Day: March 21, 2011

Gasim and PA conspired to send two DRP MPs abroad, alleges MP Ali Azim

Ali Azim, Mid-Henveiru MP for the main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), has alleged that business tycoon and Maamigili MP Gasim Ibrahim along with DRP’s coalition partner People’s Alliance (PA) conspired to send two DRP MPs abroad ahead of today’s vote on ministerial appointees.

Azim told newspaper Haveeru that the two additional votes would have sufficed to reject Home Minister Hassan Afeef and Transport Minister Adhil Saleem.

The two MPs in question are Ilham Ahmed of the DRP’s Gayoom faction and Velidhoo MP Ali Mohamed.

Azim claimed that DRP’s efforts to bring back the two MPs in time for the vote were unsuccessful.

“Ilham is definitely a member of Zaeem [Maumoon’s] faction,” he said. “It is regrettable that Ilham was not present for a vote on a person that has directly targeted the Zaeem on many occasions. We hope the Zaeem will condemn this.”

In 2009, Home Minister Hassan Afeef, former parliamentary group leader of the now-ruling Maldivian Democratic Party, was found guilty of defaming the former President by claiming that Gayoom had embezzled US$80 million from tsunami relief aid.

PA Deputy Leader Ahmed Nazim denied the DRP’s accusations, claiming that it was DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali that sent away the Velidhoo MP as agreed upon in an alleged secret meeting with President Mohamed Nasheed over the weekend.

DRP Deputy Leader Ilham meanwhile explained that he was in Sri Lanka accompanying his seriously ill six-year old who remains in critical condition at the ICU, adding that he was counselled by former President Gayoom as well as Gasim Ibahim to remain with his family.

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Villigili ballot box recount reveals 49 votes invalidated erroneously

A recount by the Elections Commission (EC) of one ballot box in Gaaf Alif Villigili as ordered by the High Court last week has revealed that 49 votes were erroneously invalidated, reports SunFM.

The case was filed at the High Court by island council candidate Anbaree Anwar Moosa, who was placed eighth with two votes short. Seven councillors were elected to the Villigili island council.

However, Anwar Moosa did not receive any votes from the validated 49 votes.

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Etihad Airways to launch daily flights Male’-Abu Dhabi

Etihad Airways has said it will launch daily return flights between Male’ and Abu Dhabi from November 1, using Airbus A320 aircraft.

The airline’s Chief Executive Officer James Hogan said that strong visitor numbers in the premium resort destination had prompted the airline to introduce the new route, subject to government approval, to coincide with the start of the busy European winter season.

“We expect the services will appeal to UAE leisure travellers, as well as customers from our major European markets, particularly with the strong connectivity options on offer and following the additional frequencies that will come online on a number of our key European routes this summer,” he said.

Overnight flights in both directions would allow travellers an extra day in the Maldives, he said.

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Singapore High Commissioner visits Nasheed

High Commissioner of Singapore to the Maldives Dr Chua Yong Hai has visited President Mohamed Nasheed and discussed further cooperation between the two countries.

President Nasheed said that Singapore was an important development partner to the Maldives, and that Maldivians “see Singapore as an exemplary state in all aspects.”

The pair discussed the 20 Singaporean students visiting the Maldives under a student exchange programme run by Singapore.

In a statement, the President’s Office noted that these visits “serve to further strengthen the bond between the peoples of both countries and broaden the worldview of students.”

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President appoints new Attorney General and Foreign Minister

President Mohamed Nasheed has moments ago appointed State Minister Ahmed Naseem, H. Hikifinifenmaage, as Foreign Minister, and Solicitor General Abdulla Muizz, Ma. Dawn Shine, as Attorney General.

The appointments come hours after parliament approved four out of five ministerial appointees, leaving the post of Attorney General vacant.

Housing Minister Mohamed Aslam had been acting Foreign Minister after parliament rejected the reappointment of former Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed in November.

The pair were sworn in by High Court Judge Yousuf Hussein. After presenting letters of appointment, President Nasheed expressed confidence that the newest additions to the cabinet would receive parliamentary consent.

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Maldivian arrested in Hong Kong for murder of 64 year-old retired missionary

A 29 year-old Maldivian man identified as ‘Fareed’ has been arrested in Hong Kong for the alleged murder of a 64 year-old British woman.

The Hong Kong Standard reported that police discovered the body of Janet Gilson inside a sofa in a flat belonging to her niece, Julia Fareed, the estranged wife of the murder suspect.

The Standard reported that the suspect had a history of violence and had been banned from approaching his ex-wife following their divorce.

The South China Post reported that the couple met while she was working in the Maldives.

The suspect was arrested by police on Hong Kong pier after finding Gilson’s body during a second search of the flat after she went missing on March 15, 10 days after arriving in Hong Kong. The body was reported to have severe head injuries.

Local media in the UK reported that Gilson was a long-serving Major in the British branch of the Salvation Army, an international Christian institution with a quasi-military structure known for its charitable work and rehabilitation of alcoholics and drug addicts, and had worked for 40 years as a Christian missionary.

“She had stopped the missionary work but she was still active and in a very high position [in the Salvation Army],” Gilson’s neighbour in her home of Leigh-on-Sea told local media.

Gilson’s niece, who reportedly has a three year-old daughter, told the UK press that her murdered aunt “was like a second mother to me”.

The Maldives Foreign Ministry confirmed it had received information regarding the incident, and that the country’s embassy in Beijing was looking into the matter. No motive for the killing had been identified, the Ministry said.

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President appoints ministers after parliament approves four out of five ministerial appointees

President Mohamed Nasheed has appointed State Minister Ahmed Naseem as Foreign Minister and Solicitor General Abdulla Muizz as Attorney General hours after parliament approved four out of five ministerial appointees.

Housing Minister Mohamed Aslam had been acting Foreign Minister after parliament rejected the reappointment of former Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed in November.

The new Ministers were sworn in by High Court Judge Yousuf Hussein. After presenting letters of appointment, Nasheed expressed confidence that the newest additions to the cabinet would receive parliamentary consent.

Earlier in the day, parliament approved four out of five ministerial appointees, rejecting the reappointment of Attorney General Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad for a second time.

Dr Sawad received 36 votes in favour and 37 against from the 73 MPs in attendance.

Home Minister Hassan Afeef and Transport Minister Adhil Saleem were narrowly approved in spite of the fractured main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) declaring that it would impose a three-line whip to reject the two nominees.

Afeef and Saleem were approved after a few independent MPs along with Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) MP Riyaz Rasheed and Republican Party MP Gasim Ibrahim sided with the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – Saleem was approved with 39 votes in favour while Afeef received 37 votes from the 73 MPs present and voting.

Briefing press after yesterday’s DRP parliamentary group meeting, Majority Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali noted that Sawad had already been rejected once while Afeef “acted outside the law” during the transfer of powers to the newly elected local councils.

Thasmeen however announced that the party would give consent to Education Minister Shifa Mohamed and Tourism Minister Dr Mariyam Zulfa.

Shifa was approved with 66 votes in favour and six against while Dr Zulfa received 71 votes in favour and none against.

“Secret meeting”

Addressing accusations from the opposing DRP faction that Thasmeen secretly met President Nasheed over the weekend at Raa Atoll, the DRP Leader asserted that he was ready to meet the President at any time.

“Even if [the President] calls and asks for a meeting at [Raa Atoll] Alimatha tonight, I will go because he is the President of the Maldives,” Thasmeen told reporters outside parliament yesterday, attributing the allegations of collusion with the ruling party to an internal campaign to discredit his leadership.

“In truth, they are talking about this because they don’t have any other way to responsibly carry out political activities,” he claimed.

However, asked if the alleged meeting took place, Thasmeen replied “thank you very much” and walked away.

In November 2010, parliament rejected seven ministers reappointed by President Nasheed after the entire cabinet resigned in protest of alleged obstruction and vote-buying in the legislature.

President Nasheed appointed then-Political Advisor Hassan Afeef as Home Minister in December, replacing Mohamed Shihab, who was appointed Advisor on Political Affairs.

Shifa Mohamed was meanwhile promoted from Deputy Minister of Education to Minister in place of Dr Musthafa Luthfy, recently appointed Chancellor of the Maldives National University.

Both Afeef and Shifa were appointed on December 11 while AG Sawad was reappointed two days later.

Transport Minister Adil Saleem and Tourism Minister Dr Mariyam Zulfa took their oaths of office on November 7, 2010.

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EC slates Kelaa re-vote for April 9

The Elections Commission (EC) has announced that a local council by-election in Haa Alif Kelaa will take place on April 9 after the High Court declared the previous results invalid and ordered a re-vote.

The High Court ruled that the ballots were counted in a nearby island in violation of the Elections Act following disturbances in Kelaa on February 5.

The polling station in Kelaa was closed 15 minutes from time by EC officials who declared that people who left the queue would not be allowed to vote, angering many islanders and sparking confrontations.

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MDP MP withdraws controversial death penalty amendment moments before vote

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Rasheed has withdrawn his amendment to the Clemency Act at the last minute, hours before a vote to send the bill to committee. The controversial amendment would have required implementing agencies to execute murderers if the Supreme Court upheld a guilty verdict.

After the preliminary debate over the past three sittings, MP Rasheed was given the opportunity to say his last words on the amendment, which he used as an opportunity to withdraw the bill.

Presenting the bill to the parliament earlier this month, the Hoarafushi MP explained that he was prompted by the recent increase in assaults and murder cases, which had “forced the living to live amid fear and threats.”

In 2008, said Rasheed, 104 cases of assault were sent to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO), rising to 454 cases in 2009 and 423 cases in 2010.

”In Quran, Sural Al Baqarah verse 178, God says: ‘O ye who believe! the law of equality is prescribed to you in cases of murder: the free for the free, the slave for the slave, the woman for the woman. But if any remission is made by the brother of the slain, then grant any reasonable demand, and compensate him with handsome gratitude, this is a concession and a Mercy from your Lord. After this whoever exceeds the limits shall be in grave penalty’,” he then said. ”During broad day light in this very city of Male’ people have been chopped, sliced and crushed using axes, machetes – just like fish are chopped.”

While he did not specify reasons for his decision to withdraw the amendment, Rasheed claimed that he would resubmit the amendment once belated bills on evidence laws, criminal justice procedures and the penal code were enacted. Criticism of the amendment had centered around the capacity of the Maldivian justice system to rule fairly and impartially in such cases.

Unlike most parliamentary debates, MPs were not divided on the issue of death penalty along party lines. Several MPs of the ruling MDP as well as some opposition MPs argued that the fledgling Maldivian judiciary did not have the capacity or public confidence to dispense justice fairly.

The decision comes after 21 year-old Ahusan Basheer was murdered on the streets of Male’ during a gang attack on Thursday night.

The last person to be executed by Maldivian state was Hakim Didi in 1953 for the crime of practicing black magic.

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