Day: April 28, 2014

Environmental regulations violated in Eydhafushi dredging: EPA

Environmental regulations were violated in dredging work conducted on the island of Eydhafushi in Baa atoll, the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) said today.

Speaking to Minivan News, EPA Director General Ibrahim Naeem said the agency is currently investigating violations of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) terms during the dredging.

Naeem said the main issue was failure to build a “bund wall” to contain excess dredge spoil from spilling into the ocean, an issue which also came up last month in the dredging of Meedhoo in Dhaalu atoll.

The Meedhoo project was halted by EPA for noncompliance with EIA requirements, while the Health Protection Agency warned of possible health risks caused by unsafe dredging.

Using the rainbowing technique – the propulsion of materials through the air in a high arc – rather than using pipelines to take the the sand closer to the land, left a large part of the island’s shoreline vegetation and many houses near the beach covered in fine sand and sea water.

As the Eydhafushi project is expected to be concluded in three days, the EPA has not sought not to halt the dredging as was done with the Meedhoo project,

Naeem however assured that all necessary action will be taken in accordance with laws and regulations.

“Everything should be done in accordance to the regulations, we are trying to minimise the [environmental] impact. Our intention is not to become an obstacle to these projects, not to stop them. We all want development, but we need to protect the environment. It is the environment that we sell and we depend on,” Naeem said.

He said following the Meedhoo incident, the agency advised the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure to ensure that Eydhafushi dredging is carried out in accordance to regulations.

“We will not let another project go on like this, we will take action under article 6 [of the Environment Protection and Preservation Act],” he said.

The article authorises the EPA to stop ongoing projects to prevent any negative impact on the environment.

The project aimed at reclaiming 25.79 hectares land at Eydhafushi is funded by the state budget and implemented by Netherlands’ Boskalis International.

Yesterday, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Dr Mohamed Muiz said the project will be completed within four days. The minister was unavailable for comment at the time of press.

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

Eydhafushi is an inhabited island of Baa Atoll, which was declared a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 2011.

According to the EPA, Eydhafushi falls into the ‘transitional area‘ of the reserve, which under the “Statutory framework of the world network of biosphere reserves” has to be an area where “sustainable resource management practices have to be promoted and developed”.

“Since it is a biosphere reserve there are certain standards have to be met, even in buffer zones and transitional areas. Developmental activity should be carried out in an environmentally sustained manner, it should go beyond the usual acceptable standards with mitigation as well. We should maintain the terms which were agreed upon with UNESCO. They will be monitoring the situation,” Naeem said.

Naeem said it was likely for UNESCO to take action if the terms are not met.

Mohamed Aslam, who was the Minister of Environment and Housing when Baa Atoll was declared a biosphere reserve, said it was disheartening to see such violations by the state, noting that it was particularly sensitive since the incident has taken place within the biosphere reserve.

“Development and human intervention will always have an impact, but some practical mitigation measures to minimize the impact are agreed upon through the EIA process,” Aslam said, stressing that the Ministry of Housing must follow these measures and should also be held legally accountable for failure to do so.

“We [the Maldivian Democratic Party government] also used the same methods and reclaimed a number of Islands through the same company. There was Kulhudhufushi, Velidhoo, Thulhaadhoo, Hinnavaru Dhidhoo, GulhiFalhu. We took all the environmental mitigation measures. It can be done. It is disheartening to see a government which pledged to obey laws doing this, one ministry disrespecting the mandate of another like this,” Aslam said.

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Government seeks to remove borrowing limits from MMA

The government has submitted an amendment to the Fiscal Responsibility Act to scrap borrowing limits from the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).

The amendment was proposed to remove all limitations on government borrowing imposed by article 32(a) of the law and authorise the central bank’s board of directors to make decisions concerning lending in consultation with the Minister of Finance and Treasury.

The act stipulates that money borrowed from the MMA must be repaid within 91 days at an interest rate that is not lower than the market rate at the time.

The article also sets limits on the amount that can be borrowed, which must be no more than one percent of average government revenue (based on the previous three years).

The amendment was proposed on behalf of the government by Maavashu MP Abdul Azeez Jamal Abubakr and its first reading took place at yesterday’s sitting of the People’s Majlis.

According to the government, the purpose of the amendment is to ensure that funds for providing basic services can be accessed as required.

Another amendment was proposed to article 39(b), which allows the president to defer enforcement of some provisions of the fiscal responsibility law by 12 months if they require establishment of certain procedures or mechanism.

The second amendment proposed by Kinbidhoo MP Moosa Zameer seeks to increase the period for delaying enforcement from 12 to 36 months.

The stated purpose of the amendment was providing more time for the government to prepare for implementation and prevent challenges it may pose to the functioning of the government “as the state’s cash flow is very tight at the moment.”

With the enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility Act on May 6, 2013, President Dr Mohamed Waheed issued an executive decree to delay the enforcement of four articles.

These were article 10 on the publication of an annual fiscal strategy statement, article 28 on activities of local councils, article 32 which limits government borrowing from MMA, and article 34 which requires maintenance of government deficit at a certain level.

Prior to the resignation of former Governor Dr. Fazeel Najeeb’s in January, MMA criticised the government on several occasions over excessive spending and dependence on borrowing, particularly as a means to finance budget deficit.

In its professional opinion on the 2014 national budget, which was submitted to the People’s Majlis in December 2013, the MMA noted that overdrawing from the state’s Public Bank Account (PBA) to accommodate government spending significantly increased the amount of rufiyaa in circulation and reduced the foreign exchange reserves to alarming levels.

The PBA overdraft facility was misused by the government, according to the MMA, using it to finance long term budget deficit even though it was intended to manage cash flow within a short period of time.

The amount overdrawn from PBA started increasing in October 2012 and reached MVR2.5 billion by 9 December 2013. At the time MMA noted the government had unpaid due treasury bills, treasury bonds and PBA overdrawing debts worth MVR945 million.

Newly-appointed Governor Dr Azeema Adam meanwhile gave assurances of the central bank’s assistance to the government to finance the budget deficit through a market mechanism.

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Parliament passes sexual harassment and sexual offences bills

Parliament passed the sexual harassment bill and sexual offences bill yesterday (April 27).

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Rozaina Adam – chair of the committee that evaluated the sexual harassment bill – told Minivan News that while the passage of the legislation was a positive step, there was still a lot of work to be done on combating the internalised effects of sexual harassment.

The sexual harassment bill was submitted in January 2013 by Rozaina, and aims to ensure gender discrimination is made illegal at workplaces, educational institutes, and other service providers such as hospitals.

“Previously there was no law or any regulation from which they could seek help. I think now the women have a place to go,” she explained.

If ratified by the president, the new law would mandate the creation of a committee to investigate sexual harassment complaints at all workplaces with more than 30 employees.

The committees shall be chaired the by the head of the respective offices and must include at least one female members.

If the committee finds an employee guilty of sexual harassment at the workplace following an inquiry, it will be empowered to advise the offender verbally or in writing, suspend him, demote him, or dismiss him based on the severity of the offence.

Rozaina however suggested that women would “still not be complaining” despite the introduction of an internal mechanism to address complaints.

“People have come to accept that this is just something that just happens,” she said.

She however said that the legislation would “create awareness,” contending that not enough was done in implementation of similar laws such as the anti-domestic violence law.

“Police are not taking domestic violence seriously enough,” she argued.

Rozaina recalled the story of one woman – whose experiences reflect the reality for many – as she attempted speak out about the sexual abuses inflicted against her.

“She was waiting outside for me,” recounted Rozaina, “she told me she complained to police about ex-husband beating her, and raping her. When I went to case, they hadn’t even done anything about it.”

“They are not giving enough importance to these cases, we need to create more awareness.”

Cooperation from police seems to be “declining”, she added, “they don’t feel it’s an important issue.”

“I just hope that everyone cooperates and more women report these cases in domestic violence. The main issue is talking and reporting, so very few people report.”

Sexual offences

The two bills – which support both men and women who are victims of sexual abuse – were submitted independently of each other.

The sexual offences bill – which called for recognition of marital rape as a crime – was first submitted in October 2012 and was vetoed by President Abdulla Yameen in January 2014.

“The bill contained some provisions that are contrary to Islamic Shariah and Islamic principles was among the reasons considered for returning the bill,” the President’s Office stated at the time.

The contentious bill was drafted and submitted in October 2012 by now-Progressive Party of Maldives MP for Kulhudhufushi South, Mohamed Nasheed.

Nasheed wrote in the draft legislation that it was not intended to replace Shariah, explaining that it did not preclude application of a Shariah penalty for an offence specified in the bill.

Previous reports of police apathy

Minivan News has previously spoken with foreign women from diverse nationalities working in Maldives who came forward and reported various attacks, ranging from verbal abuse to physical and sometimes sexual assaults.

Katie*, a 34-year-old American who has worked in Male’ for almost a year, was subject to a horrific incident last month when a local man sexually assaulted her while she was unlocking the door of her apartment.

Neighbours who heard her screams called the police, and around five to six officers arrived on the scene with a forensic team.

However, according to Katie, the police did not take her statement until three weeks later and then got the details of the attack completely wrong.

“The police had stated my necklace was stolen. It broke off during the attack, I still have it. The attacker must have known the necklace I was wearing was not gold because it was made of multi-colored beads,” Katie pointed out.

She added that she had later found out from CCTV camera owners nearby her house that the police had not requested the footage or interviewed neighbours for clues. Frustrated over the lack of police assistance, she called the US embassy.

“I don’t think they would have even taken the statement if the American Embassy had not called them,” Katie claimed.

The Police department was not issuing statements to Minivan News at the time of publishing.

*Names have been changed to protect identities.

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Alhan alleges involvement of senior government officials in stabbing

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Alhan Fahmy has said that he believes senior officials of the current government was behind a knife attack on February 1 that left the opposition MP’s left leg paralysed.

Speaking at the last sitting of the 17th People’s Majlis today, the outgoing MP for Feydhoo noted the violent attacks on MPs during the past five years of multi-party politics and fledgling democracy, including the brutal murder of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Dr Afrasheem Ali.

Both MPs and the public were left in a state fear by the attacks on parliamentarians, Alhan said.

Alhan was stabbed in Malé on the evening of February 1, 2014, while at the Breakwater cafe in the artificial beach area of the capital.

The results of the final MDP parliamentary primaries were officially revealed the same day, with Alhan losing the Feydhoo constituency seat to Mohamed Nihad, who received 316 votes to the incumbent’s 154.

After the results of the primary contest emerged, Alhan alleged irregularities in the vote via social media, declaring his intention to challenge the outcome.

Two suspects – Mohamed Sameeh of Shiny, Fuvahmulah, and Mohamed Naseem, of Ulfamanzil, Hithadhoo – were arrested by the police in connection with the case.

The case against the two suspects have since been forwarded to the Prosecutor General’s Office for prosecution.

Alhan has had a chequered recent past with the MDP, rejoining the party in June last year after an apparently acrimonious departure in April of the previous year. Then party vice president, Alhan was ejected – alongside then party President Dr Ibrahim Didi – after the pair publicly questioned the party’s official interpretation of the February 7 ousting of President Mohamed Nasheed.

The Feydhoo MP subsequently organised a rally – sparsely attended – calling for the freeing of the MDP from its talismanic leader Nasheed. Alhan’s soon joined the government-aligned Jumhooree Party,

Alhan was initially elected to parliament on a Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) ticket, making him one of the few MPs to have been a member of almost every major political party represented in parliament, barring the DRP’s splinter party, the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).

He was dismissed from the DRP in 2010 for breaking the party’s whip line in a no-confidence vote against then Foreign Minister, Dr Ahmed Shaheed

Last August, Alhan was summoned by police in connection with the alleged blackmailing of Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed, using footage of the judge having sex with two foreign women said to be prostitutes.

The MP tweeted a screenshot of a text message he claimed had been sent to his mobile phone by Superintendent of Police Mohamed Riyaz. The text read: “Alhan, will make sure you are fully famed (sic) for blackmailing Justice Ali Hameed. You don’t know who we are.’’

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Comment: Operation Anbaraa

This article first appeared on Dhivehi Sitee. Republished with permission.

A lot has been written about the music festival on the desert island of Anbaraa attended by local and international DJs, some tourists and 198 partygoers. According to the event organisers, Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb and certain officials of the Yameen government allegedly approved the event in an unofficial capacity. Most of what has been said in the Dhivehi media is framed to make it appear that these young people at the music festival were engaging in an orgy of illicit activities on the island, and that the authorities acted rightly by raiding the event and arresting one female minor, 19 women and 59 men present at the festival.

Unfortunately, the susceptible majority of the Maldivian public do not see the political and unconstitutional underpinnings of these arrests, and most often than not, wholeheartedly accept such narratives. This proves beneficial for certain politicians in the Maldives, known for garnering support along ultra-nationalist and Islamist lines, as the Anbaraa incident provides an opportunity to generate just such rhetoric. Their understanding is that the youth are to be blamed for testing the limits of an increasingly conservative society. The awful truth is that people in positions of power indulging in similar behaviour, and much worse, are not subject to the same laws.

The Maldives Police Service claims it raided the island around midnight on Friday night. Detainees have described the operation as a hypocritical, aggressive and excessive display of brute force and psychological warfare. Many of the detainees claim the police used stun guns, grenades, tasers, taser guns, batons, guns and rubber bullets during this operation. Initially flares were shot and the authorities used amplifiers to announce – “you will all be killed if you don’t calm down” while charging at the partygoers. “They shot stun grenades at the centre of the dance floor in front of the main stage”, one of the detainees said. “Rubber bullets were shot in the air and a lot of people were tased with tasers and taser guns,” he continued.

Many detainees said they were all verbally abused and humiliated. Talking of the religious and cultural undertones of this operation, one female detainee said an officer yelled at her, “Are you a European?” A male detainee alleged that two officers grabbed him by the neck and called him an infidel. Another female detainee claimed she was pulled by the hair and ear, and hit on the back. Some of the male partygoers intervened when police resorted to sexualised violence against women – these men are now being detained separately from other detainees, although not in solitary confinement. Some detainees allege they were beaten and showed visible scars. Many detainees note disturbing police actions such as some officers allegedly stealing detainees’ belongings and, in the presence of some detainees, consuming illicit substances found on the island.

After the island came under police control, the detainees were rounded up and brought to the main stage. They were cuffed using plastic clips and kept kneeling down. The island did not have enough water and the Maldives Police Service did not bring any food or water with them for the detainees. When the detainees asked for water it was not provided to all, and some were humiliated for requesting for water. At this point, detainees were allegedly asked to go to sleep. On Saturday morning around 6-7am the police allegedly ordered the catering service to provide food for 198 detainees while the island was under police control. Even at this time, the Maldives’ police did not facilitate rights afforded to those accused or detained under Article 48 of the Constitution. Although police claim that the detainees were informed of their rights, the fact that these men and women were kept incommunicado for about 14 hours proves that the authorities failed to facilitate their inalienable fundamental rights to acquire legal counsel or information regarding the arrest.

Another factor that deviates from standard police practice in such cases is that, according to the detainees, belongings and persons on the island were searched on Saturday afternoon, and none of this was done in the detainees’ presence. Most detainees claim their tents were searched or dismantled while they were handcuffed. And, they claim, not only were their belongings rummaged but articles of clothing and money went missing after the police went through them. Article 161 of the 2011 Drugs Act requires police to split urine samples into two — one sample is to be tested by the Maldives Police Service while the other is to be tested by an institution stipulated by the National Drug Agency. This procedure was not followed, nor were the urine samples collected or processed according to the Urine Specimen Collection, Transportation and Testing for Illicit Drugs Regulation 2012, meaning that many detainees’ urine samples were taken after their remand hearings. Another irregularity is one that contravenes the Judicature Act – detainees were brought to the Criminal Court in Malé even though the alleged offences occurred in Vaavu Atoll. According to the male detainees, only female detainees were given lifejackets while they were being transferred to Dhoonidhoo Custodial Centre from Anbaraa.

During the remand hearings the police claimed that 119 people present at the island were released because they did not find any illicit substances on their person or belongings. This argument does not make sense as the police claimed that the entire island was a crime scene. The argument is further weakened by the fact that some of the detainees currently in custody did not have any illicit substances on their person and only have urine tests as evidence against them. Such contradictions in the claims made by the police suggest that the 119 were released because the police would not have been able to process all detainees within the specified time limit. Law requires all detainees to be brought before a judge within 24 hours of arrest.

These events are reminiscent of infighting among cabinet ministers during ex-dictator Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s regime, which then spills over into the public sphere. If the Yameen government – even if in an unofficial capacity – gave assurances to the organisers of the music festival that it could go ahead, why has the Home Minister Umar Naseer vocally reacted to this incident as if to say the police were working under his orders? The feud between the current president Abdullah Yameen Abdul Gayoom; half brother of ex-dictator and Umar Naseer; the current Home Minister, has been at the forefront since the onset of the presidential election campaign in early 2013.

Some of the detainees are also of the impression that the government may have raided the event to create a distraction from the arbitration proceedings being held at the Singapore Court of Appeal regarding the cancellation of the GMR agreement during the coup appointed presidency of Dr. Mohamed Waheed, which ended in December 2013. In early 2010, the Indian infrastructure company GMR was contracted to build Ibrahim Nasir International Airport by the Mohamed Nasheed administration, which was toppled by his deputy Dr. Waheed and Gayoom loyalists. If the infrastructure giant GMR wins the arbitration case, the Maldives’ government will be subject to approximately US$1.4 billion in compensation.

All these factors create the public perception that current government is not fully in control of the security forces due to infighting, or that the security forces can be mobilised by the current government to carry out politically motivated attacks that have very little to do with morality, crime prevention, implementing the law, or protecting the youth from illegal drugs. Neither perception creates trust or confidence towards the current regime in power, but both highlight the human rights abuse and inconsistency of the implementation of law in the Maldives.

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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