Day: November 13, 2014

Gangsters abduct, beat pro-opposition Facebook page administrator, and hack page

Gangsters abducted and beat the administrator of a pro-opposition Ranreendhoo Maldives Facebook page last night after the page published pictures of individuals implicated in the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan.

Reliable sources told Minivan News the Ranreendhoo Madives administrator was accosted at his workplace at 9pm on Wednesday night and escorted to a café at Malé’s Artificial Beach area.

In a closed room, the dozen strong group then beat and interrogated him as to who had posted the pictures online.

The social media posts, which were widely circulated on Facebook and Twitter, named and publicised pictures of known gangsters, some of whom were named in Glasgow-based Athena Intelligence and Security’s investigation into Rilwan’s August 8 disappearance.

Many of those identified in the posts also hold records of murder and organised crime including drug trafficking.

One of the posts included a photograph of gangsters with Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb at a motorcycle rally to mark ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives’ (PPM) one year anniversary in power.

According to sources, the “offensive” posts were removed on Wednesday afternoon after the page’s administrators were threatened via text messages. The abduction occurred hours later.

Gangsters forcibly took the Ranreendhoo Maldives administrator’s phone and posted several status updates claiming Rilwan had been disappeared because he had threatened to leak damning documents involving opposition leader and former President Mohamed Nasheed.

Ranreendhoo Maldives has 9,502 likes.

Among the abductors identified by the source were Ahmed Ismail (Ahandhu), Ismail Razeen (Rabarey), Arlif Rauf, and Ahmed Muaz (Gatu Mua).

The four were also reported to have been behind the abduction and interrogation of several young men in June. These abductions were carried out to find out the identities of administrators of Facebook groups advocating secularism and atheism in the Maldives.

Abductors forced victims to hand over their Facebook account details and hijacked a popular Facebook group called ‘Colorless’ which had been set up to facilitate discussion on politics in the aftermath of Nasheed’s ouster in February 2012.

Athena Intelligence and Security’s investigative report named three of the four as possible suspects in Rilwan’s disappearance.

Discounting theories of suicide and voluntary disappearance, the report said Rilwan was likely to have been abducted by gangs motivated by religious extremism.

Home Minister Umar Naseer has also acknowledged involvement of gangs in Rilwan’s disappearance.

Shortly after the report’s release on September 25, Muaz vandalized Minivan News’ security cameras as others left a machete in the building’s door. Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party’s offices were firebombed and Nasheed’s family residence was vandalised on the same night.

Nasheed in a tweet last night called on the Maldives Police Services to investigate the abduction immediately.

However, a police spokesperson said abduction has not been reported, and declined to comment when asked if the police would initiate an investigation on their own.

Nasheed has recently criticised President Abdulla Yameen’s administration for increasing insecurity in the Maldives and said the government has been taken hostage by gangs and rogue police officers.

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Letter sent to speaker calling for prosecution of foreign minister

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has written to Majlis Speaker Abdullah Maseeh Mohamed requesting that the foreign minister Dunya Maumoon be prosecuted under the Parliamentary Privileges Act.

The MDP sent a letter today (November 13) in relation to comments made in the Majlis regarding discussions between India and China on the latter’s Maritime Silk Road project.

“Article 4 and 7 of the Majlis’ Privileges Act states that deliberately misleading the parliament is denying the parliament of its privileges. According to Article 8 of the same act it is punishable by a fine or jail time,” read the MDP letter.

“As foreign minister Dunya Maumoon had deliberately lied to the parliament and therefore broken the constitution, I would like to request to under Article 29 of Majlis’ privileges to submit foreign minister Dunya Maumoon’s case to the prosecutor general as a criminal offence,” it continued.

After Indian officials last week released a statement denying having discussed joining the proposed Chinese trade route, the Maldives foreign ministry responded by offering what it alleged was proof such talks had taken place.

This week has also seen both President Abdulla Yameen and members of his cabinet accuse “Western colonial powers” of anti-Islamic sentiment, prompting the MDP to call the country’s current foreign dealings a “policy of exclusion”.

Cabinet members also told the press yesterday (November 13) that the EU’s ending of preferential treatment for Maldivian tuna exports was a response to the Maldives’ refusal to allow “homosexual relations and the opportunity for people to follow any religion they want”.

Qualification for the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences Plus requires states to have acceded without reservation to a number of international treaties, including the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

The Maldives signed up to the ICCPR in 2006, making reservations regarding only Article 18 which mandates freedom of religion. Article 23 of the ICCPR mandates the right of marriage, although legal opinions differ on whether it mandates same sex marriage.

After reforming the GSP law in 2012, the EU drew up criteria for those eligible for the new GSP Plus scheme – which now includes 13 states.

The Maldives – ineligible for the standard GSP arrangement due to its recent graduation from least developed country status – subsequently chose not to apply for the new GSP Plus tariff .

Of the treaties required to be wholly acceded to by GSP Plus eligible nations, the Maldives has also made reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

In his Republic Day address this week, President Abdulla Yameen said the “government’s thinking is changing towards the East”, accusing the EU of imposing trade restrictions on the Maldives for refusing to change or abandon Islamic principles.

MDP Spokesman Imthiyaz Fahmy told Minivan News today that it was the government that was damaging relations, after ministers had accused his party of the same earlier this week.

“That the economic minister and the fisheries minister have commented on or criticised issues regarding diplomatic relations between countries or organizations goes to show that some of our ministers are at a loss,” said Fahmy.

Both the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives and the government have accused the opposition of stirring up trouble with bilateral partners.

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MDP says poorly prioritised 2015 education budget will lead to corruption

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said that the poorly prioritised education sector of the 2015 state budget is structured in a way which will eventually lead to corruption.

While speaking at a press conference, MDP education and training committee chair and former education minister Dr Musthafa Luthfee criticised the allocation of a large budget to the education ministry without proper planning.

“A lot of money from the budget has been allotted to the education ministry,” claimed Dr Luthfee. “This includes the salaries of eight new political figures to be hired to the ministry bringing the total of political figures to 20.”

MDP’s budget review committee earlier this week previously accused the 2015 state budget of being ‘aimless’ and criticised it heavily for not being goal-oriented.

The record MVR 24.3 billion (US$ 1.58 billion) proposed budget for 2015 is currently at the committee stage in the Majlis, where today’s session was held behind closed doors for the first time in the legislature’s history.

Dr Luthfee today claimed that the education budget of MVR2.45 billion (US$ 160 million) had no connection whatsoever to the government’s manifesto which had promised to bring ‘innovative’ changes to the sector in the upcoming year.

Education minister Dr Aishath Shiham last week said “significant changes” had been brought to the education sector during the first year of the current administration, including introduction of Quran as a subject for grades one to seven, Arabic language in 20 schools, and vocational training.

A volunteerism programme and a new “vocational education stream” would also form a major part of next year’s plans for the sector, she added.

Malé City Council Deputy Mayor Shifa Mohamed – herself a former minister of education – alleged that the government had not budgeted the required MVR532 million (US$34.5 million) needed to raise the salaries of teachers despite promises made by both President Abdulla Yameen and Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed.

The Teachers Association of Maldives (TAM) has threatened to stop work numerous times this year, demanding the government to reform the education system and to settle the pay discrepancies.

After a full strike appeared inevitable in September, discussions with the government appeared to have gained results, with TAM expressing confidence that the president was attending to the issue.

The MDP education committee also expressed concern over the MVR481 million (US$31.25 million) increase in the recurrent expenditure of the ministry while questioning the need for 2,159 new staff to be hired under the ministry.

“Current teacher to student ratio stands at 1 to 9. We don’t understand the need to increase the number of teachers while the current teachers are not getting proper pay and the schools are in need of new facilities,” said Shifa.

The government currently employs just under 25,000 civil servants, representing over seven percent of the population. Finance minister Abdulla Jihad told the public accounts committee last month that government would freeze recruitment for 2015 in a bid to control spending.

Shifa today commented on the lack of allocated funds for the government’s promises to provide Arabic language as an additional subject in all schools and to ensure that Quran education is included in all stages of education.

The education committee’s vice-chair, Shaifa Zuabir expressed the committee’s concern over promises to make the Maldives Polytechnic a central hub in training the 95,000 individuals who are to be provided with employment during President Yameen’s government.

“95,000 individuals are to be trained from Maldives Polytechnic,” said Shaifa. “Yet we see the Government has only assigned a mere MVR 13.4 million (US$ 870,000) to Maldives Polytechnic.”

MDP Vice-Chair Ahmed Ali Niyaz claimed the 2015 budget is not different from those during former president Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom while stating the budget ‘serves for administrative purposes alone

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Brother of official implicated in MMPRC corruption scandal nominated for Auditor General

President Abdulla Yameen has nominated a family member of a state official implicated in corrupt transactions worth US$6million for the post of Auditor General (AG).

Nominee Hassan Ziyath is the brother of Managing Director of state-owned Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), Abdullah Ziyath.

In a damning audit report on October 29, incumbent AG Niyaz Ibrahim accused Abdulla Ziyath of illegally pushing through a US$6million loan from state funds to two private companies.

The report was released a day after ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) MPs brought a surprise amendment to the Audit Act requiring the reappointment of Auditor General within 30 days. The President’s Office opened up applications for the position immediately.

Niyaz has only served three years of his seven-year term.

The PPM holds a majority in parliament with 43 of the total 85 MPs, while coalition partner Maldives Development Alliance controls five seats.

Hassan Ziyath is currently the chairman of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC). He contested in March’s parliamentary elections for Malé’s Hulhuhenveiru constituency on the PPM ticket.

The MMPRC audit also implicated Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb of involvement in the corrupt transactions and said the loans were issued to companies owned by Adeeb’s family members.

Adeeb has condemned the report as politically motivated, and accused Niyaz of colluding with MP and former Deputy Speaker of Majlis Ahmed Nazim to discredit him after he refused to back Nazim for the Majlis Speakership in May.

In an interview with newspaper Haveeru, Niyaz dismissed Adeeb’s claims and accused Adeeb of threats and harassment following the Auditor General’s decision to look into the case.

The independent AG position was created in 2008 and vested with the power to audit all state offices, institutions funded by the state, and companies in which the state owns shares.

The auditor general’s position receives a salary equivalent to the president’s salary, currently MVR100,000.

The country’s first independent Auditor General Ibrahim Naeem was sacked by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s former party Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) in 2010 for allegedly using state funds to buy a tie and visit Baa Atoll Thulhadhoo Island. Gayoom currently heads the PPM.

During the multiparty elections of 2008, Naeem had published several audit reports revealing high levels of corruption within Gayoom’s government.

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Ferry tales – Managing the Hulhumalé commute

Sunday (November 16) will mark 100 days since Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan disappeared. As friends and family continue to hope for his safe return, some of Rilwan’s best work will be re-published as a reminder of his talents and dedication to his profession.

This article was originally published on January 27, 2014.

It was 23:30, a large number of people were gathered outside Hulhumalé ferry terminal in Malé, the kind of crowd that usually gathers around a crime scene. But no crime was committed there – no police lines visible.

The people were gathering there to board the ferry to Hulhumalé – an extension of Malé City separated by sea, one of the greater Malé islands. Ferry service staff in blue uniforms were guarding the entrance to three tightly packed terminal waiting areas, as those outside anxiously awaited news of an extra ferry that might shorten the otherwise two-hour wait.

Adam Humam, a tour guide who lives in Hulhumalé hears nothing but complains about the ferry service:

“Look at this ferry, this thing is like a sauna most of the time. One will need to take a shower after traveling on this. Just look at how they have arranged the seats, we have to sit so tightly packed” Humam said, leaning away from the chair to avoid bumping into the next passenger.

The ferry concerned was an average wooden Dhoni, furnished with ten rows of plastic chairs screwed to the floor. The gangway led to two rows of motorbikes at the rear of the boat. Most windows on both sides were shut by the people adjacent, to shelter from occasional splashes of water. A few travellers stood at the back of the ferry – unable to find a seat. The smell was a mix of sea, old wood, and bodily odors.

With few exceptions, almost everyone who were interviewed about the 20 minute ferry service was unhappy with the service. The conditions of the ferry, the terminal and timings – it was all unsatisfactory for most questioned. Just a few long- time residents of Hulhumalé recalled the ferry services having improved significantly in the past decade.

Hulhumalé – a reclaimed landmass measuring 2 square kilometers off the north-east coast of Malé City – is home to an estimated 20,000 people. First settled in May 2004 with just one thousand people, the population of Hulhumalé is expected to double to 60,000 by 2020. The ferry service, operated by the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC), is clearly finding it hard to cater to Hulhumalé’s population boom.

The MTCC has often said the ferry operation is not profitable at current rates, though Malé City Mayor Maizan Ali ‘Alibe’ Manik says that company can manage by investing in lands provided for them to subsidise the service. The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) – the government owned corporation mandated with the development and management of Hulhumalé – remains uninvolved in the MTCC’s operations. The transport authority, however, does have a mandate to monitor and regulate all ferry services in the country.

How is the service?

“What can I say? My wife and I moved to Hulhumalé three years back, and riding this ferry to and fro every day has been nothing but a pain. I developed a pilonidal sinus, and the doctor says it is sitting for such a long time and the terrible vibrations these boats give” said a young man in his late twenties.

Another couple who moved to Hulhumalé very recently had a different complaint, fearing the procedure of getting their motor bike on to the ferry – riding over a metal sheet placed against the ferry – could damage it over time.

Leevan Shareef, a vocal critic of the Hulhumalé ferry service on Twitter, sometimes has to spend two hours commuting between Hulhumalé and Malé. The MTCC does not increase ferry services during busy days – such as when political rallies are held in Malé – or on Friday evening, when a lot of people visit Hulhumalé, he complained.

“We complain to the ferry crew or staff at the counter, they will always say the issue will be brought to the attention of superiors. But there is no news of these superiors ever,” he said.

Mahdi Shahid, Deputy Principal of Lalé Youth International School, was among the first people to use the ferry service. His view was that the ferries have improved in the past ten years.

“Looking back, I would say it has actually improved a lot. Back then the ferry docked at the far north of the island, there were no trees, there was nothing over there. And we had to walk all the way from there to the school. It was a very small ferry then, but now the ferries are bigger and they travel more frequently,” Shahid explained.

“I think the current service would be okay, if the population wasn’t increasing so rapidly. but with the current population growth I think there should be an increase in number of ferries now. What I’m looking for is getting on the ferry and leaving without having to wait there for so long,” he added.

Currently the ferries operate between 05:30am and 02:30am, with eighty-two rounds between the two islands every day except for Fridays when ferries services are interrupted briefly for prayers.

Not profitable

Though the MTCC was unwilling to discuss the ferry service with the media, some ferry crew and staff noted that there were many challenges facing the company.

One such issue was that of Malé harbor, which they noted did not allow several ferries to operate simultaneously. “Sometimes we have to wait five minutes outside the harbor entrance, waiting for other ferries including those leaving for Hulhulé [the airport island] to leave,” said one crew member.

Four months ago, ferryboat owners – who lease their boats to the MTCC – went on strike after a failure to receive payments. The MTCC blamed this on delays in receiving payments from various government projects undertaken in various parts of the country. The company has often reiterated that its operations are not profitable at current rates. Ferry rates have risen at least twice since operations began in 2004, though other attempts to increase prices have been met with protests from Hulhumalé residents, usually ending with interventions from the city council and HDC.

In 2012, transport services in the Malé region contributed to thirteen percent of the MTCC’s operating profits, however the net loss in this sector has been gradually increasing over the past five years. The loss for transport services in the Male’ region in 2012 was reported to be MVR15.69 million (US$1 million).

Finding a solution

While accepting there are challenges in providing this service, Malé City Mayor “Maizan” Ali Manik (Alibe) said that a lack of profitability should not result in a bad service or higher fares.

“They always say they are operating ferries at loss. Yes, but services should be provided even at loss. All services provided by the state cannot be for profit,” Alibe said.

The MTCC could turn this around if they would invest in lands provided to them to subsidise these services, said the mayor. The ferry terminal land in both Malé and nearby Villingili islands were given to MTCC free of charge, and the plot for Hulhumalé terminal was given at ‘a very small rate’ according to HDC. The rent for businesses at ferry terminals – including the popular Sea House Cafe’ – goes to the MTCC.

“They can develop these land make profit in many ways” Alibe said, assuring that the city council was ready to help the MTCC in any such ventures.

Alibe stated his belief that the ferry service is gradually improving, and that some of the ferries were now of a high standard. However, if the MTCC is unable to fulfil its promises to improve the services by themselves, a second party might have be brought in, said the mayor.

The Housing Development Corporation

The MTCC has been providing public ferry and bus services for the Hulhumalé community since its inception, under an understanding with the HDC, which is currently in the process of formulating a formal agreement between the two companies. The services were provided for nearly ten years without any formal agreement.

Highlighting the HDC’s role in the ferry service, Deputy Managing Director Mohamed Shahid said the corporation does not get involved in business operations of some services such as the ferry operation in Hulhuamalé.

“We share [with MTCC] information regarding the population here and we try to provide adequate facilities for [serving] that [population]… we know that due to resources limitations there are some issues in both ferry and bus service,” he said.

According to Shahid, a set of standards and timings for operating bus and ferry services have been prepared and shared with the MTCC. The regulatory authority for travel operations of all ferry services, however, is the Transport Authority which has developed its own guidelines.

HDC Deputy Director Abdulla Fayaz said they were also looking into issues with ferry services, and communicating with the MTCC to resolve concerns raised by the public: “We do conduct surveys and maintain statistics regarding customers…this information is also shared with MTCC.”

Hope…

Despite the optimism expressed by both the HDC and the city council with regards to improving the quality of  services, many people who frequent these ferries remained sceptical.

The current government has joined the prior three administrations in pledging to connect Hulhumalé and Malé  with a bridge. The government is currently in the process of reviewing proposals to build this bridge. Until then, thousands of people continue to dream of a better ferry service.

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Budget committee meets MMA governor behind closed doors

In an unprecedented move today, pro-government MPs on parliament’s budget review committee voted through a motion to exclude media from a meeting with Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Governor Dr Azeema Adam.

The central bank governor was due to give her professional opinion on the 2015 state budget.

Article 85(b) of the Constitution states that the People’s Majlis could exclude the public and the press from committee meetings “if there is a compelling need to do so in the interests of public order or national security.”

However, Article 85(c) states that parliament could specify “additional reasons” for closed sessions.

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Victim of motorcycle accident in Addu City dies

A 33-year-old man died Tuesday night (November 11) in Addu City while undergoing treatment for injuries sustained in an accident on the Hithadhoo main road, reports local media.

Three men were injured when two speeding motorcycles collided on the main road around 7:30pm.

The deceased was undergoing treatment at the Hithadhoo regional hospital when he passed away.

In September, two men died after their motorcycle collided with a pickup on the link road of Addu City.

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Bank of Maldives to introduce US$ ATMs

The Bank of Maldives Plc Ltd (BML) on Tuesday (November 11) announced plans to introduce ATMs to withdraw and deposit US dollars.

At a press conference, BML CEO Andrew Healy said that the ATMs would initially be installed at the ground floor of the bank’s main headquarters in  Malé.

“The introduction of US Dollar ATMs will represent an obvious and important way of tackling those queues and will provide a convenient way to access dollars for our customers,” he told the press yesterday.

“I expect the service to be very popular. Our first dollar ATM will be up and running in our Headquarters building before the end of the year.”

He added that BML customers could also deposit, make payments, pay utility bills and make loan or credit card payments from existing ATMs.

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Police officer arrested in drug bust

A police officer was among nine people arrested in a drug bust on the island of Hinnavaru in Lhaviyani atoll on Tuesday (November 11).

Briefing the press yesterday, Chief Inspector Ahmed Shifan, head of the Drug Enforcement Department (DED), revealed that all the suspects in custody were Maldivian men above 18 years of age from Hinnavaru.

“A police officer is under arrest but I cannot provide further information at the time,” he said.

The Hinnavaru magistrate court has extended the remand detention of the suspects for eight days, he said.

Shifan said 16 bullet-sized rubber packets of “a substance suspected to be drugs,” 241 bullet-sized rubber packets of heroin, and 145 packets of hash oil were seized during an operation conducted by the DED in Hinnavaru.

The DED searched 13 homes in the island and questioned a number of people, he said, noting that the operation was still ongoing in Lhaviyani atoll.

Similar operations would take place in other atolls in the coming days, the chief inspector said.

The operation involved 36 police officers and was conducted with the assistance of the Special Operations (SO) department, the investigative support department, and operational support department.

A police officer was also arrested in a 24kg drug haul in March, which police said was “the largest amount of drugs seized in a police operation conducted in the Maldives so far.”

Police later revealed that the officer had used a local money transfer service to send money to an Iranian agent.

Local media reported in August that the officer was among three Maldivian suspects released from custody after the Prosecutor General’s Office decided there was insufficient evidence for prosecution.

Gangs and police

Speaking at a conference of police division and atoll commanders on October 22, Home Minister Umar Naseer said criminal gangs in the atolls were attempting to infiltrate the police by forging personal relationships with police officers stationed in their islands.

Gangs attempt to “penetrate” police stations in order to gather information to carry out criminal activities, he said.

Naseer said complaints have been received from various islands about offenders quickly learning of a crime being reported to the police.

Information was thus “leaking” from within the police, he added.

“So some people hesitate to share information with some police stations. This is very regrettable,” he said.

Commanders in the atolls should ensure that police officers do not fraternise with known criminals or suspected drug dealers, Naseer urged.

Naseer said he had received complaints from various islands about police officers spending time with suspected drug dealers when they were off-duty.

Commanders should be aware of who their subordinate officers “go to coffees or picnics with,” he advised, which should be controlled to ensure the “credibility of the police force on that island or atoll.”

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