Month: October 2011

Libyan rebels confirm death of President Muammar Gaddafi

The Libyan National Transition Council (NTC) has confirmed the death of Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi.

The NTC told several news sources, including Reuters and Al Jazeera, that Gaddafi had died of  wounds sustained during his capture near his hometown of Sirte, which has been besieged by the rebels for several months, and his body taken to a secure location.

Pictures that appeared to be of the bloodied body of the former dictator were initially published on Al Jazeera. His death was subsequently confirmed by the leaders of several countries, including UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

NTC official Abdel Majid Mlegta told news agency Reuters that the NATO warplanes had attacked the convoy in which Gaddafi was attempting to flee.

An NTC fighter in Sirte meanwhile told Reuters that he had seen Gaddafi shot after he was cornered and captured in a tunnel near a roadway.

“He (Gaddafi) was also hit in his head,” Mlegta  told Reuters. “There was a lot of firing against his group and he died.”

Gaddafi’s spokesperson Moussa Ibrahim was captured by the NTC near Sirte, while the chief of Gaddafi’s armed forces, Abu Bakr Younus Jabr, was reported killed in the fighting.

Following the announcement of Gaddafi’s death by the NTC, celebrations broke out in the capital city of Tripoli and the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

Colonel Gaddafi was only 27 when he took control of Libya after a military coup in 1969. His 42 years of power brought wealth to Libya, but his reign was also characterised by erratic policies and terrifying punishments, based on a political platform of socialism and Arab nationalism condensed in his ‘Little Green Book’.

Minivan News 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.

At the time of his death, Gadaffi was wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for a systematic campaign of violence to try and put down a popular uprising, which led to Western military intervention.

Diplomatically, the Maldives was meanwhile among the first countries to formally recognise the NTC rebels as the sovereign representatives of the Libyan people, and helped organise several UN Human Rights Council resolutions that increased pressure on Gaddafi and legitimised Western military intervention.

“The Maldives took these steps because of our conviction that men such as Muammar Gadaffi should not be allowed to check, through violence, the recent march of democracy and human rights across the Muslim world – the Muslim Awakening,” said Maldives Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem in August.

“For decades, the government of Muammar Gadaffi has ruled through a system of patronage, repression and fear. The Muslim Awakening brought hope that this system could be dismantled peacefully, through dialogue, reform and free and fair elections. However, instead Muammar Gadaffi chose to use his security forces to attack and kill civilians.

“With the imminent fall of Gadaffi, the Muslim Awakening lives on, and the Maldives looks forward to welcoming a new, democratic Libyan State into the international family of nations,” Naseem said.

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Velezinee appointed Deputy Home Minister

President Mohamed Nasheed has appointed his former member on the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), Aishath Velezinee, to the position of Deputy Home Minister.

As a member of the JSC, Velezinee was an outspoken whistle-blower who campaigned against the reappointment of sitting judges in what she contended was a violation of article 285 of the Constitution and part of a “silent coup” to seize control of the judiciary.

In early 2010, she set about publicly exposing the independent institution she claimed was operating “like a secret society” and serving as a “shield” for a judiciary that was “independent in name only”, and had tabled only several of the hundreds of complaints submitted against judges.

Using her access to court documents, Velezinee revealed that almost a quarter of the sitting judges had criminal records – ranging from theft to terrorism – and that an even greater number had not even completed grade 7 education. The only qualification of many was a ‘Diploma in Judging’ presenting to them by the former Ministry of Justice, Velezinee contested.

For the past 30 years judges effectively worked as the employees of those “hand-picked” by the former government, Velezinee explained – to the extent that failures to extend a particular ruling as required by the Ministry of Justice resulted in a black mark on the judge’s file.

“The only qualification it appears was a willingness to submit to the will of the government at the time – to follow orders,” Velezinee told Minivan News in a previous interview.

“Not everyone has the mindset to follow orders and serve in that kind of capacity. I believe it has excluded people with independent thinking, or the necessary legal knowledge – such people would take it as an insult for someone to order them how to decide a case.”

She also presented documents and recordings that implied the JSC had forged documents for a hearing over High Court appointments, accused the commission of embezzling state funds by awarding itself a ‘committee allowance’ contrary to Article 164 of the Constitution, and criticised it for abolishing its Complaints Committee in the name of “efficiency”. The previous year the JSC received 143 complaints concerning the conduct of judges, none of which were even tabled at the commission.

In January this year Velezinee was hospitalised after she was stabbed three times in the back in broad daylight on the main tourist street of Male’, “right outside the Home Minister’s door.”

Many international organisations, including Transparency International and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), at the time expressed “grave concern that the attack may be politically motivated.”

Velezinee told Minivan News today that her new role at the Home Ministry will see her focusing on “international affairs and projects in planning and development, and monitoring of agencies.”

“Many international conventions were signed in 2005 but were not incorporated into the domestic system,” she noted. “The Home Ministry should be a very strong Ministry, as it has a huge mandate, and should ensure it complies with the conventions the Maldives has signed.”

The remit of the Home Ministry includes police and the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS), as well as juvenile justice, civil society and decentralisation.

Velezinee speculated that one of the reasons she may have been offered the role was because of her focus on justice, as “the Home Ministry is very much concerned with justice and the rule of law.”

She expressed surprise and delight at the welcome she received from her team at the Ministry, observing that it was “completely unlike the experience of the JSC where I felt I was unwanted the entire time.”

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MDP calls for nationwide protest against judiciary

The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has held an emergency meeting and called for a nationwide protest against the country’s judiciary, starting at 3:30pm.

The party contends that the courts have been  prioritising cases filed against MDP members and delaying cases involving opposition figures. The protest coincides with the Supreme Court’s scheduled delivery of a verdict in a case filed against MDP MP Mohamed Musthafa, requesting his candidacy as an MP be invalidated.

The case against him was filed in July 2009 by then leader of the Islamic Democratic Party (IDP) Umar Naseer, shortly after Musthafa won the election for Thimarafushi constituency against former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s son, Gassan Maumoon. Umar Naseer contended that Musthafa had a decreed debt dating back to 1997 that was not paid in accordance with a court ruling.

Today’s protest was proposed to the party’s National Council by MDP MP Mariya Ahmed, the party’s former chairperson.

MP and spokesperson for the party’s Parliamentary Group, Mohamed Shifaz, told Minivan News that the protest would start at the MDP’s Head Office and assemble near properties belonging to the judicial system.

Shifaz said there had been cases filed against opposition figures “held up in the courts for years.”

”Hearings in the corruption case against People’s Alliance MP and Deputy Speaker of parliament Ahmed Nazim were closed to journalists and the public, and the court has delaying the trial,” he claimed. ”But if this was a case against an MDP member they would hasten their work to conclude the case and sentence him.”

Shifaz said one of the most important thing MDP members “have always wanted was justice.”

”The judges are still trapped under the influence of [former President] Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, his half-brother Abdulla Yameen and the like,” Shifaz said, adding that there were cases against Gayoom and Yameen filed in the court by the Presidential Commission that had never come to trial.

The Judicial Services Commission (JSC), the watchdog body charged with overseeing the judiciary, in May this year abolished its Complaints Committee citing “efficiency”, with complaints against judges subsequently forwarded for review by the legal section and Commission head Adam Mohamed, a Supreme Court Judge.

Last year the JSC received 143 complaints concerning the conduct of judges. By its own statistics none were tabled in the commission, and only five were ever replied to. Chair of the former complaints commission, Aishath Velezinee, was meanwhile stabbed in the street in January this year.

The JSC also failed to table or even acknowledge receipt of a report on the judiciary produced by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), which questioned whether the JSC’s possessed the technical ability and knowledge to investigate complaints and hold the judiciary accountable, as well as its independence.

Shifaz today alleged that judges had been “blackmailed by the opposition”, and said that all the MDP MPs and senior officials, along with many supporters and citizens, would join the protest today.

”We have not really decided when to stop the protest. Members of the council have suggested continuing it until we achieve justice,” he said.

Former member of the Special Majlis Drafting Committee for the new Constitution, Ibrahim ‘Ibra’ Ismail, recently filed a defamation case against the Supreme Court after it reprimanded him for calling on the public to “rise up and sort out the judges”.

In response to Ibra’s calls, the Supreme Court and the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) demanded authorities investigate the former MP, claiming that “making such statements in a free, democratic society under lawful governance goes against the principles of civilisation”.

The Supreme Court subsequently issued a writ of prohibition and took over the case against it over from the Civil Court, and as a result, Ibra said, “I now have to go before the Supreme Court and say to them ‘You have defamed me, now please decide in my favour.’”

Speaking to Minivan News today, Ibra speculated that one possible reason for the Supreme Court’s decision to suddenly pursue the case against MP Mustafa “is because Gayoom’s new Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) wants to win the seat in a by-election.”

“Mustafa contested the seat against Gassan Maumoon, Gayoom’s son, and won by just a few votes,” Ibra noted. “They have high hopes for the seat.”

He also speculated that the Supreme Court’s actions could be an effort to divert attention from the public forum on judicial issues being held at the Social Centre in Male’ tonight at 8:30pm, “a red herring to divert public focus. [The forum] is where things will really happen.”

Regardless of its motivation, Ibra said, the Supreme Court’s behaviour “is all but an admission that they are operating on a political platform.”

Asked whether he was participating in the protest planned by the MDP against the judiciary, Ibra said he had “no idea what they’re up to. I surmise they are showing support for MP Mustafa. I am deliberately staying away from the political players on this issue. I want the civil community to come out on this, but I suspect senior political figures will now want to start making an appearance on the judicial issue.”

DRP Deputy Leader Ahmed Mohamed today told Minivan News that protesting against the courts and the judicial system was “unacceptable”.

”It should not be done. In the past MDP has done similiar things – once they locked the Supreme Court and Judicial Service Commission (JSC), and established a court of their own,” Mohamed contended. ”These kind of actions are clearly against the constitution.”

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Madhana takes bids as goverment backs away from profit

National health insurance program Madhana will be privatised under a Public-Private Partnership to prevent “unwise” government control of a profitable business, said President Mohamed Nasheed.

The president said all citizens would be included in the insurance program by next January as long as Parliament passes the relevant Tax and Business Profit Tax bills.

An estimated Rf850 million will be spend on insuring the Maldives’ entire population. The government hopes to sign an agreement with Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in November, which would provide a US$258 million loan towards developing health services in Addu City, reports Haveeru.

The Madhana program will be handed over once proposals from local and foreign companies have been received and reviewed.

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Maldives holds regional record as malaria-free zone

The Maldives holds South-East Asia’s record for being malaria-free. Meanwhile, the region is falling behind as one-third of affected countries show signs of eliminating the vector-borne disease over the next ten years.

Dr Robert Newman, director of the Global Malaria Program of World Health Organisation (WHO) said malaria control has improved significantly. “The world has made remarkable progress with malaria control. Better diagnostic testing and surveillance has shown that there are countries eliminating malaria in all endemic regions of the world.”

Malaria affects 40 percent of the world population. While the Maldives had a volatile track record in the 1970s, peaking at 1100 cases in 1976, virtually no cases of local origins have been reported since 1984.

Director General of Health Services Dr. Ibrahim Yasir said the only malaria cases have involved foreigners or Maldivians who have traveled to regions where the disease is endemic.

“A few times a year a foreigner might come who has been infected elsewhere, or in a recent case a Maldivian boat capsized near Africa and those on board contracted malaria and were treated here,” he said.

Yasir noted that the interiors of transport vehicles coming from malaria-infected locations are sprayed with a disinfectant to prevent accidental importing of the bug.

Certain countries that share regular traffic with the Maldives are showing worrisome resistance to malaria elimination.

According to an article published by Times of India today, Roll Back Malaria Partnership (RBM)’s latest report says that high rates in India, Indonesia and Myanmar have kept South East Asia’s malaria report rate stable while other regions see a declining report rate.

RBM’s report compares 5,200,000 probable and confirmed cases of malaria in 2000 in India against 5,000,000 in 2010. A WHO fact sheet, however, notes that 2 million fewer cases of death due to malaria were reported for the same time period.

Sri Lanka and Korea are in the pre-elimination phase.

Malaria elimination – the deliberate prevention of mosquito-borne malaria transmission resulting in zero incidence of infection in a defined geographical area – was first attempted at large scale during the Global Malaria Eradication Program from 1955 to 1972.

WHO certified 20 countries as malaria-free during this time, however in the 30 years that followed efforts to control the disease deteriorated and only four countries were certified.

During the 1970s, the Maldives successfully eliminated the malaria-carrying mosquito. It continues to combat the dengue-carrying mosquito, however, and several outbreaks have claimed 11 lives this year, making 2011 the worst year on record for dengue fatalities.

Among the factors that prevent the elimination of malaria, dengue and other viral diseases is the over-use of antibiotics. At the 64th meeting of the Regional Committee for South-East Asia in September, members suggested that overuse of antibiotics was making diseases harder to treat.

In 2010, WHO introduced a program combatting the reflexive practice of prescribing anti-malarials to any child with a fever. “Anti-malarial treatment without diagnostic confirmation means poor care for patients. It masks other deadly childhood illnesses, wastes precious medicines, hastens the inevitable emergence of drug-resistant parasites and makes it impossible to know the actual burden of malaria.”

In a previous interview with Minivan News, ADK Chief Operating Officer Ahmed Jamsheed called antibiotics “the most misused drug in the Maldives,” and warned that the trend could put Maldivians more at risk for dengue fever and chikungunya, as well as viral diseases.

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Styrofoam incubator “an alternative method”, says atoll hospital

Manager of Noonu Atoll hospital Mohamed Najeeb has said that carrying a baby inside a styrofoam box in certain circumstances was not a big issue, and had been used in the previous years as an alternative method to transfer babies in critical conditions when an incubator was unavailable.

Last week some doctors criticised Noonu Atoll Hospital after doctors at the hospital transferred a newborn baby in a critical medical condition to Male’ inside a styrofoam box, because the hospital did not have an incubator.

“In past years in several workshops they taught us this method and said it could be used as an alternative when an incubator was unavailable,” Najeeb said. “We know of two methods that could be used in situations like this: one is to wrap the baby with cloth while transferring him, or to carry him inside a box,’’ Najeeb told Minivan News. ‘’The towel method was not fit for the baby’s situation because the baby was having seizures.’’

He said the baby was sent to Male’ with oxygen and nurses from Noonu Atoll Hospital, and the hospital decided to use the box method to maintain the infant’s temperature because they were travelling a speedboat and the winds would be high.

He also said that when dealing with such cases the method has been proven to be suitable, adding that the baby was transferred to Male’ without his condition deteriorating.

“The latest I heard about the baby was that Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) had asked the baby’s parents to take him abroad for more treatment,’’ Najeeb said.

Director General of Health Services Dr Ibrahim Yasir meanwhile said the Health Ministry was investigating the case.

“The situation does not appear to be abnormal, the doctor has even advised that a styrofoam box can be a suitable substitute for an incubator,” Dr Yasir said.

“There is shortage of incubators, which is being considered in the investigation. We are trying to find out if the doctor’s recommendation can be approved.”

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Mother of abandoned milk can infant sentenced to one year imprisonment

The Criminal Court has sentenced the mother of a prematurely born baby found inside a milk can in ViliMale’ on May 19 to one year imprisonment.

Aminath Shaira, 30 of Manadhoo in Noonu Atoll, was charged with disobedience to an order under article 88(a) of the 1968 penal code as well as violations under the Child Protection Act.

Her accomplice in the crime, Mariyam Rizna, 18, of Guraidhoo in Kaafu Atoll, was sentenced to six months for assisting Shaira in delivering the baby. Rizna’s fingerprints were found on the Coast Milk can.

The third suspect however, Aishath Aniya, 24, of Huraa in Kaafu Atoll, was released after the court determined that there was not enough evidence to prove that she provided abortion pills to the defendant.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam told Minivan News at the time that the dead child, believed by forensic examiners to have been born three months premature, was discovered in the discarded container near the powerhouse area of the residential island.

In the same month, a dead infant was been found in a plastic bag in the swimming track area of Male’. A medical examination later concluded that the baby’s had sustained cuts, bruises and other wounds.

In November 2010, another abandoned newborn was discovered alive in bushes near the Wataniya telecommunications tower in Hulhumale’.

Abortion is illegal in the Maldives except to save a mother’s life, or if a child suffers from a congenital defect such as thalassemia. Several studies on HIV in the Maldives have identified risk factors, including high levels of promiscuity and little use of contraception. Anecdotal evidence points overwhelmingly to a high rate of abortion.

In January 2010, Minivan News reported that many women unable to travel to Sri Lanka resort to illegal abortions performed by unskilled individuals in unhygienic settings.

Abortion-inducing pills and injections administered by amateur abortionists are one recourse while others turn to harmful vaginal preparations, containing chemicals such as bleach or kerosene. Although infrequent, some insert objects into their uterus or induce abdominal trauma, such is the stigma of having a child out of wedlock.

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Indian Prime Minister to be invited to address parliament

Parliament today unanimously approved a proposal to invite Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to address parliament during a maiden visit to the Maldives.

The proposal was put to a vote after an amendment to the rules of procedure was passed yesterday to allow foreign heads of state or heads of government to deliver speeches before parliament.

“The fact that [the invitation proposal] was passed with unanimous consent of all MPs who participated in the vote has shown our Majlis’ sincerity and desire to invite and welcome Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh,” said Speaker Abdulla Shahid after the vote.

Shahid said he would work with parliamentary group leaders to “offer a warm welcome” to the Indian Prime Minister and sent the official invitation to the Indian government today.

During the debate on the proposal, MP Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, parliamentary group leader of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), said he was pleased that the Indian Prime Minister would become the first foreign head of state to address the Maldivian parliament.

MP Dr Abdulla Mausoom, deputy parliamentary group leader of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), said Dr Manmohan Singh’s address would benefit the fledgling democracy in the Maldives.

MP Abdulla Yameen, parliamentary group leader of the newly-formed Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), observed that Dr Singh was an economist by profession and “what the Maldives needs the most today is to strengthen our democracy and economy.”

“I am sure he will highlight these two areas in his address,” Yameen said.

Meanwhile at today’s sitting, MPs voted 52-8 to approve the signing of a treaty between the Maldives and India on mutual legal assistance on criminal matters.

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Chinese artist Yuan Xikun exhibits in the Maldives

Prominent Chinese artist Yuan Xikun says that during the tumultuous times of the Cultural Revolution, “to escape the meaningless fight between people” he went off and lived in the wilderness like Robinson Crusoe.

Even though he had been selected to stay in the city to paint the portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong, Xikun requested to be sent off to rural Xishungbanna. Life in the wilderness provided fodder for his paintings. In particular an encounter with a tiger at close range had a major impact on him, influencing his art.

His paintings of tigers are many; specially striking is one titled ‘Mountain Gentleman’ of a tiger’s unflinching stare in an Oriental Canvas.

“When I came across it in the forest it became a staring match and then luckily it walked away,” says Xikun, speaking through a translator at a talk he gave Monday night at the National Art Gallery. The new Chinese Ambassador to Maldives Yu Hongyao and Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture Mamduh Waheed attended the talk along with Maldivian artists.

The tiger connection

Eleven paintings by Xikun, of tigers in various poses, were on display at the art gallery. One of a small Chinese boy next to a docile tiger lying on its paws is aptly titled ‘Tiger tamed by boy with magic powers.’ The magnificent creature evokes sympathy in the viewer in the painting titled ‘Waiting for home’ a forlorn tiger seen through the bars of its cage.

The tiger is also what has lead Xikun to come to Maldives. Xikun, who is also a world-renowned sculptor, is the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)’s Patron for the Environment and Arts. UNEP uses Xikun’s sculptures for its environmental Champions of the Earth trophies – one of which was received by President Mohamed Nasheed.

A keen environmentalist, Xikun says it was inspiring to see the President doing something about carbon emissions.

A tall striking figure, Xikun took the attendees through his work via a power point presentation while talking animatedly in Chinese.

“You might ask why bring paintings of tigers to an Oceanic country. The thing is sharks share a similar destiny to tigers in the environment.” Xikun regularly uses his art to highlight threats to the environment and remind the viewers that the Earth’s resources are finite.

A miniature of his famous sculpture, ‘Urgency of the polar region’ was also on display. The sculpture of a mother polar bear balancing a top an iceberg with its two young cubs clinging to its side highlights the dangers of the melting icebergs.

“Religion and art are all connected to nature, this earth and its biodiversity is not an inheritance of our forefathers but is borrowed from our offspring,” said Xikun, and reiterated his call “for all human beings to achieve supreme kindness and to live in harmony with nature.”

A project

Xikun says it is in recent years environmental awareness has become such a large part of his philosophy infusing his work. Though his interest in painting ink wash portrait of foreign dignitaries and leaders had also earned him the title of ‘portrait diplomat’. So far he has painted over 152 portraits including that of Nelson Mandela.

His sculptures have often been presented as national gifts by the Chinese government to other countries. Notable among them is a gift to America, the sculpture of former president Abraham Lincoln, titled ‘Before the Decisive Battle-Lincoln.’

He has also produced sculptures of Einstein and Gandhi, along with 158 world leaders in politics and arts. Xikun is also the founder and curator of the first private museum in China, the Jin Tai Art Museum in Beijing.

A firm believer of cultural exchange, Xikun says “we are all live under one common sky and we will all face the environmental crisis, so I hope one day there is a mass movement for environmental protection.”

Xikun is gifting the three miniature sculptures he brought to Maldives. Among them is one titled ‘Sky patch.’ After the talk he explained that the sculpture of a woman carrying a rectangle block in her outstretched arms had originated from a Chinese myth about a goddess that blocks a hole in the earth.

“This is relevant to today’s times because we have a desire to do something about the environmental problems we face.” The other sculpture is that of Napoleon holding on to St Helena.

Plans are on to collect sand from five continents and water from the two Arctic Poles to do a giant sculpture of ‘Sky patch.’

Xikun will meet the President on on Wednesday, to discuss the project and gift the sculptures. Xikun extended an invitation to everyone to “come for the sand collection, to be part of the sculpture project.”

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