Month: February 2011

Male’ will not survive without resolving housing, congestion and fuel challenges: President Nasheed

President Mohamed Nasheed has said that Male’ “will not survive without some solution to its housing, some solution to its congestion, some solution to the amount of oil that we are importing everyday.”

Nasheed was speaking at a press conference yesterday to launch the second phase of the Gulhi Falhu development project, attended by the Danish Ambassador Freddy Svane.

The first street of the US$600 million Gulhi Falhu development project, intended to reduce the congestion of Male’, will be called Copenhagen Avenue.

The project involves the reclamation of 40 hectares of land on which will be constructed 2500 housing units. The new landmass will be connected by bridge to Villingili on completion of the second stage of the project and eventually, Nasheed said, joined to Male’ via a bridge from the tsunami monument to Vilingili.

“We have one long stretch of road that starts from the tsunami monument in Male’, and ends at Thilafalhu, which is right next to Giraavaru, which is very far away,” he said. This road would be called Copenhagen Avenue, in recognition of the support of the Danish government.

The houses built by the project’s Global Projects Development Company will be constructed in an environmentally-friendly manner, in partnership with US company Red Dot. Red Dot will construct a solar park which will provide electricity to the new residential and industrial districts.

Nasheed also said that a campus for the recently inaugrated Maldives National University would also be constructed on Gulhi Falhu.

“[Gulhi Falhu] is our showpiece development, our showpiece community and we are quite confident that we will be able to use the land by, hopefully end of next year or early 2013,” President Nasheed said.

Development, the President added, was not measured in concrete.

“During the last two months, I have visited more than 130 islands and very often I am given a shopping list. ‘President; we need a harbor, we need a sewerage system.’

“They [say they] need a water system and they also like a lot of concrete. I have been consistently trying to tell everyone that development is not measured in concrete. It is measure by what we know and what we understand. It’s a phenomenon that happens to a person, not to a country. If we want to develop, we will have to develop our minds. We will have to broaden our minds. We will have to be able to think outside the box, find solutions and fix problems.”

Projects such as Gulhi Falhu would not save the world, Nasheed said, “but we like to think that if we can become an example, the rest of the world can have a look at it and people can actually see and understand that it is working. So in very many senses, this whole project is a green project, and at the centre of it is a green park.”

Nasheed thanked the Danish government for its support of the undertaking.

“If all goes wrong in the Maldives, of course it is an issue for the Danes,” Nasheed said. “All of us are interconnected. If things go wrong in Denmark it’s going to have huge effects and impacts on us. We must be able to look after each other. That doesn’t mean that we should be asking for aid and grants. No, we are asking, seeking for trade. This is a very good example of trade collaborations and also a very good example of how a friendly country can actually back a flourishing or a democracy that is in the process of making.

Danish Ambassador Svane expressed gratitude for Nasheed’s “tremendous job” in Copenhagen at the COP15 summit, saying that the Maldives was setting a benchmark for global efforts to fight climate change.

However he also agreed that development was as much a state of mind as it was physical infrastructure.

“We can build up all these fancy buildings, towers and so forth, but we need to change the mindset of people,” he said, adding that President Nasheed had played an important role in changing the mindset of many people all over the world.

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MNBC managing director resigns

Managing Director of Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) Ibrahim Khaleel has resigned, reports Haveeru this morning, after sending his resignation letter to President Mohamed Nasheed.

Haveeru reported “reliable sources” as claiming that Khaleel was to take over as CEO of the country’s second largest telecoms firm, Wataniya.

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EC condemns remarks made by Dr Munawar after formation of new party fails

The Elections Commission (EC) of the Maldives has strongly condemned remarks made by Former Attorney General Dr Mohamed Munawar, after the commission said not enough people had attended the formation of his ‘Reform Movement’ party for it to be registered.

The dispute between the Elections Commission and Dr Munawar occurred after commission members appeared at a meeting held at Villa College by Dr Munawar to establish his new political party.

The formative meeting of the party required the attendance of a minimum of 300 members in order to meet the regulatory requirements for the establishment of a political party. Dr Munavar said canceled the meeting and the new party was not formed.

The Elections Commission said in a statement that ”although Dr Munavar claimed that the meeting to form his party had to be canceled when the commission members attended the meeting, the meeting must be attended by a minimum of 300 person according to Political Party Regulations 2005, 8[c]. The number of people who attended the meeting was less than 140.”

The Commission said that the meeting began the with the Quran recitation after it was announced that the legally-mandated number of people were present. But while the meeting was ongoing it was called off by Dr Munavar himself, saying that the legal number of members were not present.

”It is a responsibility of the Elections Commission to ensure that at least 300 members attend a meeting before a political party is recognised,” the Elections Commission said.

Dr Munavar later criticised the Commission’s conduct of the recent local council elections, telling VTV that the elections were held against the constitution.

The Commission said that Dr Munavar’s remarks were intended disregard the commission and smear its respect and dignity.

Dr Munavar was a former president of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) prior to his resignation. He has been absent from politics until recently.

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Maldivian courts failing to serve the public impartially: ICJ report

The Maldives legal system is failing to serve its citizens despite many “positive developments” that have been made in an effort to depoliticise the courts; with many of judges found lacking in qualifications and independent attitude, according to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ).

“How often do ordinary Maldivians look to the courts for justice? Is there a sense that ‘We [Maldivians] have an independent judiciary that is capable of resolving problems?’ I think the answer is no,” surmised Roger Normand, Director of the ICJ’s Asia Pacific operations.

“Historically, [independent resolution] has not been the role of judges. Judges were an outcome or a product of the executive power. This is not a controversial statement, this is an outline of what their legal role was in the previous [government],” Normand stated.

Normand’s claims were made as the ICJ published a report on the Maldives legal system that outlining a huge number of challenges to ensure the country’s courts are in the long-term transparent in their decision making. It is hoped that the developments can remove the opportunities for abuse from government and opposition politicians alike, the ICJ stated.

The report itself is highly critical of both the role of some members of government in calling for protests and gatherings outside judges’ homes, as well as the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) that it said was “unable to carry out its functions” to impartially vet and reappoint judges on the basis of qualification and background.

“To date, JSC decision-making has been perceived as being inappropriately influenced by a polarised political environment,” the report stated. “Also troubling is that members of the judiciary have been subject to threats and intimidation as well as improper inducements by both governing and opposition party members.”

The ICJ said the report, entitled ‘Securing an Independent Judiciary in a Time of Transition’, had raised particular concerns over the “constitutional crisis” that occurred last year concerning the legitimacy of the courts and judges and the conduct of the government of President Mohamed Nasheed in addressing this.

Despite these concerns, Normand claimed that while there were “significant” problems with judiciary in the Maldives, and that the structure of a watchdog body such as the JSC needed much work needed to resolve, he was encouraged that there appeared to be a political mandate to bring changes to the legal system. However, the ICJ Asia Pacific director stressed that a non-independent judiciary could not simply change directly to an independent body.

“To have a sudden change, where suddenly judges are independent – this can’t just be signed on a piece of paper or constitution, it’s an attitude and a practice,” he said. “I think it’s safe to say we don’t have those attitudes and practices in the Maldives, but I also think the size of the developments are very positive.”

According to Normand and the ICJ, part of the challenge in trying to provide an independent judiciary is to ensure public support and acceptance of the country’s legal institutions and their verdicts, which in itself was linked to transparency within the decisions of bodies like the JSC.

“Judicial accountability is key to cultivating such public confidence and is an integral aspect of judicial independence,” the report stated. “Accountability must be manifest both at institutional level, in terms of court administration and access to justice, and at the individual level. This enables judges to decide cases without fear or favour and that they strictly apply the law to the facts before them.”

Recommendations

The report recommends a number of areas, such as education and training programmes for court appointees, bringing foreign experts to assist long-term, and advise on developments that it believes the Supreme Court could adopt to boost its own accountability.

In areas such as education, the ICJ said that seven-year periods outlined under the national Judges Act was used more effectively to enhance the qualifications of judges as well as ensure that a code of ethics was introduced in line with international agreements such as the Bangalore Principles on Judicial Conduct.

In addition, the ICJ claimed that steps could also be taken to ensure the Department of Judicial Administration was used to try to provide smoother administration of justice,such as requiring all levels of court to issue written reasons for its actions and establishing a judicial database so the court and public could refer to similar case law and precedents.

Normand stressed that the Maldives was relatively unique in that its courts would turn to Sharia law where Maldivian legislation didn’t apply, but that it was not alone in such experiences.

“We would recommend [collaboration with] countries that have experience of working both with common law – using previous legal cases to set precedent – and Sharia law, Pakistan is one example, Malaysia is another,” said Normand. “There are other countries where the issues the Maldives faces have been looked at before. It’s not the first time so you need to take advantage of this.”

The ICJ also recommended steps it hoped the JSC would take to act with greater transparency after coming under criticism and allegations of possible corruption.

Beyond adopting regulations and procedures to create greater accountability into the JSC’s decision making by recording detailed minutes of its meetings, a technical secretariat could also be established by a neutral party that could limit the workload to allow the organisation to work to its constitutional requirements.

The ICJ added that these developments needed to be backed by using international experts to help oversee work, and also ensure the high “moral integrity” of judges in relation to their criminal records that is also outlined under various international treaties and agreements.

The report also outlined recommendations for the country’s parliament and government to adhere to in their conduct in relation to the courts such as launching public awareness campaigns in relations to the requirements under the constitution of various legal institutions. The government was also called on to provide funding and strengthen the faculty of law and Sharia in the country, and the Majlis were called upon to pass vital laws such as the Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code to allow swifter and more impartial delivery of justice.

The organisation also called for reform of the JSC in relation to concerns the report and others have raised over issues of transparency.

“As a principle, the JSC must become more transparent and effective in processing the complaints by the public about judges,” added Normand.  “In fact, it is important for the judges themselves that the institution of the judiciary has the confidence of the public – that you’re qualified, that you’re not a criminal – it’s important for everyone.”

Taking the example of other nations such as Indonesia that are claimed to witnessed huge problems with trying to establish an independent and efficient judicial service, Normand claimed there were positive examples of countries like the Maldives that had seen vast improvements in the impartiality of its courts.

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One in seven Maldivian secondary students have been sexually abused, finds 2009 report

Almost one in seven children of secondary school age in the Maldives have been sexually abused at some time in their lives, according to an unpublished 2009 study on violence against children.

Rates of sexual abuse for girls are almost twice as high than for boys at 20 percent – one in five girls have been sexually abused – while the figure for boys was 11 percent. Girls are particularly at risk in the capital Male’, the report found.

The National Study of Violence Against Children, produced by UNICEF and the Ministry of Gender and Family and conducted by global research firm TNS, was heavily cited at last week’s Conference on Child Protection held at Bandos.

The stud – currently unofficial – is the first large-scale national study on the issue of physical and emotional punishment against children in the Maldives, interviewing almost 17,035 people in 2500 households as well as 2000 children in schools.

The study found that 47 percent of Maldivian children under the age of 18 have undergone physical or emotional punishment at home, school or in the community.

“The use of emotional punishment is considerably wide-spread and is also supported by the
parents’ beliefs that this is an effective way of teaching children the proper behaviour,” the report found.

Boys were more susceptible to physical punishment while large numbers of girls at secondary school level reported emotional punishment. Eight percent of school students, mostly boys, reported physical punishment from their school teachers.

Physical violence was more common among students attending secondary school in the atolls, with one in four reporting they had been hit by adults or other children during the past year. The figure for Male’ was 14 percent.

30 percent of children at secondary school reported being hit by at least one of their caregivers, while 21 percent said at object had had been used to do this.

A quarter of all carefivers said they believed that physical punishment had a positive effect on the rearing of children..

Furthermore, “children who suffer from a handicap – however light – have experienced
significantly more emotional punishment than children without such handicaps,” the report said.

The study also revealed a lingering distrust of authorities and their ability to deal with issues relating to physical or sexual abuse of children.

“When aware of a case of abuse in the community, the majority [of respondents] chose to not
inform the authorities, not [to] cause any trouble and/or due to limited belief in the efficiency of
the system.”

The report identified that despite high awareness of the issue, the cultural background of the Maldivia society “does not particularly prohibit emotional or physical punishment of children.” Efforts to increase the level of discussion were “hampered by the notion that such events should be solved in the home and not discussed publicly.”

Resolution of cases within the legal system was a particular change for the Maldives, especially cases involving child sexual abuse.

“The victim itself might turn out to be made liable for such an event and might be subjected itself to penal proceedings if the perpetrator does not plead guilty or four witnesses for the prosecution cannot be found,” the report noted.

It urged the education of caregivers as to the negative impact of violence against children, and highlighted particular discrepencies in the education system.

“Over 30 percent of teachers in the Maldives are untrained because 80 percent of staff training costs are transport related. In a country where 70 percent of the population lives on islands far from the capital, and where transport among islands can be prohibitively expensive, many children are at the risk of being invisible,” the report warned.

The report also produced some interesting demographic findings about the structure of the Maldivian families. In 24 percent of cases, a child’s male caregiver is not their biological father – in seven percent of cases, this role is performed by an older brother, and only rarely (two percent) by a stepfather or uncle. 87 percent of children have their biological mother as a caregiver.

A quarter of all children reported health difficulties. The majority of these concerned problems seeing, and to a lesser extent, “walking or climbing stairs”.

Domestically, arguments between children and their caregivers in the home revolve around fairly universal themes: watching TV (10 percent), household chores (10 percent), homework (12 percent), and staying up late (seven percent).

The main source of domestic arguments for girls were household chores (15 percent) – the second highest source of friction for boys was hairstyle (12 percent).

The 24 hour toll-free Maldives Child Helpline is available on 1412.

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New councilors to take oath of office on Saturday

Councilors who have won seats on newly formed island and atoll councils are scheduled to take their oath of office on the morning of Saturday February 26, the Home Ministry has announced.

The ministry said that the oath-taking ceremonies will be held in all areas where the Elections Commission have announced the official results.

”The Island Councils will hold the ceremony in their respective islands and atolls, and councilors will take the oath in the capital island of each respective atoll,” said the Home Ministry.

Councilors of Male’ City will take the oath in Male’ and Addu City councilors will take the oath in Hithadhu, the Home Ministry added.

The Ceremony will commence at 9:00am in the morning and the Home Ministry has invited citizens to attend Saturday’s ceremonies “in the spirit of national unity.”

Meanwhile, the elections commission has announced the official results of almost all divisions except for the Council of Kela in Haa Alifu Atoll and other division where candidates got equal votes.

Following the election on February 5, the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) won a clear seat majority while the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) won control of the major population centres. The MDP calculated that the popular vote was 44 percent – 40 percent in its favour, but the EC has not confirmed this figure. Full breakdowns of the available results are available on the Elections Commission website.

Kela results were delayed according a High Court order after complaints were filed regarding the elections procedures.

Candidates uneducated

Islanders in at least one division have expressed concern that most of the elected councilors were not capable of handling such positions of responsibility.

One islander from the central region of the Maldives told Minivan News that on his island, only two of the five elected councilors have finished their GCE O’Levels.

”Because they ran as candidates for the seats under different parties, supporters of those parties have voted for them for the sake of promoting their party,” he said. ”Votes were not made with consideration for how educated the candidate is, or how capable the person, just by what political party he belongs to.”

He noted that the councilors will therefore follow the orders of their parties regardless of whether they were beneficial or harmful to their own island.

”For instance, if a foreign party were interested in developing our island, there is no way some councils could deal with it because they don’t even understand English very well,” he said. ”It would be the islanders who will have to suffer, I don’t think people really considered [candidates’] educational background or their capability.”

Recently Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali told Minivan News many successful candidates in the local council election remained unaware of their new responsibilities, or even of the mandate of a local council.

“It is a fact that candidates from many parties including ours may not be clear on their responsibilities and mandates,” he told Minivan News.

All the councilors will take over the the administration of their respective island and atoll offices following the oath Saturday.

The new structure of island and atoll councils is meanwhile expected to cost the Maldivian state an extra Rf 173 million (US$13.5 million) a year, a figure that has raised concerns among international financial donors such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The President of every island council will receive a salary and allowance of Rf 15,000 (US$1160), council members Rf 11,000 (US$850). The mayor of Male’ will receive Rf 45,000 (US$3500).

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Letter in response to Lale teacher story

Dear Sir,

With reference to the news article published on Minivan News with headline ‘Lale English Teacher Resorted to Begging, Sleeping in Fish Market’ I would like to issue the following clarifications to the case on behalf of the school.

1. An Australian citizen named Mr John S Campbell has served Lale as an English teacher on a contract basis.

2. Mr John S Campbell was NOT an employee of the School when he allegedly begged or slept in the fish market. His contract with the school ended on November 16, 2010. The school issued him a return ticket to Australia on October 20, 2010 and he left the Maldives on December 2, 2010. The Labour Ministry cancelled his employment approval for the School as he left the Maldives on December 2, 2010. The school paid him salary for every single month during his contract period, which was shared to Authorities upon request. Although his contract ended on 16th November 2010, the school paid him a full salary for November.

3. Mr. John S Campbell was claiming for December 2010 salary, which the school refused to give because his contract was over by November 16, 2010 and there was no new contract with him. No institution will pay as per the demands of people based on ‘Nothing’. Furthermore the school has noticed his habit of making baseless claims for money, like demanding 1 million USD from school for an injury; like demanding 50,000 USD from Bank of Maldives for not opening his bank account on time.

4. Mr John S Campbell took the matter to the Labour Ministry before he left the Maldives on December 2, 2010 and the Labour Ministry explained to him what his rights were and what the school should be giving him.

5. The school was in contact with the Labour Ministry, Australian Embassy, Immigration and Maldives Police Service regarding the case.

6. Authorities did not find any failings on the part of the school.

7. Mr John S Campbell did NOT inform the school at all about his return to the Maldives and was in the country for his own reasons and nothing to do with the school. When he returned to the Maldives he was no longer an employee of the school.

Furthermore we are very disappointed with the irresponsible journalism practiced by the author. This news article lacks any investigation, any comment from relevant government authorities which worked on the case and any comment from the school. In the past this author has accused the school and its management with various allegations without any proof, and has targeted the school regularly for reasons which Maldivian general public does not realize. We urge the editor to take concrete steps to make sure that information is verified before it is published.

Thank you.

Yours Sincerely,

Mr Mehmet Akif
Principal

All letters are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write a letter, please submit it to [email protected]

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Minor arrested for allegedly brewing alcohol

A 17 year-old boy has been arrested on the island of Hithadhu in Laamu Atoll for allegedly brewing alcohol.

Police Sergent Abdul Muhusin told Minivan News that the minor had been now released after being questioned about the alleged incident.

”Police were informed that a group were brewing alcohol in a place, but when police officers attended the area nobody was  there,” he said. “However materials that were supposedly used to ferment alcohol were discovered in the area,”

Staff at the island office told Minivan News that it was the first case of brewing alcohol that was reported to have occurred in the island.

”I heard that some substances were added to an empty bottle and cooked,” he said. ”They did it in the forest in an area that is half a mile away from an area where people live.”

He said that group of islanders knew about the incident and reported it to police.

”They have a list of persons that are allegedly involved in brewing the alcohol – most of them minors,” he said.

Recently, police have reported a number of similar incidents where persons were arrested on suspicion that they were brewing alcohol.

Last December, police arrested two brothers in Gan of Laamu Atoll on suspicion that they were allegedly brewing alcohol inside a kitchen.

Materials that can be used to brew alcohol were discovered inside the kitchen, police claimed at the time.

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Immigration Controller to exchange roles with National Disaster Management chief

Immigration Controller Ilyas Hussein Ibrahim is to trade roles with head of the National Disaster Management Centre Abdulla Shahid, also Minister of State for Housing and Environment.
Minivan News understands that the official letters of appointment have not yet been delivered but are awaiting the President’s signature, after news of the decision was leaked.

Ilyas told Minivan News that the Haveeru report was the first he had heard of the proposal: “No one’s shared it with me yet,” he said.

The move may have a political dimension, as Ilyas is one of the few remaining members of the Vice President’s Gaumee Itthihaad Party (GIP) in government, which was dropped as a coalition partner by the ruling Maldivian Democractic Party (MDP) last year after Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan publicly criticised the government for sidelining him.
The supposed reshuffle also comes a month after President Mohamed Nasheed called on the Immigration Department to postpone the roll-out of the Nexbis electronic border control system for the Maldives in accordance with concerns by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over the project’s selection process.

The President’s Office previously confirmed to Minivan News that Nasheed has requested that the Department of Immigration and Emigration adhere to the ACC’s guidance until it rules over the next step for the project, with no appeal expected to be heard on the current decision.

Nexbis has meanwhile said it will be taking legal action against parties in the Maldives, claiming that speculation over corruption was “politically motivated” in nature and had “wrought irreparable damage to Nexbis’ reputation and brand name.”

The project is intended to curb illegal immigration by tying biometric data to an individual at point of entry, thus reducing the reliance on potentially forged paper documentation. Labour trafficking in the Maldives is thought to be worth at least US$42 million a year and up to US$200 million, according to the former Bangladeshi High Commissioner.

Both positions – Immigration Controller and head of the National Disaster Management Centre – share the same rank.

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