Ibrahim Nasir International Airport reduced the price of jet fuel from US$1.16 per litre to US$1.14 per liter for international flights and from US$1.14 to US$1.13 for domestic flights, reports local media.
The State Trading Organisation (STO) signed a US$136 million agreement March 31 to provide Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) with jet fuel.
The MACL said the price reduction is a result of the decrease in the product’s cost, which took effect April 1.
China’s National Development Reform Commission (NDRC) donated 250,000 LED tube lights, amounting to 24 million Chinese Yuan (US$3,869,345), to the Maldivian government to assist with combating negative climate change impacts, reports local media.
The energy efficient LED lights were donated as part of China’s provision of goods to address climate change program.
The Maldives Minister of Environment and Energy, Dr Mariyam Shakeela received the donation presented by China’s NDRC Deputy Director, Mr Meng Xiangyue, on April 1.
Shakeela told Sun Online the lights will be distributed to various islands and the reduced power consumption will save a large percentage of money.
“This is a gratis donation to us from the Chinese Government. We will distribute the lights to all islands in the country. How we will go about this will be announced at a later date,” stated Shakeela.
Shakeela also stated this Chinese government assistance to replace inefficient lights will “play a tremendous role” in reducing electricity demands.
She further “expressed hope” this donation would further strengthen the bilateral relationship between the Maldives and China, in addition to combating climate change impacts.
Bilateral talks between the two governments were held following the donation ceremony to further strengthen climate change cooperation, as well as “discuss approaches, areas and mechanisms for future cooperation,” reads the Ministry of Environment and Energy news statement.
Police have arrested a 57 year-old man on the island of Kurinbee in Haa Alifu Atoll on suspicion of performing black magic on the island.
An online newspaper based in Kurinbee, ‘touchwithkurinbee’, identified the man as Adam from the island of Kulhudhuffushi in Haa Dhaalu Atoll.
The paper reported that police obtained a search warrant from Kurinbee Court and searched the house he was staying in, discovering books and documents related to black magic.
According to the paper, Adam refused to hand over some documents and books to the police and kept telling them that he was not performing black magic, claiming that he had only practiced sorcery for medical purposes.
Ten days prior to the man’s arrest posters began appearing on walls around of Kurinbee issuing warnings that ‘’a sorcerer has been coming to Kurinbee and if he comes again his two legs will be broken.’’
The man was later found to have been murdered by a group of young islanders alleging he had murdered the mother of one of the group using black magic.
More recently, the island council on Ukulhas in North Ari Atoll alleged that a tree inside the school was possessed by evil spirits forced to live there because the school was under a spell, after female students at the school suddenly fainted.
The Maldives has suffered successive defeats by Hong Kong and Malaysia in its final two group matches of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC’s) Twenty20 elite cup tournament presently being held in Nepal.
The Maldives squad was defeated by top of the table Hong Kong by 153 runs on Friday (March 29) , before recording an eight wicket loss to Malaysia with 52 balls remaining on March 31, according to ESPN.
With the group matches now over, the Maldives has found itself in second to last place in the Group A table with just two points after defeating last place Singapore on Wednesday (March 27) – its only victory of the current campaign.
After finishing in the top two places in the Group A and Group B tables, Hong Kong will today face Afghanistan, while host nation Nepal will play the United Arab Emirates in the tournament’s semi-finals.
The two finalists – who both secure one of two spots available at the World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament to be held in the UAE in November – will then meet tomorrow at Tribhuvan in the championship decider.
Guraidhoo Constituency MP Ibrahim Riza has today joined the government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives, according to local media.
MP Riza, who has previously stood as an independent, told the Sun Online news service today that he had opted to join the PPM as the majority of his constituency supported the party.
Riza will become the PPM’s 20th elected representative in parliament, according to Sun Online. It is presently the second largest party in terms of MPs behind the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
President Dr Mohamed Waheed has forwarded two ambassadorial appointments to the People’s Majlis for approval.
According to the President’s Office, Dr Mohamed Asim as been put forward as Ambassador of Maldives to European Union, while Dr Aishath Shehenaz Adam was proposed as the Maldives Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.
Dr Asim had previously held positions as the Maldives High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, as well as to the United Kingdom.
Dr Shehenaz is presently the Maldives High Commissioner to Pakistan, the President’s Office website has stated.
Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb and Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim have denied involvement with an infamous pair of Armenian brothers linked with drug trafficking, money laundering, raids on media outlets and other serious crimes in Kenya.
Photos of the Arturs in the company of the two Maldivian ministers emerged on social media over the weekend, apparently taken during the Piston Motor Racing Challenge held on Hulhumale’ between January 25 and 26.
One photo showed Artur Sargsyan next to Adheeb and Nazim, while another has him apparently starting one of the motorcycle races at the event, which was organised by the Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF). Another image showed Sargsyan at the red carpet opening for the Olympus Cinema.
Defence Minister Nazim has denied any association with the brothers: “I came to know about them after the rumors started spreading on social media networks. But no country had informed of us anything officially,” local media reported Nazim as saying. “To my knowledge those two men have left the Maldives,” he said.
Adheeb acknowledged meeting the brothers during the event, but bemoaned to Haveeru how “information about this issue is being spread by the media rather negatively. I have no links with them.”
“They met with us in Hulhumale’. They told us that they were defrauded by some senior officials of the former government [former President Nasheed’s government], who took large sums of money from them for investment in the Maldives,” Adheeb said.
“If you want to know the truth about who has links with the Artur brothers, you should find out who the shareholders are of the company established by them in the Maldives. It’s not right that Haveeru reports everything that’s shared on social media. The photo showing [me with] the Artur brothers was taken at an event that was open to the public,” he said.
Meanwhile, a letter from the Tourism Ministry to immigration authorities requesting a residency visa for Margaryan and Sargayan Artur, dated January 27 and signed by Adheeb, was subsequently leaked on social media.
Speaking to Minivan New, Adheeb reiterated that he had no personal links with the Artur brothers, whom he said had now left the country on his recommendation.
According to Adheeb, the Artur brothers had previously invested in the country through a registered joint venture company with members of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
“They complained to me that these partners had [defrauded] them and that their visas had expired,” he said.
“I advised them to leave peacefully and they agreed to sort out their visa and leave. They have now left.”
Adheeb added that his decision to ask the brothers to leave had been “for the good of the country”.
He claimed issues concerning the two brothers had been politicised intentionally following the PPM primaries held on Saturday (March 30).
Details of the brothers’ investments in the Maldives – and their Maldivian partners – were also released by the Ministry for Economic Development.
Haveeru reported that ‘Artur Brothers World Connections’ was registered in the Maldives in October 2012, with the Artur brothers holding an 80 percent share in a 61-19 percent split.
French nationals identified as Godzine Sargsyan and Edga Sargsyan had a 10 and 7 percent share, while a Maldivian national Ismail Waseem of H. Ever Chance was listed as holding the remaining 3 percent.
Waseem’s share was subsequently transferred to Abdulla Shaffath of H. Ever Peace on November 25.
The Untouchables
Kenyan media network KTN in 2011 dubbed the brothers ‘The Untouchables’ in a three-hour exposé of their activities in the country, during which time they were found to have ingratiated themselves with the government to such an extent that they were made deputy police commissioners – the third highest rank in the Kenyan police force.
Their arrival in Kenya followed the 2004 seizure by police of 1.1 tons of cocaine, the country’s largest cocaine haul worth US$88 million at the time.
Fifteen months later, according to an investigation by Kenya’s Standard newspaper, the brothers were brought into the country “by rogue government officials to set up and train a specialised anti-narcotics unit.”
“More than one source suggests the state was tricked into hiring enforcers working for drug traffickers who wanted to recover the cocaine being held in Kenya,” the Standard reported.
“The hired guns failed to complete their task after they were publicly exposed following their March 2, 2006, raid on the Standard Group. This was a bungled operation ordered on the strength of false information about an alleged story linking powerful individuals to drug trafficking in Kenya. No such story existed,” the paper stated.
In a Skype interview for the earlier KTN report, one of the brothers admitted to leading the armed, masked police raid on the media outlet, which saw journalists beaten, computers confiscated and newspapers burned.
The Artur brothers in Kenya
A leaked US Embassy cable in 2006 observed that “the presence in Kenya of armed foreigners working on behalf of ruling elements has alarmed many Kenyans, both in and out of government.”
“Despite repeated government denials, post believes foreigners were indeed directly involved in the police raids. One journalist who escaped the raids privately tells us police contacts warned him weeks earlier that foreigners had been imported to protect the First Family from public corruption charges,” read one leaked cable.
“Some believe these same foreigners played a role (via the Akasha crime family) in the 2004 cocaine shipments seized in Kenya, and have now returned to intimidate opponents (in or out of government) from releasing information incriminating State House in any illicit activities,” it added.
Whatever their real activities, the Kenyan government’s indulgence of the brothers came to an end three months after the Standard raid, when the brothers took umbrage at a request to search their bags at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and pulled guns on customs officers.
“The Arturs stormed the customs area, demanding their bags be allowed through,” reported KTN. “Customs protested, but were punched and shoved aside. The two drew pistols, forcing the officers to scamper for safety. They then left the airport.”
Travelling in and out of the country on multiple passports was “normal practice” for the brothers, KTN reported, “as was carrying guns around the city. They took over the town by storm while the government looked the other way.”
Facing international condemnation for its inaction over the pair, the Kenyan government finally suspended a number of senior police officials and ordered their arrest, KTN reported.
After a standoff at their residence, police used a vehicle to ram the gate of the compound and took the brothers into custody.
A search revealed of the residence revealed bulletproof jackets, gun holsters, CCTV and infra-red cameras, Kenyan passports in the brothers’ names, several AK-47 assault rifles, and four pistols with filed serial numbers, two of which were later found to belong to two officers of the Kenyan President’s elite escort unit who had been robbed of them at gunpoint, KTN reported.
“The men were finally kicked out of the country and disowned by state officials as ‘international criminals’,” reported the Standard.
KTN’s investigation into the ‘Untouchables’ Part One
KTN’s investigation into the ‘Untouchables’ Part Two, Three
The Maldives Department of Immigration and Emigration has said that 57 unregistered foreign workers detained by police today were currently being processed by authorities ahead of a decision on whether they will face deportation.
According to local media, the foreign nationals, all found working working in the fish and market areas of Male’, were detained by police in an ongoing operation undertaken in conjunction with immigration officials.
Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef was not responding to calls at time of press.
Immigration Controller Dr Mohamed Ali today confirmed that the unregistered workers were presently being held by the Immigration Department, but did not specify where they were being kept or their nationality.
“We will process them and whoever has to go will be sent back,” he said.
Dr Ali did not clarify if the unregistered workers were presently being kept at a recently opened immigration shelter intended to temporarily house unregistered and illegal immigrants.
Few details have been provided to media on the shelter, which opened back in February this year as the Maldives comes under increasing pressure to try and alleviate the number of unregistered workers in the country amidst wider fears concerning human trafficking.
The Indian High Commission in Male’ was not responding to calls at time of press on whether any of its nationals were among the unregistered workers. Meanwhile, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to the Maldives Rear Admiral Abu Saeed Mohamed Abdul Awal said he had received no information on the unregistered workers at time of press.
The Maldives has appeared on the US State Department’s Tier Two Watch List for Human Trafficking for three years in a row. Should it drop to tier three – the worst category- then the country is expected to face significant reductions in aid and potential travel restrictions on its citizens.
Last May, a total of 47 Bangladeshi nationals working for a local security firm were seized by the Department of Immigration as part of a wider crackdown on unregistered migrant workers.
Immigration officials at the time claimed that the company the men had been working for had been in operation for 10 -12 years, yet no information could be found on its operations during a subsequent investigation by authorities.
Government campaign
The government has in recent months launched a special campaign intended to raising awareness of the rights of foreign workers, while earlier this year ratifying eight “fundamental” International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions intended to bring legislation on employee rights and trade unions in line with international standards.
However, independent institutions in the Maldives have maintained that the country – under successive governments – is yet to ratify a core convention on protecting migrant worker rights, while no legislation is in place to punish those involved in smuggling workers though the country’s borders.
The Prosecutor General (PG’s) Office has also confirmed that a lack of legislation has meant no cases have been prosecuted against human traffickers in the Maldives at present.
“Corrupt immigration practices”
In February, a Maldivian trade union alleged that corrupt immigration practices and the use of unregulated employment agencies by private and state employers was limiting efforts to curb abuse of migrant workers and prevent illegal practices such as retaining their passports.
The Tourism Employees Association of Maldives (TEAM) claimed that while companies are not permitted to retain the passports of foreign workers, some hospitality operators – as well as unregulated third party agencies and government ministries – are still keeping employee travel documents without consent.
At the same time, a source with knowledge of the current immigration system told Minivan News that the practice of retaining passports – a long-standing habit of Maldivian employers – was a key contributor to human trafficking in the country.
“This is a common practice seen all over the world. But it creates major problems. If a foreigner wishes to go to law enforcement agencies for assistance, they will be asked to identify themselves with a passport,” the source said.
Third party agencies appeared to want to keep the passports to be able to “manipulate” foreign workers for their own financial advantage, the source explained.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) has accused state and private sector employers in the country of lacking consistency in their efforts to address human trafficking, preventing “real” change in controlling illegal migration.
Speaking back in February 2013, HRCM member Jeehan Mahmoud told Minivan News that despite attempts under the present government to try and introduce new legislation, the Maldives had made little progress towards improving the treatment and rights of foreign workers over the last four years.
Addressing the current scope of unregistered foreign labour, Maldives Association of Construction Industry (MACI) President Mohamed Ali Janah said an estimated 40 percent of the foreign employees in the sector were thought not to be legally registered.
The defence lawyer for a 15 year-old rape victim who was sentenced to flogging after the Juvenile Court found her guilty of fornication, has appealed the case at the High Court today.
Attorney General Aishath Aziam Shukoor told local media today (April 1) that the case had to be appealed because the Juvenile Court had taken statements from the witnesses in violation of procedure.
The Attorney General said the Juvenile Court ruling was in violation of Islamic Sharia as it had not considered psychological reports produced to the court.
The 15 year-old child was now under the charge of the ‘Kudakudhinge Hiya’ orphanage on Villingili, she revealed.
President Mohamed Waheed’s government has previously criticised the verdict, pledging in January to review the use of flogging as a punishment for sexual offences – a practice it alleged in some cases actually serves to punish victims of rape and abuse.
Sources from the girl’s island of Feydhoo in Shaviyani Atoll told Minivan News previously that concerns had been raised by islanders since 2009 that the minor was allegedly the victim of sexual abuse not just by her stepfather, but an unidentified number of other men on the island.
The case has brought international attention to the country’s legal system, including the launch of an online Avaaz.org petition signed by 1.7 million people that threatens to boycott Maldivian tourism, as well as public criticism from British multi-billionaire Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin group of companies.
In June 2012, the girl gave birth to a baby which was later discovered buried in the outdoor shower area of her home. Her stepfather was later charged with child sexual abuse, possession of pornographic materials and committing premeditated murder. Her mother was meanwhile charged with concealing a crime and failing to report child sexual abuse to the authorities.
On February 26, 2013, the 15-year-old was convicted of premarital sex at the Juvenile Court and sentenced to 100 lashes and eight months of house arrest, after confessing to fornication with another man during the investigation.
President Waheed’s stated on his official Twitter account at the time: “I am saddened by the sentence of flogging handed to a minor. Govt will push for review of this position.”
However, the religious Adhaalath Party (AP) – which largely makes up the ranks of the Islamic Ministry and with which President Waheed’s Gaumee Ithiaad Party (GIP) last week entered into a coalition – has endorsed the sentence.
“The purpose of penalties like these in Islamic Sharia is to maintain order in society and to save it from sinful acts. It is not at all an act of violence. We must turn a deaf ear to the international organisations which are calling to abolish these penalties, labeling them degrading and inhumane acts or torture,” read a statement from the party.
“If such sinful activities are to become this common, the society will break down and we may become deserving of divine wrath,” the Adhaalath Party stated.
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