Tag: maldives news

Man dies in Malé harbour

A man was found dead in Malé harbour near the local market on 15 March, reports Miadhu.

The man was identified by police as Moosa Khaleel, 26, Ameenee Villa, S. Hithadhoo.

Khaleel worked in a boat anchored in the harbour.

Reports claim he jumped in the water with another crew member to untie the boat. When Khaleel did not surface, the rest of the crew searched for him. They found his body at the bottom of the harbour.

He was immediately taken to hospital but doctors said he had died before he reached the hospital.

Police are still investigating the case and said the cause of death was still unknown.

Khaleel’s funeral was held after afternoon prayers on Monday.

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Ministry of Finance asked to provide list of political appointees

Minister of Finance and Treasury Ali Hashim was asked today to provide the Parliament with details of the number of political appointees, their titles and salaries under the current government.

Independent MP Mohamed Nasheed requested the information from the minister.

He said there had been a “war on words” regarding the number of political appointees in both the former and current governments, with some people saying there were as many as 600 appointees while others claimed there were fewer than 300.

“There has always been a comparison between this government and the previous one,” Nasheed said, referring to one of the things the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) criticised most about the former government: that it was =‘top heavy.’

Nasheed said he did not ask Minister Hashim for a list of cabinet members or even for the VP’s salary, only for the number of appointees, but the minister “is providing more than I asked for.”

State Minister of Finance Ahmed Assad said the Ministry of Finance would provide Parliament with the list of appointees soon since “there is no reason to withhold it.”

Whether or not the list would become a matter of public knowledge, he said, was “for Parliament to decide.”

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Visaam Ali said the DRP was “really concerned” about the number of political appointees under the current government.

She said she was not only concerned about the government being “top heavy” but was worried because “they advocated different views” during their election campaign in 2007.

“What they are doing is different to what they promised the people,” Visaam said. “They promised the people an MDP government would be different.”

She added that the number of political appointees is even “worse than under the previous government” and there are more political appointees now earning higher salaries that they were under Gayoom’s government.

MDP Spokesperson Ahmed Haleem said government appointees “are not an issue” for the party, but issues dealing with civil servants were a major priority.

Haleem said during the 2007 presidential campaign, MDP had told the people they wanted the government of Maldives to be smaller.

“The former government had over 1,000 political appointees,” claimed Haleem. “Now we have just over four hundred.”

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President Nasheed meets Finnish counterpart

President Mohamed Nasheed arrived in Finland yesterday morning, continuing his European tour.

President Nasheed met with Finnish President Tarja Halonen. The two presidents discussed climate change and democracy.

A press conference was held after the meeting, where President Halonen welcomed President Nasheed and expressed confidence that his visit would strengthen relations between the two countries.

President Halonen said climate change was a great issue to Finland and they were willing to work with the Maldives to find a solution.

President Nasheed congratulated the Finnish president in her strive to promote women’s rights and said the Maldives was committed in promoting gender equality.

President Nasheed said democracy and good governance were as important as financial assistance in combating climate change. He said citizens as well as governments needed to strive to protect the environment.

President Nasheed also spoke of establishing democracy in the Maldives and said he was confident Finland would support the Maldives in consolidating and strengthening its democracy.

President Nasheed will meet the Minister of Public Administration and Local Government, Mari Kiviniemi and representatives of the Finnish tourism and business sectors.

He will also participate in a seminar on climate change and leadership which is being organised by the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

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‘We don’t have guns but we can fight with our pens’: Hiriga

Attacks on five senior DhiTV senior officials and the stabbing of a Haveeru employee yesterday afternoon have sparked concern among media outlets that they could be subject to further attacks over their content.

DhiTV reported on its 2 o’clock news yesterday that alleged gang leader Ibrahim ‘Chika’ Nafiz  had been released to house arrest. Soon after the broadcast, a gang reportedly stormed DhiTV studios.

Three hours later a Haveeru printery worker left in a critical condition after being stabbed outside the building.

Police have not yet confirmed whether the two cases are connected, but arrested ten people yesterday evening suspected of involvement in the attacks, including Chika.

“He was arrested in his home last night,” said a police spokesperson, “and today the court gave us five days for further investigation.”

Chika will remain under police custody until the court hearing. Police have meanwhile launched a special operation to investigate the attacks.

The spokesperson said he did not know if the attacks were intended to be a direct message to the media, but said “this really shows how the situation is here.”

‘We will fight with our pens’

President of the Maldives Journalism Association (MJA) and Editor of Haveeru, Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir, said he believed the incidents were “direct attacks on the media.”

“The ruling party members are consistently blaming the media, and suddenly a gang leader leaves jail and attacks us,” Hiriga said, claiming there were political motives behind the attacks.

“The media is in a very bad situation, it is very vulnerable and young.”

Hiriga said he believed DhiTV and Haveeru were targeted because they are “the most vibrant media in this country” and the attacks were “certainly connected.”

He said the attackers had mentioned Haveeru when they entered the DhiTV building, and the police had been informed of this “but did not take enough precautions.”

Hiriga said he did “not want journalists to be afraid, but they are.”

He mentioned that some TV presenters were now “unwilling to appear on TV, and unwilling to report particular news items” because they were “very much afraid that their lives could be put in danger.”

“When law enforcement agencies fail, anything might happen at any time,” he said.

DhiTV CEO Yousuf Navaal said yesterday that “until we receive assurance [of our safety] that we can report this type of news, we will not cover it anymore.”

Hiriga however described Navaal’s approach as “not very professional”, especially since DhiTV had “asked Haveeru not to report on the issue either.

“The media should be one front and approach [these issues] as a collective, but this doesn’t happen,” Hiriga said, suggesting that Navaal was “reluctant” to report the story “because he has not been given enough confidence that the law is under control.”

Deputy Director General of TVM, Mohamed Asif, said the station had not taken extra security measures and were “hesitant and reluctant to report on these issues.”

Hiriga said media should not give in to intimidation: “We don’t have guns but we can fight with our pens!”

‘Chika’

DhiTV reported yesterday that Chika had been released to house arrest by the Department for Penitentiary and Rehabilitaion Service (DPRS).

State Minister for Home Affairs Ahmed Adil said the media had been reporting the wrong information, and “he was not released to house arrest”, but had in fact been taken to the DPRS for questioning two days ago.

Adil said the DPRS was investigating Chika and “he signed a paper saying he would cooperate and not leave his house.”

Spokesperson for the DPRS Moosa Rameez said Chika had been in the department’s rehabilitation programme for “six to seven months”, and referred Minivan News to DPRS Managing Director, Mohamed Rasheed.

However Rasheed said he did not want to comment on the issue.

A person familiar with the matter told Minivan News that Chika had been brought to Malé from Maafushi jail for an MRI scan. The source said it was common practice to bring prisoners to Malé when they require medical attention.

Police confirmed Chika had not been placed under house arrest, but would not say why he was in his house yesterday evening.

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Amendments to Armed Forces Act dismissed by Speaker

Parliament has thrown out the proposed amendments to the Armed Forces Act, put forward last week.

The Majlis was stalled last Wednesday after two contradictory amendments to the Armed Forces Act were proposed.

The first amendment came from Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP for Manimaadhoo Amhed Mujthaz, proposing Parliament should ultimately have the power to approve or deny the president’s choice for army chief.

The second amendment came from Maldivian Democratic Party (MPD) MP Mariya Didi, which was meant to counteract DRP’s proposal.

MDP’s proposal sought the Act to remain unchanged, and for President Mohamed Nasheed to have sole discretion in appointing or dismissing the army chief.

DRP’s amendment was tied at 35 on each side and was settled by Speaker of the People’s Majlis Abdulla Shahid, who cast his tie-braking vote in favour of DRP.

However MDP’s subsequent amendment passed at 35-33 votes, causing both contradiction and chaos.

“The Constitution allows me to vote only if there is a tie,” Shahid said, adding that he should not comment on the issue since his role was an impartial one.

Shahid said he “consulted the two major parties [DRP and MDP] and the leaders advised me to throw out the amendments” and leave it open for the process to be started again.

He said he thought the amendments would be resubmitted in the future, but were currently no longer on the floor.

Mariya Didi said “now the bill is as it was before,” noting that “the Speaker has exercised his discretion” and decided the bill should not be considered at this time.

“You don’t make bills and pass legislation to cater only for that day, but for the situation to be better in the country,” Mariya said.

State Minister for Home Affairs Ahmed Adil said he personally thought giving the power to parliament was “a dangerous move” and the motives for the proposed amendments were “purely political”.

He said the fact that the amendments were thrown out showed “the country is moving in the right direction.”

Adil added the Parliament “should not put their hand in the judiciary or executive branches” and each branch should remain independent of the other.

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Health sector employees abusing overtime wages, says Minister of Health

Minister of Health and Family Dr Aminath Jameel has said employees of regional hospitals, health centres and health posts have been misusing overtime allowances, reports Haveeru.

Dr Aminath said the ministry was taking action to prevent health employees from abusing overtime allowances.

She said the employees’ claims of overtime was “out of bounds” and the ministry will be monitoring the matter.

Dr Aminath said the ministry was trying to reduce the number of expatriate workers in the health sector, as this would solve the differences in salaries between local and foreign staff.

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Economic recovery dependent on tourism: Adhil Saleem

Minister of State for Economic Development Adhil Saleem told Miadhu that economic recovery can only be confirmed when there is a clear progress in the tourism sector and tourist arrivals.

Saleem said the government is addressing the budget deficit by raising additional funds, mainly increased revenue from the tourism sector.

He added that the tourism sector has improved but not the government’s expectations.

“Economy will only progress when there is increased spending,” Saleem said, adding that the construction of new resorts is crucial to the recovery of the tourism industry.

Saleem also mentioned the importance of improving the fishing industry. “We cannot solely depend on tourism,” he said, adding that the fisheries industry is in “bad shape.”

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Gaafaru Wind Energy project survey on the way

In preparation for the Gaafaru Wind Energy project, a survey has begun to monitor the wind speed in Gaafaru, reports Miadhu.

The State Electricity Company (STELCO) said it will take nine months to complete the survey.

This project is part of the government’s pledge to turn the Maldives into the first carbon-neutral country by 2020, and will be a joint venture between STELCO and a foreign investor.

Reports say the project is worth US$250,000,000.

The wind project would produce clean electricity for parts of North Malé Atoll, including Malé, Hulhulé and a number of resorts.

The project would require the construction of latest generation wind turbines, which would connect to Malé’s electricity grid through submarine cables.

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President meets with major human rights NGOs in Geneva

President Mohamed Nasheed met with officials from major human rights NGOs in Geneva as part of his European tour.

The meeting was attended by Mark Thompson from the Association for the Prevention of Torture; Julie De Reveiro from Human Rights Watch; Jan Borgen from Amnesty International; Wilbur Taylor from International Commission of Jurists; and Mohamed Mustapha Kabbaj from Nord-Sud XXI, a Swiss-based NGO aiming to “provide a voice…to people not normally represented in international forums”.

The meeting focused mainly on extending NGO support in the Maldives and strengthening the role of civil society in their respective areas, especially those dealing with protecting and promoting human rights.

President Nasheed said the country was undergoing major changes and said strengthening the role of civil society in Maldives is a priority for the government.

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