Day: January 16, 2012

Islamic Minister to investigate “Christian missionary” allegations against the State

Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari has consulted with President Mohamed Nasheed on allegations that the government has cooperated with Christian missionaries in an effort “to wipe out Islam”.

“The President is now considering the best way forward,” said Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair. “He will either form an independent commission to address the issue, or allow the Islamic Minister to consult with his colleagues. The Islamic Minister will advise the President in the matter.”

The consultation is in keeping with the government’s commitment to share decisions of religious matters with Islamic scholars.

Speaking to local media today, Dr Bari said “The President called very late yesterday and said he would request the Ministry to look into the allegations to understand the truth.” At the time, Bari had not received a formal letter stating the request but said he would cooperate with the request upon receiving such a document.

The Minister and officials at the Islamic Ministry could not be reached at time of press.

Over the past week, members of minority opposition Dhivehi Quamee Party (DQP) Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed and ‘Sandhaanu’ Ahmed Ibrahim Didi have accused the government of cooperating with “Christian missionaries” and “Jewish parties” against the state religion of Islam- Didi claimed the President was “a madman and a Christian”- and of spreading undue fear with the claim that the islands are sinking.

Both men have been repeatedly summoned for police interrogations, prompting protests outside police headquarters and the Presidential Palace.

Speaking today with Minivan News, Zuhair called the allegations “a big lie that has been repeated since 2003, when Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) began to work abroad.”

He added that the claims were also raised in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election, in which currently ruling MDP won the election over the 30-year administration of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

“At that time Dr Hassan Saeed had made these allegations and the government carried out a full-scale, professional investigation in the United Kingdom. The ‘Operation Druid’ found no substance to any of the allegations. There was no evidence of any contact with Christian missionaries or priests. So it is surprising that members of Saeed’s party are again repeating these allegations,” Zuhair observed.

Operation Druid

In 2007, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s government contracted UK security and private investigation firm Sion Resources for a surveillance operation dubbed ‘Operation Druid’. According to the former Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed, Gayoom “had concerns” about the origins of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), exiles from which had fled to Salisbury where they had been sheltered by Nasheed’s high school alumni, David Hardingham.

Hardingham, founder of the Friends of Maldives NGO, and Sarah Mahir had previously ambushed Gayoom in the UN building in Geneva in May 2005, accusing him of complicity in human rights abuses.

“I think Gayoom was quite shaken by that, and afterwards he was not as complacent over the security given to him by his hosts, be that by the UK or UN,” Dr Shaheed told Minivan News, in an interview in June 2011.

Subsequently, “The government may have wanted to see what was going on [in Salisbury],” Dr Shaheed said.

“What these operations did was try to see who was who. And a lot of the operations the government felt were against it came from Salisbury, and I think the government of the day felt justified in engaging a firm to look into what was going on,” he said. “They felt they needed to check on that, and what came out was a clean bill of health. Nothing untoward was happening, and these people were by and large bone-fide.”

Back in the Maldives, Gayoom’s government released a leaflet accusing Hardingham and Salisbury Cathedral of conspiring to blow up the Islamic Centre and build a church.

“It was just a mischievous suggestion, a very mischievous suggestion,” Dr Shaheed acknowledged. “At the time everyone was accusing each other of being non-Muslim, and this accusation that the MDP was non-Muslim was getting very loud.

“There is this very, very deep reaction to anything un-Islamic in this country, and you can use Islam as a political tool quite easily. Therefore these allegations become political charges.”

Former Conservative Party MP for Salisbury, Robert Key, who had been instrumental in getting Nasheed an audience in British parliament, told Minivan News in February 2011 that Salisbury Cathedral had taken the accusation “at face value” .

“It was not true, and therefore we had to say ‘It is not true,'” he said. “The Dean of Salisbury Cathedral understood the issue, she took it at face value, and we sought security advice as necessary. But it was never a serious threat. It was a juvenile political ploy.”

For his part, Hardingham has dismissed the allegations that he is a Christian missionary as “absolute nonsense – I have never been a priest or anything associated with any church, and I challenge the people making the allegations to provide a shred of evidence to support their case.

“I was refused entry into the Maldives in April 2005. Government spokesperson at the time, Mohamed Hussein ‘Mundhu’ Shareef, told Associated Press that this was due to my involvement with an Islamic extremist group. So I have been accused of being an Islamic extremist and a Christian missionary – probably the fastest and most radical conversion in history.”

Government respects religion

Citing the Maldives’ commitment to be an Islamic state, Zuhair today pointed out that it was the government’s public responsibility to clarify that the allegations against it were baseless.

“Not only do these statements refer to the government, they also refer to our members and supporters and their respect for our religion”, he said, adding that the allegations involving Jewish parties came close to anti-Semitism – “and we don’t want to spread that image.”

In its efforts to staunch DQP’s “hate speech”, the government has drawn criticism from main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) for “suppression of the constitutional right to free expression”.

Speaking previously at a press conference held in response to the allegations, which were broadcast on DhiTV news on January 8, Zuhair called “spreading baseless and demonstrably false claims” about the government a “criminal offence”, and the coverage of demonstrably false allegations of foreign religious influence a “violation of journalism ethics”–statements which drew prompt criticism from media associations and opposition parties.

“The government will not allow anybody to be influenced by the crime of incitement,” Zuhair clarified today, explaining that the opposition had put the media in a position of defending the general freedom of expression in order to promote their own agenda.

“It is very easy for any Maldivian or journalist to find out about the Druid operation or to see if we have been accepting payments from a Christian priest. Ask us. What is surprising is that this story has been going on for a week and yet none of the media have found out or reported what the grounds for the allegations are,” Zuhair said. “It’s part of journalistic integrity to at least get the five W’s right: who, what, where, when and why. Why are they being fooled?”

According to Zuhair, the findings of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and the court will be necessary to resolve the matter.

The matter continues to be investigated by the police, who have now summoned Didi and Jameel for four consecutive nights. Meanwhile, a protest supporting the freedom of expression has been scheduled for the Artificial Beach this evening.

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Maldivian Air drops three flights from weekly schedule

Maldivian flights to Fuvahmulah have been reduced to four days a week due to a decrease in demand for passage to the single-island atoll.

Maldivian previously operated daily flights due to an increased demand during the holiday season of October through December.

The new airline officially began operating scheduled flights to Fuvah Mulah’s newly opened airport in November 2011.

Flights are now scheduled for Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, Haveeru reports. Additional flights may be added according to passenger demand.

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Ferry services accomodate medical staff shortage

Ferry services in Raa Atoll are helping the Rasgetheem community cope with dwindling medical staff.

With the island’s only doctor on a four-day leave, medical services beyond simple blood pressure tests have been suspended. Meanwhile, the clinic’s nurse remains on duty to provide basic services to Rasgetheem’s 952 residents.

Although the lack of a doctor would seem insupportable for any community, a Rasgetheem council member said new ferry services have accommodated the inconvenience.

“Since the ferry opened people are choosing to go to Ungoofaru, it’s only one-and-a-half hours by ferry”, she pointed out.

The council member said a second doctor had been requested, however the council understood that none were available.

Of Raa Atoll’s 15 inhabited islands, none have more than one doctor and there is no back-up physician to fill in when doctors go on leave. In most cases, island doctors are limited by skill set and technology.

Ungoofaru Regional Hospital Assistant Manager Hussain Shiham said medical staffing was one of the atoll’s biggest concerns.

“Staffing here is very weak, especially doctors. Right now Raa atoll, Noonu atoll and Baa atoll don’t have gynecologists. Raa atoll doesn’t have a dentist or an orthopedist. We have applied for over 19 medical personnel, but the medical council hasn’t approved any,” said Shiham.

Shiham explained that the regional hospital has requested staff, even submitting applications for positions received from medical professionals in Italy, Russia and the Ukraine. “But the medical council won’t accept Russian graduates because their school system isn’t registered internationally,” he said.

When asked about the Atoll’s relationship with the medical council, Shiham said he was unclear about the election process and supposed that council members had political motivations.

Assistant Director of the Ministry of Health and Family, Fathimath Lamiya, said new hires had been delayed by flaws in the recruitment process which exposed communities to medical malpractice, but corrected that the changes had not created the current staff shortage.

Previously, she explained, members of the health sector assumed that approval to recruit staff members was equivalent to approval to practice medicine.

“The councils are mandated to regulate health professionals and ensure that they meet certain standards,” Lamiya said. “In most countries you have to be registered with a board or council to certify that you are able to practice. Many weren’t, but now they are being registered.”

New regulations under the Health Ministry aim at reducing the time, cost and risk of hiring foreign medical staff.

“All candidates will submit qualifications to get approval, but now they can use photocopies rather than original documents,” Lamiya said, adding that the previous system requiring original documents involved candidates coming into the Maldives and, if not approved, receiving a paid flight home at the Maldivian employer’s expense.

“Now, candidates will get their recruitment approval before they arrive, the Human Resources Ministry will require that approval to issue a visa, and upon arrival they can register with their original documents in the island councils,” Lamiya said.

She observed that the shortage of medical staff was a concern, but hoped the new process would ensure that good doctors are hired.

Meanwhile, Shiham said, health professionals on Raa Atoll make ends meet.

“Ferry rates have dropped significantly, so people are coming more and more to the regional hospital,” he said, acknowledging that the service has boosted cooperative efforts among the islands.

“If a person has a serious health condition [when the doctor is away], then people will get a launch to take him to a nearby island. The nearest is only three minutes away. A nurse is usually in a health center nearby, and I think we can provide services”, he said.

For services beyond the capacity of the regional hospital, Shiham said a four hour ferry to Male’ was available for Rf 580 (US$35).

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Kanditheemu islanders suspect sorcery at remote site

An area believed to be a sorcery site has been found in Shaviyani Atoll Kanditheemu, raising the islanders’ level of speculation of sorcery practices.

Kanditheemu Island Council has told local media that an old man found a suspect area on the island jungle’s south side.

Council officials confirmed that the area had been found, but said no official report had been made to the council.

Officials noted that curious islanders found flowers supposedly used to cast spells at the site.

Although the council maintained that fear of sorcery was not a serious issue on the island, it noted that a Facebook group alleging that six people had had spells cast on them had been created to counter the spread of sorcery, local media reports.

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Protests to continue as DQP vows to sue government, police

The recent arrest of Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) council members over “slanderous allegations” have increased political tensions in Male’, prompting a series of opposition led protests.

The Vice President of Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) Dr Mohamed Jameel and council member Sandhaanu’ Ahmed Ibrahim Didi was repeatedly summoned to the police headquarters and interrogated in the past four nights, after the President’s Office requested a police investigation into “slanderous” statements made by the pair, alleging the government was working under the influence of “Jews” and “Christian priests” to weaken Islam in the Maldives.

Following the arrest of Jameel lastnight, the DQP supporters gathered outside the police headquarters around 8:00pm calling for his immediate release.

Similar confrontations took place when DQP council member Sandhaanu’ Ahmed Ibrahim Didi was briefly detained on Thursday. Didi was released shortly after the Criminal court instructed the police to bring him to the court.

Former Justice Minister was transferred to Dhoonidhoo detention center located on a nearby island, but later brought ahead of the Criminal court where his lawyers team contested the legality of the arrest and won his release.

Meanwhile, verbal and sometimes physical confrontations continued till midnight near the Justice Building, where criminal court is located.

Crowds also gathered outside the residence of Home Minister Hassan Afeef, threw eggs and called for the minister’s resignation on allegations of influencing the police to take measures against DQP members.

Roads leading to President Mohamed Nasheed’s residence Muleaage meanwhile was blocked by the security forces to stop the protestors from moving any closer.

However, the protest outside the Justice Building heated up when a group of pro government or ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) activists gathered, directly resulting in clashes with opposition protesters and police officers attempting to control the crowds.

While MDP activist called for the arrest of Jameel and other opposition members making “slanderous” claims about the government, opposition continued to hail DQP members as “heroes”, and calling for their immediate release.

Police dispersed the crowds with tear gas and detained couple of protestors, who were later released.

DQP vows to sue

Meanwhile, DQP has announced that the party will sue the government and the police over the “unlawful” detention of its council members.

However, speaking to the press on Monday, Dr Hassan Saeed, DQP president and lawyer representing Didi and Dr Jameel, claimed the party has “evidence to prove they were arrested and treated unlawfully”.

He said the party intends to sue “everyone” involved in the arrest, including Home Minister Hassan Afeef and individual police officers who signed off the arrest warrant.

“We will sue [them] in big numbers,” said Dr Saeed, who left the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) coalition shortly after it came to power in 2008.

Referring to the Home Minister Afee’s interview to the media outlets regarding the police investigations, Dr Saeed argued that Afeef is acting outside the legal boundaries by interfering with the police investigations.

“The Home Minister is only supposed to answer the parliament on behalf of the police. [He] does not have any power besides policy making. [He] cannot say which cases must be investigated, who must be arrested or whose detention should be increased,” Dr Saeed asserted.

Dr Saeed claimed the investigating officers have confided that they were “pressured by the government” to interrogate and arrest DQP lead members.

“They [police officers] even apologised to us repeatedly,” Dr Saeed claimed, adding that the government is “destroying a young educated police force for personal gain”.

He also alleged President Mohamed Nasheed of using “police, defence force numbers and weapons” to maintain power and enforce policies.

Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair meanwhile told Minivan News on Monday that “we welcome any court action against the government”.

Zuhair insisted that the government wants to clear its name from the “slanderous” claims before the next election in 2013.

“We are saying it’s enough now,” Zuhair asserted. “All they need to do is tell the police who the Christian priest is. How much he is getting from the government. Under which account the money is deposited. And where they are getting this information from”.

Defend Article 27

Meanwhile, the opposition parties have decided to hold a rally on Monday night, to “defend article 27 “which states “everyone has the right to freedom of thought and the freedom to communicate opinions and expression in a manner that is not contrary to any tenet of Islam”.

DRP official was quoted in the local media saying that the rally is organised because the government is “sabotaging the freedom of expression granted under the constitution by arresting opposition leaders and threatening the media”.

Press Secretary however insists that the “government will be patient to the right freedom of expression and freedom of assembly”.

He also refuted claims of government influence over the police, saying that the “police are absolutely impartial”.

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Police summon Chief Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed for questioning

Police have summoned Chief Judge of the Criminal Court, Abdulla Mohamed, for questioning at 8.30pm in an “ongoing investigation.”

According to the Criminal Court, the summons was delivered at 12.30pm today. Judge Abdulla had ordered the immediate release of minority opposition Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) Deputy Leader Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed from police custody last night.

A police media official confirmed the summons but could not divulge details of “an ongoing investigation.”

Judge Abdulla’s lawyer and Independent MP for Guraidhoo, Ibrahim Riza, told local daily Haveeru that the chief judge would comply with the summons but was “unaware that police are investigating a case involving him.”

He added that the news “came as a shock” to the judge.

On October 26, Judge Abdulla had ruled that the arrest of Gassan Maumoon – son of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom – on suspicion of hurling a wooden block at protesters was unlawful, establishing a precedent that police could not arrest suspects without an arrest warrant “unless the arresting officer observes the offence being committed”.

The contentious ruling led police to release 11 suspects while the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) sought legal clarification on criminal justice procedures.

Ethical misconduct

In 2005, then Attorney General Dr Hassan Saeed forwarded to the President’s Office concerns about the conduct of Abdulla Mohamed after he allegedly requested that an underage victim of sexual abuse reenact her abuse for the court.

In 2009 following the election of the current government, those documents were sent to the oversight body Judicial Service Commission (JSC), which was requested to launch an investigation into the outstanding complaints as well as alleged obstruction of “high-profile corruption investigations”.

The JSC decided not to proceed with the investigation on July 30, 2009. However in November last year, the JSC completed an investigation into a complaint of ethical misconduct against the judge.

The case was presented to the JSC in January 2010 by former President’s member of the JSC, Aishath Velezinee, after Abdulla Mohamed appeared on private network DhiTV and expressed “biased political views”.

Velezinee observed at the time that it was the first time the JSC had ever completed an investigation into a judge’s misconduct.

“There are many allegations against Abdulla Mohamed, but one is enough,” she said.

“If the JSC decides, all investigation reports, documents and oral statements will be submitted to parliament, which can then decide to remove him with a simple two-thirds majority.”

In October 2011, the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) appealed for assistance from the international community over the “increasingly blatant collusion between politicians loyal to the former autocratic President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and senior members of the judiciary – most of whom were appointed by Gayoom during his thirty years of power.”

The MDP statement also referred to the corruption trial of Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Nazim, charged with multiple counts of defrauding the former Atolls Ministry, which remains “indefinitely delayed.”

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ACC cannot terminate Nexbis agreement, court rules

The Civil Court has ruled that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) does not have the legal authority to order the Department of Immigration and Emigration to terminate the border control system contracted to Malaysia’s Nexbis Limited in November 2010.

ACC filed a court case against the Rf500 million (US$39 million) Nexbis system in November 2011, two days after cabinet decided to resume the project.

The cabinet’s decision contradicted ACC’s earlier command to terminate the existing agreement with Nexbis and re-tender the project with the cabinet’s consent.

In December, the ACC forwarded a corruption cases against former Immigraiton Controller Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim and Director General of Finance Ministry, Saamee Ageel to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PG), claiming the pair had abused their authority for undue financial gain in awarding the Nexbis project.

However, in Sunday’s hearing Judge Ali Rasheed ruled that the ACC Act clearly allows the commission to investigate corruption cases, but does not give ACC legal authority to issue an order which can annul a formal agreement signed between one or more parties.

He asserted that it is “unfair” to the contractors if ACC can annul an agreement without the contractors’ say, adding that such a decision violates the protection granted to the contractors under the Maldives Law of Contract.

Following the court’s ruling, Immigration Controller Abdulla Shahid told Minivan News that the ruling is subjected to the ACC and it does not directly relate to the department.

He noted that it is too soon to say how the department will proceed with the project.

“We have not even received the documents. We will look into the matter legally,” Shahid said, adding that the court’s decision does not does indicate whether the agreement with Nexbis is “good”.

The 20-year Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) agreement with the Malaysian-based mobile security solutions provider was to upgrade border security in the Maldives with new technology including facial recognition and fingerprint identification, facilitating the identification and tracking of expatriate workers and eliminating the opportunity to people to enter the country with forged paper documents.

The Maldives currently receives three times its population of 350,000 in tourist arrivals each year. It has lately begun addressing a rise in human trafficking.

The day after the October 2010 signing of the concessionaire contract, ACC announced it had received “a serious complaint” regarding “technical details” of the bid, and issued an injunction pending an investigation into the agreement citing “instances and opportunities” where corruption may have occurred.

After the investigation, the commission deemed the procedure of awarding the project to Nexbis was corrupt, and ordered the Immigration department to terminate the project.

Nexbis shares immediately plunged 6.3 percent on the back of the ACC’s announcement. The company subsequently issued a statement claiming that speculation over corruption was “politically motivated” and had “wrought irreparable damage to Nexbis’ reputation and brand name.”

“Nexbis’ shareholders own and manage multi-trillion dollar assets globally and will not jeopardise their reputation for an investment return,” the company said at the time.

Claiming financial loss Nexbis subsequently threatened legal action over the stalled border agreement, prompting the cabinet to resume the project after reviewing the existing agreement with Nexbis to address the concerns raised by the department.

In earlier interviews with Minivan News, Shahid had expressed concern over both the cost and necessity of the project, calculating that as tourist arrivals continue to grow Nexbis would earn US$200 million in revenue over the project’s 20-year lifespan.

Comparatively, at five percent royalties to the government would come to US$10 million, Shahid said, when there was little reason for the government not be earning the revenue itself by operating a system given by a donor country.

“Border control is not something we are unable to comprehend – it is a normal thing all over the world,” Shahid told Minivan News at the time.“There is no stated cost of the equipment Nexbis is installing – we don’t know how much it is costing to install, only how much we have to pay. We need to get everything out in the open.”

The agreement allows Nexbis to levy a fee of Rf30 (US$2) from arriving and departing passengers in exchange for installing, maintaining and upgrading its immigration system. The company would also charge a Rf231 (US$15) for every work permit card.

Shahid estimates that maintaining a free system given by a donor country would cost at most several hundred thousand dollars a year, and said he was unsure as to why such an agreement had ever been signed.

However, Nexbis said in a statement that neither the government nor the Maldivian public have to pay in exchange for a state-of-the-art border security protection and suggested that “reasonable persons will likely realise that once the hidden costs after are taken into account and adjusted for inflation, the benefits and efficiencies of the Nexbis system will far outweigh the risk, inadequacies and uncertainties of any such alleged cheaper system.”

Nexbis also said it had agreed to review the government’s additional requirements, “and have expressed our willingness to accommodate any such changes within commercially viable terms.”

“While this requires some changes to the solution we ultimately provide, it is within the scope of our agreement to accommodate these changes,” the company said.

Meanwhile, yesterday’s court’s ruling set a precedent on the question raised by some legal experts on whether ACC has the authority to halt or terminate a government project agreement.

Civil court is hearing a similar case against the ACC by Thilafushi Corporation Limited (TCL), which contested the legality of ACC’s decision to halt the US$21 million reclamation project awarded to Heavy Load Maldives, owned by MDP Chairperson Reeko Moosa Manik, on suspicion of corruption.

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