Day: January 22, 2012

MBC requests police protection for media personnel and property

The Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) has requested police protection for broadcasting stations, media equipment and journalists following recent attacks during political protests on capital Male’.

MBC has discussed the issue directly with police officials and has submitted an official letter detailing the request, reports local media.

MBC President Badhuruh Naseer condemned the threats and attacks made on media personnel last weekend, citing the rights of journalists as guaranteed under Article 28 of the Constitution in defense.

Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) staff and property were also attacked during the protests.

A press release from the President’s Office today declared the government’s commitment to a free media “absolute and unwavering”.

Last week, Maldives media authorities raised alarms when the Minister of Transport and Communication Adhil Saleem claimed that broadcasting licences of media stations “misleading the public” would be revoked.

Adhil later said he only meant to advise the media on the matter, not to issue a threat.

Rejecting accusations that the “advice” was a threat, President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair noted that Saleem merely pointed out that certain TV news channels had acted unprofessionally when airing footage of recent protests.

“President Nasheed’s administration never has and never will do anything to undermine the independence, integrity or professionalism of the media,” he said.

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Government requests international legal assistance to clean up judiciary

Following a protest-packed weekend during which politicians were attacked and journalists threatened, the Foreign Ministry has requested a senior international legal delegation from the United Nations Human Rights Commission (OHCHR) to help resolve the current judicial crisis in the Maldives.

“We have been working to improve the judiciary since we came to power, but we have not succeeded. We have asked the international community to assist us in this effort several times, and we find that they are willing to help at this point,” said Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem.

The request was made following conversations with UN officials last week. According to a press statement, the delegation would be asked to help resolve “the immediate issues surrounding the detention of Justice Abdulla Mohamed, the Chief Judge of the Criminal court, and also the longer-term problems facing the Maldives’ judiciary and the failure of judicial accountability mechanisms under the Constitution.”

Following the detention of minority opposition Dhivehi Quamee Party (DQP) leaders, who had accused the government of behind-the-scenes dealings with Israel and Christian priests, and the arrest of Judge Abdulla Mohamed by military forces after he attempted to block his own police summons in the High Court, opposition party members took the streets last week in protest. DQP meanwhile approached various foreign embassies claiming their freedom of speech was being impinged.

In a statement released on Friday the European Union (EU) Heads of Mission in Colombo expressed concern over the judge’s arrest and “[called] on all parties in the Maldives to act in accordance with these principles and to refrain from inflammatory language or other action which could incite hatred.”

In response the Foreign Ministry cited the government’s efforts to reform the judiciary and oppose the use of hate speech, reiterating its interest in continued relations with the EU.

Stating that “the diplomatic community has received inaccurate information” regarding the political situation in Male’, the Foreign Ministry said it had delivered “accurate information” to foreign missions last week. Officials say those missions had received the news positively, had asked that “racial rhetoric” be stopped, and had not expressed concerns over the judge’s arrest.

Observing that judicial reform “really should come from the Judicial Services Commission (JSC)”, Naseem said the commission’s shortcoming are “now an issue of national security.”

In its statement the Foreign Ministry contended that “since its establishment the JSC has been unable to fulfill [its] constitutional mandate. For example, during the whole of 2010 the JSC failed to take action on any of the 143 complaints submitted to it. On the one occasion in late 2011 when the JSC did find that a judge (Justice Abdulla Mohamed) had failed to comply with the required standard of conduct and had been acting in a manner amounting to gross misconduct, the Civil Court issues an order (26 November 2011) preventing the proceedings.

“With that order, the Civil Court effectively removed the constitutional powers of the JSC. The JSC was made powerless by the very same people (judges) that it is supposed to oversee.”

In communications with the OHCHR the Foreign Minister said the Civil Court’s action highlighted “a systemic failure of the judicial checks and balances foreseen in the Constitution. This systemic failure led directly to the President’s decision [to arrest the judge].”

Parliament’s Independent Institutions Committee has been tasked with investigating the JSC’s “failings”. According to committee member Independent MP Mohamed Nasheed, hearings and interviews have been concluded and possible reformation of the JSC has been discussed.

“It’s the one institution that has not really taken off. It’s been bogged down with personality issues and procedural issues. Bring in a change of membership, some new blood, and give it a new chance,” he said.

Nasheed added that a provision allows for the appointment of foreign judges during the first 15 years of the new Constitution. Naseem said the requested delegation did not necessarily fall under the provision, but rather was expected to provide guidance according to the local situation.

Specifics of the delegation are unknown as the request was only recently made, however Naseem explained that “the planning and appointment process takes time, as we need individuals qualified to stay here for a long period of time.”

“We hope that with the help of Islamic judges the Maldives judiciary would be improved”, he said.

While representatives from opposition Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) could not be reached at time of press, Mulak MP Abdulla Yameen yesterday said the President has no authority to “meddle with” or enforce the nation’s judicial system, local media reported.

Opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ibrahim ‘Mavota’ Shareef today said “DRP will welcome any international participation to solve the situation at the moment.”

Shareef asserted that the Constitution is not in crisis, “only that President Nasheed has violated it. We’re very sure that the international delegation would hold him accountable because there is no way that President Nasheed is justified in what he is doing.”

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JSC is the right authority to investigate Chief Judge: Vice President

Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed has requested the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) suspend Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed from the bench while complaints against him remain standing.

“Male’ is in crisis and many are being affected, property is being damaged,” he said during a press conference today at the President’s Office, requesting opposition parties and politicians end their political bickering and “give time” to sort out the judiciary.

Judge Mohamed was arrested on Monday, January 16 by the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) following a request by police, and is being held in a military training facility on Girifushi. The Vice President this weekend expressed his discontent with the government’s detention of the judge drawing complaints from public officials.

“[I am] ashamed and totally devastated by the fact that this is happening in a government in which I am the elected the Vice President,” Dr Waheed wrote on his blog.

“Besides all the international legal obligations, the government of the Maldives is bound by the Maldives Constitution 1988 which prohibits arbitrary arrest and forced disappearance. We have just witnessed the first possible violation since the dawn of democracy in our country. I cannot understand why this is not an issue for everyone in this country,” he explained.

The European Union has also chosen to “reiterate their support for the process of democratic transition in the Maldives and note the importance of the principles underlying that transition, including respect for the constitution, due process, independence of the judiciary, the rule of law and freedom of expression are central to this process,” read a statement.

The President’s Office maintains that the arrest was made lawfully, and that constitutional reform is not a major concern. “At the moment the Constitution is not in crisis, the President is fulfilling his role as a guardian to uphold the Constitution,” said Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair.

President Nasheed yesterday urged the JSC to investigate complaints against members of the Judiciary and take due disciplinary actions, including recommendations for dismissal, as obstructions to justice are a threat to national security and public safety.

While Dr Waheed’s position came a surprise to the ruling party, he said he has “had discussions with President [Mohamed] Nasheed and expressed my views. I am very sorry if my comments have disappointed anyone,” he said, but insisted that they were “sincere and impartial”.

Judge Mohamed was last year charged with professional misconduct, and was consequently to be investigated by the JSC. However, the Civil Court ruled against the JSC’s investigation.

Minivan News asked whether this raised concern that the JSC could not be depended on to carry out a fair investigation.

“I believe the JSC is the right authority to investigate this case”, he said, indicating that suspending the judge would prevent a repeat of last year’s events, “because as you can see [keeping him on the bench during questioning] has created more disruption than we all had bargained for.”

Urging cooperative dialogue and noting that “conflict resolution is not a new thing”, Dr Waheed made three recommendations to resolve the current political crisis: release the judge, end the ongoing opposition-led protests in Male’, and require the JSC to fulfill its duties.

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MDP to file cases against Abdulla Mohamed with Chief Judge Supreme Court

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said it will file two cases with Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Ahmed Faiz, against Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed.

One case appeals the High Court injunction against the summoning of Abdulla Mohamed by police last week, which led to police requesting the military conduct the arrest of the judge.

MDP MP Alhan Fahmy was reported as saying in Haveeru that the Supreme Court had authority to investigate the issuing of that High Court injunction.

He claimed to have been turned away from meeting the Chief Justice this morning and told to return in the afternoon to file the cases, while lawyers Azima Shakoor and Shaaheen Hameed were granted meetings late at night without prior appointment.

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Maldivians among 161 Muslim clerics evicted from Sri Lanka for illegal preaching

Sri Lanka has ordered a group of 161 foreign Islamic clerics – including a number of Maldivian citizens – to leave the country after they were found preaching Islam illegally.

AFP reported the Controller of Immigration and Emigration of Sri Lanka Chulananda Perera as saying that the clerics belonging to the Tabligh Jamat group, and were ordered to leave following complaints from the Muslim community that the “clerics were not preaching the moderate Islam” practiced normally in the Buddhist dominant country.

Perera also told that the clerics arrived in Sri Lanka on the tourist visas and they had violated Sri Lanka’s immigration laws by preaching Islam.

“We have ordered them to leave the country by January 31. They have violated immigration laws. A tourist visa is to have a holiday or visit friends and family and not to preach Islam,” Perera told AFP.

Foreign clerics are required to submit an application to the Sri Lankan religious affairs authorities to get permission before preaching Islam.

According to Perera, the clerics arrived in Sri Lanka last month in small batches.

The preachers included Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian, Maldivian and Arab nationals, although authorities did not specify the number of people belonging to each country.

The Maldives Foreign Ministry did not specify the number of Maldivians ordered to leave, although it confirmed the report.

“The ministry is deeply upset that some Maldivians were among the group of people ordered to leave the country for breaching Sri Lankan law,” the official added, advising Maldivians visiting abroad to respect the rules and regulations of countries they were visiting.

Tablighi community scrutinised

The group to which the clerics belonged to remains “controversial” among the Muslim community and has been criticised even by the some local religious NGOs in the Maldives.

When the Islamic Ministry permitted a group of five Tablighi Jamaat members to preach in the Maldives in 2009, several religious scholars advised the public not to join their gatherings and walked out from the mosques during the Tablighi scholars’ sermons.

Speaking to Minivan News at the time, Sheikh Abdulla Bin Mohamed Ibrahim, the president of religious NGO Jamiyyathu Salaf, said the Tablighi Jamaat “have beliefs and principles which conflict with the true Islamic creed.”

He added that no prominent scholar had accepted their principles and all had warned against them for their “misconceptions”.

Further, Sheikh Aboobakuru said a number of Islamic clerics, including the former Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia Sheikh Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Baaz, had urged Muslims to stay away from the group.

But, Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, State Minister for Islamic Affairs at the time, defended the ministry’s decision to issue preaching permits to the group saying “they are not extremists and they are preaching according to guidelines given by the ministry”.

Speaking to Minivannews on Sunday, Ibrahim Fauzee, President of the Islamic Foundation of the Maldives (IFM) also said that it is “concerning to hear” that Maldivians are participating in the Tablighi group.

“I do not know about the Maldivians being deported from Sri Lanka. But we have  heard that some Maldivians are involved in Tablighi group. This is very concerning and needs to be investigated,” Fauzee said.

He also added that the Tabligh group widely promotes Sufi beliefs, as opposed to the Sunni Islam practices in Maldives.

The Tablighi Jamaat, (‘society for spreading faith’) is described on Wikipedia as a religious movement founded by a Muslim named Maulana Muhammed Ilyas India in 1926, in response to degradation in practice of Islamic principles and values among the common Muslim folk and efforts by organisations to convert poorer sections of Muslims to Hinduism.

The movement primarily aims at Tablighi spiritual reformation by working at the grass roots level, reaching out to Muslims across all social and economic spectra to bring them closer to Islam, according to the site.

The movement gradually expanded from local to national, and turned to a translational movement and now has followers in over 150 countries.

Due to the orthodox nature of Tablighi Jamaat, they have been criticised for being retrogressive, according to the entry: “The women in the movement observe full hijab for which the Tablighi Jamaat is accused of keeping women strictly subservient”.

The group is also widely criticised for their “neutral political stance” and accused of being a “recruiting ground by al-Qaeda” – allegations which the movement has denied repeatedly.

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SAARC Secretary General’s resignation first in regional body’s history

The SAARC Secretariat has said it has yet to formally receive the resignation of Secretary General Dhiyana Saeed, both the youngest individual and first woman to be appointed to the position.

The Secretariat is headquartered in Nepal. In the country’s Himalayan newspaper, Secretariat Spokesperson Niranjan Man Singh Basnyat noted Saeed’s resignation was the first untimely resignation by a Secretary General in SAARC’s 26-year history.

“It will be clear only after the office opens on Monday,” Basnyat told the Nepalese newspaper.

Saeed has confirmed her resignation following her appearance on private broadcaster VTV, owned by opposition-aligned Jumhoree Party (JP) MP Gasim Ibrahim, during which she accused the government of ignoring the law in its detention of Chief Judge of the Criminal Court, Abdulla Mohamed.

If the government contended that Abdulla Mohamed had violated the constitution, “he has to be dealt with within the confines of the law,” Saeed insisted. “The government should not take the law into its own hands.”

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair told Minivan News last week that Saeed’s public statements “clearly contravened the SAARC Charter” which “forbids interference in the matters of any state, including the state she represents”.

Resigning before making her public statement against the government would have been the “honourable” approach, Zuhair said. “Now, even should she resign, [her behavior] is still dishonourable and indecent.”

Secretary Generals of the regional body are appointed for three year terms. The Maldives is required to appoint a replacement for Saeed to serve out the rest of her term, which expires on February 28, 2014. The nomination must be endorsed the SAARC Council of Ministers, currently headed by Foreign Minister of the Maldives, Ahmed Naseem.

The ongoing detention of Abdulla Mohamed has caused divisions even among senior members of the government. Vice President Mohamed Waheed Hassan said over the weekend that he was “ ashamed and totally devastated by the fact that this is happening in a government in which I am the elected the Vice President.”

For its part, the government contends that its detention of the Judge is justifiable under the President’s obligation to protect the letter and spirit of the constitution, given the failure of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) to pursue the many allegations of corruption and political favouritism pending against the judge.

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Government using constitution on selective basis: Yameen

The government is selectively announcing that the Constitution is in jeopardy, Mulaku MP Abdulla Yameen claimed yesterday during a press conference held by opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

Yameen, the half brother of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, accused the government of using the Constitution according to its own needs and condemned President Mohamed Nasheed’s remark that the “constitution is at a standstill” as a “serious issue” and must be investigated.

Yameen added that the President does not have the constitutional authority to be involved in or enforce the judicial system.

However speaking yesterday at a rally held by ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), President Mohamed Nasheed said establishing justice and fairness through a modern and competent judiciary was “one of the main reasons MDP came out to change the government.”

Referring to the constitutional stipulation to evaluate sitting judges for reappointment during the two-year interim period, President Nasheed said the judges who were sworn in were not held to the criteria now specified as Parliament had not yet passed a Judges Act at the time.
In spite of this lag, the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) reappointed the judges and conducted the swearing-in ceremony in the face of vocal opposition from former President’s Member of the JSC Aishath Velezinee.
In May 2010, Nasheed said he informed the JSC that its approved criteria was not in alignment with constitutional standards or public expectations. The concerns were ignored, Nasheed said, and the JSC proceeded to reappoint judges from the former government.
When the constitutional interim period elapsed in August, then Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed “declared on his own that he was permanent” and that the interim bench had tenured itself.
Saying he did “what has to be done at the time” as elected head of state, Nasheed said he then ordered the Defence Minister to lock the interim Supreme Court because “the opportunity to institute a judiciary envisioned by the constitution was narrowing.”
Eventually, Nasheed explained, he agreed to a cross-party compromise on enacting the Judges Act and confirming the Supreme Court bench because “in my view, it was essential to institute a Supreme Court.”
After ignoring complaints against the judiciary, the JSC attempted to investigate Judge Abdulla late last year, however the body was blocked by a Civil Court ruling.
“If the general principles of the Maldivian constitution is to be upheld, in my view it is not a judge who would overrule [the civil court decision] but the head of state,” Nasheed observed.
The judge was arrested on Monday, January 14 after attempting to block his own police summons at the High Court.
According to Yameen, the judge was “kidnapped” by Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), inciting claims that the Maldives had become a military dictatorship.

The Judge is being held at an MNDF training facility in Girifushi, the same island used to base the famous underwater cabinet meeting in 2009.

PPM has asked the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) to provide round the clock surveillance of the judge’s well being while in custody, Haveeru reports.

Meanwhile, President Nasheed explained that the decision to take Judge Abdulla into military custody was not made “with the intention of causing misery or a loss to anyone” or “for the satisfaction of arresting a person.”

The government would “never support or encourage inhumane treatment or anything unlawful,” he said.
“Our only purpose is to establish a court house envisioned by the constitution and hoped for by the people,” he added.

Nasheed also suggested that the democratic transition in South Korea had precedent of military intervention to assist the transition.

PPM announced that peaceful protests against the “abduction” will continue, but urged protestors not to engage in violent or destructive acts, local media reports.

According to local media, PPM yesterday consulted lawyers to file the issue in court.

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