Tag: maldives news

Police not only solving crimes, but developing responsible youth: Commissioner Waheed

Commissioner of Police Hussain Waheed has said the Maldives Police Service is not only aiming to solve and combat crimes, but also to develop a responsible youth community in the country.

Speaking at an award ceremony for the participants of the latest ‘Blues for Youth’ camp, Waheed said that the police are conducting programmes in every island of the country in order to reduce crime while providing opportunities for youth communities.

He highlighted the importance of universal participation in the reduction of crime in the country while claiming that some individuals were trying to incite unrest and violence by holding protests on the streets.

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) accused the government last week of attempting to obstruct the party’s demonstrations after launching its first protests since the 2013 presidential elections – claims denied by the police.

The ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has based many of it policies on youth empowerment, with President Yameen noting recently that his major aim was to rebuild the country through opportunities for the youth.

To this end, he has cleared the criminal records of over 2000 young people in the country during his first year in office.

PPM Parliamentary Group Leader Ahmed Nihan recently expressed concern that young people were being labelled as gang members unfairly, although comments by the home minister and a rise in violent crime suggests a persistent problem with gangs in the capital, Malé.

“Youth in these small congregations with young blood will have the courage to defend each other. Small things like that will roll over… It’s true. I know while saying this that some incidents have gone beyond bound,” Nihan was quoted as saying by local media.

Speaking at the ‘Blues for Youth’ event, Waheed also said police would not reveal details of ongoing investigations, regardless of how much pressure was applied. Two cases are currently lodged with the Police Integrity Commission in relation to the missing Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan.

The youth camps began shortly after the government took office last year, with the stated aim of broadening the role of youth in national activities, building a healthy young generation, preparing youth for the job market and facilitating opportunities to strengthen assertiveness.

The police also held a road show at the Raalhugandu area this weekend, the starting point for an MDP march, with the aim of raising awareness about road accidents.

The show, held in collaboration with Allied Insurance, included games for children and model displays of accidents.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the road show, Waheed expressed hope that the show will raise awareness amongst the many motorist on Malé roads.


Related to this story

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Kadhdhoo to become military airport

Kadhdhoo Airport in Laamu Atoll is to be turned into a military facility, reports Sun Online.

Minister of Defence Colonel (Retired) Mohamed Nazim told Sun that the airport had been handed over to his ministry and would begin operations as a military airport in January next year.

“This would not disturb the domestic flights. Our facilities would be installed there, and new jobs would be created”, Nazim told Sun.

The Maldives National Defence Force currently owns two helicopters – both gifts from India, though Nazim said he hoped new aircraft would be acquired.

Kadhdhoo Airport was opened in 1993, and currently operates flights between Ibrahim Nasir International Airport in Malé and Gan International Airport in Addu.

Nazim has previously announced plans to secure revenue for the MNDF’s welfare schemes, including the commercialisation of its new naval base, its military hospital, and the training island at Thamburudhoo.

Late last year, the defence minister announced a new strategic action plan for the force which involved the introduction of an MNDF TV station – Addana TV (Shield TV) – and the upgrading of Senahiya hospital.

Source: Sun Online

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Changi Airport Group to sign INIA consultancy deal

Singapore’s Changi Airport Group has agreed to oversee the development of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), reports Haveeru.

The company, which manages Singapore’s multiple award-winning Changi airport, will officially announce the deal at a ceremony on Monday morning.

The development of INIA will be financed through China’s Exim bank, reported cabinet members earlier this month. Beijing Urban Construction Group were reported to have been working with Maldives Airports Company Ltd on the plans.

Tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb has previously explained that Changi would be hired as consultants as they are better qualified to work with Chinese and Japanese contractors.

Preliminary contract agreements for the development of the airport – stalled after the termination of the previous deal with India’s GMR in 2012 – were signed during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinpeng in September.

Source: Haveeru

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MDP allege police obstruction of demonstrations

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has threatened direct action after accusing the government of attempting to obstruct the party’s demonstrations.

“MDP strongly condemns the incumbent government’s actions in using the police to obstruct this party’s demonstration, which had the participation of a large number of MDP members,” read a party press release.

The announcement followed the MDP’s return to the streets this week, launching its first protests since the controversial delays to the 2013 presidential election.

Numerous speakers at yesterday’s march in the capital called for President Abdulla Yameen’s resignation,

“You have turned this island, this country, into a dwelling of violence and fear. You cannot continue to do this. You must resign,” Haveeru reported former Majlis Speaker Abdulla Shahid as saying.

Meanwhile, MDP Vice President Mohamed ‘Shippe’ Shifaz pledged that the party would continue to demonstrate until peace is restored to the country, or the president steps down.

President Yameen has characterised his first year in office as having brought “peace and order” to the Maldives, a claim refuted by the opposition who point to frequent knife attacks, the intimidation of journalists and politicians, and repeated instances of Maldivians travelling abroad for Jihad.

Yameen has pledged to remove violent crime from the streets, committing his government to implementing the death penalty in order to do so.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed told supporters earlier this week that his party had been forced back to the streets by the government’s poor performance, notably its carelessness and arrogance” in response to the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan.

MDP Chairperson Ali Waheed claimed that the police had written to the party stating that rallies would be stopped if they became unruly. Waheed told supporters that the party would not be intimidated.

Police Spokesperson Supreintendent Ahmed Shifan today denied the demonstration had been obstructed, saying there were no significant incidents and no complaints had been made.

MDP Spokesman Imthiyaz Fahmy suggested that police obstructed demonstrators during yesterday’s planned march.

“The obstruction is against the freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and freedom to hold peaceful political activity guaranteed in the constitution,” said the MDP press release.


Related to this story

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MDP condemns insecurity as PPM celebrates peace and order

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SAARC calls for greater integration, recognises vulnerability of small island states

The 18th SAARC summit has concluded, with President Abdulla Yameen adding his signature to the Kathmandu Declaration.

A new regional Framework Agreement on Energy Cooperation was also signed by all members of the association, aiming to facilitate cross-border trade of electricity on a voluntary basis.

The summit declaration was themed ‘Deeper Integration for Peace and Prosperity’ and focused on institutional reform of SAARC as well as the vulnerability of Small Island Developing States.

At the start of the summit earlier this week, President Yameen had called upon the association to make its voice heard in the international community, as well as criticising the group’s complacency on the subject of climate change.

“Importantly, the Declaration underscores the importance of the international community to conclude a legally binding outcome in the fight against climate change before the end of 2015,” read a foreign ministry statement accompanying the summit’s conclusion.

“The Leaders also agreed to develop capacity of Member States to apply space technology for socio-economic development and the welfare of the peoples through experience sharing and technology transfer and in this context welcomed the offer of India to develop and launch a SAARC satellite.”

Another notable features of the Kathmandu Declaration was the recognition of the “manifold contributions of ocean-based Blue Economy in the SAARC Region and the need for collaboration and partnership in this area.”

The declaration pledged commitment to a phased-in South Asian Economic Union via a free trade area, customs union, common markets, and economic and monetary union.

Leaders “reaffirmed that SIDS would require special attention in view of their unique circumstances and particular vulnerabilities in realization of sustainable development.”

The Maldives has recently been elected chair of the Alliance of Small Island States – the 44-member lobby group for such countries within the UN system, which focuses primarily on the effects of climate change.

The Kathmandu Declaration also urged relevant bodies to identify projects in the area of power generation to meet growing regional as well as “taking into account the existential threats posed by climate change to some SAARC Member States”.

The Maldives government is currently aiming to generate 30 percent of its power from renewable sources within five years. Local media yesterday reported that India had offered to assist the Maldives in its search for oil.

All leaders also “reiterated their strong commitment to ensure good governance for sustainable development by promoting accountability, transparency, the rule of law and people’s participation at all levels of governance,” read the declaration.

The summit is the first such meeting since the Maldives’ summit in 2011, having been organised after recently elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited his regional counterparts to his inauguration in May.

President Yameen was able to meet separately with Modi, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa during the summit before returning to the Maldives today.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dunya Maumoon signed the energy agreement on behalf of the Maldives, committing to enable energy traders to negotiate the terms of exchange, and to share technical knowledge with a view to opening up the electricity sector.

Leaders also promised to sign further agreements on passenger and cargo traffic within three months, after Pakistan were reported to have declined signing the agreements until further internal discussions.

Observers of the 18th summit included Australia, China, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Mauritius, Myanmar, the USA, and the EU.

Suggestions that the status of China be upgraded were rebuffed by Indian officials earlier this week, who suggested that greater integration between current states should be remain a priority.

Pakistan has offered to hold the next summit, mandated by the SAARC Charter to held at least once a year.


Related to this story

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President Yameen calls on SAARC to make its voice heard

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Committee passes budget, recommends constitutional amendment to reduce independent commissions

The People’s Majlis budget committee has passed the record MVR24.3 billion (US$1.5 billion) state budget for 2015 and recommended a constitutional amendment to reduce the number of independent institutions.

The proposal by ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) MP Riyaz Rasheed said that bringing the state’s independent institutions under one body would reduce government expenditure.

The committee did not make any changes to the budget.

The 11 recommendations also included a proposal by Rasheed to amend the Decentralisation Act to reduce the number of local councils and cut salaries of all councilors except the council’s president. All councillors except the council president would be paid an allowance based on their attendance at council meetings.

MPs of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and the PPM’s ally Jumhooree Party (JP) did not vote for the two recommendations.

During former President Mohamed Nasheed’s tenure, the PPM leadership – formerly of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) – rejected the MDP’s proposal for councilors to be established in only seven provinces.

DRP MPs at the time insisted on establishing a council in all inhabited islands and an atoll council for each of the 20 atolls.

As per DRP amendments, islands with a population less than 3000 now have five paid councilors, islands with a population between 3000 and 10,000 have seven paid councilors, and islands with a population over 10,000 have nine councilors.

Meanwhile, atolls which consist of two parliamentary constituencies elect three members from each constituency while atolls which have more than three Majlis constituencies elect two members from each constituency. Each Majlis constituency consists of 5000 people.

MDP MPs had walked out in protest from the Majlis sitting, claiming the DRP amendments would create “20 mini governments” and create an enormous financial burden on the state.

The budget committee today also passed a proposal by Rasheed requiring the government to formulate a master plan for population consolidation.

A proposal by the MDP to conduct all government trainings through the Maldives National University was also passed.

The committee also voted in favor of MDP MP Mohamed Aslam’s proposal requiring the government to commence work on establishing a development bank, get back money owed to the government, and to decrease the number of expatriate workers in the tourism sector by increasing the stake of Maldivians.

The Maldives Development Alliance (MDA)’s recommendation to establish a low interest loan scheme for housing and boat building, and the Jumhooree Party (JP) recommendation requiring the government to prioritise projects on constitutionally mandated services also passed.

The MDP had proposed establishing a pay commission to set state wage policy by the end of 2015 and providing a grace period of two to three years for new taxes, but the PPM dominated committee rejected these proposals.

The committee also rejected MDP proposals requiring deference to the Fiscal Responsibility Act and Public Finance Act in budget implementation.

The budget will now be forwarded to the Majlis floor for final review.


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Finance minister presents record MVR24.3 billion state budget to parliament

MDP criticises proposed 2015 state budget as “aimless”

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Thulusdhoo murder suspect sentenced to death

The Criminal Court has sentenced Mohamed Niyaz of Kaaf Thulusdhoo Redrose to death after he was found guilty of murdering 35-year-old Ali Shiham at Thulusdhoo on the night of July 31.

The Criminal Court sentence (Dhivehi) read that Niyaz was proven guilty based on his confession to investigators and his refusal to defend himself from the evidence provided to the court by the prosecutors.

Niyaz voluntarily handed himself over to the local police department after fatally stabbing Shiham in what the police have described as an act of vengeance after Shiham accused Niyaz of stealing from a construction site under the supervision of the victim.

The sentence was issued after Shiham’s four heirs – his wife, two children and grandmother – demanded qisas at the court. The decision of children was made by Shiham’s wife.

While speaking to the press at the time, Chief Inspector Abdulla Satheeh said that Niyaz had been arrested 10 times previously for theft and drug-related crimes.

The government has made moves this year to end the country’s 60-year moratorium on the death penalty, introducing regulations in April to oversee the process.

While speaking at a Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) rally this month, President Abdulla Yameen reiterated the government’s resolve to implement the death penalty for the sake of human rights and dignity.

“I want to say tonight as well in your presence, this government will have no mercy at all for those who slaughter Maldivian citizens with no mercy,” said Yameen at the ‘Successful 365 Days’ event held in Malé on November 21.

Home Minister Umar Naseer said in April that death penalty can be implemented in Maldives from April 27 after the procedural regulations were published on the government’s gazette on that day.

“We are not one to shy away from implementing the death penalty by showing various excuses. Nothing will stop us from implementing the death penalty as planned,” said Naseer told the media.

The last person executed in the Maldives was Hakim Didi, found guilty of practicing black magic in 1953. The common practice has since been for the president to commute all death sentences to life imprisonment through powers vested in him by Clemency Act.

With the new regulation, the president will no longer have this authority if a person is sentenced to death for murder by the Supreme Court.

The decision to re-implement the death penalty has received a mixed response at home and abroad, with some questioning the current state of the judiciary, while others claimed that the Islamic Sharia dictates a willful murderer should be put to death if there is sufficient evidence.


Related to this story

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Yameen pledges to end violent crime at ‘Successful 365 Days’ rally

Death penalty can be implemented starting today: Home Minister

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Emirates to add third daily flight from Malé

Emirates airlines is to add a third daily flight between Malé and Dubai International Airport, starting from December 1.

Emirates flight EK656 will depart Dubai at 02:10 to arrive in Malé at 07:15. The return leg, EK657, will depart Ibrahim Nasir International Airport at 08:45 and arrive in Dubai at 11:55.

“The Maldives has proven to be a strong market for leisure and family travel. With a wide range of luxury hotel chains, romantic beaches and adventurous water sports activities; it certainly has something for everyone,” said Ahmed Khoory, a senior vice president at Emirates.

“The increased cargo capacity on the route will also help facilitate business between the Maldives and its key trading markets,” he added.

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President Yameen meets with Indian and Pakistani prime minsters

President Abdulla Yameen has met with both Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the 18th SAARC summit in Kathmandu.

Yameen expressed gratitude for India’s continued for support and assistance, and discussed opportunities to increase Indian assistance towards the Maldives health sector.

During his meeting with the Pakistani prime minister, Yameen discussed expanding relations, particularly in the fields of trade, commerce, and human resources. Yameen and Nawaz also exchanged views on making SAARC a more powerful regional bloc.

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