MDP condemns death threats received by Majlis members

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have condemned death threats received by six MDP MPs last night (August 2), and called on  the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) to desist in sheltering radical suspects.

“[T]he PPM government continues to shelter radical suspects and is yet to name or arrest a single suspect accused of having issued such threats in previous cases lodged by the MDP,” read an MDP statement.

The MDP confirmed that MPs Mariya Didi, Rozaina Adam, Eva Abdulla, Ali Azim, Parliamentary Group Leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and former Speaker Abdulla Shahid all received death threats.

Two threats were sent to each MP via text message. The first message read, “[We] will kill you if you behave inappropriately.” The party suggested that the police had the technical capability to identify unlisted numbers.

The second read, “It is not a sin to kill those who challenge Allah’s words and call for freedom of religion. Afrasheem Ali was an example.”

In June the party requested that police investigate a series of threats made via Twitter against its members, including former President Mohamed Nasheed.

The MDP statement went on to note the recent spate of murders taking place around the capital, as the number of violent attacks reported rises to nine.

“The Maldivian Democratic Party notes with concern that the present climate of fear in Male’ and several islands began to escalate following Home Minister Umar Naseer’s constitutional powers as the Minister in charge of Police being reduced on 24 July 2014 by his former political rival President Yaameen Abdul Gayoom.”

Writing on her Twitter account, Eva Abdulla challenged the Maldives Police Service to investigate the matter. “You have the means to investigate, if you have the will,” Eva stated.

“[The] police have the means to look this up, if they have the will to do so. If they do not (as they did not with any of the complaints I lodged past two years) well at least I will know this is govt-approved. [sic]” Eva added on social media.

Police have confirmed with Minivan News that they are investigating the matter, but declined to give any more information on the details of the case.

Dr Afrasheem Ali’s murder in October 2012 was the most high profile attack on a member of parliament in the country’s history.

In the second death threat sent to MPs yesterday, the perpetrators referred to the attack on the former Ungoofaaru constituency MP and Islamic scholar.

The ensuing investigation found the crime to have been premeditated and politically motivated. On January 16 2014, the Criminal Court sentenced the prime suspect in the murder, Hussain Humam, to death.

Meanwhile, former MDP MP Alhan Fahmy was unable to walk for months after he was stabbed in the back in February.

The safety and rights of MPs have previously been a concern of organisations such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), who in November 2013 called for an emergency visit to the Maldives.

The organisation’s request for an urgent visit was prompted by the growing list of cases – 24 in total – involving Maldivian MPs filed with the IPU’s Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians.

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Government “indifference” to Addu ferry services discriminatory, says Meedhoo MP Rozaina

The government’s “indifference” to providing regular ferry services in Addu City has been described as discrimination towards smaller islands by Addu Meedhoo MP Rozaina Adam.

“If a ferry service in Malé is interrupted, the government rushes to reestablish it. But if it is the islands they it is allowed to go on for long periods. This is a huge discrimination,” she said.

There have been no regular ferries in Addu City for the past two years and the service is frequently on complete halt at times, said Addu City Mayor Mayor Abdulla ‘Soabe’ Sodiq.

Many are forced to take expensive private boats, while in medical emergencies people usually hire a speed boat for approximately MVR 2500 – double that rate at night.

Hulhumeedhoo, with an estimated population of over six thousand, is disconnected from the rest of the inhabited islands of the city which are joined by the 14km Addu Link Road causeway.

The Hulhumeedhoo-Feydhoo public ferry system had been established in 2009 as part of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government’s campaign to connect the Maldives through a public transport network.

The service is provided by MVK Maldives Pvt Ltd under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) contract. Many inhabitants of Hulhumeedhoo travel to Feydhoo for work and to visit Hithadhoo Regional Hospital.

Rozaina Adam also expressed concern that inconsistent services were damaging both the health and the finances of locals.

“It is very hard for them, sometimes appointments at the Hithadhoo hospital get cancelled because the ferry does not show up without any prior notice,” she said.

On 26 July, Rozaina held a press conference expressing concern over the failure to provide a sea ambulance for the area. She accused Minister of Health Mariyam Shakeela of reneging on a promise made before the Majlis to provide the service.

The Addu Meedhoo MP has described the speedboat allocated for Addu as unfit, noting that the cover is ripped, the floor cracked, and that the vessel is without GPS, and a compass, among other equipment.

Standstill

Mayor Sodig noted that the government had awarded MVK the Dhoogas Guest House in Gan as an incentive for providing the ferry service.The guest house “which was functioning well when handed over”, said the mayor, is now mostly vacant and ignored.

“It was utilised to some extent during the SAARC Summit, but they are not running the place at all,” he said.

The handing of Dhoogas to MVK was investigated by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) in 2010 which found the guest house was awarded in contravention of relevant laws and regulations. The then-MDP government denied these allegations.

Management of the guest house, with approximately fifty rooms, was in handed over to former MP Abdulla Jabir’s ‘J Hotels’ in February this year, and was renamed ‘J Palace’.

While the city council is tasked with monitoring the service, mayor Sodig said today that they were unable to contact MVK to discuss the issues.

Addu council have been discussing the issue with the government since 2012 with no action being taken, the mayor said.

“We have brought this issue to the attention of all past transport ministers. And the Dhoogas guest house is given to MVK to provide public transport service here, but we are seeing that they are unable to do so,” he said.

MP Rozaina also said attempts to communicate the issue with the government have been in vain, mainly due to confusions regarding the institution responsible following the recent abolition of the Ministry of Transport.

“They told me I should contact home ministry, but they told the council to contact economic ministry. The parliament was not informed of these changes in the ministry, so it will be very difficult for MPs to inquire,” said Rozaina.

Minivan News was also unable to reach MVK, or the Ministry of Economic Development regarding the issue. The listed official numbers of MVK were out of service.

While the Addu city council is still working on resolving the issue, Rozaina has pledged to raise the issue in the Majlis if a solution is not found within a week.

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Stabbing victim dies in hospital as police make 12 arrests

An 18-year-old victim of a violent assault in Malé died last night while undergoing treatment at the intensive care unit in the second fatal stabbing in the space of three days.

Local media identified the deceased as Mohamed Mazin, from Dhiggaamaage in Noonu Miladhoo, who was residing in Henveiru Shaiban in the capital.

Mazin was assaulted on Saturday morning around 9:50am near the Henveiru Park along with Ali Arif, 18, also from H. Shaiban.

Police said Mazin had three stab wounds on his back while Arif was stabbed in the ribcage.

A 34-year-old was also stabbed to death on the island of Thulusdhoo in Kaafu atoll on Thursday night (July 31).

Police have since arrested 12 suspects in connection with the spate of violent assaults in the capital during the past six days.

Police revealed yesterday that the Criminal Court has extended the remand detention of three suspects while the other nine remained in temporary police custody as of last night.

“Efforts are also underway to locate other suspects,” according to police media.

The serious and organised crime department was collecting CCTV camera footage from across the capital, police said, and searching for suspects based on information relayed by members of the public.

The stabbing of the 18-year-old pair yesterday brought the number of victims of violent crimes during the past week to nine.

On the previous night (August 1), a 19-year-old was stabbed near the Henveiru Park and hospitalised after sustaining head injuries.

Last week, four men and a woman were assaulted in separate incidents. While one man was mugged in the Maafanu ward, two men were stabbed in Hulhumalé, a woman was stabbed in the back in the Galolhu ward, and a fourth victim was stabbed in the Henveiru ward.

Prior to the recent fatal stabbings, there had been 29 murders in the Maldives since 2007.

Meanwhile, the Jumhooree Party has called on the government to take necessary measures to curb the escalating violence while former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom called for “murderers” to be “caught and punished according to law.”

“Where are the killers of Afrashim, Muheeth, policeman Haleem and others?” the leader of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives tweeted.

Task force

Police meanwhile revealed that Chief Inspector Ibrahim Naveen, head of the central operations command, together with commanders of relevant departments have commenced “special efforts” to curb the spike in violent crime “on the advice of Commissioner of Police Hussain Waheed.”

A task force committee has been formed to supervise and oversee the efforts, police said.

Similar task forces were set up in recent years to combat gang violence in the capital, most recently in May 2013 after four stabbings in 48 hours.

As part of the present efforts, police have been stopping and frisking individuals and searching residences based on intelligence information.

Police are also searching for individuals “suspected of committing violent assault with sharp objects”.

Moreover, the Specialist Operations (SO) department along with Malé City police and traffic police would be questioning and frisking individuals “loitering on the streets with no purpose” both after midnight and during the day.

Security operations have also been stepped up in Vilimalé and Hulhumalé.

As police were finding it hard to identify suspects due to “difficulties” obtaining information from eyewitnesses at crime scenes, police appealed for cooperation from members of the public.

“Those who share such information with police will receive due protection,” police assured.

A report by the Asia Foundation in late 2012 found that political and corporate elites financed gangs “to carry out a range of illegal activities that serve their political or business interests”.

Police statistics meanwhile reveal 95 incidents of assault reported in July alone, bringing the total number of assault cases to 697 this year. Approximately 1,500 cases of assault are reported annually in the Maldives, of which a majority occurs in Malé.

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MNDF and police put out fire in Fuvahmulah marshland

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) southern area’s fire station together with police and islanders extinguished a fire that broke out in a marshland or swamp area of Fuvahmulah yesterday.

According to MNDF, the fire broke out at around 5:45pm in the marshland between the Malegam and Funad wards of the island – just south of the ‘Bandaara Kilhi’ lake in the north – and was put out around 7:30pm.

Police meanwhile said the fire also caught on screw pine trees in the marshland area. More than 20 officers from the Fuvahmulah station helped put out the flames.

The fire was extinguished before it could cause harm or damage to property, police said.

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Cricket tournament held to celebrate India-Maldives friendship

A cricket tournament for expats and locals organised by the India Club Maldives (ICM) in association with the High Commission of India was held from July 25 to August 1.

The ICM T10 Cup was part of a series of events to mark the three-week long India Maldives Friendship Festival (IMFF) “as part of the celebration of Independence days of Republic of Maldives which is on 26th July and that of India on 15th August,” the High Commission explained in a press release.

“The four teams which participated in the tournament were Team Maldives, Team Sri Lanka, Team Bangladesh and Team India. The tournament was conducted on a league basis and seven matches were played in the League stage,” the press release stated.

Team Maldives were crowned champions after beating Team Sri Lanka in the final.

“At the closing ceremony, HE Rajeev Shahare, High Commissioner of India (also chief patron of India Club Maldives), who was the chief guest and HE Admiral A.S.M.A. Awal, high commissioner of Bangladesh, who was the guest of honour presented trophies and certificates to the teams and officials, participated in the tournament.”

The festival also includes a friendship walk on August 8 and a cultural evening and magic show at the Olympus Theatre on August 12.

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Gayoom denies meeting DRP leader

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has denied meeting acting leader of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Mohamed ‘Colonel Nasheed, at the latter’s resort during the Eid holidays, reports Raajje TV.

An MP from the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) told the opposition-aligned private broadcaster on condition of anonymity that Gayoom – leader of the PPM – posted a message on a viber group of the party’s parliamentary group denying reports by newspaper Haveeru last week.

“The story in today’s Haveeru about a supposed meeting between me and DRP vaguthee [acting] leader in Kanifushi resort is totally false,” read Gayoom’s message.

“True, my family and I are spending a short family holiday at Atmosphere Kani. But no political activity has taken place. The story is fabricated from A to Z.”

Citing a source from the resort, Haveeru reported on Thursday (July 31) that Gayoom’s children – Farish Maumoon and Gassan Maumoon – as well as son-in-law Ahmed Nadheem also participated in lengthy secret talks with Nasheed over the course of two days.

The local daily further claimed that the PPM parliamentary group’s decision to endorse Muthaz Muhsin as the new prosecutor general in defiance of Gayoom’s appeal for them to vote for his nephew Maumoon Hameed has caused divisions within the ruling party.

Former Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Nasheed – who switched to the DRP in March 2013 – has also denied holding discussions with Gayoom regarding the DRP’s future, informing Raajje TV that he only welcomed Gayoom to the resort and offered due respect to a former president.

Nasheed had told Haveeru that there was “no reason” for Gayoom to return to the party he founded in 2005.

Nasheed took over as DRP leader following the en masse departure of the party’s former leadership to the MDP.

Despite a rebranding effort with Nasheed at the helm, the party failed to win any seats in this year’s parliamentary and local council elections.

Gayoom had meanwhile left the party in 2011 following a dispute with former leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali and formed the PPM with the loyalist Z-DRP faction.

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Bileiydhoo man dies while removing moss from boat

A 30-year-old man has died in Faafu Bileiydhoo this morning while removing moss from the hull of a boat docked in the island harbor.

According to local media the incident took place around 08:50pm, and by the time he was taken to the hospital – within five minutes – he was dead.

Quoting an island council member local media reported that it has been considered a natural death as the person suffered from a heart condition.

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Three more hospitalised as wave of attacks continues

Three more stabbings have occurred in the capital Malé within the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of attacks in the past week to nine.

Two men – both aged 18-years-old – were attacked in broad daylight in the area near Henveiru Park this morning, while a 19-year-old was attacked in the same area yesterday (August 1).

Those attacked this morning were treated at the nearby Senahiya military hospital before being transferred to ADK, while yesterday’s victim has been taken to IGMH.

Local media has identified the 18-year-olds as Ali Arif, from Henveiru Shaiban, and Mohamed Mazin, from Dhiggaamaage in Meemu Miladhoo. Mazin’s condition has been reported as serious.

The spate of attacks – which has included a fatal stabbing in Kaafu Thulusdhoo – has prompted the Jumhooree Party to call on authorities to end the spike in violence that has accompanied the end of Ramadan.

There have been no reports of arrests being made in connection with any of this week’s incidents, barring the murder in Thulusdhoo, for which a local man has handed himself  in – having his detention period extended yesterday.

Earlier this week four men and a woman were attacked in separate incidents on Monday and Tuesday. One man was mugged in Maafannu ward,  two men were stabbed in Hulhumalé, a woman was stabbed in Galolhu ward, and another man was stabbed – again, in the Henveiru area of Malé.

The weeks prior to Ramadan saw a number of abductions and assaults in the capital which victims claimed to have been related to their alleged association with online secularist movements.

While an online group associating itself with these earlier incidents had promised a post-Ramadan resumption of campaigning against those perceived to be mocking Islam, police have not said whether they believe this week’s attacks are linked to one another.

Police have today said that the serious and organised crime department is investigating this week’s attacks. Malé’s gang culture has been well-documented in recent years, with leading politicians and businessmen often closely associated with organised criminals.

Police statistics reveal 95 incidents of assault reported in July alone. The number brings up the total number of assault cases to 697 this year. Approximately 1500 cases of assault are reported annually in the Maldives, of which a majority occur in Malé.

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