Day: July 10, 2012

MDP vows to continue street protests until “coup-government topples”

Members of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have taken to the streets in Malé for a third consecutive day as they vow to continue demonstrating until President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s administration is overthrown.

A few hundred protesters continue to gather at the junction of Orchid Magu and Chaandhanee Magu despite overcast skies and frequent rain showers.  Police have set up barricades to block access to the Republican Square, the area encompassing the President’s Office, and police and military headquarters.

The MDP alleges President Mohamed Nasheed was ousted in a “coup d’état” on February 7, and has held regular marches throughout the Maldives calling for early elections.

Meanwhile, the final report of the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) set up to probe the circumstances of the controversial transfer of power  is not expected to be complete until the end of August.  The composition of the CNI was recently revised over international concerns about the impartiality of the body.

Heckling

The MDP protests today remained so far peaceful at the time of press, but Minivan News again observed protesters heckling police, in some instances mobbing law enforcement officers as they travelled on their motorcycles.

Police clashed violently with protesters on Monday night. Photos posted on social media shows police using pepper spray and batons as they attempted to disperse the protests. According to Sun Online, police attacked protesters without warning after former President Nasheed arrived at the area.

Police Spokesperson Hassan Haneef said 27 people continue to remain in police custody. The detainees are charged with obstruction of police duty and breaking through police barricades. Two journalists were arrested, but released after a few hours in detention.

Haneef also said that a policeman was injured in last night’s clashes after a protester threw a pavement brick at the officer’s face. Local tourist souvenir shops in the area have also filed complaints regarding the protests, Haneef added.

Speaking to local media yesterday (July 10), MDP Spokesperson and Malé MP Imthiaz Fahmy said the MDP will end street protests only when President Waheed’s administration is overthrown or when the government announces a date for an early election.

The EU and Commonwealth have called for early elections in 2012. However, President Waheed has said the earliest date allowed for elections under the constitution is July 2013.  The MDP, have previously claimed that early elections could be held within two months of the president resigning.

The MDP also today called for the immediate release of protesters, claiming arrests illustrated President Waheed’s “flagrant disregard for the constitutionally given rights to freedom of assembly and expression.”  MDP MP  Fahmy appealed to the public “to participate in MDP’s direct action to protest against and bring an end to this unelected government.”

Over 650 people have been arrested since President Waheed took office, the MDP claims.

“Five months on from the coup d’etat that overthrew the Maldives’ first democratic government, Dr. Waheed continues to violate the fundamental rights of his citizens through illegitimate means. Maldivian citizens have and will continue to exercise their constitutional rights to express their disapproval of the regime and call for immediate elections to restore democracy in the Maldives,” Malé MP Hamid Abdul Gafoor said in the MDP statement.

Amnesty International has issued multiple statements since the transfer of power condemning police’s use of excessive force against protesters. Police have denied Amnesty’s allegations.

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Hilath Rasheed attack “nothing to do with religious extremism”, government claims

The Maldives government has told international media that an attack last month on prominent blogger Ismail ‘Hilath’ Rasheed was the work of “rival gang members”and not religious extremists as alleged by the victim.

Rasheed – a controversial figure in the Maldives for his willingness to tackle taboo subjects, particularly religious tolerance – was left in a critical condition after being stabbed in the neck near his home in Male’ last month.

Having since fled the country, Rasheed has told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news service that he believed the attack, which literally silenced him temporarily after his trachea was sliced clean through, was conducted by extreme religous elements in the country.

“I was attacked because I advocate secularism. The Islamists want Maldives to remain a 100-percent Islamic country,” he stated in an interview the AFP said was conducted through Twitter and email.

However, the government hit out at the blogger’s accusations when contacted by the AFP, claiming Rasheed was targeted for an attack due to gang rivalry, not because of “religious extremism” or the focus of his blog and journalism.

“He is a member of a gang and had been attacked by rival gang members in the past too. It is unfair to blame this attack on anything else,” President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad told the news service.

When contacted by Minivan News today the Maldives Police Service said that investigations were continuing into the case and it was therefore unable to say if there was a specific motive behind the attack.

“So far we do not have a suspect,” Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef said.  “We are continuing to investigate and are tracing CCTV camera footage in attempts to locate the culprit.”

Despite the government’s insistence that there was no religious motivation behind the attack on Hilath, in a previous interview with the AFP, the recently appointed Minister for Human Resources Mohamed ‘Mundhu’ Shareef said that, “Hilath must have known that he had become a target of a few extremists.”

“We are not a secular country. When you talk about religion there will always be a few people who do not agree,” Shareef said whilst condemning the attack.

“Idealogical problems”

Speaking to Minivan News in June, Maldives Islamic Affairs Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said the current government was seeking to counter the “ideological problems” of extremism in the country.

Shaheem claimed that the threat of home-grown terrorism was a key issue needing to be addressed in the Maldives – something he alleged the previous government had neglected to assist with through proper funding.

Rasheed himself has contended that both the administrations of former President Mohamed Nasheed and serving President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan have shown little interest in prosecuting figures alleged to have conducted religious threats and attacks in recent months – regardless of the number of photos and witnesses.

Aside from last month’s attack, on December 14 Rasheed was taken to hospital with a fractured skull after being attacked during a ‘silent protest’ advocating religious tolerance in the Maldives held to coincide with Human Rights Day.

He was subsequently arrested for questioning over his involvement in the silent gathering, and the Criminal Court granted police a 10 day extension of detention for the investigation.

Later that month, Amnesty International declared Rasheed a prisoner of conscience, and called for his “immediate and unconditional” release, which was granted in January.

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EXIM Bank of China offers US$57 million loan for IT infrastructure overhaul

The state-owned EXIM Bank of China has offered the Maldives a US$57 million (RF878 million) loan to assist the development of IT infrastructure in the country, Minister of Communication Dr Ahmed Shamheed had told local media.

Dr Shamheed yesterday confirmed that the funding, which can be paid back over a 20 year period, would still require approval by the People’s Majlis under next year’s budget. If approved, he told local newspaper Haveeru that the “majority” of the loan would be spent on building a new 15-storey government office designed partly to house new national IT projects.

Shamheed was not responding to calls from Minivan News at the time of press.

Speaking yesterday, the communication minister claimed that projects including the introduction of so called “smart cards” – proposed as an all-in-one driver’s license, identity and an ATM card – and a high definition (HD) video conference network would be set-up with the loan.

Shamheed told Haveeru that the projects would be undertaken by the Centre for Information Technology (NCIT), as part of wider plans to connect government authorities through a single IT network.

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MJA condemns MDP for “obstructing” reporters, appeals to journalists to refrain from political activism

The Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) has condemned the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) for “obstructing” reporters and appealed for media representatives to refrain from taking part in opposition protests.

The MDP has held regular street protests in recent months calling for early elections, alleging former President Mohamed Nasheed was ousted in a “coup d’état” on February 7, 2012.

In two separate press releases titled “MDP obstructing journalists” and “Political parties are using reporters as weapons,” the MJA said it had received reports of the arrest of two reporters on Monday.  The association  claimed the confrontation occurred between police and reporters when journalists had violated their code of ethics.

Police claim the two reporters were arrested for obstructing police duty. However, private broadcaster Raajje TV’s News Head Asward Ibrahim Waheed said he was arrested while attempting to cover a policeman beating an unarmed protester.

Video footage of Waheed’s arrest appears to show several police officers running at and surrounding Waheed as another officer held a protester down and beat him on the ground a few feet away. Waheed told Minivan News the police had grabbed his neck, twisted his arm and thrown him to the ground.

Raajje TV released a statement today claiming police harassed, verbally abused and used disproportionate force against its reporters.

“The station views these targeted attacks as calculated and planned to destroy press freedom in the Maldives,” the statement said.

The MDP has also condemned “the constant intimidation and discrimination of opposition media by Police operating at the protest areas.”

Code of ethics

The MJA said it had received reports of protesters obstructing journalists and reports of security forces also detaining reporters during demonstrations held on Sunday and Monday.

The association claimed confrontation between security forces and reporters occurred when journalists had acted as “political activists”. The MJA said it continued to hold concerns over journalists violating their code of ethics by taking part in protests.

“We note with concern confrontation occurs between security forces and journalists, often resulting in physical injury when journalists fail [to adhere by their code of ethics],” the press release said.

Hence, the association appealed to journalists to refrain from becoming “political tools” and called on political parties “not to use reporters as political tools.”  The MJA also called on the government and security forces to ensure an environment conducive to independent journalism.

In cases where a journalist is arrested, the MJA has asked for such incidents to be reported to the Maldives Media Council and the Maldives Broadcasting Commission in order to “increase trust and strengthen relationships between the media and reporters.”

Targeted Attacks

Meanwhile, Raajje TV has claimed the station’s reporters had received “various forms of harassment and verbal abuse from the Maldives Police Service” as they attempted to cover MDP’s protests held in Male’ yesterday (July 9).

“It was ardently clear the Maldives Police Service were discriminating against Raajje TV journalists and cameraman,” the statement read.

Police attempted to prevent coverage of the protest, “viciously attacked Asward Ibrahim Waheed” and arrested him in a most “degrading and inhumane manner,” the station alleged.

When the station’s cameraman attempted to film Waheed’s arrest, the police attacked the cameraman and “maliciously damaged” the station’s equipment, Raajje TV said.

“Raajje TV journalists have been forced to live in fear as they have increasingly become targets of attacks by the national security forces, particularly the police service. The station also believes that these attacks and harassment has been the source of emotional distress and psychological damage to all Raajje TV employees,” the statement added.

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Civil Aviation Authority investigation under-way over capsized seaplane

The Maldives Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has confirmed that an investigation is presently taking place into an incident that saw a Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA) seaplane capsized near to the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island resort yesterday.

CAA Chief Executive Hussain Jaleel told Minivan News today that no one had been injured in the incident, which had resulted in some structural damage.

“We are investigating the matter right now,” he said. “There are reports of some structural damage so we are required to do this, but there have been no injuries recorded.”

When questioned as to whether the incident may lead to a wider review of current seaplane procedures in the Maldives, Jaleel said that it was not possible to say without the report’s conclusion.

“Let’s see what the report finds first,” he added.

Citing an unidentified contact who claimed to be present on the resort at the time, newspaper Haveeru reported yesterday that the incident occurred after a propeller on the seaplane’s left side struck a platform. The collision was reported to have broken a pontoon and resulted in the aircraft then capsizing.

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Maldives to compete in Nehru Cup football tournament next month

The Maldives is anticipated to be the only South Asian representative in an international football tournament to held next month in India, local media has reported.

The Football Association of Maldives (FAM) is reported to have accepted an invite to compete in the Nehru Cup football tournament that will be held in New Delhi from August 23 to September 2, according to newspaper Haveeru.

To accommodate participation in the tournament by local players, the FAM has said it will look to reschedule matches in the country’s domestic Dhiraagu Dhivehi league to allow Hungarian coach Istvan Urbanyi and the Maldives national team time to prepare.

Haveeru has reported that the tournament, which has last held back in 2009 and won by India, will see the Maldives compete against a number of international teams including Syria, Jordan, Cameroon, Nigeria, Thailand, Costa, Zambia and Malaysia.

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Islamic Ministry receives Rf14.8 million in public donations for mosque repairs

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs yesterday announced that Rf14.8 million (US$963,500) has been raised through public contributions to aid repairs of mosques across the country.

The ministry yesterday told media that Rf2,645,000 (US$171,530) had already been spent on repairs.

Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed stated that the ministry had already begun repair work at 60 mosques as part of wider plans to renovate some 100 mosques around the nation.

Sheikh Shaheem added that additional funds were already on their way, with the ministry expecting to raise over Rf 15 million for the proposed repair work.

Shaheem also stated that the ministry has completed draft legislation designed to regulate the collection of alms (Zakat) and urged the general public to keep paying these funds despite the introduction of taxes.

“I call upon the general public to engage in giving alms. I believe that the existing laws for taxation have a mechanism to deduct the amount from tax money that has been given to alms,” he said. He further added that he would try to ease the procedure of re-imbursement of the money by contacting the relevant authorities.

The Islamic Ministry also revealed that from money collected as alms, Rf26 million has been spent last year to help the poor and the needy.

Shaheem claimed that about 490 parties have been provided with financial assistance from alms money to cover accidental losses and medical costs for procedures such as dialysis.

Aside from the assistance given to the general public, Shaheem also stated that the money collected was used to provide funding for students pursuing higher education both in the country and abroad.

“Previously the funds were used to provide books and stationary for the needy, but now that government provides it free for all students, we have decided to spend that money for higher education. This practice has been carried out in several Islamic countries,” he said.

The ministry also announced that it had opened up opportunities to apply for grant aid for students pursuing higher education in the Maldives. Shaheem said there was already a “long queue of students that are present to apply for the aid”

Also speaking at the press briefing, Minister of State for Islamic Affairs Ahmed Abdulla Didi claimed that the ministry had worked hard of late to build religious awareness amongst the public – with a specific focus on young people.

“As you would know, there are several grievous crimes committed in the society, we have made it a priority to work more on building religious awareness amongst the youth,” Didi said.

He added that the ministry was working on publishing and distributing pamphlets to build religious awareness among the youths as well as translating several Arabic books to Divehi.

He further added that the Islamic ministry is also conducting sermons across the country on religious awareness, including at rehabilitation centres and schools.

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