Tag: maldives news

Police arrest 14 in massive Facebook nude photo blackmail ring

Police have arrested 14 persons including a minor for alleged involvement in blackmailing people after acquiring nude pictures and videos of them through Facebook.

”We have been investigating this issue since it came to light two months ago,” said police in a statement. ”Police conducted a special operation from February 13-20, 2011 in an effort to stop this crime, present the criminals before the court.”

Police said 10 of the 14 alleged perpetrators were arrested in Addu while four of them, including a 17 year old minor, were caught in Male’. According to police all persons arrested in Addu were between the age of 21-26.

Police discovered “hundreds of nude pictures and videos of Maldivians” in the laptops and external hard drives of those arrested, police said.

”While some of the pictures were taken of people while drunk, other pictures were taken without the consent of the persons.”

Police also said they had noticed that some people in the videos were performing explicit acts in the presence of minors, and warned that this “could affect the future and discipline of the minors”.

”The case relates to the rights of many citizens and affects the social policy of the Maldives, and may also affect the safety of the society,” said police.

Information gathered so far had revealed that people from all levels of Maldivian society were affected, “including underage females juveniles, young women, professional and semi-professional persons, and people of both genders working all across the country.”

Police appealed to Maldivians to be more careful approving friendships with strangers on social networks.

”It is notable that underage females are victims in this crime, and that a minor was arrested as a suspect. It is necessary that parents monitor the work of minors when they use internet and social networks,” said police.

Two Facebook profiles identified as being involved in the ring where those belonging to ‘Lyshiaa Limanom’ and ‘Angelic Sharrown’. Both of these profiles show the same picture of a young blonde woman wearing sunglasses, and each profile has between 1200-1300 Facebook ‘friends’ – most of them Maldivian.

Police warned Maldivians to be careful of receiving invitations and messages from these profiles.

Social media adoption in the Maldives is prodigious, particularly Facebook, with almost a third of the country’s population signed up to the service. According to statistics from Facebook, the Maldives has 89,460 registered users – two thirds of whom are male. Almost half Maldivian Facebook users are aged under 18.

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Maldivian students banding together in Christchurch after quake strikes New Zealand city

The Foreign Minister is in communication with Maldivians in Christchurch, New Zealand, after an earthquake measuring 6.3 of the Richter scale the city killing at least 65 people, toppling buildings, buckling roads and damaged cathedrals with further casualties likely.

CNN quoted New Zealand Prime Minister John Key saying “this may be New Zealand’s darkest day,” during a trip to the area to survey the damage from the quake.

”Frantic rescuers scrambled to reach those trapped in the rubble hours after the earthquake struck. Scores of dazed, bleeding residents wandered streets strewn with debris and chunks of concrete,” said CNN.

“Having experienced received the warm reception of the people of Christchurch at the Partnership Forum only hours before the earthquake struck makes this disaster all the more personal and poignant,” said delegate Donald Manzullo, chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, reported CNN.

New Zealand’s transit authority said it had been unable to reach its staff in Christchurch and at the Lyttleton Tunnel, which is near the epicenter.

A person who witnessed the incident told CNN “it felt like I was running on jelly, we saw a giant rock tumble to the ground from a cliff – a rock that had been there for millennia. It fell on the RSA (Returned Services Association, a veterans’ association) building — it was terrifying.”

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker told Radio New Zealand that the rumbling tossed him across the room. He said the streets were jammed as people tried to get out of the city, and urged people to avoid the water supply.

The New Zealand Police have said that ”Sixty five people are so far believed to have lost their lives in today’s 6.3 earthquake in Christchurch and officials warn this figure is likely to rise.”

Emergency services are continuing to search the central city, particularly the high rise buildings in the central business district, many of which have been extensively damaged, said New Zealand Police on their website.

The Lyttelton raod tunnel road that links the city Christchurch and its seaport, was immediately closed after the earthquake, but was opened later for emergency transportation.

Minivan News spoke to a Maldivian who was recently studying in New Zealand, who said that none of the approximately 30 Maldivians living in the city had been hurt.

”I checked today and no Maldivian was injured during the incident,” he told Minivan News.

A Maldivian studying at Christchurch Polytechnic in the middle of the city told newspaper Haveeru that she ran down the stairs from the fourth floor classroom she was about to enter when the earthquake struck.

“There was dust and smoke billowing from the buildings around, and I saw injured people running. In the midst of the devastation I had to walk back home, which took more than one and a half hours. I was so concerned about my son, as he was home alone,” she said.

Haveeru also reported that some Maldivian families are without water and power, “which would lead them to spend the night without heating, and in cold in a city where the temperature is constantly about 12 degree Celsius.”

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Kingfisher Airlines applies for permission for daily Mumbai-Male’ flights

Indian airline Kingfisher has applied for permission to launch a daily flight between Male’ and Mumbai from mid-March, reports Indian travel media.

The move would coincide with growing interest in the Maldives in the Indian tourism market, and the competitive off-season in the island nation during the European summer.

Air India flies daily to Bangalore and also runs a daily flight to Trivandrum.

Low-cost carrier SpiceJet has previously received permission to fly to the Maldives, however it has not made use of this so far.

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Male’ will not survive without resolving housing, congestion and fuel challenges: President Nasheed

President Mohamed Nasheed has said that Male’ “will not survive without some solution to its housing, some solution to its congestion, some solution to the amount of oil that we are importing everyday.”

Nasheed was speaking at a press conference yesterday to launch the second phase of the Gulhi Falhu development project, attended by the Danish Ambassador Freddy Svane.

The first street of the US$600 million Gulhi Falhu development project, intended to reduce the congestion of Male’, will be called Copenhagen Avenue.

The project involves the reclamation of 40 hectares of land on which will be constructed 2500 housing units. The new landmass will be connected by bridge to Villingili on completion of the second stage of the project and eventually, Nasheed said, joined to Male’ via a bridge from the tsunami monument to Vilingili.

“We have one long stretch of road that starts from the tsunami monument in Male’, and ends at Thilafalhu, which is right next to Giraavaru, which is very far away,” he said. This road would be called Copenhagen Avenue, in recognition of the support of the Danish government.

The houses built by the project’s Global Projects Development Company will be constructed in an environmentally-friendly manner, in partnership with US company Red Dot. Red Dot will construct a solar park which will provide electricity to the new residential and industrial districts.

Nasheed also said that a campus for the recently inaugrated Maldives National University would also be constructed on Gulhi Falhu.

“[Gulhi Falhu] is our showpiece development, our showpiece community and we are quite confident that we will be able to use the land by, hopefully end of next year or early 2013,” President Nasheed said.

Development, the President added, was not measured in concrete.

“During the last two months, I have visited more than 130 islands and very often I am given a shopping list. ‘President; we need a harbor, we need a sewerage system.’

“They [say they] need a water system and they also like a lot of concrete. I have been consistently trying to tell everyone that development is not measured in concrete. It is measure by what we know and what we understand. It’s a phenomenon that happens to a person, not to a country. If we want to develop, we will have to develop our minds. We will have to broaden our minds. We will have to be able to think outside the box, find solutions and fix problems.”

Projects such as Gulhi Falhu would not save the world, Nasheed said, “but we like to think that if we can become an example, the rest of the world can have a look at it and people can actually see and understand that it is working. So in very many senses, this whole project is a green project, and at the centre of it is a green park.”

Nasheed thanked the Danish government for its support of the undertaking.

“If all goes wrong in the Maldives, of course it is an issue for the Danes,” Nasheed said. “All of us are interconnected. If things go wrong in Denmark it’s going to have huge effects and impacts on us. We must be able to look after each other. That doesn’t mean that we should be asking for aid and grants. No, we are asking, seeking for trade. This is a very good example of trade collaborations and also a very good example of how a friendly country can actually back a flourishing or a democracy that is in the process of making.

Danish Ambassador Svane expressed gratitude for Nasheed’s “tremendous job” in Copenhagen at the COP15 summit, saying that the Maldives was setting a benchmark for global efforts to fight climate change.

However he also agreed that development was as much a state of mind as it was physical infrastructure.

“We can build up all these fancy buildings, towers and so forth, but we need to change the mindset of people,” he said, adding that President Nasheed had played an important role in changing the mindset of many people all over the world.

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MNBC managing director resigns

Managing Director of Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) Ibrahim Khaleel has resigned, reports Haveeru this morning, after sending his resignation letter to President Mohamed Nasheed.

Haveeru reported “reliable sources” as claiming that Khaleel was to take over as CEO of the country’s second largest telecoms firm, Wataniya.

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EC condemns remarks made by Dr Munawar after formation of new party fails

The Elections Commission (EC) of the Maldives has strongly condemned remarks made by Former Attorney General Dr Mohamed Munawar, after the commission said not enough people had attended the formation of his ‘Reform Movement’ party for it to be registered.

The dispute between the Elections Commission and Dr Munawar occurred after commission members appeared at a meeting held at Villa College by Dr Munawar to establish his new political party.

The formative meeting of the party required the attendance of a minimum of 300 members in order to meet the regulatory requirements for the establishment of a political party. Dr Munavar said canceled the meeting and the new party was not formed.

The Elections Commission said in a statement that ”although Dr Munavar claimed that the meeting to form his party had to be canceled when the commission members attended the meeting, the meeting must be attended by a minimum of 300 person according to Political Party Regulations 2005, 8[c]. The number of people who attended the meeting was less than 140.”

The Commission said that the meeting began the with the Quran recitation after it was announced that the legally-mandated number of people were present. But while the meeting was ongoing it was called off by Dr Munavar himself, saying that the legal number of members were not present.

”It is a responsibility of the Elections Commission to ensure that at least 300 members attend a meeting before a political party is recognised,” the Elections Commission said.

Dr Munavar later criticised the Commission’s conduct of the recent local council elections, telling VTV that the elections were held against the constitution.

The Commission said that Dr Munavar’s remarks were intended disregard the commission and smear its respect and dignity.

Dr Munavar was a former president of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) prior to his resignation. He has been absent from politics until recently.

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Maldivian courts failing to serve the public impartially: ICJ report

The Maldives legal system is failing to serve its citizens despite many “positive developments” that have been made in an effort to depoliticise the courts; with many of judges found lacking in qualifications and independent attitude, according to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ).

“How often do ordinary Maldivians look to the courts for justice? Is there a sense that ‘We [Maldivians] have an independent judiciary that is capable of resolving problems?’ I think the answer is no,” surmised Roger Normand, Director of the ICJ’s Asia Pacific operations.

“Historically, [independent resolution] has not been the role of judges. Judges were an outcome or a product of the executive power. This is not a controversial statement, this is an outline of what their legal role was in the previous [government],” Normand stated.

Normand’s claims were made as the ICJ published a report on the Maldives legal system that outlining a huge number of challenges to ensure the country’s courts are in the long-term transparent in their decision making. It is hoped that the developments can remove the opportunities for abuse from government and opposition politicians alike, the ICJ stated.

The report itself is highly critical of both the role of some members of government in calling for protests and gatherings outside judges’ homes, as well as the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) that it said was “unable to carry out its functions” to impartially vet and reappoint judges on the basis of qualification and background.

“To date, JSC decision-making has been perceived as being inappropriately influenced by a polarised political environment,” the report stated. “Also troubling is that members of the judiciary have been subject to threats and intimidation as well as improper inducements by both governing and opposition party members.”

The ICJ said the report, entitled ‘Securing an Independent Judiciary in a Time of Transition’, had raised particular concerns over the “constitutional crisis” that occurred last year concerning the legitimacy of the courts and judges and the conduct of the government of President Mohamed Nasheed in addressing this.

Despite these concerns, Normand claimed that while there were “significant” problems with judiciary in the Maldives, and that the structure of a watchdog body such as the JSC needed much work needed to resolve, he was encouraged that there appeared to be a political mandate to bring changes to the legal system. However, the ICJ Asia Pacific director stressed that a non-independent judiciary could not simply change directly to an independent body.

“To have a sudden change, where suddenly judges are independent – this can’t just be signed on a piece of paper or constitution, it’s an attitude and a practice,” he said. “I think it’s safe to say we don’t have those attitudes and practices in the Maldives, but I also think the size of the developments are very positive.”

According to Normand and the ICJ, part of the challenge in trying to provide an independent judiciary is to ensure public support and acceptance of the country’s legal institutions and their verdicts, which in itself was linked to transparency within the decisions of bodies like the JSC.

“Judicial accountability is key to cultivating such public confidence and is an integral aspect of judicial independence,” the report stated. “Accountability must be manifest both at institutional level, in terms of court administration and access to justice, and at the individual level. This enables judges to decide cases without fear or favour and that they strictly apply the law to the facts before them.”

Recommendations

The report recommends a number of areas, such as education and training programmes for court appointees, bringing foreign experts to assist long-term, and advise on developments that it believes the Supreme Court could adopt to boost its own accountability.

In areas such as education, the ICJ said that seven-year periods outlined under the national Judges Act was used more effectively to enhance the qualifications of judges as well as ensure that a code of ethics was introduced in line with international agreements such as the Bangalore Principles on Judicial Conduct.

In addition, the ICJ claimed that steps could also be taken to ensure the Department of Judicial Administration was used to try to provide smoother administration of justice,such as requiring all levels of court to issue written reasons for its actions and establishing a judicial database so the court and public could refer to similar case law and precedents.

Normand stressed that the Maldives was relatively unique in that its courts would turn to Sharia law where Maldivian legislation didn’t apply, but that it was not alone in such experiences.

“We would recommend [collaboration with] countries that have experience of working both with common law – using previous legal cases to set precedent – and Sharia law, Pakistan is one example, Malaysia is another,” said Normand. “There are other countries where the issues the Maldives faces have been looked at before. It’s not the first time so you need to take advantage of this.”

The ICJ also recommended steps it hoped the JSC would take to act with greater transparency after coming under criticism and allegations of possible corruption.

Beyond adopting regulations and procedures to create greater accountability into the JSC’s decision making by recording detailed minutes of its meetings, a technical secretariat could also be established by a neutral party that could limit the workload to allow the organisation to work to its constitutional requirements.

The ICJ added that these developments needed to be backed by using international experts to help oversee work, and also ensure the high “moral integrity” of judges in relation to their criminal records that is also outlined under various international treaties and agreements.

The report also outlined recommendations for the country’s parliament and government to adhere to in their conduct in relation to the courts such as launching public awareness campaigns in relations to the requirements under the constitution of various legal institutions. The government was also called on to provide funding and strengthen the faculty of law and Sharia in the country, and the Majlis were called upon to pass vital laws such as the Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code to allow swifter and more impartial delivery of justice.

The organisation also called for reform of the JSC in relation to concerns the report and others have raised over issues of transparency.

“As a principle, the JSC must become more transparent and effective in processing the complaints by the public about judges,” added Normand.  “In fact, it is important for the judges themselves that the institution of the judiciary has the confidence of the public – that you’re qualified, that you’re not a criminal – it’s important for everyone.”

Taking the example of other nations such as Indonesia that are claimed to witnessed huge problems with trying to establish an independent and efficient judicial service, Normand claimed there were positive examples of countries like the Maldives that had seen vast improvements in the impartiality of its courts.

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One in seven Maldivian secondary students have been sexually abused, finds 2009 report

Almost one in seven children of secondary school age in the Maldives have been sexually abused at some time in their lives, according to an unpublished 2009 study on violence against children.

Rates of sexual abuse for girls are almost twice as high than for boys at 20 percent – one in five girls have been sexually abused – while the figure for boys was 11 percent. Girls are particularly at risk in the capital Male’, the report found.

The National Study of Violence Against Children, produced by UNICEF and the Ministry of Gender and Family and conducted by global research firm TNS, was heavily cited at last week’s Conference on Child Protection held at Bandos.

The stud – currently unofficial – is the first large-scale national study on the issue of physical and emotional punishment against children in the Maldives, interviewing almost 17,035 people in 2500 households as well as 2000 children in schools.

The study found that 47 percent of Maldivian children under the age of 18 have undergone physical or emotional punishment at home, school or in the community.

“The use of emotional punishment is considerably wide-spread and is also supported by the
parents’ beliefs that this is an effective way of teaching children the proper behaviour,” the report found.

Boys were more susceptible to physical punishment while large numbers of girls at secondary school level reported emotional punishment. Eight percent of school students, mostly boys, reported physical punishment from their school teachers.

Physical violence was more common among students attending secondary school in the atolls, with one in four reporting they had been hit by adults or other children during the past year. The figure for Male’ was 14 percent.

30 percent of children at secondary school reported being hit by at least one of their caregivers, while 21 percent said at object had had been used to do this.

A quarter of all carefivers said they believed that physical punishment had a positive effect on the rearing of children..

Furthermore, “children who suffer from a handicap – however light – have experienced
significantly more emotional punishment than children without such handicaps,” the report said.

The study also revealed a lingering distrust of authorities and their ability to deal with issues relating to physical or sexual abuse of children.

“When aware of a case of abuse in the community, the majority [of respondents] chose to not
inform the authorities, not [to] cause any trouble and/or due to limited belief in the efficiency of
the system.”

The report identified that despite high awareness of the issue, the cultural background of the Maldivia society “does not particularly prohibit emotional or physical punishment of children.” Efforts to increase the level of discussion were “hampered by the notion that such events should be solved in the home and not discussed publicly.”

Resolution of cases within the legal system was a particular change for the Maldives, especially cases involving child sexual abuse.

“The victim itself might turn out to be made liable for such an event and might be subjected itself to penal proceedings if the perpetrator does not plead guilty or four witnesses for the prosecution cannot be found,” the report noted.

It urged the education of caregivers as to the negative impact of violence against children, and highlighted particular discrepencies in the education system.

“Over 30 percent of teachers in the Maldives are untrained because 80 percent of staff training costs are transport related. In a country where 70 percent of the population lives on islands far from the capital, and where transport among islands can be prohibitively expensive, many children are at the risk of being invisible,” the report warned.

The report also produced some interesting demographic findings about the structure of the Maldivian families. In 24 percent of cases, a child’s male caregiver is not their biological father – in seven percent of cases, this role is performed by an older brother, and only rarely (two percent) by a stepfather or uncle. 87 percent of children have their biological mother as a caregiver.

A quarter of all children reported health difficulties. The majority of these concerned problems seeing, and to a lesser extent, “walking or climbing stairs”.

Domestically, arguments between children and their caregivers in the home revolve around fairly universal themes: watching TV (10 percent), household chores (10 percent), homework (12 percent), and staying up late (seven percent).

The main source of domestic arguments for girls were household chores (15 percent) – the second highest source of friction for boys was hairstyle (12 percent).

The 24 hour toll-free Maldives Child Helpline is available on 1412.

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New councilors to take oath of office on Saturday

Councilors who have won seats on newly formed island and atoll councils are scheduled to take their oath of office on the morning of Saturday February 26, the Home Ministry has announced.

The ministry said that the oath-taking ceremonies will be held in all areas where the Elections Commission have announced the official results.

”The Island Councils will hold the ceremony in their respective islands and atolls, and councilors will take the oath in the capital island of each respective atoll,” said the Home Ministry.

Councilors of Male’ City will take the oath in Male’ and Addu City councilors will take the oath in Hithadhu, the Home Ministry added.

The Ceremony will commence at 9:00am in the morning and the Home Ministry has invited citizens to attend Saturday’s ceremonies “in the spirit of national unity.”

Meanwhile, the elections commission has announced the official results of almost all divisions except for the Council of Kela in Haa Alifu Atoll and other division where candidates got equal votes.

Following the election on February 5, the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) won a clear seat majority while the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) won control of the major population centres. The MDP calculated that the popular vote was 44 percent – 40 percent in its favour, but the EC has not confirmed this figure. Full breakdowns of the available results are available on the Elections Commission website.

Kela results were delayed according a High Court order after complaints were filed regarding the elections procedures.

Candidates uneducated

Islanders in at least one division have expressed concern that most of the elected councilors were not capable of handling such positions of responsibility.

One islander from the central region of the Maldives told Minivan News that on his island, only two of the five elected councilors have finished their GCE O’Levels.

”Because they ran as candidates for the seats under different parties, supporters of those parties have voted for them for the sake of promoting their party,” he said. ”Votes were not made with consideration for how educated the candidate is, or how capable the person, just by what political party he belongs to.”

He noted that the councilors will therefore follow the orders of their parties regardless of whether they were beneficial or harmful to their own island.

”For instance, if a foreign party were interested in developing our island, there is no way some councils could deal with it because they don’t even understand English very well,” he said. ”It would be the islanders who will have to suffer, I don’t think people really considered [candidates’] educational background or their capability.”

Recently Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali told Minivan News many successful candidates in the local council election remained unaware of their new responsibilities, or even of the mandate of a local council.

“It is a fact that candidates from many parties including ours may not be clear on their responsibilities and mandates,” he told Minivan News.

All the councilors will take over the the administration of their respective island and atoll offices following the oath Saturday.

The new structure of island and atoll councils is meanwhile expected to cost the Maldivian state an extra Rf 173 million (US$13.5 million) a year, a figure that has raised concerns among international financial donors such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The President of every island council will receive a salary and allowance of Rf 15,000 (US$1160), council members Rf 11,000 (US$850). The mayor of Male’ will receive Rf 45,000 (US$3500).

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