Month: February 2011

Gaddafi is “a wicked, cruel, evil man”: Former State Islamic Minister

Former State Islamic Minister and member of the Adhaalath Party Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has called on the international community to help stop the “violent inhumane actions” of Muammar-al-Gaddafi.

”Gaddafi is wicked evil man whose cruelty has reached to an extreme level,” said Sheikh Shaheem in a statement. ”He has used excessive force over the citizens of Libya.”

Sheikh Shaheem said that today all the Muslims should pray for the citizens of Libya, ”and should pray that he gets destroyed by his own evil actions.”

Prominent scholars in Palestine, Sudan, Egypt and other religious councils have consistently condemned the actions of Gaddafi, said Sheikh Shaheem.

”Some scholars have permitted [to have] his blood due to his evil actions,” he said. ”And I would like to take this opportunity to assure the citizens of Libya that we are with them.”

He called on the international community on behalf of the Adhaalath Party to help the citizens of Libya.

Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed yesterday also called on the international community to “strengthen measures to realise the aspirations of the Libyan people to fundamental rights and freedoms.”

“The right not to be tortured, the freedom to speak your mind, the ability to choose your own government… these liberties are not the preserve of Western nations but universal values to which everyone aspires,” Nasheed said. “These are the forces that are being played out on the streets of Libya and other countries of the Middle East.”

The Foreign Ministry has lost contact with six Maldivians in Libya, although it has not received reports of any injuries.

“We were checking on their condition until yesterday when we were unable to contact them via phone. Their phones would not ring, either,” a Foreign Ministry official told newspaper Haveeru.

“We are trying to contact them and are looking into any possible way that we could contact them through Dhiraagu. We are also trying to contact the Maldivians through an embassy in Libya of a friendly nation.”

The Libyan President yesterday vowed on national television that he will not step down from the country’s leadership, and was ready “to die a martyr.”

Speaking in the third person, Gaddafi said “I am not going to leave this land. I shall remain, defiant. Muammar is leader of the revolution until the end of time.”

US President Barack Obama has meanwhile broken his silence over the Libyan situation and outright condemned Gaddafi’s tactic of using violence against the demonstrators. The US President has sent Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Europe to attend a meeting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

“The suffering and bloodshed is outrageous and it is unacceptable. So are threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters and further punish the people of Libya. These actions violate international norms and every standard of common decency. This violence must stop,” said President Obama said.

Minivan News has meanwhile obtained a copy of Gaddafi’s ‘Little Green Book’, entitled “The Solution of the Problem of Democracy”, copies of which were reportedly gifted to a generation of Maldivian school students under former Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

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Police decline to reveal identities of political figures involved in Facebook nude photo blackmail case

Police have declined to reveal the identities of political figures and government officials involved in the nude photography obtained by Facebook blackmailers.

The blackmailers used a Facebook account pretending to be an attractive blonde woman, and reportedly coerced hundreds of Maldivians to record their nude videos and pictures through their webcam and send it to them. After receiving the pictures and videos, they used them to blackmail the persons involved – many of them believed to be national politicians and senior government officials.

Police discovered explicit videos and pictures of hundreds of Maldivians on the hard drives and laptops of 14 people arrested in connection with the crime earlier this week.

”We are still investigating the case, but so far we cannot reveal the identities of any of those involved,” said a police spokesperson. ”We cannot confirm any names, just not yet. We will be revealing more information later.”

Daily newspaper Haveeru interviewed a person who claimed to have seen some of the material, who said that MPs belonging to both the opposition and the ruling party had fallen for the scam, as well as prominent businessmen and “national figures”.

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said that none of the events reportedly depict “would have taken place inside the President’s office.”

”We don’t have Facebook, MSN or any other social networks on any computer of the President’s Office,” Zuhair said. ”It is nothing to do with the government or the president.”

Zuhair added that “for instance there might be torturers among people who build streets, but that does not mean all the street builders are torturers.”

Meanwhile, the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) has sent a letter to the President’s Office, calling the president to remove government officials involved in the case from their posts ”or if you do not remove them from their posts it will be taken as meaning that you are supporting such activities.”

The DQP called on the government to take action against those involved “as soon as possible.”

Several blogs have speculated on the names of those caught up in the scandal, but police would not confirm the identities of those compromised.

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Foreign Ministry loses contact with Maldivians in Libya

The Foreign Ministry has lost contact with six Maldivians in Libya, although it has not received reports of any injuries.

The situation in Libya is increasingly unstable with much of the eastern part of the country rebelling from the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi, the head of the country’s 42 year autocracy.

“We were checking on their condition until yesterday when we were unable to contact them via phone. Their phones would not ring, either,” a Foreign Ministry official told newspaper Haveeru.

“We are trying to contact them and are looking into any possible way that we could contact them through Dhiraagu. We are also trying to contact the Maldivians through an embassy in Libya of a friendly nation.”

US President Barack Obama has meanwhile broken his silence over the Libyan situation and outright condemned Gaddafi’s tactic of using violence against the demonstrators. The US President has sent Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Europe to attend a meeting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

“The suffering and bloodshed is outrageous and it is unacceptable. So are threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters and further punish the people of Libya. These actions violate international norms and every standard of common decency. This violence must stop,” said President Obama said.

Minivan News has meanwhile obtained a copy of Gaddafi’s ‘Little Green Book’, entitled “The Solution of the Problem of Democracy”, copies of which were reportedly gifted to a generation of Maldivian school students under former Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

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‘Saima’ in Thilafushi for refurbishment, says MNDF

Opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Deputy Leader Ilham Ahmed has filed a case with the Anti-Corruption Commision accusing President Mohamed Nasheed of giving a presidential speedboat to a personal friend, claiming the vessel ‘Saima’ was missing. Several media outlets carried the allegations yesterday.

In response the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) issued a two-paragraph press release today stating that the boat was at Thilafushi for refurbishment.

Media carried Ilham’s allegations that the boat was given to Mohamed Rageeb of Gaadhifushi in Thaa Atoll, and was now in Gaadhifushi being used for business purposes such as ferrying.

Speedboats formerly used by the president’s office were handed over to the MNDF for the official trips of senior government officials.

”When the MNDF received the speed boats from the president’s office, there was no speedboat named ‘Saima’ included,” said the MNDF in a statement. ”As far as the MNDF is concerned the speedboat ‘Saima’ is now at Thilafushi, in hands of Apollo Holdings company for refurbishment.”

The MNDF also published a picture of a speedboat which they said was a picture of the controversial ‘Saima’ boat, taken a day ago while it was in Thilafushi.

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair told Minivan News that the allegations were “made up deliberately to smear the respect and dignity of the President.”

”I must say that the opposition’s political actions are going to a desperate level if they are making up false allegations,” said Zuhair. ”Anyone can go and see that the ‘Saima’ boat is in Thilafushi for refurbishment.”

Zuhair said that if there was a similar vessel in Gaadhifushi, it was not the same one.

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Expat finance study announced

A study to analyse the earnings, expenditure and lifestyle standards of expatriate workers in the country has been announced by the the planning department of the Maldives’ Ministry of Finance and Treasury, according to press reports.

Haveeru has said that the ministry last Friday (18 February) began sending officials to the residences of expatriates working within the Maldives in an attempt to ascertain their financial impact on the nation.

Planning department Assistant System Programmer Fathimath Nihan told the paper that recruitment agents were also being consulted as part of the study that it is claimed will attempt to rank possible poverty levels and differences in income of the country’s workers.

“In addition, the department will check the number of people living per household and will analyze the expenditure in the specific areas,” she was quoted as saying.

The final report is expected to accompany similar research conducted into the earnings and spending of domestic workers.

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Maldives suffers defeat in Olympic football qualifier

The Hong Kong national football team yesterday managed to make the most of home advantage to defeat their Maldives counterparts 4-0 during the first-leg match of their opening qualifier for a place in the 2012 London Olympic Games.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) reported that the home side were able to take the lead by the second minute of the match with a goal from To Hon To, though the Maldives doggedly managed to keep the deficit to a single goal until the second half.

However, the floodgates opened at the Hong Kong Stadium on the 64th minute when defender Yuen Tsun Nam added to the home side’s lead, which was extended by two further strikes from James Ha in the 83rd and 86th minutes of the match.

The Maldives have another match to try and overcome the current score line, though the momentum for a place in the next stage of the Olympic Games qualifiers will be against them in the return fixture set for Male’ on 9 March.

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Judiciary has failed to keep up with parliament and the executive, says Attorney General

The Judicial Services Commission (JSC), the body entrusted to vet and regulate the conduct of judges in the Maldives, has failed to match the government and parliament over the last two years in operating within a constitutionally defined role, Attorney General Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad has claimed.

The claims follow the publication this week of a report by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) that was critical of both political interference in the judiciary by government and opposition groups, and critical of the JSC’s ability to “carry out its functions” in ensuring judges were both impartial and capable of performing their duties.

Along with outlining recommendations for the executive, the Majlis and legal bodies like the JSC to follow in order to better ensure a judiciary independent from government and opposition influence, the ICJ’s Director of Asia Pacific Operations, Roger Normand, suggested a lot of work lay ahead.

Accepting that positive developments had been made within its courts since the Maldives became a democracy, concerns remained over a number of issues, Normand said. Having spoken to stakeholders across the country’s legal system, “ordinary” Maldivians did not look to their courts for justice or to solve problems, he suggested.

The report criticised the conduct of the government during a period of crisis last year; where the government locked shut the Supreme Court questioning its legitimacy on conclusion of the interim period. The report was also critical of the JSC’s decision-making, which was perceived as being inappropriately politically influenced.

Sawad said that he welcomed the observations by the ICJ in regards to recommendations for improving efficiency in the JSC and judicial administration, but added that ultimately, all stakeholders working within the Maldivian court system were under pressure to step up accountability.

“I think there is a lot to be done by the JSC in terms of enhancing the standard of the judiciary,” the attorney general told Minivan News.  “I think there is a need to inwardly look into the judiciary and all agencies related to it. That is the judicial administration, the judicial council, the JSC, the Attorney General’s Office, the Supreme Court and the High Court – it’s time they work together in bringing about perceived standards required of the judiciary in the constitution.”

Sawad said that he believed that as a judicial watchdog, the JSC had at times tended to act defensively instead of self-critically, particularly when reviewing the constitutional role it was assigned within the constitution to appoint judges and protect independence in the judiciary.

In order to try and ensure it was able to meet these roles efficiently, the attorney general suggested that it may be appropriate to have the Majlis consider reviewing the role of the JSC during the last year and a half to determine if it was functional.

However, Sawad claimed that no single entity alone should shoulder the blame in terms of perceived issues with independence in the judiciary.  He added that during a seven year period allotted for education and improvement under the Judges Act, education was a key to ensuring effective changes and developments in ensuring confidence within the legal system.

“When I look at the crucial actors in this, I feel the JSC has a crucial role to play.  I feel the judicial administration have a crucial role to play and I feel there is a missing link in the form of a judicial training academy,” he said.  “We cannot burden the Supreme Court or the High Court of with continuously setting the standards of measure for the rest of the judiciary day-on-day.”

Ultimately, Sawad said that as one of three distinct branches of the state along with the government and the Majlis, the judiciary was required to meet the same levels of accountability as part of its independence – making the role of the JSC essential.

“What we have [under the constitution] is an accountable government and an independent judiciary,” he said. “But independence is a perception made by the people who are the beneficiaries – in this case the public.  If the people do not perceive that level of independence then there is a problem.”

Sawad stressed that the perception of independent courts within the country were especially important in defining the difference between the judiciary before and after 2008, when the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) came to power on the promise of trying to bring more political accountability.

“Pre-2008, people knew that the judiciary was part of the executive,” he said.  “Post-2008, the people need to know the judiciary is independent.”

Government criticism

Along with concerns over the impartiality of the judicial system in the Maldives, the ICJ was also critical of the handling by the government of what it called a “constitutional crisis” last year over the legitimacy of the courts and the arrest of some prominent opposition figures.

In addressing these concerns and whether the actions of the government were a setback to the democratic mandate it promised, Dr Sawad said it was unacceptable under the constitution for any branch of the state to have jurisdiction over another, whether in the case of the executive over the judiciary, or the Majlis over the executive.

The attorney general claimed that ultimately, a “culture of respect” needed to be created by different branches of the state and government that would allow these different groups to work under the mandates they were assigned.

“That is a constitutional convention that needs to be dealt with. We haven’t had that in the past,” he said.  “It’s just over two years since 2008.  Now a convention takes a little more than two years, but it must nevertheless be started.  The commencement of that respect agenda, that’s what needs to happen.”

Sawad said that he was generally encouraged by findings in the report, which he suggested were “timely” in light of political tensions across the nation, though may have been better served if it had been released a year earlier to grant more room for maneuver (prior to the end of the interim period).

However, the attorney general claimed to be cautiously optimistic that the report would provide guidance to “tweak” the problems that had been experienced in trying to establish courts independent of political and commercial manipulation.

“When you look back at what has happened, it has been a tumultuous two years where the three branches of the state have been morphing into their own jurisdiction perimeters – there have been teething issues, but I think two years is long enough to learn respect,” he said.  “I am more optimistic about the future, I think we have a permanent judiciary now and the role of the judiciary is very clear.”

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Interpol Chief visits Maldives

Head of the International Police Organisation Interpol has arrived in the Maldives to visit the organisation’s bureau at the Maldives Police Service, Haveeru reports.

Police said Khoo Boon Hui, a Singaporean national, is holding discussions with local authorities to expand the bureau’s functions.

Hui has been President of Interpol since 2008.

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UN Security Council meets as Gaddafi vows “to die a martyr”

Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi has vowed on national television that he will not step down from the country’s leadership, and was ready “to die a martyr.”

Speaking in the third person, Gaddafi said “I am not going to leave this land. I shall remain, defiant. Muammar is leader of the revolution until the end of time.”

The leader of the 42 year-old autocracy has reportedly used African mercenaries, snipers and even anti-aircraft missiles to target increasingly fractious demonstrators, with reports of 200-300 killed.

Referring to his green copy of the Libyan penal code, Gaddafi stated that anyone Libyan who “uses weapons against Libya will be sentenced to death.”

The public speech, he said, was intended to refute earlier reports in the international media that he had escaped to Venezuela.

A New York Times journalist in the country reported that much of the east appeared to now be under opposition control. Many of the protesters were armed, she observed.

The UN Security Council has meanwhile called for Gaddafi to cease his campaign of violence against his own people, deploring “the repression of peaceful demonstrators.”

Libya’s Deputy Ambassador to the UN, Ibrahim al-Dabashi, defected from Gaddafi’s regime and confirmed that the east of the country was no longer under government control. He said he had received reports of “genocide” occurring in the country’s west.

The UN Security Council’s message to Gaddafi was “not strong enough. But any message to the Libyan government at this stage is good,” he said.

As well as losing the UN delegation, Gaddafi has lost at least one military battalion and two air force colonels, who flew to Malta in their jets and requested asylum after refusing to bomb protesters.

The Maldives has meanwhile joined Jordan and Qatar among Muslim nations called for an emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council, on which Libya also sits.

Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed called on the international community to “strengthen measures to realise the aspirations of the Libyan people to fundamental rights and freedoms.”

“The right not to be tortured, the freedom to speak your mind, the ability to choose your own government… these liberties are not the preserve of Western nations but universal values to which everyone aspires,” Nasheed said. “These are the forces that are being played out on the streets of Libya and other countries of the Middle East.”

Established democracies had a responsibility to assist those who aspired to democracy and basic freedoms, he said.

Retired British MP Robert Key, who is currently visiting the Maldives for the first time since taking its case for democracy to the British parliament, said earlier this week that the Maldives had led “blazed a trail in promoting democracy and empowerment of the citizen, with all the difficulties that presents”, and could “hold its head high”.

“There will be leaders in North Africa who will be wishing they had listened to the Maldives, had done what the Maldives chose to do in 2008,” he said.

Oil prices spiked to US$106 a barrel on the back of ongoing unrest in the region.

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