Tag: maldives news

Syrian President dismisses cabinet as protests grow violent

President of Syria Bashar al-Assad has dismissed his cabinet in an effort to satiate protesters after two weeks of unrest, mirroring the approach of desposed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

At one stage the 45 year-old Western-educated leader had promised to step down at the end of his term, but now appears to be trying to placate the protesters with the heads of his cabinet ministers.

Death tolls from the crackdowns have reached 130, according to activists in the country, while the official count is 30.

AFP reported that Syrian authorities were now “studying the liberalisation of laws on media and political parties as well as anti-corruption measures.”

In his first speech since the uprising began, Assad claimed that genuine protesters calling for reform were being led astray by instigators and “foreign plots”.

Syria, he claimed, was “a target of a big plot from outside, both internally and externally. If there is something happening it is using the cover of accusing Syria of popular response. If there are reformers we will support them. Those people have mixed and confused intellectual ways.”

“The plotters are the minority… we didn’t know what had happened until the sabotage operations had happened, since then we could see the difference between reform and killing. We are for people’s demands but we cannot support chaos and destruction.”

The US has backed calls for reforms in Syria – a key antagonist of the country’s Israeli allies – but stood short of calling for regime change.

“”We support the timely implementation of reforms that meet the demands that Syrians are presenting to their government, such as immediately eliminating Syria’s state of emergency laws,” said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “We want to see peaceful transitions and we want to see democracies that represent the will of the people.”

Meanwhile besieged Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi, who has refused to step down even as rebel forces take town after town on the road to Tripoli, backed by NATO air power, has lashed out at world leaders for their interference.

“Stop your barbaric and unjust offensive against Libya,” Gaddafi wrote in a letter to the European Parliament and the US Congress, warning that the country was on the brink of becoming a second Afghanistan”.

“Leave Libya for the Libyans. You are carrying out an operation to exterminate a peaceful people and destroy a developing country. We are united behind the leadership of the revolution, facing the terrorism of al-Qaida on the one hand and on the other hand terrorism by Nato, which now directly supports al-Qaida,” he wrote.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Cabinet decision will increase police use of non-lethal weapons, including tasers

Cabinet yesterday decided to permit police to use non-lethal weapons to curb the gang violence in Maldives.

The President’s Office said the decision was made after discussing a paper submitted to the cabinet by the National Security Advisor ”raising concern over the continuous increase of gang violence, street mugging and other serious criminal activities that risk people’s lives and social stability.”

”Discussing the paper, members of the Cabinet noted that existing police fir power to stop gang violence was not appropriate for current situation compared to some of the more lethal weapons used by gangs,” said the President’s Office. ”They also noted that, in a democratic country, granting police the power and capability to discharge their legal duties to maintain internal stability and security, and protect the economy, was necessary for national security.”

An official from the President’s Office said that non-lethal weapons including electroshock taser guns and mace spray were permitted under the new regulation, while the use and effectiveness of weapons already in use such as pepper spray were discussed. The official said he was unsure whether the decision included the use of rubber munitions.

Tasers are widely used as a ranged non-lethal option by many law enforcement agencies around the world such as the US, but have been criticised for their misuse by some officers and potential to cause cardiac problems in some recipients of the shock.  Mace is the brandname for a strong form of pepper spray, which causes a burning sensation on mucus membranes but is short-range.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that police had not yet been informed as to what types of non-lethal weapons were now allowed.

”After we know what types of non-lethal weapons are allowed we can say how effective it might be on our operations to curb gang violence,” Shiyam said.

Currently tear gas, pepper spray and batons are used by police in the Maldives, however police have been previously criticised for inaction when confronted with gangs wielding knives and swords. In a recent attempted robbery of Baros Island Resort police discovered a harpoon gun in a boat allegedly used transport  the suspects to the island, however more conventional firearms are extremely rare in the country.

Recently a gang attacked another gang in the artificial beach area using sharp objects, shovels and iron bars, in the presence of many passing women and children who was enjoying the venue on the weekend. Local media reported that one woman fainted after witnessing the attack, while the gang also threatened a person in the area and robbed him of his motorbike at knife-point.

In another recent incident, a 21 year-old man identified as Ahusan Basheer was murdered in a gang attack despite reportedly informing police that he felt he was at risk of being attacked.

When journalists queried Deputy Head of Serious and Organised Crime Department Inspector Abdulla Nawaz in a recent press conference about Basheer’s security request, he said he had not received information regarding the matter.

In another incident two persons were stabbed near Maaziya football ground and one of the victims bled to death after a major artery was severed.

Blame has been passed between police and the Criminal Court for the lack of prosecutions  – police claim the court is being lenient with offenders, while the court claims police are providing insufficient evidence to convict.

”The court does not refer to the nature of the crime but rather refers to the evidence brought to the court against the accused,” said the criminal court in a recent statement, noting that everyone is considered innocent until proven guilty by a court of law and that ”everyone accused of criminal offense is not a criminal.”

The first to be reported dead in a gang attack was on December 3, 2007, where a person named Ali Ishar, 21, died after he was beaten and stabbed in the Henveiru Ward of Male’.

On April 12, 2008, 15-year-old Shifau Ismail died from heart failure, after being severely beaten with metal bars and sticks in a gang-related attack which was believed to be a revenge attack.

Ahmed Shaneed, 15, died on the eve of the second round of presidential elections while another man attacked in April of the same year died in hospital that October.

On December 8, 2008, Samir Abdul Mueen, 23, died after he was stabbed multiple times by two or three men on motorcycles on Male’s Janavaree Magu.

Abdulla Faruhad, 18, of Seenu atoll Hulhudhoo Lilymaage was stabbed on Majeedhee Magu in March 2009 and died shortly afterwards.

Many such deaths and gang related crimes were recorded after 2007, suggesting an increase the number of crimes committed annually. Perception or fear of crime – in many countries often considered more socially damaging that the crime itself – has risen markedly.

Authorities have responded with periodic crackdowns that typically result in a large number of arrests but few prosecutions.

Last year police and the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) arrested almost 60 people, including children, in a joint special operation launched on July 15 to curb gang violence after series of revenge attacks occurred between gangs in Male’ likewise the police special operation underway following the death of Ahusan Basheer.

Many of those who were arrested in the special operations claimed that the police and MNDF officers mistreated and abused them during their arrest and detention.

Many armed robberies and assaults were also reported last year.

In December 2009, prominent businessman Ahmed Ibrahim Didi, known as ‘Campus’ Didi, was stabbed and robbed of almost US$300,000 in cash by unknown assailants.

On December 30 the same year, the manager Mohamed Rashaad Adam and an employee of the Sunfront store on Majeedhee Magu were attacked on their way home.

On January 7, the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS) launched a rehabilitation program for recently released inmates who were serving time for minor drug offences. There were 62 former inmates enrolled in this program, with more than 150 still awaiting clearance.

On January 10, a man was attacked and stabbed with a sharp object in the early hours of that morning. According to police, he man was attacked by a gang of six men. A boy under the age of 18 was arrested in connection to the case.

On January 17, police arrested 19 people in connection with the stabbing of Ahmed Ibrahim ‘Campus’ Didi.

On January 20, head of the police drug enforcement unit Mohamed Jinah claimed “it won’t be long” before police arrest the remaining four of the top six drug dealers identified by President Mohamed Nasheed.

“Two of the top six drug dealers have been arrested. We will arrest the remaining four as soon as possible,” he promised.

On January 23, a group of men allegedly gang raped a woman on Fuvahmulah after dragging her to a beach and restraining her husband.

On January 28, six men were injured in a fight between two groups in Gnaviyanni Faumulaku, and one of the injured men died while receiving treatment.

On February 7, a 15 year old boy and his 35 year old father were attacked and stabbed by gang members in  Hulhumale’.

On February 8, a businessman was attacked and robbed of Rf435,000 (US$33850) and US$7100 on Janavary Magu near Sonee Hardware.

On March 1, President Mohamed Nasheed criticised the judiciary during a Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) rally and said that the government would not back down and will continue to arrest drug dealers.

On March 2, a man driving a pick-up truck was stabbed near Vaadhee Fresh in Maameyo Magu.

On March 3, the country manager of Habib Bank was stabbed and robbed in his home by a gang of four masked men. During the incident he suffered injuries to his nose, forehead and right arm but was not seriously hurt.

On March 8, police arrested three men in connection with the armed robbery of Habib Bank’s country manager.

On March 15, four men forcibly entered DhiTV studios and attacked five senior officials at the station afternoon, shortly after the station aired a report on its 2 o’clock news claiming that Ibrahim Nafiz, ‘Chika’, had been released to house arrest. Three hours after the alleged gang attack on DhiTV, a Haveeru employee was stabbed in the back.

Abdul Razzag Adam, 39, who works at the printing department, was knifed outside the Haveeru office building while he was on his cycle.

On March 25, a well-known flower shop on Sosun Magu, Cactus, was robbed by a group of intruders who threatened staff with knives and box cutters.

A witness to the incident, who spoke with the staff, told Minivan News that three men entered the flower shop and threatened the staff with knives and cutters, and stole Rf35,000 (US$2700)

On March 26, a group of 15 men abducted, drugged and gang raped a 20 year old girl while reportedly filming the incident with a mobile phone.

On March 30 the Maldives Police Service (MPS) claimed some politicians were using gangs to cause unrest, intimidate people and attack opponents.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed that “police have learned some politicians have used gang members to create unrest.”

On April 19, police arrested 22 people including four children under the age of 18 in Laamu Gan, after they were attacked during a wave of gang violence.

Police alleged gang members broke the glass windows of a shop in the industrial area of Mathimaradhu, burnt down a hut in Mulurimagu [district] and broke the windows of two houses. When they tried to stop the gang members, police claim they they were attacked and a police vehicle was damaged.

On 3 May, two men on a motorbike stabbed a 16 year old child in front of two police officers on Ameenee Magu near Imadudeen School, before fleeing.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that the two police officers were investigating a motor vehicle accident when the incident occurred. The boy injured his lungs and arm during the stab.

On 26 May, a taxi driver threatened a 19 year-old girl with a knife inside his car. The girl was forced to give money to the driver while she was traveling to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).

On 29 May two men stabbed a 14 year-old boy in eight places, injuring his lungs and liver.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Parliament spends Rf 127,000 a month feeding MPs and staff

Local newspaper Haveeru has reported that parliament spends Rf127,000 per month (US$10,000) feeding MPs and staff.

Of this, parliament spends Rf 54, 000 per month (US$4200) on lunches for MPs and staff responsible for organising the 12 sittings a month.

In January members of parliament voted themselves a total monthly salary increase from US$4863 to US$7083 under the MP Privileges Bill, an increase that would have seen them earning on par with MPs in Sweden.

President Nasheed refused to ratify the bill and returned it to parliament.

Likes(2)Dislikes(0)

STO denies chairman abused corporate credit card privilege

The State Trading Organisation (STO) has denied local media reports that Chairman Farooq Umar used the government company’s corporate credit card for personal use.

A press statement released yesterday explains that corporate credit cards were issued to senior executives after approval by the board of directors “to cover necessary expenses.”

“Although corporate credit cards were made for STO’s necessary expenses, the credit card policy approved by the board of directors allows personal use in cases of emergency or necessity,” it reads, adding that in such cases the policy was for executives to reimburse the company at the end of the month.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Police celebrate 78th anniversary

Maldives Police Service celebrated its 78th anniversary yesterday with flag hoisting ceremonies across the country, the unveiling of a new police song and donations to Care Society and the Children’s Home in Villigili.

In separate functions in the morning, Sub-Inspector Ahmed Aleem of the Family and Child Protection Unit donated material to the Villigli orphanage while Deputy Commissioner Ahmed Muneer made donations to Care Society.

Police officers visited both facilities and inquired after the orphans and children with special needs.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Maldives among only three countries to ever graduate from least-developed status: UN report

The Maldives is among only three countries to ever advance from the UN’s ‘least developed country’ (LDC) designation, according to a UN report reviewing the development of the world’s 51 poorest countries.

Only the Maldives (2010), Cape Verde (2007) and Botswana (1994) have ever graduated, leading UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to state that enduring marginalisation of the world’s 48 poorest countries promised “a future we cannot afford.”

“While the number of countries meeting the criteria of ‘least developed’ increased through the 1970s, 80s and 90s, the graduation rate from that grouping has been glacial,” the report’s authors said.

They extrapolated that despite limited economic and social progress, “the gap between the LDCs and the rest of the world, including the low middle income countries, is widening.”

“The structural disadvantage of these economies, weak human assets (education, health, nutrition etc), limited physical and institutional infrastructure, dependence on fragile agricultural sectors and a limited range of exports are at the heart of the continued marginalisation of these countries within the world economy,” the report stated.

While development was one ingredient, “LDCs should assume greater ownership of their own development trajectory,” the authors suggested.

“It is our contention that some of the tools to achieve this is through negotiating better prices for their valuable raw materials and in turn processing these materials to generate capital gains. Increased mobilisation of domestic resources is also a key tool in their development.”

The report also suggested that fighting corruption and seeking for the return of stolen assets can improve the business climate and spur future growth.”

While the Finance Ministry has previously insisted it has budgeted for the graduation, the Maldives’ progression to the middle income category limits the country’s access to concessional credit, removes certain trade concession, and some donor aid – as well as risks creating a perception in the donor community that it is ‘less deserving’ than countries still on the LDC list.

With a crippling budget deficit created by a bloated civil service spend, and political difficulties attached to its resolution, the Maldives earlier this month contested at the UN in New York that graduating countries still require special financial and technical assistance.

The UN may consider the issue ahead of a conference on LDCs to be held in Istanbul from May 9-13, which will seek to promote a 10-year programme for food security, decent work, disaster risk reduction, climate resilience and clean energy growth in the LDCs.

Read the report here (English)

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Islamic Foundation holding lecture on “status of women”

The Islamic Foundation of the Maldives (IFM) is organising a public lecture on April 1, 2011 (Friday) “to explain the noble status of women in Islam.”

The lecture will be delivered by Al-Usthaz Ahmed Nizam at the Nalahiya Hotel in Malé, and will be broadcast live on Capital Radio (93.6 FM) at 8.45pm.

The Islamic Foundation stated that in the lecture Usthaz Nizam will clarify “the rights and privileges given to women in Islam long before western democracy came into being.”

In the lecture Usthaz Nizam “will also explain the obligations of Muslim women towards their family and the society in general.”

Usthaz Nizam is a prominent lecturer who completed his higher studies at Al-Azhar University, Egypt, the Islamic Foundation said.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Blackmarket dollar crackdown won’t address demand, warn businesses, financial experts

Police today launched a crackdown on the blackmarket trading of dollars after President Mohamed Nasheed last night declared he would “put a policeman behind every dollar”.

The Maldives has been suffering a crippling dollar shortage for over a year, with most banks in the country sporadically refusing to trade dollars at the official pegged rate of Rf12.85.

Maldivians travelling outside the country and expatriate workers seeking to export their remittances are forced to rely on the unofficial black market, which trades dollars at up to Rf14. Panicked text messages appealing for dollars are circulated whenever emergency medical treatment is required overseas.

Until now authorities have turned a blind eye to the practice, as even many sizeable local businesses have been forced to obtain dollars from unofficial avenues.

Launching the operation, police accused the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) of failing to address the problem of foreign currency dealers violating their licenses.

“It has been noticed that the MMA has yet failed to take action, despite the exchange of US dollars in violation of policies, in order to regulate the exchange of US dollars,” police said in a statement.

“Information received as of now reveals that the receipt and reports that should be sent to MMA have not been sent, according to the policies of the MMA in effect. We have also received information that unlicensed dealers are exchanging US dollars against the policies devised by the MMA,” police said.

The first arrest was made today, after a man was arrested in a shop on the tourist strip of Chandhanee Magu for exchanging dollars at higher than the pegged rate.

“The shop was not licensed to carry out transactions related to foreign currency exchange,” Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam told newspaper Haveeru.

The government has levelled blame at MMA Governor Fazeel Najeeb, and called for parliament to dismiss him for failing to respond to the President’s requests for counsel.

A letter from the President requesting Fazeel’s dismissal was read out in parliament today and the matter was sent to the Public Accounts Committee, which will make a recommendation to the floor. Debate on the subject today included proposed limits on carrying foreign currency out of the country.

Earlier this month following initial calls for Fazeel’s dismissal, leader of the opposition-allied People’s Alliance (PA) Abdulla Yameen appeared on Villa TV to defend the MMA governor, insisting that the dollar shortage was not reasonable grounds to dismiss Najeeb.

“The MMA is not responsible for solving the problem of the decreasing amount of dollars coming into Maldives,” he said. “The MMA has to maintain the value of dollars and rufiya… if there is a dollar shortage, what the MMA can do is use their open market operations to borrow from commercial banks and attempt to maintain the value of the dollar.”

If these efforts were unsuccessful, said Yameen, also former Trade Minister and former Chairman of the State Trading Organisation, the only other option would be to “officially devalue the rufiya.”

However, he added, the impact of such a move on the economy had to be carefully considered, or the rufiya would have to be devalued again after six months and the positive effects would be “nominal”.

“From what we can see now, [devaluation] will not be a solution for our structural problems,” he said. “Our biggest structural problem is that our fiscal policy is still recklessly expansionary, it is very much a spending policy without any control. Government expenses are very high and they are not trying to control it.”

Although the Maldives received a high amount of dollars as tourism revenue, “not all these transactions take place in the Maldives.”

“A lot of tour operators for example sell tour packages in Europe and send to the country only what has to be paid to the resort,” he explained.

The other major problem is investor confidence: “If the Maldivian economy is collapsing like this and the dollar shortage is reaching this level, private Maldivian investors will not want to keep their money in the Maldives. They don’t know when, under some law or regulation, the government will give them an IOU and take their money from the bank saying ‘in two years we’ll pay you back in dollars what we’re taking, but now we don’t have cash for foodstuff’ and convert it at the 12.85 rate after a decision by the cabinet – no investor or businessmen will have a guarantee that this won’t happen.”

MMA had not been able to solve the disparity between the rufiya and the dollars because devaluing the rufiya would only lead to spiraling inflation, he said.

An internal problem

Local economists and businesses badly affected by the dollar shortage, such as importers, dispute that the problem is either political or can be solved in such a manner.

A representative for a Dubai-based company supplying resorts in the Maldives explained to Minivan News that while he was required to pay suppliers in dollars and euros, “the resorts try their best to pay in rufiya. Their revenue is acquired in dollars, so they can [sell the dollars] on the open market and pocket the difference.”

“It’s a huge issue for the entire country and makes it very difficult for anyone to import. We’re lucky in that we have a parent company to which we can transfer revenue and which pays centrally,” he said, adding that not all companies operating in the sector were as fortunate.

“We keep a local rufiya account which we use for pay customs payments and incidentals, otherwise the only way to exchange is on the grey market. There you’re looking at Rf14 to the dollar,” he said.

He speculated that the crackdown on the unofficial market could be positive, “as the resorts would lose the incentive to trade dollars into rufiya and any forex coming into the country would stay here.

“But the flip side is that you still can’t change money – it’s an incredible situation when you can’t go into a bank with your Rf12,850 and change it into US$1000. Imagine what would happen in the UK if you walked into RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) and asked them to change £1000 pounds into dollars and they refused to do it.

“A crackdown on the black market also need laws guaranteeing dollar supplies for banks, with liquidity provided by the government,” he suggested.

“What bothers me is that there’s plenty of dollars coming into the country, but the people in control of the economy seem to be hiding it away.”

A local financial expert working in the private sector, Ahmed Adheeb, told Minivan News that while the crackdown would enforce existing monetary law, “the problem from the point of view of an economist is that the dollar flow is there but the exchange rate is not at the market rate. There have been a lot of dollar fluctuations since it was pegged.”

Adheeb emphasised that building confidence in the rufiya was now “more important than anything else”, and an internal problem innately linked to the country’s high budget deficit.

“We are producing a lot of rufiya to finance the deficit. If the inflow is greater but the exchange rate is not adjusted, that becomes a problem,” he said.

“The government is pumping more rufiya into the economy to finance the deficit than it is earning in dollars. The confidence in the rufiya is not there, and there is no incentive for people to keep their savings in rufiya.”

Adheeb predicted that while the crackdown would limit exchanges on the black market, “there will still be huge demand for dollars.”

“When the black market suffers shortages, we may find ourselves in a situation where we can’t find dollars at all. Even now if I am individual it is difficult to find dollars, because the banks are not supplying. The total solution is for banks to supply to demand.”

The banks, Adheeb said, had significant dollar reserves but found the rate of exchange unacceptable.

A pegged rate had been instrumental in building investor confidence in the tourism sector, Adheeb noted, however it had led to an internal problem that had left the currency vulnerable to global fluctuations in the dollar caused by events such as the Gulf Wars, 2008 recession, rising oil prices, “and now reconstruction in the wake of the Japanese tsunami”.

“If I have savings in dollars, why would I exchange if the rufiya is so volatile?” he asked. “At the same time why is the government raising oil prices? Because of international price increases.”

Foreign investors in the country were already concerned, he noted, because of the difficulty of repatriating profits to the home country.

“Dhiraagu, for instance, is probably having a lot of difficulties repatriating dividends to Cable&Wireless. This can lead to a fall in investor confidence. When that happens, foreign investors will either try to exit or stay away. We will only see foreign investment that earns dollars, such as resorts.”

The problem would soon lead to inflation and difficulties importing essentials such as fuel and medicines, he suggested, and could potentially have a major impact if the State Trading Organisation (the country’s primary importer) found itself unable to acquire foreign currency.

“There is no reason why this should be politicised – it is a national issue, like a tsunami. We need to get together and solve this. I believe the economic outlook for the Maldives is good – the tourism sector is continuing to grow. We can manage this, it should not be a major problem.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Letter of Spanish support

Dear People of Maldives,

My name is David González and I am a student of teacher training in the Barcelona University in Spain. When I do not have anything to study or homework to do, I write in my blog called “El Internacional” whose subject matter are the current International notices.

Well, when I saw the speeches of the representatives of your country and the Tuvalu’s one in the Copenhagen’s conference I was shocked. The tears of Ian Fry and the words of President Nasheed in the UN Assembly were terrifying. What were we doing? Our Eastern brothers can be the Atlantis of the XXIst century and we do not do anything to avoid such awful end?

I wrote an article in my blog to attempt to show what is happening in your country and in Tuvalu. The mass media only look at Libya and Japan but the Maldives’ issue continues being an important topic that must not be forgotten.

In addition, that is why I am writing in this newspaper, because I think it is important that the Maldivians knew they have fully support of, at least, one person in Spain.

Nothing else, thank you for giving me the chance to write here and please, continue fighting and defending your land, Maldives is one of the most beautiful countries in the world and it would be a shame that it disappears under the water of the Indian Ocean. Meanwhile, I will continue my crusade to make people aware that some insular nations can be sunk in few years if we do not stop the global warming.

David González

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 submit it to [email protected]

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)