Day: July 8, 2014

Russia slams Maldives after US detain Russian at Malé international airport

The Russian Foreign Ministry has described the actions of Maldivian authorities as “outraging” after the US secret service apprehended Russian citizen Roman Seleznyov at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport on Saturday (July 5).

The US Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that Seleznyov was arrested after having been indicted for hacking into point of sale systems at retailers throughout the United States between October 2009 and February 2011.

As well as accusing the US of kidnapping Seleznyov – the son of Russian MP Valery Seleznyov, Russian diplomats have been quoted as condemning the role of the Maldives.

“The stance of Maldives’ authorities cannot be but outraging, since despite the existing international legislation norms they allowed another country’s special service to kidnap a Russian citizen and take him out of the country,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“We demand that the Maldives’ government provides necessary explanations,” officials told Russian news agency ITAR-TASS.

Russian diplomats also said that the US had confirmed Seleznyov had been put on a private jet by US officials and taken to the US Pacific Ocean territory of Guam.

Seleznyov’s father told ITAR-TASS today that any charges should have been brought through the Maldives’ courts.

“At present, it is the same for me whether Roman Seleznyov is guilty or not. But if American authorities had real evidence of his implication in the crime, they should have brought some charges through the Maldives’ court,” said the MP.

“No one had the right to take him anywhere without the sanction issued by the Maldives’ court. And here many questions to law enforcement agencies of the Maldives arise,” Valery Seleznyov was quoted as saying.

The US government has described the detainee as “one of the world’s most prolific traffickers of stolen information”, noting that the arrest “reflects the hard work by the U.S. Secret Service and our interagency and international partners”

The statement from the Department of Homeland Security did not reveal details of Seleznyov’s arrest, with no mention made of the Maldives.

“This important arrest sends a clear message:  despite the increasingly borderless nature of transitional organized crime, the long arm of justice – and this Department – will continue to disrupt and dismantle sophisticated criminal organizations,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson.

Speaking during a celebration to mark US independence day earlier this week, Maldives Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon pledged continued assistance to the US in suppressing terrorism, organised crimes, drug trafficking, and other security issues.

Dunya also thanked the US for previous assistance in these areas.

The US granted Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System – or PISCES – came into use in the Maldives last year after a deal with Malaysian IT firm Nexbis was terminated.

The system – cited by local media as flagging the arrival of Seleznyov in the country – was criticised by the outgoing Malaysian firm as being no more than a “terrorist tracking system”.

Minivan News was unable to obtain comment from immigration or police officials at the time of publication.

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Finance Committee approves reallocating southern flats to Hulhumalé

Parliament’s finance committee has approved President Abdulla Yameen’s proposal to relocate 704 out of 1,500 housing units, planned for the southern four atolls, to Hulhumalé.

The 1,500 housing units were originally planned to be constructed in Gaaf Alif, Gaaf Dhaal, Fuvahmulah, and Addu City with a MVR2.5 billion (US$162 million) loan secured from the Chinese EXIM bank under President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration.

The request to move 704 units to Hulhumalé was first made by President Dr Mohamed Waheed in December 2012, but denied by parliament at the time.

President Yameen, who has pledged to develop a ‘youth city’ in Hulhumalé with a population of 50,000, recently requested the same change, stating there is “no need at present” to build more than 796 housing units in the southern atolls under the project.

Yameen’s request, which was approved on Monday by the finance committee, has now been sent to the Majlis floor for approval.

At Monday’s committee meeting, the proposition to approve the request was made by ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Riyaz Rasheed who said it was not feasible to develop all the units in the southern atolls.

He proposed to accept the president’s request and to pass a report compiled by the previous Majlis’ finance committee, in response to President Waheed’s request in 2012.

The report states that the committee approves the decision to relocate housing units from four southern atolls to Malé because the Ministry of Housing has said in a letter that this decision was made after a ‘housing needs assessment’ in those atolls.

The 13 member committee has six members from the ruling PPM, two from the Jumhooree Party (JP) and one member from the ruling coalition party the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA).

However, the decision was met with fierce opposition from the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) who have four MPs in the committee.

Addu city’s Maradhoo MP Ibrahim ‘Mavota’ Shareef from the MDP proposed to seek further information on the issue by summoning Minister of Housing and Minister of Housing to the committee, but the motion received just three votes in favor.

Shareef accused the government of trying to isolate islands other than Malé and described the decision to relocate housing units as a betrayal of Addu people.

He said the initial plan to develop all 1,500 units in the southern atolls was also based on a feasibility study and a proposal by the MDP administration and was focused on relieving congestion in Male’ area.

Responding to Shareef’s comments, PPM’s Addu Feydhoo MP Ibrahim Didi said the government is not acting against Addu people and he has no objection to the government decision as Feydhoo does not have space for the construction of those housing units.

MDP parliamentary group leader Ibrahim Solih said the party has no issue with the government changing projects to fit their policies, but the concern is over not knowing the details of the justification for such a change.

The issue of regional disparities in development were highlighted in the UNDP’s Human Development Index report which argued that regional inequalities remained a “major challenge” towards human development.

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Majlis disrupted over Tourism Ministry corruption allegations

Today’s sitting of parliament was disrupted by ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MPs during minister’s question time after opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ali Azim suggested that the Tourism Ministry was widely perceived as corrupt.

In a followup question posed to Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb, MP Azim asked whether corruption at the ministry was stalling mid-market tourism development in Addu City, prompting yelling and screaming from pro-government MPs.

In the ensuing disorder, MPs sprang from their seats and acrimonious arguments broke out between pro-government and opposition MPs, forcing Speaker Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed to adjourn proceedings less than 15 minutes after they had begun.

However, unlike yesterday’s sitting – which was eventually cancelled after disruption forced a halt in the morning session – today’s sitting resumed at 11:30am and preliminary debate began on government-sponsored amendments to the Child Protection Act.

When the sitting resumed with Deputy Speaker Moosa Manik presiding, MDP MPs raised several points of order objecting to being denied the opportunity to question the minister.

As the ruling coalition had majorities on government oversight committees, MDP MP Rozaina Adam noted that the opposition party could not summon ministers for questioning at committee, leaving the 30-minute minister’s question time at sittings the only avenue to hold the executive accountable.

MDP MPs accused pro-government MPs of deliberately disrupting proceedings to prevent opposition MPs posing questions to the minister.

Deputy Speaker Moosa Manik, however, ruled that the minister’s question time had elapsed and urged MPs to allow the sitting to proceed.

Tourism in Addu City

Tourism Minister Adeeb was summoned to today’s sitting to answer a question tabled by MDP MP for Addu Maradhoo, Ibrahim Shareef, regarding plans for developing guest houses and infrastructure in the southernmost atoll.

In response, Adeeb said Addu City would have 5,000 tourist beds at the end of the current administration’s five-year term, which would ensure development of the whole atoll.

Addu City would be part of the first special economic zone (SEZ) created by the government’s flagship legislation currently before parliament, Adeeb added, which would also include Gaaf Alif, Gaaf Dhaal and Fuvahmulah.

“So when the development plan comes through [the SEZ], we see that Addu City will be the gateway for the whole [southern] region,” he said.

Adeeb argued that SEZs with tax exemptions and other incentives for investors were necessary to develop the Maldives, suggesting that policies were needed to make other regions of the country more attractive to potential investors.

Investors could not be drawn with the current rate of US$8 per square meter to lease state-owned land for tourism development, he added, noting that the area around the Equatorial Convention Centre also required foreign investment.

Investors “would surely come” if they were offered “tax breaks” for five or ten years to invest in SEZs, Adeeb suggested.

The tourism minister also declared support for the guest house tourism initiative undertaken by the opposition-controlled Addu City Council.

Development of resorts in uninhabited islands and plots of land “in the periphery” would provide sources of liquor and water sports to guests, he said.

The number of tourism beds in Addu City is currently 1,094.

Adeeb told Minivan News last month that contrary to criticism of the SEZ bill, one of the objectives of the legislation was to develop tourism outside the central atolls or the ‘seaplane zone’.

“Even you see even President Nasheed’s guest houses, it’s getting centralised in Malé because it’s more feasible here,” he explained.

“I believe that by doing the SEZ Act, we will bring the investment to these regions and this is the real decentralisation of investments.”

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Police identify body discovered at sea

Police have identified the body discovered in the Malé sea near Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital as 36-year-old Azmee Latheef of Maadhan’dige in Maadhandu ward of the island of Fuvahmulah in Gnaviyani Atoll.

Police further revealed that according to the victim’s family, he was mentally challenged. They added that no missing persons report had been filed prior to their finding the body.

They claimed that further details of the victim cannot be revealed to the public as the family objected against releasing information.

Police did not provide details of the cause of death and stated that the investigation is ongoing.

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High Court rules both parents must be present at child custody hearings

The High Court has ruled on Monday that both parents must be summoned to court before a child is questioned regarding cases of child custody in the event of divorce.

The court ruled as such in a hearing in which it overruled a Family Court sentence that handed custody of a child to an Indian mother rather than her Maldivian father.

The High Court sentence claimed that it is not just to let the child decide who he or she wanted to live with in the absence of any one parent, and on those grounds overturned the Family Court verdict.

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Addu City Councillor dies of a heart attack

Addu City councillor for Feydhoo constituency Abdulla Aswan suffered a heart attack and died in the early hours of Tuesday morning (July 8).

According to the Addu City Council, they were notified of his death by the widow on Tuesday morning. They noted that Aswan was a passionate and active member of the team.

Aswan was a member of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party.

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MBC orders Medianet to stop airing World Cup matches on channels except TVM and VTV

The Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) has ordered Medianet to stop airing FIFA world cup matches on any channel besides local state broadcaster TVM and privately owned channel VTV.

In a letter sent to Medianet, MBC stated that the agreement with Sony MSM – which Medianet had shared with MBC – was not made in accordance with the rebroadcasting regulations.

MBC also stated that Medianet had charged an extra fee from customers for viewing the matches on channels 100 and 100 plus against the rebroadcasting regulations.

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Man accused of assaulting a child arrested

A 37-year-old man has been arrested from the island of Dhevvadhoo in Gaaf Dhaalu atoll on charges of assaulting a minor of 13 years.

According to Dhevvadhoo Island Council, the man assaulted the 13-year-old after his son accused him of spitting on him during a fight. They quoted eyewitnesses as saying the man took the boy by the throat and threw him on to the ground.

While the boy was released from hospital after immediate medical attention, he suffered from a ‘seizure’ and lost consciousness on the following day. He was then taken to Thinadhoo Hospital, where he is currently receiving treatment in the Intensive Care Unit.

He is now being transferred to Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in capital Malé City for further treatment.

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Housing Ministry to stop leasing some Dharubaaruge halls for private functions

The Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure has announced that it will no longer lease Rannaban’deyri Maalan, Hakuraa Maalan, and Hiriya Maalan of Dharubaaruge for any private functions.

Instead, the three halls in the national convention centre will now be leased only for the holding of political party, company, and national functions.

Dharubaaruge has been the source of jurisdictional wranglings in recent years, being forcefully taken from Malé City Council by the government earlier this year. Plans to renovate and eventually replace the convention centre were subsequently revealed to local media.

Dhoshimeyna Maalan, Faashanaa Maalan, and Billoori Maalan halls will continue to be available for private functions.

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