Anil Adam has been appointed as the new Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, the President’s Office has announced today.
Adam will replace Mohamed Maleeh Jamal, who was dismissed as deputy tourism minister by the government last week at the behest of his former party, the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP).
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(0)The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has issued a press statement defending its investigative report of the airport privatisation deal signed by the previous government, harshly condemning “false and misleading” remarks by politicians of government-aligned parties.
On June 17, the ACC released a 61-page investigative report concluding that there was no corruption in the awarding of a concession agreement to a consortium of Indian infrastructure giant GMR and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) to develop and manage the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).
The report was met with strong criticism and bribery allegations from parties in the government coalition.
Insisting that the government’s stand would not change as a result of the ACC findings, President’s Office Spokesperson Masood Imad told the Press Trust of India (PTI) that “if there is a reasonable cause of doubt, this report can be contested by some parties.’’
“Many people say here that the ACC Board is not an unbiased organisation. They say it is politically motivated,” he was quoted as saying.
Religious conservative Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran meanwhile described the report as “a slap in the people’s face” while President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Inthihaad Party (GIP) Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza accused ACC members of corruption.
In an appearance on pro-government private broadcaster DhiTV last night (June 23), Imran insinuated that ACC members accepted bribes from GMR offered through former Indian High Commissioner D M Mulay.
The ACC report was “a highly unprofessional, semi-technical and procedural review” that did not amount to either a proper investigation or an audit, Imran said, calling for “a full-fledged investigation.”
In November 2012, the current administration abruptly terminated the US$500 million contract with the GMR-led consortium, declared the concession agreement ‘void ab initio’ (invalid from the outset), and gave GMR seven days’ notice to leave the country.
The decision followed weeks of protest by a self-titled “National Movement” spearheaded by Sheikh Imran and senior government officials – born out of the unofficial December 23 coalition of eight political parties and an alliance of NGOs that rallied at a mass gathering to “defend Islam” in late 2011 – calling on the government to “reclaim” and nationalise the airport.
Last Friday, GMR filed a claim for US$1.4 billion in compensation from the Maldives at ongoing arbitration proceedings in Singapore over “wrongful termination” of the contract.
Meanwhile, former Attorney General Azima Shukoor, who headed the cabinet committee that advised termination of the contract, contended on DhiTV last week that the ACC report was “incomplete” as the commission had overlooked several key factors.
“Did they omit the factors deliberately or unknowingly or simply just overlooked them? But a lot of factors have been overlooked and omitted from the report. The state will suffer great losses because of it. Especially when the country is tied up in a judicial case,” she was quoted as saying by newspaper Haveeru.
ACC response
In its press release on Thursday (June 19), the ACC stated that its investigation was “not based on what politicians say at podiums and in the media.”
“Instead, the case was investigated based on relevant information collected for the investigation, documents and statements taken after questioning those involved in the case,” the ACC said, denying the allegations of undue influence on its members or staff.
The ACC statement added that the commission in concluding investigations adhered to article 25 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act of 2008, and did not reach its conclusions “after considering the wishes of a particular politician.”
The commission noted that it had not responded to any political rhetoric targeting the ACC in the past, adding that all corruption investigations followed criminal justice procedures, the ACC Act and regulations under the law.
The statement explained that article 25(a)(2) of the Act required the commission to submit cases for prosecution if sufficient evidence to secure a conviction was gathered.
In the absence of evidence to prove corrupt dealings, article 25(a)(1) of the Act stipulates that the commission must declare that the case does not involve corruption.
The report made public last week contained information collected for the investigation, observations and the reasoning for reaching the conclusion “without any omissions or additions,” the ACC added.
“This is the first time that an investigative report of a case investigated by the commission has been made public like this,” the statement continued. “It was released that way to provide details of the case to the public as transparently as possible.”
The ACC further noted that in December 2012 the commission submitted a case to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) requesting criminal prosecution over the previous government’s decision to deduct a court-blocked Airport Development Charge (ADC) from concession fees owed to the state.
The ACC asked the PGO to seek reimbursement of MVR 353.8 million (US$22.9 million) from former MACL Chair Ibrahim ‘Bandhu’ Saleem and former Finance Minister Mohamed Shihab over the alleged misuse of authority the commission contended had led to significant financial losses for the state.
Bribery allegations
Responding to remarks in local media last week by an unnamed ACC member alleging that Imran attempted to influence the outcome of the investigation, the Adhaalath Party President admitted on DhiTV last night that he met commission members while the “National Movement” protests were ongoing.
Imran said he met ACC members after learning of efforts by GMR to bribe politicians through the former Indian High Commissioner Mulay.
Mulay also requested meetings with Imran himself on numerous occasions “through some of our ministers and even by directly calling our office,” he claimed.
Upon hearing of meetings between Mulay and ACC members, Imran said the leaders of the “National Movement” met commission members to “advise against accepting bribes.”
“[ACC members] said, ‘how can we go near that? we have sworn an oath,'” Imran said.
He claimed the ACC members told him that “the roots go deep” in the GMR deal and that former President Nasheed “completed the deal in Singapore.”
ACC members informed Imran that bribes from GMR was deposited to bank accounts in countries near Singapore, he claimed, while the commission members provided assurances that “everything would be made clear” once the investigative report was made public.
Imran said he would reveal further details of the “National Movement’s” meeting with ACC members if the commission responded to the allegations.
“In any case, we were working to liberate the airport on behalf of religion and the nation,” he said, adding that the government eventually decided to terminate the agreement without waiting for the ACC report.
As a result of pressure from the protests, he continued, the government was convinced it was not in the national interest to persist with the contract.
Imran also insinuated that the ACC would receive a portion of the US$1.4 billion compensation figure claimed by GMR.
State Minister for Home Affairs Abdulla Mohamed, who was part of the protests against GMR, meanwhile argued that the ACC releasing its report a few days before an arbitration hearing could not be “a coincidence.”
“Do we really have to comply with a court order from a Singaporean court?” he asked.
He contended that the Maldivian government would not have to compensate GMR despite a decision in favour of the consortium at the ongoing arbitration proceedings.
“Also, we can appeal such a judgment in Maldivian courts, can’t we? That’s not prohibited by Maldivian law. There’s no obstacle to that. So this is not something that the public should be concerned about at all,” he said.
(0)Dislikes(0)Former Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed Musthafa has said he is filing a case in the Supreme Court requesting the apex court declare the seat of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali vacant, over unpaid debts.
Musthafa contends Thasmeen – recently appointed President Mohamed Waheed’s running mate ahead of September’s election – had not paid loans he took from Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Nazim or those taken from the Bank of Maldives in the name of a company of which he is a shareholder.
Musthafa himself was disqualified from the parliament in 2012 over an unpaid decreed debt, which the court concluded had rendered him constitutionally ineligible to remain in the seat.
As a consequence, Mustafa said that there was precedent for the court to declare Thasmeen’s Kendhoo Constituency seat vacant.
On June 17, the Civil Court ordered all Thasmeen’s bank accounts of frozen, and ordered immigration to withhold his passport following a case filed by Deputy Speaker Nazim to recover a debt of MVR 1.92 million (US$124,513).
Nazim filed the case requesting enforcement of a Civil Court verdict in April 2011 – upheld by the High Court in April 2013 – ordering the vice presidential candidate to pay back the money.
MP Nazim, of the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), initially sued Thasmeen in March 2011 to recover the remainder of a loan worth MVR 2.55 million (US$200,000). After the Civil Court ruled in favour of Nazim, Thasmeen appealed the judgment at the High Court in June 2011.
In October 2011, the High Court upheld Civil Court verdicts ordering Mahandhoo Investments and Kabalifaru Investments – two companies with ties to Thasmeen – to repay millions of dollars worth of loans to the Bank of Maldives Plc Ltd (BML).
In the first case involving Mahandhoo Investments, BML issued a US$23.5 million demand loan, a US$103,200 bank guarantee and US$30,090 letter of credit on July 10, 2008.
The second case involved a US$3.3 million loan issued to Kabaalifaru Investment. The appeal of a Civil Court verdict on September 30, 2009 ordered the company to settle the debt within 12 months.
Meanwhile, a third case involving a Civil Court verdict in December 2009 ordered luxury yachting company Sultans of the Seas – with close ties to the DRP leader – to pay over US$50 million in unpaid loans, including incurred interest and fines, was appealed at the High Court.
In September 2009, Maldives Customs filed a case at Civil Court to recover US$8.5 million from Sultans of the Seas in unpaid duties and fines for allegedly defrauding customs to import two luxury yachts, and in February 2010 the court ordered the company to pay MVR 110 million (US$7 million) as fines and unpaid import duties.
Precedent
In July 2009, then-PPM Vice President Umar Naseer filed a case against Musthafa shortly after the MP won the election for Thimarafushi constituency against former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s son, Gassan Maumoon.
Umar Naseer contended that Musthafa not repaid a loan of US$31,231.66 (MVR 481,952) borrowed from the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) according to the court order and therefore must be removed from parliament for the violation of article 73(c)1.
According to the article 73(c)1 of the constitution, “a person shall be disqualified from election as, a member of the People’s Majlis, or a member of the People’s Majlis immediately becomes disqualified, if he has a decreed debt which is not being paid as provided in the judgment.”
(0)Dislikes(0)President Dr Mohamed Waheed has appointed Judicial Administration Spokesperson Latheefa Gasim as his representative on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
A statement from the President’s Office said Waheed presented the letter of appointment to Latheefa Gasim this afternoon, after she took an oath of JSC membership administered by Supreme Court Justice Abdulla Areef.
Waheed’s previous representative, Mohamed ‘Reynis’ Saleem was removed from his post last week following a police investigation into his alleged use of gangs for the purposes of extortion.
The lower courts threw out a police request for a warrant to arrest Saleem, a decision which was upheld by the High Court on appeal.
The JSC is the watchdog body charged with overseeing the professional and ethical conduct of the judiciary, and has faced sharp criticism both locally and internationally over its lack of independence and politicisation.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives Police Service (MPS) has decided to station officers of the Special Operations (SO) command on the island of Thinadhoo in Gaaf Dhaal atoll.
According to Sun Online, the SO officers will work with the Thinadhoo police station to establish “peace and security”.
On February 7, 2012, SO officers instigated a violent mutiny, assaulted government supporters, ransacked the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Haruge (meeting hall), staged a protest at the Republic Square demanding the resignation of then-President Mohamed Nasheed, clashed with soldiers and stormed the national broadcaster in the hours immediately preceding Nasheed’s controversial resignation.
Moreover, on February 8, 2012 SO officers brutally beat supporters of the deposed MDP during a heavy-handed crackdown of a protest march led by Nasheed, who had just declared that his resignation the previous day was made “under duress.”
Dozens of demonstrators were left injured and hospitalised in a crackdown described by the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) as “brutal” and “without warning.”
The crackdown sparked violence across the country, with several islands shutting down or burning police stations and courts, notably in the urban centres of Addu City, Thinadhoo and Kulhudhufushi.
In March 2012, police arrested 17 people in Thinadhoo for alleged involvement in vandalising government property and setting fire to the police station, magistrate court, atoll council office, and all police vehicles. Some 108 persons involved in the demonstration are currently facing criminal prosecution.
Nine policemen were attacked and subsequently treated at the Thinadhoo Regional Hospital, leading police to declare the island unsafe for police officers.
More recently, President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s visit to Thinadhoo earlier this month was met with hundreds of angry protesters.
Since the transfer of presidential power, SO officer have been accused of using excessive force against demonstrators by Amnesty International.
In May this year, Addu City Mayor Abdulla Sodiq told Minivan News that 50 people were arrested in advance of a visit by President Waheed, “and about 90 percent of those taken in were MDP supporters”.
Mayor Sodig explained that the city council had requested the police “provide extra strength to increase numbers to about 30 per station.”
“The special operations team [responded by] sending their ‘star force’, but they don’t have their commander here. He’s not in control of this group or operations. Instead they are directly overseen by Male’ command,” said Sodig.
“That’s the reason why we don’t want them to continue,” he declared.
Later that month, eight young detainees arrested in the Maradhoo ward of Addu City alleged physical abuse by SO officers while they were under police custody.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives has failed to uphold its obligations to core international human rights treaties related to freedom of expression, assembly and association, the regional NGO Forum Asia has concluded.
The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum Asia) – a regional human rights NGO with 47 member organisations from 16 Asian countries – evaluated the promotion and protection of these core human rights in the Maldives in regard to September’s presidential elections during their recent mission to the Maldives.
Forum Asia noted the “shortcomings in the laws relating to freedom of assembly”, particularly relating to the “shrinking space” for the exercise of the right to assemble as well as the right of all workers to associate and assemble, during their press conference held Saturday (June 22).
Reports of security forces engaging in excessive use of force to prevent and disburse assemblies, also “concerned” the Forum Asia mission.
Security personnel were urged to exercise restraint and refrain from using excessive force, irritants, or dyes on assemblies, while the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) has been asked to closely monitor and prevent such situations, said Forum Asia.
“We hope that the PIC and the security forces will work together to ensure they are able to resort to reasonable and internationally accepted means while engaging with assemblies,” said Forum Asia’s South Asian Programme Officer Gayatri Khandhadai. “Similarly we hope that all protesters also resort to peaceful and democratic means while exercising their right to assembly.”
“We are particularly also worried about the restrictions placed on journalists covering these protests,” she added.
Khandhadai highlighted that it is unrealistic for journalists to seek accreditation for different types of events – protests, cultural events, etc – given the time and energy involved in the registration process.
“Media is the platform that brings information to the people, so media must have free access. we have requested to amend the laws on the basis of practicality because Maldives also belongs to the civilized world of the 21st century,” said Forum Asia Chairperson Subodh Raj Pyakurel.
“It may be legal to put some kind of regulation and restriction process etc, but this is not legitimate, because one journalist can go anywhere, anywhere, informally,” he noted.
Forum Asia also identified “difficulties faced by the various associations”, including NGOs, professional associations, trade unions, community based organisations, and political parties, in the Maldives attributed to “unclear regulations, especially relating to registration.”
Human rights perspective needed
The limitations codified in the ‘Freedom of Peaceful Assembly Act’ “must be amended to meet constitutional guarantees and international norms”, the organisation stated.
“There has to be a method – on paper and in practice – for what are the different peaceful engagements you have to have with the crowds,” said Khandhadai.
“These rights are particularly important to ensure ahead of elections” and to guarantee peaceful and inclusive elections occur, she added.
The Government of Maldives was also compelled to implement recommendations made by the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) and PIC.
Additionally, political parties were requested to “adopt a human rights perspective and formally include the promotion of human rights in their official agendas and manifestos prior to elections”.
The Forum Asia mission also “implored the Maldives’ government, judiciary, legislature, independent commissions and media to develop and strengthen their engagement with civil society organisations, which are essential for a healthy democracy”.
Meanwhile, civil society and human rights defenders within the Maldives were encouraged to unite in solidarity and engage with the state to promote a culture of human rights in the country, said Forum Asia.
Use of force disastrous
Having less than 10 percent of Male’ available for protests is “quite a worrisome issue”, said Khandhadai.
Unprovoked actions against demonstrators have been seen in the Maldives and it is necessary to identify whether that use of force could have been avoided or not, as well as whether the crowd was posing a threat, noted Khandhadai.
“The points to be taken into consideration are what would have happened if that force was not used,” she explained. “If any other means could have been put in place to disperse that crowd, or even if that crowd needed to be disbursed to start with.”
“I’m particularly worried about the sanction of the use of irritants in a space like Male, which is particularly small… and shrinks the already small area where people can protest,” she continued.
Sanctioned or encouraged use of force within that small space “will become very, very difficult and disastrous even,” Khandhadai added. “The only solution is to promote a culture of peaceful engagement.”
Pyakurel echoed these sentiments and emphasised that holding democratic elections means maximising public mobilization.
“During the elections we always expect that each and every citizen has the opp to interact and understand,” he noted.
“People [protesting] become destructive only when they are restricted, if you don’t restrict them they don’t become destructive,” he continued.
“Discipline is a must but it should be regulated through a very concrete and specific law, not the will of the [police] officer – that creates a problem,” he added.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldivian public are often misinformed of authentic Hadiths (sayings of the Prophet) because some local scholars offer religious advice with the intention of serving their political interests, former President Mohamed Nasheed said last night (June 23).
Speaking at a ceremony at the Male’ City Hall to launch a second volume of Dhivehi translation and interpretations of Sahih Muslim’s Hadiths by former State Minister for Islamic Affairs, Sheikh Hussain Rasheed Ahmed, Nasheed said genuine religious advice should not involve personal interest or a political “agenda.”
While a politician might present statistics in a way that would favour his party, “religious advice should not be given in a way that would benefit a political ideology.”
One of the biggest problems facing the country today was the “mixing up” of politicians and religious scholars, Nasheed added.
The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) presidential candidate said Sheikh Hussain Rasheed’s book should be made widely available for the public so that Maldivians could distinguish between inauthentic and authentic Hadiths.
The Hadiths were compiled by Imam Bukhari and Muslim during the Abbasid caliphate, Nasheed observed, which was a “golden age” for Islam and the pursuit of knowledge.
“It is said that there were 700 libraries in Baghdad during that period,” he said.
Sheikh Rasheed’s second volume of Hadith translations are available for MVR 250 (US$16).
The former Adhaalath Party President explained at last night’s ceremony that the complete translations of the 5,263 sayings would be published in a planned 12 volumes.
Parts two and three of Sheikh Rasheed’s books on prayer instructions were also released last night by former Islamic Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari and Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Police Cooperative Society (Polco) has announced sale of shares in the company to police officers at MVR 100 per share ahead of a deadline of June 30, the Maldives Police Service (MPS) said in a statement this week.
Police officers were first invited to purchase shares in Polco on March 29, the anniversary of the MPS. The deadline was then extended by the board of directors of Polco to June 30 after a meeting on June 16.
According to the press release, Polco was set up in accordance with the Police Act to improve the welfare of police officers.
Since the controversial transfer of presidential power on February 7, 2012 in the wake of a violent mutiny instigated by officers of the Special Operations (SO) command, 1000 police officers were promoted, 110 new police officers were hired, a housing scheme was introduced for police officers with 300 flats to be developed in Hulhumale’, arrangements were made for cheap accommodation in Sri Lanka for police officers and their families and a loan scheme was set up for police officers.
(0)Dislikes(0)More than 9,000 people are registered as poor and eligible for Zakat (alms for the poor) in Addu City this year, according to a statement by the Addu City Council.
The council revealed that the number of registered poor in the southernmost atoll was 9,101 persons out of a population of 31,000.
The Islamic Ministry earmarked MVR 4 million to be distributed as Zakat at a rate of MVR 450 per person in Addu City this year.
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