Day: July 11, 2011

Parliament should appoint a ‘Sergeant-at-Arms’ to enforce order, not the MNDF, says Independent MP

Independent MP Mohamed Nasheed has called for parliament to appoint a ‘sergeant-at-arms’ to enforce discipline in the chamber, after weeks of disrupted sessions caused by rowdy MPs.

The situation came to a head today, with the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) on standby to ensure the continued functioning of the legislature.

Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim terminated the session this morning after opposition MP Ali Arif refused to leave the chamber on instruction. The military was not deployed in the chamber.

Minivan News last week witnessed MPs from former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s ‘Z-DRP’ faction of the opposition chasing Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid as he left the parliament chamber. Journalists and the public were subsequently removed from the gallery.

“I think that was a bit extreme. In my opinion it should not have got to that level,” said MP Nasheed today. “No one person or party within an institution should be capable of bringing it to a halt, be it a minister of cabinet, a judge on the bench or a member of a commission.”

At the same time, “parliament being parliament, the nature of the beast is that we allow a greater latitude for sentiment.”

The government’s decision to deploy the military to ensure order in the chamber was “not sensible”, he observed: “That is a shortcut.”

The key issue, he said, was that the new parliament had not yet applied rules in its regulation governing enforcement of discipline through the formal appointment of a Sergeant-at-Arms, as provided for.

“We have instead focused on the greater latitude and freedoms to say what we think,” he said.
“We have seen occasional sporadic disruption, and sometimes organised disruption – by both major parties.”

“That scenario has led to a cumulative ignoring of discipline. MPs used to stand in their chairs, then they went up to other members, now they go right up to the secretariat. That is a line that hasn’t been crossed yet, and discipline has deteriorated,” Nasheed said.

Despite last week’s pursuit of the Speaker, there was “no risk of physical harm”, he suggested. “I don’t think parliament has got to the level where MPs will personally inflict physical harm on the Speaker.”

Nasheed recommended the Majlis follow the example of other parliaments and allocate a force under the direction of a Sergeant-at-Arms, to enforce discipline.

“Some parliaments have a paramilitary force, while others have a unit of the army or police seconded to parliamentary security,” Nasheed explained. “They have a different uniform and answer to the speaker. Given our resources I think it is fine to take a police or military unit and second it to parliament, under a man we appoint as sergeant-at-arms.”

The disruption of parliament by the opposition MPs comes scarcely weeks after the publication a ‘Parliament Watch’ report by NGO Transparency Maldives, which noted that a quarter of all sittings held last year ended in disruption.

Parliament’s first votes of the June session saw MPs voting against a motion to cut a controversial Rf20,000 in committee allowances – an effective 33 percent salary increase that sees Maldivian MPs earning on par with those in Sweden. A quarter of the chamber was absent during the vote.

At the same time, Transparency Maldives noted that key bills of national interest, including bills vital to the state and preservation of justice, such as the evidence bill, right to information bill, political parties bill, penal code bill and drugs bill “remain stagnated at committee stage”.

MP Nasheed dismissed ruling party speculation that the present disruptions were an attempt by the opposition to delay the passing of such bills, although he acknowledged that “Yes, the agenda will suffer because of this.”

“Half the session has been consumed because of this delay over the constitution of committees, but I don’t think the opposition is deliberately trying to disrupt the agenda,” he said, suggesting that the political divide and sentiments remained deep.

The opposition MPs have complained of the manner in which the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) last week gained control of parliament’s two most powerful committees, concerning finance and national security.

“Some people are objecting to the way the committees were constituted, others at the way it was endorsed in parliament,” Nasheed said.

“At 6:30pm MPs were sent an SMS message saying there would be a session at 8:30pm, lasting for five minutes, with one item on the agenda – the proposed parliamentary setup. Members did not take time look compositions, and there was no debate.”

Nasheed said that such an extraordinary vote was unnecessary, “as there was bipartisan support and it would most likely have been passed [anyway] during normal voting hours.”

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Father arrested for molesting two daughters in Noonu Atoll

Police have arrested a father alleged he had been molesting his two daughters for years, reports SunFM.

SunFM reported that the one of daughter was 13 years of age while the other was only four years-old.

The news outlet reported that the two girls were the only two daughters that he had.

An islander told SunFM that the man’s wife and mother of the two girls were aware of the abuse and obstructed police from arresting him.

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Moosa blames Gayoom for cancellations of parliament sessions

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson and MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik has claimed parliament sessions were disrupted deliberately by opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MPs, led by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, because they feared that an amendment presented to the Former Presidents Act would be passed.

Moosa gave an interview to the press today outside the parliament after Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim cancelled the session, after DRP MP Ali Azim refused to leave the chamber despite repeated instructions.

‘’The parliament has been disrupted following on the orders of former president Gayoom,’’ Moosa alleged to the press outside parliament.

Moosa said that tomorrow he would send a letter to the former President requesting to meet him and clarify “why exactly he is disrupting the parliament sessions and what he expects to gain from doing it.”

However, today DRP’s Z-faction MP Ahmed Nihan said faction’s main issue was that members for parliament committees were appointed during an “unlawful” sitting and that any decision made in an unlawful sitting would also be unlawful.

Nihan said that if Speaker of the Parliament Abdulla Shahid accepted that the sitting was unlawful and decided to hold the sitting once again, and reappoint members for the parliament committees, “the main issue will be solved.”

Successive parliament sittings have been cancelled after the Z-faction of DRP complained about the legality of a sitting in which the ruling MDP won majority control of the National Security Committee and Finance Committee, the most influential two committees in parliament.

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August deadline set for foreign study funding applications

Students currently pursuing or looking to study higher education at foreign institutions have been given a deadline of August 7 this year to apply for funding from an additional government-backed Rf100 million student loan programme.

Funding packages ranging between Rf100,000 and Rf300,000 are reportedly set to be made available to students participating in various types of study ranging from foundation courses to PHD.  After studying abroad, participants  are then expected to begin paying back their loans to the state six months after completion of their course and within a ten-year period, according to newspaper Haveeru.

The foreign study loans are expected to be delivered specifically to Bank of Maldives (BML) accounts assigned to each individual student participating in the foreign loan scheme during August.  The student loan system for Maldivians abroad follows on from the launch of a similar domestic study programme announced by the government early last month.

The funding switch has raised concerns among some students and opposition figures, who claim that not enough is being done by government to support and prepare young people for the challenges of a more diverse Maldives job market.  Opposition MPs in particular have been critical that the funding, like the entire education system had not been sufficiently updated from the 1980s to meet the demand for the current jobs market in terms of skills.

Haveeru reported that despite concerns by some Male’-based students regarding continued delays to receiving their individual loan payments, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between BML and the Finance Ministry was expected to come into place today to ensure loan payments could be made within a 48 hours period.

The student loan programme is a new intiative being taken up by the government to replace the previous “pocket money” grant scheme that supplied limited study funding free of charge.

The government claimed  last month that an initial Rf50 million loan programme for domestic students represented attempts to support a larger number of local people in further education.

Aminath Ali, Deputy Minister of Human Resources, Youth and Sports, previously told Minivan News that she accepted that a number of students had concerns about the change towards providing loans instead of the free grants previously offered.  However, the minister claimed the new system was in place to try to ensure that both the country and citizens could afford further education on a more sustainable basis in the long-term.

“Under the current budget we cannot provide free learning and funding for students at higher education institutions.  The [student loans] are similar to mechanisms in place in countries all over the world,” she said.  “Say a student has a total loan amount of Rf24,000 over their studies, they will have to pay back this amount and a five percent administration charge to cover the role of their bank over an agreed period of time.”

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Military ordered to ensure order in chamber as disruptive MPs force Majlis cancellation

Parliament entered its third week of deadlock with the imposed cancellation of today’s sitting by Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim after opposition MP Ali Arif refused to comply with an order to leave the chamber.

Arif and his fellow MPs of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party’s (DRP) breakaway Z-faction had vowed to disrupt future sittings in protest of the “unlawful sitting” last week where a compromise to revise the composition of committees was approved by a 36-1 vote.

Shortly after today’s sitting began at 9.00am, the DRP MP for Vaikaradhoo was protesting in front of the secretariat desk when Nazim – presiding in the absence of Speaker Abdulla Shahid – ordered the MP out after repeatedly advising Arif to return to his seat.

“Article 54 of the rules of procedure states that an MP [ordered to leave the chamber] cannot participate in the remainder of the sitting,” said Nazim, announcing the cancellation after resuming the sitting around 11.15am. “Therefore, I cannot continue today’s sitting with the MP participating.”

At last week’s sitting on Tuesday (July 5), which took place at 8.30pm following repeated cancellations, Z-DRP MPs contended that the committee issue was tabled in the agenda in violation of parliamentary rules. In addition, the MPs claimed that the sitting was not legitimate as they were were informed on very short notice via text messages.

However Speaker Abdulla Shahid pushed ahead with the vote while MPs of the Z-faction along with minority opposition People’s Alliance (PA) and Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) MPs were out of their seats protesting in front of the secretariat desk.

After the result was announced, MPs of the rival opposition faction chased Speaker Shahid, loudly berating him as he left the chamber.

The announcement was met with cheers and applause from MPs of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

While journalists at the public viewing gallery were hurriedly ushered out, Minivan News understands that security personnel and some MDP MPs stepped in between the Speaker and his former colleagues.

Calling in the MNDF

Meanwhile in the wake of the Z-DRP MPs’ threats to disrupt future sittings, Major General Moosa Ali Jaleel met with opposition MPs yesterday. The army chief reportedly informed them that the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) would escort MPs out of the chamber should they refuse to comply with orders from the Speaker.

Following the meeting, Z-DRP MP Ahmed Mahlouf told press that Jaleel discussed with them the legal obligation of the MNDF to uphold the Speaker’s authority and to ensure the safety of all MPs.

Article 105 of the constitution tasks the army with maintaining “the security of the House of the People’s Majlis, all property attached thereto and all offices and facilities where its work is conducted” as well as “ensuring the protection and safety of all members of the People’s Majlis.”

Moreover, the Defence Forces Act empowers the army to enforce the Speaker’s rulings to maintain order in the chamber.

Mahlouf claimed that the involvement of the MNDF signified “a deal made between President [Mohamed] Nasheed, Speaker Abdulla Shahid and DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali to destroy us.”

Speaking in his weekly radio address on Friday, President Nasheed made an appeal to the Z-DRP MPs to let parliament resume its legislative responsibilities as “such attempts [to disrupt sittings] are in truth attempts to bring the state to a halt.”

“For three or four people to come out and try to bring the state to a halt is surely not wise,” he said. “If the Speaker wished to do something special in a particular way, I do not doubt that he has the means to do it. The state has means that can be used to speed things up.”

“Military rule”

Speaking to Minivan News today, Z-DRP MP Ahmed Nihan explained that the MPs were mainly objecting to last week’s “unlawful sitting.”

“If the Speaker accepts that the sitting was unlawful and considers having another sitting to appoint MPs to the parliament committees, the major issue will be solved,” he said.

He added that it was “a big joke” that the MNDF’s legal department was offering legal advice to parliament: “They have said it is their duty to protect the parliament and to maintain the rule of law.”

Nihan suggested that MPs “felt intimidated” following the MNDF’s legal advice to the Speaker.

“The Speaker has the authority to take other actions against MPs who do not follow the regulations, such as cutting an amount from their salary,” he said. “Now this country is becoming like Myanmar [Burma] has been in the past years – the Maldives is bit by bit turning to a military rule.”

Nihan added that he would also like to clarify “whether it was the President or Speaker Abdulla Shahid that asked MNDF to [intervene in parliament].”

MNDF Spokesperson Major Abdul Raheem confirmed that the Chief of Defence Force Major General Moosa Ali Jaleel met yesterday with both the Speaker “and some MPs.”

“They discussed the issues occurring inside parliament and said it was the legal duty of the MNDF to protect the parliament and other state institutions,” he said. “We will maintain the rules and laws in whatever action we take and we will not hesitate to take any action required to take to fulfill our legal duty.”

At the beginning of today’s sitting, DQP MP Riyaz Rasheed raised a point of order demanding to know which law authorised MNDF officers to enter the chamber and “drag MPs away.”

Addressing the concerns, Deputy Speaker Nazim replied that he was aware of the meeting between the Speaker and the Chief of Defence Forces.

“MNDF [officers] will not enter the Majlis chamber without the permission of the Speaker,” he said. “The Speaker does not intend to give permission and I will not do it either.”

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Authorities review feasibility of Maldives to India 30-hour ferry journey

Consultations are said to be underway to outline the economic viability of a proposed 30-hour ferry route between the Maldives and India designed to try and boost trade and tourism links between the two countries.

According to the Business Standard newspaper, Indian shipping authorities are looking into the possibility of running a passenger liner from the port of Cochin or Tuticorin as part of collaboration with their Maldivian counterparts to target both traders and tourist travel.

With any ferry service between the two destinations expected to last around 30 hours, research is ongoing into the possible benefits and demand for the services as a result.

Earlier this year, ferry services between India and Sri Lanka were restarted after a thirty year hiatus as part of aims to try and strengthen economic and diplomatic ties between the two different nations.

As part of the Maldives’ own commitments to hosting the 17th summit meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) this year in Addu City, the government has outlined “Building Bridges” – both in terms of physical connectivity and figurative political dialogue – as a key aim for the meeting.

Both India and Sri Lanka are SAARC embers along with the Maldives.

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Tourism industry has an obligation to develop local artists, says painter at launch of Coco Collection

There are certain paintings that have the power to uplift your spirits. Well-known local artist Afzal (Afu) Shaafiu Hassan’s Coco collection exhibition showcases 24 paintings belonging to that category.

Commissioned by Cocopalm Boduhithi, the acrylic paintings are destined to be hung in the water bungalows of the high-end resort.

The paintings’ blend of contemporary and heritage gives a modern twist to usual depictions of palm trees, corals, shells and islands. At the same time Afu’s paint brush has also dipped into the 2000 year old Maldivian culture, giving the paintings depth, familiarity and a unique ‘Maldivianness’.

The 48×44 inch paintings are hung in a row, inches apart occupying one side of the spacious art gallery. Interestingly enough a 60 year old Maldivian story ‘Raiveribeyaa Rukaa’ (toddy tapper and palm tree) written by Annabeel Malin Mohamed Didi runs through all the paintings in the form of a monologue written in ancient Dhivehi script.

“It was a coincidence; I was reading that story when Cocopalm commissioned my work,” says Afu.

The connection of the name Cocopalm and the story which revolves around a toddy tapper and a palm tree was not lost on Afu. “It’s a fascinating story, in one part the palm tree berates the toddy tapper asking him why he doesn’t behave like a man, and go fishing like others, instead of spending his time on top of the tree.”

The story goes on to highlight the importance of the palm tree to every aspect of Maldivian life and talks about how it is better to protect the palm trees than damage them.

Depicting classics in a new way

The quintessential palm tree and sunset has a new role to play in Afu’s paintings. In one painting two palm trees stand straight on the right side as all around them, blues, oranges, purples intercept and whirl around. While on the left side one can almost make out the faint whisperings of a form that looks like a butterfly or a flower, the ends of it curling and beckoning the palm trees.

“It’s the flower motif you find on lacquerware,” says Afu, and suddenly you realize why the form looks so familiar. Throughout all the paintings ancient motifs plays peek-a-boo with the viewer, teasing in its familiarity.

Afu’s depiction of murex shell is almost fiery, the edges spiked with blues, oranges, and yellows, reds, pinks – it is simply a riot of colours. The shell’s middle is mysterious and dark reminding you that you never really know what lurks inside a shell when you pick it up first. In contrast to the fieriness of the shell is the barely visible flower motif at the bottom. In other paintings you can make out a hexagonal seal, akin to the ones used in the past by Maldivian Kings.

Afu's works feature trails of ancient Dhivehi script

“The motifs and seals are not depicted exactly as they are,” he says.

In Afu’s world flower motifs are stretched, a king’s seal gives way to your own and motifs from the ancient Friday mosque can be turned upside down, or lengthened and modified in innovative way to break up two juxtaposed island views.

Calligraphy recounting ancient stories run horizontally, vertically, in one lines, or in couples to visually entice the audience.

For Afu this is his way of paying homage to the Dhivehi script, Thaana. “We take our script for granted now, but it’s only civilizations that have its own proper script. I am very proud to show it off in my paintings.”

A helping hand

One reason Afu is exhibiting the Coco Collection is to make the tourism industry sit up and take notice to Maldivian art: “It’s a pity that it is mostly foreigners’ work that is displayed in resorts.”

Afu laments the fact that despite the Maldivian tourism industry being well established and flourishing, with over 600,000 visitors a year, the local art scene was lagging far behind. However he acknowledged that “there has been the problem of lack of reliability of Maldivian artists in the past.”

“The regional art scenes are more developed and the art industry and tourism industry of those countries complement each other.”

But he says times have changed: “There are very good Maldivian artists who can deliver now, they should be given a chance.”

A view echoed by Hussain Hilmy, director of Sunland Travels that owns Cocopalm Boduhithi.

“We decided to source local painters because there are many talented artists in the Maldives. It was tough choosing an artist, after seeing the works of so many,” he said.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the exhibition last night, Hilmy emphasised the fact that the paintings would be hung in the most expensive rooms of the resort and wished more progress for the local artists.

This is the second resort commission for Afu, a 12 year break after the first one.

“The tourism industry has an obligation to help develop the local artists, as it would be mutually beneficial for both industries,” says Afu.

Coco Collection will be on display until July 14 every weekday from 10:00am to 4:00pm at National Art Gallery.

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Civil Court orders EC to release funds for People’s Party, Social Democratic Party

The Civil Court has ordered the Elections Commission (EC) release funds for both the People’s Party (PP) and the Social Democratic Party following an earlier decision by the EC to withhold the money citing political inactivity.

The EC had contested that the budget was withheld because the two parties were receiving public funds but had not been engaged in political activity “to an adequate level”.

Civil Court judge Maryam Nihayath ruled that it was not within the jurisdiction of the EC to determine whether a political party was working to achieve the goals mentioned in its charter.

The judge ruled that Elections Commission was obliged to distribute the budget allocated for each party according to the Elections Commission Act and that there were no probable grounds to believe that the EC had authority to decide whether or not to deliver the money.

Ruling on the suit filed by PP against the EC, Judge Nihayath ordered the EC deliver the money to the party by Thursday.

The Social Democratic Party also filed a lawsuit against the EC for holding the budget allocated for the party, and the Civil Court ruled in similar fashion, ordering the EC to pay the party by Thursday.

Vice President of the Elections Commission Ahmed Hassan Fayaz told Minivan News that the Commission was studying the legal implications of the decision, before deciding whether to appeal.

“Political parties are allocated a budget [from public funds] and in this case we felt these parties were not doing anything [political], and decided it was time to be proactive and make a decision,” he said.

“In the absence of a law you look to public opinion,” he said. “Public opinion was that these parties were not operating as political parties, but were still receiving money from the Elections Commission.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story mistakenly stated that the EC had withheld funds from the People’s Alliance Party (PA),  rather than the People’s Party (PP). Minivan News regrets the error and apologises for any confusion caused.

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