gayoom – Page 6 – Minivan News

Reporters Without Borders condemns stabbing of Hilath Rasheed: “All the hallmarks of a targeted murder attempt”

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned the stabbing of well-known Maldivian journalist and blogger Ismail ‘Hilath’ Rasheed.

Rasheed had his throat slashed outside his house in Male’ around 8:15pm on Monday night, and was rushed to ADK Hospital for emergency surgery. Sources at the hospital said that the attack severed his trachea (windpipe), missing a vital artery “by millimetres”, and initially gave him a five percent chance of survival.

Hospital staff stabilised Rasheed’s condition around 2:30am on Tuesday, and as of Wednesday evening his condition was said to be improving. An informed source told Minivan News that Rasheed was unable to speak due to his injuries, but had communicated with his parents in writing.

“This knife attack has all the hallmarks of a targeted murder attempt,” Reporters Without Borders said in a statement.

“Rasheed has made many enemies through his outspoken blogging. The authorities in charge of the investigation should not rule out the possibility that this was linked to his journalistic activity. He is a well-known journalist who has repeatedly been censored, arrested and threatened.

“The police must, as a matter of urgency, put a stop to the harassment of Rasheed and take the issue of his safety seriously. Any lack of response on their part will constitute a criminal failure to assist a person in danger,” RSF stated.

The organisation noted that Rasheed had previously been attacked on December 10, 2011, suffering a fractured skull “while attending a peaceful demonstration in support of religious tolerance.”

“The police then arrested him for taking part in the demonstration and held him until 9 January,” RSF added, noting that Rasheed’s blog, www.hilath.com, had also been blocked on the orders of Ministry of Islamic Affairs on 19 November 2011 on the grounds that it contained “anti-Islamic” material.

“If it is confirmed that the attack was prompted by his journalism and blogging, Rasheed would be the first journalist to have been the target of a murder attempt in Maldives,” RSF observed.

The Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) has also condemned the attack on Rasheed.

“The violent attack on Hilath was an attempt to kill him. The association calls on the authorities to find those who had involved in this crime and bring them to justice,” the MJA stated.
“We call on the police and political figures of this country to stop quarrelling for power and make the country – especially the capital Male’ – a place where families and children can live without fear.”

The MJA added that if the trend of violent murders across the country continued, the resulting impact on the country’s tourism-based economy would be “irrevocable”.

Minister for Human Resources and spokesperson for former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Mohamed ‘Mundhu’ Shareef, told AFP that while the government condemned the attack, “Hilath must have known that he had become a target of a few extremists.”

“We are not a secular country. When you talk about religion there will always be a few people who do not agree,” Shareef said.

Police Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef meanwhile said that while no arrests had been made, police had obtained CCTV footage of the area and were in the process of analysing it.

Police were also investigating the stabbing of a Bangladeshi man at 11pm on the same evening, Haneef said. The victim suffered minor injuries and was discharged from hospital on Tuesday.

The Maldives was ranked 73rd out of 179 countries in the 2011-2012 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index. The country jumped from 148th in 2005 to 51st in 2009, following the introduction of multiparty democracy and freedom of expression.

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Government agrees to CMAG demands “with conditions”

The government of the Maldives has agreed to the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group’s (CMAG) demand to revise the composition of a commission set up to investigate the controversial transfer of power on February 7, but has set conditions for the appointment of a new member to represent ousted President Mohamed Nasheed on the commission.

Attorney General Azima Shukoor said Nasheed’s nominee must not have served in a political position in the past two years or taken a public stand on the transfer of power. Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have challenged the conditions and called them “nonsensical.”

The CMAG in April warned of “stronger measures” against the Maldives if new President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan failed to revise the composition and mandate of the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) by May 16.

The Commonwealth had already suspended the Maldives from the CMAG and placed the Maldives on its formal agenda following Nasheed’s claim that he was ousted in a coup d’état on February 7, carried out by mutinous elements of the police and military.

Speaking to the press on Tuesday with only a day remaining before the CMAG deadline, Shukoor said the CNI will continue to retain the three members appointed by President Waheed, but will now include a Commonwealth-chosen judge as co-chair of the commission and a member representing Nasheed. The government has already accepted a retired Singaporean judge as co-chair, but has rejected nine candidates fielded by Nasheed and given him a two week deadline to fill the post.

Regarding CMAG’s call to revise the CNI’s mandate, Shukoor said a “misunderstanding” had taken place and that the mandate would be “clarified and refined.”

“Nonsensical”

At a press conference immediately following the government’s briefing, MDP Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor hailed the government’s decision to revise the CNI composition as “historic”, and said the commission “is now independent.”

However, MDP lawyer and former Youth Minister Hassan Latheef expressed concern over the government’s “nonsensical” conditions for Nasheed’s member. In addition to prohibiting any candidate who had served in a political position and taken a public stand over the transfer of power, the government has also stipulated that the nominee must have “good behavior and integrity.”

Latheef said the latter conditions were “subjective”, and added that if the government required a candidate who had not yet taken a public stand, “then they are saying Dr Waheed will appoint President Nasheed’s representative.”

If Nasheed was not allowed to appoint his own candidate, the opportunity “lacks any sincerity”, Latheef said.

The nine candidates fielded by Nasheed include MP and former MDP chairperson Mariya Ahmed Didi, former Environment Minister Mohamed Aslam, former Youth Minister Hassan Latheef, former Education Minister Shifa Mohamed, former President’s Member on the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) Aishath Velezinee, Nasheed’s cousin Hudha Ahmed, former Airports Company board member Ibrahim Saleem, and former President’s Office political appointee Fareesha Abdulla.

Ghafoor said the MDP had initially asked for three MDP members on the commission for equal representation, but acceded to a foreign co-chair and a member to represent Nasheed because the party “wants the case to proceed and we want a way out of this.”

According to Shukoor, the government rejected Nasheed’s nominees because they included members of his cabinet, his relatives and MDP activists. “The Commonwealth’s concern is that the composition be independent and impartial. Hence, the government believes the inquiry commission cannot proceed with the [nominated] people,” she told reporters.

The MDP initially challenged the independence of the inquiry on the basis that Chair Ismail Shafeeu was previously Defence Minister under former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s government, at a time when systematic torture was being conducted on political prisoners.

Home Minister Mohamed Jameel said he hoped the CMAG would accept the government’s proposal, and said: “We do not believe CMAG’s demand was to appease a certain person. The government and the majority of the public cannot believe these nominees can be impartial.”

The government has given Nasheed a two-week deadline to field an acceptable candidate. If an agreement cannot be reached, then the government will proceed by appointing a lawyer to the seat reserved for Nasheed’s nominee, Shukoor also said.

Terms of reference, elections

Although CMAG had called for a revision of the CNI mandate, Shukoor said the terms of reference would not be changed, but had been refined.

MDP’s Latheef provided details of the changes to the mandate, claiming the CNI would prioritise an inquiry into whether Nasheed had resigned under duress and the circumstances surrounding the transfer of power.

The CNI’s current mandate stipulates an investigation into the events starting from the detention of Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed on January 14 until the transfer of power on February 7. The government maintains Nasheed voluntarily resigned following public furor over the judge’s detention.

Furthermore, instead of relying solely on witness statements, the commission would also accept photos, videos, audios, personal bank statements and phone recordings as evidence, Latheef also said.

The CMAG had also called on the Maldives to hold early elections within 2012, but Shukoor reiterated the government’s position that fresh elections could only be held if the inquiry found the transfer of power to be unconstitutional and added that early polls would require a constitutional amendment.

Formal Agenda

In Tuesday’s press briefing, the government also protested against CMAG’s decision to place Maldives on its formal agenda, and said the move contravened the Commonwealth’s mandate and procedures.

Newly-appointed Human Rights and Gender Minister Dhiyana Saeed said the enhanced mandate of the CMAG approved in Perth in October 2011 only allowed the organisation to place a country on its agenda if there was: “(1) unilateral abrogation of a democratic constitution or serious threats to constitutional rule; (2) the suspension or prevention of the lawful functioning of parliament or other key democratic institutions; (3) the postponement of national elections without constitutional or other reasonable justification; and (4) the systematic denial of political space, such as through detention of political leaders or restriction of freedom of association, assembly or expression.”

Saeed claimed that as long as Nasheed’s allegations of coup d’état remained unproven, the CMAG could not activate its mandate to place Maldives on its agenda.

“Given that no allegations have yet been proven and when the Maldivian government is cooperating with an investigation into the allegations, CMAG has placed the Maldives on its formal agenda outside of the CMAG mandate and process,” she told reporters.

Despite the government’s opposition to being placed on the CMAG’s formal agenda, it remained ready to engage with the Commonwealth in finding a political resolution, Saeed said.

The Commonwealth must follow “due process” by establishing whether an unconstitutional transfer of power had taken place before placing Maldives on its agenda, Shukoor added.

“It is our right to be treated according to those principles, no matter how small or vulnerable we are or how serious the allegation against us are,” she said.

Political parties backing President Dr Waheed have called for preemptively withdrawing from the Commonwealth. MPs of the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) and the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) in April submitted a bill to Majlis to disengage from the Commonwealth.

Waheed is currently in India for an official visit, and has criticized the Commonwealth engagement with the Maldives.

“We used to believe that the Commonwealth was the champion of the smaller nations that extended assistance in every way possible. But to the contrary we witnessed the grouping inclined towards Nasheed, head towards punishing us,” local media reports Waheed as saying.

Despite voicing his disappointment with the 54 nation group, Waheed said that he would not back the proposals to withdraw from the Commonwealth and expected the bill to be dismissed as soon as the Majlis returned from its current recess.

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“I’m not a person who worships money”: Shifag defends move from MDP to PPM

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Shifag ‘Histo’ Mufeed yesterday signed for the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) during a meeting in his constituency of Fuvamullah.

The meeting was attended by the party’s leader, former President Maumoon Gayoom. Shifag was pictured in local media with the former President, draped with a garland of pink flowers.

Shifag acknowledged that charges of financial gain were likely to be levelled at any MP crossing the parliamentary divide during the political upheaval.

“I’m not a person who worships money. I feel disappointed and embarrassed that such people exist in our party. However, I want to assure you I will do whatever is in my power for you citizens, for your island, for my island, no matter which colour or which party I’ve signed on to,” Shifag said.

Shifag also explained his previous “abusive” criticism of Gayoom as the “words of a young man”who had not had any other president to compare the 30-year autocrat with.

“I was very young and politically naïve. Our history had not been written down very clearly”, he told people at a rally in Fuvahmulah yesterday.

Shifag claimed during the rally that the fall of former President Nasheed had arisen because of the actions of MDP members who had begun to act in a self-serving and dictatorial fashion.

Former Tourism Minister Mariyam Zulfa said the party had been aware that Shifag had been negotiating with other parties.

“Shifag has always been negotiating with other parties for a better deal for himself. We’ve known that he was was not one of the party faifthful, and that behind the scenes he was negotiating,” she said.

The Fuvahmulah MP had become increasingly critical of the MDP’s leadership in recent times. Last week he chose to go against the party line, attending the Majlis session in which the government’s nominees for the Vice-Presidency and the cabinet were confirmed by the coalition parties.

The official position of the MDP is that the February 7 transfer of power was orchestrated through a coup and, therefore, that the current government is illegitimate.

The MDP’s President and Vice President, Dr Ibrahim Didi and Alhan Fahmy, were removed from their posts last week after the party’s National Congress voted in support of no-confidence motions made against them. The primary reason given was the belief that the pair had been making statements in contradiction of the party’s official resolution of February 8.

Assuaging fears of further divisions within the MDP, Zulfa said that the party was “stronger than ever”.

“It is now that we should be dealing with people who are not loyal to the party philosophy. Even [former party leaders, voted out last week] Dr Ibrahim Didi and Alhan Fahmy – the time to deal with that was now. They were creating divisions at a time we need unity. As leaders they should have been uniting the party rather than questioning the way it was doing things,” said Zulfa.

All three of the parliamentary seats in Shifag’s Fuvahmullah constituency are now held by the PPM which, with the signature of Shifag, now has the largest minority representation in the Majlis with 18 members from a total of 77.

The PPM’s group leader Abdulla Yameen was confident that the party would gain more parliamentary converts, though he admitted that the “dynamic” nature of politics makes predictions difficult.

“The MDP will have to make extra efforts, they have an uphill battle to fight. They will have to arrest the movement of MPs to other parties,” he said.

The PPM’s unofficial numbers in the house became officially recognised after the victory of Ahmed Shareef in the Thimarafushi by-election in April. Prior to this, the Majlis’s PPM supporters were technically classed as independents as the party had not won any seats through the polls.

The party was formed in October 2011 after the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) split. Vice-President of the party Umar Naseer yesterday told Minivan News that he was confident the party could replace the MDP as the majority leader in the Majlis.

Unlike the rules governing the party affiliation of council members, members of the Majlis are not required to stand for re-election after changing political parties.

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“Reliable sources” say MDP’s Shifag to defect to PPM

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Shifag Mufeed is set to join the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), local media has claimed, citing “reliable sources” within the government aligned-party.

MDP Spokesman Hamid Abdul Ghafoor had confirmed that the party would be taking disciplinary measures against Shifag after he broke a three-line whip on April 25, voting to endorse the government’s nominations for the vice-presidency as well as fourteen cabinet appointees.

Shifag was the sole representative from the MDP at the majlis session last month after the party boycotted the ratification process. The forty-five MPs present voted unanimously to endorse all appointees.

Shifag’s defection to the PPM would bring the party’s total number of supporters in the People’s Majlis up to 18, according to Haveeru.

The party, headed by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, was formed in October 2011 after the DRP divided in two. The PPM won its first seat in the Majlis last month after Ahmed Shareef won the Thimarafushi by-election, assuming the minority parliamentary leadership.

Under parliament law, the PPM was required to have at least one MP voted in under the party’s own ticket before its MPs – who were all elected under different groups such as the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) – could officially represent it in the Majlis chamber.

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DRP will “categorically” not support withdrawal from Commonwealth: Shareef

President’s Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza has given assurances that the government coalition of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan remained strong, despite a differing of opinions between pro-government parties regarding the bill proposing the Maldives’ withdrawal from the Commonwealth.

“The coalition is strong, there are no issues with that. It shows that even on issues on which we disagree, we can work together. That’s what being in a coalition is all about,” said Abbas.

“Nasheed’s coalition split within 21 days – we are already passed this date. There are no long term issues,” he added.

A bill to withdraw the Maldives from the Commonwealth was submitted to the Majlis on April 29 and has been labelled in the local media as “not responsible” by the leader of coalition member Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Ahmed Thasmeen Ali.

Speaking with local newspaper Haveeru, Thasmeen criticised the decision not to consult with other parties within the coalition. The bill was submitted by Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Ilham and Dhivehi Qaumee Party, also a part of the coalition, (DQP) MP Riyaz Rasheed.

Deputy leader of the DRP, Ibrahim Shareef, today said that the party was in general support of the government: “But we cannot give in where the party’s core values are at stake.”

“We will try to run the ministries allocated to us and will support the government on matters we agree upon. On matters we disagree we will vote against,” he said.

When asked about the core values that divide the PPM from the DRP, Shareef said that he was unsure of the specific values of the PPM.

He said that the core values of the DRP were an open economic policy, private enterprise, equality and justice, democracy and the protection of law for everyone equally.

Leader of the DQP and Special Advisor to President Waheed, Dr Hassan Saeed, wrote an opinion piece for Haveeru on April 26 entitled: “Voters need to know what the party stands for”.

In the article he wrote: “We need political parties with clear political platforms. But before this we need to understand where those policies come from. What are the values that underpin them?”

He argued that clearer differentiation between parties would enable voters to make informed choices. Otherwise, Dr Saeed argued that voters fall back on reasons such as personality politics.

He argued that this was “the most dangerous because it can lead to a crude populism where big personalities attempt to outbid each other with unkeepable promises.”

The PPM, headed by the former President of thirty years Maumoon Gayoom, was formed in October 2011 following acrimonious divisions within the DRP. Gayoom had previously announced his retirement from politics but has become increasingly active in 2012.

The decision to forward the bill followed comments by Gayoom criticising the recent Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) statement. The statement criticised the government’s apparent failure to establish an impartial body to investigate the events that led to Nasheed’s resignation. It also repeated prior calls for fresh elections to end conjecture over the legitimacy of the current government.

Days before the submission of the withdrawal bill to parliament, Gayoom was reported as having questioned the necessity of the Maldives’ Commonwealth membership.

Gayoom became the Maldives’ third President in 1978 and the country joined the Commonwealth in 1982.

Gayoom was reported by Haveeru, however, to have argued that the nature of the body had changed since that time, resulting in a situation that no longer benefitted smaller nations.

“The actions of the Commonwealth have changed since then, to a point where we now have to have a rethink about the whole situation. That’s how much the world has changed now,” he claimed.

Gayoom’s said his comments were also based on the fact that the country had never itself been a former colony unlike neighbours such as India and Sri Lanka.

Earlier in the month, on the eve of the CMAG meeting, Gayoom warned PPM supporters that the country must be wary of foreign attempts to “intervene in our internal affairs”.

A PPM MP spoke to Minivan News following the announcement of the bill, saying: “From my view it is not something that has been discussed within the PPM yet,” the MP said yesterday.

“I have previously expressed my concern that [leaving the Commonwealth] is not the best way to solve this issue. It is not really a choice we can take,” said the MP who wish to remain unnamed.

The DRP’s Ibrahim Shareef said that DRP’s united stance was, “Categorically, we would not support a withdrawal from the Commonwealth.”

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Maldives government selects Ruder Finn for “controversial” brief: PR Week

The Maldives’ government has appointed US-based public relations agency Ruder Finn in a deal worth upwards of US$150,000 a month, reports public relations industry magazine PR Week.

However Deputy Minister of Tourism Mohamed Maleeh Jamal told Minivan News that the government was still evaluating the bids.

“I can’t disclose the costs or names, but we are evaluating three companies: one in India, one in China, and another in America,” Maleeh said.

President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s spokesperson, Abbas Adil Riza, told Minivan News that the appointed company would only be responsible for promoting tourism, and would not be involved in politics or government.

Tthe request for proposals (RFP) document issued by the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) on April 9 states that the successful agency will be required to target stakeholders in the UK, USA, Commonwealth countries, “all relevant EU institutions”, academic institutions and NGOs, “arrange 1:1 meetings with influential and open minded potential champions”, and “arrange briefings to build links at various levels with the UK, US, Commonwealth and major European governments.”

The agency will “feed in academic arguments to those identified”, and “determine champions who are willing to speak publicly on Maldives”, in a bid to “Rally an alliance of support for the Maldives”.

Locally, the chosen company will be required to “assist with the roll out of policy and other announcements to media, parliamentarians,government, NGOs and others.”

Speaking to PR Week, Ruder Finn’s Senior Vice-President and Ethics Officer Emmanuel Tchividjian defended company’s decision to take on the contract.

“We believe Ruder Finn can contribute positively to the people of the Maldives, a country that depends on tourism for the bulk of its economy,” Tchividjian stated.

“Prior to deciding to pursue the tender, we closely examined the complexity of the current political situation in the country. We were encouraged by the desire of the current government, in place according to the country’s constitution, to focus on ensuring stability, democracy and transparency in the Maldives, including a free press,” he said, but acknowledged “diverse points of view” surrounding the change of government on February 7.

The 50,000 member-strong Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which was ousted from power on February 7 following what then President Mohamed Nasheed described as a coup d’état planned by the opposition, sponsored by wealthy resort tycoons and carried out by a mutinous police and military, continues to maintain that the new President’s government is illegitimate and a return to the autocratic era of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

David Hardingham, founder of the UK-based Friends of Maldives (FOM) NGO that has issued a travel advisory against several resorts owned by those by the MDP accused of involvement in the coup, suggested to PR Week that Ruder Finn should “tear up the contract, and think twice in the future about with whom it does business.”

“Clearly our hope was that no responsible PR firm would shake hands with a dictatorship that toppled a democratically elected leader at gunpoint,” the FOM founder told the PR industry trade magazine.

“We can only ask ourselves: is a company with offices in seven countries and a long list of respectable clients really so desperate for the money? Because this kind of work does nothing for its reputation,” he added.

Controversial clients

Ruder Finn is no stranger to controversial clients. Up until the late 90s the company was instrumental in crafting an infamous campaign for US cigarette giant Phillip Morris disputing evidence that smoking was harmful to public health.

According to Sourcewatch, in 2004 the Ruder Finn was appointed to promote Israeli national carrier El Al, while in 2008 the company’s Israel branch represented a “Facing Jihad” conference, “a summit of European lawmakers who are united in their shared belief that Islam today poses a serious threat to Western civilization.”

PR in the Maldives

Other foreign PR companies that have been active in the Maldives have included the Campaign Palace, a London-based group engaged by former President Gayoom to develop his Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP), and New York-headquartered Hill & Knowlton (H&K), which was commissioned by Gayoom in 2003 and subsequently recommended – and in some cases implemented – most of the pre-2008 democratic reform in the Maldives.

H&K’s 2003 report on the Maldives, titled ‘Issues audit and communications strategy for the Government of the Maldives’, revealed that the firm was responsible for much of the human rights and governance reform that paved the way for the country’s first democratic election in 2008.

H&K’s recommendations included the separation of the security forces into police, military and correctional institutions, constitutional reform and the introduction of multi-party democracy, strategies for the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM), reform of the Majlis, reform of the criminal justice system and an end to the practice of flogging.

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Gayoom is back and India is in no hurry to change its stand: Eurasia Review

Having recognised the new regime in a hurry, India is in no position to change its stand, writes Dr. S. Chandrasekharan for the Eurasia Review.

Despite two visits by the Indian Foreign Secretary to Male to convince the new regime for early elections and an undertaking by President Waheed that he would, it looks that there will be no early elections.

With Gayoom having returned to the island, is should be known to everyone that President Waheed is not the master and the decisions are being taken by Gayoom and his followers who are all over in the new government.

Gayoom’s daughter Dunya who is the Minister of state for foreign affairs admitted to the Sunday times that her father would be working “behind the scenes” and playing an advisory role to the President.

This point that Gayoom would be calling the shots was mentioned by Nasheed also. He said “whether we like it or not- the government is now in the hands of the elements that belonged to the three decade long authoritarian rule of Gayoom. President Waheed may be the face of the government- but if you look into it, you will see that he has neither the say nor the control of a President as outlined under the Maldivian constitution.”

This is very much true. Soon after landing in Male, Gayoom ruled out early elections. In his latest speech on 16th April, he has brought in the issue of religion and the sovereignty of Maldives on those ( India included) who are insisting on early elections. He said that international calls for elections are driven by a “special motive” that poses a direct threat for the Maldives’ sovereignty and religious heritage.

His daughter Dunya Maumoon had also said earlier that until the country’s state institutions – the judiciary, the election commission and human rights commission are strengthened it would be impossible for a vote to be held. In other words, what she means is that the present regime is in no hurry to hold the next elections.

Others who are not in support of early elections have cited that the law and order situation is not conducive for early elections. Four elections were held in the last one week- two to Majlis and two the local councils and there were no incidents at all.

The fact of the matter is that early elections will not be held and Gayoom has said the last word.

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Former President Gayoom meets with Sri Lankan President

Former President of the Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom met with the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday to discuss the country’s bilateral ties.

Gayoom expressed his support for President Waheed’s recent pledge to hold elections in July 2013. The former president also highlighted the need for Sri Lankan investment in the Maldivian economy, reports Haveeru.

Rajapaksa was reported to have been told of the need for a peaceful environment in which President Waheed’s administration could continue to develop the country.

The Sri Lankan President thanked the Maldivian government for its recent support for the country at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

Gayoom’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) won its first official seat in parliament last weekend after its candidate won the Thimirafushi by-election. All other PPM supporters in the Majlis have been required to stand as independents since the party was formed in October 2011.

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Government seeking international PR firm to counter negative publicity, “rally alliance of support”

Additional reporting by Neil Merrett and Zaheena Rasheed.

The new Maldivian government is in the process of recruiting an international public relations firm to counter negative publicity and “gain understanding and public acknowledgement of the Maldives from the international community.”

Minivan News obtained a request for proposals (RFP) document issued by the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) on April 9, outlining the government’s media strategy and seeking a company to provide “strategic counsel”, “stakeholder engagement”, “proactive” media relations and “key message and storybook development”.

Objectives for the three month contract, bids for which close on April 14, include boosting tourism confidence, improving the image of the Maldives, and demonstrating the government’s “commitment to strengthening democracy and sustainable development”.

The successful agency will be required to target stakeholders in the UK, USA, Commonwealth countries, “all relevant EU institutions”, academic institutions and NGOs, “arrange 1:1 meetings with influential and open minded potential champions”, and “arrange briefings to build links at various levels with the UK, US, Commonwealth and major European governments.”

Locally, the chosen company will be required to “assist with the roll out of policy and other announcements to media, parliamentarians,government, NGOs and others.”

The successful bidder will be required to develop “key messages, including facts and proof points” concerning “events surrounding the recent incidents in Maldives”, pushing the “core platforms of democracy and sustainable development.”

The MMPRC will task the agency to “Begin the process of developing relationships with key journalists who are friendly and receptive”, and “Provide avenues for proactively seeding positive stories”.

“One to two high profile, credible and friendly” journalists would be targeted for “1:1 relationships”, while a press trip of 3-5 reporters would be arranged before June.

The agency should furthermore “Ensure inaccuracies in coverage are corrected immediately to avoid pick-up and further dissemination” and “help provide balance to negative stories”.

President Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s Spokesperson, Abbas Adil Riza, said he was unaware the government was seeking to retain an international PR firm.

“I think it’s a good idea if we lack capacity to do it in the country,” he suggested.

Negative media coverage was “tarnishing the image of the Maldives”, Riza said, “because the former President [Mohamed Nasheed] is not getting what he wants.”

Such an agency should “lobby the press, make sure they report what actually happened,” Riza recommended.

“The MDP burned down buildings in acts of terrorism. We must expose the MDP for what it is. It is not democratic,” he said.

Deputy Minister of Tourism, Mohamed Maleeh Jamal, said the MMPRC had been recruiting PR agents in several countries, including Germany and the UK.

“The main focus right now is increasing investor confidence. We have to include all fronts include economic angles,” he said. “There has been a barrage of international media coverage and we need to try to convert this interest into positive coverage.”

Negative media coverage of Maldivian political strife had particularly impacted emerging markets, Jamal said. “We’ve a trend of delayed bookings from China, the Middle East and Africa – emerging markets,” he said, adding that traditional markets, such as Germany and France, had been largely unaffected.

Jamal said he was unaware of the responses to the April 9 RFP: “That’s at a technical level. I’m not involved.”

Public relations in the Maldives

Politicians in the opposition parties under Nasheed’s government, including Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) leader Dr Hassan Saeed (now advisor to the President), have previously used the London-based Campaign Company.

Chief Executive of the Campaign Company, Graeme Wilson, told Minivan News this week that “We have no relationship with the Maldivian government”.

According to former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, founder of the Campaign Company, Jonathan Upton, visited the Maldives in 2011 and recommended that leader of the Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP), Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, sideline the former President- then the DRP’s ‘Honorary Leader’.

“[Upton] did not have any idea of the views of the Maldivian people and the political situation of the Maldives. His recommendation to keep me aside, without knowing the support of the majority of the Maldivian people as they have seen the development and changes during my presidency, was not a politically mature recommendation,” Gayoom wrote, in a 12 page open-letter published in March 2011 outlining Thasmeen’s alleged leadership failings.

“You are showing characteristics that cannot be prevented after being deceived by the words of people who are unaware of the political scenario of this country,” Gayoom wrote.

The Campaign Company had been engaged by Gayoom “to build his party and advise on how to manage and develop the DRP”, foreign minister under Gayoom and Nasheed, Dr Ahmed Shaheed, told Minivan News in June 2011.

In 2010, Dr Hassan Saeed used the Campaign Company during a PR tour of UK to meet MPs and journalists, representing the opposition coalition.

During the visit, Minivan News obtained an email exchange with a lobbyist then contracted by the Campaign Company, Peter Craske, soliciting a meeting between the recipient and the DQP, “which is formed of an alliance between the DRP and MDP parties”. Craske subsequently apologised for the error, and noted that the email did not result in any meetings.

Hill & Knowlton leads Maldives’ democratic reform

Another PR firm, New York-headquartered Hill & Knowlton (H&K), was commissioned by Gayoom in 2003 and subsequently recommended – and in some cases implemented – most of the pre-2008 democratic reform in the Maldives.

H&K’s report on the Maldives, titled ‘Issues audit and communications strategy for the Government of the Maldives’, revealed that the firm was responsible for much of the human rights and governance reform that paved the way for the country’s first democratic election in 2008.

The vast majority of recommendations in the report were subsequently implemented, portraying Gayoom as mellowing in the lead up to 2008 following the autocratic excesses of his 30 year rule.

“Expectations have now been raised and presidential promises made; the delivery of meaningful reform is now required,” H&K said in 2003.

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