Police arrested five people from the Hithadhoo ward of Addu City on Thursday with illicit narcotics and MVR231,845 (US$15,035) in cash.
The suspects taken into custody from the Dhunakulhi and Divine Test houses included two minors aged 17 and three men aged 23, 26 and 32.
Police searched the houses with a court warrant and found the drugs in 17 rubber packets and two larger packets. Police also found a number of packets used for packing drugs.
(0)Dislikes
(0)The biggest headline of the week was captured by Home Minister Umar Naseer after he ordered correctional authorities to make preparations for the implementation of the death penalty – currently under a sixty year moratorium.
Speaking with the media upon his return from Sri Lanka – President Abdulla Yameen said that the home minister’s decision had not been discussed with the cabinet.
During his state visit Yameen was reported to be considering access through Maldivian waters for passing Sri Lankan fishing vessels. He is also said to have revealed his decision to reject the proposed status of forces agreement (SOFA) with the United States.
Opinions on the president’s fisheries policy – as well as the policies of Malé city council – were expressed this week as Minivan News visited the capital’s famous fish market to talk about the state of the industry.
The government’s plans to expand the tourism industry were discussed this week as Minivan News interviewed cabinet minister Ahmed Adeeb, while the Home Ministry’s focus on the illegal drugs trade continued as police seized MVR300,000 worth of drugs – along with an endangered primate – from a house in Malé.
The president’s foreign policy also took shape – with a clear emphasis on economic self-sufficiency to facilitate independence and protect sovereignty.
Whilst bilateral ties between India and the Maldives were celebrated with the launch of the Dosti-Ekuverikan week, opposition spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor told Indian media that the country had “failed” Maldivian democracy during recent political turmoils.
Local elections
The week began with the local council elections, and finished with the final results of the 1,100 contests still not yet known. What was clear was that turnout was low on the day – a report from Transparency Maldives suggested the system was failing up to one third of voters who live and work away from their registered island of residence.
The Elections Commission (EC) introduced the public displaying of ID card photographs to help prevent voter fraud, though the decision quickly brought complaints from religious leaders regarding the exposure of women who have since started wearing the veil.
November’s second-placed presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed subsequently suggested that the clear existence of voters without photographs in the presidential poll registry indicated “serious fraud in the presidential election”.
The Maldivian Democratic Party figurehead went on to suggest that victory for his party in March’s parliamentary elections would see impeachment proceedings initiated against President Yameen.
Minivan News’ series of MP interviews continued this week, with Rozaina Adam, Mohamed ‘Colonel’ Nasheed, and Ahmed Abdulla all taking their turns.
Despite his Progressive Party of Maldives expressing confidence that they would win the majority of council seats, Yameen noted that party members standing as independent candidates had cost seats.
Supreme Court
Never far from the headlines, the Supreme Court’s role in the recent presidential elections continued to make news. The EC suggested that the Police Integrity Commission had shied away from examining key evidence used to annul the first round for fear of casting doubt on the court’s verdict.
Criticism of the verdict broadcast on Raajje TV resulted in this week’s decision by the broadcasting commission to order an apology from the station. Villa TV was similarly ordered to offer apologies for comments said to have defamed MDP candidate Nasheed.
Former Attorney General Husnu Suood was suspended from all courts pending the police’s investigation into his alleged contempt of court during the annulment trial. Suood suggested the decision may be linked to his role in the investigation of Justice Ali Hameed’s role in a sex tape scandal.
The Judicial Services Commission – charged with investigating the Hameed case – revealed its new regulations which will involve the periodic review of judge’s performance.
Meanwhile, the deputy prosecutor general appealed to the Supreme Court after the Criminal Court failed to resume normal activities – having previously halted proceeding pending the confirmation of a new PG.
Elsewhere…
Elsewhere in the Maldives this week, the auditor general revealed that the Defence Ministry had illegally purchased nearly MVR7 million of goods during 2011. This week also saw the first case of unfair dismissal filed in relation to the nine senior military officers removed amid internal murmurings during the controversial presidential race.
Finally, the Maldives was selected for a US$6million concessionary loan from Abu Dhabi for assistance with clean energy projects.
(0)Dislikes(0)The cabinet had not discussed implementing the death penalty before Home Minister Umar Naseer ordered the correctional services yesterday to enforce death sentences through lethal injection, President Abdulla Yameen has revealed.
Asked by reporters last night upon his return from a state visit to Sri Lanka if the home minister’s directive followed cabinet deliberations, President Yameen said the cabinet has not discussed capital punishment as his administration “has not faced this issue before.”
“This issue has not been discussed in our cabinet yet. However, as a rule, since the death penalty is already in the penal code, the home minister has issued his opinion,” he said.
“Broad discussions” on the subject will take place in cabinet next week, Yameen said.
“Our government will prioritise protecting the rights of innocent citizens. However, I have to say along with that, in such matters, even a convict who had a judgment passed upon him in the first stage has rights. He has stages of appeal to conclude,” he said.
The government would make a decision after the appeal process was exhausted and guilt has been established beyond doubt, he added.
“Before it comes to that, we have now decided to have discussions in cabinet. Even if I have my own thoughts [on the issue], decisions on such serious matters will be made after cabinet deliberations,” Yameen said.
The government’s highest priority was assuring a safe and peaceful environment for citizens, he stressed, adding that legal advice would be sought on enforcing the death penalty.
President Yameen had spoken in favour of introducing the death penalty during the campaign for last year’s presidential election.
“Murder has to be punished with murder,” Yameen had said.
While he was previously against the death penalty, candidate Yameen said he “had a change of heart” due to “murders becoming too commonplace”.
Home Minister Umar Naseer – who lost the Progressive Party of Maldives’ presidential primary against Yameen and was subsequently dismissed from the party – signed the order to the Maldives Correctional Services (MCS) in front of the press at a ceremony yesterday.
The MCS was ordered to implement the death penalty through the use of lethal injection and to set up the necessary equipment at the Maafushi prison.
The move comes after a death sentence was handed to Hussain Humam Ahmed on charges of murdering the moderate religious scholar and MP, Dr Afrasheem Ali, in October 2012.
Naseer told the press that the order was in line with provisions of draft legislation on implementing the death penalty prepared by the government for submission to parliament, adding that legal advice was sought from the attorney general.
“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.
Since the execution of Hakim Didi in 1954 for the crime of practising black magic, there has been an unofficial moratorium on the death penalty with the president commuting death sentences to life imprisonment.
While 20 individuals currently face the death penalty, according to an official from the Home Ministry, all such cases have been appealed at the High Court and have yet to reach the Supreme Court.
In May 2013, the UN country team called for the abolition of the death penalty in the Maldives: “In view of the country’s more than 50-year moratorium, the United Nations call upon the Maldives to take the opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to its international human rights obligations, and abolish the death penalty.”
Earlier in 2013, calls for limiting the presidential power to grant clemency resulted in then-Attorney General Azima Shakoor asking the High Court for a ruling.
Azima drafted a bill in December 2012 outlining the implementation of the penalty through lethal injection.
The proposal was met with opposition from religious groups, including NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf, which called for the draft to be amended in favour of beheadings or firing squads.
In June 2013, MP Riyaz Rasheed submitted a bill asking for the death penalty to be implemented by hanging. The bill was rejected by 26 votes to 18, with no abstentions.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Criminal Court has on Thursday fined a man MVR150 for eating during the fasting hours of Ramadan in 2011.
The local media identified the man as Subhee Ismail Mahir of Maafannu ward.
Online newspaper Sun reported that the Prosecutor General’s Office had charged Subhee for breaking the fast by drinking a Coca-Cola bottle standing near a shop named ‘Monalals’, without any valid reason to do so.
Sun reported the Criminal Court’s ruling as stating that this was the first time Subhee was found guilty of a crime of this type and that he is sentenced under article 88 of the penal code.
According to the paper the court ordered him to pay the fine in seven days.
(0)Dislikes(0)Police have arrested two persons who attempted to search a guest house pretending to be intelligence officers using a forged police ID card.
According to police the pair – aged 23 and 24 -entered a room in a guest house on January 21 and started searching the place after showing a forged police ID card.
They were both arrested when police officers searched their bodies, discovering the forged police IDs.
The police’s Serious and Organized Crime department is investigating the case.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has been fined MVR5,000 (US$324) by the Elections Commission (EC) for submitting a fraudulent membership form last year.
According to the EC, the membership form was submitted on behalf of a dead person in violation of article eight of the Political Parties Act.
The PPM has been asked to pay the fine in 15 days.
In June 2013, the Anti-Corruption Commission discovered that two membership forms submitted by former President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s now-defunct Gaumee Ihthihaad Party “were signed by persons who had passed away prior to the forms being sent to the EC.”
(0)Dislikes(0)The past twelve months have brought good news and bad to those in the fishing industry.
The new administration of President Abdulla Yameen came to power with special pledges targeted for fishermen – but fishermen also harbour concerns that the Malé City Council is in the process of imposing regulations on the capital’s fish market, run up to now as local fishmongers have seen fit.
While, according to the Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Dr Mohamed Shainee, the average amount of catch has generally increased in the past year, fishermen worry that rising cost of ice, fuel, and even labour, are causing a rapid rise in the costs of managing a fishing vessel.
Minivan News has spoken to local fishermen and the authorities concerned in an attempt to better understand the challenges currently faced by the fishing industry – a major component of the Maldivian economy and society.
In 2012, government records show that over 120,000 metric tonnes of fish were caught in the Maldives, with over 10,000 fishermen registered.
Many fishermen expressed worry that the state was introducing new rules and regulations which challenged the old habits of those who frequent the fish market.
“I personally am scared by the suspicion that all these changes are to do more with political power struggles than any sincere wishes of good will for us fisherfolk,” said 52 year old seller Abdul Kareem.
Insurance or cash handout?
When campaigning for the 2013 presidential election, Yameen pledged to provide a monthly allowance of MVR10,000 (US$648) a month to every fisherman, regardless of catch.
He later revised the pledge with numerous conditions. It was soon announced that the allowance would be paid under an insurance scheme, in which fishermen must pay the state a guarantee fee on good months in order to be eligible for an allowance during the lean months. Provisions were also added concerning the type of fishing conducted, with not all fishermen qualifying for the sum.
While Fisheries Minister Shainee said in November that the guarantee fee would amount to MVR500 on ‘good’ months, Yameen stated in January that the monthly fee would be no larger than MVR80-90.
“I voted for Yameen specifically because of this pledge. I’ve lost faith in him now that he has gone back on his word,” said fisherman Ali Mahir, selling plankton outside of the fish market.
“It’s gone from an allowance to insurance. Next it will become a loan. How is this good for us?” Faheem, another fisherman, said.
Skipjack fisherman Easa Mahmood, however, felt that the insurance would prove beneficial in the long term.
“While there is so much confusion at the moment, I believe this will be good in the long run. With the changing seasons, there are months where we absolutely cannot make ends meet. There are thousands of fishermen. This is possibly the only feasible way for a poor government like ours to assist us,” Mahmood said.
The fisheries minister explained that the current government aimed to make the industry a self-sustaining one, which does not depend on subsidies in the long run.
“We will hopefully begin implementation of the insurance scheme by March. We need to make a unique register of all fishermen for this purpose and are currently in the process of doing so,” he stated.
Rising overhead costs
“The price of fish is going steadily down, and the cost of fuel and ice keeps increasing daily. I don’t know for how long I’ll be able to take my crew for fishing,” said Ahmed Fizan from Haa Dhaalu Atoll.
Many other fellow fishermen echoed Fizan’s concerns. One explained that he had built a larger boat to be able to better cater to growing demand from resorts, but was now worried that he may not be able to continue running the business owing to low buying prices and high cost of fuel and labour.
“It’s true that we are able to catch so much fish these days – the yield is high. But ice costs so much, how can we preserve them for sale? In the end, we end up selling them underpriced and at a loss. It’s ridiculous,” Kareem said.
While the minister, Shainee, assured that he was working towards resolving these issues – with plans to build additional ice plants – he argued that larger vessels may be unsustainable due to fluctuating prices of oil on global markets.
“However, even if indirectly, the state is trying to assist fishermen on the front of rising fuel prices too. Even in President Yameen’s recent official visit to India, he deliberated on ways to get easier access to fuel at cheaper rates,” Shainee said.
He stated that, though the government did not believe that provision of subsidies is a solution, it is exploring other forms of helping fishermen adapt to more sustainable models of business.
Meanwhile, the managing director of state-run Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) rejected claims that the price of fish is decreasing.
“The price has remained constantly at about MVR18 to 20 per kilo. We do not decide on the prices unilaterally, rather it depends on the buying rate on the global market,” Dr Abdulla Shaheed explained.
“We have never had our own fleet of fishermen. All the fish we acquire for our products are bought directly from random local fishermen, based on availability. We always give them the best possible price,” he said.
The fisheries minister acknowledged that, while the country is facing difficulties with the EU market, the government was currently exploring new markets, including Arab countries.
Fish market
Further changes to the industry come from the decision of Malé City Council – with municipal rights over the capital’s only fish market – to introduce licenses in order to use the premises for selling their catch.
While Shainee claimed that a nominal fee may be charged in releasing licenses, Malé Mayor ‘Maizan’ Ali Manik denied the new license would add to fishermen’s financial burden.
“This is something that we have been attempting to do for a while, and yet kept on getting delayed. We at the council finally decided that we must complete this task. We opened up for bids, and finally made a contract with a company called Ocean Emperor to develop the market,” said Manik.
“The fish is often kept on the floor to be sold, so numerous times we have installed benches there to be used for this purpose. However, the fishermen dislike change, and the benches end up being damaged and vandalised. I decided to do this at any cost. That even if the benches we have kept there most recently gets vandalized, I’ll just start over again,” he continued.
Indeed, one displeased fish seller described the new measures to Minivan News as unnecessarily complicating things.
“For decades, we have sold fish at this very market and there have been no complaints. Why does the government suddenly feel a need to interfere?” complained Gafoor.
“We’ve been coming here to sell fish all our lives. We are doing fine by ourselves. We don’t need police and authorities to get involved and tell us what to do. We can sort our own problems and co-habit here,” said another seller.
Mayor Manik also revealed that the World Health Organization and the Food and Drug Authority had expressed concerns about the low quality of fish being sold at the market.
Manik claimed that the regulations would bring an end to foreigners reselling fish at the market, as licenses will only be given to Maldivians. He further said that all fishmongers will be mandated to undergo a biannual health checkup.
He further claimed that new regulations for fishmongers have been drafted – together with penalties for those who breach them – and that it will be effect tentatively from February 6. City Council staff will be then be monitoring the market with the assistance of police.
“I want citizens to be able to buy good quality fish. I will try to do so as long as there is life in me.”
(0)Dislikes(0)President Abdulla Yameen has agreed to “explore the possibility” of giving innocent passage to Sri Lankan fishing vessels through Maldivian waters under the UN Law of the Sea, the Sri Lankan government has said.
Yameen is currently on a three-day official state visit to the Maldives’ closest neighbour.
During the visit, the president is also reported to have revealed his decision to reject the US proposal for a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which some had feared would see the establishment of a US military base in the country.
“There have been discussions before… we are not going to pursue it,” Yameen was quoted as telling media in Colombo.
Minister at the President’s Office Mohamed Hussain Shareef has told media the agreement was rejected for fear of upsetting both Sri Lanka and India.
“We have told them that we can’t do it because both India and Sri Lanka are also not happy with it,” Shareef was quoted as saying.
An arrangement to allow the use of Maldivian waters for Sri Lankan vessels was made during President Mohamed Nasheed’s term, being met with harsh criticism from Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) – the parent party of President Yameen’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).
The issue was debated in the parliament at the time, with some MPs saying that the Maldives did not have the capacity to identify and stop foreign vessels fishing illegally fishing, and that such an agreement could further complicate monitoring of the economic zone.
According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, there should not be any fishing activities during an ‘innocent passage’ through territorial sea of a country.
Just two weeks after he concluded a visit to neighboring India, Yameen is now visiting Sri Lanka following an invitation from his counterpart Mahindha Rajapaksa. Official talks between the two leaders have focused on expanding trade relations between the two countries and bilateral cooperation at international level.
Strengthening cooperation in areas including banking, finance, fisheries, agriculture, tourism, education, health, defence, maritime and culture were also discussed.
During the talks the two countries agreed to expedite the exchange of prisoners and to explore the possibility of removing travel visa requirements.
President Yameen assured the Maldives’ support to Sri Lanka at international and regional forums of common membership, and highlighted the importance of working together at international level in dealing with issues of mutual concern.
President Rajapaksa assured Sri Lanka’s support for development programs in Maldives, and agreed to provide more placements for Maldivian students in Sri Lankan universities, as well as offering training facilities in professional institutions and defence training centres.
Meeting the Sri Lankan Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen, Yameen discussed the importance of reviving the Sri Lanka-Maldives Joint Economic Commission at the earliest opportunity. Sri Lankan Fisheries Minister Dr Rajitah Senaratne also urged the Maldives to purchase boats from Sri Lanka.
Three agreements were signed between Maldives and Sri Lanka following the official talks – a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on combating Transnational Crime and Developing Police Cooperation between Sri Lanka and the Maldives, an MoU for Vocational Training and Skills Development between Sri Lanka and the Maldives and an MoU on Sports Cooperation between Sri Lanka and Maldives.
(0)Dislikes(0)Former President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s son, Jeffrey Salim Waheed, signed for the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) yesterday.
Waheed presented his membership form to PPM leader, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, during a ceremony at the party’s office.
He later tweeted that it was “an honour to join the only political party in the Maldives that stands for nation, unity and progress.”
The former president’s son is the Maldives’ Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN.
Former President Waheed meanwhile dissolved his Gaumee Ihthihaad Party in December and joined the PPM.
(0)Dislikes(0)