Month: December 2011

Undercover journalists expose UK lobby firm’s influence in Sri Lanka

Executives from UK-based lobby firm and reputation management company Bell Pottinger have been secretly recorded as admitting to writing Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s speech to the United Nations last year.

Undercover journalists posing as representatives of the Uzbekistan government approached several such firms to try and determine the influence such lobbyists had in the UK government.

During the meetings, which were secretly recorded, journalists from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism asked Chairman of Bell Pottinger Public Relations David Wilson about the company’s work improving the image of the Sri Lankan government. The executives referred to “dark arts” used to help rebuild the reputations of countries and companies accused of human rights violations.

Sri Lanka has been under international pressure to submit to a war crimes investigation after a UN report published in April found “credible allegations, which if proven, indicate that a wide range of serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law were committed both by the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, some of which would amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

The Maldives has defended Sri Lanka, with Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem stating that the UN Panel report was “singularly counterproductive”. A report by Sri Lanka’s own ‘Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation’ report has not yet been made public.

Bell Pottinger’s Wilson told the undercover journalists that the “Peace and Reconciliation” commission had a “fundamental flaw” in its remit, in that it was trying “to bury the past”.

“We wrote President Rajapakse s speech to the UN last year which was very well received,” Wilson said, claiming that it was used in preference one prepared by Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry.

In the speech, Rajapakse expresses concerns over the “unacceptable degree of selectivity” of international organisations operating in the developing world, which “ must keep a vigil against these irregular modalities which should be resisted through our collective strength.”

Wilson also told journalists that this speech “went a long way in taking country to where they need to go”, and claimed that Bell Pottinger had added “some critical dialogue at government level” inside the UK, and introduced “some balance outside of a couple of media channels. The Times and Channel 4 are particularly staunch in their opposition.”

Channel 4 had aired video footage purportedly showing Sri Lankan troops executing bound and naked Tamil dissidents in the closing days of the country’s civil war. The authenticity of the footage was challenged by the Sri Lankan government, but described as authentic by the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Christof Heyns.

Speaking to the undercover journalists, Managing Director of Bell Pottinger Public Affairs Tim Collins said that improvements in a country’ s reputation did not need to be fast: “As long as you can see that each year is a little better than before, that’s fine,” he was quoted as saying in the UK’s Independent newspaper.

Uzbekistan, he suggested, should stress its position as an emerging market: “To the Western world it’s a developing market so you can always have the message that: ‘We are changing with the times – we are emerging, learning as a nation and growing’,” Collins said. Such a campaign to improve the country’s image would cost in excess of £100,000 a month, he suggested.

Former President of the Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom also engaged a large public relations firm in a bid to improve the country’s international image.

Speaking to Minivan News in June, former Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed explained how the involvement of PR firm Hill & Knowlton extended as far as writing legislation, and even advocating controversial Constitutional amendments such as freedom of religion.

“When you are in office for 30 years and your ministers and associates make recommendations to you, you don’t believe them,’ Dr Shaheed told Minivan News. “But if you have a posh firm from London making recommendations, you tend to believe them. And Gayoom did.

“Things that Gayoom did on their recommendation included separating the army from the police, a whole raft of reforms on judicial function, prison reform, constitutional reform – all these things were done at their request. The only H&K recommendations he left out – Hill & Knowlton wanted Yameen and the then Police Chief (Adam Zahir) sacked, and they also suggested that freedom of religion was something that was internationally demanded.

“Of course, there’s no way any government here can introduce freedom of religion, and H&K’s usefulness ended when they recommended Yameen be removed – at that point Gayoom stopped listening to them.

“H&K had a contract signed in April 2005, and their proposals were presented as a package. Their engagement was always positive and there was nothing covered up, and they came here only after speaking to the UK Foreign Office and US State Department. Of course, they are a commercial company and had their fees.”

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Government proposes raise in police, MNDF salaries

A proposal to raise police and armed forces salaries by 40 percent in 2012 has been submitted to Parliament today by the government.

Mulaku MP Abdulla Yameen, also Parliamentary Group Leader of opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), criticised the government for decreasing civil servant salaries while increasing those of police and armed forces.

The raise was allegedly included in the proposed Rf14 billion budget which was submitted to Parliament last week, Haveeru reports.

Yameen allegedly learned of the proposal from the budget review committee rather than the budget itself, reports Haveeru.

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has meanwhile requested parliament to include any unpaid civil servants’ salaries and allowances in the 2012 budget without conditions.

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Thilafushi closed for clean-up as ‘garbage island’ overflows

Male’ City Council has banned waste dumping at Thilafushi, commonly known as ‘garbage island’, until the current overflow has been cleaned up and boats can access the appropriate dumping areas.

“We decided to ban all the parties from dumping waste until we draft regulations and devise policies on dumping waste,” Councillor Ibrahim Shujau told Haveeru News yesterday.

He explained that parties bringing waste from place other than Male’ would be allowed to dump in designated areas only after a cleaning operation had been carried out and new regulations published.

Minivan News was unable to reach Shujau at time of press.

Tourism Ministry Deputy Director General Moosa Zameer Hassan said the temporary closure “can’t go on for long,” and hopes to re-open the area by the weekend. “But boats will be monitored to ensure they follow procedures,” he added.

Hassan said “waste being brought to the site is not properly put into the collection area–many boats are impatient so they dump their waste outside of the designated area. Now boats cannot access the collection area.”

Thilafushi accommodates only a few boats at a time for dumping. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) director Ibrahim Naeem earlier said that limited capacity was pushing boats to break the rules.

“The mechanism for waste collection and disposal needs to be improved,” he said previously. “The EPA has to do some work on the matter, and the people who are bringing in the garbage and contributing to its buildup also need to take responsibility.”

Naeem today reiterated that the solution lay with management.

“The City Council has to be more active in getting the necessary equipment and budget to manage waste disposal,” said, adding that boats should also be more patient even in queues one to two hours long.

This is the third time in three months that reports of free-flowing waste have come out of Thilafushi, Naeem notes. Hassan said transferring Thilafushi management to the City Council as per the Decentralisation Act has affected operations.

While City Council does not have sufficient capacity to fully support Thilafushi operations, solutions including splitting the cost of waste operations and utilities among users have been agreed upon. They will be implemented at a later date.

Naeem said an Indian company had been contracted to manage waste disposal, and had submitted its Environmental Impact Assessment. “But we don’t know when that will start. There are deadlines, but I think [the council] is a bit behind,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Council is trying to manage the situation effectively in the short-term.

Among the parties implicated for the waste overflow were resorts, which lean heavily on Thilafushi’s services.

“Right now the issue is about management at Thilafushi,” said Hassan. “Of course there are issues with resorts but they are indirect, such as with transfer boats from outsourced parties.”

Hassan said that tourism regulations require resorts to have an Insinkerator system, a bottle crusher and compactor, and a long-term oil storage system. “Most resorts have the mechanisms but few use them,” he said. “Up until lately Thilafushi has worked well, so there was less incentive to operate their own machinery.”

Incinerators create smoke, and operating the machines is high-cost and highly specialised, Hassan explained. Resorts generally crush and condense waste, but “it’s not a total solution, it’s a step towards on-site management. Thilafushi is the ultimate destination,” he said.

The ministry today met with concerned parties, and enacted plans for immediate clean-up and to re-start operations. The EPA and the Environmental Ministry have agreed on the need to restore waste management operations as as soon as possible.

The clean-up operations will be overseen by Thilafushi Corporation and the city council.

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Gang stabs 27 year-old man

A 27 year-old man is recovering in hospital after being stabbed in a gang attack in Male’ last night.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam told newspaper Haveeru that the man suffered several wounds to different parts of his body.

Haveeru reported ADK hospital as stating that the man was stabbed three times in the back and his chest.

The ADK Hospital also told the paper that his face was hit by an object and injured.

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Attorney General accuses Gahdhoo Court of misleading the public

The Attorney General’s Office has accused Gahdhoo Island Court of misleading the public, after the Court summoned the AG and threatened to hold him in contempt of court if he failed to appear.

The judge had requested the AG’s Office send a representative to appear in an ongoing trial of a case concerning the government.

In a statement, the AG’s Office said that the case Gahdhoo Island Court was referring to was a suit related to the Pension Administration Office, which had its own legal authority to both file suits and respond to legal summons. The government was not required to send representatives from the AG’s Office, it said.

The AG’s Office further claimed said that the Gahdhoo Island Court had not examined the suit in as much detail as it was obliged to do legally, and had mistakenly registered the suit as against the government rather than the Pension Administration Office.

According to the statement, the AG Office had not received any summons chit from the court besides the one sent yesterday, and that there was no reason for the Prosecutor General to take action against the AG.

The AG Office accused Gahdhoo Island Court of phoning media outlets and telling them that the Attorney General was in contempt of court.

Gahdhoo Island Court yesterday sent a summons chit to Attorney General Abdulla Muiz, requesting he produce himself to the island court.

According to the local media, the Gahdhoo Court Judge decided to summon Muiz after the AG’s Office did not send a representative from the AG in a case involving the office.

The judge claimed that the AG was guilty of contempt of court and requested the Prosecutor General to take action against him, and said that no exemption would be made if Muiz defied the summons.

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Adhaalath members on Vaikaradhu protest arrival of President

Four islanders from Vaikaradhu in Haa Dhaalu Atoll yesterday protested the arrival of the President for an official visit.

Chair of Vaikaradhoo Council Ahmed Waheed told Minivan News that the protesters were members of the Adhaalath Party.

”They are four members of Adhaalath Party branch in this island,” Waheed said. ”They were holding banners and raising their voice against the government, and saying they would not support a government that supports Israel.”

”They were on the harbour when the President arrived,” he said. ”They were standing quite close to the president, but the president did not do or say anything.”

Council member Abdulla Shareef told Minivan News that the few people gathered to express disapproval were senior officials of the Adhaalath Wing on the island.

”There are not many supporters of Adhaalath Party on this island, and even in their party there were some people that did not want to join that protest yesterday,” he said.

President of Adhaalath’s Vaikaradhoo Branch Ahmed Shareef told Minivan News that the gathering was not organised by the Adhaalath Party.

”The Adhaalath Party did not organise the gathering,” Shareef said. ”We requested the council give us permission to put up two banners, one about the massive protest on December 23 and the other banner calling for the Maldives to be cleaned of idols.”

He said the banners were put up with the permission for the President’s arrival.

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Parliament schedules decision to reappoint Islamic Minister

Parliament has scheduled the decision on whether to reappoint Islamic Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari for the 19th of this month.

Bari was appointed to the position on October 9 by parliament for the third time. The last time he resigned following a request made by the Adhaalath Party after it severed its coalition agreement with the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

Dr Bari was first appointed to the government under the coalition agreement.

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Gahdhoo Island Court orders AG to appear

Gahdhoo Court on the island of Gahdhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll sent a summons chit to Attorney General Abdulla Muiz, requesting that he produce himself to the island court.

According to the local media, the Gahdhoo Court Judge decided to summon Muiz after the AG’s Office did not send a representative from the AG in a case involving the office.

The judge claimed that AG Muiz was been guilty of contempt of court and requested the Prosecutor General to take action against him, and said that no exemption would be made if Muiz defied the summons.

The court has the authority sentence a person to up to three months for contempt of court.

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Hardcore criminal returns to Maldives on custodial condition

Ibrahim ‘Gabbarey’ Abdulla of Machangoalhi Night Villa, who has been identified by police as a “hardcore criminal”, has returned to the Maldives after medical treatment in India.

Abdulla, who has been arrested 14 times for robbery and gang violence, was charged with the murder of 21-year-old Ali Ishar in December 2007. Police had confiscated an axe, an empty liquor bottle, and a bloodied bandage and towel from Machangoalhi Night Villa as evidence, Haveeru reports.

Although Abdulla confessed to the crime, the Juvenile Court acquitted him on the grounds that it had not found evidence against him. He was a minor at the time.

Abdulla was returned on the condition that he be put back into custody upon arrival in the Maldives.

Abdulla was sent to India in April under a court permit and doctor’s recommendations for treatment of stab wounds to the head.

The duration of his stay in India was not specified, police have told Haveeru. In late August, however, Indian police arrested Abdulla for overstaying in Trivandrum.

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