Category: News in Brief

Social network free speech-potential praised by UN expert

Social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter have been praised as key tools in helping facilitating the recent political uprisings across some Middle East and North African nations, according to Frank La Rue, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression.

La Rue’s comments, which were issued ahead of World Press Freedom Day today, aim to raise awareness of the role he believed social networking had played in allowing individuals all other the world to share information instantaneously, particularly during protests seen in countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and Saud Arabia.

“As one activist tweeted during the protests in Egypt, ‘we use Facebook to schedule the protests, Twitter to coordinate, and YouTube to tell the world’,” he noted in a statement printed by the Agence France Presse (AFP) news agency. “I believe that we are currently in a historic moment. Never in the history of humankind have individuals been so interconnected across the globe.”

La Rue stressed that despite this potential, the internet was still being censored by some governments along with the use of “age-old tactics” like intimidation, arrests, torture, disappearances and killings to try and suppress freedom of speech.

“The power of the Internet to awaken individuals to question and challenge the status quo and to expose corruption and wrongdoing has generated fear among the powerful,” said the UN expert. “The events in the Middle East and North Africa have shown that it is never a viable long-term option to suppress the voices of the people,” he added, calling on “all governments to choose reform over repression”.

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Government extends registration period for disability scheme: report

Disabled people are being given an extended deadline of May 10 to sign up to a new government scheme to provide them with financial allowances.

Haveeru has reported today that the Finance Ministry has agreed to extend the deadline to which people with disabilities could apply for financial aid over concerns a number of members with sight problems were still yet to register.

The scheme forms part of wider legislation passed last month designed to try and protect the rights of disabled people. This includes changes to a previous allowance system that provided Rf2,000 for various individual disability groups, according to the report.

Under this new general disability scheme, a larger number of people are reported to have registered so far, leading to an extended deadline for applications of Tuesday, May 10.

According to Haveeru, about 5,000 applications had been received so far for the scheme, with 1,500 of these cleared and sent on to the National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) at present.

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Coca-Cola security guard stabbed

A group of assailants last night stabbed a security guard who was on duty at the Coca-Cola company office in Maafannu, Male’.

Police told newspaper Haveeru that the group was attempting to rob the company and that the security guard was attacked because he tried to stop them.

Haveeru reports that the man was admitted to Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) and is undergoing treatment.

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Police search guest houses in Male’, makes arrests

Police have said that in an ongoing police special operation to reduce the crime rate they have searched guest houses and other places in  Male’ and arrested a number of both females and males, reports Haveeru.

According to Haveeru, some items were also seized in the operation.

Police have declined to provide further information regarding the special operation and said more information will be provided later.

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Further deaths reported as Syrian military accused of seizing Deraa mosque

Syrian security authorities stand accused of storming a mosque in the city of Deraa yesterday as part of attempts to quell ongoing unrest in the country, resulting in several reported fatalities.

The BBC reported that 66 civilians caught up in ongoing anti-government protests were believed to have been killed by security officials on Saturday (April 30) as soldiers allegedly established a presence on the roof of Deraa’s Omari mosque after storming the building.

State officials have said that official fatality figures were a lot lower than those reported in international media and included the death of four soldiers. Local television also reported that “armed terrorists” had attacked security forces in the cities of Deraa and Homs.

Foreign journalists are reportedly banned from entering the country, making official clarification of events in the country difficult.

According to the Al Jazeera news agency, the son of an imam at the Omari mosque was amongst the dead after allegedly being shot by security forces as Deraa reportedly came under “heavy shelling and gunfire”. The alleged attacks were reported to have taken place while civilians tried to bury bodies left over from protests taking place on Friday.

Al Jazeera journalist Rula Amin, based in the national capital of Damascus, stated that Deraa was thought to have witnessed some of the most severe clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters.

Amin added that within this backdrop, state television broadcasts featured people “confessing” to being members of terrorist groups that are sponsored by individuals based in Deraa, including the imam of the Omari mosque.

“We are told by residents that the imam was always asking for calm, for dialogue, and when I went to Deraa and I met him myself he did not say that people should carry guns or should fire at security forces,” she wrote. “He was adamant that people have the right to protest, that things need to change in Syria.”

International news organisation Reuters said that security forces had yesterday also arrested two “veteran” opposition figures and 11 female protesters taking part in a silent march around Damascus as part of their crack downs on anti-government sentiment in the country.

Reuters added that local human rights group Sawasiah currently estimates that 560 civilians had been killed by security forces since protests kicked off about six weeks ago.

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Hithadhoo fisherman dies of heart attack at sea

A 51 year-old man from Hithadhoo in Seenu Atoll died of a heart attack while on a fishing trip with 15 others last night.

Ibrahim Mohamed ‘Ibrahim Kalo’ was fishing from the boat ‘Shaan’ within a one nautical mile of Hithadhoo when he died, reports Haveeru.

“He looked fine when we set out. We were just off the island of Hulhudhoo catching bait when he fell down and was completely still. There was no pulse and he wasn’t breathing. We immediately set off for Hithadhoo,” another man on the vessel told Haveeru.

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Bill on bank cheques passed

Parliament today passed a bill prohibiting the issuance of bank cheques without sufficient funds, replacing the existing penalty for the offence of a jail sentence with a large fine.

The legislation submitted by minority opposition People’s Alliance (PA) MP Abdul Azeez Jamal Abubakr was voted through with eight amendments proposed on the floor.

Several MPs however argued that levying a fine on a person who issued a bounced check was not sensible.  Opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Abdulla Abdul Raheem pointed out that in many cases the fine would exceed the amount of the bounced check.

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Over 50 sex crimes reported in April

Police revealed today that 58 cases of sexual violence have been reported so far this month, including 40 cases in the atolls and 18 in Male’.

MNBC One reports that while police declined to reveal either the identities or number of the suspects taken into custody, the cases reportedly involve child sexual abuse, sexual violence against the elderly and sexual assault inside vehicles.

On Saturday, the Health Ministry in collaboration with local NGOs held a protest march in Male’ urging the authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice and pursue a zero tolerance policy for child abuse.

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President greeted with protests in Maavah

President Mohamed Nasheed was greeted with protests when he arrived in Laamu Maavah late afternoon yesterday.

Haveeru reports that clashes occurred between supporters of the president’s Maldivian Democratic party (MDP) and opposition groups gathered at the jetty, with police using tear gas to disperse the crowd.

An islander recounted that protesters marched behind the President’s entourage as it visited various island institutions, protesting at unfulfilled pledges by the President to build 50 housing units and a fish processing factory in the island.

“They protested outside everywhere the President went,” he said, adding that an opposition supporter had to undergo treatment for minor injuries sustained during the scuffle with government supporters in the island.

In the parliamentary elections of May 2009, all five constituencies of Laamu Atoll were won by the minority opposition People’s Alliance (PA) party.

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