Month: March 2012

President Waheed appoints ministers of foreign affairs, finance

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has appointed Dr Abdul Samad Abdulla as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Abdulla Jihad as Minister of Finance and Treasury.

Dr Abdul Samad Abdulla was Gayoom’s Envoy to Bangladesh and is a member of Gayoom’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), and was observed by Minivan News inside the parliament chamber on March 1 during the obstruction of President Waheed’s presidential address by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs.

Abdulla Jihad was previously a member of the Civil Service Commission. He resigned from the post today.

Jihad was Gayoom’s last finance minister prior to the election of Mohamed Nasheed in 2008, and was appointed to the CSC in 2010. In their transfer of executive functions to the Majlis, the DRP-PA amended the Civil Service Commission Act to remove the President’s prerogative of nominating members.

Jihad replaced Jumhoree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim as Finance Minister on July 15, 2008, after Gasim quit to launch his presidential campaign and stating that he did not want to be blamed for economic collapse. Jihad was MMA governor prior to his appointment as finance minister.

The appointment ceremony was held on Monday afternoon at the President’s Office, where the two ministers took their oath of Office before the Supreme Court Judge Abdulla Areef.

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Protesters clash with police near defence minister’s house

Four people have been arrested following violent clashes with police near the house of Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim on Sunday night.

At around 12:45am a group of protesters left the ongoing Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) demonstration at the tsunami monument and headed towards Republic Square.

Police had blocked most routes to the republican square blocked with barricades and officers with riot shields by the time demonstrators arrived.

A group of 200 protesters began gathering near the Velaanaage office building and a further group of 150 near Traders Hotel, although there was no indication of violence. More protesters began to gather against police barricades near the coastguard building.

Around 1:15 am protesters reportedly headed towards Chaandhanee Magu and Orchid Magu Junction near the Reefside Shop. When Minivan News arrived police and MNDF had blocked the route to Republican square, but no protesters showed up.

Instead, a group of protesters had gathered near the defence minister’s residence in Maafannu ward near the Nalahiya Hotel.

An eyewitness told Minivan News that police clashed with a group of youths outside the hotel.

“The violence was very bad,” he said. “Only a few police came to the area. The crowd was throwing big stones [at the police]. The squad was split and had to retreat. ”

A police vehicle at the scene was damaged and had its windscreen smashed.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said a police vehicle was damaged and 4-5 officers sustained injuries, none of them serious.

“The situation is controllable. Some people in the crowd became violent,” he said, adding that four arrests were made.

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All party peace talks halted as facilitator leaves country on “personal matter”

The India-mediated cross-party peace talks initiated by President Mohamed Waheed Hassan have been halted after the facilitator of the talks, Ahmed Mujuthaba, had to leave the Maldives for a personal matter reports local Newspaper Haveeru.

According to Haveeru, the secretariat of the peace talks released a statement stating that Mujthaba had earlier informed President Waheed that he would leave the country on March 3 on a personal matter.

The statement quoted read: “As mentioned, since Mujthaba is going out of the country, the peace talks have been temporarily halted. While the talks have been halted, the parties have had five meetings and the last meeting was held on on 29th February. Currently the parties are discussing on deciding and tabling the agenda items of the forthcoming meetings.”

Four parties in support of the support of the government: DRP, PPM, Adhaalath Party and PA – have temporarily decided to walk out of the talks after MPs of the Democratic Party (MDP) obstructed the convening of the first parliament session of this year, preventing President Waheed from giving his presidential speech.

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Chinese government offered to repair police stations, courts in Addu: Economic Minister

The Chinese government had offered to cover the damage to police stations and civic buildings in Addu City, which were destroyed in the aftermath of a police crackdown on demonstrators in Male’ on February 8, Economic Minister Ahmed Mohamed has claimed according to Haveeru.

Mohamed said police and the judiciary had been asked to draft a project proposal for China to evaluate.

“If we want to seek foreign assistance we need to submit such projects to take it forward. The government of China has proposed assistance in repairing the damage in Addu,” Haveeru reported Mohamed as saying.

He was not specific as to whether the offer to repair the Rf183 million (US$11.8 million) in damage would take the form of a financial loan or foreign aid assistance.

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Police summon former Defence Minister and President’s Office Undersecretary for questioning

Police have summoned former Defense Minister Tholhath Ibrahim to for questioning over former President Mohamed Nasheed’s arrest of Criminal Court Chief Justice Abdulla Mohamed.

Former Undersecretary of the President’s Office Ibrahim Rasheed ‘Hoara Ibee’ has also been summoned for questioning  to over alcohol bottles police reportedly discovered inside Presidential Residence Muleeage, on the day of the police mutiny.

Rasheed today told Minivan News that he was summoned to police and asked about the bottles, and that he answered the police questions.

‘’I told them that the area where they found the items can be accessed by anyone who enters Muleeage so nobody could be certain who they belonged to,’’ Rasheed said. ‘’We believe there was police mutiny in February 7 – the  day they claimed to have found those bottles – and we are not sure whether it was the police or the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) who were in control of Muleeage that day.’’

Rasheed said ‘’I think their main objective is to destroy our reputation, it’s what they have always been doing, so we expect more allegations.’’

Tholhath confirmed to Minivan News that he was questioned about the arrest of Judge Abdulla Mohamed.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam also confirmed that the pair were summoned for questioning over some cases reported to police.

He said that as the investigation was still not concluded, police could not give further details.

Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed was arrested by the MNDF on the evening of Monday, January 16, in compliance with a police request.

The judge’s whereabouts were not revealed until January 18. The MNDF had acknowledged receipt but not replied to Supreme Court orders to release the judge.

Prosecutor General (PG) Ahmed Muizz joined the High and Supreme Courts in condemning the MNDF’s role in the arrest as unlawful, and requesting that the judge be released. Former President Mohamed Nasheed has maintained that he was upholding the constitution in the arrest of the judge, following the failure of both parliament and the judicial services commission to adequately investigate him, after the Chief Judge in September 2011 had the civil court issue an injunction against his further investigation by the judicial watchdog.

Opposition political parties held a series of protests which culminated on the morning of February 7 with the resignation of Nasheed – allegedly under duress – and the handover of the presidency to Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

The same day, MNDF and police officers claimed to have found alcohol bottles and hash oil in the presidential residence.

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Political party regulation is too vague: EC President

President of the Elections Commission (EC), Fuad Thaufeeq has said regulation under which political parties operate in the Maldives is too vague, when it comes to their requirements of party activity and membership.

Thaufeeq told Minivan News that the commission has drafted and submitted a bill dictating the operation of political parties in the Maldives.

Thaufeeq highlighted loopholes in the existing regulation on political parties, originally introduced by presidential decree by former president Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom in 2005.

The largest party in the Maldives is the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) of former President Mohamed Nasheed, following an acrimonious split of the Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) in late 2010 and the formation of an offshoot party, the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), by Gayoom the following year.

DRP remains the second largest party in the country, and has competed for members with the PPM. The remaining parties in the Maldives are relatively small, have little representation in parliament, and relatively small based around usually one particular political figure. An exception is the religiously conservative Adhaalath Party, which has no MPs and few island councillors, but has a strong voice through the Islamic scholars who make up its membership.

Parties require 3000 members to be created, but this number does not need to be maintained: “There is no stipulation in the regulation highlighting the requirement of 3000 members,” said Thaufeeq.

“The regulations are very vague, because you require 3000 members to form a political party but after formation what happens with smaller parties is that the membership drops tremendously,” he explained. “There are parties which have less than a thousand members, and some with less those than 2000.”

The regulation did not explicitly mention that parties needed to maintain this membership in order to continue to receive political party funding from the EC, Thaufeeq explained.

In an audit report on the elections commission, the Auditor General recently advised the commission not to grant funds to inactive political parties. However, “As a principle, we usually give funds to any parties which are active and follow our requirements, such as producing an annual audit report of the party every year.”

“Whenever we hold the funds, the parties take the issue to the court. When the court orders us to pay the money, we don’t have any option but to release the funds,” Thaufeeq explained.

Asked on what basis the court is making the decision, he said “The court in its order states that the elections commission does not have the authority to withhold the funds of political parties.

“But I believe the commission has the authority to hold funds when we are not certain of how the funds are being used. This is the money from the people that we are giving out to the parties, and it shouldn’t be misappropriated,” Thaufeeq said.

According to Thaufeeq, funds for six politicial parties in the 2012 budget were withheld initially, but were released after proper monitoring. Thaufeeq said funds for the remaining two political parties cannot be released because the parties had not adhered to the commission’s requirements.

The Maldives National Congress (MNC), a political party with a current membership of 1536, has sent a letter to the Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid regarding the matter, asking parliament to look into it.

However, Thaufeeq said that he and the commission had high hopes for the proposed political parties’ bill which was drafted by the Attorney General’s office and the commission.

“I believe the political parties’ bill currently in parliament will be the solution. We have included a stipulation in the bill requiring the maintaining of party membership at 3000, but the figure might change,” He said.

“We were hoping the bill would pass by the end of last year but there came in other bills of higher priority. Many MPs have assured us that when the parliament starts this year, the bill will be given high priority,” he said.

The ousted MDP currently has the largest membership of all political parties with a membership of 47,614 members. The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) is the second largest political party in terms of membership with 29,143 members, followed by the newly formed Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) which has 14,271 members. President Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s party has approximately

Current political party membership:

Party membership as of February 27:

MDP 47,614 (Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s party)
DRP 29,143 (Gayoom’s former party, now headed by Ahmed Thasmeen Ali. Speaker Abdulla Shahid is also a member)
AP 6070 (Adhaalath Party, headed by Sheikh Imran. Spokesperson is Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed)
IDP 3597 (Umar Naseer’s former party, prior to his move to the DRP and later PPM)
MSDP 1976
SLP 683
PP 1803
MNC 1536
JP 5177 (Party of Gasim Ibrahim, resort tycoon, VTV television station owner and member of the Judicial Services Commission).
PA 2608 (Party of Gayoom’s haf brother, Abdulla Yameen, and Deputy Speaker Mohamed Nazim)
GI 2625 (President Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s party)
MLP 938
DQP 2299 (President’s Special Advisor Dr Hassan Saeed’s party, also the party of Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel)
MRM 2606
PPM 14271 (Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s party, split from the DRP. Vice President of the party is Umar Naseer)

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German medical student among those detained in police response to protest

Police arrested 10 people last night following a protest near the main Bank of Maldives (BML) branch, during which protesters tied their hands together with cable ties and demanded they be arrested.

“The marchers, who had symbolically bound their hands together with cable ties, were making their way to police headquarters to present themselves for arrest. However, they were blocked near the President’s Office by riot police and army personnel, and the participants – whose actions had been entirely peaceful – were violently dispersed with salt-water cannons and pepper spray,” Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said in a statement.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said police only used water cannon to disperse the crowd, and that the 10 were arrested for breaching the police cordon near the Bank of Maldives, and going near the President’s Office.

“When police asked them to go back, they did not obey police orders,” Shiyam said.

A visiting German medical student taking photos of the protest, identified as Patrick Crilly, was also taken into police custody prior to the dispersal of the protesters. A video of the arrest showed a policeman in riot gear taking Crilly by the arm and marching him through the police barricade.

“I was told on my release form that the reason for my detention was ‘not following a police order’, but no order was issued for me to follow,” Crilly told Minivan News, following his four hour detention.

“It was very strange, I’m not sure why it happened. It was not something I had planned to experience in the Maldives,” he said.

Crilly said he was on a visa run from Sri Lanka, where he has spent the past three months working as a medical intern at Kalapitiya Hospital in Galle.

“I’m quite familiar with the Maldives – this is my sixth visit,” he said. “I have some good friends here, and I’m very attached to it. I’m not the kind of tourist to just sit on a resort beach sipping drinks. I’m of course interested in what’s going on, and trying to understand what happened. But I had no intention of getting arrested.”

Patrick Crilly

Crilly said he was walked along the road facing the sea near the BML building, and came across the crowd “of about 150 people, protesting loudly and asking the military forces why they were supporting the regime. I was interested to see what was happening, so I took pictures of the scene,” he said.

Initially the crowd had been blocked by defence personnel, he said. “But then a squad of police arrived and took over the scene, and the mood changed. I was in the second row from the front taking pictures, and within 3-4 minutes I was taken away. I don’t know if there was a order in Dhivehi, nobody was speaking any English,” he said.

“I didn’t have long to figure it out, because an officer grabbed my arm and took me away. I did not resist or struggle, but I was irritated. I stayed calm and kept asking the reason why I was being taken away. I must have asked 20 times, but he ignored me. I asked him if he understood English, and he nodded.

“He took me halfway down the road to the police station where another police officer took over, and continued to ignore me, saying only that I would find out at police headquarters. I asked him how the people at police headquarters would know, because they weren’t there, but he ignored me.

“I sat in the front room of the police building for several hours, until eventually I was questioned by two officers in civilian clothes. They said I was charged with disobeying police orders and resisting arrest. I said those allegations were not true, and that no order had been issued for me to disobey.

“He seemed to acknowledge that – they were not unreasonable. He went on to ask why I was in the Maldives.

“I was asked to sit and wait for two hours with no explanation as whether I’d been arrested. Eventually it turned out that they had been writing my release form in English – it took 2.5 hours.

“Eventually I got the paper – It only had my given name, not my surname, which they seemed to have missed from my passport. It said that I had been arrested near the bank for not following police orders, and was released four hours later. It also had the details of the arresting officer.

“While I was in there I saw a steady stream of other detainees brought in, some of them screaming and kicking. I can say I smelled fear – it’s the same smell I must have smelt at least 150 times working at the hospital in Sri Lanka.

‘People were agitated, worried, and an old man was crying. One person brought in by four officers seemed really agitated, and in pain. I did not see anyone physically hurt in the police station,” Crilly said.

Expecting police to be concerned about the contents of his camera, Crilly said he had taken out the chip and put it in his pocket. “They didn’t seem interested, and I didn’t have any pictures of police violence – I was arrested before that happened. Two of my friends were pepper sprayed and if I’d been there of course I would have taken pictures of it.”

Shiyam told Minivan News that Crilly had not been arrested, but confirmed he was taken to police headquarters “where the situation was explained to him in case he was new to the Maldives. For whatever reason he did not obey the order [to leave the cordoned area]. He was not detained long.”

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MDP to set deadline for early election date, stepping up of protests

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said that former President Mohamed Nasheed will soon announce a deadline for the party to step up political protests, with the intention of  preventing President Dr Waheed Hassan from entering the President’s Office.

The MDP is pressing for an early election date, while the new government has backed away from the suggestion following a breakdown in India-mediated peace talks last week.

Addressing supporters near the tsunami monument – an area the MDP haas taken to calling ‘Justice Square’ – Nasheed said he had not announced the identities of those who tortured inmates in prisons under Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s administration, and did not send the cases to internation courts because he did not wish to shame the Maldives’s new democracy.

According to MDP, Nasheed accused current Commissioner of Police Ahmed Riyaz of being in charge of the prison guards brutality in October 2003 that led to Maafushi Jail shooting incident and the death of Evan Naseem – a prisoner who was allegedly beaten to death in Maafushi Jail.

Speaking at a press conference, MDP Spokesperson Imthiyaz Fahmy made several accusations against police after MDP activists were detained on drug and other charges.

Imthiyaz alleged that many police officers in riot gear “were drunk” and some fell to the ground “while others were seen vomiting.”

Imthiyaz further alleged that police officers had forced MDP activists to drink alcohol.

A police official told Minivan News that the accusations were baseless: ”It would be better to report these allegations to the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) or some other independent institution to investigate, rather than making false accusations,” the police spokesperson said.

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Majlis standoff stalls roadmap talks; Commonwealth, UN call for dialogue to continue

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s Progresive Party of the Maldives (PPM) has joined the Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) in withdrawing from the roadmap talks, after Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs blocked President Mohamed Waheed Hassan from addressing parliament on Thursday.

The session was eventually cancelled, after Speaker Abdulla Shahid – a DRP MP – was repeatedly blocked from entering the chamber.

While a seven point agenda had been agreed during the Indian-sanctioned cross-party roadmap talks last week – including early elections as a discussion point – the parties had been unable to agree on an order of preference.

Local media had reported that the meeting was “heated” due to the participation of Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai, with representatives of some parties expressing their “dismay” at the Indian government “interfering in the domestic affairs of the country and trying to rush towards an early election.”

The MDP meanwhile issued a statement reiterating its support for the roadmap and a peaceful solution to the crisis, but placed an early election date as a precondition to continued progress – both in the talks, and parliament, which it contends Dr Waheed has no right to address as an “illegitimate” president.

“In-line with the Inter-Parliamentary Union and others, we understand the importance of dialogue, especially in the Majlis, as a means of resolving the political deadlock in the country,” said the party’s spokesperson, Hamid Abdul Ghafoor.

“However, we also believe that in order to have a focused dialogue inside and outside parliament there must be a clear commitment by Dr. Waheed to elections by a certain date during 2012. When that date is announced, all parties can and must work together to ensure the conditions are set for the conduct of those elections. MDP will certainly play its part in that regard.”

Ghafoor also expressed regret over “isolated incidents of violence both by and against protesters and at any injuries caused. MDP again calls on all those participating in protests to do so peacefully and within the law and to show maximum restraint.”

International community responds

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon issued a statement, expressing “concern about the continued political tensions in the Maldives, which were manifested today in actions that impeded the opening of the Maldives’ parliament.”

“The Secretary-General urges all parties concerned to resume immediately their political dialogue, both in and outside parliament, in order to find a mutually agreeable way forward on the basis of the Constitution and without jeopardizing the democratic gains achieved thus far in the Maldives,” the UN said in a statement.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma also issued a statement expressing concern over disruption of parliament, urging for a “swift and dignified State Opening of the Majlis so that pressing national needs can be debated and advanced.”

While freedom of assembly and freedom of expression are core Commonwealth values, so too is constitutional democracy, including respect for the dignity of office-bearers appointed under the constitution and enabling those office-holders to perform their responsibilities fully and freely.

“Parliament is the heart of a democracy. The Commonwealth finds it unacceptable that the State Opening of the Majlis of Maldives has been disrupted, and the offices of the President and Speaker have been seriously disrespected,” the Commonwealth said in a statement.

“While freedom of assembly and freedom of expression are core Commonwealth values, so too is constitutional democracy, including respect for the dignity of office-bearers appointed under the constitution and enabling those office-holders to perform their responsibilities fully and freely.”

The Commonwealth has meanwhile appointed Sir Donald McKinnon as Special Envoy to Maldives, following consultations with political leaders in the country.

“These are very serious times for Maldives. Cooperation and a shared sense of national interest are required, as well as restraint. Our Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group is understandably deeply concerned, and is committed to working with Maldives in a constructive and positive way. The Commonwealth at large is fully committed to assisting Maldives,” said Secretary-General Sharma.

“Maldives has committed itself to the Commonwealth’s values and principles, which include constitutional democracy, the rule of law and separation of powers, and human rights. Our principles include consensus and common action, mutual respect, legitimacy, transparency and accountability. These are the foundations on which an enduring, prosperous and peaceful future for Maldives can be built.”

“I am delighted that Sir Donald has agreed to serve as my Special Envoy. He will visit Maldives to promote the consolidation of democratic culture and institutions, and Commonwealth values and principles; to encourage inclusive agreement among political leaders on a way forward from the current political situation; and, to oversee further Commonwealth support for Maldives, including a new technical assistance programme aimed principally at strengthening the judiciary.”

Sir Donald McKinnon is a former Commonwealth Secretary-General from 2000-2008, and former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand.

During his tenure as Secretary-General, he led the Commonwealth’s support for Maldives’ transition to multiparty democracy. He previously brokered a peace accord in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, for which he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

He was also decorated with the highest award in New Zealand (Order of New Zealand), and awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order by Queen Elizabeth II.

Political stasis threatens tourism

Ongoing political instability threatens the tourism industry, the Maldives Association for Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) has said, issuing a statement expressing concern that tourists “will have apprehensions about visiting the Maldives if the ongoing political unrest and demonstrations turn violent.”

“A democracy will have protests, tourists know that too, and the resorts in Maldives are situated separately and far from the capital Male and other inhabited islands, so protesting wouldn’t harm the tourists,” said Secretary General of MATATO Mohamed Maleeh Jamal.

However ongoing political strife had smeared the peaceful image of the holiday destination, he said, and emphasised furthe efforts to promote the industry.

“Even now tourists who come to Male are seeing the protests, some refuse to visit Male’ and souvenir shops and guest houses located in Male have suffered because of it,” Jamal said.

Widespread media coverage of the country’s political unrest could cost the tourism industry as much as US$100 million in the next six months, the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) has warned.

“Various allegations such as the installation of an Islamic regime, possible enactment of full Sharia law and Anti Semitic remarks made by politicians at public gatherings have also caught the attention of the international press,” MATI stated.

While the resorts are largely segregated from the rest of the Maldives, the crisis – prompted by a change in government on February 7 in what the MDP contends was a police and military-backed coup d’état – has already impacted investor confidence and foreign aid, and is threatening sensitive markets such as China.

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