Tag: maldives news

MPs debate MVR3,000 Ramadan bonus for all Muslim workers

The parliament today debated amendments submitted to the Employment Act for paying MVR3,000 (US$194) as a Ramadan bonus for all Muslim workers in the Maldives.

The legislation was submitted by Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Mohamed Ali after the ruling party announced plans to equalise the Ramadan bonus last month.

PPM MP Nihan said at the time MVR36 million (US$2.3million) in extra funding would be needed to increase the Ramadan allowance for all state employees. The current budget for Ramadan allowance stands at MVR92 million (US$5.9million).

The Employment Act entitles all Muslim workers in the Maldives to a sum no less than one-third of their monthly salary for the month of fasting, with a minimum of MVR2,000 (US$129) and a maximum of MVR10,000 (US$645).

During the preliminary debate at today’s sitting of parliament, both pro-government and opposition MPs supported the proposal.

But several MPs expressed concern with private businesses having to raise additional funds to pay the mandatory flat rate of MVR3,000 with Ramadan only nine days away.

Main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party MP Ahmed Nashid, owner of the private ADK hospital, also argued that increasing expenditure from the state budget could lead to inflation and a dollar shortage.

However, the amendment bill was unanimously accepted for consideration with 61 votes in favour and sent to committee for further review.

Statistics published by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) shows almost half of the country’s 24,742 civil servants are paid less than MVR4,999 (US$ 324) a month.

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President Yameen vows to send 142 pilgrims to Hajj

President Abdulla Yameen vowed last night to send 142 pilgrims to Hajj this year on government expenses.

Speaking at a function with senior citizens, President Yameen said Saudi Arabia had increased the Hajj quota for the Maldives to 2,000 this year. The government is working to sponsor more Maldivians to perform the pilgrimage, he said.

In January, the president inaugurated state-owned Maldives Hajj Corporation with a budget of MVR110 million (US$7.1 million), with the aim of reducing the cost of performing the yearly pilgrimage.

However, part of the quota reserved for the Hajj Corporation has been filled up until 2017.

In his remarks last night, President Yameen said senior citizens were a high priority for his administration. The government has increased the old age pension from MVR2,500 to MVR5,000 and expanded the ‘Aasandha’ health insurance scheme to include cancer treatment and kidney transplants.

Referring to former President Mohamed Nasheed’s imprisonment on terrorism charges in March, Yameen said Maldivians prefer peace over violence.

“We included abducting people as part of terrorism because Maldivians believe in peace,” he said.

“There is no other way to get rid of such tyranny in the Maldives.”

Nasheed is serving 13 years in jail over the military’s detention of criminal court chief judge Abdulla Mohamed in January 2012. The 19-day terrorism trial was widely criticised and described as a “travesty of justice” by Amnesty International.

Meanwhile, Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla and Jumhooree Party deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim are also facing terrorism charges for “encouraging violence towards President Yameen and other senior government officials” in their speeches at a 20,000-strong protest march on May 1.

Yameen meanwhile stressed the importance of protecting the Maldives’ sovereignty, independence, and Islamic identity, claiming that previous administrations involved other nations in making decisions on domestic affairs.

The European Union refused to extend duty-free status to Maldivian fish exports over the country’s stance on freedom of religion, Yameen claimed.

“A lot of foreign ambassadors have met with me recently. But my final word to them is that our democracy is run according to written laws alongside the justice system. So we will not go to gain permission from any state if we have to take actions against anyone who breaks the rules and regulations,” he said to loud cheers.

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Dhiraagu postpones road race

Telecommunications provider Dhiraagu has postponed its annual road race due to the extension of the ongoing night market.

The road race was due to take place on June 12. The opposition alliance is also planning to stage a mass protest in Malé on the same day.

Dhiraagu marketing director Ahmed Maumoon told the press last week that an experienced international organisation was tasked with setting the route for the race. The night market area is part of the designated route.

Maumoon said 3,000 people have registered to take part in the race.

Dhiraagu expects the race to be rescheduled for July as Ramadan begins later this month and the national athletics team will depart at the end of Ramadan for the Indian Ocean Games.

Maumoon said a new date will be determined in consultation with the organisers, partners, and foreign participants.

The road race is held each year to raise awareness of child abuse and domestic violence.

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In neglected Dhiggaru, people are content

Additional reporting by Ismail Humam Hamid

Abdul Sattar Hussain, an 80-year-old retired fisherman on Meemu Atoll Dhiggaru Island, has seen six presidencies in the Maldives. For him, the worst rule was that of the first president Mohamed Ameen Didi, and the best was that of the second president Ibrahim Nasir.

“Ameen made us all hungry,” he said, recalling the famine of World War Two. “We were hungry all the time. But Nasir, he is the best president this country ever saw. He got us out of eating cereal and millet.”

Lounging on a woven rope joali in the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives’ (PPM) haruge, Sattar took off his dark glasses, rubbed it with his checkered sarong and declared: “After Nasir saved us it hasn’t been all that bad. It’s not that bad now either.”

Sattar is content. He does not expect much from the central government.

The people of Dhiggaru are proud fisherpeople. Their wives dry tuna, and make rihaakuru, a tuna paste famous throughout the Maldives. Their young men take up fishing or go work at luxury resorts nearby. Most invest their earnings into building single-storied brick homes on family plots.

Life, on this small and quiet island, has remained unchanged for decades.

On Saturday, Dhiggaru was at the centre of Maldivian politics. A parliamentary by-election, triggered by the surprise imprisonment of MP Ahmed Nazim, took place.

The PPM candidate and son of a former president, Ahmed Faris Maumoon, won against the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) Ahmed Raazee with 59.4 percent of the vote.

For the besieged central government, the by-election victory was a demonstration of support in a politically charged time. The PPM’s coalition partners had allied with the MDP in March and had launched daily protests in Malé over the jailing of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed.

But here on Dhiggaru, the politics of Malé is far removed.

Successive governments have neglected Dhiggaru. The people lay the pipes for a rudimentary sewerage system by hand and built half of the sea wall encircling the island. The men prefer to work hard during the day and sleep with their wives at night. Political party rivalry exists, but is muted. The economy, unlike that of most small islands, is self-sufficient.

Political party membership is divided according to neighbourhoods. The north supports the MDP, while the south, where the majority live, support the PPM.

Sattar lives in the southern ward. “I go with whatever they pick. That’s not for me as an individual to decide,” he said.

“I don’t know much about that”

Some 1,300 people are registered as Dhiggaru residents, but only 944 live on the island. The majority is middle-aged. Here, everyone knows everyone. Most are related to each other.

“We do not take political party rivalry personally,” Mariyam Hassan, 53, said. “What is the benefit of that? We talk to each other, help each other and try to live peacefully.”

Most people do not have much to say about democracy, the government’s performance, or the jailing of the MP who had represented them for 20 years.

“What is democracy? What is it like? I don’t know anything about it,” said Aishath Hassan, a dedicated 61-year-old PPM activist.

For the people of Dhiggaru, a parliamentarian is not a lawmaker, but an official elected to help the community in their time of need, mostly in paying medical bills.

Nazim is admired in Dhiggaru. Most, no matter which political party they support, have received his help. He was jailed for life on corruption charges, after he reportedly fell out of favour with President Abdulla Yameen and his tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb.

“When I was little he bought me my school books. He bought schoolbooks for my daughter. And recently, when one of my family members got sick Nazim sent him abroad for medical treatment with a family member,” Khalida Hussain, 42, said.

In his 20-year tenure, Nazim built a computer lab at the island school and is credited with the construction of the island health post, although the funds came from the state budget. Most voters said they want a man like Nazim to represent them in the Majlis.

“We are hoping to elect a man as loyal to us as Nazim,” Afeefa Abdulla, 53, said.

“Nazim is a very kind, loyal man. He brought many developments to Dhiggaru. If you go to him ask for help he would never turn you down,” Usman Mohamed, 64, said.

When asked about Nazim’s imprisonment, many said: “I have nothing to say about that.”

A 28-year-old MDP supporter, Dawood Abdul Gadhir said: “If anyone commits a crime he has to pay for it. But I have no information about it.”

Content

Dhiggaru islanders do not have much, but they seem content.

Mohamed Munavvar is only 20 years old. By dawn he is out at sea. But on Friday, he was home because of bad weather. “It’s just fishing. It’s not hard if you love what you do,” he said.

A fisherman makes an average of MVR10,000 (US$648) per month. The fisheries sector is small and dependent on skipjack tuna.

“People ask us why we don’t build bigger fishing boats to catch yellow fin tuna, which is more lucrative. But then, we would have to travel longer distances and we will be out for at sea for weeks. We would rather spend all the money we get on this island and come back to our wives at night,” Mohamed “Gadha” Hussain, 38, said.

Some young men, however, expressed discontent with the lack of employment opportunities.

“There are no jobs here. You either go fishing or end up in a resort. I just finished my A ‘levels. I will have to go and work in a resort probably,” Ibrahim “Dida” Humaid said. “The other option is going to Malé City for work. A lot of young people are there already.”

Dhiggaru islanders have one wish – for the government to reclaim land from the lagoon and increase the land area of the now-13 hectare island.

“We want to own land. We want more people here. Every government has promised that, but its all lies,” Munavvar, the 20-year-old fisherman said.

During president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s time, a small sliver of land was reclaimed at the harbour. During Nasheed’s time, another area was reclaimed to the south of the island.

In the weeks leading up to the by-election, the government promised several development projects. An x-ray machine and air-conditioning units were delivered. A contract was signed for harbour renovation. President Yameen promised a new power generator, a new sewerage system, and said PPM constituencies will be prioritised for development in 2016.

Meanwhile, Faris has promised that the government will develop five resorts close to Dhiggaru.

Excavators and heavy machinery were brought on to Dhiggaru. But work has not begun yet.

With Faris’ win, some hope the island will be reclaimed, but many opposition supporters said they do not expect much progress.

“These machines are not going to be here for that long. Whatever the results of the elections may be, these are going to go from here,” Dawood Hassan, 28, said. “We haven’t seen any development in Dhiggaru for ages. But now that its election time, we are hearing many stories and plans for development. I think there is something awfully wrong in this.”

“Yameen recently said he is hoping the work will be done by next year. So we don’t know anymore. It progressing slowly,” Ahmed Nishan, an MDP council member of Dhiggaru island council said.

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Maldivians will survive climate change, says tourism minister

Tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb has urged Maldivians to adapt to the impacts of climate change instead of considering relocation to higher ground abroad.

Maldivians will continue to live on Maldivian soil for the next 500 years, he said, at a festival held to mark the World Environment Day on Saturday.

“Maldives are innovative and always looking for new innovations. We will live here in the Maldives even if we have to reclaim land or live on floating contraptions,” he said.

The Maldivian islands lie just a meter above sea-level.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in a 2013 report said global sea-level is rising and predicts accelerated rise for this century.

For high emissions, the IPCC now predicts a global rise by 52-98 cm by the year 2100, which would threaten the survival of coastal cities and island nations such as the Maldives.

Sea-level rise will be accompanied by coastal erosion, surface-flooding and saltwater intrusion into soil and groundwater, scientists have said. Climate change will also bring frequent and severe weather extremes and coral reef die-offs because of ocean warming and acidification.

Foreign minister Dunya Maumoon in a message on World Environment Day said: “The Maldives continues to take a proactive approach in building resiliency to the adverse impacts of climate change through pursuing a low carbon development strategy.”

President Abdulla Yameen has pledged to explore for oil in the Maldives.

Rubbish Island

In his speech, Adeeb also pledged to allocate a US$6 green tax – to be levied on tourists in November – to tackling waste management on Thilafushi Island, where garbage from Malé and resorts are sent.

“Tourists, who travel via air taxi, have asked if Thilafushi is a volcano, if volcanoes exist in the Maldives. I tell them that is not the case here and that I cannot give further details,” he said.

More than 200,000 tons of industrial and domestic waste were sent to Thilafushi in 2013, the most recent year for which statistics are available, according to government figures.

While some of the waste is sorted and sent to India, most is simply used as landfill or burned. Campaign groups have highlighted the risks to workers from toxic fumes and the contamination of surrounding lagoons by floating garbage.

The former Maldivian Democratic Party-led government had signed a contract with India-based Tatva Global Renewable Energy in 2011 to provide waste management services in and around Male, including establishing a system to generate power from recycling waste.

However, the current government of President Yameen cancelled that deal late last year, having previously sought to renegotiate it on “more mutually beneficial” terms.

Photo: social media 

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Police conduct random checks on flights bound to Turkey

The police have begun conducting random checks on passengers on board flights to Turkey in a bid to deter the growing numbers of Maldivians seeking to join radical Islamic movements in Syria and Iraq.

A police spokesperson said the police have been randomly questioning Maldivians en route to Turkey on different airlines for their reasons for flying to Turkey and their return dates.

The operation has been ongoing for more than 90 days.

The police declined to give additional details.

The government has drafted a new anti-terrorism bill that would criminalize the act of leaving the Maldives to participate in foreign wars.

The bill, however, also grant the president the exclusive authority to declare groups as terrorist organizations, and also criminalizes the promotion of certain political or religious ideology as a terrorist offense.

When reports of Maldivians joining in the Syrian civil-war and dying in battle first surfaced in local media, President Abdulla Yameen said he was not aware of Maldivian participation in foreign wars.

In December, home minister Umar Naseer acknowledged the problem of Maldivians fighting in foreign wars, but said only seven Maldivians were active in war. In January, the commissioner of police Hussain Waheed estimated the figure to be more than 50.

But the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party says the figure could be as high as 200.

Waheed said that police were monitoring the activities of militants and would reveal details of plans to prevent radicalisation at a later date. The MDP has said the government is doing little to counter radicalisation and prevent recruitment of would-be fighters.

Atleast seven Maldivians are reported to have died in Syria.

On May 31, newspaper Haveeru said two more Maldivians had been killed while fighting with the Islamic State.

Many would-be fighters migrate with their families and children. Several officers of the Department of Immigration are reported to have left the Maldives for jihad.

A UN report has raised concerns over an increase in fighters leaving the Maldives to join terrorist organisations including al-Qaida and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

The expert report to the UN Security Council, obtained by The Associated Press, said the flow of fighters globally “is higher than it has ever been historically”, increasing from a few thousand a decade ago to over 25,000 from more than 100 nations today.

The UN report, written by a UN panel monitoring sanctions against Al-Qaida, listed the Maldives, Finland and Trinidad and Tobago as countries from which numbers of fighters were increasing, while the highest number of foreign fighters come from Tunisia, Morocco, France and Russia.

Most fighters travel to Syria and Iraq, to fight primarily for the Islamic State and the Al-Nusra front.

A Facebook page had published, the obituary and pictures of Maldivian jihadi Azlif Rauf on May 24, who reportedly died in Syria in mid-May.

The former Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF) officer is a suspect in the brutal murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali in 2012. He reportedly left the Maldives in December with six members of the Kuda Henveiru gang.

He was under house arrest at the time.

 

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President Yameen to travel to China

President Abdula Yameen is to travel to China on June 11 to visit the China-South Asia exposition and the Kunming import and export fair, local media report.

The president is to give a keynote speech at the joint-opening of the two fairs.

Leaders of the eight SAARC countries and Saudi Arabia will attend the fairs, Haveeru has said.

The opposition has planned a mass protest for June 12 over the jailing of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed and ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim.

The Maldives will hold a second investment forum in China’s capital Beijing in September.

“Beijing will be a perfect place for Maldivian businesses to promote their businesses and networking,” minister Mohamed Saeed said in a tweet in late May.

 

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PPM wins Dhiggaru by-election

Reporting by Hassan Mohamed and Ismail Humam Hamid

The ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) has won the parliamentary by-election for the Dhiggaru constituency with 59.4 percent of the vote.

PPM candidate Ahmed Faris Maumoon won some 1238 votes, while the main opposition party Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate Ahmed Raazee won 763 votes, according to preliminary results published by the Elections Comission (EC).

EC figures show some 2,084 of the 2,555 eligible voters cast their votes in today’s polls.

A smiling Faris said he will only comment after official results are announced. Faris is the son of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and nephew to president Abdulla Yameen.

The PPM, however, has described the election win as a demonstration of public support for the besieged government.

“The opposition says there is no support for the government. They say ours is a government with only 25 percent support. But now this election proved them completely wrong,” PPM spokesperson Ali Arif said.

Citing growing authoritarianism, ruling coalition partners, the Jumhooree Party (JP) and the religious conservative Adhaalath Party, had split from the PPM in January and March, respectively. They allied with the MDP and formed a coalition – “Maldivians Against Tyranny.”

The JP’s last minute backing was key in PPM’s presidential win in 2013. President Abdulla Yameen, who had only won 25 percent in the first round, gained 51.39 percent in the second round.

The opposition coalition has been protesting over the imprisonment of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed and ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim, and the targeting of JP leader Gasim Ibrahim’s businesses.

The Dhiggaru by-election was triggered by the imprisonment of ruling party MP Ahmed Nazim on corruption charges.

Arif promised development for Dhiggaru and said: “The government does not favor constituencies with government MPs. But having a government MP will make it easier for the government to understand the needs of the constituency. Once again I thank the Dhiggaru constituency for expressing their confidence in the government.”

Weeks before the election, the government delivered an x-ray machine to Dhiggaru, promised a harbor in the island, while PPM MPs delivered air-conditioning units to the Dhiggaru and Muli island mosques.

President Yameen, meanwhile, promised to provide a 140-kilowatt generator for Dhiggaru and said he will prioritize PPM constituencies for development in the 2016 budget.

Speaking to Minivan News, Razee accused the government of bribery and vote buying, and said he did not believe the election had been fair.

“The government used all of its powers to influence the election. We saw the excavators on the islands. They were threatening to take them away and halt harbor work if PPM did not win. People of this constituency want development. People want to their harbors to be completed. They were scared. We saw the government use council equipment and the hospital’s ambulance for their campaign. They used everything to gain unfair advantages. We saw the air conditioners they brought with them for the mosque,” he said.

“I will keep on serving the people of the constituency and fight against injustice. We won’t give up just yet.”

The police prevented a boat carrying some 40 opposition supporters from leaving Malé to go vote in Dhiggaru. The boat was scheduled to leave at 2:00am, but the police’s dog squad was brought on board to check for drugs on the boat.

Passengers left to Dhiggaru on speedboats this morning.

The boat was only allowed to leave at 1:00pm today. No drugs were found on board, the boat captain said.

Two independent candidates also contested in the elections. Shameem Ali won 52 votes while Moosa Naseer won 31 votes.

Photo from social media

This article was amended to include preliminary results from the Elections Commission. 

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Security services to receive medals on Independence Day

The government will award a medal to all police and military officers to mark their services to the state on the occasion of 50 years of independence .

“Officers from both the military and the police will be given medals. This a common practice all around the world, as they protect the country’s independence in the front lines,” the home ministry’s Thazmeel Abdul Samad said.

In an interview with Dhi TV on Monday, commissioner of police Hussein Waheed said the medals will be worn with police uniforms.

The Maldives’ Independence Day falls on July 26.

President Abdulla Yameen officially launched the “Minivan 50” or “Independence 50” celebrations on March 12 with a music show.

Since then, the government has slaughtered 150 goats, brought out tens of thousands of students for a parade, organized football competitions, a sky-diving event and a swim between capital Malé and suburb Villimalé.

The government plans to unveil new currency notes and has commissioned a replica of an ancient Maldivian village and a legendary boat used by three Maldivian brothers in the sixteenth century in the guerrilla war against the Portuguese occupation.

The home ministry is expected to announce more events in the coming weeks.

The government has also started decorating the streets of Malé with national flags.

The Independence Day celebrations have drawn criticism over the lack of transparency of expenses made out of the state budget. However, the ‘Independence 50′ office under the home ministry has said that most of the work is done by volunteers.

The opposition has also criticised the government for holding independence celebrations soon after jailing opposition leaders including ex-president Mohamed Nasheed on terrorism charges.

The opposition had held daily protests and two mass demonstrations on February 27 and May 1. Nearly 200 people were arrested from the May Day protest.

The local government authority has meanwhile suspended two councillors three councillors of the Alif Alif atoll council over a resolution declaring they will not participate in activities organised by the government to mark the golden jubilee of independence.

Photo from Commissioner of Police’s official Facebook Page

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