Day: November 24, 2011

Renewable energy prices posed with high potential

The cabinet has set prices for government-owned utilities companies to purchase renewable energy as part of an investment scheme to bring the Maldives closer to its carbon neutral goal.

“We think renewable energy has a lot of potential, it is why we are in the business. We think this is where things should be going,” said Renewable Energy (REM) Director Hudha Ahmed. Noting that diesel rates are currently higher than projected solar energy rates, she said solar energy is a more reliable source long-term.

According to the Cabinet’s decision, State Electric Company Limited (STELCO) can buy a unit for Rf3.42. South Central Utilities Limited will be charged the highest rate per unit (Rf5.39), and Upper North Utilities Limited can buy a unit for Rf4.44. Units are available to Northern Utilities Limited for Rf4.40, Central Utilities Limited for Rf3.97, and Southern Utilities Limited for Rf3.94.

The Maldives currently aims to cut carbon emissions by 60 percent using solar power. Currently, no company is carrying out a commercial renewable energy project in the Maldives.

STELCO, which just received the rates and is awaiting conditions from the Ministry of Housing and Environment, said there are plans to provide renewable energy locally.

“We have some projects which are being planned, mostly in solar and wind. One solar project is expected to be commissioned in a few weeks,” said STELCO Chief Technology Officer Mohamed Zaid.

Since signing the Copenhagen Accord in January 2010 the Maldives has focused on decarbonising the electricity sector, which accounts for over 31 percent of industrial project expenses.

Decarbonising the country is expected to cost the Maldives US$3-5 billion over the next 10 years.

The rates approved by the Cabinet were researched and recommended by Maldives Energy Authority. Deputy Director Ajwad Musthafa said the rates were calculated according to fuel prices in each region and differences in fuel efficiency.

“The amounts we set were about 10 percent cheaper than they currently are in diesel,” Musthafa said.

Over 25 percent of the Maldives’ GDP is spent on diesel used for boats alone.

Consumers won’t be affected by the plan, which currently targets investors only and is likely to be lucrative, he added.

“As it stands now, a person can put a solar panel in his home and send the power to a grid. Having invested in energy production, that person can expect a six to seven year payback period before making a profit, which are expected to grow significantly with time. Currently, there is no mechanism in place between the investor and the utility company, but I believe it is being developed,” said Musthafa.

He observed that the system would be especially attractive to people in the Upper South and South Central regions, “where energy prices and feed-in tariffs are higher.”

In September, the Maldives signed the Renewable Energy through Feed-In Tariff in an effort to reduce electricity costs by promoting a shift from oil fuel to renewable energy sources.

“The existing system is fairly inefficient in these areas,” he said. “About fourteen years back the government was charging an Rf3.5 flat rate for energy. We got complaints from investors, so now we are trying to make it more exciting for investment.”

Earlier this month the Maldivian government solicited bids from solar power companies to power 29 islands, which are facing power generation difficulties. Many small islands have small power stations, which are expensive and yield disproportionate returns.

As fuel prices increase, Musthafa explained, so will the feed-in tariff, and the overall price of diesel is unlike to drop in coming years. By comparison, locally-produced solar would be a valuable option.

Musthafa said a buyer’s mechanism was being developed and would be implemented in due time. “Right now, we want to create a market that offers transparent, confident investments,” he said, adding that foreigners are expected to play an important role.

“Foreign investors will only have to sign a power purchase agreement. Nothing has to be taken from the government’s side,” he said. Local companies are also expected to benefit from external support provided by foreign investors.

Past the investment phase, the solar plan includes capacity development, training and awareness programs on renewable energy, and methods to make the investment more affordable, including concessional loans.

“Our hope is that by early next year we will have the proper institutional set up to make this happen,” Musthafa said.

Correction:

Previously, this article stated, “As it stands now, a person can put a solar panel in his home and send the power to a grid…Currently, there is no mechanism in place between the investor and the utility company, but I believe it is being developed.”

It should have read, “As it stands now, a person can install a solar panel in his home and sell the power to a grid…We have already established a set of technical guidelines and application procedures for Solar PV installations. Additional regulations are being developed.”

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RF18 million vanishes from Sheesha account

Rf18 million has allegedly gone missing from a State Bank of India (SBI) account owned by the three brothers who own local motorcycle retailer Sheesha.

Police have launched an investigation into the fraud case, reports Haveeru.

The transfer, allegedly unauthorised, was made from a personal savings account, Haveeru claims. The recipient account has not been identified.

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Salaf asks PIC to take action against police for protecting ‘idols’

Religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf has sent a letter to the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) demanding it investigate and take action against police for protecting the ‘idolatrous’ SAARC monuments in Addu.

In its letter, Jamiyyathul Salaf noted that Islamic Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari had declared that the SAARC monuments kept in Addu were un-Islamic and unconstitutional.

Salaf said that after the Islamic Minister publicly revealed his stand on the issue, police had worked to protect the monuments and said that it showed that police “have no respect for the laws.”

Salaf claimed that some police officers had refused to go out and protect the monuments, and that those police officers were threatened and forced to protect the monuments.

In the letter Salaf also said that the police were aware that the idolatrous monuments were banned in the Maldives by more than one article of the law.

A police spokesperson today told Minivan News that police were not protecting any “idols” but was active in some parts of Addu to control possible unrest.

‘’Those were properties of other nations and police are legally obliged to protect people’s property,’’ he said.

When the SAARC Summit was held in Addu, each member state left a symbol of their nation in Addu City. Some of the monuments were determined by religious groups and the Islamic Minister as un-Islamic.

The monument from Pakistan representing the Indus Valley Civilization and Sri Lankan monument representing its nation’s lion were attacked. Some parts of the Pakistan monument were stolen and later replaced.

Opposition Adhaalath Party and Progressive Party of the Maldives [PPM] heavily criticized the government for keeping the monuments in Addu and claimed that the monuments cannot be kept in the Maldives according to the laws.

PPM Council members recently reported the Maldives Customs Department to police for allowing the monuments to be imported to the country.

The Islamic Minister recently asked the President’s Office and other institutions to remove the monuments.

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PPM accuses government of setting Luthfee free from prison

The Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) has alleged that the government has set free Abdull Luthfee, who was sentenced to life during the time of Former President, for playing a senior role in the November 3 coup attempt in 1988.

Former Deputy Leader of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party [DRP] and current interim council member of PPM Umar Naseer yesterday held a press meeting and told the media that the government has said that Luthfee went to Sri Lanka for medical purposes and escaped.

Luthfee, Umar said, did not escape but was ‘escaped’ with the assistance of the government and alleged that the government have been still supporting his stay at Sri Lanka.

Umar said it has been years after he left for medical purposes and added that the government has not even tried to look for him.

He said he was not astonished that the government has not searched for him because one of President Mohamed Nasheed’s brothers-in-law was also a senior figure in the November 3 attack.

‘’The PPM will very seriously look in to this issue of government letting a senior figure involved in the November 3 coup attempt in which 19 Maldivians were killed escape,’’ said Umar, adding that many other figures involved in the November 3 attack were currently filling senior government posts.

Sri Lankan newspaper The Island reported Luthfee as saying on the 23rd anniversary of the November 3 coup attempt, “I wanted to get rid of [former President Maumoon Abdul] Gayoom at any cost. As the election process in my country never gave a reasonable opportunity to the opposition, I felt an outside force should be used to oust Gayoom,”

In May this year, before the PPM was created and supporters of Gayoom were in Dhivehi Rayiithunge Party as a faction, Gayoom’s faction of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) protested outside the Prosecutor General’s Office and marched through the streets of Male’  with coffins, demanding justice for the martyrs who died in the November 3 coup attempt.

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair denied the allegations and referred Minivan News to State Home Minister  Mohamed ‘Monazer’ Naeem for more details.

Naeem said that Government will never help a detainee escape and denied the allegations made by PPM.

‘’The Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Service [DPRS] will not hold anyone in detention if a doctor advises to send an inmate abroad for medical reasons, but that does not mean that we are making way for him to escape,’’ Naeem explained.

He said anyone can point fingers at the DPRS or Home Ministry.

‘’We are confident that no staff or anyone here will held him to escape,’’ he added.

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Flogging for fornication “inhumane and degrading violence against women”: Navi Pillay tells Majlis

The Maldives’ peaceful transition to democracy has “set an important precedent in the Asia-Pacific region and serves as a beacon in the broader Muslim world,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in parliament today.

In a keynote address titled ‘Responding to the Past while Safeguarding the Future: the Challenge of Protecting Human Rights in the context of Democratic Transition,’ Pillay observed that as democratic transitions “are always fragile,” the recent history of the Maldives contained lessons for newly-established democracies.

Pillay praised the reform milestones achieved by the Maldives since 2003, including the establishment of a Human Rights Commission, the introduction of political parties, accession to main international human rights instrument, the drafting of a “new and very progressive constitution” and the first multi-party elections that followed its ratification in August 2008.

“This year, we have witnessed the same strong aspirations for democracy and human rights in the Middle East and North Africa which have brought dramatic and positive changes to the political environment of the region,” she said.

“After decades of oppression and systemic human rights violations, men and women of different ages, political orientations and social origins have come together in an unprecedented movement to bring about political change and to demand social justice.”

Strong and stable institutions

Pillay noted that successful transition to a functioning democracy was “very much contingent on the existence of independent institutions” and separation of powers between the executive, legislature and judiciary.

While acknowledging that the new institutions started working “with limited resources and within a volatile and politicised environment,” Pillay said it was imperative for all parties to “embrace the path of reform and develop a culture of dialogue, tolerance and mutual respect.”

She urged parliament to enact long-delayed legislation and the judiciary to be “independent and forward-looking in applying the law in accordance with the constitution and international human rights obligations of the Maldives.”

The executive should meanwhile “respect the roles and independence of the other arms of the state and ensure effective implementation of the rule of law.”

Islam and democracy

The reform movement of the Maldives and public uprisings of the Arab Spring has established “the congruence between rights guaranteed by Islam and universally recognised human rights,” Pillay stated, which is “proof that Islam is not incompatible with human rights and democracy.”

She welcomed the ‘House of Wisdom’ initiative led by the Maldives, “which will help to promote an open and constructive debate, both inside and outside the Maldives, on how to reconcile international human rights standards and Islamic law.”

Social media

A third lesson for democratic transitions, said Pillay, was use of the internet and new social media to mobilise the public.

Activists, journalists and bloggers in the Maldives “opened new spaces for debate,” she observed, noting the changes to “repressive habits of the past” through decriminalising defamation and removing restriction to freedom of assembly.

The Associated Press (AP) however reported yesterday that Pillay expressed concern with reports of rising religious intolerance in the Maldives during a meeting with President Mohamed Nasheed.

The AP referred to the vandalism of monuments donated by Pakistan and Sri Lanka for the recently-concluded SAARC summit over allegedly “idolatrous” and un-Islamic imagery.

Women’s rights

While women were involved in the political mobilisation of countries in the Middle East and North Africa, Pillay stressed that “rights and opportunities for women in these societies still face many challenges.”

“I strongly believe that democracy for the half the people is no democracy at all,” she asserted.

Acknowledging efforts by both previous and current administrations to promote gender equality and the removal of the gender bar for public office in the 2008 constitution, Pillay however noted that discrimination against women and girls continued in the country.

“A powerful illustration of this trend is the flogging of women found guilty of extra-marital sex,” she explained. “This practice constitutes one of the most inhumane and degrading forms of violence against women, and should have no place in the legal framework of a democratic country.”

Pillay urged the authorities to foster national dialogue and debate “on this issue of major concern,” and called on parliament to pass legislation on domestic violence as well as other laws to ensure women’s rights.

In response to a Minivan News report in 2009 of an 18 year-old woman fainting after a 100 lashes, Amnesty International called for a moratorium on the “inhumane and degrading punishment.”

Of the 184 people sentenced to public flogging in 2006, 146 were female, making it nine times more likely for women to be punished.

“I also urge you to discuss the withdrawal of the remaining reservation to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women concerning equality in marriage,” Pillay said. “These are necessary steps, not only for protecting the human rights of women and girls in Maldives, but securing Maldives’ transition.”

On the problem of migrant workers in the country, Pillay urged the government to enforce the non-discrimination clause in the constitution by adopting a comprehensive law and ratifying the ‘Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.’

Transitional justice

Lastly, the UN High Commissioner observed that new democracies faced a common problem of transitional justice or “establishing accountability for past human rights violations.”

“Addressing the past is often a complicated political dilemma, but we should never lose sight of the right victims have to truth, justice and redress,” she said.

Without coming to terms with human rights abuses and injustices committed by ousted regimes, said Pillay, “transitional democracies will face continued challenges in the path towards democracy, respect for human rights and ending impunity.”

Referring to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, Pillay revealed that she urged President Mohamed Nasheed to “lead a national consultation on this important subject.”

Pillay concluded her address by predicting that the Maldives “will increasingly have a special role to play in the region and the Muslim world as it has pioneered a democratisation process that is both modern and Islamic.”

“I firmly believe that the Maldives can make history as a moderate Islamic democracy. This opportunity cannot be missed, for the benefit of Maldives and of the wider region,” she said.

“Difficult road ahead”

Pillay, a South African national of Tamil descent who served as President of the International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda for eight years, today concluded her three-day stay in the first-ever visit to the Maldives by a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Meanwhile, in his remarks after the speech, Speaker Abdulla Shahid said the parliament was “honoured to have you here, a person who has fought tremendously for human rights in your country and is committed to the promotion of human rights all over the world.”

“As you have rightly said, Maldives has pioneered many of the experiences that the Arab Spring is spreading through the Arabian peninsula and the North African region,” he said.

“I can assure you, Madam High Commissioner, that we will not let our guard down. We know how difficult the job has been. We know how difficult the road ahead of us is. And we will continue to work in the national interest of this nation and we will succeed in this endeavor.”

He added that the leadership of the legislature, judiciary and executive is “fully committed” to upholding the liberal constitution of 2008, which is “a living document which we are going through everyday.”

“The experiences that we have had are strengthening the democratic structure of this country,” he said.

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Jauza Khaleel earns rare President’s Badge

Jauza Khaleel, age 16, of Hiriyaa School was awarded the President’s Badge today, the highest national award for Maldivian Guides.

President Mohamed Nasheed presented the award to Miss Khaleel at the President’s Office. The President congratulated her on her achievements.

Chair Person for Awards at Maldives Guide Association, Shaheen Adam, said the award is only given every three to four years.

“Some kids start it but because of the work involved they just stop and don’t finish the program,” she said. “At most ten kids have received the Badge, I think.”

To receive the Badge Miss Khaleel had to perform a series of tasks and studies, including three months of community service, a challenge, and an oral review.

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Court case completion rate drops 29 percent

The Judicial Administration Department completed 29 percent fewer cases in 2010 than in 2009, in spite of a decrease in cases submitted to the court.

Only 2,484 out of the 3,057 cases submitted last year were concluded. In 2009, 3,488 were completed.

Meanwhile, magistrate courts in the islands closed 840 criminal cases while 1,644 cases were completed by the superior courts, reported Haveeru.

Nearly 1000 fewer criminal cases were reported to the courts in 2010 than in 2009.

The magistrate courts in the islands received 900 criminal cases in 2010 compared to the 1,433 cases received the previous year while 2,157 cases were filed at the superior courts in capital Male.

Phone calls made to the Criminal Court were dismissed at reception, and media personnel were unavailable at designated times and phone numbers. One media contact would not address the issue.

Chief Judge Abdullah Mohamed refused to comment on the matter, and forwarded the phone call to a media officer who had previously refused to comment as well.

Registrar Ali Adam also said he was unable to discuss the matter.

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Island President opens to packed audiences

The pre-release premiere of the Island President opened last night in Dharubaarge to packed audiences.

Tickets that had originally been sold for Rf 80 (US$5) were selling for Rf 150 (US$10) on the black market yesterday afternoon. Such was the demand that organisers squeezed an extra 50 chairs into the auditorium at the last minute for on-the-door sales.

The film details the lead up to President Mohamed Nasheed’s election and the introduction of multi-party democracy. This is by no means an objective film: former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is treated harshly by the filmmakers and portrayed as thoroughly creepy, as in one scene where he stares unblinking at the camera while soldiers goose step past and a tinny patriotic song plays in the background.

Neither is it propaganda – rare archival footage of brutal military crackdowns and photos of the battered body of Evan Naseem lead up to one of the film’s strongest moments: time-lapse footage of the tin shed in which Nasheed was incarcerated in solitary confinement for 18 months.

“You walk in your mind,” he explains. “Even if you can only take 4-5 steps, you walk it over and over again.”

Nasheed’s seriousness on the subjects of democracy and climate change is given contrast as the filmmakers home in on endearing personal touches – the President’s assistant struggling to do up his tie, Nasheed’s request that the Muleaage staff fetch his mother’s spicy fish recipe, his bitter asides expressing frustration with diplomatic bureaucracy, his phone call home to tell his mother he had secured a deal in Copenhagen, and photos from the days he sported an afro.

The film portrays him as a very human and accessible leader, qualities which are sure to make the film a success among the liberal university student demographic when it is released to cinemas in the US in February.

Foreign audiences with more interest in global climate politics than in the Maldives will find much to take from the film. Nasheed serves as a fascinating behind-the-scenes ticket to the Copenhagen Summit and the diplomatic wrangling of 192 world leaders. In one scene he bullies the President of Grenada into rewriting a document on the climate change ambitions of small island states, in another he disappears behind a palm tree to speak to the Australian Prime Minister over the phone – the filmmakers follow.

Descriptions of The Island President as ‘the West Wing of climate change’ are apt – in one scene, a Chinese diplomat is filmed asking a protocol officer to identify the Maldivian President. “Your government should know this,” she snaps.

The impact of the film locally will be hard to predict. Whatever the politics of the viewer, there is a great deal for Maldivians to be proud about in The Island President. In one scene, Nasheed and Environment Minister Mohamed Aslam argue bitterly about whether to compromise on 1.5 degrees in order to at least secure an adaptation deal.

“People listen to you. We don’t want to look like we’ve been bought,” Aslam insists. Nasheed’s explosive reaction quickly dispels any doubt that his is a calculated attempt to milk foreign aid – he is clearly convinced the threat is existential, but is forced to come to terms with compromising his global ambitions for the sake of his country.

The first screening last night was predictably brimming with Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) supporters, but the second session was a mixed – and younger – crowd. With 40 percent of the population aged between 15-24 and many disenfranchised by the ‘he said, she said’ nature of Maldivian politics, the film could well have political ramifications in 2013 if it proves popular with this set.

Eleanor Johnstone:

“The Island President” sets a mood of gravity and hope. Using footage and interviews original and historic, television broadcasts, and moments intimate as well as highly public, the film offers a cinematic collage of President Nasheed’s pursuit of democracy and in putting, and keeping, the Maldives on the map.

A combined sense of crisis and action dominates the film, particularly on the environmental issue. But threads of hope are strung throughout, most notably in the Maldivian government’s negotiating style. Regularly confronted with the baby-step methods of many foreign powers, Nasheed’s strident style may unnerve his own delegation but it presents him as a man of action, keen to keep his word.

Everyone knows someone who disdains politics as a sport of chatter and show. Nasheed is one of them. At Copenhagen he regularly vents of the slow-moving discussions and hesitant delegations to his own group of ministers. The Island President might leave Maldivians in fear for their homeland. But with a leader who speaks his mind without reservation, the country has more than many world powers can boast.

Extra showings of The Island President will be held at Athena Cinema on Friday
and Saturday, following unprecedented demand.

Friday 25 November at Athena Cinema: 14:30; 17:30; 20:30; 23:30.

Saturday 26 November at Athena Cinema: 17:30; 20:00.

Tickets can be bought from Athena Cinema between 16:30 – 23:00. Planned screenings for Dharubaarge on Thursday will be moved to Athena Cinema to meet demand. Ticket hotline: 9797356.

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