Category: Politics

National Security Committee supports sending Maldives troops to UN peacekeeping operations

Parliament’s National Security Committee has voted in favor of signing a memorandum of understanding with the UN to send Maldivian soldiers to UN conflict zones for peacekeeping operations.

According to the parliament, all the members of the committee were present at the meeting last Monday when the voting was held, including Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Rozaina Adam, Peoples Alliance Party (PA) MP Abdulraheem Abdulla and DRP MP Mohamed Nashiz.

The committee will now submit the matter to parliament for approval.

On April 5, the cabinet decided to sign a memorandum of understanding with the UN to deploy Maldivian soldiers to UN conflict zones, noting that it would be important for the Maldives to contribute to these international efforts to ensure that every country, society and individual had the opportunity to live in peace and security.

The decision was then sent to the parliament for approval, and the parliament voted in favor of sending it to the National Security Committee to examine the issue further.

According to 243[b] of the constitution, “if the President, as Commander in Chief, authorizes or orders the employment of the military service in defence of the republic or as part of an international undertaking, the President shall without delay submit the authorisation to the People’s Majlis. The People’s Majlis may at any time approve the authorisation, or revoke the authorisation.”

Speaking on the matter in parliament, opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP, Ahmed Mahlouf, said the issue was concerning.

“This is no joke, this is a very serious issue,” he said. “I do not think any honorable member would want to send some Maldivians abroad to their deaths.”

Mahlouf said death was a real possibility in peacekeeping operations. He also noted that it was possible that terrorists would target the Maldives if Maldivian soldiers were sent to participate in peacekeeping operations.

Religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf also expressed concern over the issue and called on the government to withdraw the decision.

Salaf at the that time claimed that any Muslim who assisted non-Muslims in a war against Muslims would themselves be branded infidels.

“Muslims will be obliged to treat him as a non-Muslim in all ways, such as if dead, burying without enshrouding the body, burying the body with other non-believer, and when dealing with inheritance matters the terms and condition that applies to a non-believer who dies in a war against Muslims will be applied to him,” the NGO said.

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Journalists banned from Deputy Speaker corruption trial

The Criminal Court refused to allow journalists to observe today’s hearing of the ongoing corruption trial of Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim, who is facing charges of multiple counts of conspiracy to defraud the former Atolls Ministry.

Local daily Haveeru and Sun Online reports that the hearing was scheduled to start at 12:00pm but was conducted one hour earlier at 11:00pm. The court did not inform any of the reporters who registered at the court this morning of the time change.

According to Haveeru, court reporters who learned of the time change and requested entry were told that “the judge has decided to hold a closed hearing.”

Asked by the reporters to offer a reason for the closed hearing, the court official asked the reporters to wait, went inside and did not appear until the hearing was over.

Almost two hours after the hearing concluded, Criminal Court Media Officer Ahmed Mohamed Manik told the court reporters that they were not allowed to enter because “negative perceptions of the court were being created [among the public] because of some journalists.”

Manik was not responding to Minivan News at the time of press.

Queried by the court reporters, the Criminal Court official insisted that the judge was authorised to exclude the public from trials under article 42 of the constitution.

Article 42(c) states that, “Trials of any matter shall be held publicly, but the presiding judge may exclude the public from all or part of a trial in accordance with democratic norms: 1. in the interests of public morals, public order or national security; 2. where the interest of juveniles or the victims of a crime so require; or 3. in other special circumstances where publicity would prejudice the interests of justice.”

However, according to Haveeru, a member of the public was allowed to attend today’s hearing. Under normal court procedure, only trials involving child sexual abuse are closed to the public.

The Criminal Court has since issued a press statement explaining that the judge decided to hold a closed hearing “because the reporters allowed in to the hearing on May 24, 2011, gave the false depiction of the court to the public and because the court believes this depiction could obstruct the course of justice.”

Nazim meanwhile appeared at court today after reportedly failing to comply with eight summons during the past few months.

The minority opposition People’s Alliance (PA) parliamentary group leader is facing four counts of conspiracy to defraud to the Atolls Ministry, which were first identified in an audit report of the now-defunct ministry.

Following an investigation into the claims in the report, at a press conference in August 2009, Chief Inspector Ismail Atheef said police had uncovered evidence that implicated former Atolls Minister Abdullah Hameed, Eydhafushi MP Ahmed “Redwave” Saleem, former director of finance at the ministry, and Nazim in a number of fraudulent transactions.

Police exhibited numerous quotations, agreements, tender documents, receipts, bank statements and forged cheques showing that Nazim received over US$400,000 in the scam.

A hard disk seized during a raid of Nazim’s office in May 2009 allegedly contained copies of forged documents and bogus letter heads.

Police maintained that money was channelled through the scam to Nazim who laundered cash through Namira Engineering and unregistered companies.

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ACC obtains court order for MPs’ financial statements

A team from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) entered parliament today with a court order to obtain financial statements of MPs.

A Majlis media official confirmed that the ACC team was working in parliament while the financial statements were available from the Ethics Committee.

ACC Chair Hassan Luthfy told Minivan News today that the commission obtained a court order from the Criminal Court last night and the team was sent in this morning.

“We hoped to get [the statements] legally but no solution was found through discussions with parliament,” he said.

Luthfy explained that the ACC was investigating allegations of corruption and bribery involving MPs after receiving a number of complaints.

Luthfy stressed that as “these are only allegations” he could not divulge further details or identify which MPs were involved since “it could violate their privileges.”

The ACC chair however revealed that the commission had received “about two to four complaints” regarding MPs.

In April this year, parliament reached an impasse on public declaration of assets by MPs after voting against a proposal by the Ethics Committee to not make the information available unless ordered by a court of law.

When MPs voted against the proposal 34 to 24, Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim declared the matter “void.”

“However, the Secretary General’s request for counsel on this matter has not been decided one way or the other,” he said at the time. “So the Secretary General will go ahead with it according to the rules of procedure.”

The Secretary-General had asked the Ethics Committee to determine whether MPs’ financial statements should be released to other state institutions upon request.

Secretary General Ahmed Mohamed confirmed to Minivan News that the requested financial statements and documents were provided to the ACC team before the court order expired at 3:00pm today.

According to Article 76 of the constitution, “Every member shall annually submit to the Secretary General of the People’s Majlis a statement of all property and monies owned by him, business interests and liabilities. Such declarations shall include the details of any other employment and obligations of such employment.”

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President sends letter to Libyan rebels, calling for modern Muslim democracy

President Mohamed Nasheed has pledged the Maldives’ support to the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) in a letter yesterday, recognising the rebel group as the “sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people.”

The letter, which was sent to NTC chief Mustafa Abdul Jalil, expressed the President’s hope that Libya would “emerge as a free and democratic country, in which fundamental human rights can be enjoyed by all.”

In recent days, Libya’s six-month long revolution against dictator Muammar Gaddafi came to a close when NTC rebels seized Tripoli. Currently, Qaddafi’s whereabouts are unknown and over thirty foreign powers have recognised the NTC as Libya’s legitimate representative group.

President Nasheed noted in his letter to NTC chief Jalil that the Maldives was among the first three countries to recognize the NTC. Iraq, Morocco, the US and European Union member countries have also recognised the group, while Russia and China do not recognise the NTC as Libya’s only legitimate representative but are still engaging in talks with NTC leaders.

Ethiopia and Nigeria have called on African Union member states to recognise the NTC, and Hamas had declared its support of the rebel group.

The President’s Press Secretary, Mohamed Zuhair, said today that “The Maldives is in favor of democracy, and feels any government should recognise the voices of its people. We are continuing our support of the Libyan rebels, and asking other countries to do the same.”

Zuhair said the Maldives was one of the first Islamic countries to experience a democratic revolution. In 2005, the Maldivian people began the uprising that ousted former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in 2008.

“The same thing that is happening all over the Arab world has already happened here,” Zuhair said. “We are ahead of them, and we can share our experience.”

The Maldives, which has been a Muslim state for over 900 years, has one of the longest traditions of shariah law in the Arab world, said Zuhair. He said the Maldives encourages the Libyan NTC to apply democratic norms and values, and to use many small elections as they build a modern Muslim democracy.

“The Maldives would like to see Libya become a modern Islamic democratic state that is fully functional,” said Zuhair.

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. When the revolution began in February of this year, Gaddafi reportedly said, “Muammar is the leader of the revolution until the end of time.”

Earlier this week, the NTC reportedly placed a US$2 million bounty on Gaddafi’s head.

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Parties stake positions on economic reform bills

The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) have staked rival positions on the economic reform bills currently before parliament.

With two pieces of legislation of the 18-bill reform package completed by committee and up for a final vote next week, the majority and minority parties in parliament declared their stands at press conferences yesterday.

Briefing press at the MDP office, Majority Leader Ibrahim ‘Ibu’ Mohamed Solih stressed that the ruling party was “open to amendments from the opposition and ready to incorporate changes” to the General Goods and Services Tax (G-GST) bill and amendments to the Import-Export Act to excise and reduce import duties.

As of the 4:00pm deadline on Tuesday to submit amendments, Ibu Solih revealed that the MDP has proposed amendments requested by the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) and taken on board recommendations by the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI), Maldives Association of Construction Industry (MACI) as well as small businesses.

MDP has proposed completely excising import duties for fisheries and agriculture equipment and machinery, Ibu said, while maintaining current tariffs for imported fruits and vegetables to protect local farmers.

The proposed GST of five percent would meanwhile be reduced to 3.5 percent from October to December 2011, explained MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla, after which it would be raised to five percent next year.

Small businesses and “corner shops” would be exempt from the General GST, he added.

DRP Deputy Leader Ahmed Mohamed and MP Dr Abdulla Mausoom meanwhile told press yesterday that the party would oppose the introduction of a personal income tax.

“The main reason is that is going to be taken directly from the people,” said Ahmed Mohamed, former CEO of the State Trading Organisation (STO). “We will do everything we can to see that the bill does not get passed.”

As MDP currently has enough votes to pass the bill, he continued, the party would seek the support of other opposition MPs and Independents.

In addition, the main opposition party would attempt to delay the implementation of the tax bills to provide more time for both the public and businesses to adapt to the new system.

Moreover, the minority party would oppose an amendment to the Immigration Act, which would provide resident visas for skilled expatriate workers, as the party believes the move would make it harder for Maldivians to find employment.

DRP MP for Kelaa Dr Abdulla Mausoom told Minivan News earlier this week that the party would propose retaining import duties for “watermelons, papaya, bananas and mangoes to protect local farmers” to ensure price competitiveness for local agricultural produce.

“The rest is the way the MDP wanted,” he said. “With the numbers in parliament right now, MDP can pass bills the way they want.”

Following a meeting with President Mohamed Nasheed Saturday night, DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali told press that the party “will not accept” proposed growth in state expenditure for 2012 and 2013 as “it would not be sustainable.”

Appearing on private broadcaster DhiTV the following night, Thasmeen said that state expenditure levels reaching over 60 percent of GDP was worrying.

“The figure has become so high because expenditure from the budget increased in response to special circumstances of the [December 2004] tsunami has been maintained at that level,” he explained.

While acknowledging that additional revenue was needed to finance the deficit accumulated since 2005, Thasmeen said that he objected to a proposed growth of about Rf1 billion in expenditure in 2013 since it was unclear how the increased spending would spur economic growth and improve productivity.

Responding to the minority leader’s statements, Ibu Solih said yesterday that increased expenditure was necessary to plug the inherit budget deficit and service high levels of public debt.

“13.9 percent of expenditure from the 2010 budget was for paying back loans,” Ibu noted. “There is no way we can escape that.”

The MDP MP for Hinnavaru asserted that the “answer to opposition concerns of how taxation proceeds would be utilised” was the fiscal responsibility bill proposed by the government, which would impose limits on spending and restrict annual growth of public debt to 3.5 percent per year.

Meanwhile at today’s sitting of parliament the committee report on the G-GST bill was presented to the floor, after which MPs were invited to submit amendments.

Some 39 amendments were submitted to the draft legislation while voting is due to take place when the sitting resumes at 10:00pm tonight.

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Committee to probe 2003 Maafushi Jail shooting

A second investigation of the 2003 Maafushi Jail shooting has been launched by a special committee appointed by President Mohamed Nasheed and his cabinet.

The committee includes Housing Minister Mohamed Aslam, Attorney General (AG) Abdulla Muiz and Defence Minister Thalhath Ibrahim Kaleyfaan, and will investigate the incident that took place on September 20, 2003 – a watershed moment following the death in custody of Evan Naseem that led to street riots, the declaration of a state of emergency, and ultimately, the introduction of multi-party democracy and the eventual ousting of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

An investigation was previously conducted by a special commission under former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. The censored results were published in January 2004, and 12 prison guards were sentenced to death. Captain Adam Mohamed, the commanding official charged with ordering the shootings, was granted clemency by Gayoom. Subsequently, the sentence of the prison guards was commuted to 25 years in jail.

In June 2011, the case was re-opened and three of the former prison guards, who were living at large, were sent back to jail.

State Home Minister Mohamed Naeem previously told Minivan News that he regretted sending the convicted men back to prison after a long period without clear legal action.

“If [the former administration] had not freed them from prison, by now they would have served most of their sentence and could have even possibly applied for clemency,” said Naeem.

However, he did say that the action of the former administration had not only violated the rights of the convicted, but also those of the victims.

“When the victims who survived that time see these convicted people roaming around the streets, how do they feel? It is unfair for them,” he said at the time.

An individual who was imprisoned at Maafushi jail at the time of Evan Naseem’s death and the prison shootings spoke to Minivan News about the renewed investigation.

“I think they need to find out who ordered the torture of Evan Naseem–was it the highest ranking officer, or a lower officer? This has been delayed too long now. We have to have proper justice to move ahead,” he said.

The source added that a lot of information surrounding the incident had been censored, and said he wasn’t sure that “the right people” had been sent back to prison.

“I think it is wrong for the one who complied with the order to take the punishment. It should be the one who gave the order,” he said.

Former President Gayoom at the time was also Minister of Defence and National Security.

The former Maafushi prison guards involved in the shootings were recently re-arrested for the 2003 event. The source said several senior prison officials had informed him at the time that the order to shoot on September 20 had come from the top.

The shooting occurred after inmates broke out of their cells “to learn the details of fellow Evan Naseem’s death”, the source said.

The source told Minivan News that he could hear people being tortured from his cell, and that he had also heard these sounds on the night that Naseem died. His own cell was secure at the time of the riot.

“This army man was controlling us, and he said it was nothing. But we knew some things were happening. I knew, because I saw people jumping off the wall from my cell.

“When they opened the door to the block to bring the breakfast things we kept asking the guards what was happening but they would tell us nothing. Finally, we asked the guards to please open the gate so we could see, and at that time we saw a lot of people lined up on the beach in handcuffs. By the evening the army came and took control of things. Then, an inmate said ‘let’s burn this place down!’, but I said, ‘No, let’s work to get free. We are not going to burn the prison.’ I told him not to do anything, but he said ‘Let’s use [force].’ I said, ‘Let’s negotiate.’  So we negotiated.”

Following the shooting, 19 inmates and one officer were reported injured, and three inmates were reported dead. 15 of the 20 persons wounded had been shot above the knee.

An English translation of the initial investigation, provided by the Dhivehi Observer on January 24 2004, described the prison break as “not an emergency situation,” and determined that the use of weapons against the inmates was “neither a proportionate response nor a reasonable means of control.”

The report, which was filed by the former administration’s special commission, further stated that inmates were partially excused for the alleged riot “on account of the fact that they were acting on deep grief and frustration and did not appear to intend further harm [other] than demanding an investigation into Naseem’s death.”

Naseem “died due to grievous hurt caused to him by some personnel of Maafushi Jail Security System,” stated the report. The report further notes that inmates at Maafushi Jail had requested to meet with a security officer from the Department of Corrections several times after learning of Naseem’s death. Captain Adam Mohamed was assigned to this meeting, but chose to ignore it; he was the captain that the inmates confronted with their questions during the outbreak. The investigation report states that the captain “did not offer any reasonable response to those questions.”

CCTV recordings of the prison’s Operations Room and the block in which the initial outbreak took place had not been preserved for the investigation, and no Event Log Book had been used by officials, the report claimed.

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President apologises on behalf of state to people of Thinadhoo

President Mohamed Nasheed has apologised to the people of Gaaf Dhaal Thinadhoo for “injustices resulting from measures taken by the government of the day” to end a short-lived secession of three southern atolls from 1959 to 1963.

Speaking at a working session of the cabinet held in Thinadhoo yesterday, President Nasheed said that the Thinadhoo Island Council had requested the apology and acknowledged that the central government in Male’ had “acted unjustly” towards the people of Thinadhoo in the suppression of the separatist movement.

Havaru Thinadhoo, historical capital of Huvadhu atoll, was attacked and depopulated on the orders of Prime Minister Ibrahim Nasir in February 1962.

Following Tuesday’s official apology at the cabinet meeting – held outside Male’ for only the second time – Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik noted that his grandfather was among those forcibly expelled and stressed the importance of documenting the events in official Maldivian history.

Dr Waheed told state broadcaster MNBC One that “today the President who is the highest official of state has asked the forgiveness of the people on behalf of the state.”

“As someone who hails from Thinadhoo, I am very happy and grateful for [the apology]. I rest assured that everyone will accept the apology by the state,” he said.

The cabinet meanwhile discussed a request by the island council to revert the island’s name to ‘Havaru Thenadhoo’ and decided to hold a public referendum on the proposal.

The working session of the cabinet in Thinadhoo was attended by state and deputy ministers, island councillors and directors of regional corporations and featured a presentation on planned development projects.

At a ceremony after the cabinet meeting, President Nasheed inaugurated the Thinadhoo Development Corporation to develop the reclaimed area of the island and handed over the completed stadium of the Upper South Province to the island council.

Inhabited islands of the Maldives “have to be connected and linked together to ensure development,” Nasheed said at the ceremony.

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National Security Committee to summon former President Gayoom

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik has proposed summoning former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to the parliamentary National Security Committee yesterday over his alleged involvement in US$800 million worth of blackmarket oil trade with Burma.

The Hulhu-Henveiru MP, a member of the MDP-dominated committee, proposed summoning Gayoom and other senior officials of the former government suspected of involvement in the secret trade conducted by the State Trading Organisation’s (STO) Singapore branch.

Moosa’s proposal was backed by other MDP MPs as well as minority opposition People’s Alliance (PA) MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla.

Moosa told Minivan News today that the committee will summon Gayoom after gathering necessary information.

“Because this is a very serious issue and it is a serious allegation, it requires the committee to question him and other persons believed to be involved in this black-market oil trade,” Moosa said.

On August 2, a resolution calling for an investigation into the allegations submitted by MDP MP Mohamed Musthafa was sent to the National Security Committee, which began deliberations at its meeting yesterday.

National Security Committee Chair MP Ali Waheed told press yesterday that the committee decided to send out letters to the relevant authorities in the Maldives as well as Singapore to gather information.

Opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party’s (DRP) Z-faction MP Ahmed Nihan meanwhile told Minivan News that the committee’s decision was a “psychological attack” on the party’s ‘Honorary Leader’ (Zaeem) Gayoom.

“The committee does not have any sincerity in their work, it is all about the personal grudge that Moosa has for Gayoom,” Nihan said. “The committee does have the authority to summon persons and inviting former president to the committee is nothing to be concerned about.”

Nihan suggested that the committee should also investigate allegations that the committee’s chair MP Ali Waheed – former Deputy Leader of the DRP – received US$2 million by defecting to the ruling party.

“The committee should also investigate the allegations that there was corruption in the US$21 million Thilafushi project that Moosa is conducting,” Nihan said.

He added that opposition MPs would soon submit a resolution calling for an investigation into President Mohamed Nasheed allegedly consuming alcohol in front of Indian journalists in December 2008.

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DRP MP proposes two-year lease extension for resorts under development

Amendments were proposed to the Tourism Act today to extend leases by two years to offer a “construction period” for tourist resorts, hotels and guest houses with stalled development.

Presenting the amendment bill to parliament, MP Mohamed Mujthaz of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) explained that the legislation would write-off unpaid fines from the new resorts as heavy fines were an impediment to financing the development or attracting foreign investors.

“Of the 84 islands leased for resort development, only 10 have been completed while 74 have not,” he said. “With the current prices in the construction industry, millions of dollars are needed to develop the most ordinary resort. Considering the 74 islands with stalled development, this is a large amount.”

He added that local banks did not have the capacity to finance the projects while international financial institutions were not “too supportive.”

If passed into law, the proposed amendments would also replace existing guidelines for calculating fines for non-payment of rent. Under the new rates, fines for non-payment of rent for one quarter would be set at five percent of the total rent; 12 percent for two quarters; 18 percent for three quarters; 25 percent for three quarters; and 50 percent for one year of unpaid rent.

Moreover, article 8(c) of the bill states that the government must not charge rent for the two-year construction period.

In the preliminary debate on the amendments, MP Riyaz Rasheed of minority opposition Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) criticised the current government for “not paving the way to obtain loans” and leasing additional islands for development.

DRP MP Yousuf Naeem however noted that the amendments had “serious problems.”

Naeem – affiliated with the Z-faction of the DRP – claimed that similar amendments previously passed to extend resort leases to 50 years “is now in the process of being abolished by the Supreme Court.”

“The reason is because some honourable MPs voted for it in violation of clause 158(a) of parliamentary rules of procedure,” he explained, referring to a conflict of interest on the part of resort owners in parliament.

The MP for Felidhoo noted that as some resort development projects had been stalled for six or seven years, he did not support a further extension of two years with suspended rent.

“These islands were leased after competitive bidding processes with many parties,” he said, adding that it would be disrespectful towards the rights of losing bidders if the government were to write-off debts or unpaid fines.

“The government is owed US$154 million in fines alone, not to speak of rents,” he continued.

MP Mohamed Riyaz of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) concurred with Naeem and questioned whether a two-year extension would allow the resorts to become operational.

MDP Hamid Abdul Gafoor noted that the state was owed US$320 million as unpaid rent and fines, which was “not a small amount” to be written off.

DRP MP Dr Abdulla Mausoom however argued that parliament was forced to “enter micro-governance” as a result of the current administration’s “insincerity” and “disregard of the law and doing things in the margins.”

The proposed law would ensure that the government could not impose double standards on tourist businesses, Mausoom said.

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