April 6, 2011 – Minivan News

Updated: Saturn Watch back by popular demand

The Maldives Association for the Advancement of Science (MAAS) and Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) will hold a second viewing of Saturn on Thursday April 7 from 8pm onwards near the old stage east of the volleyball court nearby the Artificial Beach.

The first ‘Beauty Without Borders – Saturn Watch’ was held on Saturday, 2nd April 2011 as a start-off celebration for the Global Astronomy Month 2011 (GAM2011), MAAS said in a statement.

“Inspired by the night sky and its power to intrigue and bring people together, GAM2011 is an initiative of Astronomers Without Borders that brings new ideas, new opportunities and enthusiasts together worldwide to celebrate ‘One People, One Sky’,” MAAS said.

To celebrate this event of unity and curiosity in the Maldives, MAAS will be hosting a number of events during the month of April. The Saturn Watch rerun will be held on Thursday, April 7 from 8:00pm onwards at the old stage area east of the beach volley court near the artificial beach.

“Similar to the previous event, the public will have the opportunity to take a closer look at the ringed beauty through a telescope. During the event MAAS will give presentations about the planet Saturn and its moons,” said Ahid Rasheed, founder member of MAAS and AWB National Coordinator for Maldives.

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Thief banished for 27 years serving as DRP Maafaru councillor

A group of Shaviyani Maafaru islanders have lodged complaints at the Elections Commission (EC) and the Supreme Court claiming that an opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) candidate elected to island council had been sentenced 27-years banishment to Maafaru in 1977.

An islander told newspaper Haveeru that Councillor Ibahim Manik had changed his address from Machangoalhi Kishmireege in Male’ to Maafaru Abaage to become eligible and that a complaint at the EC before the election had been dismissed.

An EC official meanwhile explained that the documents proving Manik’s sentence had been submitted after the complaints deadline elapsed, adding that the EC had been unable to find evidence because of the changed address.

The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has a majority of seats in the Maafaru council.

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Addu City blackout lasts almost 24-hours

Electricity has been restored to the five interconnected islands of Addu City last night, almost 24-hours after damage to high-voltage cables caused a day-long blackout in the southernmost atoll.

Addu City Mayor Abdulla Sodiq told Sun Online that he has urged citizens to seek damages and compensation – amounting to “millions of rufiyaa” – from the Southern Utilities Company, which provides electricity to the five islands through a centralised power grid.

Southern Utilities Company Chairman Ahmed Zareer explained that the cables had been replaced by late afternoon yesterday. Although the blackout started at around 6.45pm on Monday, electricity had come back on sporadically for short periods.

Local daily Haveeru meanwhile reported yesterday that the cries of children unable to sleep rang out through the islands while business owners feared an outbreak of burglary and looting. Schools were closed on Monday and many people complained they were unable to even use the shower.

A crowd of protesters reportedly gathered outside the Utility Company office in Maradhoo-Feydhoo, throwing stones and demanding the resignation of its board of directors.

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Parliament overrides presidential veto on capital island legislation

Parliament today voted through a bill on determining atoll capital islands for a second time after President Mohamed Nasheed had returned the legislation for reconsideration.

A motion proposed by opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ali Azim to pass the bill again without any changes received 39 votes in favour from the 68 MPs present and voting, the bare minimum required to override a presidential veto.

Under article 91(b), a bill returned for reconsideration and passed by a majority of total membership of parliament has to be “assented by the President and published in the government gazette.”

According to the bill, atoll capital islands listed in the appendix of the constitution when it was ratified on August 7, 2008 shall retain their status unless decided otherwise by a two-thirds majority of an atoll council and approved through a public referendum.

The legislation also lays out a number of steps to be completed before relocation could be considered by atoll councils.

Following the local council elections in February, disputes over atoll administrative centres in Shaviyani and Kaafu atolls led to a tense standoff between islanders and riot police.

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MP Muthalib reissues death sentence amendment to parliament

Jumhooree Party (JP) MP Ibrahim Muthalib has resubmitted an amendment to the Clemency Act that if passed would require any death sentence then upheld by the Supreme Court to be carried out.

Muthalib is the second MP to table a motion to change the Clemency Act after the Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) Ahmed Rasheed last month forwarded similar amendments. Rasheed later withdrew these amendments from parliament though over concerns about the need for new regulations like the Penal Code to be passed.

Currently, death penalties imposed within the Maldives are able to be reduced to a 25 years prison sentence by the president under the Clemency Act. In November 2010, the Criminal Court of the Maldives issued a death sentence to a person found guilty of murder. However the last person to actually be judicially executed was Hakim Didi in 1953, who was executed by firing squad after being found guilty of consipiracy to murder using black magic.

MP Muthalib told Minivan News that the purpose of the latest amendment was to uphold Islamic Shariah in the Maldives.

”[The amendment aims] to avoid human beings from changing the verdict determined by Islamic Shariah,” said Muthalib. ”Its the same bill as presented last time.”

If the amendment gets passed, the president would not then have the authority to grant clemency on persons found guilty of murder, according to the parliamentarian.

The amended bill has been introduced in the parliament and now awaits a preliminary debate by members.

Early last month, MDP MP Ahmed Rasheed presented an amendment to the Clemency Act during a parliamentary session that required the death penalty to be administered without fail in cases where the sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court.

According to MP Rasheed’s proposed amendment, if the Supreme Court upholds a death penalty ruled by any court in the land, a sentence of execution will be required to be conducted.

The MP said he felt he had to present the amendment because of the increase in assaults and murder cases, which had “forced the living to live amid fear and threats.

In 2010, Rasheed said that 423 cases of assault were sent to Prosecutor General, with 454 cases in 2009 and 104 reported during 2008.

After the preliminary debate was concluded and he was given the opportunity to say the last word on the amendment, Rasheed withdrew the changes he had originally submitted to parliament.

The MDP MP said he withdrew the amendment because other necessary bills related to gang violence such as the Penal Code and Criminal Justice Procedure Bill had yet to be passed.

According to Rasheed, after these bills were passed, he will then re-submit the amendment.

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Criminal Court imprisons murdered child’s mother for six months over negligence

A woman arrested in connection with the alleged sexual abuse and murder of her eight-month old child has been sentenced to six months imprisonment by the Criminal Court after being found guilty of negligence.

The woman, who was identified as Noorzaadha Ali, of Addu Atoll Hithadhoo, was not herself charged with murdering or sexually abusing the child, although the court ruled that she was in violation of elements of the Penal Code.

According to local media, the presiding judge said that the suspect had not vaccinated the baby or taken proper care to clean the child and failed to explain internal and external injuries to the victim.

On the basis of these findings, the judge declared that Nooruzaadha had neglected her duties as a mother.

Her boyfriend, Mohamed Waheed, stands accused of murdering the child, though the outcome of that trial has not yet been concluded.

The eight-month-old baby boy died in the intensive care unit of Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) back in June 2009.

Three suspects were arrested in connection with allegations that he had been physically and sexuallly abused. These suspects included the victim’s mother, Nooruzaadha, 28[then], from Addu atoll Hithadhoo, her boyfriend Mohamed Waheed, 46[then], from Male’, and a third man whose identity has not yet been revealed.

Addressing media at the time, Inspector Hamdhoon Rasheed, head of the police investigation unit, said initial test results revealed the baby had extensive injuries, as well as showing signs of having been sexually abused.

Rasheed said that the boy had suffered head and neck injuries, and was covered in scratches. The hospital reported the case to police after Waheed took the baby in for medical care.

Nooruzaadha had a long history of criminal activity, according to both police and the prosecutor general’s office.

She was arrested twice in 2002, once for sexual misconduct and the second time for prostitution, said Deputy Prosecutor General Hussein Shameem.

She was sentenced to eight months house arrest for the first offence, which she breached, and six months imprisonment for the second.

The same year, she was put under house arrest for disobedience of order, which she violated and was fined Rf150 (US$12). In 2006, she was arrested on the same charge and was ordered to spend two months in jail.

In 2004, Nooruzaadha was handed a six-year sentence for possession of drugs and in 2005 and 2007, she was given two 12-year sentences on each occasion for drug possession.

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Addressing “disenfranchised” youth key to strengthening Maldives resort security, claims president

Consultations between the police, government and tourism insiders continued today aimed at boosting resort security in the Maldives following recent robberies, with President Nasheed calling for additional support to address societal crime.

Tourism authorities in the country have said that the security seminar forms part of plans to try and proactively reduce the “internal and external” threats facing the country’s scattered array of island resorts. This is seen as increasingly important amidst growing concerns over industry preparedness for potential criminal attacks.

President Mohamed Nasheed opened the security seminar yesterday calling for the travel industry and authorities to not just focus on immediate solutions to protect resort customers and staff, but also to address the perceived root causes of national crime. Limited jobs and education opportunities for young people were highlighted by Nasheed as examples of the potential problems needed to be faced in Maldivian society to alleviate some of the causes of crime.

Police authorities have told Minivan News that the exact changes to be implemented as a result of the two-day security seminar could not be detailed yet as consultations between different authorities and organisations were ongoing.

President Nasheed said at the inauguration of the seminar that two prominent incidences of intrusion at properties such as Kihaadhuffaru resort and Baros Island Resort and Spa this year alone highlighted the “magnitude” of the threats facing the country.

While accepting that the tourism industry and the government could protect resorts against future intrusions by heightening security though measures such as introducing barriers, Nasheed claimed that there are wider social problems that also needed to be addressed.

Along with outlining new security measures, Nasheed used his speech to call on the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, industry insiders, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and law enforcement authorities to include plans to try and combat societal issues such as gang violence, theft and drug abuse that he linked with the “unemployed, uneducated and disenfranchised youth in the country”.

Nasheed claimed that these concerns were the root cause of the problems facing the resort industry in combating criminal threats.

The president’s claims echoed concerns raised by the tourism industry last week by groups like the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO), which called for immediate measures to address the potential threats of gang crime, piracy and terrorism at resorts. The association said that it did accept that a relatively low number of security breaches that have occurred so far.

MATATO Secretary General Mohamed Maleeh Jamal nonetheless said that the entire industry would need to face up to addressing preparatory measures for resort security as it outlines a fourth tourism master plan that will cover the sector’s work from 2012 onwards. The current masterplan is said to relate to vital initiatives to develop the country’s travel industry from 2007 up until this year.

“We fear there is a big challenge ahead related to security,” said Jamal at the time.

Dr Mariyam Zulfa, Maldivian Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, also told Minivan News that she believed that rising levels of national crime and violence were beginning to impact the country’s secluded resort business. The Maldives tourism industry has this year witnessed a number of isolated criminal incidents at its resorts culminating last month in an attempted robbery at Baros Island Resort and Spa and the death of one of the alleged attackers.

Zulfa claimed that in the interests of trying to proactively protect the industry, authorities had been “working for some time” on developing new measures to protect resorts and bolster existing security systems that are in place in the country.

The tourism minister added the government alone could not handle the entire burden of dealing with security challenges alone. She claimed though that various stakeholders – from resort companies to airport operators – had so far been very cooperative in trying to ensure they were not “easy” potential targets for criminal attacks.

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President reportedly announces second auditor general nominee

The serving internal auditor at the Maldives Ports Limited has been forwarded by President Mohamed Nasheed as a candidate for the post of auditor general in an attempt to fill a position that has remained vacant for over a year, according to news reports.

Haveeru has reported today that Niyaz Ibrahim is expected to be nominated to parliament for the position pending committee review after attempts in December to appoint the former Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) President Ali Rasheed Umar were rejected. The decision led to allegations from the government that Rasheed Umar was the victim of a partisan plot to hinder the appointment.

Opposition politicians, who form a majority in the Majlis, claimed at the time that the vote against the appointment was related to ethical concerns over the candidate and called for greater consultation from the president on finding a nominee for the auditor general position.

The auditor general position has remained vacant since March 2010 when Ibrahim Naeem lost a parliamentary no-confidence motion by 43 votes to 28.

While the governing Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) voted to retain Naeem in the role, opposition MPs and a number of independent members voted against him over allegations of corruption.

Naeem stood accused of corruption by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for using the government’s money to buy a tie and fund a visit Thulhaidhu in Baa Atoll.

Naeem claimed the charges were an attempt to discredit his office and prevent him from reclaiming the government’s money stored in overseas bank accounts.

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Cruising the Maldives by cargo-boat: Travelmag

While most visitors to the Maldives seek the pampered comfort of the resorts, travel writer Donna Richardson became one of the few independent travelers to island-hop to Gan via cargo vessel. She wrote about the experience for independent travel publication Travelmag.

“The blazing sun moves eastwards we enter Laamu atoll. This is going to be the government’s newest ‘zone’ developments. I am struck by the beauty of the islands, all uninhabited save the Six Senses resort Laamu which is due to open its doors this month. However, there is to be much change in this atoll over the coming years with the government’s new plans to extend transportation networks and extend into mid-market tourism. In fact there is talk of a three star ‘Costa Del Maldives’ of guest houses, restaurants and bars happening here to bring in hordes of backpackers and mid marketers, making the Maldives much more accessible in the near future.

“I made my way back to the cabin and slept through until we moored into Dhaandoo in the Huvadhoo atoll – our first port drop. The pink sky above the island illuminates the gleaming presidential yacht which is moored right next to us, flanked by two MNDF Coast Guard boats.

“Evidence of reclamation is evident on the sea front in this island which is in desperate need of housing. The interior betrays a curious mix of coral houses glimpsed through the jutting palm trees. It is clear that this island is quite poor in comparison with its neighbours. Women rise early to collect rain and sea water to boil and condensate so they can wash and cook during the day, while their men prepare for their days work on the fishing boats. Small dhonis lap in the waves and in the distance is an uninhabited picnic island in the distance.

“Fishing is the main income of the island, yet there are only three fishing vessels – so not everyone can be a fisherman. With limited agriculture and infrastructure there are only a few key jobs in the public sector for teachers and doctors and island councillors. There is a small school, a satellite hospital, which is more like a general practice and an island council office.

“Despite it being a Wednesday men are hanging around and doing nothing (known as holhuashi) swinging in undolis (giant handwoven swings) beneath the shady trees lining the island. Surprisingly these are not layabouts but a mix of learned men including teachers and politicians as they sit in silent protest to the presidential visit on the nearby islands, this being an opposition island.”

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