Category: News in Brief

Maldives battling heroin epidemic: Sydney Morning Herald

Beyond the idyllic white-sand beaches and cerulean seas of the Maldives is a country facing a spiralling drug epidemic, writes Ben Doherty for the Sydney Morning Herald.

For several years, the country has been flooded with cheap, low-grade heroin – ”brown sugar” as it is known on the streets of Male – smuggled into the country in boats from the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.
The exact number of drug users in the far-flung Indian Ocean archipelago is hard to know. In a conservative Muslim society where drinking alcohol is illegal, discussion of a drug habit is taboo.

Some reports suggest there are 30,000 regular drug users in the country. Two years ago, the United Nations Development Program estimated 40 per cent of Maldivian youth were using hard drugs.

”This is a small community here. Every family here has been affected by the drugs problem in some way. All of us suffer,” Fatimanth Afiya, the chairperson of the Society for Women Against Drugs, says.
”Heroin is the big problem. It is cheap, and it is easy to get.”

The ready availability of drugs is compounded by social factors in the Maldives. Despite having the highest gross domestic product per capita in South Asia (thanks largely to its tourism industry), the Maldives has a burgeoning young population it cannot employ.

Forty-four per cent of the country’s population is aged under 14 and 62 per cent under 25. Across the archipelago, a quarter of all young men and half of all women have no work.

The economic pull of the capital means families often live in cramped accommodation in Male and children spend most of their time out on the street.

Gangs are common. Prison is the other great incubator. Research by Women Against Drugs and other non-government organisations suggests 80 per cent of prisoners are incarcerated for drugs offences and punitive drug laws mean people are sentenced to extraordinary terms. Young offenders are regularly ordered to serve decades of jail time.

Possession of anything more than one gram of heroin is considered trafficking and attracts a 25-year sentence.

Amaty (not his real name), a young Maldivian drug user who grew up on another island but came to Male with his family, told the Herald he had quit before, a ”lot of times”, but never for very long.

”It’s just all around, drugs are everywhere here. You want to stop, but your friends take drugs. And the people are here who will sell [them] to you. Male is small, man, where you can go? You know everybody, and everybody can find you.”

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Yameen rejects VP’s request that judge be released and suspended

Parliamentary group leader of the opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and Mulak constituency MP Abdulla Yameen has rejected Vice President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik’s request that Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed be released from military detention but suspended from the Criminal Court bench until all charges against him have been cleared by the Judicial Services Commission (JSC).

The JSC was tasked with investigating allegations against the judge last year, however its efforts were blocked by a Civil Court ruling. The Judge was arrested by Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) on January 16, 2011, after attempting to block his own police summons.

Speaking against the government’s order to have the judge arrested, the Vice President first stated his opinion on Saturday, January 21. He gave a press conference the following day, asserting that the judge’s detention was unlawful.

After questioning by police yesterday, Yameen rejected the Vice President’s statement as “unacceptable”, local media reports.

While PPM does not wish to interfere with the JSC’s investigation, Yameen argued that it should be conducted within the boundaries of law.

Since the judge’s arrest PPM and other opposition parties have led protests outside the Maldive Monetary Authority (MMA), the closest point to the no-protest zone surrounding the President’s Office and government buildings.

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Domestic air transport price sees 18 percent hike

The price of domestic air transportation increased by 18 percent between December 2010 and December 2011, statistics from the Department of National Planning (DNP) indicate.

International flights increased by an even greater 20 percent over the past year.

The transportation sector contributed a total of 8 percent to last year’s total inflation, while Capital Male’ saw an 11.27 percent increase in inflation.

According to DNP statistics, major price hikes also occurred in the food, fish, education and health sectors.

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Rising fundamentalism oppressing Maldivian women: Sydney Morning Herald

When the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, visited the Maldives late last year, she urged that the practice of flogging women for having sex outside marriage – while very rarely punishing men for the same – should be abolished, writes Ben Doherty for the Sydney Morning Herald.

”This practice constitutes one of the most inhumane and degrading forms of violence against women,” she told local reporters then.

The response was as fierce as it was unexpected. The next day protesters rallied outside the UN building, carrying placards that read ”Ban UN” and ”Islam is not a toy” and threatened to ”Flog Pillay”. A website later promised to ”slaughter anyone against Islam”.

Shadiya Ibrahim, member of the newly formed Gender Advocacy Working Group and a long-time campaigner for women’s rights, said Maldivian society was growing more oppressive towards women.

”Being a woman is harder now. The religious Wahhabist scholars preach more forcefully than anyone else can. They have this backing of religion as a tool.

”No one can make the argument to have a more liberal, a more positive attitude towards women. Day by day, it is becoming harder for women to live in this country,” she said.

Ms Ibrahim said women were excluded from positions of power, from taking jobs and even from education, particularly beyond primary level.

The practice of flogging women for extramarital sex was common across the Maldives, she said.

”It happens everywhere. Normally, this punishment is given when you give birth, which is why it is almost always women. If you have 140-odd women being flogged, you have only two or three men.” The flogging is public and done with a paddle or a cane, and is intended more to humiliate than to cause serious injury.

Ms Ibrahim said flogging was accepted by many Maldivians, and there were other, more serious issues emerging, including a growing number of instances of sexual violence.

”This week, there have been two cases of a gang rape of [a] minor, one 16-year-old, one 12-year-old and, very often, while there is an effort to catch the perpetrators, eventually, the media will turn it into ‘the girl was wearing this’, ‘the girl had gone there’,” she said.

Domestic violence is common. A nationwide survey done in 2007 found one in three Maldivian women had been abused, sexually or physically.

Aneesa Ahmed, president of advocacy organisation Hope for Women, said a domestic violence bill before the Maldivian parliament would raise awareness of an issue rarely discussed in the Maldives. But the legislation has been stuck in parliament more than 14 months. Only five of the Maldives’ 77 parliamentarians are women.

Ms Ahmed said Maldivian women’s control over their lives was being eroded. ”Men in the Maldives feel that the women’s role is reproductive and in the home. That’s what women should do and that’s all we should do.’

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Volvo Ocean Race boats skirt pirates, set sail for China

Six Volvo Ocean Race boats set off for China from the Maldives on Sunday, January 22, to complete the second of the race’s three legs. The boats first set sail from Spain in early November 2011.

The boats–allegedly worth several millions of dollars–were brought to the Maldives by an armed ship from the United Arab Emirates in order to avoid the piracy threats of the Indian Ocean. It was the first time in the 38-year-old offshore race’s history that the boats had been shipped, reports Haveeru.

The choice of the Maldives as a safe port was kept secret until Saturday morning. Race staff and team members had previously signed a non-disclosure document to guarantee boats’ security, according to security experts’ advice.

The next leg takes competitors over 3,000 windy and hazardous nautical miles through the Malacca Strait and into the South China Sea. The crews expect to arrive in Sanya, Hainan Province in China next week.

According to local media the boats rankings are currently Telefonica (Spain) 71, Camper (Spain/New Zealand) 64, Groupama (France) 51, Puma (United States) 36, Abu Dhabi 31, and Team Sanya (China) 11.

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MBC requests police protection for media personnel and property

The Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) has requested police protection for broadcasting stations, media equipment and journalists following recent attacks during political protests on capital Male’.

MBC has discussed the issue directly with police officials and has submitted an official letter detailing the request, reports local media.

MBC President Badhuruh Naseer condemned the threats and attacks made on media personnel last weekend, citing the rights of journalists as guaranteed under Article 28 of the Constitution in defense.

Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) staff and property were also attacked during the protests.

A press release from the President’s Office today declared the government’s commitment to a free media “absolute and unwavering”.

Last week, Maldives media authorities raised alarms when the Minister of Transport and Communication Adhil Saleem claimed that broadcasting licences of media stations “misleading the public” would be revoked.

Adhil later said he only meant to advise the media on the matter, not to issue a threat.

Rejecting accusations that the “advice” was a threat, President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair noted that Saleem merely pointed out that certain TV news channels had acted unprofessionally when airing footage of recent protests.

“President Nasheed’s administration never has and never will do anything to undermine the independence, integrity or professionalism of the media,” he said.

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MDP to file cases against Abdulla Mohamed with Chief Judge Supreme Court

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said it will file two cases with Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Ahmed Faiz, against Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed.

One case appeals the High Court injunction against the summoning of Abdulla Mohamed by police last week, which led to police requesting the military conduct the arrest of the judge.

MDP MP Alhan Fahmy was reported as saying in Haveeru that the Supreme Court had authority to investigate the issuing of that High Court injunction.

He claimed to have been turned away from meeting the Chief Justice this morning and told to return in the afternoon to file the cases, while lawyers Azima Shakoor and Shaaheen Hameed were granted meetings late at night without prior appointment.

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Parliament “working to resolve instability”: Speaker

Parliament is working to resolve the political instability currently at play in the capital Male’, Speaker Abdulla Shahid has said.

In a response to the accusations that Parliament was not addressing the matter of Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed’s arrest by the military last week, or the detention of opposition party members, the body stated that it had the authority to monitor and hold the government accountable for its actions when necessary, local media reports.

The statement added that parliamentary committees are important for enforcement purposes.

Speaking to local media, Shahid attempted to discredit the general accusation that Parliament has not done anything to resolve the situation and explained that the independent body was trying to address the matter in a responsible fashion.

Shahid emphasised that Parliament does not belong to any individual, and that its decisions are made collectively. He said the final results indicate the level of work done by Parliament members.

Relevant parliamentary committees are evaluating the political situation, he added.

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Police forward case against Dr Jameel for prosecution

Police have concluded an investigation requested by the President’s Office into “slanderous allegations” by minority opposition Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) Deputy Leader Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed.

According to a statement released by police on Thursday, the former Justice Minister was investigated for attempting to incite hatred and disrupt religious unity.

The case has been sent to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the statement revealed.

In the past week, Jameel was summoned for questioning four times and taken into custody thrice by police.

However on all three occasions he was released by the Criminal Court before 24 hours after DQP filed cases challenging the legality of the arrests.

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