Day: March 12, 2013

Eleven political parties dissolved after controversial bill ratified by President

Additional reporting by Neil Merrett.

Five political parties remain registered in the Maldives following the ratification of the controversial Political Parties Bill by President Mohamed Waheed.

Vice President of Elections Commission (EC) Ahmed Fayaz told Minivan News today (March 12) that a total of 11 political parties had now been removed from its political party registry in accordance to the new bill.

Out of the 16 parties that had previously existed prior to the ratification of the bill, only the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Jumhoree Party (JP) and Adhaalath Party (AP) remain registered in the Maldives.

The Political Parties Bill, ratified today (March 12), states that parties who do not meet the required 10,000 members will no longer be recognised as such in the Maldives.

President Waheed’s own party, Gaumee Ihthihad Party (GIP) was one of the 11 parties dissolved following the bill’s ratification, despite the president’s claims that it had reached 10,000 members.

EC Vice President Fayaz said that whilst GIP and the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) had both submitted enough forms to meet the 10,000 minimum, many of those forms were still pending and so could not be counted.

“There are two parties who have submitted close to, or over the 10,000 membership minimum, but just because the parties have 10,000 membership forms submitted, it does not mean they have 10,000 party members.

“We followed procedure in accordance to the [Political Parties] bill. Within that bill there is a clause that clearly states, that when a party that has less than 10,000 members it is to become null and void. The EC acted in accordance to the law,” Fayaz told Minivan News.

It had been previously reported that upon ratification of the bill, political parties with fewer than 10,000 members would have three months to reach the required amount or face dissolution.

When asked about the clause, Fayaz stated it only applied to registered parties in accordance to the bill, and that therefore if a party does not meet the 10,000 limit it cannot be classed as such and is therefore exempt from the three-month clause.

Government takes measures to “rectify” Political Parties Bill

Speaking to Minivan News, President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad said the government had decided to take measures to “rectify” the decision to dissolve all but five of the country’s political parties.

The dissolution of the parties is seen by the state as an infringement of people’s right to form political bodies, according to Masood.

“The constitution does give the right for every citizen to do this,” he added.

Masood contended that Attorney General (AG) Azima Shukoor had this afternoon sought to file motions with the country’s Supreme Court raising concerns with the decision to dissolve the parties following the ratification of the controversial Political Parties Bill by President Waheed earlier today.

However, at the time of press, he said he was not aware exactly of the nature of documentation submitted to the courts by the attorney general.

Addressing the impact of President Waheed’s own party being dissolved, Masood said the decision would not be a problem for the functioning of the present government.

However, he declined to comment on what implications a lack of party could have on President Waheed’s prospects for re-election.

“There maybe some issues there going forward, but you would need to speak with a spokesperson for the president’s party,” he said. “I would rather not comment on the matter.”

Local media reported that the AG’s Office had submitted both the Political Parties Act and the Privileges and Powers of Parliament Members Act to the Supreme Court today, stating that the bills contain a number of legal discrepancies.

At time of press, Attorney General Azima Shukoor and GIP party spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza were not responding to calls from Minivan News.

President Waheed’s Special Advisor and Leader of the government-aligned Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), Dr Hassan Saeed, and MP Ahmed ‘Sun Travel’ Shiyam, Interim Leader of the recently formed Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), were also not returning calls today.

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NDA talks national drug studies, prevention policies and budget difficulties

The National Drug Agency (NDA) has defended the accuracy of a recent national survey into the scale of narcotics abuse and addiction in the Maldives, claiming the prevalence model used by researchers was the most efficient method presently available.

Some sources who participated in the survey process have expressed serious concerns about the “flawed methodology” of the data collection process, which they claim produced a final report that was inaccurate and had grossly underestimated the extent of drug use in the Maldives. The NDA has previously refuted criticisms over the drug report’s methodology in a letter sent to Minivan News.

NDA Chairperson and State Health Minister Lubna Mohamed Zahir Hussain has since claimed that on the back of a reduced state budget for its prevention and treatment programs in 2013, the findings would play a key role in helping authorities devise its future strategic action plan.

Lubna’s comments followed the publication by the NDA and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) last month of a prevalence survey based partly on primary data obtained from atolls capitals and almost two dozen randomly selected islands across the country. The survey concluded there were a total of 7,496 drug users in the Maldives, with the highest proportion among those aged between 15 and 19 years old.

To gather the findings, the team behind the study said they had used a scientific methodology combining secondary data from the state, such as police and prison services, with survey information gathered from 35 of the country’s inhabited islands.

Representatives from the team involved in compiling the study added that the data provided risked being “skewed” if its researchers had focused specifically on islands with known drug problems, rather than random parts of the country.

The NDA was among one of three key agencies working on the report that also included the (UNODC) and Inova Pvt Ltd – a national research organisation.

Sources who had worked on the report have alleged that the number of drug users identified in the survey was extremely low compared to the number of actual users, claiming that previous studies had estimated that the number of local users ranged between 20,000 and 30,000 people.

The report’s authors contend that there had been little scientific study to confirm such figures beyond anecdotal evidence in the past, with the latest figures better reflecting the scale of the problem in the country.

“Significant drug problem”

Criticisms were also raised by sources involved in the survey process over the scope of testing, which was alleged to have excluded women and the country’s prison population.

The charges were denied by the state organisations and civil society groups behind the report, who added that the latest figures indicated a significant drug problem in the country, with the study providing the first such data of its kind on drug use in the Maldives at a national level.

As part of the methodology used for the report, the survey team told Minivan News that respondents aged between 15 to 64 years of age were questioned across 35 of the country’s inhabited islands.

According to the report’s producers, two islands per atoll were focused on in the study. These included the capital of every atoll and another randomly selected island.

Asked whether such a system could provide an accurate reflection of the number of drug users around the country, the survey team claimed that prevalence studies were favoured by some experts as they allowed for greater control of perceived error limits that might affect the outcome of findings.

A similar methodology used to in the report’s calculations had also used to compile national data for the World Drug Report, according to the research team.

“The methodology [used in the national drug report] is in line with information gathered in the World Drug report. The is the first such information of its kind [for the Maldives],” a member of the team who compiled the report claimed.

“Skewed” figures

A source who has worked in the Maldives NGO sector for the last two years also accused the NDA, UNODC and other stakeholders behind the report of using a methodology that was not relevant to assessing the true scale of drug addiction across the country’s often isolated island communities.

However, a civil society representative involved with the study told Minivan News that the formula used in the report would have been “skewed” if researchers had singled out islands suspected of having more severe levels of drug use and addiction.

Under the same rationing, the survey team claimed that directly including the country’s prison population, 80 percent of whom are claimed to have been imprisoned on suspected drug offences, would again have adversely impacted the formula used to compile its most recent findings.

Rather than omit prison populations entirely, the report’s authors said they had turned to secondary information such as prison data and arrest figures from the police to help “indirectly estimate” the number of drug users using a specially devised methodology.

Researchers behind the survey added that the only other alternative to this model would have been to conduct a census-style test. They claimed such a model would have been too costly for the nation considering the economic challenges facing the country in recent years amidst heightened calls for reduced state spending.

The NDA also added that the study had been independently monitored by the EU and UNODC during the survey period that was conducted across various atolls for a period of two to three months, starting in October 2011. The study period was said to have run for slightly longer in the capital of Male’, according to the research team.

Experimentation

With the findings now released, Afiya Ali, a clinical psychologist working on the study said that the findings had shed new light on the reasons why people were turning to drugs in the country, with young people between 15 to 19 years of age being particularly susceptible.

Afiya said that the findings had indicated that a large number of people turning to drugs in the country found to come from regular backgrounds as opposed to common perceptions of drug takers coming from criminal or troubled backgrounds.

Experimentation was highlighted as a major driver to encouraging young people experiment with alcohol and drugs.

“It is only recently that life skills have been introduced to schools as their has been reluctance from parents and senior figures in the schools to accept these topics,” Afiya explained.

However, she added that that work was being undertaken within the national curriculum, even with young children to indirectly teach them about peer pressure that could lead to such experimentation.

Limitations

The team behind the report told Minivan News that a high level of social stigma among Maldivian females of being associated with drugs had limited the overall effectiveness of understanding narcotics use among women and girls – despite maintaining that users in the country remained predominantly male.

Further study specifically around the amount of females using or addicted to drugs in the Maldives was highlighted by Lubna and the survey team as an area potentially requiring a greater focus in the next few years.

“There will always be limitations to such studies, this include the difficulties in capturing data on females using drugs,” the report authors claimed, adding that similar challenges faced researchers around the world, with drugs widely accepted to be a male-orientated problem.

“There is a social perception that for a guy to be labelled a drug user is less taboo than for a woman. We need to conduct targeted research on women only [concerning drug use].”

Also highlighted among limitations that would impact the final report by the team was the prevalence of drug use among teenagers and children below 15 years of age. However, the NDA claimed that it would be possible to replicate such a study using a similar methodology used in its most recent report.

In terms of the report methodology researchers were sent to 35 of the country’s inhabited islands, where it used four separate questionnaires to try and screen interviewees to ascertain if they may have had experience using drugs

According to researchers these included an initial questionnaire with lighter questions such as whether a respondent knew anyone who had been a drug user. For subjects anticipated of having used drugs, picture cards depicting various drugs available in the country, along with both their English and Dhivehi names, were distributed in order to try to gage familiarity among respondents with the drug scene.

“We had a 90 percent response rate, people wanted to give us information,” said the researchers.

Respondents were also asked to sign a confidentiality agreement and consent form expressing that findings would not be shared with law enforcement authorities, with no individual records said to have been kept.

Future focus

With the report now complete, NDA Chair Lubna Mohamed Zahir Hussain stressed that a heightened focus on corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes and greater coordination between state and civil society bodies had been highlighted as key aims for its efforts during 2013.

Lubna highlighted “budget difficulties” as a key challenge going forward, particularly in terms of providing placements and work opportunities as part of rehabilitation programmes.

“The budget will be difficult for 2013, so we are looking for possible CSR partners. This is something that we started back in June 2012 with groups like John Keels by providing opportunities in the hospitality sector,” she said.

According to the NDA, thirteen individuals last year undertook the programme, which was based around the food and beverage sector.

Lubna added that authorities were increasingly seeking corporate partners to assist with the programme, not just in terms of providing work experience for recovering addicts, but to also provide potential financial assistance to sponsor placements assisting with the rehabilitation of others.

Providing support to users undergoing Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT) was among the key areas where support was being sought, however the state budget was deemed insufficient to do so, according to Lubna.

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IFJ warns that Privileges Act will undermine journalist source protection

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has warned that the Parliamentary Privileges Act pressed into law today (March 12) will undermine the ability of Maldivian journalists to protect their sources.

Journalists in many developed countries, including the UK and Australia, are routinely sentenced to contempt of court extending to imprisonment for declining to reveal sources when asked.

The Maldives is one of the few countries to have so-called ‘shield laws’ protecting journalists from this, with the constitution containing specific provisions concerning freedom of expression in a bid to inspire confidence in potential whistleblowers.

Article 28 of the constitution states – “Everyone has the right to freedom of the press, and other means of communication, including the right to espouse, disseminate and publish news, information, views and ideas. No person shall be compelled to disclose the source of any information that is espoused, disseminated or published by that person.”

However Section 17(a) of the new Parliamentary Privileges Act states: “[Parliament or a Parliamentary Committee has the power to] summon anyone to parliament or one of its committees to give witness or to hand over any information which the parliament wish to seek.”

The Act was passed after a presidential veto was overridden by parliament, in a vote that obtained rare cross-party support. The Act follows the refusal of senior government and police officials to attend committee hearings when summoned, including Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz, and would theoretically criminalise such refusal in future.

The IFJ endorse the the Maldivian Journalist Association (MJA)’s opinion that the new power “is too broad in its provisions and could undermine the constitutional protection that journalists currently enjoy.”

“The IFJ believes that [Article 28 of the Constitution] is a salutary provision of law which makes the Maldives one of the few countries to provide constitutional protection to sources of journalists’ information,” the IFJ said in a statement.

“The IFJ joins the MJA in asking for a reconsideration of provisions in the Parliamentary Privileges Act which may undermine this valuable protection afforded to journalists and all citizens,” it added.

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President Waheed ratifies controversial bills as AG vows to challenge in court

President Mohamed Waheed has ratified the two controversial bills – the Parliament’s Privileges Bill and Political Parties Bill – despite previous claims that the two bills had several lapses and “unconstitutional” elements.

Following the President’s initial vetoing of the two bills, parliament last Tuesday by a house majority overruled the presidential veto and forced the bill into law, giving the president no option but to ratify the bills – one of which would see the dissolution of his own political party.

The bill took a week before it was ratified, with parliamentary group leaders of all major political parties condemning the government for “delaying the ratification of the bill”.

The leaders claimed that Waheed – whose party Gaumee Iththihaadh Party (GIP) is among the first few parties that would be dissolved under the Political Parties Act if it became law – had a personal interest in delaying the bills.

During a ceremony held in President’s office, President Mohamed Waheed after ratifying the bill stated that he did not believe the bill was delayed in ratifying.

According to the President, the bill had been delayed due to certain punctuation errors that needed to be rectified by the parliament before it was ratified.

He stated that the government received the bill on last Thursday but had sent it back as it contained “major punctuation errors”. This, Waheed said, was the cause of delay as the government had only received a ‘punctuation-error free’ version of the bill on Monday.

“I got the corrected bill yesterday after I had sent it to the parliament on Monday. I have to go through the changes before I sign it. Therefore, I do not believe that [the bills] have been delayed to the extent where some parties should go on strike,” he said.

“It is not that we are facing a huge crisis or a world ending. Neither are we facing a medical pandemic here. So I don’t see a reason for me to rush things,” he added.

Waheed contended that the passage of the bill did not concern a financial crisis or the destruction of a person, and argued that he was not purposely delaying the passage of the bills.

Responding to the concerns raised by political party leaders regarding the bill, President Waheed said he respected the parliament, unlike other political leaders, and claimed that on March 4 (Parliament Opening Day) people would know “who did not respect who”.

“I have been working to uphold the law and the constitution from day one. To uphold the rule of law. So what PPM MP Abdulla Yameen said was said very irresponsible,” he said referring specifically to the PPM’s presidential hopeful and half brother of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Waheed added that he was advised by Attorney General Azima Shukoor to ratify the bills despite the legal and constitutional inconsistencies.

In the meantime, Shukoor said that the government had withdrawn its previous case challenging the political parties’ bill, but stated that she would file the case again as soon as the bills are signed into law.

“We will seek a temporary stay order against the Elections Commission to withhold the immediate dissolution of political parties that failed to attain the required numbers in terms of membership,” she said.

Deputy Solicitor General Ahmed Usham earlier told local media that ratification of the Political Parties Bill meant political parties that do not have the required number of members would be dissolved without any transitional period.

According to Usham, the state has requested the Supreme Court issue a writ that would prevent dissolution of the parties prior to a court decision or until a transitional mechanism is set up.

“Referring to the legal principles employed in other democratic societies, dissolution of a political party that is formed in accordance with the law is only given on very exceptional occasions,” he said at time.

Shukoor was on Tuesday quoted in the local media saying that the government had withdrawn a case it had filed challenging the Parliament’s Privileges Bill as well.

However, she did not give any detail as to what clauses in the bill did the government intend to challenge.

The Attorney General said that she had received concerns from Maldives Police Service regarding the privileges bill and would once again challenge the bill as soon as it is signed into law, and this time “include the concerns raised by police”.

Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz in an interview given to local media earlier expressed concern over the Parliament’s Privileges bill, claiming the MPs are now “technically immune from the law”

Commissioner Riyaz claimed that the act gives enormous privileges to parliamentarians – privileges that are not even given to former presidents, which he said was “very concerning” and meant there would be no equality before the law.

“The [act] says that no person should indulge in an act that obstructs the work of the parliament. I really don’t comprehend what it is trying to say. I don’t think anybody would know beforehand what the parliament may decide to do. I don’t believe that is possible,” he said

Earlier a joint press statement issued by parliamentary group leaders of all major political parties called on the president to respect the constitution and ratify the two bills without any further delay.

Parliamentary group leaders including Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM)’s MP Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s MP Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Jumhoree Party (JP) Leader Gasim Ibrahim and Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali had all expressed concern over the delaying of the ratification of the bill.

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Teachers forced to work overtime without pay: Teachers Association

The Teachers Association has voiced concern over claims that teachers are being forced to work overtime by certain schools without pay.

President of the Teachers Association, Athif Abdul Hakeen, told local media that teachers are only paid 8 hours worth of overtime regardless of the length of their extra working hours.

In accordance to Article 37 (b) of the Employment Act, Athif told local media that it is mandatory for all employers to pay their staff for the time spent working beyond scheduled working hours.

“I would like to tell all heads of schools to refrain from forcing any staff to work for more than 8 hours.

“If they are to work more than the mentioned 8 hours, they shall be paid for their overtime work, as mentioned by Article 60 of the Civil Service Act,” Athif was quoted as saying in SunOnline.

The Teachers Association president claimed that some schools have threatened teachers who refuse to work overtime, stating that ‘they might have to think twice’ about how they fill out their appraisal forms.

Education Minister Asim Ahmed told local media that claims by the Teachers Association regarding a lack of overtime payment are lies that have no basis.

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Man arrested in connection to March 5 unrest

Police have arrested a 26 year-old male in connection to unrest at a protest outside Male’ City Council on March 5, local media reported.

Hussain Abdullah, of Blue Bird house in Male’, was arrested on Monday (March 11) after police posted a video online searching for individuals who had allegedly caused unrest during the protest.

The demonstration on March 5 followed the arrest of former President Mohamed Nasheed ahead of his scheduled trial hearing at Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court the next day (March 6).

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DhiFM Plus forced to apologise after allegedly airing pornographic content

DhiFM Plus has been accused of violating the broadcasting code of conduct after allegedly airing pornographic content during a late night news show.

The Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) said that DhiFM Plus has been notified regarding the controversial content shown on February 8 during the 10pm news, local media reported.

MBC has now called for Maldives Media Company, who own DhiFM Plus, to air a statement of apology without any reservations from the station between 08:00am to 11:00 am before March 13.

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‘India needs to help protect democracy in Maldives’: Firstpost

India, despite considerable public opinion that supported Nasheed, sought to take a seemingly principled stand that it won’t meddle with another country’s sovereignty even while maintaining that it respected Nasheed’s privileges as a former head of state while he stayed put in its building in Male, writes G Pramod Kumar for India’s Firstpost publication.

As the impasse continued – Nasheed staying at the IHC and the Maldivian judiciary and the government in hot pursuit – India sent a team for negotiations to Male. Apparently, they agreed to some common grounds following which Nasheed walked out of the building on 23 February.

In less than two weeks, he was arrested and taken to Dhoonidhoo detention centre, where had been lodged and allegedly tortured during his pro-democracy campaign while Gayoom was in power, felling fears that the government has reneged on its promise to India and he might be tortured again. Amnesty International accused the government of using excessive force while arresting him.

However, he was released four days later, clearly indicating that the government was not keen to keep him in jail.“Honorable judges, this charge against me is a deliberate attempt by the prosecutor general to bar the presidential candidate of the largest opposition political party of this country from contesting the next presidential elections,” he told the court. His case will come up for hearing end of March and he still has a travel ban on him that restricts him to Male.

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