Month: February 2013

High Court releases suspects arrested over DMC fraud investigation

The High Court has released the five people arrested in connection with a MVR 24 million (US$1.55 million) corruption investigation involving the Disaster Management Centre (DMC).

The suspects arrested included the Former Head of Disaster Management Centre Abdulla Shahid and the brother of the Speaker of Parliament.

The five individually appealed in the High Court arguing that the Criminal Court’s decision to extend their detention was unlawful.

The High Court ruled there was no need to keep the five detained as the suspects were arrested after their statements had already been obtained,  and because the case was already being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Auditor General.

The case involving the Disaster Management Centre fraud concerns an audit report into the Centre produced by the Auditor General. In the report, the Auditor General alleged that the MVR 24 million was fraudulently obtained from the budget allocated for the Centre for the years 2009 and 2010.

The Auditor General (AG) later conducted a special audit into the MVR24 million believed to be fraudulently obtained.

The AG”s report alleged that the Disaster Management Centre had photocopied, edited and reused ‘Credit Purchase Order Forms’ used in 2005 to withdraw MVR 24 million from the Centre’s budget at the Finance Ministry.

The ‘Credit Purchase Order Forms’ were originally given to the Disaster Management Centre in 2005 to withdraw cash from the Tsunami Recovery Fund. The Auditor General’s report also suggested that the Finance Ministry was complicit in the alleged fraud.

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International Federation of Journalists condemns attack on Maldivian cameraman

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned an attack on a Villa Television (VTV) cameraman while he was reportedly covering a Maldivian Democratic Party protest.

The Maldives Journalist Association (MJA), an affiliate of the IFJ, highlighted that attacks on journalists are becoming common during political rallies in the Maldives.

Due to the attack on VTV cameraman Rilwan Moosa, the MJA has called on the Maldives Media Council to initiate steps to ensure a safe environment for reporting public events.

The IFJ, who represent over 600,000 journalists in 131 countries, has expressed the need for greater safety for journalists amid the political tension in the Maldives.

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Cabinet to establish safari boat marina near Male’

A safari yacht marina is to be established in near Male’ to provide safe port facilities for vessels, local media has reported.

The President’s Office said cabinet made the decision after discussing a paper presented by the Ministry of Transport and Communication.

The cabinet noted that safari boats – which often serve alcohol on board – are one of the main generators of foreign currency.

According to local media, a competitive bidding process will be used to find an appropriate party for the project.

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Agreement signed for construction of new roads on six islands

A MVR 424 million (US$27.5 million) agreement for the construction of roads on six islands has been signed by the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure and Maldives Road Development Corporation (MRDC).

The islands chosen for the road construction project are Dhidhdhoo in Haa Alif Atoll, Hanimaadhoo in Haa Dhaalu Atoll, Kudahuvadhoo in Dhaalu Atoll, Vilufushi in Thaa Atoll, Villingili in Gaaf Alif Atoll and Thinadhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll.

According to local media, nine roads are to be constructed in Vilufushi, fifteen in Villingili, 21 in Thinadhoo, 13 in Kudahuvadhoo, 21 in Hanimaadhoo and 15 in Dhidhdhoo.

Speaking at the ceremony, President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik expressed hope that road construction work in the six islands would be completed soon.

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MDP pickup seized by police

Police have seized a pickup truck used by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) during today’s protest, local media reported.

The pickup, which is used by the party to play pro-MDP music through a loudspeaker, was removed after it began to disturb students at a nearby school.

Police had given orders to protesters to leave the area, eventually pushing the crowd up towards the Roashanee Building on Sosun Magu, local media reported.

Resulting clashes between police and demonstrators saw multiple arrests.

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Government gazette to be online only publication from March 1, 2013

The President’s Office has announced it will discontinue producing a print edition of the government gazette from next month in favour of publishing the document online.

According to the President’s Office website, the decision to cease printing of the government gazette from March 1, 2013, has been taken as part of efforts to reduce state expenditure.

The online edition of the gazette, which will continue to outline cabinet policy, legislation as well as other state developments and vacancies, can be read here.

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Indians, not MDP, should be demanding Maldives intervention: Firstpost

If India continues its nervous fence-sitting, Waheed will do a Rajapakse and China will quickly expand its toe-hold in the island(s), writes G Pramod Kumar for India’s Firstpost publication.

In fact, India had lost considerable ground by not openly backing Nasheed at the time of the coup. India could have sent his army – just as the way it sent its forces to rescue Gayyoom when he was under attack by mercenaries in the 1980s- and protected Nasheed.

His supporters in fact wanted India to prevent his ouster, but the regional super power exposed its weakness by refusing to intervene. Now, here is the second chance for it to reclaim lost ground and redeem its super-power image.

What’s wrong in protecting our strategic interests in our own backyard? The interests of a 1.2 billion people democracy and a US$ 1.8 trillion dollar economy?

In fact, it should be Indians, not the MDP, that should demand that India play a decisive role in Maldives. It’s in our interest.

It’s not Bangladesh, Bhutan or Afghanistan that we should have controlling stakes in. We should have complete control of the Indian Ocean for our people and our interests to be safe because that is where China and Pakistan is expanding.

A decade ago, the Himal magazine published from Kathmandu had found an innovative perspective for south Asia to escape the air of Indo-Pakistan strife that dominated the region – to look at it upside down where the Indian ocean and the southern parts of India dominated the map. But today, even our part of the Indian ocean seems to be going out of our grip. India is hemmed in from all sides by just two countries – China and Pakistan!

Supporting authoritarian regimes in the region – both in Maldives and Sri Lanka – will be seriously detrimental to our interest. We cannot talk foreign policy with (their) rogue alliances smirking right on our face.

Maldives is not just about Nasheed, it is also about India, its people and its history.

Read more

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Protesters released on condition they “not be seen in groups”

Five Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) protesters arrested Monday (February 18) night were released on the condition they “are not seen within groups for two months,” reports local media.

The Criminal Court “remanded to arrest” 16 of the 84 people taken into police custody during protests.

The court also extended the detention period of four other protesters.

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PPM Youth Wing to protest against MDP demonstrations

The Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Youth Wing have said they intend to hold a demonstration against the recent Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) protests.

PPM Youth Wing President Ibrahim Nazim told local media that when “the time is right” the youth wing will “pour out into the streets” to show their discontent at the recent MDP demonstrations.

“Compromising the peace and safety of the country, committing arson, attacking police and military, harassing their families, we cannot just idly sit by and watch this.

“They are even being harassed near schools. It is just not yet our time,” local media reported Nazim as saying.

The youth wing president claimed that they had remained quiet so far as they belong to a party that was part of the coalition government.

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