Month: March 2015

Maldivians believe MPs switch parties for corrupt reasons

Most Maldivians are worried that MPs frequently switch parties in parliament because of corruption, a survey has found.

Eighty percent of people see party switching as connected to corruption, a report from Transparency Maldives indicates, showing that floor crossing is perceived to have a negative impact.

Another survey by Transparency last year showed that Maldivians had low levels of confidence in parliament.

In the latest survey, eighty-four percent of respondents said they believe floor crossing happens because money or some sort of gain is offered to parliamentarians in exchange for voting against their own party line or defecting.

Eighty-seven per cent of respondents believe there should be laws that prevent or restrict switching.

Transparency Maldives said that forcing MPs to reveal detailed financial holdings would help.

“The most necessary option is to implement a correct method of asset declaration, not just for the sake of it but in a manner involving detailed financial statements,” Thoriq Hamid, programme manager at Transparency, told reporters.

“There should also be vetting mechanisms for these statements. That is the role of Maldivian institutions like the anti-corruption commission and possibly the auditor general.”

Eighty-one percent said that floor crossing can undermine democracy and weaken the party system.

Transparency will share the report with parliamentarians and other institutions.

Floor crossing is a common occurrence in the Parliament of the Maldives.

The former MP for Feydhoo , Alhan Fahmy, was initially elected as a Dhivehi Rayyinthunge’ Party (DRP) candidate but he switched to the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). Later on he left them to join the Jumhooree Party (JP) and then again left the JP to rejoin the MDP.

Another such case is Abdulla Abdul Raheem. The MP who has changed parties the most, he was also elected as DRP candidate and left them to join the MDP. However, he again went back to the DRP within 24 hours. In 2012, he made another switch, this time to the JP, and then again signed to the MDP the very next year. He was expelled from the MDP in December 2013.

The ruling Progressive Party of Maldives came to power last year with 33 MPs but another 10 joined them from other parties within four months.

These individuals have not been specifically accused of corruption, but they are among many MPs to have switched parties.

Transparency Maldives interviewed 200 randomly selected Maldivians for the survey.

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Businesses warn of huge inflation as electricity subsidies cut

Businesses in two atolls have warned of retail prices skyrocketing after government electricity subsidy cuts took effect this month, and called for the policy to be reversed.

Companies will no longer receive government subsidies for electricity from March onwards, while domestic households must reapply for subsidies before 9 April.

Businesses in Haa Dhaal atoll Kulhudhufushi and Gaaf Dhaal atoll Thinadhoo, which act as business hubs for their surrounding atolls have created steering committees to negotiate with the government to reinstate subsidies.

“Prices will go up 50 percent in Kulhudufushi and nearby atolls. Businesses will close and ultimately it is the public that will suffer,” said Adam Shareef, a local businessman and steering committee member for businesses in Kulhuduhfushi.

The steering committees for businesses in Kulhuduhfushi and Thinadhoo also raised concerns over the differences in electricity prices between Male’ City and the atolls.

“There is a vast difference between prices of electricity in Male’ City, southern atolls and the northern atolls. If the government doesn’t reinstate subsidies for businesses we believe it is discrimination towards us,” Adam said.

Electricity prices are up to 72 percent higher in Haa Alif , Haa Dhaal, and Shaviyani atoll and up to 37 percent higher in Addu City and Fuvahmulaku than in Male’ City, according to figures from Fenaka Corporation, which provides electricity for most islands in the Maldives.

Electricity bills for the month of March have already arrived, with some local shops reporting a bill 129 per cent higher than before.

The steering committee for businesses in Thinadhoo met today and has decided to try and negotiate a “fair price” for electricity in the atolls, or a return of subsidies.

“As this is a matter related to the public, the Council of Thinadhoo will abide and help the steering committee in negotiating with the government,” said Thinadhoo Council member Saudh Ali.

The National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) , which determines who receives subsidies, had not yet responded to queries on its response at the time of going to press.

Meanwhile the Kulhuduhfushi steering committee has already sent letters to the President’s Office, Fenaka Corporation and NSPA.

Members of the Kulhuduhfushi steering committee have been receiving threatening messages to their mobile phones since the letters were sent. Adam Shareef said the letters sent by the committee included full names and mobile phone numbers of committee members.

“We demand that you stop creating conflict between the lawful government and its people disguised in the name of getting subsidies,” said the text messages forwarded by a member of the committee to Minivan News.

President Abdulla Yameen said last year at an event by Fenaka Corporation that his administration would not discriminate between the people of the atolls and the capital city.

“I’ve recently come across news media trying to prove that we differentiate or discriminate the atolls compared to the Capital. I would say such claims hold no value and such work is based on empty grounds,” he said.

The previous Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government changed the system of electricity subsidies so that they are allotted to individual households and businesses. Earlier, the state had subsidised Stelco, a state-run electricity company that serves the capital.

 

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Adhaalath cleric attacks government

Influential cleric Sheikh Ilyas Hussain today denounced the government’s alleged attempts to “create strife and discord” among religious Adhaalath Party members.

The ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives has claimed Adhaalath’s break from the government and subsequent alliance with the opposition was not a popular decision among Adhaalath’s religious scholars and members.

But Ilyas, the president of Adhaalath’s scholar’s council, said he backed the opposition’s anti-government protests, and that the council had met on the matter.

“Dear brothers and sisters, remain vigilant of the rival’s attempt to create strife and discord. I urge everyone to go forward with the party’s president [Sheikh Imran Abdulla],” he said in an audio message from Malaysia.

“We held a meeting on March 7, and discussed the current events in the country. I call upon everyone to refrain from spreading false information regarding the council,” said Ilyas.

Adhaalath has been holding nightly protests alongside the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party urging the government to stop its alleged human rights violations.

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Global MPs’ group calls for Mahloof release

Global MPs’ group Parliamentarians for Global Action has condemned the detention without charge of MP Ahmed Mahloof and called upon authorities to immediately release him from house arrest.

Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) expressed its “undiminished solidarity” towards MP Mahloof in a statement today.

He was arrested at an opposition rally on March 26 for allegedly “obstructing police duties and disobeying police orders.”

Noting that Mahloof may have been “targeted” by police for his criticism of the government, PGA expressed concern that freedom of speech, freedom of expression and the constitutional rights of MPs may have been violated.

After five days at the Dhoonidhoo detention centre, Mahloof refused to accept the court’s conditional release, which would have barred him from protesting for 60 days. The criminal court then placed him under five days of house arrest.

Mahloof was expelled from the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives after its disciplinary committee said he brought President Abdulla Yameen into disrepute with false statements in the media.

Meanwhile, a letter from the Prosecutor General’s office was leaked to Minivan News, which arguesthat some recent decisions by the court may have limited individuals’ rights relating to pre-trial detention.

The letter, addressed to Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed, said the decisions limited rights under Article 49 of the constitution.

This article says that no one shall be detained prior to sentencing unless there is a fear of the accused failing to appear at court, for the protection of public safety, or to prevent the accused interfering with witnesses.

Local media have interpreted the letter, dated yesterday, as a warning to the criminal court over the conditional release of people arrested at protests, which often stipulates they must not go to any more demonstrations for 60 days.

Previously, MP Fayyaz Ismail, of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), was detained for 15 days after he refused to accept release on these conditions following his arrest at a protest on March 8.

At the time, the Criminal Court had released 33 of the 77 individuals arrested at protests, on the condition they would not participate in further protests for 60 days.

“This is not a limitation of rights, but a violation of [the detainee’s] rights to assembly, expression, and free will,” said Shahindha Ismail, executive director of Maldivian Democracy Network’s, earlier this month.

Courts can enforce conditions on detainees to ensure a person’s attendance at hearings, for example having to obtain a permit from the court when travelling, but they cannot place a condition asking the individual not to go to a protest, she said.

The government has started implementing stronger measures in the crackdown against opposition protests, which escalated after the arrest of former President Mohamed Nasheed on February 22.

President Abdulla Yameen today ratified an amendment to the Civil Service Act which bars civil servants from holding posts in political parties and taking part in political activities.

The amendment comes at a time where several state owned companies have been accused of firing opposition supporters for participating in anti-government protests.

Since March 1, at least four employees of State Electric Company Limited and one from Malé Water and Sewerage Company were dismissed, and at least five were suspended from Maldives Ports Limited.

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Police bust Maldivian drug network in Sri Lanka

Police have busted an international drug network operated by a group of Maldivians in Sri Lanka following a two-year long operation.

Police superintendent Ahmed Shifan said three Maldivians were arrested with 165 grams of heroin and a large amount of cash in a joint operation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Department (DED) and the Sri Lankan Narcotics Bureau.

Shifan, head of the DED, said the three were suspected of carrying out large-scale drug trafficking through several countries, including Pakistan, Thailand, China, and India.

The first suspect arrested in the case – a 25-year-old – had travelled to these countries with fake passports numerous times since 2012, Shifan said.

Shifan also said that a Maldivian woman was recently arrested in Sri Lanka with 100 grams of cannabis.

However, the woman has since been released because cannabis is considered a soft drug in Sri Lanka.

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Government slams UK lord’s op-ed on Nasheed trial

The government has responded furiously to a Huffington Post opinion piece  by a member of Britain’s House of Lords about the trial of former president Mohamed Nasheed, calling it inaccurate, one-sided, and “an act of gross irresponsibility”.

Lord David Alton’s article called for targeted sanctions and a boycott of tourist resorts linked to the government following Nasheed’s conviction on terrorism charges.

In an open letter to Lord Alton from the Maldives High Commission to the UK, the government said that as a member of the All-Party British-Maldives Parliamentary Group the independent cross-bench life peer had been kept regularly informed about the opposition leader’s trial.

“Nevertheless, you have decided to comment on the trial in such an inaccurate and public manner, that it will further exacerbate the domestic ramifications of the case for our young democracy. This is incredibly disappointing,” reads the letter.

The government was “a firm defender of freedom of speech,” but “it is our opinion that your authorship of an op-ed piece of such inaccuracy and one-sidedness was an act of gross irresponsibility,” it continued.

The response forms part of a diplomatic offensive by the government aiming to counter criticism of Nasheed’s trial by the United Nations, Amnesty International and several governments.

Lord Alton described Nasheed’s terrorism trial as “an extraordinary farce” and a “gross miscarriage of justice” in a piece entitled “We must send the Maldivian regime a clear, unambiguous and robust message: Their behaviour is unacceptable”, published on March 22.

The op-ed contained a “litany of inaccuracies,” the government contended, whilst uninformed commentary in the international media “only serves to perpetuate the spread of misinformation and baseless rumour”.

The High Commission’s letter noted that Nasheed was charged under the 1990 Anti-Terrorism Act, for ordering the military to “unlawfully and unconstitutionally abduct Chief Judge Abdullah in January 2012.”

“The government of Maldives would like to make it clear that there is no conspiracy by the government to unwarrantedly convict Mr Nasheed,” it added, reiterating that the executive could “neither interfere nor influence any decision of the Prosecutor General or the judiciary.”

Information wars

The High Commission repeated demonstrably false claims in letters from the government sent both to stakeholders in India and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The letter falsely claimed that Nasheed was presented before a judge a day after his arrest for “a procedural remand hearing” whilst his lawyers were not present as they had failed to register.

However, Nasheed was brought to court for the first hearing of his trial after his lawyers had been told they should have registered two days in advance, despite being unaware of the trial until the opposition leader’s arrest the previous day.

The letter suggested that Lord Alton confused “allegations that two of [the] judges were witnesses for the prosecution with the court’s refusal to hear Mr Nasheed’s defence witnesses.”

The prosecutor general and two of the three presiding judges were at Judge Abdullah’s home at the time of his arrest and had testified in a 2012 Human Rights Commission investigation.

Meanwhile, the presiding judges later refused to call any of Nasheed’s witnesses to the stand, claiming they did not appear to “negate” the prosecution’s case.

The letter also dismissed Lord Alton’s claim that police manhandled Nasheed – which was widely reported and shown on television – insisting that police followed standard procedure.

Lord Alton had meanwhile called for “targeted sanctions” against the Maldives, suspension from the Commonwealth, and Nasheed’s nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.

“The European Union should freeze the assets of senior regime officials and their crony backers. A travel ban should be imposed on senior regime leaders,” he wrote.

“And a carefully targeted tourism boycott, aimed at resorts owned by regime associates, is needed. Sir Richard Branson has already called for such a boycott, and others should join that call.”

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Three Maldivian students stranded in war-torn Yemen

Three Maldivian students are stranded in the capital of Yemen as the city is pounded by air strikes in an escalating conflict.

The Maldives foreign ministry today said it is in contact with the three students in Sana’a, who are safe for now, and is attempting to evacuate them.

“Our priority is to get them out as soon as possible. We are looking at all options,” said additional secretary Liusha Zahir.

Families of the three students alerted the foreign ministry after air strikes in Sanaa this weekend.

However, evacuation is difficult as there are no direct flights from Yemen to the Maldives, the foreign ministry said. The government is negotiating with international organizations and other countries to get the three out.

The Saudi Arabian navy on Sunday evacuated dozens of diplomats, while the UN pulled out its international staff.

The insurgency, led by Shia Houthi rebels, forced Yemeni President Abdabbauh Mansour Hadi to flee the country in February. A Saudi-led coalition has sent air and naval forces to the country.

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Arrested journalists freed but may still be charged

Three journalists who were arrested during a protest last Wednesday have been released, but may still face charges.

Police detained the three, two from Raajje TV and another from Channel One, for “obstructing police business”. They were released on Monday evening after five days in custody, but a police media official said they could still be charged.

“If they get enough evidence to support a case we will forward the case to the prosecutor general. We will not make exceptions for journalists,” he said.

Raajje TV has condemned the arrests, saying the journalists were just doing their jobs.

Adam Zareer, a Raajje TV cameraman who was held, told Minivan News of his arrest: “All I heard was some saying ‘Take him!’ and then suddenly I was being dragged away with my camera and mic. They did not tell me why I was being arrested.”

Mohamed Wisam, also from Raajje TV, told Minivan News: “When our cameraman was being arrested, I asked the police why he was being arrested. Then they said, ‘Okay, you’re obstructing us now,’ and then they arrested me.”

Local media had reported Zareer was held for refusing to switch off his camera light, but he said this was not correct. Police had complained about the light on a previous evening, and Zareer had moved away, but the light was not an issue on the evening of his arrest.

Mohamed Niyaz, a journalist from Channel One, was also held.

All three were taken to Dhoonidhoo detention center and strip-searched.

“We are not criminals or dangers to society. However, we report about such people and when we were put in the same cell block as them, it was quite frightening for us,” said Wisam.

In a court hearing, police said the three had been detained because they were pushing past barricaded areas and pushing the shields of Special Operations officers. The journalists denied the claim and said they had been carrying press passes.

Raajje TV, whose office has previously been attacked, said last week it was standing by its reporters.

The arrests follow a series of attacks on journalists that have given rise to concerns over press freedom.

In August 2014, Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan went missing; he has still not been found. Four arrests were initially made, but all of the suspects were released and authorities have not reported any further progress in the case.

Another journalist, Ibrahim “Asward” Waheed, nearly died after being assaulted with iron rods in February 2013. His case is still ongoing in court.

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Two arrested over murder of Bangladeshi waiter

Police have arrested two Maldivians over the murder of a Bangladeshi waiter by masked men last week which began a spate of violence against expatriate workers.

A 24-year-old man was arrested at around 9.30 pm Monday evening under a court warrant, after a 21-year-old was arrested earlier in the evening, a police statement said.

Both are being held in connection with the killing of Bangladeshi national Shaheen Mia, 25, in the early hours of March 22. The police serious and organised crime department continues to investigate.

Police media officials refused to comment on whether there are additional suspects linked to the murder.

Mia was stabbed near his workplace, Lhiyanu Café in Malé’s Western harbour district, at about 4.00am on March 22 by a group of masked men and stabbed in the chest.

The attack followed a series of repeated threats to the cafe the previous day.

Earlier, a violent confrontation had occurred between Lhiyanu Café staff and a group of young men in the early hours of Saturday morning when the expatriate workers refused to serve coffee free of charge. The group vandalized the café before they left, according to local media.

The same group came to the café at 6:00pm on Saturday and allegedly threatened to burn the place down. Staff had reported all threats to the police.

The murder was followed by a spike in violence towards migrant workers, with four expatriate workers stabbed in the following week.

Two days after Mia’s death, a Bangladeshi national identified as Bilal was found dead in Alif Alif Atoll Thoddoo, naked except for a piece of cloth around his neck.

Speaking to Minivan News at the time, Thoddoo Council’s Assistant Director Ali Adam said a suicide was “highly unlikely” as Bilal could not have strangled himself with a piece of cloth.

Following the violence, Bangladeshi workers called for a protest in front of the Bangladeshi High Commission in Malé, but the protest was cancelled after the Department of Immigration threatened to deport protesters and take action against their employers.

The Ministry of Economic Development, citing increasing violence in the capital, has changed the closing times of shops and restaurants to 10.00 pm and 12.00 am respectively.

The Home Ministry meanwhile cancelled earth hour celebrations on March 28, also citing security concerns. Despite the cancellation, a 29 year old man was stabbed in near India Gandhi Memorial Hospital.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark the 82nd anniversary of the Maldives Police Service, Home Minister Umar Naseer said that the government is preparing changes to several laws to increase police powers and remove “loopholes”.

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