Month: January 2014

MDP invalidates Jabir’s place on party ticket for Majlis election

The Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) disciplinary dommittee has invalidated MDP MP Abdulla Jabir’s place on the party ticket for the Majlis elections in March.

MDP disciplinary committee chair and MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor today told Minivan News that the decision was made after he had repeatedly voted against the party whip.

“The disciplinary committee is not giving out details of it but we can only confirm that the decision was made and the committee has asked the party secretariat to implement the decision,’’ he said.

He said the decision was made last Thursday,with the party secretariat being informed the same day.

The MDP parliamentary primaries are ongoing, though Jabir was uncontested for the Kaashidhoo constituency seat.

When queried about other MPs that had voted against the party line, Hamid said that there was no documentation that other MPs had repeatedly voted against the party whip.

“The MDP’s parliamentary group has a policy that says that an MP’s case should be filed in the disciplinary committee only when the MP repeatedly works against the party stand,’’ he added.

MP Jabir’s mobile phone was switched off and Minivan News was not able to obtain his comment regarding the matter.

During the December 30 endorsement of President Abdulla Yameen’s cabinet, a three-line whip was issued by the MDP’s parliamentary group ordering the rejection of eight nominees.

The eight cabinet members include Defense Minister Mohamed Nazim, Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb, Islamic Minister Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, Minister of Health and Gender Maryam Shakeela, Minister of Transport and Communication Ameen Ibrahim, Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad, and Housing Minister Mohamed Muizzu on the grounds they were “coup ministers” having served in the administration of President Dr Mohamed Waheed.

The MDP also rejected Home Minister Umar Naseer saying that various speeches given by him at political rallies made it “evident that he will not be loyal to Yameen”.

MDP MPs Abdulla Jabir, Zahir Adam, Ahmed Rasheed, Mohamed Rasheed, Abdulla Abdul Raheem, and Ahmed Easa were the six MDP parliamentarians who breached the three-line whip on that day.

Easa told Minivan News earlier this month that his breach of party instructions with regards to the tourism minister had been a mistake, describing it as the biggest of his political career.

On December 29, parliament scheduled the passing of the penal code, with MP Jabir voting against the legislation after the MDP had already decided to pass it – describing the bill as “too harsh”.

Jabir is well known for his frequent party defections. His first political party was Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) during the presidency of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, before switching to the People’s Alliance.

Jabir then defected to the Jumhooreee Party (JP) ahead of the 2008 presidential elections, backing JP leader and business tycoon Gasim Ibrahim.  Jabir was appointed as the party’s deputy leader.

He subsequently switched to the MDP, holding senior positions within the party. He also announced his intention to contest for the MDP chairmanship.

During the protests following the detention of Chief Judge of Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed in early 2012, however, Jabir once again declared that he had defected from the MDP back to the JP.

Jabir became an MP after winning the by-election for the vacant Kaashidhoo constituency seat on a JP ticket. Following his arrest and charges of alcohol possession in late 2012, Jabir became an open critic of the Waheed government, eventually reverting back to the MDP in December the same year.

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Government’s revenue raising bills sent to committee

Three bills submitted by the government to raise additional revenue have been sent to a committee of the full parliament for further review.

Today’s extraordinary sitting of the People’s Majlis was held during the ongoing recess upon request of 27 government-aligned MPs. The government contends that failure to pass the revenue bills during the last session of 2013 was hampering implementation of the budget.

The three bills accepted today included an amendment to raise the Tourism Goods and Services Tax (T-GST) from eight to 12 percent as well as two amendments to the Tourism Act in order to reintroduce the discontinued flat US$8 bed tax and to require resort lease extension payments to be paid as a lump sum.

While two of the bills were accepted with 38 votes in favour and 26 votes against, the third was accepted with 37 votes in favour and 26 votes against.

The full Majlis committee formed an 11-member subcommittee to review the bills, including five opposition MPs and six pro-government MPs. The extraordinary sittings have been scheduled to resume on February 3.

Among other revenue raising measures proposed by the government are revising import duties, raising airport departure charge for foreign passengers from US$18 to US$25, leasing 12 islands for resort development, and introducing GST for telecommunication services.

In December, parliament passed a record MVR17.5 billion (US$1.16 billion) budget for 2014, prompting President Abdulla Yameen to call on the legislature to approve the revenue raising measures to enable the government to finance development projects.

“Double taxation”

MPs of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) voted against all three pieces of government-sponsored legislation, expressing concern over potential adverse effects on the tourism industry.

While some government-aligned MPs echoed the concerns, most argued that increasing government revenue was essential for providing public services and financing government operations.

MP Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, parliamentary group leader of the MDP, has previously contended that raising T-GST while reintroducing the bed tax would amount to “double taxation.”

Following the Majlis’s failure to extend the tourism bed tax before the end of last year, Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad told local media that the resulting losses to state revenue would be MVR100 million a month.

In an interview with Minivan News last week, Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb said parliament had not considered the impact on the budget when it broke for recess without extending the bed tax.

“Normally, budget and government revenue earning bills are passed together. But here, the parliament goes into recess after passing the budget, leaving the income bills pending for after that. And even then, they often just fail,” he said.

“This causes the budget to expand, but there’s no way for the government to earn enough to implement it. The T-GST [Tourist Goods and Services Tax] matters even more to the state income. The state keeps expanding, the allowances and salaries keep increasing, but the income for all of this still depends on the 25,000 tourist beds. Unless we expand this, how can we increase what we earn? We can’t keep expanding the state, and then squeezing the existing tourism sector without expanding it.”

On January 6, Adeeb issued a circular to all tourist establishments informing the resorts that the government was seeking reintroduction of the bed tax.

Resort lease extensions

Under the amendments proposed to the Tourism Act, resort leases can be extended to 50 years with a lump sum payment of US$100,000 per year.

Resorts with approved lease extensions – currently paying for the extension in installments – would also have to make the full payment within three months of ratification.

Following the controversial transfer of presidential power in February 2012, the administration of President Dr Mohamed Waheed allowed extended resort leases to be paid in installments, rather than upfront at the end of the lease.

In April 2012, the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) revealed that the total revenue collected in March 2012 was 37.9 percent lower than the projected revenue “mainly due to the unrealised revenue from the Lease Extension Period.”

At the time of the Tourism Ministry’s announcement of the extension payment changes, the government had already received lump sum payments from 25 resorts equating to US$40 million and was expecting nearly US$135 million more from 90 resorts.

“The [administration of former President Mohamed Nasheed] had requested that those resorts extending to a 50 year lease pay in a lump sum,” former Tourism Minister Dr Mariyam Zulfa explained to Minivan News at the time.

“[But] while I was Tourism Minister, Gasim Ibrahim and Ahmed ‘Redwave’ Saleem kept pressuring me to let them pay on a yearly basis. They didn’t want to give any money to the government, and soon after the government changed they got what they wanted. [The installments] will only be payable at the end of the current lease periods – it is a huge loss to the treasury.”

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Adhaalath fears exclusion from coalition’s Majlis election plan

The religious conservative Adhaalath Party has voiced concerns that, despite it’s assistance in the presidential elections of 2013, the government coalition is failing to include the party in its allocation of constituencies for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

A senior council member of Adhaalath Party (AP) – who wished to remain unnamed – told Minivan News that the party has been excluded from seat allocation discussions currently being held between the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and its coalition partners the Jumhooree Party (JP) and the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA).

A representative of the PPM has explained that discussions are first being held with those parties engaged in official agreements with President Yameen’s party before considering electoral arrangements with the religious party.

He alleged that the parties have been in discussions for the past two days while Adhaalath, despite having candidates interested in contesting for 32 constituencies, awaits a response from the group.

“Although there are candidates interested in running for 32 areas, we will understand if the coalition is able to give us somewhat fewer slots. While we are willing to come to an agreement with the coalition on the number of areas to run in, the coalition has so far not given us any opportunity to engage in such a discussion,” he stated.

According to the council member, should the coalition fail to leave sufficient time for campaigning before reaching a decision, the AP will contest separately in the polls.

He further opined that the AP “might be the single party that is bringing out the most number of extremely qualified candidates, with almost all of them having educational qualifications of Masters or Doctorate level”.

AP Spokesperson Ali Zahir confirmed to Minivan News that the party has so far not had any official communication from the coalition regarding the matter.

“We have not yet come to an absolute decision that the coalition is completely cutting us out. We are still awaiting a response from them, which I think will happen after they allocate seats to the parties with whom they already have written agreements. If, however, the coalition does not wish to cooperate with us, we will contest –  even if separately,” Zahir explained.

Will consider including AP: PPM

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Nihan stated that he had learned of the AP’s interest in running in the parliamentary elections approximately a week ago, and that he had conveyed the message to decision makers within the party.

“The thing is, the PPM has official coalition agreements with the JP and MDA. The AP did not join us on an agreement basis. So we can only consider options of sharing seats with AP after we manage to come to an agreement with JP and MDA,” Nihan said.

“The AP usually just communicates with the ruling party through Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, who acts as a middleman. This should not remain so, there must be official communication between the two parties. I will need to check if they have even submitted an official letter asking for coalition cooperation in the parliamentary elections,” he continued.

“After the November 10 elections, the AP came to meet with our then presidential candidate, incumbent President Abdulla Yameen. They said then that they wished to back Yameen and that they would do so without setting any conditions for the agreement. This is why they are excluded from the agreements on the upcoming election,” Nihan said.

“So the thing is, we will first agree upon which seats will be divided between PPM, JP and MDA. As you know, the coalition agreement with JP agrees to give them 33% of the constituencies,” Nihan continued.

“As for the MDA, we have a far too close relationship with them. To use a metaphor, they are a party that married us without dowry. Due to the close nature of the relationship between MDA leader Siyam and Yameen, there are no written agreements between us. But they will be allocated seats as the two parties have never had any friction,” Nihan said.

AP Spokesperson Zahir said that he had no comments to make on the MDA getting seats despite not having a written agreement like the AP, saying “in any case, AP will never be treated like the MDA is treated. We will reveal our thoughts on the matter when the time comes”.

Nihan stated that he hoped the coalition would meet with the AP and come to an agreement, so as not to disadvantage the coalition.

President Yameen has previously called on the AP to contest alongside the coalition, as running separately may lead to vote splitting – benefiting the political opposition.

Earlier in January, the PPM had claimed discussions had been initiated with the AP regarding parliamentary elections, though the AP claims that no official talks have been held to date.

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Incumbents prevail in MDP primary

Eight of nine incumbent MPs who contested opposition Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) Majlis primaries on Saturday have won the party ticket.

Sitting MP for Henveiru Dhekunu Hamid Abdul Ghafoor only gained 47 votes and lost the party ticket to Malé City Council member Mohamed ‘Rukuma’ Abdul Kareem who won 328 votes.

Of the 85 People’s Majlis constituencies, 27 MDP candidates won the party ticket uncontested. The MDP had initially scheduled voting for the remaining 58 constituencies on Friday, but cancelled polls for 56 after administrative and voter registry issues. Polling was completed in only two constituencies on Friday.

The MDP rescheduled polling for 18 constituencies – including 10 of the 13 Malé city constituencies – and is to hold voting for the remaining 38 constituencies this week.

In Malé City, MP and party Chairperson Reeko Moosa Manik competed against former Minister of Youth, Human Resources and Sports Hassan Latheef, and won the ticket for the Hulhuhenveiru constituency.

MP Mariya Ahmed Didi won against former Judicial Services Commission member Aisthath Velezinee with 249 votes. Velezinee gained 75 votes.

People’s Majlis Speaker Abdulla Shahid who currently represents Vaavu Atoll Keyodhoo constituency won the MDP’s ticket for Malé City’s Henveiru Uthuru constituency.

Malé MPs Eva Abdulla, Ali Azim, and Imthiyaz Fahmy won the MDP ticket without a primary.

In the atolls, MPs Rugiyya Ahmed, Mohamed Aslam, Ilyas Labeeb and Ahmed Hamza retained the party tickets for Mahibadhoo, Hithadhoo Uthuru, Hulhudhoo, and Bilehdhoo constituencies, respectively.

MP for Kaafu Atoll Thulusdhoo constituency Rozaina Adam won the party ticket for Addu Atoll Meedhoo constituency.

Non-incumbents who won the MDP primary are:

  • Malé City Council member Ibrahim Shujau for Galholhu Dhekunu in Malé
  • Former Housing Minister Mohamed Aslam for Maafannu Dhekunu in Malé
  • Malé City Council member Mohamed Falah for Maafannu Hulhangu in Malé
  • Former State Minister for Home Affairs Sheikh Hussein Rasheed for Vilimaafannu in Malé
  • Former MP Ibrahim ‘Ibra’ Ismail for Machangoalhi Dhekunu in Malé
  • Aishath Leena for Kulhudufushi Dhekunu in Haa Dhaal Atoll
  • Ibrahim Jihad for Meedhoo in Dhaalu Atoll

Leena is the wife of MP Ali Waheed and Jihad is MP Ahmed Hamza’s brother.

Speaking to Minivan News, MDP’s election committee chair Ibrahim Waheed said polling had proceeded smoothly on Saturday.

He claimed members of the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) had attempted to hijack the MDP’s primary on Friday, by disrupting the vote claiming their names were not on the party register.

Waheed said the MDP received 12,000 new membership forms between December 10 and 19 – the deadline for registering new members to vote in the MDP Majlis primary.

Of the 12,000, over 4,000 forms were members of parties belonging to the ruling coalition. The MDP believes the new members were added to manipulate the vote and had decided not to accept forms of individuals who are registered with other parties, Waheed said.

The MDP received 50 complaints regarding the voter registry, and resolved 11 of them, he said. The complaints do not affect the results, he added.

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India’s free ‘Eye Camp’ visited by more than five hundred within three days

As part of India- Maldives ‘Dosti-Ekuverikan’ friendship week (20 – 26 January) the High Commission of India has conducted a free ‘Eye Camp’ providing free consultation and services for more than 500 people in Male’ and Hulhumale’.

The ‘Eye Camp’ was inaugurated by Indian High Commissioner Rajeev Shahare at Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) on 24 January.

The three day camp, where a specialist ophthalmic team will examine and provide free spectacles for those who require it, was held at IGMH on 24, 25 January and will continue at Hulhumale’ Hospital on 25 and 26 January.

According to the HCI at least 284 were served at the IGMH camp within two days. The camp in Hulhumale began today at 1430hrs and continued till 1600hrs serving 105 people from more than 250 registered for consultation. The specialist team will continue examining tomorrow from 0900am till 2100am at Hulhumale’ hospital.

The Indian team of ophthalmic specialists from ASG Eye Hospitals, Rajasthan, India consists of three senior ophthalmologists Dr Arun Singhvi, M.D., Dr Shashank Gang, M.D. and Dr Kundan Kumar Singh and Mr Manoj Sharma,ophthalmology technician.

Two ophthalmic surgeons from ASG Eye Hospitals; Dr Arun Singhvi, M.D., Dr Shashank Gang, M.D. and a senior ophthalmologist Dr Kundan Kumar Singh – all trained at the All India institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Dr Singhvi and Dr Shashank are LASIK surgeons.

While the team came prepared for free eye surgeries as well, surgeries will not be conducted due to lack of necessary equipment. HCI says the patients who require to get or renew spectacles will received those from India within two weeks. The High Commission plans to hold a similar eye camp after a month.

The ‘Dosti-Ekuverikan’ week events also include a yoga workshop in Male’, and a blood donation camp where more than one hundred people donated blood to the National Centre for Thalassemia.

In addition to this, cultural activities – including food, music and film festivals and a National Art Competition for school children- were also held as part of celebrations. The closing ceremony for the week will be held tomorrow, coinciding with the Republic Day of India.

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MDP primaries restart after cancellation of disorganised first poll

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has restarted voting in 18 parliamentary primaries after polls were cancelled yesterday following administrative and voter registry issues.

Minivan News observed large and orderly queues at Dharubaaruge today where voting for 12 constituencies is currently proceeding. Ballot boxes for the remaining 6 constituencies have been placed at Malé City Hall and party offices in Hulhumalé and Villingili islands.

Candidates and voters complained of  fluctuations in the voter register, but MDP Chairperson and primary candidate ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik said he did not notice significant changes in his own constituency.

According to MDP media official and MP Ali ‘Alibe’ Mohamed, voting was cancelled yesterday due to “unmanageable” large crowds, with the MDP having scheduled voting for 58 constituencies at Dharubaaruge for all party members registered in Malé. Voters also took issue with their names not being present on the party registry, he said.

“The MDP has a very large membership. We were unable to accommodate such a large number of people at Dharubaaruge all at once yesterday. Many voters also complained over their names not being present on the voter list,” Alibe said.

The MDP is the largest political party in the Maldives with 43,277 members registered at the Elections Commission.

Eyewitnesses described the scene as a “bureaucratic nightmare” and accused ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) members of disrupting the vote.

A 10 member committee – which includes former President Mohamed Nasheed and parliamentary group leader Ibrahim ‘Ibu’ Mohamed Solih – has been set up to oversee polling.

Candidates in 27 of the 85 constituencies have won the MDP ticket without a primary. They include Eva Abdulla for Galolhu Uthru, Ali Azim for Henveiru Medhu and Imthiyaz Fahmy for Maafannu Uthuru in Malé.

Voting was completed for Kulhudhufushi North and Dhuvaafaru constituencies yesterday. The party hopes to schedule polls for the remaining 38 constituencies in the upcoming week, Alibe said.

Nightmare

Candidate for Machangoalhi Uthuru Aishath Velezinee described the large crowds at Dharubaaruge yesterday as “suffocating.”

“There were too many people, too many ballot boxes. Even I left without voting. People were really cheerful yesterday. Quite a few are elderly and some of them were sick. So they got tired and left without voting. I’m hoping all of them return today,” she said.

Ahmed Hameed, 29, said his name was not present on the voter registry despite having submitted a membership form in February 2012. He also claimed he saw PPM members at Dharubaaruge to disrupt the vote.

“We know faces. Very well known PPM members were there. They were pushing and shoving people. MDP members are not like that. There was so much aggressiveness,” he said.

Polls had originally been scheduled from 2:30 pm to 8:00 pm, with ballot boxes set-up in every island and in Malé. At 4pm, however, the MDP announced it was cancelling the vote and rescheduling polls for 12 constituencies between 9:00 pm – 12:00 pm in Malé.  The party was subsequently unable to proceed with this vote, eventually rescheduling a new vote for 18 constituencies today.

These 18 constituencies include 10 Malé City seats and eight atoll constituencies – Addu Meedhoo, Addu Hulhudhoo, Nilandhoo Meedhoo, Mahibadhoo, Hithadhoo Uthuru, and Hoarafushi constituencies.

According to the MDP, voting had proceeded smoothly in only these eight constituencies yesterday, and today’s polls would allow constituency members residing in Malé to vote.

Despite the cancellation of polls yesterday, MDP members remain positive. Zubaidha Mohamed, 29, said the experience was a learning process for the MDP.

“We are the only party in the Maldives to hold primaries on such a large scale. This is a learning process. I think today’s voting will go well,” she said.

Ahmed Ikram, 22, said voting was proceeding smoothly, but expressed concern over the voter registry.

“Things are going well today. But there are still several complaints regarding names not being present on the voter registry. Some people who voted in the primaries for local councils say their names are not present on the list,” he said.

Double voting

The MDP had published an updated voter registry on January 10, which included all membership forms submitted to the party offices up until December 19.

A press release at the time said the party had received 10,518 new membership forms in the period between December 10 and 19. Of that number, 5,464 forms were received on December 19. The final list was published on the party’s website on January 10.

The party opened up a ten-day window from January 7 – 15 to allow voters to register. According to the MDP’s election committee member Ibrahim Waheed, members were required to register if they were voting in a location different to the one registered for the nationwide local council elections held on January 18.

After members complained of their names not being present on the voter registry, the MDP has now opened up voting for all MDP members without registration

Election committee member Ali Niyaz has expressed concern over room for double voting, but said he hoped candidate’s representatives at polling booths would monitor repeated votes.

The MDP will also crosscheck lists of those who voted in their constituencies and in Malé to ensure no double voting took place, Niyaz said.

Changing lists

Candidates and members alike have complained of frequent changes to the party registry.

“I have been carrying out a targeted campaign. I initially received a list with 588 members. Now there are 846 members on the list. There are entire households on the list who told me they are not MDP members when I visited them,” Velezinee said.

Meanwhile, MDP member Ahmed Hameed said he believed several candidates had submitted new membership forms to manipulate the vote in order to win the party ticket.

“Many MPs have submitted forms just to win the party primary. That is not good for the party. The party membership will not be genuine or healthy. I think the vote should be delayed until all issues are resolved. Otherwise people may question the validity of the vote,” he said.

However, MDP Chairperson and primary candidate ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik said he did not notice significant differences in the voter registry.

Candidate for Machangoalhi Dhekunu Noorban Fahmy said she did not want to comment on the registry, but said she hoped voting would proceed smoothly today.

Minivan News was unable to reach MDP’s membership committee chair Ali Shiyam at the time of press.

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Bank of Ceylon to arrange US$500 million credit exposure

The Sri Lankan government has agreed to provide a US$500 million credit exposure to the Maldives through the Bank of Ceylon (BoC), according to Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) Leader Ahmed ‘Sun Travel’ Shiyam Mohamed.

Briefing the press Thursday night on President Abdulla Yameen’s maiden state visit to Sri Lanka last week, the MP for Dhaalu Meedhoo revealed that the new administration had requested raising the credit exposure to US$1 billion to alleviate foreign currency exchange difficulties.

“They said they will arrange for US$500 million. So when that is arranged, God willing, it will make it very easy for us to [solve] our foreign exchange issues and that will benefit Maldivian citizens,” Shiyam said.

Along with the Jumhooree Party (JP) led by business tycoon Gasim Ibrahim, the MDA is a coalition partner of the Progressive Party of Maldives-led (PPM) government.

Flanking the president, Gasim told reporters that the Maldivian delegation met ambassadors of Arab nations in Colombo and discussed establishing banking facilities in the country as well as securing loans.

President Yameen added that Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed would leave on an official visit to Arab countries including Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia in the near future.

On mutual cooperation, Yameen said discussions on areas such as health, education, and the economy would resume in the existing joint commission this year.

Characterising Sri Lanka as a “second home” for Maldivians, Yameen said official talks with Sri Lankan counterparts mainly focused on issues of concern for the approximately 14,000 Maldivian citizens residing in the neighbouring country.

The issues discussed included education, healthcare, consular services and difficulties obtaining dependency visas, Yameen noted.

Detailed discussions on the visa issue would take place during followup visits by the foreign ministry, he added.

The foreign ministry would also commence joint efforts with the Sri Lankan government to compile a registry of Maldivians living in Sri Lanka, Yameen said.

Following completion of the registry, Yameen added, the Maldivian embassy and its improved consular department would adopt a proactive approach to assisting Maldivians.

Ties strengthened

Moreover, agreements concerning transnational crime, developing police cooperation, vocational training and youth skills development, and sports cooperation were signed during the trip.

An understanding was reached on “avoidance of double taxation” for businesses operating in both countries, Yameen said, such as the corporate profit tax.

A business delegation from the Maldives participated in a business forum with the Sri Lankan chamber of commerce to discuss “the scope for investing in the country,” Yameen said.

Gasim noted that the Maldivian delegation invited Sri Lankan companies to invest in the local tourism industry.

Yameen also revealed that the government has decided to provide a plot of land in Malé for the Sri Lankan embassy.

“God willing, President Rajapaksa will visit the Maldives on our invitation very soon,” he said.

Close bilateral relations between the two countries were strengthened as a result of the trip, Yameen said.

Yameen further noted that the Maldives would back Sri Lanka in the international arena concerning its human rights record and placement in the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group’s (CMAG) agenda.

“We have raised our voice very positively for Ceylon in these international matters. And they acknowledge it with appreciation,” he said.

Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon – daughter of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom – told reporters that the ministry would provide details of the agreements reached during the president’s visit.

President Yameen also met Maldivians living in Sri Lanka during his visit, discussing the introduction of Quran classes for children and the renovation of the embassy building, said Dunya.

Sea sand

Shiyam also revealed that the Sri Lankan government had given assurances on providing sea sand as a substitute to the river sand aggregate required by the construction industry.

“God willing, we made unexpected progress during the president’s visit,” he said.

Sea sand contains fewer impurities than Indian river sand, Shiyam added, which was mined from mountains and could not provide strength for large buildings.

Difficulties in importing construction material, such as river sand and reinforcement rock boulders from India last year led to a shortage of the supply and subsequent rising costs for construction companies.

On February 15, 2013, the Indian government revoked a special quota afforded to the Maldives for the import of aggregate and river sand.

The Indian government’s decision followed a diplomatic row with Maldives over the previous administration’s termination of a concession agreement with Indian infrastructure giant GMR to upgrade and develop the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

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Maldives must stop “retrograde” step towards death penalty: Amnesty International

Amnesty International has called upon the Maldives government to halt any plans to end the current moratorium on the death penalty, calling such moves a “retrograde step and a serious setback for human rights in the country”.

The statement follows Home Minister Umar Naseer’s decision to order correctional authorities to begin preparations for implementation of death sentences by lethal injection.

“There is no such thing as a ‘humane’ way to put someone to death, and no evidence that the threat of execution works as a deterrent to crime. Maldives should put an immediate end to such plans now, and instead abolish the death penalty in law once and for all,” said Amnesty International’s Maldives Researcher Abbas Faiz

“The government’s order is surprising and extremely disappointing. The death penalty violates the right to life, regardless of the circumstances of the crime or the execution method used,” he added.

President Abdulla Yameen – on a state visit to Sri Lanka at the time of Naseer’s announcement – has subsequently promised “broad discussions” on the issue within his cabinet.

While death sentences continue to be issued in the country, these have traditionally been commuted to life sentences by presidential decree since the execution of Hakim Didi in 1954 for the crime of practising black magic.

The Maldives currently has 20 prisoners sentenced to death – a punishment the recently elected Yameen said he would support during his election campaign after a rise in the murder rate.

The most recent passing of the sentence came just days prior to Naseer’s announcement. Hussain Humam Ahmed was sentenced to death for the brutal murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali in October 2012. The sentence was handed down at the behest of Afrasheem’s heirs – permitted to request the death sentence under Islamic law.

Amnesty have pointed out that the apparent decision to resume the death sentence is in contradiction with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – a treaty to which the Maldives became a party in 2006.

Though Naseer noted that he intended to act “in accordance with international treaties we have signed”, Amnesty have stated that death sentences handed down to juvenile offenders are contrary to international law.

Speaking on Thursday, Naseer has stated that the order is in alignment with the draft bill on death penalty implementation which the state has made ready for submission to the parliament.

“We will not wait for laws to be drafted and passed. The law allows for implementation, and it is at the discretion of the home minister to order implementation,” Naseer said, adding that – should a relevant law be passed in the future – the state would then abide by the new laws.

The home minister noted that all appeals processes would be exhausted prior to implementation of the sentence.

Amnesty has suggested that the public interest might be best served by strengthening the judiciary in order to prevent human rights abuses during criminal proceedings.

In a damning 2013 report, Special Rapporteur for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers expressed concern over the failure of the Maldives justice system to address longstanding issues of corruption and human rights abuses.

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President Yameen dismisses transport authority chairman, state minister for home affairs

President Abdulla Yameen dismissed Transport Authority Chairman Abdul Rasheed Nafiz and State Minister for Home Affairs Abdulla Mohamed last week, local media reports.

Both men were appointed during the previous administration of President Dr Mohamed Waheed and retained under the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) government.

Nafiz – a PPM member – told online news outlet CNM that he was informed that the new government would make senior-level changes before the end of January in line with an agreement on political appointments among coalition parties.

Nafiz was the spokesperson of President Waheed’s campaign last year.

State Minister Abdulla Mohamed is meanwhile a candidate for the Nolhivaram constituency in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

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