Category: News in Brief

Maldives tells UN torture prevention a “priority issue” for the government

The Maldives has been elected the Asia-region representative at an international UN meeting of countries seeking the prevention of torture.

Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed said that torture prevention was a “priority issue” for the government.

“Because of the Maldives’ recent history, it is right and proper that we should take a leadership role at
international level to ensure that this, one of the worst forms of human rights violations, is confronted and eventually eliminated,” he stated. “There is now no place for torture in the Maldives; and there should be no place for it anywhere in the world.”

The Meeting of States Parties to the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT) will take place at the United Nations in Geneva on 28 October 2010.

The OPCAT, which came into force in 2006, has 55 States Parties and establishes a network of national bodies, in each State Party, called “National Preventative Mechanisms” (NPMs), mandated to prevent all forms of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in prisons and other places of detention. The NPMs do so by conducting unannounced visits to places of detention, making the findings public and submitting reports and recommendations to relevant government and international authorities. The NPMs also conducts training sessions for prison and police personnel to ensure that they comply with tough international standards designed to prevent the ill-treatment of detainees.

In the Maldives, the Human Rights Commission (HRCM) acts as the NPM.

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Statistics vital part of right to information, says President

President Mohamed Nasheed has said statistical data on matters such as employment are required in the Maldives, and that all this information should be made available to the public.

Speaking on the launch of the third Maldives Millenium Development Goal report, and the Maldives Statistical Yearbook 2010, Nasheed said that important information had been kept confidential in the past, while the current Constitution guaranteed the right to information.

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New institution established to protect national heritage and cutlure

A new institution, the Department of Heritage, was established yesterday by the government.
The Department will be run by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, and is charged with working towards the protection of Maldivian culture and its national heritage.
It will also take on the duties of running the National Museum, the Boduthakurufaanu Memorial Centre in Utheemu, and the National Archives.
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Court frees man who refused to swear before God

A man jailed for contempt of court for refusing to take the oath has been released after he changed his mind.

The Criminal Court sentenced Abdulla Shahid Mohamed of Maafannu Muthaafushi, a witness in an ongoing case, to four months on October 4 after he refused to swear before God prior to his evidence.

He changed his mind on Sunday, two weeks after being sentenced, and sent a letter of apology to the Court. Having accepted the apology, the court suspended his sentence yesterday, reports Haveeru.

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Home Ministry drafts juvenile justice bill

Home Ministry has drafted a Juvenile Justice Bill to prevent juvenile crimes, to address the way the judicial system handles minors who have committed crimes.

Deputy Director General at the Ministry Mohamed Waheed said the bill would handle the arrest of children, and procedures for such cases outside the judiciary.

The bill is currently in English, and is to be translated into Dhivehi before being sent to parliament.

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Restaurant cashier banished for using customer’s cash card

A City Garden restaurant cashier has been banished for six months by the Civil Court for taking Rf500 from a customer’s cash card, reports Haveeru.

Customers in the Maldives routinely give their pin number to the waiter along with their card.

The Civil Court ruled that Hassan Azhar should be banished on the basis of confession and documents, after he received the card from a waiter and used it to withdraw Rf500 without the customer’s consent.

This is the first time such a case has been prosecuted, Haveeru noted.

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DRP proposes bringing council elections forward

Opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Mohamed Mujthaz proposed an amendment to the Decentralisation Act yesterday to set December 31, 2010 as the deadline for local council elections.

On Sunday, the Elections Commission (EC) announced that local council elections will take place on February 5, 2010 after taking the upcoming school holidays as well as the Hajj Eid festivities into consideration.

The deadline in the Decentralisation Act had elapsed on October 13 while the complementary Local Council Elections Act, ratified on July 29, gave a 122 period for the elections.

Presenting the bill, Mujthaz said that as administrative constituencies were listed by the government after the amendment was proposed, he was willing to withdraw it at a latter stage.

The amendment bill also proposes considering administrative constituencies as listed in the appendix of the Decentralisation Act.

Meanwhile, an amendment to the Act proposed by the government to set the criteria for city status for populations with 10,000 was narrowly rejected at yesterday’s sitting.

While 34 MPs voted in favour of the proposal, 35 voted against and one abstained.

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Foreigners to buy property in the Maldives for first time

Soneva Gili is to sell private residences to foreign investors, the first time foreigners have been permitted to buy private residences in the Maldives, according to premium property magazine Countrylife.

The 14 water bungalows on Lankanfushi Island are expected to attract up to US$7 million each.

Each of the four-bedroom houses will be built from renewable and natural materials and will include an over-water pool, sauna, gym and staff quarters for butlers.

The properties will be sold over a 50 year leasehold with an option to extend to 90 years, with a guaranteed gross rental yield of up to five percent for buys who subscribe to resort’s rental programme.

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Can a 100 percent Muslim nation also be a democracy, asks Huffington Post

Can a nation that considers itself 100 percent Muslim also be a democracy without risking its Islamic identity and ideals, asks Vishal Arora in the Huffington Post.

That’s what this tiny island nation off the southern coast of India is trying to do. Two years after the country embraced democracy, a literary festival imported from the West shows the promise -and peril – of that experiment.

Every year, an estimated 700,000 tourists flock to this postcard-perfect chain of about 1,100 islands. Before they can hit the beach, however, they must complete a customs form that includes a list of “prohibited and restricted” imports, including “materials contrary to Islam,” “idols for worship,” pork products and alcohol.

The restrictions are lingering vestiges of the 30-year rule of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, a conservative authoritarian who yielded power in the country’s first democratic elections in 2008.

Yet even with the change in government, there’s been little desire for a change in policy on religious restrictions.

Full story

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