November 2012 – Page 18 – Minivan News

Nasheed’s trial and Maldives’ human rights record debated in Westminster

The ongoing trial of former President Mohamed Nasheed was again the subject of debate in London this week, as well as the current human rights situation in the country.

On Tuesday night, the Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission convened to discuss the Maldives, inviting speakers from the government, the opposition, and civil society to participate in the event titled “Human rights and Democracy in the Maldives: Where do we go from here?”

The following day, a private members debate was secured by Karen Lumley MP in the House of Commons to discuss the role of the UK government and the Commonwealth in ensuring a fair trial for Nasheed, whose case was postponed on Sunday following a high court injunction.

Tuesday’s meeting was attended by former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Dr Farahanaz Faizal, former Foreign Minister and current UN Special Rapporteur Dr Ahmed Shaheed, barrister – and current member of Nasheed’s legal team – Sir Ivan Lawrence QC, as well as Amnesty International’s South Asia specialist Abbas Faiz.

Invitations were also extended to the Acting High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Ahmed Shiaan and Minister for Tourism Ahmed Adheeb.

However, after queries from panel members in attendance as to the whereabouts of the government’s representatives, the committee’s Chair Robert Buckland MP informed those present that, despite having initially accepted the invitation, the government representatives had withdrawn.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said that Adheeb had been unable to attend the meeting as it had clashed with a ministerial dinner. He had also been busy with duties related to the 2012 World Travel Market, which had been the primary purpose of his visit to London.

Where do we go from here?

Shaheed was the first to speak at the Conservative’s meeting, urging the government to uphold the commitments made via its international commitments as well as the pledges made this summer at the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC).

Farah was the next to speak, choosing to focus in particular on the issues of gender based violence and rising religious extremism in the country.

She argued that the treatment of female protesters in the aftermath of the February 7 transfer of power had highlighted this endemic abuse.

Farah deviated from her prepared testimony to mention the recent incident of the 11 year old girl who gave birth in Seenu atoll last week.

“The silence of the authorities is disturbing,” she added, before chastising President Mohamed Waheed Hassan for failing to speak out, despite his history of working with UNICEF.

Abbas Faiz spoke next, taking time – after distributing a copy of the recent Amnesty International publication, ‘The other side of paradise’ – to assert the independence of his organisation: “Some still believe we are not. We do not take sides.”

After the release of the report in the summer, Amnesty was accused by Home Minister Mohamed Jameel Ahmed of acting with bias towards anti government supporters.

Faiz pointed out that Amnesty also condemned any acts of violence by protesters and stated that it still considered the detention of Judge Abdulla Mohamed in January this year to have been “arbitrary”.

Sir Ivan Lawrence QC contended that the “arbitrary” arrest of Abdulla Mohamed was yet to be proven in a court of law.

The member of Nasheed’s current defense team recalled his previous work in the country in 2005, noting the proven gains to be made from garnering global attention on human rights abuses.

He did acknowledge the difficulty of this task, with far greater human rights atrocities occurring elsewhere in the world, and expressed his belief that the Commonwealth was best placed to help solve the country’s current problems.

When taking questions from the floor, Farah expressed her concern that international observers were often sheltered from the real Maldives when visiting the country, arguing that this must change if observers are to assist with free and fair elections.

Buckland, the Chair, concluded the meeting by saying that he would pass on the details of the forum to the Foreign Secretary William Hague as well as the Under Secretary Alistair Burt.

Private members’ debate

Burt was unable to attend the private member’s debate the following day, sending Mark Simmonds to represent the Foreign Office on his behalf.

Lumley described the 2008 election victory as a “political fairy tale”, but argued that Nasheed had been left with a “constitutional time bomb” regarding the unreformed judiciary, which the Commonwealth ought to have offered greater assistance with.

Robert Buckland, also present at this debate, remarked that the “current government is in a supremely ironic situation.”

“They criticised the former president for interfering in the judiciary and now it seems they are using judicial processes to frustrate a free and fair election,” he said.

“Is not the message we need to send to them that the guarantee of a true democracy is an independent judiciary, and that they had better make sure that is so,” he asked.

Both Karen Lumley and John Glen MP both stated their firm belief that the events of February 7 amounted to a coup.

On behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Simmonds said that he disagreed with the assertion that the Commonwealth had “taken its eye off the ball” in the Maldives.

“I do not think that is an entirely accurate reflection of matters,” he said.

He said that the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) was concerned about the situation – noting that the recent meeting in New York went on for five hours, despite being scheduled for 45 minutes – and that it had pledged additional support for civil society and judicial reform.

Simmonds was keen to stress that, after the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI), “we fully accept the legitimacy of the current president and his government.”

He described the current legal proceeding as a “significant test” which was being “watched closely” by the international community before noting that the government had previously sought and received assurances from President Waheed that the trial would be free from political influence.

“At this stage of proceedings, we have no reason to believe that this will not be the case,” said Simmonds.

“I have no doubt that the Maldives government and judiciary will feel the eyes of the world on them, and that they realise that a fair and impartial trial is most evidently in the national interest,” he added.

The second hearing in Nasheed’s trial had been scheduled for last Sunday but was postponed pending a High Court ruling on the procedural points raised by his legal team.

A High Court decision had been expected on the day after the private members debate, but the Supreme Court was reported to have instructed the lower court to halt its hearings on Wednesday afternoon.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Adhaalath Party head gives government six day ultimatium to renege on GMR airport deal

The government has been given less than a week to “reclaim” Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) from infrastructure group GMR under order of the religious conservative Adhaalath Party, a member of the coalition backing President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran Abdullah gave the deadline yesterday, during a rally calling by November 15 for an annulment of the contract signed between the former government and GMR to manage and develop a new terminal at INIA.

Imran also told those gathered to stand ready for “activities on sea” planned for the November 12. The gathering, held yesterday at the artificial beach area of Male’, is expected to reconvene this evening.

Sheikh Imran was not responding to calls from Minivan News at the time of press, while fellow party member and State Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said he did not wish to comment on the “GMR issue”, asking that he only be contacted over religious matters.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed, whose government approved the deal back in 2010, this month slammed statements over the “reclaiming” the airport from GMR. Nasheed claimed such comments were “highly irresponsible”, stating that such words from the government could cause irreparable damage to the country.

Several Indian companies operating in the Maldives including GMR and TATA have also this month expressed concerns over political interference that they claimed is derailing their substantial investments in the country.

Following the controversial transfer of power on February 7, members of President Waheed’s unity government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has swung between issuing reassurances within diplomatic circles that Indian investments in the country would be protected, while locally stepping up nationalisation rhetoric.

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad and Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza were also not returning calls on whether the government had been officially notified of the deadline or how it will proceed on the matter at time of press.

The present government has continued to press to “re-nationalise”the airport, with the country’s Deputy Tourism Minister confirming to Indian media in September that the administration would not “rule out the possibility of cancelling the award [to GMR]”.

Despite these pledges, government coalition partners including the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and Jumhoree Party (JP) have both called for further investigation into alleged wrongdoing over the deal and to follow legal guidelines.

Senior representatives of both parties have told Minivan News that any potential action taken against GMR to be taken through the courts and after negotiations with the infrastructure group. Any actions should then be conducted in a manner not detrimental to securing future foreign investment opportunities, both parties have concluded.

Under the terms of the agreement – an estimated US$511 million deal that represents the largest ever case of foreign investment in the Maldives – GMR agreed to a 25 year concession agreement to develop and manage the site, as well as to overhaul the existing terminal by the end of this year.

The document was overseen by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank group and the largest global institution focused on private sector projects in developing countries.

The Maldives government has accused the IFC of negligence during the bidding process for INIA – allegations there were rejected by the organisation. Both the government and GMR are presently involved in an arbitration case in Singapore over the airport development that is anticipated to conclude by year end.

However, the Adhaalath Party, as part of a civil society coalition that was formed last year, has stepped up efforts of late to oppose upholding the airport deal.

The efforts have included an ongoing number of gatherings in the capital Male’, promotional material including a “Go Home GMR” balloon, the publication of a book on the deal and a petition sent to the government.

Local media reported this week that some 10,000 people had so far signed the petition.

Sheikh Imran has previously predicted there would be “some unrest and damage” should the GMR deal be annulled, but nontheless urged people to come out and support the calls for nationalisation. The GMR deal is actually a 25 year lease arrangement and the airport still belongs to the government.

Imran said the Maldivian population would be able to endure economic hardship should the deal be annulled, before threatening “a completely different activity” should the government fail to resolve the issue to the coalition’s satisfaction.

Book launch

Also against the GMR deal is the government-aligned DQP, whose leader Dr Hassan Saeed serves as special advisor to president Waheed, as well as being his party’s presidential candidate.

Late last month, Dr Saeed launched a book authored by himself that concluded the only option for “reclaiming the airport from GMR” is to invalidate or cancel the concession agreement with the Indian infrastructure giant.

The DQP has claimed the book would reveal a number of facts that the Maldivian people were unaware of before the signing of the agreement.

It follows the publication last year of another DQP publication that claimed that the government’s lease of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) to developer GMR posed a threat to local industry that will “enslave the nation and its economy”.

The Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MNCCI) has previously claimed that legal wrangling between the government and India-based developer GMR over the multi-million dollar airport development would not harm confidence in the country’s admittedly “challenging” investment climate.

This week alone, cabinet ministers announced efforts were being taken to try expanding the number of investment opportunities available in the Maldives in order to generate greater interest from foreign enterprises.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Women’s development committees elected amid low turnout

Elections took place in 102 islands across the country on Wednesday for women’s development committees to function under island and city councils.

Candidates for six seats in Male’ were elected by default as only one candidate contested for the seats.

Candidates from the formerly ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) were elected to all eleven seats of the women’s committee in the capital Male’.

Turnout in the capital was however low. Of 2,013 eligible voters from the Hulhu-Henveiru district, only 223 women cast their ballots.

In other constituencies in Male’ turnouts stood at 211 out of 1,814 in mid-Henveiru, 159 out of 1,479 in Galolhu North and 142 out of 1,800 in Manchangoalhi North.

Following the election, MDP Chairperson and MP for Hulhu-Henveiru, ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik, congratulated the winning candidates and expressed gratitude to the party’s women’s wing, elections committee and secretariat for conducting a successful campaign.

MDP candidates were also elected to women’s committees in Noonu Velidhoo and Gaaf Dhaal Thinadhoo.

Local Government Authority (LGA) Chief Executive Officer Dr Ahmed Shukuree however told local daily Haveeru on November 4 that there were no candidates from 44 islands.

Under article 36 of the landmark Decentralisation Act (Dhivehi), the powers and responsibilities of women’s committees are: (a) Advise island council on matters related to island development and municipal services provided by the council; (b) Own properties and conduct business activities with others in the name of the committee; (c) Sue and be sued in the name of the committee; (d) Conduct various activities for income generation and for the development of women; (e) Work to uphold the rights of women; (f) Work to increase religious awareness amongst women; (g) Work to increase political participation of women; (h) Work to increase the numbers of women enrolled in higher education; (i) Work to improve the health condition of women; (j) Gather important information related to women; (k) Manage assets and finance of the committee.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Bank of Maldives opens new branch

The Bank of Maldives Plc Ltd (BML) opened a new branch in Male’ at the ground floor of the STO trade centre to provide cash withdrawal and deposit services.

The new branch or BML Lite was opened by Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Governor Dr Fazeel Najeeb at a ceremony on Thursday.

The new branch is an addition to the existing three branches in Male’.

“Two self-service machines are available for cash and cheque deposits at this branch. The machine is of the most popular brands used by the banks worldwide. The machine is highly secure, easy to use and has the capacity to accept up to 40 cheques at a time. Cash deposits should be made in a sealed envelope and the machine can accept up to 40 notes at a time,” according to BML.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Coalition divided over fate of STO/Addu Airport managing director

Representatives of several government-aligned parties are divided on whether to support removing Shahid Ali from his position as Managing Director (MD) of both the State Trading Organisation (STO) and Addu International Airport over his alleged political beliefs.

The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) said this week it not made any sort of decision over removing Shahid from the positions he presently held and had not been aware of any such motion to remove him, though added any eventual decision would need to be “justified”. Jumhoree Party (JP) Deputy Leader Abdulla Jabir said his party would support the STO MD, while also warning against the politicisation of key business positions and deals across the nation.

The comments were made as the Interim Vice President of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Abdul Raheem Abdulla told local media that parties within the present coalition government sought to remove Shahid from his posts for allegedly being a member of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

Earlier this week, Jumhoree Party (JP) Leader and MP for Alif Dhaal Maamigili MP, Gasim Ibrahim warned Shahid that he would be sacked from his post at the STO if an agreement was signed to sell a 30 percent stake in the Addu International Airport Company Ltd (AIACL) to Kasa Holdings. The sale was confirmed a day later.

During a televised appearance on private broadcaster Dhi TV on Wednesday, Abdul Raheem claimed that calls to replace Shahid were not related to the controversial sale of the shares in Addu International Airport (AIA), newspaper Haveeru reported.

Instead he said that the motion was based around concerns about having a figure he claimed was allegedly linked to the opposition MDP in a senior position of a state-owned company, claiming such an appointment was “unacceptable”, according to media reports.

Abdul Raheem went on to accuse Shahid of spending money to help fund a recent campaign trip by former President Mohamed Nasheed in Addu during the program.

PPM Deputy Leader Umar Naseer and Party Spokesperson Ahmed Mahloof were not answering calls at the time of press.

Independence

Responding to the PPM’s criticism, JP Deputy Leader Abdulla Jabir said that Shahid was a “professional” and “highly technical” MD, adding both he and his party would not back any attempts to remove him.

Jabir also played down claims Shahid was politically tainted or biased in his work.

“We should keep independent people in business as much as possible, we need good people like him right now,” he told Minivan News. “STO is a huge company with many employees and he has done a very good job, I support him and our party will support him.”

Jabir also requested that Maldivians avoid trying to politicise business and economic matters in the Maldives that could impact on the investment climate within the country.

Last month, Jabir also hit out at what he claimed were attempts by some of the JP’s coalition partners to try and “politicise” a dispute between the government and India-based GMR over an agreement to develop Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) – fearing a negative impact on foreign investment.

Meanwhile, DRP Deputy Leader Ibrahim Shareef told Minivan News today that it had not been made aware of any decision to remove Shahid from either of his MD posts. He also expressed caution over making a potential scapegoat out of Shahed over concerns owing to the Addu airport sale.

Shareef said that before taken any potential position on the matter, the party would need to investigate if there was any possible reason to dismiss Shahid, claiming the party would not back any cause raised by coalition partners unless it was “justified”.

“However, I do not think a deal such as [selling shares] in Addu International Airport can be taken by one person alone,” he added, referring to Shahid.

Responding to the PPM’s reported concerns of potentially giving positions in government-owned companies to opposition figures or supporters, Shareef claimed that the coalition had been founded on a policy of not discriminating along party lines.

“It is important to remember that President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan invited the MDP to join his coalition government – an invite they declined,” he claimed. “However, that said, the government was to invite capable people from anywhere to join us even from MDP. We have nothing against the MDP.”

Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) Leader Dr Hassan Saeed and Secretary general Abdulla Ameen were not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

Coveted post

Back in August, an audio clip allegedly of Deputy CEO of Maldives Ports Limited, Ahmed Faiz, was leaked and then aired on opposition-aligned Raajje TV, alluding to significant interest in replacing Shahid Ali within the STO.

In the transcript, which Faiz confirmed was authentic but re-cut and edited together, he appeared to allege that PPM Parliamentary Group Leader Abdulla Yameen had offered financial incentives to replace the STO MD.

“The first post that was guaranteed to a person in this government was one that I had asked for, that is the post of Managing Director at STO, the one in which that Shahid Ali is. That is something I did in my interest, and I swear, it is something I myself did. There is no one who hasn’t been coveting that post. I was offered five hundred thousand dollars to get Shahid Ali replaced by a person of Yameen’s choice. I said to him… what he said to me even at the beginning is that if you are uncomfortable by this, then we shall treat this as a conversation that never happened, and I replied saying this never happened,” Faiz claims in the audio.

“I said this conversation never happened. Yameen said it never happened. And that was it, I got up and walked away. That (expletive) said to someone nearby that I am a very dangerous (expletive). Now I’ve told you of some of the problems in this government.”

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Transport Minister sacked after extending Maamigili airport lease for 99 years

Minister of Transport Dr Ahmed Shamheed has been removed from his cabinet post on Thursday after announcing the extension of the Maamigili airport lease for 99 years.

The private airport is owned by Chairman of Villa Group and Jumhoree Party (JP) MP for Maamigili, Gasim Ibrahim. The airport had initially been leased to the JP presidential candidate’s Villa company for 30 years.

Dr Shamheed was nominated to the post by the government-aligned JP and is a senior member of the party led by the business magnate MP.

Shamheed told local media today that the decision to extend the lease had been made in an Economic Committee meeting last week.

“Documents to extend the lease of Maamigili Airport for 99 years were sent to the transport ministry by [former President Mohamed] Nasheed’s government. But the current government delayed the matter. The present government only endorsed the decision. It was decided by the NPC [National Planning Council] during the former government,” he was quoted as saying by newspaper Haveeru.

In addition to Shamheed, the Economic Committee consists of Minister of Finance Abdulla Jihad and Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Ahmed Shafeeu, Housing Minister Dr Mohamed Muizzu, Environment Minister Dr Mariyam Shakeela and Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb.

“Transport Minster Dr Shamheed has been relieved from his duties today. Defense Minister Nazim will be the care taker until replaced by JP,” government spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza tweeted today.

He added that the cabinet seat will be reserved for the JP, currently the third largest party in terms of membership in the ruling coalition.

Riza informed Minivan News that despite Shamheed’s dismissal, the decision to extend the lease had not yet been reversed.

Maamigili airport was opened in October 2011 with JP Leader Gasim Ibrahim’s Villa ‘Flyme’ airline landing the first flight in the new airport at the Alif Dhaal atoll, which has a number of tourist resorts.

In recent weeks, Gasim Ibrahim has publicly alleged corruption in the sale of a 30 percent stake of the Addu International Airport Company Pvt Ltd (AIA) to business magnate ‘Champa’ Hussain Afeef’s Kasa Holdings.

In a letter to President Mohamed Waheed Hassan, Gasim insisted that the Addu airport should be developed by the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) and went on to offer to reclaim land for the project free of charge “using my own dredger, employees and machinery with the government only providing oil.”

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Police arrest six MDP members on Bilehfahi island for disturbing the peace and throwing rocks

Police have confirmed that six men from the island of Bilehfahi in Shaviyani Atoll have been arrested after they allegedly threw rocks at some roofs and disturbed the peace of the island.

According to a statement issued by the police, three 23 year-old men, a 21 year-old man, 24 year-old man and a 32 year-old man were arrested. Police did not reveal their identities.

Police said an operation was conducted by Shaviyani Atoll Police Station after police were informed that the group of men were throwing rocks at houses and were exploding plastic bottles in areas where people live.

Police received assistance and cooperation from the people of the island during the arrest of the six men, they said.

Following the arrests, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) issued a statement saying that the six arrested were MDP members and they were arrested to obstruct MDP activities conducted on the island.

The MDP called the arrests ‘unlawful’ and called on the authorities to release the six immediately.

People had been throwing rocks at a café shop owned by a MDP member in the island and when it was reported to police, police said they were too busy and they did not have time to investigate the matter.

MDP alleged that the arrest was a setup planned by the council and police, and that the men arrested had played aq lead role in decorating the island for the MDP’s upcoming tour of Shaviyani Atoll.

In the statement the party called on the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM), Police Integrity Commission and Prosecutor General (PG) to investigate unlawful actions carried out by the police.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Independent Institutions Committee disrupted after disagreement over summoning JSC

A meeting of Parliament’s Committee on Independent Institutions on Wednesday was disrupted due to heated verbal exchanges between Chair of the committee independent MP Mohamed Nasheed and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s Parliamentary Group Deputy Leader Ali Waheed.

On agenda for the meeting was a motion submitted by MDP MPs Ali Waheed, Hamid Abdul Ghafoor and Ahmed Sameer, who is also Vice Chair of the committee.

The motion was in reference to the establishment and continuation of the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court and the appointment of judges to that court.

Speaking on the issue, Ali Waheed proposed to summon the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) to the committee, reports local media. However this proposition was not supported by MDP MPs Ahmed Sameer and Ahmed Abdulla.

Nasheed had responded that certain documents needed to be acquired by the committee before summoning the JSC, adding that there was “no need to rush the matter” since PPM MP Abdulla Yameen also agreed to summonthe commission.

Nasheed further said that the committee’s decision would “hold more weight” if all parties reached a consensus, adding that if this was the case the JSC would not face any difficulties in obeying the decision.

The official parliament website reports that it was been decided at the meeting that all documents prepared by the JSC regarding the Hulhumale’ court after 21 October 2010, any documents submitted to JSC regarding the Hulhumale’ court, the minutes of any meetings held regarding the appointment, transfer or any other matters that were in relation to judges, were to be obtained and further researched at the next meeting of the committee.

Ali Waheed alleged that PPM was attempting to prolong the Hulhumale’ court issue in the committee by not attending the meeting. He also said that the committee lacked “seriousness” when dealing with the matter.

He further alleged that there were “some persons within the MDP who wished to see [former President] Nasheed convicted”, saying that they would not stay by idly while Nasheed’s presidential candidacy was on the line.

Despite attempts by Sameer to escort Waheed out of the committee meeting hall, Waheed continued to pace around the room and make loud statements aimed at MP Nasheed.

The meeting was discontinued when Nasheed started responding in kind to Waheed’s loud statements, making it impossible for members in attendance to speak over the noise.

Wednesday’s meeting was attended by independent MP Mohamed Nasheed, MDP MPs Ahmed Sameer, Ali Waheed, Ahmed Abdulla, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Rozaina Adam and Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) MP Riyaz Rasheed.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)