MMA accepts MDP MP Musthafa’s BCCI debt after the court rejected the money

The Civil Court has refused to accept payment of the debt it had ordered paid by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed Musthafa, after the ruling against him was last week upheld by the Supreme Court.

The case had been filed against him by Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) Deptuy Leader Umar Naseer, and the ruling meant that Musthafa was disqualified as an MP for the former ruling party, forcing a by-election in his seat of Thimarafushi.

Musthafa this morning sent a person to pay the debt to the court – a loan of US$31,231.66 (Rf 481,952) borrowed from the now defunct Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI).

The Civil Court has confirmed that a person had sought to pay the debt on Musthafa’s behalf, after the Supreme Court ruling did not mention that the money was to be paid to the former ‘Madhanee’, or Civil, Court.

Until President Nasheed signed the Judicature Act into law last year, the official name of the Civil Court had been Madhanee Court – ‘madhanee’ being the Arabic word for ‘civil’.

MDP MP Musthafa today told Minivan News that he had been trying to pay the money every day since losing the caase last Friday, but said the court had not accepted it.

‘’Today I thought I would inform that media and send someone to the court to pay the money, and the court did not accept it again,’’ Musthafa said. ‘’I wrote a letter to the court but they did not respond to it.’’

Later today, Musthafa said the Civil Court registrar had called him and met with him, and said the Supreme Court’s ruling did not specify who the recipient of the money was to be, and that the Civil Court did not know what they should do with it, Musthafa said.

‘’The Supreme Court told me to get assistance from the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) and the Attorney General,’’ he said. ‘’So then I sent the money to the MMA, and the MMA has received the money.’’

He also said that tomorrow he will file a case in the Civil Court asking the court to order the MMA to pay him the US$500,000 that the BCCI was obliged to pay Musthafa, in a separate case concerning the supply of meat and other goods.

‘’They have today proved that the MMA are the live parent of BCCI [despite BCCI being defunct],’’ he said. ‘’This is funny to me – because when they have to pay me something owed by BCCI, they deny they are the live parent, but when I have something to pay to BCCI they become the live parent of BCCI.’’

In November last year Musthafa threatened legal action against the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) if it did not pay the US$500,000 that BCCI owed his company Seafood International, alleging that the sum was due to be paid to his company according to a 1991 London court ruling.

Citing MMA as the “live branch of BCCI in the Maldives,” Musthafa previously stated that “the debt of a dead person has to be paid by a living legal parent.”

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Democracy must continue; “no return to autocratic rule”: UK High Commissioner

UK High Commissioner to the Maldives and Sri Lanka, John Rankin, has emphasised that democracy must continue in the Maldives, “and [there must be] no return to the autocratic rule that has been in existance prior to 2008.”

In his regular “Ask the High Commissioner” interview, Rankin said the UK had called on “all parties to exercise good faith to try to find a way throgugh the current problems and consensus for the way forward.”

“The UK recongises states, not governments,” he explained. “We made it very clear that it was for the government of the Maldives to establish democratic legitimacy both with its own people and the international community.”

Rankin said the UK backed the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG)’s call for early elections, and for agreement as to the constitutional changes required for that to happen.

“We have also joined calls for an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the transfer of power,” Rankin said.

“We called for calm in the country and for demonstrations to be peaceful, and for the police to exercise maximum restraint.”

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Police arrest 13 in violent clash at MDP camp, after police stations vandalised

Police arrested 13 people after clashing with demonstrators at the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s ongoing protest early on Wednesday morning.

The MDP accused police of vandalising the MDP’s protest camp near the tsunami monument and attacking the party’s supporters at 2:45am in the morning.

However police have said they were pursuing a a group of young people on motorcycles who had attacked police buildings that evening, before retreating to the MDP camp

An MDP supporter who witnessed the incident told Minivan News that the police arrived after a group of young people opened a ‘Youth Jagaha’ near the tsunami monument, and then left on motorcycles to ride around the streets.

“They apparently vandalised some police stations during the motorbike ride, and then the police came and attacked the protest camp,’’ he said. ‘’Police destroyed our podium in the area and the sound system, as well as chairs and other property,’’ he claimed.

One young person was thrown into the sea wall and was subsequently taken to hospital.

Police said a group of men armed with knives vandalised police stations in Male’, threatening officers in the traffic police station with knives and destroying a computer monitor. The group also threatened officers inside the Police Iskandhar Koshi.

Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam told Minivan News that police had followed the group to the area on the side of the tsunami monument park furthest from the MDP camp, near the army medical centre, where they had been attacked.

“Police called for backup and by the time the pickup arrived, people were there with stones,” Shiyam said. “When police entered the [camp] to arrest the suspects forcefully, everyone in the area became hostile to police. There was a huge confrontation,” he added.

Several police officers sustained injuries, none serious, he said. Police arrested 13 people and withdrew from the area.

“This was a very serious thing and we are sad that it happened,” Shiyam said. “We have no interest in doing anything [to the MDP camp], and we don’t want to have a confrontation. But people are coming out of the area, committing acts of violence, and going back there to hide, which is not something to be accepted.”

Police had asked organisers of the protest to take responsibility for the actions of those gathered there, he added.

MDP supporters have held an ongoing protest near the tsunami monument, dubbing it ‘justice square’, following the resignation of former President Mohamed Nasheed in what they contend was a coup d’état.

MDP supporters have been sleeping and gathering in the area since Nasheed’s resignation, reportedly under duress.

The party has meanwhile released  pictures of injured protesters and vandalism of the square.

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India has “moral obligation to safeguard democracy” in the Maldives, Jameel tells PTI

India has a moral obligation to safeguard democracy in the Maldives, Home Minister Mohamed Jameel has told the Press Trust of India (PTI).

Jameel said it would be a blow to India if the nascent democracy in Maldives failed to live up to its promises, PTI reported.

“It will be a moral obligation on the part of India to see that democracy is sustained at Maldives, and if not it will be a blow to India as well as it the closest ally to our country,” Jameel told PTI, thanking
Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai for brokering the roadmap negotiations.

Several political parties in the talks had accused India of interference in Maldivian internal affairs.

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Criminal court orders released of those arrested during March 1 protest

The Criminal Court has ordered the release of protesters arrested on March 1, after the expiry of the five day extension of detention.

Sun Online reported that 24 people were released who were, according to Sub Inspector Ahmed Shiyam, the last of those people arrested on March 1.

Investigations were ongoing and would be referred to the Prosecutor General, Shiyam said.

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PPM members files two cases against Nasheed

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM)’s two members have filed cases requesting the police to investigate into major breach of laws committed by former President Mohamed Nasheed during his short-lived tenure, local newspaper Haveeru has reported.

According to Haveeru, the first case filed by the two PPM members Ahmed “Maaz” Saleem and Ahmed Siddeeq include the alleged transgression against the judiciary by locking up of the Supreme Court in 2008, allowing police entry into Judicial Service Commission (JSC), illegally appointing JSC members, ordering the removal of the interim Chief Justice.

The other case is about the leasing of Male’ International Airport to India’s GMR in 2010 for 50 years.

Saleem claimed that the filing of the cases had been delayed as it was understood that Nasheed would not have allowed the police to carry out the investigations, reported Haveeru.

“After Nasheed has resigned all institutions have now become independent and without any political influence. Hence I have filed the case to carry out a probe in accordance with the law,” Haveeru quoted Saleem as saying.

Siddeeq meanwhile has said that further constitutional violations by the Former President is under evaluation and will be filed with the police for subsequent investigation.

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Security forces use water cannon on MDP women’s sit-down protest

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and police used a salt water cannons to break up a gathering of nearly 100 female supporters of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) outside President Office on Tuesday afternoon.

The women marched to the President Office around 3:15pm to deliver a set of letters requesting President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan to resign, while the rest of the female demonstrators sat down outside the office holding boards bearing slogans including “Where is my vote?” and “Justice now”.

The women from all ages continued to call for President Waheed’s resignation while the police and MNDF on the scene ordered the women to leave the area.

Video footage circulating over the social media then show that the police aimed a high-pressure salt water cannon at the crowd for at least five minutes, but this did little to deter the women, who were then physically picked up by policewomen. Others were pushed back by policemen armed with shields.

Several eye witnesses alleged to Minivan News that “some policeman groped the female demonstrators, tore their clothes and used foul language” during the removal.

“Two women’s clothes were torn from the shoulders when the policemen tried to grab them. One woman’s veil was taken off and I saw her shouting at the police,” one of the demonstrator told Minivan News over the phone.

Another eye witness reported seeing a woman who was “dragged by her feet” after she refused to leave. “The women tried to shove him off and cover her body because her blouse was torn, but the policeman grabbed her hands,” the source claimed.

Several women were seeing resisting arrest while the policewomen attempted to grab some of the women hosed down by the salt water. Although, the crowds were dispersed from the President Office, the women continued to voice their discontent on the nearby streets until nightfall.

Police media official, Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam, told Minivan  News that female protesters forcibly crossed the police cordons and  “intimidated the police”.

Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz at a press conference yesterday had vowed that police would “become feared by the most dreaded criminals”.

“[The women] forcibly crossed into the area near the President Office after intimidating the police guards at the cordon blocking the area. They were ordered to leave the area repeatedly before the police used force to remove them,” Shiyam said.

Responding to allegations that police used excessive force to subdue the gathering, Shiyam said “If anyone has any complaints they can follow the due process and file a complaint.”

“What we used was water. It is the least brutal force used to disperse a gathering,” he further added.

Speaking to Minivan News today, former Tourism Minister Dr Mariyam Zulfa said that before the protest outside the President Office nearly 500 female MDP supporters went to the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) to file a complaint over the police brutality.

She claimed the commission has so far failed to take any action.

“As we were coming back some went to the President Office to deliver letters to request Waheed  resign. So while they did that, we sat down to peacefully protest. However, almost immediately police came and used a high pressure water hose,” said Dr  Zulfa, who was also at the sit-down demonstration.

“There is no way to end this brutality,” she said. “The international community has failed to see this day after day. Anywhere else in the world this would be a shameless military coup.”

Meanwhile, later in the evening HRCM had issued  a press statement condemning the police for using “excessive force” against the women while controlling today’s demonstration.

The commission also urged the police to to respect the people  right to peaceful demonstration and asked them to refrain from any actions that will harm the dignity of women.

Women have been at the front line in MDP’s political movement to bring early elections, since the party’s candidate, former President Mohamed Nasheed was deposed in what the party calls a bloodless coup.

Recently, Amnesty International has also condemned attacks on a group of MDP women supporters in Addu Atoll by the security forces, after obtaining testimonies from victims of a crackdown on demonstrators at a rally during the recent visit to the MDP stronghold by new President.

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Government’s changes to resort lease payments will cost Maldives US$135 million: MDP

The new government’s decision to allow extended resort leases to be paid in installments, rather than upfront at the end of the lease, will immediately take US$135 million of the country’s coffers, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has claimed.

New Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb was not responding at time of press. Former Tourism Minister Dr Mariyam Zulfa explained that Nasheed’s government had offered resorts the option of extending resort lease periods from 25 to up to 50 years.

“Under the regulations the resort lease period was extended to 50 years, with a clause that this would cost US$100,000 every year. But the regulations left open to interpretation how this was to be collected,” she said.

“The Nasheed government had requested that those resorts extending to a 50 year lease pay in a lump sum,” she said, “but while I was Tourism Minister, Gasim Ibrahim and Ahmed ‘Redwave’ Saleem kept pressuring me to let them pay on a yearly basis. They didn’t want to give any money to the government, and soon after the government changed they got what they wanted. [The installments] will only be payable at the end of the current lease periods – it is a huge loss to the treasury.”

According to the MDP, 25 parties had paid the new lease under Nasheed’s government, while a further 90 parties had signed up to extend the lease.

“Some of the resorts wanted it because it increased the value of the property, and therefore increased the value of the government’s asset,” Dr Zulfa explained. “Properties with a 50 year lease paid up front are much more attractive to investors, and encourage development.”

Dr Zulfa contended that not only did the change in policy forgo the country future earnings, “but now they’ve taken a sovereign loan of US$50 million – Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb was boasting about it on his Facebook page.”

“They said they need it to finance the budget shortfall – but what shortfall? There was no shortfall – not until they gave this loophole to the coup people who now won’t have to pay anything. They don’t care about the common people – infrastructure projects all over the country have stopped and contractors have been sent home. People [on the islands] are angry, upset and despairing,” Zulfa claimed.

Secretary General of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI), ‘Sim’ Mohamed Ibrahim, said he couldn’t speculate on the impact of the decision, but said that negotiations to pay leases in advance had begun during Gayoom’s tenure as President.

“Resorts were willing to pay the government in advance for extensions of their lease,” he explained. “It was not just for development, but because it increases the value of a property and gives investors confidence. We recognized in good faith at the time that the government was in serious need of a cash injection.”

“Obviously, some people don’t agree with that. This came into effect during Nasheed’s government, which argued that if the lease was going to be paid annually, it would be renewed annually. Obviously the interpretations of the law are different.”

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Gayoom: “I had no role in the change of government”, says no to early elections

Former President and Leader of Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has claimed “I had no role in the change of government”, while dismissing the accusations of his involvement in the ousting of his successor Mohamed Nasheed on February 7 as “baseless rumors”.

Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) alleges that Gayoom was at the centre organising what the party insists was a bloodless coup d’état in which elements of police and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) were bribed to align with then-opposition demonstrators led by Gayoom’s PPM party forcing Nasheed to resign on February 7.

However, after returning to Maldives on Monday night from an unofficial trip to Malaysia, Gayoom defended himself claiming that “I had never attempted to over throw Nasheed’s government illegally or outside legal bounds”.

“I had no role in the change of government and such rumours are baseless,” Gayoom further claimed.

However, he noted that his party had protested within the legal bounds to resist unlawful acts of the government.

Meanwhile, Gayoom – whose 30-year-old rule came to an end after he lost the country’s first multiparty elections to Nasheed in 2008 – objected to MDP’s calls for early elections citing that the constitution gives “no room” for it.

He quoted the constitution’s stipulations which state elections must be held once in every five years or it shall be called if both the President and the Vice-President resign simultaneously or their offices become vacant at the same time.

Furthermore, noting that if the President resigns for any reason the constitution allows the Vice President to assume office and continue the remainder of his predecessor’s term – Gayoom said, “Waheed has been sworn in constitutionally”.

“Therefore, there is no room for an [early] election according to the constitution and in my opinion neither does politically.” Gayoom concluded, pledging full support to Waheed’s administration which is now run by a cabinet stacked with majority Gayoom loyalists.

Thousand of supporters of Gayoom gathered at the Republican Square and on the streets to welcome Gayoom, while  Minivan News observed that security was elevated in the area and Gayoom was taken to his residence in a defence force car.

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