can always talk about it and give our point of view.”
The uprisings had broken many Middle Eastern stereotypes, Nasheed agreed.
“Finally we will be able to show Islam for what it is – a high sophisticated intellectual life, that is highly attractive to people.”
Asked by the interviewer if he himself was “a devout Muslim”, Nasheed described himself as “practicing”, “but I don’t think that necessarily narrows my thinking or my attitude or my interactions with anyone.”
The interviewer also challenged Nasheed on how the Maldives could balance a broadly Islamic population with the influences of Western-style beach tourism.
“Traditionally we were Sufi Muslim, so therefore we were very liberal,” Nasheed said. “But in 70s we had wahabism starting to come in. Then in the late 70s Gayoom came to power, after living in Egypt.
“There was always a tendency to use religion or verses from the Quran or hadiths to justify yourself or justify your actions. Some other leader might have said “for development’. But Gayoom would say, ‘for God, so that we may attain paradise.’ What you are really saying is that you are building a school.”
The Island Court of Thulusdhoo has ordered police to hand over the keys of the former Atoll office in Thulusdhoo to councilors immediately.
Yesterday, in a council meeting held in Kaafu Atoll Office in Maafushi, the newly elected Kaafu Atoll councilors decided to move the current Atoll office to its former premises based in Kaafu Atoll, Thulusdhoo.
However, after the decision was made, police confiscated the keys of the former Kaafu Atoll office in Thulushoo and councilors were not allowed to enter. Councilors then requested the island court order police to hand over the keys.
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam told Minivan News that the atoll office building in Thulusdhoo “is an asset of the government, so the councilors will have to come to a common understanding with the government if they want to enter the building.”
Shiyam said that police had taken the keys due to a conflict between the government and the newly appointed local council over officially handing over the building.
“The building in question belongs to the government, which therefore has to agree to officially hand it over to the council,” he said. “The situation requires some form of agreement between the two parties and this is what the police have tried to [negotiate].”
Shiyam said that it was waiting for the government and council representatives to come to “some sort of understanding” in order to solve the dispute.
He said he could not comment on whether the police would be obeying the island court order.
Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said that councilors do not have the authority to decide where the atoll office would be located.
”When this government came in to administration, the atoll office of Kaafu Atoll was located in Thulushdoo, once when the Province state minister visited Thulusdhoo, islanders forced him to leave the island,” Zuhair explained.
”So by presidential decree, President Nasheed moved the atoll office to Maafushi, to locate the atoll office on an island where province state minister could visit.”
Zuhair said that the decision of the Kaafu Atoll councilors “harms the sovereignty of the state.”
”It’s not within their legal power to decide whether they will have the atoll office on an uninhabited island or inside president’s office, only the president has that authority,” he said, adding that ”the atoll councilors will have to report to the atoll office wherever it is located”.
the dispute led to a confrontation between police and citizens of Thulusdhoo, according to the local media, in which both police and islanders were said to have been injured.
Oath-taking ceremonies for newly elected councilors were held on Saturday, except for those areas where complaints have been filed in the High Court.
The High Court on Thursday ordered that 14 areas were to suspend their oath-taking ceremonies until the High Court conclude cases filed regarding the elections.
Ceremonies scheduled to be held for H.Dh Nolhivaranfaru island council, H.Dh Nolhivaram area Atoll council, N. Miladhoo island council, R. Maduvvari island council, R. Maduvvari Area Atoll council, G. DH Faresmathoda island council, G.Dh Faresmathoda Area Atoll Council, A.Dh Dhangethi island council, A.A Mathiveri island council, A.A Atoll council, L. Atoll council, G.A Vilingili island council,G.A Atoll council and L. Dhambidhoo island council were delayed by order of the High Court.
The Court said if successful candidates in these areas took the oath while a case was pending in court, it violated the rights of those who filed the cases.
In all the other areas, successful candidates took the oath of office in their respective councils on Saturday.
Ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has recently said that “thousands” of complaints were received by the party regarding the elections, and also accused the Elections Commission of being partial and unfair, filing such cases in the High Court.
MDP contends that some complaints could potentially change the results of some areas.
President Mohamed Nasheed has meanwhile said that the oath of office for local councillors was “a historic step towards consolidating decentralisation.”
Speaking during his weekly radio address, Nasheed said that councilors were officially part of the country’s executive branch, and urged them “to work closely with the government to achieve the policy targets set out by the government.”
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