Month: October 2012

Maldives delegate to UN General Assembly call for assistance in fighting climate change

The Maldives delegate to the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Hassan Hussain Shihab, has appealed to larger nations to commit themselves towards more clean and renewable forms of energy in order to reduce carbon emissions.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports that Shihab told those at the assembly in New York that the Maldives was doing all it could to build resilience to the effects of climate change.

He said that the Maldives government was currently spending more than 27 percent of its national budget, suggesting that a small country such as the Maldives could not overcome these issues alone.

He also highlighted the Maldives commitment to implementing the decisions made at the recent Rio +20 conference on sustainable development,  expressing hoping that progress would be made during the current UNGA towards on issues relevant to Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

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President received Indian and Danish dignitaries

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan was visited yesterday by both the Danish Ambassador to the Maldives, Freddy Svane, and the General Officer Commanding in Chief of Southern Army Command of India, Lieutenant General A K Singh.

The President’s Office website reported that Waheed had discussed human rights, the rule of law, the environment and democracy during his meeting with the Danish ambassador.

Both local media and the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) stated that the Danish Ambassador was scheduled to meet former President Mohamed Nasheed on his southern trip yesterday before Nasheed was arrested and taken to Dhoonidhoo before today’s court hearing.

Former Minister of Finance and Treasury Mohamed Shibab confirmed that there was a meeting between the ambassador and the party yesterday evening in Male’, although he could not reveal any specific details.

Lieutenant General AK Singh was said, by President’s Office spokesman Masood Imad, to have met with Waheed to explore those areas in need of assistance regarding security and disaster management.

Masood also said that some plans for exercises and training were to be carried out in collaboration with the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).

MNDF Colonel Abdul Raheem said that the senior delegation from the Indian military will be travelling to the southern atolls, and will today visit Gan.

President Waheed underlined the importance of cooperation and sharing of resources in order to maintain security in the region.

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Hundreds demonstrate in capital after former president placed in detention

Additional reporting by Mariyath Mohamed and Daniel Bosley

Hundreds of protesters gathered near the President’s Office in Male’ on Monday night as close family and legal representatives of former President Mohamed Nasheed left to visit him at the Dhoonidhoo detention facility, where he is being kept ahead of his trial on Tuesday afternoon.

The country’s first democratically elected president was taken into police custody yesterday on the island of Fares-Mathoda in Gaaf Dhaal Atoll after the Hulhumale Magistrate Court issued a warrant for his arrest and presentation in court on Tuesday October 9.

The issuing of the warrant – exactly seven months after Nasheed’s ousting – follows his defiance of a court-ordered travel ban outside the capital Male’, and two court summons.

The Maldives Police Service confirmed to Minivan News that it had been ordered to detain Nasheed and present him at his trial in Male’ at 4:00pm today, but added that no order had been received to keep him in custody beyond the hearing so far.

Leaving to meet Nasheed last night, his wife Laila Ali, several close family members, and a handful of legal advisers travelled to Dhoonidhoo  at 10:15pm to cheers and chanting from a vocal group of around 500 to 600 supporters. The demonstrators had gathered behind temporary police barricades set up by the main Bank of Maldives building in the capital.

Demonstrators had been gathering since about 9:30pm as police set up blockades around the roads surrounding the President’s Office building on Boduthakurufaanu Magu.

Tensions during the evening were mostly evident in vocal exchanges between protesters on the front line and the 20 to 30 police officers assigned to man the blockades, who faced heckling and jeering from the crowds.

“You are only protecting certain individuals in this country,” one protester shouted angrily.

An police officer on the front lines responded that he was there to protect everyone. The jeering and chanting continued throughout the evening.

By 10:30pm, Minivan News observed some minor scuffles as police attempted to force the several hundred demonstrators back behind temporary barriers to chants of “free Nasheed” by the gathered crowd.  However, violent clashes with authorities were minimal during the gathering.

Senior officials of MDP were among the demonstrators, with MDP MP Imthiyaz Fahmy and parliamentary group leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on the front-lines of the gathering.

Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef said the demonstrations, which concluded at around midnight, were conducted peacefully and without any arrests.

“There were three barricades that were thrown into the water by the Bank of Maldives building, but no one had been arrested as a result,” he said.

Minivan News observed a small number of riot police in helmets later gathering behind police lines, but these officers were not deployed, as protests died down soon after midnight.

Also present earlier in the evening was former Minister of Environment Mohamed Aslam, who had travelled with Nasheed during the day after he had been detained by police.

Speaking to Minivan News, Aslam said Nasheed had requested he be returned to his home in Male’ under police custody ahead of his trial, rather than the detention centre at Dhoonidhoo.

The request was rejected by authorities, with Nasheed being dropped off at Dhoonidhoo, where representatives from the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) were said to be present.

While being returned to the capital yesterday, Aslam alleged that a foreign national, whom he believed to be from the India, was also travelling with police, saying he had requested to be transported back to Male’.

“I would say it is highly irregular to have a foreign person on a police boat in such a situation,” he claimed.

Discussing Nasheed’s arrest, Aslam said that after meeting with members of the public on Fares-Mathoda, Nasheed and his entourage returned to the former environment chief’s home on the island after it had been confirmed that a police force had landed nearby.

“These were police armed with riot guns gathered by my home,” he said.

Upon requesting entry to the building and showing an arrest warrant for Nasheed, Aslam said he had asked officers for a few minutes to discuss the situation with the former president.

“As soon as I turned around they had forced their way into the building and begun shoving us around,” he said. “As they forced there way in they also pushed me onto a glass table that broke, fortunately I wasn’t badly hurt from this.”

As police forced themselves into several rooms before locating Nasheed, Aslam claimed that the former president did not resist arrest. The former environment minister said that he was however unable to confirm reports that Nasheed had been pepper sprayed by officers, adding that he did not see such an incident at the time. He claimed to have seen some form of unidentified firearms being packed away by police after they left Fares-Mathoda.

Aslam said he had opted to travel with Nasheed they were transported to larger boat off the island to return to Male’. Along the way he added they had stopped for lunch, at which point it was announced that Nasheed was to be taken to the Dhoonidhoo detention facility.

Speaking to Minivan News yesterday, President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad said the government had wished to avoid any direct involvement in Nasheed’s detention and trial, referring any requests on the matter to police and judicial authorities.

“We have asked the Maldives Police Service to notify media of any developments.  The President’s Office wishes to stay clear of this matter,” he said at the time. ”We know as much as the [media] about developments right now.”

Masood added that, despite allegations raised by the MDP concerning alleged use of excessive force to seize the former president, police authorities had insisted officers had acted with restraint.

“I’m told [Nasheed] asked for a box of cigarettes, a request that [officers] granted.  He was given Benson and Hedges as I understand,” Masood said.

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Nasheed treated like “a fugitive”, MDP tells New York Times

The former president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, was detained on Monday for failing to turn up for a court hearing in a case involving the unlawful arrest of a High Court judge when Mr Nasheed was president, writes Sruthi Gottipati for the New York Times.

Mr. Nasheed was arrested by the police while on a campaign stop in Fares-Maathodaa island, one of the 1,200 islands that make up the tiny Indian Ocean nation of the Maldives, ahead of the presidential elections in July next year.

While there’s little argument that the police took Mr. Nasheed into custody, there’s plenty of disagreement concerning the manner in which it took place.

Mr. Nasheed’s supporters said he had just eaten breakfast at a party member’s home when masked police broke into the house armed in full riot gear, spewing obscenities, and swept the former president out in what his supporters contend was a politically motivated move solely aimed at stopping him from campaigning.

Maldivian Democratic Party workers said that former ministers and aides in Mr. Nasheed’s government who were in the house were pepper-sprayed and violently dragged out.

“You could only see their eyes,” said Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, the spokesman for Mr. Nasheed’s party, describing the police who he said had burst in to brutally arrest their party leader. “They wanted to make it look like they were catching a fugitive.”

Read more

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Government bans smoking in public places

The government has published new regulations to control tobacco, banning smoking inside all government buildings, private restaurants, cafes, teashops and social spaces.

The regulation prohibits smoking at Rehabilitation Centres, children’s parks and places frequently visited by children, aboard ferries and ferry terminals and at any place where people have to wait in a queue to obtain services.

According to the new regulation places such as cafes and restaurants that want to have smoking allowed will have to apply for permission from the Ministry of Health. The permission will be granted to places determined by the Ministry.

Any person who smokes in an area determined to be non-smoking can be fined to MVR 500 (US$32) and the owner of a place that allows smoking in such places without authority can be fined MVR 1000 (US$64) according to the regulation.

The regulation states that if the owner of the premises has not put up the sign board to inform that smoking inside the place is disallowed, the ministry has the authority to fine the venue MVR 500 first time and MVR 5000 (US$3200) on further occasions.

The Centre for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC) estimates that the 44 percent of the total population use tobacco, mainly by smoking.

According to the Maldives Demography and Health Survey (MDHS) 2009, 42 percent of people in the age group 20-24 are smokers while 20 percent of 15-19 years age group smoke.

Customs data shows that in 2010 alone 346 million cigarettes were imported into the Maldives at a cost of MVR 124 million (US$8 million) – a disproportionate figure considering the 350,000 populace. In 2009, MVR 110 million was spent to import 348 million cigarettes – mostly included well-known brands such as Marlborough, Camel, and Mild Seven.

The first President of the Maldives Ameen Didi, who assumed office in 1953, banned tobacco in the Maldives. However, people were outraged over this decision and a group of rebellious citizens overthrew his government and lynched Didi in the street.

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MP Nasheed alleges criminal activities in legal profession

Kulhudhuffushi-dhekunu MP Mohamed Nasheed has criticised his fellow lawyers on his personal blog, alleging that they assist criminals in covering up crimes, work closely with gangs, and intimidate witnesses, reports local media.

A recent report by the Asia Foundation highlighted the strong links between politicians, businessmen and Male’s numerous gangs.

“Due to lawyers’ influence, people often refuse to provide statements, or wish to revise previous statements, or say that they do not wish to provide statements, or travel abroad to avoid the Court process,” he wrote.

Nasheed argued that recording conversations between lawyers and clients could alleviate some of these problems.

“I am not a criminal defence lawyer. However, when the sunset bill was made, I listened to senior members of relevant state institutions discuss ways to address the challenges faced due to crime in the society,” said Nasheed.

“One and a half years later, they are still discussing the same thing. This article was based on the information obtained from them,” he added.

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Prosecutor General receives corruption case involving STO Managing Director

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has forwarded a case to the Prosecutor General (PG) concerning the case of the Managing Director of the State Trading Organisation (STO) Ali Shahid, reports Sun Online.

It is alleged that Shahid used a corporate credit card inappropriately to pay for the medical treatment of a younger sibling.

The commission, it is reported, noted that the misuse occurred before the STO board stated that cards could be used in personal emergencies.

Shahid is alleged to have defended his use of the card under the STO’s loan provisions for medical treatments although the ACC claim he did not request this loan first.

Last month the ACC sent the PG a case concerning former Chairman of STO Farooq Umar after it was alleged he accepted a $19,000 (MVR292,800) from a Sri Lankan company.

Farooq also stands accused of using an STO corporate credit card for personal items.

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Nasheed’s arrest the “end of Maldivian democracy”: MDP

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has called for protests following the arrest of former President Mohamed Nasheed by masked riot police on Monday morning.

Nasheed was in the Dhoonidhoo island detention centre on Monday night, awaiting his trial on Tuesday.

“October 8, 2012 will be remembered as the day that democracy died in the Maldives,” said MDP spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor in a statement.

“The reality is it has been on life-support since February, but today the plug was pulled and the lights turned off,” Ghafoor said.

Thirty-four members of the MDP’s National Council met following Nasheed’s arrest and declared that they would present information about Nasheed’s situation at 8:00pm on Monday evening, before calling for protests.

Nasheed defied a travel ban and multiple summons from the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court, after his party disputed the legitimacy of the court and labelled the charges against him as a politically-motivated effort to sabotage the party’s southern atoll election campaign, and Nasheed’s candidacy in the next presidential election.

“There is huge contention whether Hulhumale’ Court has been granted powers by the law to try any case whatsoever,” wrote former chair of the committee that drafted the 2008 constitution, Ibrahim ‘Ibra’ Ismail.

“The Constitution says very clearly that trial courts will be defined and created by law. When Parliament created courts by the Judicature Act, there was no “Hulhumale’ Court” designated as a Magistrates Court. The Supreme Court itself is still sitting on the case of the validity of the Hulhumale’ Court. It was created by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), without authority derived from law,” wrote Ismail.

“Therefore the validity of any orders or judgements issued by this court is questionable, and the Constitution says no one has to obey any unlawful orders, ie orders which are not derived from law. Therefore, President Nasheed’s decision to ignore the summons has more than reasonable legal grounds,” he stated.

Ismail further noted that court summons were routinely ignored without consequence by political figures allied with the current government, observing that People’s Alliance (PA) MP and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Nazim had defied 11 summons before appearing in court over corruption charges.

“Impunity can only be matched by impunity,” Ismail stated.

“The outlook appears to be rather bleak. There will be chaos. There already is. It may worsen. And then, if we are lucky, out of chaos will emerge order. But what kind of order it will be depends on which paradigm wins. At this point in time, I would tentatively suggest it may be religious extremism.”

Morning arrest

Nasheed was arrested on the southern island of Fares-Mathoda, where he was reportedly scheduled to meet the Danish Ambassador, and was put on a speedboat bound for Male’ where he is due to appear in court on Tuesday.

Saleema Mohamed, a participant of the campaign trip, was inside the living room when the police entered the house, noted an MDP statement.

“They pushed their way in, hurting anyone inside the house. Minister Aslam asked them repeatedly to calm down and to not hurt anyone. He was saying: ‘this is my house’. The police shoved him and pushed him and he fell on the glass table and broke the table,” Saleema said.

According to the party’s statement, “the police forcefully entered Aslam’s house, barging onlookers out of the way. They used shields, batons as well as foul language at the people gathered near the house. Nasheed’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Naseem, and former Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair, were pepper sprayed by the police and violently dragged from the house, while the police also removed members of parliament from the scene.”

Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef earlier stated that “there was no trouble. Nasheed was very cooperative,” but was unable to confirm whether police had used pepper spray.

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad said the office wished to “stay clear of this matter.”

“We have asked the Maldives Police Service to notify media of any developments. We know as much as the [media] about developments,” he said.

Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim has meanwhile launched a second case against former President Nasheed, seeking MVR 3.75 million (US$243,506) in compensation for defamation after Nasheed called him a “baghee” (traitor).

Nasheed’s lawyer, former Human Resources Minister Hassan Latheef, said Nasheed would defend himself by proving that the allegations were true.

US Embassy statement

The US Embassy in Colombo has issued a statement urging “all parties to find a way forward that respects Maldivian democratic institutions, the rule of law and the Maldivian constitution, as well as protects human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

“We urge all sides to remain calm, reject the use of violence and to avoid rhetoric that could increase tensions. It is our expectation that former President Nasheed be given every due process that the law allows,” the embassy stated.

“In response to statements that somehow the United States was involved in the detention of former President Nasheed, the Embassy strongly denies that claim,” it added.

“We note that all US law enforcement cooperation [with the Maldives] includes activities that focus on professionalisation and professional development of the police and places special emphasis on the need to adhere to international standards of human rights and the strengthening of democratic institutions and the rule of law.”

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Defence Minister launches defamation case against Nasheed over “traitor” allegations

The first hearing of a defamation case filed by Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim against former President Mohamed Nasheed took place at the Civil Court today, with MVR 3.75 million (US$243,506) being sought in compensation.

The hearing was attended by legal representatives for both Mohamed Nazim and former President Nasheed, who was today detained by police for a separate criminal trial over the detention of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed.

Nazim’s lawyer told the court that the defence minister’s good name and reputation had been affected by claims made by Nasheed, who had called his client a traitor during a public address at a rally following February’s controversial transfer of power.

Newspaper ‘Haveeru’ reported at the time that following Nasheed’s speech, a group of protesters came outside Nazim’s house and that it had “left Nazim’s family in fear”.

Former Youth Minister Dr Hassan Latheef attended today’s hearing to represent Nasheed, telling the presiding judge that the former president denied the charges against him.

Latheef told the court that evidence would be provided to support Nasheed’s allegations, adding that the former president would want to produce such evidence to the court.

The next hearing for the case is now expected to take place will held a week on Thursday (October 18) . The presiding judge also said that during the next hearing Nasheed’s lawyer will get his chance to respond to the charges.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed was arrested this morning after Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court issued an arrest warrant. The warrant was issued after Nasheed ignored court summons to produce himself to the court for the hearing of a case filed against him for ‘’unlawful’’ arrest of Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed.

Nasheed was at Fresmathoda Island in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll campaigning for the next presidential elections when he was arrested.

Another case of defamation has also been filed by Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz at the Civil Court against Nasheed. A hearing in to the case was recently scheduled but before the scheduled time it was cancelled.  Local media reports say that the hearing was postponed upon Riyaz’s request.

Back in April, the Maldives Police Service had forwarded a case concerning alcohol bottles allegedly confiscated from the home of Nasheed to the Prosecutor General’s (PG’s) Office.

A source with knowledge of the case has told Minivan News that the PG’s Office had decided that evidence provided by police at the time had not been obtained under the required procedures and regulations.

The source who wished to remain anonymous, said the PG had requested that police resubmit the case with evidence that was “legally obtained”, if the case was to proceed to a criminal hearing – a request that had not been forthcoming so far.

Prosecutor General Ahmed Muizz was not responding to calls from Minivan News at the time of press for an official response.

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