President among speakers at Global Movement of Moderates conference

President Mohamed Nasheed is among 55 speakers who have confirmed their attendance at the International Conference of Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) to be held in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia from January 17 to 19.

According to Malaysian news agency Bernama.com, Nasheed is scheduled to give a lecture titled “Environment Moderation and Development.”

Other speakers from across 2o countries include former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed, Indonesian Foreign Minister Dr Marty Natalegawa and ASEAN Secretary General Dr Surin Pitsuwan.

Retired US Admiral Dennis C. Blair will deliver a speech titled “United States of America and the Muslim World: Charting A Sustainable Future.”

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is scheduled to present the keynote address titled “Global Movement of Moderates: The Way Forward” and launch the GMM foundation, which will “determine the direction of this movement and its future activities.”

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Heavy rains flood Lhaviyani Atoll

Heavy rains have caused flooding on Naifaru and Hinnavaru in Lhaviyani Atoll, damaging some houses.

According to councils from both islands, many roads are flooded while houses and property have been damaged by the rain, which began last night.

The rain continued until 6:30 am today.

Members of the police and defense forces, as well as council members and local residents are working to drain certain areas, Haveeru reports.

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Government to cease issuing work permits to Bangladeshi nationals, launches registration effort

The Maldivian government has halted the issuing of new work permits to Bangladeshi nationals and will begin registering the biometric details of all expatriate workers, in an effort to combat rising human trafficking. Employers will also be advised to cease withholding the passports of foreign nationals.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem, Human Resources Minister Hassan Latheef and Home Minister Hassan Afeef announced the measures at a joint press conference on Wednesday, together with the Attorney General.

The government will begin registering the details of Bangladeshi nationals from March 31, using a new database developed by the National Centre for Information Technology (NCIT). This registration will eventually be extended to expatriate workers of all nationalities, who make up a third of the Maldives’ population.

Police and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) would assist with the registration process, the ministers explained.

Latheef said that the decision implemented recommendations in the as-yet unreleased report produced by the MNDF after it took over counters at immigration and the labour department for two weeks in July 2011.

That investigation unearthed an industry worth an estimated US$123 million and a chain of paper companies being used by unscrupulous recruitment agents, who solicit labourers from mostly Bangladesh with the promise of well-paid jobs in the Maldives, confiscate their passports, and either abandon or offer them different, poorly paid jobs on arrival.

Head of the Commercial Crime Unit, Inspector Mohamed Riyaz, revealed at the time that police had seized 4000 passports confiscated from trafficked workers during the two week takeover, and that two of the seven bogus companies identified as trafficking workers, Ozone Investments Pvt Ltd and Arisco Maldives Pvt Ltd, had brought in 3000 workers between them.

Using the fake companies, the traffickers fraudulently obtained work permit quotas for non-existent projects from the Human Resources Ministry by stealing the identities of unwitting, bribed or complicit Maldivians, or even the deceased. Police had received many complaints about such forgeries from the confused third party, Riyaz said.

Many of the quotas requested from the Human Resources Ministry had been approved despite obvious warning signs such as the importing of construction workers for specialised IT projects, he noted.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem referred Minivan News to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) when asked for comment as to the extent that corruption had allowed the practice to thrive.

“We are deeply involved in this and are taking steps to counter [human trafficking],” Naseem said.

Prosecuting traffickers was difficult because many victims were reluctant to come forward because of their illegal status, he said.

“Many will not seek legal recourse even if puts them in a very difficult situation,” he observed. “They have sold everything to come here.”

Latheef told Minivan News that the government would extend a part amnesty to the estimated 20,000 illegal workers in the country, inviting them to register and seek employment from a willing sponsor, and legalise their presence in the country.

“They will be given a second chance to register and try to find a local employer,” he said. “But if they have no employment, they will have to leave.”

The government has also submitted a bill on human trafficking to the parliament. A report into the practice was due to be released Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) on Human Rights Day, December 10, but has not yet appeared.

Minivan News in 2010 reported a steep rise in human trafficking, which was calculated to eclipse fishing as the second largest contributor of foreign currency to the Maldives after tourism.

That same year, the United States’ State Department placed the Maldives on its Tier 2 Watchlist for Human Trafficking, following a report that Bangladeshi workers were being exploited in high numbers by fake companies promising work permits.

In December 2011 the Maldives was admitted to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), another significant step towards improving the welfare and lifestyle of migrant workers.

However racism, mistreatment and intolerance towards expatriate workers remains widespread in Maldivian society.

At a meeting in June 2011, members of the Male’ City Council  offered solutions to “the nusiance and bother of expatriates [congregating] at the Republic Square” in the capital.

“[Mid-Henveiru Councillor] Lufshan [Shakeeb] noted that foreigners at the Republic Square were damaging the grass in a number of ways and said that the area should be walled off with a tin fence and cleaned,” read the minutes.

The discussion came under an agenda item titled “Making a decision on the nuisance and bother of Bangalhun [derogatory term for Bangladeshis] at the Republic Square and the problem of Bangalhun sleeping inside the old museum at Sultan Park.”

Machangoalhi South Councillor “Jambu” Hassan Afeef meanwhile claimed that expatriates were “committing indecent acts” behind the National Museum site and other open spaces in Sultan Park, recommending that the grounds be closed to the public.

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Maldives ranks first in Asia/Pacific for education spending and divorce rate: OECD report

The Maldives has the highest divorce rate and ranks number one in the Asia Pacific region on education spending as a percentage of GDP, according to the ‘Society at a Glance: Asia/Pacific 2011’ overview of social indicators released by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) last month.

The Maldives spends the highest proportion of GDP on public education (8.1 percent) across the Asia/Pacific region, the report found, which was four times higher than countries such as Cambodia and Myanmar.

The Ministry of Education’s expenditure in 2011 amounted to Rf1.7 billion (US$110 million).

Maldives was also among developing Asia/Pacific nations that experienced rapid declines in fertility rates, slowing down in 2008 to fertility rates comparable with OECD countries.

The divorce rate in the Maldives is meanwhile “three times higher than the average of the Asia/Pacific countries and economies.”

A four percent decrease in the marriage rate was however the sharpest decline in the region, while a five percent rise in divorce rates was the fastest.

On the level of employment, the Maldives ranks alongside Sri Lanka and Indonesia where “more than one in four economically active young people is unemployed.”

Moreover, female unemployment in the Maldives “is more than three times the male rate.”

The pension system meanwhile covered 24 percent of the labour force and 16 percent of the working age population.

The report noted that Maldives, along with Vietnam and Thailand, was not far behind Australia in the percentage of pre-school children attending an early education programme. However, similar to Tajikistan and Laos, Maldives has “a slightly higher attendance for boys.”

Average years of total schooling in the Maldives as of 2010 was 6.1, well below the OECD average of 12.7.

Of the population indicators measured in the report, the gender ratio in the Maldives was 103 males per 100 females.

Life expectancy at birth of the total population between 1990 and 2008 was 71.6 years, slightly higher than the Asia/Pacific average. Japan was ranked first with 82.6 years.

As of 2008, infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births was 12.7, higher than the OECD average of 4.6.

On the availability of water and sanitation, 98 percent of the population had access to the utility services.

Suicide rates in the country was the fourth highest in the region at 22.4 (deaths per 100,000).

Voter turnout meanwhile averaged at 71 percent. However 85 percent of the population voted in the historic presidential election of October 2008.

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Fundamentalism more urgent threat to Maldives than climate change: The Diplomat

If global warming poses an existential threat to the Maldives, Islamic fundamentalism arguably presents an even greater political and economic challenge to the island nation in the short term to medium term, writes Sanjay Kumar for The Diplomat.

This danger was evident recently when the government ordered the shutdown of all spas and health centers at all resorts on the island. The decision came in the wake of a protest by an opposition conservative Islamic party, Adhaalath party or Justice Party, calling for a complete ban on such spas, which they believe are operating as brothels. Protesters were also demanding a ban on the sale of alcohol, demolition of monuments that the Islamists see as idols and a halt to direct flights to Israel.

In an apparent about-face, the government last week rescinded the ban, not least because of the damage that an extended ban would have done to the economy, which relies heavily on tourism. According to one estimate, approximately 900,000 tourists visited the islands last year.

Most of the 1,200 islands that make up the Maldives, which has a total population of more than four million, practice Sunni Islam. But the character of this island nation has still traditionally been liberal and tolerant – women there don’t typically wear the burqa, and they are active in the socio-economic arena. Indeed, President Mohamed Nasheed recently advocated for a “tolerant” form of Islam in his country.

But this hasn’t stopped a very determined minority working to radicalise society. Some blame former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom for turning the country toward radical Islam by declaring Islam to be the state religion in 1997, thereby restricting the freedom of non-Islamic beliefs.

In 2002, a Maldivian named Ibrahim Fauzee was arrested in Karachi for having links with al-Qaeda and was whisked away to Guantanamo Bay by the United States. In 2003, an Edhyafushi Island poster praising Osama bin Laden appeared on the walls of a school. In 2005, Islamic fundamentalists attacked a shop in the capital Male for showcasing a picture of Santa Claus. In September 2007, foreign tourists were injured in an explosion in the capital’s Sultan’s Park.

When I last visited the Maldives I got the sense there was underlying apprehension about the expansion of Islamist extremist forces in the country. I interviewed President Nasheed recently to ask him about these concerns, and he told me that although he understood people’s fears, that there was no need to worry. He felt the radicals were a tiny minority that would be rejected by the people.

But some of the officials I spoke to were less sanguine. They explained that ideological support for the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan is increasing, and they expressed concern over the rising number of Maldivian students going to Pakistan and the Arab World to seek religious education.

It’s clear that rising sea levels aren’t the only threat to the Maldives’ way of life. And while no nation in the 21st century should have to fear any religion, extremism has a tendency of eating up and spitting out even the best intentions of some countries.

Read more

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President returns thalassemia bill for reconsideration

President Mohamed Nasheed has vetoed legislation on thalassemia control passed by parliament last month and returned the bill for reconsideration.

According to the President’s Office, the Attorney General identified legal issues in the enactment of the law and recommended amendments to allow thalassemia patients to be covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme Act.

President Nasheed sent a letter to Speaker Abdulla Shahid containing the Attorney General’s legal advice and issues identified for amendment.

The President however ratified the Maldives Civil Aviation Authority bill passed by parliament on December 27. The new institution will be tasked with regulating domestic air travel and establish mechanisms to ensure safety in the air.

The Civil Aviation Authority becomes an independent entity outside the civil service with legal status and powers to enforce the Act. While a cabinet minister is to oversee the authority, its five-member board of directors would be appointed by the President.

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PPM “will definitely win”: Mundhu

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has announced it will now contest in every upcoming election, and will be establishing party offices in atolls nation-wide.

Spokesperson for former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and member of PPM’s interim counci, Hussain ‘Mundhu’ Shareef, told local media that although the party “did not contest in elections in order to draft the party’s charter and strengthen internal factors”, the party would now engage in campaigns “and will definitely win.”

PPM did contest in a December 31 council by-election in Shaviyani Atoll Milandhoo this year, however it lost to ruling Maldivian Democratic Party candidate Abdulla Athif.

In November, PPM member Abdulla Mohamed Didi won the mid-Fuvahmulah atoll council seat by running as an independent, as PPM had not completed the registration process. Didi received 52 percent of the votes while MDP candidate Mohamed Abdulla Didi received 46 percent.

Opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) received only eight percent of the votes.

PPM MP Ahmed Mahlouf noted that the Kaashidhoo seat in parliament may be vacated pending a ruling at the Supreme Court. Anticipating a ruling on the matter within a month, he said PPM would contest for the seat.

A win for the Kaashidhoo seat would allow PPM to be officially recognised by Parliament–according to Section 29(d) of the parliamentary rules of procedure, which states that “political parties in parliament shall be parties with a member or members that contested in the name of the party and was elected to parliament.” At the moment, the eight MPs who currently identify with PPM officially operate as independents within the Majlis.

PPM’s statement comes a year and a half in advance of the 2013 presidential elections, the first since President Mohamed Nasheed took office in 2008 in the country’s first multi-party elections that marked the end of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s 30-year dictatorship.

While the new government has been primarily challenged by DRP, the opposition appears to be shifting in sizeable strides toward PPM, which is headed by former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Since PPM completed its registration process in late October with 3,600 membership forms submitted to the Elections Commission (EC), it has received 11,000 members directly from DRP, Mahlouf claims. He added that 1,800 had switched over from MDP, 1,000 had joined from other parties, and several thousand more who had not previously belonged to a political party had registered.

“Our first target was to get DRP members to join us,” Mahlouf explained. “Now I believe 90 percent of DRP members support Gayoom, so I expect most will join PPM.”

According to the party registry, however, DRP has only lost approximately 6,000 members since November.

Still, DRP’s current membership is lower than it was before an acrimonious split that saw the Z-faction breakaway in 2010 and go on to form PPM under the leadership of DRP ‘honorary leader’ former President Gayoom.

Meanwhile, PPM is currently facing tense relations with the EC.

“Of the 20,000 registration forms we’ve submitted, 6,000 have been rejected,” Mahlouf complained. “The EC is citing small mistakes like use of English instead of Dhivehi, the way fingerprints are done, whether we have two witnesses for the form, and they will only accept valid national ID cards, not passports or licenses.

“When MDP and DRP registered it was very easy,” he recalled.

Gayoom recently accused the EC of unfair procedures. “We know the state of affairs in the country right now – election results do not turn out the way people vote. So what are we going to do?” he said during a party rally. His statement elicited a condemnatory response from EC while the MDP suggested that his remarks were made because vote rigging was involved during his 30 years as president.

Eyeing the annual general assembly at the end of April, however, PPM has announced it will be campaigning in the atolls to “meet the islanders and raise our membership,” Mahlouf said, adding that the party’s target of 40,000–double it’s current alleged membership of 23,000– “is not a difficult target for us.”

As of January 8, the party registry recorded PPM as the nation’s third largest party with nearly 14,000 members, and 245 pending registration forms. DRP remains second largest on record, while MDP ranks first with upwards of 47,000 registered members.

While there are strong signs that DRP will indeed fade into the PPM ticket, Minivan News asked whether PPM anticipated a highly competitive presidential election in 2013.

“Thasmeen will run [for DRP], but I doubt he’ll received many votes given what happened in Fuvahmulah,” Mahlouf said. “I think it will be competitive and fruitful, I certainly hope for a free and fair election.”

DRP has said it will be addressing comments made by PPM’s Hussain ‘Munduh’ Shareef during a press conference tomorrow.

MDP officials could not be reached at time of press.

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False allegations against government “a criminal offence”: President’s Office

Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair has contended that “spreading baseless and demonstrably false claims” about the government is a “criminal offence”, warning that the government would take measures against such claims.

Speaking at the press conference on Wednesday, Zuhair said that government has been tolerating the false allegations from the opposition targeting the government and President Mohamed Nasheed.

However, Zuhair claimed that it was “serious crime to spread baseless and demonstrably false claims”, adding that “we will not hesitate to take actions against anyone who commits the offence.”

Zuhair’s remarks came following the cases forwarded to the police by President Nasheed, requesting an investigation into claims by DQP council members ‘Sandhaanu’ Ahmed Didi and Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed on DhiTV Sunday night, that the government was “plotting against religious scholars under Jewish guidance” and that it was “working under the influence of Christian priests.”

“Why is it that they have made an office for David Hardingham called ‘Honorary Cousel of the Maldives’?” Ahmed Didi asked appearing on DhiTV Sunday night. “What would a temple priest do? They are running an office for him on our state’s expense. Nasheed has been well hooked. He’s been caught good. He can’t back down.”

Nasheed has been “trying to spread irreligious practices and principles in this country” before he was elected and immediately thereafter, Didi alleged.

He claimed Nasheed has called prominent religious scholars such as Sheikh Ilyas Hussein, Adhaalath party scholars council president, “a terrorist”.

Senior government officials were meanwhile offered “large amounts of money” during foreign visits to introduce freedom of religion in the Maldives. Human Rights Ambassador Mohamed “Go Go” Latheef was made such an offer by “famous American Christians and Jews” but refused, Didi claimed.

However after Nasheed’s visit to England “he could not refuse any of their proposals because he was much too deep in it.”

Meanwhile, Zuhair today dismissed the opposition’s claims.

He insisted that accusing the government of being influenced by “foreign priests” is a serious lie, which has been repeated since Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) came to power in 2008.

Zuhair also condemned the recent press statement from former coalition partner and now minority opposition Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), in which the party accused President Nasheed of spreading lies about the existence of extremists in Maldives.

Referring to the media outlets which reports the allegations, the Press Sercretary said that measures will be taken against anyone who “participates in the criminal offence” of spreading false claims.

According to Zuhair, reporting the demonstrably false allegations of foreign religious influence was a “violation of journalism ethics” and the press secretary urged media to refrain from reporting them.

Head of the Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir meanwhile said opinions were subjective and it was not the responsibility of the journalist to authenticate claims made by opposition groups or the government.

“Threatening” the media was not conducive to freedom of expression, he said.

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House burns to ground in Gaaf dhaal Vaadhoo

A house in Gaaf Dhaal Atoll Vaadhoo was consumed by fire last evening while its owner was out fishing.

Island Council President Mohamed Waheed told local media that all that remained of the two-room house after neighbors extinguished the fire were the walls.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, however police are investigating the incident.

The incident is the fifth case of possible arson to be reported in the last three weeks.

Early on the morning of December 26 a car belonging to a group of American scientists was set on fire in Addu. Locals observed that it was the first time such an event had taken place in the area, while council officials wondered whether the act was a result of rising religious tensions in the days since the December 23 protests for Islam.

Two days later, Noonu Atoll Miladhoo island council office was burned to the ground in what police suspected was an arson attack. Speaking to Minivan News at the time of the incident, Council President Hussain Ghassan said the council had received “several threats” from some people unhappy with the council, of which a majority sides with opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP).

On January 2, 2012, police arrested one suspect but did not provide details.

On the evening of January 3, a furnished but uninhabited house in Thaa Atoll Thimarafushi caught fire. Police said they suspected arson as there was evidence of an attempted break-in.

On January 4, the engine of a boat en route to Male’ from Kulhudhufushi carrying 175 passengers caught fire near Aarah in Male’ Atoll. Two passengers were injured.

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