Tag: maldives news

Amendments propose registering plots smaller than 600 square feet

The parliament has accepted for consideration amendments proposed to the land law to allow registration of plots of land smaller than 600 square feet.

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Riyaz Rasheed’s amendment bill was accepted unanimously with 56 votes in favour at today’s sitting of parliament and sent to committee for further review.

Under the current law, plots of land smaller than 600 feet cannot be separately registered.

In cases where children inherit a small parcel of land upon division of a parent’s property, Riyaz said the new owners were unable to obtain loans or mortgage the property as it was not registered under their names.

During today’s debate, most MPs favoured the proposed changes, noting that the problem was especially acute in the congested capital.

Meanwhile, amendments proposed to the Decentralisation Act by main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party MP Rozaina Adam to change the eligibility criteria for local council candidates was rejected with 40 votes against and 21 votes in favour.

Rozaina proposed allowing individuals who have been convicted for a criminal offence to contest elections five years after serving the sentence. Under the current law, a person convicted of a crime with a punishment specified in Islam, drug abuse or trafficking, or bribery cannot contest in elections for island, atoll, or city councils.

During the debate on the amendments at today’s sitting, several MPs noted that individuals convicted of crimes can contest in parliamentary elections five years after serving their sentence. A harsher criteria for council candidates is unfair, the MPs argued.

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Diplomatic pressure ramps up on Maldives

The Canadian government and the Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) have called for international action to secure the release of “political prisoners” in the Maldives.

Canada called on the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) to “urgently put the deteriorating situation in the Maldives on its formal agenda,” while the ACHR called on the the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to adopt a resolution demanding the “unconditional release of all political prisoners” in the Maldives, including former President Mohamed Nasheed and former defence minister Mohamed Nazim.

The ACHR has special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council and provides information and complaints to national human rights institutions and the United Nations bodies and mechanisms.

The organization also called on the UNHRC to appoint a Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Maldives and to make a recommendation to the UN General Assembly to suspend the Maldives from the Human Rights Council.

The European parliament in April adopted a resolution condemning the “serious irregularities” of Nasheed’s terrorism trial while US secretary of state John Kerry said during a visit to Sri Lanka that Nasheed was “imprisoned without due process”.

“This is an injustice that needs to be addressed soon,” he said.

Last week, US senators John McCain and Jack Reed urged their government to press for the release of all political prisoners in the Maldives.

Commonwealth values

Canada also called on the Maldivian government to release jailed opposition politicians.

“On June 12, protestors gathered in the Maldives capital, Malé, to call for the release of political prisoners,‎ an independent judiciary, an end to politically motivated charges, and respect for freedom of expression and fundamental democratic values,” Canadian foreign minister Rob Nicholson said in a statement yesterday.

“Canada strongly supports these objectives, which are consistent with Commonwealth values and principles as set out in the Charter of the Commonwealth.”

In March, foreign minister Dunya Maumoon slammed alleged attempts to place the Maldives on the CMAG agenda over Nasheed’s terrorism trial.

Former foreign minister and UN Special Rapporteur on Iran Dr Ahmed Shaheed said Canada’s call shows “that countries in the commonwealth care about the Maldives.”

Suspension from UNHRC

The 29th session of the UNHRC is taking place from June 15 to July 3 in Geneva, Switzerland. The inter-governmental body is comprised of 47 member states and meets for 10 weeks every year, in March, June and September.

The Maldives was first elected to the council in 2010 and re-elected for a second term in November 2013.

The prosecution and imprisonment of political opponents constitute “gross and systematic violations of human rights” as provided under the General Assembly resolution establishing the Human Rights Council and justifies the proposed measures, the ACHR said in a statement yesterday.

As the European parliament has adopted a resolution calling for Nasheed’s release, the ACHR suggested that European Union members on the council should sponsor the resolution.

The foreign ministry said yesterday that the Maldives delegation will focus on “issues of priorities such as women’s rights, children’s rights, climate change, rule of law, among others.”

“Trumped up charges”

The ACHR meanwhile accused President Abdulla Yameen of jailing political opponents under “trumped up charges” to bar rivals from contesting the 2018 presidential election.

“While key democratic leaders have been put behind bars under terrorism charges, President Yameen has taken little or no measures to counter real terrorists: over 200 Maldivians are currently fighting for Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria with at least four of them having died in the fighting,” the ACHR claimed.

The judiciary remains unreformed since the 30-year autocratic reign of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the ACHR continued, and currently serves as the “handmaiden” of President Yameen – “a replica of the rule by the Rajapaksa brothers which ended in neighbouring Sri Lanka in January 2015.”

Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla, Jumhooree Party (JP) deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim, and JP council member Sobah Rasheed have also been charged with terrorism and accused of inciting violence at a mass protest on May 1.

The terrorism charges cast doubt on the government’s sincerity in calling for talks with opposition parties, the ACHR suggested.

The organisation noted that Nasheed’s conviction on terrorism charges in March after a 19-day trial was widely criticised over apparent lack of due process.

Amnesty International called the conviction a “travesty of justice” while the UN human rights chief said Nasheed was sentenced after a “hasty and apparently unfair trial” and noted “flagrant irregularities.”

The UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers noted “serious due process violations” such as denial of the opportunity to present defence witnesses, which led her to believe “the outcome of the trial may have been pre-determined.”

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STO reduces price of onions and potatoes

The State Trading Organisation (STO) has reduced the price of onions and potatoes ahead of the Islamic month of Ramadan.

The price of onions was lowered from MVR12 to MVR10 per kilo and from MVR250 to MVR220 per bag.

The price of potatoes was lowered from MVR12 per kilo to MVR9 per kilo and from MVR250 to MVR180 per bag.

The price changes took effect today. The state-owned enterprise said it was able to reduce prices as the cost of the next shipment of onions and potatoes had changed favourably.

The price of eggs meanwhile remain unchanged at MVR1.50 per egg and MVR270 per case.

Long queues were reported outside STO shops this week following hikes in the prices of eggs, onions, and potatoes in the market.

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Vendors turn Malé’s surf point into trash dump

Vendors have turned Malé’s surf point Raalhugandu into a waste dump after the biannual street market.

The two-week long market ended on June 13, but vendors left plastic, wood, cardboard boxes and pipes at Malé’s water front. The market organizer Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) has not picked up the trash two days after the market ended.

Some 500 stalls were set up for the market.

The dumping of trash at the surf point sparked outrage on Twitter.


The MNCCI’s Vice President Ismail Asif told Raajje TV that the clean-up effort had been slowed by difficulties in transporting and offloading the garbage onto barges that would carry the trash to the dump on Thilafushi island.

The Malé City Council is cleaning up the mess now. Councilor Shamau Shareef appealed to the public to join him in the clean up with “brooms, gloves and garbage bags.”

As the sun set, only migrant workers staff were seen cleaning the area. Much of the garbage has been cleared on the outermost Bodu Thakurufaanu Magu, but adjoining Ameenee Magu is yet to be cleaned.

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Mother confesses to abusing murdered three-year-old baby

A mother accused of murdering her three-year-old boy has confessed to killing the child at the first hearing of her trial today.

Afiya Mohamed Manik told the court that she repeatedly abused her son, Mohamed Ibthihaal, and said she felt anger towards the boy because he was born out of wedlock.

In addition to murder, Afiya was also charged with disobedience to order over child abuse and neglect with reference to the law on protecting children’s rights. She appeared for today’s hearing without legal representation and pleaded guilty to the latter charge, but also confessed to the murder.

Ibthihaal died “by my hands,” Afiya was quoted as saying by local media. She confessed to strangling the child and kicking his chest three times.

Judge Muhthaz Fahmy reportedly stopped Afiya and reminded her that she was to answer the disobedience to order charge. The judge and state prosecutor explained the charge to Afiya.

Afiya said she understood the charge and was confessing to abusing her son voluntarily.

The charge carries a penalty of six months in jail.

Reporters at the hearing observed that Afiya appeared calm, but her voice trembled when she spoke of abusing Ibthihaal on the day of his death. She was handcuffed throughout the hearing.

At today’s hearing, the judge offered Afiya the opportunity to appoint a lawyer at the state’s expense and explained the process of seeking a public defender. He did not announce a date for the next hearing.

If she is found guilty of murder, Afiya faces a sentence of life imprisonment. She had reportedly confessed to murder during the police interrogation and her remand hearings.

Ibthihaal’s body was found with signs of severe abuse on January 28 in the worst case of child abuse in recent years. The horrific murder on the island of Rakeedhoo in Vaavu atoll shocked the nation while reports that the authorities had been aware of Ibthihaal’s abuse sparked public outrage.

Afiya was arrested for murder two days later and has since been held in pre-trial detention.

Afiya’s stepfather, Ismail Raoof, was arrested on April 1 on suspicion of physically and sexually abusing Ibthihaal.

In April, Chief Inspector Abdulla Satheeh said negligence by government authorities and the island community on Vaavu Rakeedhoo was partly responsible for the toddler’s murder.

Satheeh said marks on the child’s neck indicated that he had been strangled.

Police also found swelling on the right side of his forehead, scrapes on his face, wounds on his right ear and scars all over his body. Some of his ribs were broken as well.

Satheeh said Ibthihaal’s death was caused by “major injuries” while some older scars remained unhealed.

“Mohamed Ibthihal had received physical and psychological harm from different individuals on different occasions, for a long period of time,” he said.

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JP spokesperson ‘unlawfully leased’ island to ex-minister

The opposition Jumhooree Party spokesperson Ali Solih has been accused of unlawfully leasing an island to a company owned by a cabinet minister during his tenure as the minister of state for fisheries and agriculture.

The anti-corruption watchdog said Solih had leased an uninhabited island in Shaviyani Atoll to a company owned by then-minister of health Mariyam Shakeela.

The constitution bars cabinet ministers from actively engaging in a business, buying or leasing any state property or from having financial interests between the state and another party.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), in a report released today, said Solih had abused his authority in leasing the island to Shakeela’s company.

Solih was appointed to the fisheries ministry by former president Dr Mohamed Waheed in 2012.

The ACC said Solih had not consulted the fisheries ministry’s legal department in signing a contract. The department had informed Solih the transaction was illegal in a memo, but he told the ACC he was not aware that a memo had been issued.

Solih did not cancel the contract even when he found out the company belonged to the health minister, but considered transferring the contract to a new company, the ACC said.

The managing director of the new company was a shareholder in the company the island was first leased to, the ACC said. The act constituted abuse of authority to confer undue advantages and if convicted, is punishable with three years in jail, house arrest or banishment.

President Abdulla Yameen appointed Shakeela as health minister, but she lost her cabinet portfolio when pro-government MPs rejected her nomination in a cabinet shuffle in August.

It is not yet clear if the ACC will seek to prosecute Shakeela for continuing to hold shares in a company as health minister.

Speaking to Minivan News today, Solih said he was not aware whether a cabinet minister held shares in the company the island was leased to.

“It was not my responsibility to find out who owned shares in the company, but as soon as I found out that this contravened with the law, I asked the legal department to look into it,” he said.

“This is the government’s method of intimidating people who are working against their tyrannical regime,” he added.

The JP had split from the ruling coalition in January citing authoritarianism. Senior members of the party have launched an anti government campaign along with the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party and the Adhaalath Party.

Two senior JP officials are now facing prosecution on criminal charges. JP deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim and JP council member Sobah Rasheed have been charged with terrorism for allegedly inciting violence during an anti-government demonstration on May Day.

The charges under the 1990 Anti-Terrorism Act carry a sentence of between 10 to 15 years in prison.

The pair are abroad at present. Sobah said he is seeking political asylum.

JP leader Gasim Ibrahim has been in Bangkok since late April. The tax authority in May froze Gasim’s Villa Group’s accounts claiming the company owed the government US$90.4million in unpaid rent, fees and fines.

Gasim insists the claim is unlawful and is contesting it at the civil court.

 

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Parliament accepts bill on expediting formation of Islamic University

The parliament today accepted for consideration a bill on expediting the establishment of the Islamic University of Maldives.

Legislation on establishing the Islamic University by upgrading the Islamic College or ‘Kulliya’ was passed and ratified in April. The law was due to come into force in August.

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Mohamed Waheed Ibrahim proposed amendments to the law to turn the college’s council into the university’s interim council. The acting vice chancellor will also appoint acting deputy vice chancellors in consultation with the council until the president makes new appointments.

The law currently states that Kulliya’s vice rectors will serve as deputy vice chancellors until new appointments are made. The acting vice chancellor will be the head of the council.

The amendments will come into effect following ratification by the president. The amendment bill was sent to committee for further review at today’s sitting with 32 votes in favour, 16 against, and two abstentions.

During today’s debate, opposition MPs accused Waheed of proposing the changes with the intention of dismissing senior officials at the college and current rector Dr Ibrahim Zakariyya Moosa in particular.

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‘Dear President’ feedback portal launched

The president’s office has today launched an online form titled “Dear President” for citizens to share their concerns with President Abdulla Yameen.

The form is available on the president’s office website, and allows the public to send comments, concerns and thoughts on agriculture, fisheries, tourism, education, health, housing, youth, sports or other.

Members of the public are required to list their names and ages, while the email address and contact number is optional.

The public affairs coordinator at the president’s office, Aishath Leeza, said the campaign is receiving a lot of public support.

President Yameen and First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim have recently held several public functions to meet with the elderly and the youth.

Late last month, the first lady visited chronically ill patients at the state-run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) and distributed packages of rice, dates and cans to the disabled in Malé and its suburbs Hulhumalé and Vilimalé.

An eyewitness at the IGMH said he saw the first lady handing out envelopes with money to patients.

But the first lady’s secretary denied rumours that she had distributed money to the sick at the IGMH.

At the June 7 meeting with the senior citizens, President Yameen pledged to send 142 pilgrims to Hajj this year on government expenses. But president’s office spokesperson told local media two days later that the president’s remarks were misunderstood. The president had only pledged  to secure placements for 142 senior citizens through the government-owned Hajj Corporation, he said.

The first lady also met with the participants of the 30th National Quran competition last week.

 

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Maldives raises US$162,000 for earthquake relief in Nepal

The Maldivian Red Crescent and the Maldivian Medical Association have raised a total of MVR2.5million (US$162,127) for the earthquake relief effort in Nepal.

The donations will support the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ humanitarian assistance effort. The IFRC has appealed for US$93million in assistance.

The MRC says it wants to donate the funds to build shelters.

Nearly 9,000 people died in Nepal after an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter Scale struck on April 25. Another tremor of magnitude 7.3 struck on May 15, leading to more deaths.

Fundraising activities conducted across the country include a telethon, children’s evenings, and a football match between the Veteran’s club and MPs.

The public sector contributed MVR500,000 (US$32,425) while companies and civil society groups donated MVR700,000 (US$45,000), the MRC said.

The Maldives raised US$1.9million to help Palestinians who lost their homes in the Israeli offensive in Gaza last year.

The International Federation of Red Crescent (IFRC) has completed 100 housing units in Gaza with the US$1.9 million raised by the Maldivian media.

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