Day: December 4, 2011

Baby steps at Durban yield negotiating draft

The first week of the 17th UN Climate Conference closed in Durban, South Africa today with a 73-page draft negotiating text, which was issued to conference members for further discussion.

An “amalgamation” of drafts, the document includes suggestions for relevant issues such as finance, technology, cooperation and capacity building. Included in the recommendations are steps to create a $100-billion-per-year Green Fund by 2020 to help developing countries tackle the causes and impacts of global warming.

The text does not address the conference’s entrenching concern: a legally binding agreement regulating carbon emissions by developed and developing countries. Instead, a separate group has been assigned to address the issue, and will report directly to the Conference of Parties.

According to the text, India’s Economic Times observes that “the South African presidency would like the final outcome of the meeting to be a ‘party-driven’ process.

With a stated ambition to serve as a bonding agent for individual group work done at the conference the draft text “provides an overview aimed at enabling delegates to see where there are gaps or lack of balance and to find ways to address these accordingly,” reads the introduction.

A final document will be submitted to the Conference of Parties and the general assembly for review in the coming days.

Another leading concern is the expiration of the Kyoto Protocol, a legally binding agreement to cut carbon emissions which was not signed by the world’s leading emitters, China and the United States (US). While the European Union has voiced support for the agreement, Canada suggested withdrawal at the conference’s start and other countries dug in their heels over signing a second term.

Over the weekend, however, China indicated it would consider a “legally binding” deal to reduce emissions. The decision followed a public rally on December 3.

US National Public Radio (NPR) reporter Richard Harris, reporting from Durban, said Kyoto alternatives do exist.

“For example, it might be possible to reach an agreement to set a global limit for emissions from energy-intensive industries such as steelmaking. Or, if the world agreed to put a price on carbon (not likely at the moment), that would encourage a shift away from carbon dioxide emissions without requiring a treaty that spells out national emissions limits. A gloomier possibility is the world will not act until and unless there’s a catastrophic event that’s clearly triggered by climate change.”

His conclusion echoes the Maldivian delegation’s message, articulated by Environment Minister Mohamed Aslam: “Our survival will be our top priority.”

Upon his departure for the conference, Aslam said the Maldives would lobby for a new international agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions and prevent a rise in sea level, and would not relent to any country.

“We can’t go on without finding a conclusion to this. The Maldives will lobby for and say whatever we have to say to any country it is that we will not be able to move forward without endorsing this agreement.”

Officials at the ministry had not received sufficient updates from the Durban delegation to comment. Minivan was unable to reach the delegation abroad at time of press.

Meanwhile, former UN climate chief Yvo de Boer told the Associated Press (AP) that although he believes world leaders want an agreement, a failed negotiation process for a climate agreement had been a factor in his decision to leave his post 18 months ago.

“I do not see the negotiating process being able to rise to that challenge, being capable of delivering on that,” he told AP. “I believe the sincerity on the part of world leaders is there, but it’s almost as though they do not have control of the process that’s suppose to take them there.”

Do Boer, who refers to annual 194-nation summit as “a bit of a mouse wheel”, termed the current talks and their predecessors “a log that’s drifted away.” However, he recognises a group fear of leadership.”There is understandably a reluctance to be the first one to jump,” he said.

Meanwhile, the public is urging a plunge. “Occupy Durban”, a movement inspired by the ongoing “Occupy Wallstreet” protest in New York City, has assembled South African and foreign citizens protesting the “conference of polluters” which many claim does not represent the people.

Responding to Canada’s souring relationship with the Kyoto Protocol, indigenous citizens of Canada’s northern territories arrived in Durban “to act as a witness and to bring back the message of what Canada is saying so that we all understand where the Canadian government is at,” one protestor told CBC News Canada.

“We know that as indigenous people we have a lot of knowledge that is relevant to ecosystem, and that knowledge needs to be used when working on climate change adaptation,” said Daniel T’selei, a member of the indigenous youth delegation.

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Maldives calls for increased foreign intervention in Syria

The Maldives, European Union (EU), United States (US) and Arab League have convened a UN Emergency Session on human rights in Syria. The session is taking place at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The Maldives was named one of the seven most important countries on the UN Human Rights Council earlier this year.

A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed the Maldives played a key role in convening the session, which addressed the killing of thousands of Muslim civilians by Syrian security forces since the its Arab Spring began earlier this year.

The Maldives has also expressed full support for measures taken by the Arab League against Syria, which include economic sanctions.

The BBC today reported that Syria’s government said the League’s proposal to allow observers into the country placed “impossible conditions” on Damascus and infringed on Syria’s sovereignty.

The session in Geneva included a report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, which revealed “widespread evidence of gross and systemic human rights violations in the country.

“The conclusion of the Commission of Inquiry is that these violations amount to crimes against humanity, and thus necessitate referral to the UN Security Council and the International Criminal Court,” read the statement.

Addressing the session, Maldives’ Ambassador Iruthisham Adam accused President Bashar al-Assad’s government for missing “numerous opportunities to respond to the protests with dialogue and reform”, instead choosing repression, the statement claimed.

Adam further noted that Syrian authorities had rejected “numerous international efforts to mediate” by various bodies including the UN and the Arab League.

Adam concluded that the crimes committed constituted crimes against humanity, and therefore the international community would be expected to take further measures to protect the civilian population.

According to a UN estimate, 4,000 civilians have been killed since March. November was the deadliest month with nearly 950 casualties. Protestors acted peacefully until recently, when reports indicate that activists and civilians took arms against Syrian officials.

The Maldives has objected to Syria’s state-sponsored violence for several months. In August, Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem firmly declared, “the time for promises is over – it is now time for action.”

More recently, 11 Syrian nationals were detained attempting to get into Germany and Switzerland via Maldives with forged Turkish passports. The government has pledged not to deport them to Syria, and is awaiting the family’s resolution.

While the Maldives supports international pressure during Syria’s unrest, it also backs Sri Lanka’s preference for privacy post facto. Amidst rising demand for an international investigation into Sri Lanka’s human rights violations at the end of its civil war, President Mohamed Nasheed voiced support for an internal investigation.

“We must understand that a number of very, very bad things happened but we must be able to move forward,” Nasheed said previously, distinguishing between investigating past abuses and supporting ongoing violations.

Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed previously spoke to Minivan News on the subject.

“You can’t have reconciliation and long-lasting peace unless you respect human rights and set up mechanisms to do so,” he said. “But we should steer clear of politicisation, or the divisions that have kept the flame of terrorism alive in Sri Lanka for so long. We are saying let Sri Lanka find a way forward and achieve reconciliation – we are not saying we don’t care about the past.”

Sri Lanka’s LLRC report was presented to the President on November 15, and to Parliament on November 20. Its findings have not yet been made public.

Meanwhile, the UN Emergency Session in Geneva adopted a new resolution to increase international pressure on Syria by citing crimes against humanity. It will refer the matter to relevant UN bodies in New York and will establish a UN Special Rapporteur on Syria.

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Thieves cut ceiling to steal Rf 400,000 from MTCC safe

Police are investigating the theft of Rf 400,000 (US$26,000) from a safe in the office of the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC).

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said it appeared a group of people had entered the MTCC office in the Hulhumale Ferry terminal in Male’ by forcing open the door, and then cutting a hole through the ceiling to the first floor where the safe was located.

The thieves then forced open the safe and took the money.

Shiyam said the thieves “most probably” had information as to where the safe was located and that there was a significant sum of money inside.

No arrests have yet been made.

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Pillay controversy a missed opportunity to demonstrate nobility of Sharia: President

The Maldives missed an opportunity to demonstrate “the nobility of Islamic Sharia” to the world by reacting in “a Jihadi spirit” to controversial statements made by visiting UN human rights chief last month, President Mohamed Nasheed said at a rally Friday night.

A call for a moratorium and public debate on flogging as a punishment for fornication by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay in an address to parliament on November 24 was unequivocally condemned by the Islamic Ministry, religious groups and political parties as an unconstitutional challenge to a Quranic precept.

“That the punishments and rulings of Islamic Sharia are not inhumane is very clear to us,” Nasheed said. “We have the opportunity to show the whole world how noble and civilised Sharia is. That is because we are the only Islamic nation with a democratically-elected government.”

“Wasting that opportunity in a Jihadi spirit” with the claim of “defending Islam” was unacceptable, Nasheed told supporters at the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) rally at Dharubaaruge, which saw the launching of a ‘Plus One’ campaign to double party membership ahead of the 2013 presidential election.

“Opposition parties will always attack us by using religion as a weapon,” he said. “[But] believe that this country is the only Islamic nation where Islamic Sharia has been practiced uninterrupted for 700 years.”

Islamic chief justices and principles of Sharia law had “a sacred place” in the Maldives’ long history, Nasheed observed, which “will not be shaken.”

“Maldivians are not a people who will allow the slightest harm to Islam,” he said. “We know how civilised the religion of Islam is.”

MDP understood that Islam “brought the world out of jahiliyya [ignorance] onto the path of civilisation,” he continued, adding that the party was committed to protecting the culture and traditions of the country.

In the past three years, he noted, the government spent Rf1.2 billion on “the protection of Islamic faith” (page 200 of the MDP manifesto), including the construction of 40 new mosques across the country.

Nasheed said he had been writing about the decay of the Gemmiskiy in Fuvahmulah, an ancient coral stone mosque, since 1990.

Meanwhile in a press conference on Thursday, seven opposition parties announced it would be joining the coalition of NGOs for a nationwide mass protest planned for December 23 “to protect Islam” against the MDP government’s alleged “anti-Islamic agenda.”

Speaking at the Friday night rally, MDP Vice-President and MP for Feydhoo, Alhan Fahmy, strongly criticised opposition parties and religious groups for objecting to the Pakistani SAARC monument, which contained pagan symbols of the Indus Valley civilisation and a bust of the country’s founder Mohamed Ali Jinah topped by the Islamic crescent symbol.

“The time when people worshiped idols, when people worshiped people and the public worshiped rulers in this country is over and done with,” he said.

Alhan accused religious groups and scholars of the Adhaalath Party for employing “religion as a shield” for political purposes.

“Instead of bringing people from Egypt for Ramadan revival programmes, we gave the opportunity for Maldivian scholars to speak and deliver sermons,” he said, in contrast to the former regime “jailing them and shaving their beards with chili sauce.”

Alhan also argued that accusing senior officials of the MDP government as well as the party’s members of kufr (disbelief) went against Islamic principles in a Muslim society.

He urged the Adhaalath Party to cease “sowing discord” with accusations against fellow Muslims and suggested the religious conservative party “talk about something else if you want to come to power.”

President Nasheed meanwhile suggested that “the people today are too aware and enlightened” to believe the charges laid against the government.

“We know what the people of the Maldives want. We don’t have to watch TV stations to find it out,” he said, referring to the opposition-aligned privately-owned broadcasters DhiTV and VTV.

Nasheed observed that the MDP received 53 percent of the total votes cast in the by-elections for vacant council seats in Alif Alif Himandhoo, Faafu Bilehdhoo and Gnaviyani Fuvahmulah on November 19.

“In 2013, I have not the slightest doubt in my mind that we will take 60 percent of the vote in the first round,” he asserted, claiming that there was “no other party in the country yet” that could meaningfully compete with the MDP.

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Body of missing 37 year old woman found in Kudahuvadhoo lagoon

Police are investigating the death of a 37 year-old woman who was found floating in the lagoon of Kudahuvadhoo in Dhaal Atoll this morning.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said a search began after the woman was reported missing at 2:00 am last night.

President of the Kudahuvadhoo Island Council Ibrahin Fikry told newspaper Haveeru that the woman, identified as ‘Sheereena’ of Kaneeruge, was found near the island’s breakwater at 6:00am. She was bleeding from an injury between her nose and mouth, as if she had been punched or hit, Fikry told Haveeru.

However Sub-Inspector Shiyam told Minivan News that police had not noticed any incriminating injuries on the body and were not yet treating the incident as suspicious.

“The injuries could have [happened] in many ways. We are speaking to family members and the people who saw her last,” he said.

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High Court issues injunction against sale of MNBC assets

The High Court issued an injunction on Sunday forbidding the Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) from selling, transferring or destroying any state media assets.

According to the injunction, MNBC cannot take any action that violates the Civil Court’s ruling in May that the station was to transfer all state media assets to the parliament-created Maldives Broadcasting Corporation (MBC). MNBC appealed against the Civil Court ruling in the High Court. That decision is still pending.

This week’s court’s decision came following a case filed by MBC to halt alleged misuse of state media assets by the MNBC board, and prevent the company from laying off workers before the final verdict on the transfer of assets.

MNBC Chairman Madulu Mohamed Waheed told local media outlet Sun that MNBC’s had decided to close seven media centres based in different atolls, and sent notice of dismissal to staff employed at those stations. Affected employees would receive three months’ salary as a redundancy package, he said, but did not state the reason for the decision.

MNBC and MBC have been engaged in a long-running tug-of-war for control of the assets of the state broadcaster, formerly Television Maldives (TVM) and Voice of Maldives (VoM).

The government contends that the MBC board is stacked with opposition supporters and that its attempt to gain control of MNBC is effectively a media coup, while MNBC has been criticised for favouring the ruling party.

MNBC’s proponents claim that given the opposition’s influence over private broadcast media the consolidation of media ownership in the hands of a few opposition-leaning MPs, the government has no alternative.

Even the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) waded into the debate at the behest of the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA), in support of MBC and an independent state broadcaster.

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