Fear and festivity in Malé on the eve of May Day protest

With additional reporting by Ismail Humaam Hamid and Zaheena Rasheed.

The Maldives’ capital city Malé is gearing up for a mass anti-government rally tomorrow. The day will kick off with prayers at dawn and at noon. Protesters have been told to wear comfortable shoes and clothes for the official demonstration, which will start from the Artificial Beach at 3:30pm.

Supporters from Maldives’ remote atolls are continuing to arrive by the thousands, and the opposition has set hashtags #EkehFaheh15 (OneFive15) and #AniyaaverikanNinmman (To end tyranny) for the day, and started circulating leaflets on how to reduce the effects of pepper spray and tear gas.

Supporters say they are determined to “end the government’s tyranny” and free imprisoned ex president Mohamed Nasheed and former defence minister Mohamed Nazim.

Meanwhile, tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb has accused the opposition of plotting to overthrow President Abdulla Yameen’s government as the police continued riot control exercises on Malé’s streets.

“We expect the security forces to confront us, but we have no fear,” a smiling Khadeeja Ibrahim, 49, told Minivan News outside the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) offices at noon today.

She was among a group of MDP members who were about to deliver tens of thousands of petitions calling for Nasheed’s freedom to the president’s office. The police turned them back.

Across town, Ibrahim Nadheem, 26, who works in a grocery shop and is studying to become a Quran teacher said Nasheed “brought me hope, he had a vision for the youth, that we should grow up to be skilled and educated citizens.”

Nadheem’s face is disfigured by a broken nose after a police officer punched him during a protest in 2012.

At the airport, Mohamed Zubair, who suffered serious head injuries in a brutal police crackdown in February 2012, says he is ready to sacrifice again for Nasheed’s freedom. “Today I am hopeful.”

Nasheed and Nazim’s imprisonment has united former bitter rivals, the Adhaalath Party, the Jumhooree Party and the MDP, who now say President Yameen is out to silence all dissent.

The opposition called for the demonstration when Yameen turned down repeated calls for dialogue despite months of nationwide protests. The president made a record number of public appearances this week and has appealed to the armed forces to defend his administration.

Among government employees, paranoia and fear is high. Employees at the state-owned electricity company, STELCO, the Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) and the immigration department say their superiors have threatened them with dismissal if they are seen at the protests.

“We are all afraid, I can’t go. I don’t want to lose my job, I have to pay rent and take care of my family,” one 43-year-old man, who works in STELCO, told Minivan News.

The MPL has meanwhile arranged a BBQ at 1:30pm and a dinner for all of its employees tomorrow, in a move opposition supporting workers say is aimed at keeping them away from the protest.

“We’ve also been told if anyone of us is seen at the protests, we will be dismissed immediately,” an employee who wished to remain anonymous said.

The home ministry this week said it has received reports that dozens of island council members are traveling to Malé on state expenses to take part in the protests, and has asked the anti-corruption watchdog to take action.

The department of judicial administration has also demanded island offices to provide information on magistrates and judicial sector employees who have traveled to the capital this week.

Meanwhile, a website set up for the Mayday protest was hacked and a photo of president Yameen and the PPM logo was put up with the words: “Go back to your homes if you want peaceful Maldives.”

On social media, opposition supporters called for revolution.

Elsewhere, supporters shared advice on how to mitigate the effects of pepper spray and tear gas and how to act in the event of a charge by the police.

Some proposed home made plastic masks for for pepper spray.

The police have also raised concerns over violence, saying they have received reports protesters will harm police officers and attack the residences of cabinet ministers. Tonight, they issued a statement telling protesters to suspend activities for the hour between the dusk and evening prayers and said the demonstration must end by midnight.

Adhaalath Party (AP) president Sheikh Imran Abdulla said last night that protesters will perform the evening prayers on the street after a special prayer at sunset, advising protesters to bring prayer mats.

The police have released several photos and videos of protest control trainings this week.

The AP, which has claimed responsibility for organising the protest, must bear legal costs for any unlawful activities that may take place before or after protests, the police said.

Some opposition supporters fears of attacks by gangs, who are allegedly controlled by tourism minister Adeeb. Gangsters have attacked protesters in recent months with knives and vandalised their equipment.

Individuals who said they will not attend the protests cited concern over a possible confrontation between police and protesters.

“I am not happy with the idea of protesting, it creates too much conflict. The end result will not be good,” said 49-year-old Maryam Waheedha.

A fisherman who wished to remain anonymous “for the safety of his family” told Minivan News that he was unhappy with the government, but did not like to protest.

“I used to make 3,000 rufiyaa a week from two baskets of fish before Yameen came to power. But now I am not able to make that in a month even with a ton of fish,” he claimed.

Pro-government supporters denounced the opposition as power-hungry, but said they expect tomorrow’s turnout to be high.

Mohamed Waheed, 36, said; “We will not go to the protest, we will be sleeping on May 1. I do think there will be a good turn out at the protest, big enough to pressure the government.”

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Former first lady submits Nasheed’s case to UN

Former first lady Laila Ali has lodged a petition with the UN requesting a judgement declaring former president Mohamed Nasheed’s detention illegal and arbitrary.

Laila and Nasheed’s international legal team is seeking an opinion from the UN working group on arbitrary detention declaring that his imprisonment for 13 years on a terrorism charge violates the Maldives’ obligations under the international covenant on civil and political rights and the universal declaration on human rights.

The charge relates to the military detention of a criminal court judge during his tenure.

The UN judgment should also “call for his immediate release; request the government investigate and hold to account all those responsible for his unlawful arrest, detention, trial, and imprisonment; and request the government award Nasheed compensation for the harm caused by being deprived of his liberty,” the petition stated.

Briefing the US press in Washington DC with lawyers Amal Clooney and Jared Genser, Laila said Nasheed’s absence was difficult for her and the couple’s two children.

“[But] I also have hope, I have hope because my international legal team has just filed a petition to the United Nations looking in upon arbitrary detention documenting the evidence that my husband’s detention is illegal and in violation of international law,” she said.

She also expressed concern about the health and safety of her husband.

“I am here today as a wife and a mother of two young daughters. I have always tried to maintain a private life for myself and for my daughters. I’m speaking out now because my husband has been silenced and not in a position to speak for himself,” said Laila.

Amal meanwhile said the conviction was “clearly designed to punish him for criticising the government and to remove him from the political scene.”

She noted that Nasheed had been arrested over 20 times during the 30-year reign of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and “subjected to blatantly political trials”.

Nasheed’s treatment under Gayoom’s half-brother, current president Abdulla Yameen “is no different, perhaps a tiny bit less transparent,” she said.

The terrorism charges followed the exit of Jumhooree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim from the ruling coalition, she continued, which bolstered Nasheed’s chances of winning the next presidential election.

After placing third with 24 percent of the vote in the 2013 polls, Gasim’s endorsement of Yameen in the second round run-off was crucial for the latter’s victory. Nasheed had emerged the front-runner in the first round of polls with 46 percent of the vote.

Gasim’s alliance with Nasheed “clearly became too much” for president Yameen, she contended.

The criminal court’s 19-day trial violated due process and compromised the basic guarantee of presumption of innocence, Amal argued.

She noted that Nasheed was not allowed to present defence witnesses while key witnesses had said they simply assumed Nasheed ordered the arrest of criminal court chief judge Abdulla Mohamed in January 2012.

“This was considered more than sufficient for the judges to convict him” said Amal.

She contended Nasheed never ordered Judge Abdulla Mohamed’s arrest and said: “Nor could these events even if they true, on any rational analysis constitute the crime of terrorism with the severe penalties that this carries,” she added.

Amal said that the court had said that there is no need to call for defense witnesses because such witnesses “would not be able to refute the evidence submitted by the prosecution”.

“This tells you everything you need to know about the process. Because why call a defense witness, if you already know that the verdict is going to be guilty,” she said.

Testimony from two of the three presiding judges were also included in the prosecution’s submission to the trial. “It’s difficult to imagine a clearer case of judicial partiality,” Amal said.

Nasheed was also denied legal representation during the first hearing of the trial, while the judges later refused to grant him the opportunity to appoint legal counsel when the opposition leader’s legal team resigned in protest against the court’s refusal to grant sufficient time to mount a defence.

She also referred to police “manhandling and physically dragging Nasheed to the court room” after he attempted to talk to reporters outside the court building.

Amal also noted president Nasheed’s global advocacy for climate change and his decades-long struggle for human rights in the Maldives.

“He paid the price for his courage and popularity,” she said.

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EU resolution based on ‘fabrications, misconceptions, and misrepresentations’

The ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) and the foreign ministry have slammed a European Union parliamentary resolution urging the government to release ex-president Mohamed Nasheed.

The resolution is based on “fabrications, misconceptions and misrepresentations”, the PPM contended while foreign minister Dunya Maumoon declared that “the human rights achievements of the Maldives is better than some European countries.”

The non-binding resolution adopted today urged member states to issue warnings on the Maldives’ human rights record on their travel advice websites over an increased tendencies towards authoritarian rule, including Nasheed’s imprisonment for 13 years on terror charges.

The EU parliament noted a crackdown on political opponents including the imprisonment of two former defence ministers and a ruling party MP, the intimidation of media and civil society and the politicisation of the judiciary.

But Dunya said the Maldives’ “achievements since 2004 is exemplary for a small state.”

“We have a vibrant political system where people have space to express their political opinions without any hindrance. We do not shoot protesters. There is no looting in the name of political rallies.  Our custodial facilities do not torture those under state custody,” she said.

The PPM meanwhile said the EU had issued “equally grossly-misinformed releases” in the past, but “chose to turn a blind eye and stay silent on matters regarding the Maldives during the three year three month regime of former President Mohamed Nasheed, which was the single most brutal, dictatorial and violent period of rule in contemporary Maldivian history.”

The PPM suggested that the European parliament “risks tarnishing its own standing in global society, and it’s reputation among European citizens themselves by refusing, for shrouded political gains, to call a spade a spade.”

“The European Parliament must by now know that its failure to report the truth in matters regarding the Maldives has left its own reputation among the Maldivian public at serious risk of irreversible damage,” reads the PPM statement released today.

The ruling party went on to claim Nasheed’s government arbitrarily arrested political activists and MPs, sent out “knife-wielding thugs” against opposition protesters, unlawfully politicised state media, undermined independent institutions, and carried out corruption amounting to “hundreds of millions of dollars.”

The rise of extremism worsened under Nasheed’s administration, it continued, as its “schizophrenic policies on religious affairs in the country had contributed to the ideological confusion among young people, which has led to some Maldivians fleeing the country to join the ranks of foreign fighters in ISIS-led terrorist conflict zones.”

As Nasheed was found guilty of ordering the “enforced disappearance” of criminal court chief judge Abdulla Mohamed in January 2012 – “a gross Nazi-esque violation” of constitutional rights and international norms – the PPM asked whether the EU condoned the “kidnapping of judges”.

Neither the government nor the public will entertain calls for Nasheed’s release “through the very unlawful and unethical avenues that Nasheed himself employed”.

“This is not a banana republic nor is this a pawn of any regional bloc or external power,” the PPM said.

Hours before the resolution passed, president’s office minister Mohamed Hussain Shareef ‘Mundhu’ told the press he expected a “watered down” resolution, and said the government is “happy” with the resolution as it shows that the current administration is upholding the Maldivian constitution and sovereignty.

“Actionable” clauses such as imposing a travel ban and freezing assets of Maldivian government officials were removed before the resolution was put to a vote, he said.

According to Mundhu, the resolution  “praises” Nasheed and EU MEPs are demanding his release as the former president was “a proxy ruler” of Europeans. He alleged that the EU is condemning the Maldivian government for refusing to allow freedom of religion and same sex marriage.

The resolution was pushed through by the UK’s Conservative Party, which Mundhu said was a longstanding ally of Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), and the Christian Democratic Party.

Other parties in the European parliament “forced” the Conservative Party to remove the actionable clauses, he claimed.

Mundhu also said the EU refused to extend the duty-free status of fish imported from Maldives due to the country’s stance on freedom of religion and legalising gay marriage.

An EU delegation that visited the Maldives this week had told government officials yesterday that a non-binding resolution by the European parliament was inconsequential and akin to “a resolution adopted by the Baa atoll Thulhadhoo council,” Mundhu said.

President Abdulla Yameen has previously accused the EU of imposing restrictions on Maldivian imports for refusing to abandon Islamic principles.

The country has since sought other markets for fish exports and the EU was no longer  “that important economically, outside of tourism”.

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Addu City councillor signs for PPM

Addu City councillor for the Hulhumeedhoo district, Ali Mohamed, has defected from the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

Ali Mohamed signed his membership form at a ceremony held on Tuesday night to inaugurate a resort development project on the uninhabited island of Ismehela in the southernmost atoll.

He said at the ceremony that he wanted to work with the government to ensure the development of Addu City.

“We were elected by the people to serve them. I don’t believe that I was elected to topple governments and to protest against the government on the street,” he was quoted as saying by local media.

He said development can be ensured by working with the government and called on other MDP MPs councillors to sign for the ruling party.

A futsal stadium recently built in Hulhumeedhoo and the 600-bed integrated resort development project on Ismelehera was proof that results can be achieved through cooperation, he added.

The MDP had won all six seats of the Addu City council in both the 2011 and 2013 local council elections. Ali Mohamed becomes the first PPM councillor for Addu City.

Meanwhile, Addu City mayor Abdulla Sodiq said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that the council has never obstructed the government’s development projects.

Progress or development cannot be achieved by “selling political convictions for a small sum of money,” he wrote.

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Parliament passes Islamic university bill

Parliament yesterday passed a bill to establish an Islamic university in the Maldives.

The legislation was passed unanimously with 55 votes in favour and outlines powers and responsibilities of the envisioned higher education institution.

Once ratified, the current Islamic college or ‘Kulliya’ will be upgraded to a university. The speaker of parliament will serve as an interim chancellor until one is appointed.

MPs of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives hailed the passage of the bill as “historic” and praised president Abdulla Yameen’s administration for submitting the bill as pledged during the 2013 presidential campaign.

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Suspect acquitted in murder of 75-year-old woman

The criminal court on Wednesday acquitted a suspect charged in connection with the murder of a 75-year-old woman on the island of Neykurendhoo in Haa Dhaal atoll.

Ali Shaheem from Kaafu Guraidhoo was accused of suffocating Fathmath Zakariyya to death with a towel on April 15, 2012.

The court said the prosecution was unable to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

However, Shaheem had confessed to the murder during the police interrogation. While state prosecutors submitted a video of the confession, the court said a forensic reports relating to the videos were not submitted.

The judge also said the prosecution did not submit a doctor’s report that ruled out natural causes.

However, Shameem was found guilty of stealing the deceased’s phone. He was also accused of stealing her jewellery.

While an expatriate state witness had testified that Shaheem sold him the jewellery, the court said the sate was unable to prove that the jewellery was stolen from Fathmath.

The phone was meanwhile in Shaheem’s possession when he was taken to the Kulhudhufushi police station and its serial number matched the phone used by the deceased.

The court said Shaheem was unable to prove his assertion that he had bought the phone.

The trial on the charges of murder and theft were conducted without a lawyer as Shaheem had declined legal representation.

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Government accuses opposition of plotting May Day coup

The ruling coalition has accused the opposition alliance of plotting a violent overthrow of the government at an anti-government rally tomorrow.

The ‘Maldivians against brutality’ coalition last night turned down last minute overtures for negotiations when President Abdulla Yameen appointed the tourism minister as his envoy for talks.

“We will only sit down to negotiate with the the president of this country,” the Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla told the press last night.

The opposition has held daily protests over the imprisonment of ex president Mohamed Nasheed and former defence minister Mohamed Nazim. The alliance has vowed to bring out 25,000 people on the streets of the capital Malé to “end the government’s tyranny.”

Imran said tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb had sent him a letter seeking a time and place for negotiations, but declared that Adeeb is “unfit” to negotiate with the opposition, calling him “corrupt”, “a venial sinner” and “a criminal”.

Adeeb has called Imran’s refusal to meet him “cowardly” and “effeminate” in a tweet this morning, dismissing the allegations of corruption and illicit connections with gangs as lies.

Government ministers and ruling party MPs held a joint press conference this afternoon, and claimed the May Day protest will not be peaceful.

The opposition is calling for an overthrow of an elected government and attempting to destabilise the country, Adeeb said today.

“Our security forces are ready,” he said.

He accused the Jumhooree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim of “funding” the May Day protest and hiring Imran under “a contract”.

Imran is “playing the religious card” and inciting the public to rise up against the government, Adeeb said.

Stand-off

President Yameen had maintained on Monday that he saw no reason to negotiate or resign in the face of the’May Day’ mass rally. However, at a government ceremony the following night, Yameen said he has appointed Adeeb as his representative.

As the opposition build up to the mass rally continued and supporters from the atolls converged on Male’, Yameen has made daily public appearances this week.

Speaking at a ceremony held yesterday to accept membership forms of opposition councillors from Shaviyani atoll, Yameen accused the opposition of sowing discord, destabilising the nation, and disrupting peace and security.

Unlike the opposition parties, Yameen said the PPM will not seek power at any cost and was “impatient” to develop the Maldives.

The PPM will not torch buildings, assault civilians, and “commit atrocities,” he said.

He reiterated the government’s stance of upholding the rule of law and enforcing court verdicts.

At a live programme on opposition-aligned Raajje TV and Villa TV last night, opposition alliance leaders warned that the government will abolish political parties and establish a full-fledged “dictatorship” if tomorrow’s attempts to force president Yameen to come to the negotiating table fails.

The chairperson of the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party Ali Waheed dismissed claims by police that the opposition is planning a violent confrontation with police.

The Maldivian people will be on the street “as one congregation” tomorrow.

“I want to tell the public, don’t be afraid, the whole world is watching,” he said.

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EU calls on Maldives government to free ex president immediately

The EU parliament today passed a resolution urging the Maldives to free ex president Mohamed Nasheed and calling on member states to issue warnings on the Maldives’ human rights record on their travel advice websites.

Nasheed was convicted of terrorism and sentenced to a 13 year jail term in a trial that sparked international outrage over lack of due process.

MEPs insisted that Nasheed should be immediately released, noting that the “controversial trial failed to meet national and international standards of justice.”

The EU parliament said it was gravely concerned about increasing tendencies towards authoritarian rule, noting a crackdown on political opponents including the imprisonment of former defence ministers and a ruling party MP, as well as the intimidation of media and civil society and the politicization of the judiciary.

The resolution, which comes ahead of a mass antigovernment protest tomorrow, encouraged “all actors in the Maldives to work together constructively in all areas,” and said the government must immediately end political interference in the judiciary, end all forms of violence including that against peaceful protesters.

MEPs urged a proper investigation into the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan, who has been missing since August last year, the resolution said.

They also condemned the reintroduction of the death penalty.

The resolution did not call for an asset freeze or a travel ban on government officials, as proposed by the conservative group of MEPs.

Hours before the resolution’s passing, state minister Mohamed Hussain Shareef, said the resolution did not concern the government, noting it is non-binding on member states.

He said the stronger provisions for a travel advisory and punitive measures had been removed from the final document.

State minister for tourism Hussain Lirar meanwhile said the government does not foresee adverse impacts on Maldives tourism from the resolution.

“The resolution carries no legal weight. Members states will only issue advisories if their national parliaments approve it,” he claimed.

Europeans make up nearly half of the tourist arrivals in the Maldives, and a strong travel warning could have devastating impact on the country’s economy, which is largely dependent on revenue from tourism.

A tourism industry insider, who wished to remain anonymous, also said: “as long as there are no punitive measures, it may not have impacts on business. But this does increase consumer awareness. A more ethical tourist may choose not to come to the Maldives now. But tour operators will continue selling holidays here.”

Calls for a selective tourism boycott has been growing internationally following Nasheed’s arrest, with Richard Branson of the Virgin group saying he will no longer holiday in the Maldives.

A group called Ethical Maldives, which calls on tourists to avoid resorts owned by businessmen who support the ruling party, is also gaining international media attention.

Opposition politicians were not responding at the time of going to press.

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US shines spotlight on missing Maldives journalist

The US state department has highlighted the unresolved disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan in a campaign ahead of international press freedom day on May 3.

Acting spokesperson Marie Harf called on the Maldives to “credibly investigate the disappearance” during a press briefing in Washington DC on Wednesday.

Rilwan is believed to have been abducted at knifepoint outside his apartment building in a Malé suburb in the early morning of August 8. The 28-year-old reporter wrote on politics, criminal gangs and Islamic extremism.

Rilwan had received clear threats to his life in the weeks prior to his disappearance, and an investigative report by a local human rights group has implicated radicalised gangs in the abduction.

Harf called on the government “to take the steps necessary to create space for independent journalists to work without fear of violence or harassment, including ending impunity for attacks and intimidation against journalists.”

Police investigations has been slow despite nine months passing since the disappearance was reported.

In a statement last week, the police said they are continuing with the investigation, and have received some forensic analysis reports of samples from three different cars that may have been used in the abduction.

“The investigative team is now reviewing how we may continue with the investigation based on the results of some of the forensic analysis reports,” the April 23 statement said.

In October last year, the police arrested five individuals over the disappearance, but all have been released. Local media reported that several suspects left the Maldives in January, ostensibly for the war effort in Syria.

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

His family has accused the police of negligence, saying officers failed to stop and search the car used in the abduction, despite eye witnesses having filed a report with the police immediately after observing the abduction.

Police officers had reportedly confiscated a knife from the scene.

Maldives journalists have repeatedly raised concerns over death threats to the press by Malé’s criminal gangs, but the police have failed to take substantive action against threats.

In March, local media cited a blog and reported that Rilwan had died fighting against the Islamic State in Kurdistan. However, the police said the blog was fake.

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