Tag: maldives news

Maldives human rights situation ‘rapidly deteriorating’

The human rights situation in the Maldives is “rapidly deteriorating” with the government cracking down on peaceful protests, stifling dissent, and imprisoning opposition politicians, Amnesty International has said.

A delegation from the international human rights organisation conducted a fact-finding mission in the Maldives from April 17 to 22 and released a briefing report titled ‘Assault on civil and political rights’ today.

“There’s a climate of fear spreading in the Maldives, as safeguards on human rights are increasingly eroded. The authorities have a growing track record of silencing critical voices by any means necessary – be it through the police, the judicial system, or outright threats and harassment. This must end immediately,” said Abbas Faiz, Amnesty International’s Maldives researcher, after launching the briefing at a press conference in New Delhi, India.

“The international community must wake up and realise that behind the façade of a tourist paradise, there is a dark trend in the Maldives where the human rights situation is rapidly deteriorating.”

Raghu Menon, Amnesty International India’s advocacy coordinator, who was part of the fact-finding mission, said India as a regional power “has a responsibility to work towards a human rights-friendly environment in the Maldives.”

The delegation also sought meetings with government officials this week, but were offered meetings in May.

President’s office spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali told Minivan News today that he did not wish to comment on the report.

“The government has invited various international organisations. So they will come and reveal [information about] their work. The government does not have to respond to each report. The government will take the initiative and respond in cases where it believes it has to,” he said.

The delegation also requested a visit to the Dhoonidhoo detention centre to meet former president Mohamed Nasheed and other detainees, but the foreign ministry offered to facilitate a visit in May.

Faiz meanwhile called on the government to “immediately end its disturbing crackdown on human rights.”

“Political tensions are already at a boiling point, and further harassment and attacks on those opposing the authorities will only make the situation spiral out of control,” he warned.

“The international community cannot turn a blind eye to what is happening in the Maldives. The upcoming UN [Universal Period Review] session in Geneva in May is a key moment to push the Maldives authorities to immediately take concrete action to improve the country’s human rights situation.”

Crackdown

Amnesty said the government was “abusing the judicial system” to imprison political opponents, including opposition leader Nasheed, ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim, and former ruling party MP Ahmed Nazim.

“Mohamed Nasheed’s imprisonment came after a sham trial, but he is far from the only one locked up on trumped-up charges and after unfair trials. It is disturbing how far the Maldives government has co-opted the judiciary as a tool to cement its own hold on power,” said Faiz.

Amnesty also noted that at least 140 people have been arrested from opposition protests since February, with the court releasing several protesters on the condition that they do not attend protests for 30 to 60 days.

The opposition, human rights NGOS, and the prosecutor general have said the condition is unconstitutional as freedom of assembly is a fundamental right.

“Additionally, police have imposed far-ranging restrictions on where and when protests in the Maldives capital Male can take place,” Amnesty said.

“Demonstrations are only allowed in certain areas far away from official buildings, contrary to international law and standards.”

The briefing also noted increasing threats and attacks against journalists, civil society organisations, and human rights defenders, adding that police have not “meaningfully” investigated threatening text messages or phone calls.

Amnesty said that “vigilante religious groups allegedly in cahoots with the police have in recent years stepped up kidnappings and attacks on social gatherings, in particular against those accused of promoting ‘atheism.'”

“This year, such gangs have in connivance with police attacked peaceful demonstrators, yet no one has been brought to justice for these attacks.”

The briefing also noted that the Supreme Court last year charged the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) with “high treason and undermining the constitution” following the state watchdog’s submission on the state of human rights in the Maldives to the UPR.

Meanwhile, in an op-ed published on The New York Times this week, Mariyam Shiuna, executive director of local NGO Transparency Maldives, observed that “political persecution has intensified, civil society is silenced and media intimidation has become the norm.”

“The international community needs to put pressure on the government to halt its crackdown on opponents and dissidents from all parts of the political sphere. Without basic freedoms and space for dissent the Maldives is slipping back to the dark days of dictatorship,” she wrote.

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MDP seeks candidate to contest Dhiggaru by-election

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) is seeking a candidate to contest an upcoming by-election for the vacant Dhiggaru constituency parliament seat.

The opposition alliance, made up of the MDP, the Adhaalath Party (AP), and senior leaders of the Jumhooree Party, had previously said discussions were ongoing on fielding a single candidate.

“At the discussions, opposition parties agreed to bring forward one candidate. We also agreed that the candidate will come from the MDP,” said MDP vice president Mohamed Shifaz.

The MDP announced yesterday that a primary will take place next Monday to select the party’s candidate and invited members to apply by Sunday.

The by-election, triggered by a 25-year jail sentence handed down to former ruling party MP Ahmed Nazim, is scheduled to take place on June 6.

Contestants must file candidacy papers at the Elections Commission before the end of April.

AP spokesperson Ali Zahir had previously expressed interest in contesting for the Dhiggaru seat.

However, AP secretary general Iaad Hameed told Minivan News today that the religious conservative party has not decided yet on fielding a candidate.

“We have also agreed on bringing one candidate from the opposition,” he said.

He stressed that Zahir had only expressed interest in contesting. Zahir is currently overseas and was unavailable for comment.

Meanwhile, a primary of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) is due to take place tomorrow between former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s eldest son, Ahmed Faris Maumoon, and Meemu atoll council president Moosa Naseer.

Three other candidates who initially sought the ruling party’s ticket withdrew their candidacies this week, including Meemu atoll councillor Moosa Naseer Ahmed and deputy environment minister Mohamed Hanim.

Polling is due to take place from 2:00pm to 5:00pm on Friday in four of the five islands that make up the Dhiggaru parliamentary constituency.

The five islands in the constituency are Dhiggaru, Madduvari, Veyvah, Muli and Raimmandhoo. Arrangements have been made for party members from Raimmandhoo to vote in other islands.

The by-election is expected to be hotly contested amid heightened political tension following the jailing of former president Mohamed Nasheed and ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim as well as the alleged unfair targeting of JP leader Gasim Ibrahim’s business interests.

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PG awaiting court report to decide on appealing Jaleel acquittal

The prosecutor general’s (PG) office is awaiting a case report from the criminal court to decide on appealing the acquittal of defence minister Moosa Ali Jaleel on terrorism charges.

The 10-day appeal period expired yesterday, but the PG media officer Hisham Wajeeh told Minivan News today that the High Court could accept appeals after the deadline if there is a valid reason.

“We only got the verdict. We couldn’t make a decision on the appeal without studying the points noted in the trial, which will be in the summary report,” he said.

The PG office will appeal if it believed there are valid grounds after studying the report, he said.

Five senior state officials were charged with terrorism and tried separately over the detention of criminal court chief judge Abdulla Mohamed in January 2012.

The court said there was insufficient evidence to prove the involvement of Jaleel, who was then-chief of defence forces.

Former president Mohamed Nasheed was meanwhile found guilty of terrorism last month and sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Then-defence minister Tholhath Ibrahim was also sentenced to 10 years in jail over the judge’s arrest.

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Housing ministry feeding pigeons in three areas

The housing ministry has said its staff have been feeding pigeons at three designated locations in Malé after a ban on feeding pigeons at the republic square sparked public outrage.

The ministry posted pictures on its Facebook page today of staff feeding pigeons at the artificial beach, the tsunami monument area, and a park near the southwestern harbour.

Executive coordinator Abdulla Shahid told the state broadcaster that the ministry imposed as a temporary measure while renovation work, including repairing a water fountain and replanting grass, was ongoing at the square.

The government is renovating public spaces in the capital in preparation for the upcoming golden jubilee of independence on July 26.

The ban drew strong criticism on social media after numerous pigeons died of apparent starvation. Hundreds of children and adults gather at the square in late afternoons to feed raw rice to the pigeons.

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Free Friday clinic opened for Bangladeshis

The Bangladeshi High Commission and the Maldivian health ministry opened a ‘free Friday clinic’ yesterday for Bangladeshi expatriates in the Maldives.

The clinic is located inside the Bangladeshi High Commission in Malé and will offer treatment and medicine free of charge, according to local media.

High commissioner Kazi Saruvaar Hussain and health minister Ahmed Zuroor opened the clinic at a ceremony yesterday.

Zuhoor said undocumented Bangladeshis or migrant workers with expired visas or work permits were reluctant to seek medical treatment.

A number of Bangladeshi workers could not afford the services at clinics and hospitals, he noted.

Bangladeshi doctors working at Maldivian hospitals will be volunteering at the clinic.

The clinic will be open on Fridays from 9:00am to 12:00pm and the doctors will examine up to 150 patients a day.

According to the 2014 national census, there are 58,683 migrant workers in the Maldives. However, the department of national planning said the figure was much lower than the official figure recorded by the immigration department.

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Hand, foot and mouth disease spreading, warns health agency

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has issued a health alert warning of the spread of hand, foot and mouth disease across the Maldives.

The HPA said reported cases mostly involved children between the ages of one and four.

The disease is passed through a patient’s pus, saliva, discharge, snot and vomit. Common symptoms include fever, change in appetite, tiredness, throat infections and body aches.

The agency advised parents against sending infected children to school and to take precautionary cleanliness measures to contain the infection.

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Government invites applications for Saudi Arabian scholarships

The government has invited applications for 100 scholarships offered by Saudi Arabia for Maldivian students to pursue higher education in Saudi universities.

The deadline for submissions is next Monday (April 27).

The scholarships include 55 bachelors degree courses, 30 masters degree courses, and 15 PhD courses.

The areas of study for the bachelors degrees include medicine, Arabic language, and various other fields.

According to the department of higher education, candidates for graduate degrees must be below 25 years of age and have five passes or higher in O’ Levels or equivalent qualifications and three passes in A’ Levels.

Candidates for masters degree must be below 30 years of age and possess a relevant bachelors degree.

The Saudi Arabian government will decide the recipients of the scholarships after evaluating the nominated candidates.

Following an official state visit to the kingdom in March, president Abdulla Yameen said the Saudi government had pledged to increase the number of scholarships to 150.

 

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Maldives considered GMR buyout, but lacked funds

The Maldivian government considered buying out the 2010 airport development contract from India’s GMR, but lacking the necessary funds declared the agreement invalid, Minivan News can exclusively reveal.

The Maldives is now facing a payout to GMR, potentially as high as US$803 million or over half of the state budget, after a Singaporean tribunal last year ruled that the agreement was valid and binding.

The government, however, expects the compensation claim to amount to US$300 million. The exact figure is yet to be determined by the tribunal.

Testimony by cabinet ministers and airport company officials – in a separate arbitration between the government and an Indian bank over the airport deal – show that ex-president Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan asked his cabinet to estimate the sum required to buy out the concession agreement from GMR.

Minivan News has obtained the opening submissions by the government and the Axis Bank made in February and March, respectively.

According to the submissions, then-minister of youth and sports, Mohamed ‘Mundhu’ Hussain Shareef, said the cabinet did not “have the necessary information to make a reliable calculation, but the potential figures were intimidating … As it was the country would have had difficulty paying even US$200 million.”

Former defence minister Mohamed Nazim said what the cabinet “did establish was that it was almost certainly more than either MACL [the Maldives Airports Company Pvt. Ltd] or the government was in a position to pay.”

The inability to buy out GMR led to a political impasse, Shareef said.

At the time, the Adhaalath Party had issued a six-day ultimatum to the government to nationalise the airport.

The religious conservative party in alliance with the Progressive Party of the Maldives, the Jumhooree Party and a coalition of NGOs had played a key role in ousting former President Nasheed and bringing his deputy Dr Waheed to power.

Shareef said the coalition’s opposition to the concession agreement was one of the main reasons behind Waheed assuming the presidency.

The emergence of the void ab intio or invalid from the outset argument was a way out from the political impasse, he said.

Ibrahim Mahfooz, a director at the state-owned MACL at the time, said president Waheed had also asked the company for an estimate of the sum required to buyout GMR, but said it was clear to the company’s board that the sum would exceed what they or the government could immediately afford.

If president Waheed has asked the company to buy out GMR, “I expect that we would have asked for time to attempt to borrow the money and if President Waheed had insisted on our acting immediately, I expect that some of us would have resigned, forcing President Waheed to appoint new board members who were willing to comply,” Mahfooz said.

At a cabinet meeting on November 27, 2012, ministers unanimously agreed to terminate the deal with GMR.

“This entire agreement has to be brought to an end, as it is believed by everyone that the agreement is invalid and cannot be continued legally,” Dr Waheed said, according to cabinet meeting minutes submitted to the tribunal.

Then-vice president Mohamed Waheedudeen said: “This cabinet represents a lot of political parties. Amongst them, almost everyone does not want to renegotiate this agreement, and wants to terminate this agreement.

“The decision taken today will be for national independence; this country’s existence as nation in the future and making it possible for the coming generations to inherit this nation. And for these reasons the agreement should be terminated.”

The government’s takeover of the airport led to a cooling of relations between India and the Maldives, with India imposing visa restrictions on Maldivians seeking medical treatment in India and ceasing the export of some construction materials.

In the submissions obtained by Minivan News, the Maldives said GMR and Axis Bank had successfully lobbied India for the sanctions.

The restrictions were only lifted after President Abdulla Yameen assumed power in November 2013.

The Axis Bank is seeking repayment of the US$160 million loan as well as an additional US$10 million as interest and fines from the Maldivian government. The bank contends that state is liable for the loan in the event of an early termination or an expropriation of the airport.

The government first argued that declaring the concession agreement void ab initio did not amount to an early termination.

Following the verdict in the GMR tribunal, which said the government had repudiated or refused to honour the terms of the agreement, the government claimed a repudiation did not amount to an early termination.

The Axis Bank, however, says the GMR arbitration ruling is not applicable in its case, arguing that the bank is not bound by the ruling issued in a separate, private and confidential arbitration.

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Parliament reverses import duty hikes for garments and motorcycles

The parliament today reversed import duty hikes for garments and motorcycles, three weeks after increased rates came into force.

Higher tariffs approved by parliament in December as part of revenue raising measures proposed by the government came into force on April 1.

However, days before the changes took effect, economic development minister Mohamed Saeed told the press that the government was reviewing the new rates as motorcycles had become “a basic need in the Maldives”.

The custom duty for motorcycles had been raised from 100 to 150 percent.

A marketing executive at Sheesha Pvt Ltd, one of the largest automobile whole-sale and retail traders in the country, told Minivan News today that the company has not increased prices as its last shipment arrived before April 1.

Sales picked up dramatically in early February and its stock of motorcycles was completely sold out before April, the executive said.

In late March, hundreds of people queued up to buy cigarettes before import duties on tobacco was hiked from 150 to 200 percent and from 90 laari to MVR1.25 for a single cigarette.

The amendments passed today also require the customs authority to reimburse motorcycle importers who were charged the hiked rates from April 1.

However, Sheesha does not expect a reimbursement as its new shipment has not cleared customs yet.

According to a 2011 report by the Environment Protection Agency, one in six residents of the capital own a motorcycle.

Debate and voting on the government-sponsored legislation meanwhile took place today amid continuing protests by opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs.

The amendments to the import-export law submitted by Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Jameel Usman were passed with 46 votes in favour.

The import duty for ready-made garments was raised from zero to 15 percent in April last year. The rate will be brought back to zero once the amendments are ratified.

MP Ahmed Nihan, parliamentary group leader of the PPM, said today that discussions are ongoing with the government to reduce tariffs for other items as well, including heavy-duty vehicles used for construction.

Former minister Mahmoud Razee told Minivan News earlier this month that the government was “flip-flopping” with its policy reversals.

In December, the government also reversed a decision to impose a 10 percent import duty on staple foodstuff such as rice, flour, wheat and sugar.

“There’s no clear-cut, defined, long-term policy,” the economic development minister under the MDP government said.

Revenue raising measures

This year’s record MVR24.3 billion (US$1.5 billion) state budget includes MVR3.4 billion (US$220 million) anticipated from new revenue raising measures.

In addition to revisions of import duty rates, the measures include the introduction of a “green tax” in November, acquisition fees from investments in special economic zones, and leasing 10 islands for resort development.

The government expected MVR533 million (US$34.5 million) in additional income from import duties.

On April 1, the import duty for oil or petroleum products was raised from zero to 10 percent while duties for luxury cosmetics and perfume was increased from zero to 20 percent.

The import duty for cars, vans, and jeeps was hiked to 200 percent.

Import duties were also raised in April 2014 for most items, including textiles, cotton, sugar confectionaries, iron, steel, diesel motor oil, and seat covers of passenger vehicles.

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