Tag: letter

Letter on powerlessness

Dear Maldives,

The kind of grandiose, egomaniacal, demagogic display one sees in many Maldivians may appear to be a case of too much self-love. But in fact, it is not love at all. It is hate. It is sadness. It is self loathing. It is an aggressive reaction to rejection. No genuine self love there at all.

When one feels powerless to turn this hatred against another, to vent it outwardly, it is turned inward and becomes depression. Then it is seen for what it really is. Emptiness, sadness, hunger for true love, a desparate craving for a sense of genuine self dignity.

So, I would like to tell you that every Maldivian, the mentally insane, the lonely and rejected, the victim of abuse, the aggressive power hungry politician, all, each and every Maldivian is special, unique, and sacred, for one reason, YOU are deeply precious to the Creator as the pinnacle of a Creation done out of the purpose of Self-Sacrificial Love.

When I read about a young man from Velidhoo committing suicide, and about children being killed in gang warfare, I know that that the angel’s grieve for you Maldivians, because they feel how special you are.

I am sorry to get on this website and quack on and on but I have seen too much sadness in your paradise, sadness expressing itself mainly as hatred, yet I can see that underneath it is sadness. I have too much caring for your ppl, because I can see how sensitive and intelligent, how beautiful Maldivians are, and it aches my heart to see people so sacred dying. I can’t help it.

Not enough respect for the sacredness of human dignity, not enough compassion for the mentally challenged and for the victim of sexual abuse because not enough genuine self respect.

I can’t wait to meet the young man from Velidhoo who committed suicide in paradise because there he will know how sacred he really is…

Ben Plewright

All letters are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write a letter piece, please submit it to [email protected]

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Letter on civil servant food allowance

Dear Mohamed Fahmy Hassan, President of the Civil Service Commission (CSC),

Assalaamualaikum Wrh. Wbr.

My civil servant colleagues and I congratulate you for your nomination as the new President of the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

We take this opportunity to bring to your attention that there are a number of civil servants who are entitled to a food allowance but have not been paid to date.

This we believe is because they are not the majority. But we also believe the CSC must respect the feelings of the minority as well and that we hereby request you to look into the issue a bit seriously and without any further delay.

We have seen that a staff member travelling to the workplace by bus, organised by the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), are paid a food allowance, but the same staff travelling to the workplace by sea –
much further in terms of distance and much more difficult to travel – have NOT been paid a food allowance.

If we look at the set rules and regulations for providing a food allowance we believe it contradicts the rule and how it is been practiced because the rule says a staff member travelling to a workplace other than his/her residence are entitled to a food allowance and a travel allowance.

Again, this in contradictory when those who don’t get a food allowances are still provided with a travel allowance, which doesn’t really make sense and is really problematic.

Now the question is why these employees are been paid a travel allowance if they are not entitled to a food allowance. We believe travel allowance has been paid for the same reason as the food allowance has been paid.

Since the issue has been repeatedly notified to the Zinmaadhaaru Verin (ZV) and the Permanent Secretaries (PS) but remains unattended and ignored, please kindly try to help the civil servants get their entitled food allowance as soon as possible.

Sincerely yours,

Mohamed

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Letter on Hulhumale’ Hospital

Mr President,

I am writing you, Mr President, to inform you about the death of a student of Grade 9 at Ghaazy School Hulhumale’ on August 9, 2010.

According to the student’s parents, the student attended Hulhumale’ Hospital with severe chest pain on August 8, 2010. A doctor (an Indian national) prescribed medicines and sent her away without doing any of the investigations which are usually done by good doctors.

Since all chest pains are NOT normal, this doctor should have referred her to the physician who is also working at Hulhumale’ Hospital. But this doctor neither referred her to that physician nor did any investigation like an ECG or blood tests, from which a physician could normally identify whether it was a chest pain related to gas in the stomach or a heart-related problem.

So, therefore, I would like to inform you Mr President, that this is a problem which has to be solved without any further delay. I also like to mention that this is a very sad story, and that many people who seek medical treatment at this hospital feel that some doctors and nurses are so careless that they recently gave an expired injection (which was sold by a pharmacy) to a young child without noticing that it was expired. This means neither the pharmacist nor the nurse noticed that it was already expired.

This is not something we can correct by investing additional money BUT we can easily with proper supervision of the hospital manager. For this hospital it is much, much easier to solve such problems because the hospital manager is both a manager and a medical doctor.

Mr President, this email is intended to inform you about what is really happening in our beloved country so that our beloved President could keep it in mind even with the very tight and very busy, VERY IMPORTANT engagements at this critical time.

Hameed

All letters are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write a letter, please email it to [email protected]

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Salaf sends letter to police requesting information on alleged missionaries

Religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf yesterday sent a letter to the police, requesting Commissioner of Police Ahmed Faseeh to disclose information regarding alleged missionaries in the Maldives.

Salaf’s letter requested the commissioner disclose information on an alleged missionary couple who were caught by the Maldives Customs Services and deported.

‘’Two weeks after the couple was deported, another missionary was arrested in Baa Atoll, with Christian books written in Dhivehi, and you have said you were investigating the case,’’ the letter said. “Therefore, this NGO — which researches these people – has sent a letter requesting you share information about these cases from last year, October 29.’’

Salaf’s letter claimed the police did not replied to a earlier letter, in which they noted the arrest of another alleged missionary, named David Balk. Balk was previously living in Thaa Atoll Kinbidhoo last year, and left the Maldives on December 12.

“The aforementioned person mysteriously managed to flee the country. Jamiyyathul Salaf is very seriously concerned that adequate measurements are not taken against such crimes, and therefore, [police] are not providing the protection to the religion of Islam as stated under the constitution of the Maldives.’’

“We request you to reply to our recent letter and now that we have alleged that no lawful action was taken against people like David, and others who have violated the religious unity of the country and the constitution, and we request you investigate and reveal who was responsible for this.’’

‘’Furthermore,” wrote Salaf, “the above mentioned David was reportedly found recently in the Maldives, after the Immigration Department claimed he was deported. Therefore, we would like to inform you that this is also a case we are eager to investigate. Pictures of people who commit such unlawful crimes should be revealed to the media to alert the citizens of the Maldives.’’

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that police will not disclose information of an investigation to any party “unless it is a party to which police should disclose information.”

“Police always investigate and deport missionaries as soon as possible if they are expats,’’ said Shiyam. “If they are a Maldivian we will take necessary actions against them as well.’’

He said that all the missionary cases [mentioned] were investigated and that police took lawful action against the individuals concerned.

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President’s speech on the resignation of cabinet

The following is a literal Dhivehi-English translation of the President Mohamed Nasheed’s speech to the media at the President’s Office on Tuesday afternoon, announcing the resignation of his cabinet members.

Today I meet the Maldivian media because the ministers of the government have noted that they are unable to fulfill their responsibilities according to their oath.

All the members of the cabinet are saying that they do not receive any cooperation from the Majlis, that many members of the Majlis are not acting in line with the spirit of the constitution and that they are also violating the articles of the constitution.

Believing a huge majority is with them, and through this majority members of the parliament are violating the very spirit of the constitution we are trying to implement and enforce.

The ministers have said that they are finding it extremely difficult to carry on with their responsibilities, and that therefore they wish to resign until the Majlis acts in a different manner.

All the members of the cabinet are requesting this, so today in accordance with the constitution which reads that after I receive the resignation of all cabinet ministers, myself and vice president Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik will only remain in the cabinet.

I assure the citizens that this government’s one and only aim and goal is to serve the people. This government was formed to establish a system which listens to the voice of the people, and to establish a system which fulfills the needs of the people according to their pulse and also to follow up with that system of governance.

So I request the honorable members of the Majlis to not cloud the atmosphere of governance in the country and to lend me their cooperation while continuing with their work.

I am obliged to look into the complaints made by the members of the cabinet about the Majlis members, therefore today I will start looking into them and I shall do everything possible, in the boundaries of the law, to look into these complaints and issues.

I am the head of state of this country. I am also the head of the police and defense forces. I have put myself up to the task of leading this country to serve the people. We did not come to power with the intent to do whatever we would like to the extent we are able to do. So I am obliged to look into the complaints of the cabinet members and I assure the citizens that I will look into these complaints.

I intend to accept the letters from the ministers in front of all of you. I have not yet received their letters but the cabinet secretary had informed me that he had received the letters. So I ask the cabinet secretary to hand the letters over to me and afterwards I will answer your questions. A bit of time would be required for this (handing over the letters) but I cannot spend too much time on this today.

When the letters of the cabinet ministers are kept on this table, they have been accepted by me by default.

<President accepts letters of resignation>

Among all the letters I just have looked into, only the letter missing is that of Home Minister Mohamed Shihab, as he has mailed it since he is currently not in (Male’).

I sincerely and from the bottom of my heart, thank the cabinet ministers. The strength they have shown, the discipline and integrity they have maintained and their loyalty and readiness to serve this nation and to uphold the features and the spirit of the constitution, I believe never will be doubted by the citizens of this country.

In the history of this country, rarely does a minister resign. If cabinet ministers cannot fulfill their legal duties and responsibilities due to any reason, I do believe that they would have to think about it.

Today my responsibility is to look into the complaints right away. I will look into the complaints of the ministers and I will take necessary action afterwards. I assure this to all citizens of this country.

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Letter on Minivan News

Dear Editor,

I read on your “about us” page that “Minivan News (’minivan’ means ‘independent’ in Dhivehi) is:

an English-language news website providing independent and unbiased coverage of news in the Maldives. Published in the capital Male’, Minivan News is widely read by both local and global audiences and is internationally regarded as the Maldives’ most reliable news source. Minivan News also sets high standards for ethical and impartial reporting, training local journalists to an international standard while providing the country’s first fully independent platform for free expression. In keeping with our commitment to independence, Minivan News is self-funding through banner advertising.

However your reports and news coverage is a just another version of Dhivehi Observer new (aka. Presidents habaru fathafolhi”) meaning it’s always pro-government news.

As a reader of Maldivian news on most of the sites both in Dhivehi and in English, I find it hard to believe in your “pledge” to cover stories “independently”, neither do I believe that they are “unbiased”.

In a baby democracy like ours, it is my view that media has a huge responsibility in disseminating information, cover news in an independent/unbiased manner and in building trust among general public in the whole new democratic system.

Hoping to see a positive change on your e-paper and wishing you all the best.

Ahmed

All letters are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an letter, please send proposals to [email protected]

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Letter on Copenhagen summit

Dear Editor,

A political agreement to prevent dangerous climate change is critical and achievable.

The world is five days into one of the most important global conferences of our time: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen (COP15). Negotiators currently getting down to work are tasked with coming up with a replacement to the Kyoto Protocol that will prevent the nightmare scenarios that many climate scientists have predicted becoming a reality. A formidable challenge.

Overwhelming scientific evidence – endorsed by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – shows that human activity is the primary force driving climate change. The UK recognises that the developed world has historic responsibility for climate change and must make ambitious commitments to tackle its effects, including through making funds available to developing countries.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown proposed, at last month’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the establishment of an annual fund which would make available $10bn to assist developing countries in tacking climate climate immediately after an ambitious agreement at Copenhagen.

COP15 is a crucial engagement in the battle against dangerous climate change and the UK has taken an increasingly proactive position on pressing for an ambitious political agreement at Copenhagen. This year we became the world’s first country to have a legally binding long-term framework to cut emissions, adapt to climate change and commit to a low carbon economy: the UK Climate Change Act. And we have played a leading role in the European Union and the Commonwealth to encourage commitment to higher emission cuts and greater availability of resources to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change.

Collectively we need to agree an ambitious deal at Copenhagen to rise to this challenge. The UK believes that this should include:

  • A global recognition to reduce carbon emissions to 50% below 1990 levels by 2050
  • Global temperature rise limited to 2 Degrees above pre-industrial levels.
  • Developed Country reduction targets that add up to least 25% below 1990 levels by 2020
  • Developing country actions that add up to at least 15% below business as usual for 2020.
  • Low carbon growth plans to prepare for transition to a global low carbon economy.

The above ambitions are a reflection of the importance the UK gives to recognising the developed world’s historic responsibility for global CO2 emissions, and the priority we have given to limiting the impact of dangerous climate change.

The UK has worked with Sri Lanka and Maldives as partners in tackling this critical global issue, over the past the year. In Sri Lanka, we funded a conference bringing together local environmental NGOs and the government to discuss critical issues that would be on the negotiating table in Copenhagen. In Maldives, we regularly discuss climate issues with the government and have welcomed their immense efforts to highlight the importance of acting against climate change. In particular, President Nasheed’s announcement to go carbon neutral by 2020 and the way Maldivian civil society have taken the initiative to support global climate change campaigns such as 350.org’s international day of action on 24 October 2009 have helped Maldives to lead the way in international debates on climate change.

Developing country commitments and actions have shifted the terms of negotiation in the path to Copenhagen but to achieve our global ambitions against climate change a sustained effort is needed. We look forward to continuing to work with Sri Lanka and Maldives to keep up the pressure through COP15 and beyond so that we do not leave climate change as a problem for the next generation.

Dr Peter Hayes is the British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka/Maldives

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