Month: October 2014

Bridge survey to start on Friday, says Adeeb

A surveys for the Malé-Hulhulé bridge project will begin on Friday, Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb has revealed.

After signing an MoU regarding promotion of the ‘mega project’ during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinpeng last month, a team from China will arrive on Thursday to carry out the survey.

“After that, we will obtain the required finance for project and start practical work on the bridge,” said Adeeb, also Chair of the cabinet’s Economic Council.

“I see the survey starting within one month from signing of Memorandum of Understanding with Chinese government as a huge victory,”  he told Haveeru.

The survey will determine the pier points for the proposed bridge which will link the capital island Malé with the airport island of Hulhulé.

The project has been mooted by successive governments, with previous plans considering a bridge connecting the airport island with the Rahlugandhu area on the south-eastern corner of Malé, the artificial beach area, or the northen harbour via Funadhoo island.

Local media have confirmed that Chinese aid will cover the expense of the survey – reported to cost $3-4 million.

The government has insisted that the project can be completed within two years, with the Ministry of Economic Development suggesting it will help to ease urban congestion in the capital island – one of the most densely populated in the world.

President Abdulla Yameen confirmed that China had pledged to support the bridge project during his official state visit in August, promising a feasibility study before the end of the year.

During the historic visit of President Jinpeng last month – the first by a Chinese head of state to the Maldives, the leader suggested the finished project might be named the ‘China-Maldives Friendship Bridge’.

Diplomatic ties between the two nations have grown in the wake of the large numbers of Chinese tourists visiting the Maldives – now thirty percent of total arrivals.

While visiting the Maldives, President Xi reiterated his calls for the Maldives to become involved in the creation of a 21st century maritime silk road linking China to the east coast of Africa and the Mediterranean.

Chinese news agency Xinhua reported yesterday that China’s maritime ‘Silk Route’ would pass through the Ihavandhippolhu Integrated Development Project – or ‘iHavan’ – in the northernmost atoll in the Maldives.

An preliminary contract agreement on the development of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport – based on Hulhulé island – was also signed between the two nations during September’s visit.

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Exit permits required for foreign workers from today

Foreign workers in the Maldives will be required to obtain permission from their employer before leaving the country from today (October 19).

The exit permit requirement – announced via local media on Thursday (October 16) – is now being implemented, with expatriate workers required to present a form, signed by their employer, at airport immigration.

“The procedure is simple,” explained the immigration department’s Information Officer Hassan Khaleel.

“The employer needs to fill out the form and hand it over to the employee. The employee is required to submit it to the immigration counter at the time of departure.”

The abuse of exit permit systems elsewhere has led to condemnation from international human rights groups, with local NGO Transparency Maldives today expressing concern over the scheme’s use in the Maldives.

While exact figures are unavailable, the number of expatriate workers in the country has been estimated to be as high as 200,000 – equivalent to two thirds of the local population.

Although the majority of these workers are Bangladeshi, Bangladeshi High Commissioner Rear Admiral A.S.M.A Awal has told Minivan News he has not yet been informed of the new exit permit procedures.

During the first week of the permit’s use, allowances will be made due to the short notice given regarding exit permit procedure, explained Khaleel.

“It will not be very strict for the first week. Airport staff will ask for the form and may call employers to check for a period of time.”

He explained that the introduction of the permit system had come after requests from employers concerned at the number of expatriate workers leaving the country without permission.

The illegal practice of withholding the passports of migrant workers – described as “rampant” in the Maldives by the US State Department – may also be lessened as a result of the new permit scheme, added Khaleel.

Potential for abuse

Advocacy and communications manager at TM, Aiman Rasheed, has expressed concern that the exit permits will exacerbate the well-documented abuses within the immigration system.

“Requiring an exit permit to depart from Maldives may have the same effect as withholding travel documents, that is, the employer has control of the mobility of the worker,” explained Rasheed.

“While this is an infringement on the freedom of movement for workers, it also presents opportunities for perpetuation of bondage, trafficking, etc, by limiting movement of the worker.”

Long viewed as a country with a poor record on combatting human trafficking, the Maldives was this year removed from the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report watchlist.

A government report in 2011 has revealed the scale of the problem, with human trafficking said to be the Maldives’ second most lucrative industry after tourism – worth an estimated US$123 million a year. In 2013, Bangladeshi authorities temporarily halted migration of its nationals, blaming the failure of local authorities to address the problem.

After four consecutive years on the TIP watchlist, the Maldives avoided potential sanctions this year after the introduction of the Anti-trafficking Act in December 2013.

“Serious problems in anti-trafficking law enforcement and victim protection remained,” said the TIP report, which noted that an unknown number expatriate workers in the country experienced forced labour.

Exit permit systems are also operated in other nations with large numbers of expatriate workers – such the UAE and Qatar, although Qatar announced earlier this year that it was to abolish the practice after pressure from human rights groups.

Human Rights Watch noted last year that the Qatari system “unfairly shackles foreign workers to their Qatari employers, opening them up to unfair treatment and exploitation.”

Khaleel told Minivan News today that the immigration department was aware of the potential for abuse inherent within the system.

“If there are any disputes employers should approach the Labour Relations Authority. They are responsible for disputes and breaches of contract,” he explained.

Any workers requiring further information on the exit permit system can contact airport immigration on 332 0452 or 794 0452.

The exit permit form can be downloaded here.

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Amnesty calls on Maldives police to “intensify efforts” into cases of threats, violence, and abductions

The Maldives police force must “intensify efforts” to find those responsible for death threats, abductions, and violent attacks against journalists, politicians, and civil society activists says Amnesty International.

“The Government of the Maldives is obliged under the international human rights instruments it has ratified to ensure the security and physical integrity of all persons,” said the Human Rights NGO in a statement released yesterday.

Amnesty went on to list the large number of incidents from recent months, including the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan 71 days ago, and an attack on the outlets’ premises in September.

“In particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, require ensuring the protection of all people from abductions, death threats and attacks.”

A number of abductions by vigilante gangs targeting perceived secularists in June were followed by threats made against journalists attempting to report on a rise in gang-related violence at the start of August.

Rilwan – who himself had reported on these threats – was last seen on the ferry to Hulhumalé on August 8, just minutes before a man fitting his description was seen being forced into a car outside his apartment.

Tension in the capital Malé rose again in late September following the release of a private investigative report into Rilwan’s disappearance.

The report, commissioned by local NGO Maldivian Democracy Network, suggested that radicalised gangs were the most likely culprits in a number of potential lines of inquiry detailed.

Police labelled the investigation “irresponsible” and “politically motivated”, suggesting it had violated the human rights of those involved and vowing to take against against those involved in the report’s compilation.

A series of death threats followed the release of the report and the subsequent media coverage. One individual mentioned in the report was arrested following the attack on Minivan News offices before being released by police the following day.

The offices of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) were also attacked a number of times, while the party’s MPs were threatened and homes attacked. The party has described recent threats to its MPs as being too many to mention.

Police response

The Inter-Parliamentary Union has described the authorities’ response as a test of the country’s democracy, while the EU has expressed concern over “mounting gang violence and signs of increasing religious intolerance” in the Maldives.

Police are working with local telecoms companies to identify the source of the threats although the Communications Authority of Maldives has said the use of foreign networks and computer software would make the culprits harder to trace. Threats sent to MDP leader Mohamed Nasheed while in the UK this month have resulted in the involvement of the UK’s metropolitan police.

After continued criticism of the police’s investigation from both Rilwan’s family and international groups, four individuals were taken into custody earlier this month in connection with the disappearance, although three have since been released.

Police have yet to suggest any possible theories or lines of inquiry into the disappearance and have previously stated that there was no concrete evidence linking Rilwan and the reported abduction in front of his apartment.

Speaking with Vaguthu last week, Police Commissioner Hussain Waheed accused both the family and local media of impeding the investigation.

“Certain media has acted in ways which has caused the police investigation to lose some of the leads we had so we urge the media to not do their own investigations into the case,” said Waheed.

“If Rilwan’s family and the media acted responsibly we would be seeing a better outcome than what we are seeing right now,” he told Vaguthu.

When Minivan News requested a similar interview with the police commissioner, it was informed that scheduling issues would not make this possible during the coming weeks.

The past eight days have seen a further number of attacks on the MDP during its tour of the southern atolls. 16 men were arrested following attacks on a party rally in Feydhoo, though all were subsequently released without charge.

The party’s offices in Addu were also attacked by arsonists following the disrupted rally.

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Manhunt underway for escaped convicts

Police have launched a manhunt for two convicts serving life sentences who escaped from Maafushi jail on Friday night (October 17).

Police intelligence learned around 8:15pm that cell mates Ibrahim Shahum Adam, 23, from Galolhu Cozy in Malé, and Fariyash Ahmed, 26, from Javahiruvaadhee in Gaaf Alif Maamendhoo, had broken out, police revealed in a statement last night.

Police asked the Maldives Correctional Service (MCS) around 8:30pm to check their cell.

The pair reportedly escaped through a ventilation shaft from the ‘Pentagon’ unit.

Home Ministry’s Media Coordinator Thazmeel Abdul Samadh told Minivan News today that the suspects might still be in Maafushi.

A joint search effort involving police, MCS and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) is ongoing to check the area around the prison as well as warehouses and guest houses on the island, Thazmeel said.

The MNDF’s coastguard is searching the sea around Maafushi, he added.

Police said today that an investigating team and an operation team were sent to Maafushi and were currently searching the island as well as nearby uninhabited islands and resorts.

Thazmeel said nearby resorts have been informed about the breakout and stressed that the government was employing “all available resources” to find the escapees.

Police have urged anyone with information of the escaped convicts to call the police hotline number 3322111 or the serious and organised crime department at 9911099.

“Every prison escape is an opportunity for Prison Officers to identify the loop holes and improve the system while we hunt them down,” Home Minister Umar Naseer tweeted today.

In March 2013, Shahum was convicted on terrorism charges in connection with the murder of Mohamed Hussain, 17, from Maafanu Beauty Flower in Malé  in July 2010.

Fariyash was sentenced to life imprisonment for his part in the murder of Mohamed Shihab, from Kaduolhi in Gaaf Alif Villigili, on the island of Maamendhoo in 2006.

Shahum is also on trial for the murder of 21-year-old Ahusan Basheer near the NC Park in Malé. The Criminal Court has concluded hearings of the case and is due to deliver a verdict.

Shahum allegedly stabbed Basheer in February 2011 after he was released by Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed following six months in remand detention. He was later taken into custody from an uninhabited island.

In June 2011, the Criminal Court found Shahum guilty of assault and battery in an unrelated case and sentenced him to one year’s imprisonment.

The victim told the court that Shahum attacked him with a wooden plank after he refused to have tea with him. The victim explained that Shahum was studying with him at an Imam training course and that he had to drop out of the course due to haraassment from Shahum

Shahum was also among nine individuals detained and labelled by police as “dangerous criminals” involved in violent assault.

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has meanwhile blamed the government’s “irresponsibility and incompetence” for the jail break.

In a press statement today, the main opposition party contended that public safety has been lost while murders, violent assaults, and drug trafficking has reached “extreme levels” under the current administration.

The public has been expressing concern with the government’s inability to bring perpetrators who commit crimes in “broad daylight” to face justice, the party said.

The MDP called on the government to conduct a thorough investigation and hold culpable officials accountable.

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OHCHR expresses concern over Human Rights Commission charges

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has expressed concern over the Supreme Court’s suo moto case against the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM).

“We are deeply concerned about the case initiated by the Supreme Court of the Maldives against the five members of the Human Rights Commission of the country,” read the press briefing.

The OHCHR expressed its concerns in a press release yesterday (October 17) from spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani.

The Supreme Court has charged the HRCM with undermining the constitution and the sovereignty of the Maldives by spreading falsehoods about the judiciary in its submission for the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review.

Next year’s review – the Maldives’ second since the introduction of the process – will take place between April and May next year.

The OHCHR statement noted that, in making the UPR submission, the commission had operated in line with international principles governing national institutions.

The OHCHR urged the government to “firmly defend the independence of the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives in line with the commitments made during the first UPR of the Maldives in 2011.”

“The government has a responsibility to ensure a safe operating space for the commission and for civil society actors in the country, so that they are able to cooperate with UN human rights mechanisms without fear of reprisals,” read the press release.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has also written directly to the Maldivian Government to express his concerns over the issue.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has already called the case “unfortunate”, describing the court’s action as “a decision that will not help restore its credibility.”

The Supreme Court came under intense international criticism following its role in the 2013 presidential election, which included the annulment of the first round based on evidence later discredited by UN experts.

“Free Speech must be protected, not trampled,” said Baird late last month.

The Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions urged President Abdulla Yameen to ensure the independence of the HRCM and to guarantee immunity from prosecution for its members.

In the second court hearing held in the case on September 30, the Supreme Court denounced the submission’s section on the judiciary as “dangerous”, “irresponsible” and “poorly researched.”

The Supreme Court slammed commission members for basing criticism of the judiciary on findings from the 2013 report by UN Special Rapporteur Gabriela Knaul that it had previously rejected.

Former Judicial Service Comission member Aishath Velezinee was denied entry into the hearing after being issued a pass at the reception, with a court official telling her that she could not be let into the court room for security reasons.

In similar suo moto action in March, senior members of the Elections Commission were dismissed after being prosecuted for charged with contempt of court and disobedience to order.

Suo moto cases – unheard of in the Maldives before this year – involve the court taking the initiative to bring charges which are then overseen by its own judges.

While the President’s Office has also criticised the HRCM’s submission, suggesting that sections on the death penalty are misleading, the Maldivian Democratic Party has accused the court of undermining the commission’s mandate.

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PG withdraws corruption charges against Islamic Minister’s wife

Prosecutor General (PG) Muhuthaz Muhsin has withdrawn corruption charges against Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed’s wife.

The Anti Corruption Commission in August 2013 requested the PG to press corruption charges against Fathimath Afiya for forming a company with a foreigner.

The 2000 Corruption Prevention Act bars minister’s spouses from engaging in business with foreign parties with punishment of imprisonment, house arrest or banishment for a period up to three years.

Afiyaa had established a company with Dubai-based Indian Muslim businessman Firoz Ghulam Khan to sell jewellery to resorts.

She reportedly owned 1500 shares in ‘Pure Gold Jewelry Maldives Private Limited’ while Khan controlled 103,500 shares.

In a press conference at the Islamic Ministry in September 2012, Khan announced that he would donate a sum of US$10,000 to the Zakat fund every month in a bid to support the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

“Zakat (Alms) is not something given as charity. This is something I am obliged to do. Zakat money is something that should be given to the needy. I have told Minister Shaheem that I will deposit the money to the fund in the first week of every month,” he was quoted saying in the media at the time.

The Criminal Court said the charges had been withdrawn in September.

Muhsin in August announced a new policy to drop charges against first time offenders for petty crimes under a “second chance programme.”

Eligibility criteria includes consideration of the seriousness of crime, the circumstances under which it was committed, physical or psychological harm caused, the rights of injured parties, and the penalty prescribed by law.

Persons who commit crimes for which a punishment is prescribed in Islamic Shariah would not be eligible, Muhsin noted.

Article 15(a) of the Corruption Prevention Act states – “The Chief Justice, or the Speaker of Parliament, or a member of cabinet, or a cabinet minister, or anyone having a position equivalent to that, or the Auditor General, or the Commissioner of Elections, or a Judge of High Court, or an Atoll Chief, or the wife or the husband of any such person, or any state employee which the President decides so and their spouses having private business relations with a foreign party is an offence.”

Minister Shaheem – who was placed among the top 500 most influential Muslims in 2010 by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (RISC) Jordan – was earlier also accused of sexual misconduct in a video broadcast by local media Raajje TV, in which he was seen speaking with a figure in a hijab before leading her through a doorway.

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PPM leader Gayoom says he does not know who is behind MDP attacks

Former President and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) leader Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom has rejected claims that his party was behind – or has knowledge of – the recent attacks against opposition Maldives Democratic Party (MDP).

“I would not blame any political party or any individual over the attacks. The relevant authorities would investigate the attacks and let us know who did it. I would like to reiterate that it was not PPM’s doing,” said Maumoon.

While speaking to media at a ceremony held to celebrate the signing of 104 members of the Jumhooree Party to the PPM, Maumoon said the recent attacks were not conducted by PPM and that the party does not encourage violent behavior of this sort.

An MDP rally in Feydhoo last week was attacked by a group of masked individuals wielding wooden planks and rocks with the party’s main office in Malé set on fire last month.

The government and MDP have been involved in a heated blame game over the attacks with the President’s Office spokesperson reportedly suggesting that the attacks were coordinated by the MDP itself, while the party’s leaders have suggested a third – unnamed group – may have been behind the attacks.

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Liveaboard association left with nowhere to go during Hulhulmalé reclamation

The Liveaboard Association of Maldives (LAM) has expressed concern at the lack of alternative areas for docking after the announcement that the Hulhumalé western harbour area is  to be cleared of vessels.

The announcement, made by the Housing Development Corporation on Tuesday (October 14), has asked for all boats to vacate the area by October 28 in order to make way for phase two of the island’s reclamation project.

“We are prepared to cooperate. But it is sad that we have nowhere to go, after vacating the harbor area,” LAM Vice President of LAM Ibrahim Shahid told Haveeru.

Shahid explained that the association had failed to gain permission to use the nearby harbour at Gulhi Falhu, noting that the bespoke Dhiyaneru habour – also in Kaafu Atoll – was not yet ready for use.

134 Safari vessels are currently registered with the tourism ministry, with the majority of them frequently using Hulhumalé for docking while in the capital.

Malé City Council is also reported to have requested the clearance of all vehicles from the south-western harbour area for project which will expand the size of the artificial island from the current 188 to 410 hectares.

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Saudi Prince donates MVR18.4 million to build mosques in the Maldives

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has donated MVR18.4 million (US$ 1.2 million) to a mosque project with plans to build 10 mosques in the islands.

Islamic Minister Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed confirmed that the money was transferred to ministry’s bank account yesterday (October 15) and that work on the mosques is scheduled to start in the next couple of months.

“This is just the first donation of a US$4 million full amount from the Saudi Prince. We are told that we would receive the rest of the amount as construction of the mosques goes forward,” said Dr Shaheem.

The Saudi Prince – who pledged to build 10 world class mosques in the Maldives in his visit to the Maldives earlier this year – told Shaheem he is willing to help the Maldivian government to preserve the Islamic identity of the nation and that Saudi Arabia sees the Maldives as a country of ‘special importance.’

For his visit in March, the prince – who also serves as the defense minister of Saudi Arabia – booked out three resort islands for nearly a month, reportedly leaving tourists unhappy as bookings were cancelled.

Hajj issues

Dr Shaheem also shared with Minivan News concerns brought forward by agents from Mecca who say that they have large amounts of money owed to them by Maldivian private Hajj companies.

“An agent from Mecca came to the Maldives and shared information about two Hajj groups who owes money in excess of US$300,000 to the agent not paid in over a year now,” said Dr Shaheem.

Recently, the government covered the expenses of the 121 defrauded customers of Al-Fathuh Hajj Umra group with an amount in excess of US$ 500,000.

“We have given the company one month to reimburse the government for the expenses and the company has informed the government via police that they are currently in the process of paying back the government,” explained Shaheem.

While speaking to local media after coming back from the Hajj pilgrimage, Shaheem said that the ministry had decided implement a policy which would require private Hajj companies to keep a deposit at the Islamic Ministry in order to acquire the permit from the government in order to prevent a repeat of this type of fraud.

Haveeru also reported the story of ten Maldivian students who were on their way to the pilgrimage from Medina when they were stopped at a checkpoint near Mecca and denied access being told that the permit was invalid.

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