Tag: maldives news

Rape suspect arrested in Vili-Male’

Police have arrested a 33 year-old male in connection with the rape of a girl below 16 years of age in Vili-Male’ on Saturday (December 29).

Mohamed Abdushukoor, 33, of Galolhu Red Coral, was taken into custody last night with assistance from the public, the police said.

Abdushukoor reportedly forced the under-aged victim into a house in Vili-Male’ at about 1:00pm yesterday while she was out walking with her 14 year-old brother.

Police accused the suspect of keeping the pair in separate rooms as he sexually abused the girl. The incident was reported to the Police Family and Child Protection Unit late yesterday afternoon.

Police then made a public announcement publishing a photo of Abdushukoor, who it said has a criminal record, appealing for assistance in searching for the suspect.

He was arrested in Vili-Male’ shortly before midnight on Saturday, police said, and expressed gratitude to the public for their help in locating the suspect.

According to an unpublished 2009 study on violence against minors, almost one in seven children of secondary school age in the Maldives have been sexually abused at some time in their lives.

The sexual abuse rate of girls in the country was found to be almost twice as high than for boys at 20 percent, according to the study.

One in five Maldivian girls has been sexually abused – while the figure for boys was 11 percent.  Female minors were particularly at risk in the capital Male’, the report found.

A 2007 study on Women’s Health and Life Experiences meanwhile found that one in three Maldivian women aged 15 to 49 experience either physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives, including childhood sexual abuse.

In recent years, local authorities and NGOs have released a number of findings highlighting the extent of child abuse and wider sexual assaults within society.

The state-run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital’s (IGMH’s) Family Protection Unit reported in 2010 that the centre was notified of 42 cases of rape between 2005-2010. Most of these cases were found to involve minors.

According to the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, 13 rape cases were reported last year alone, the majority of which most were gang rapes or assaults involving minors.

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Department of Immigration and Emigration transferred to Defence Ministry

Responsibility for overseeing the Department of Immigration and Emigration has been switched to the Ministry of Defence and National Security.

According to the President’s Office, the decision to transfer the department to within the mandate of the Ministry of Defence was taken to make administration of the country’s immigration system more efficient.

The Immigration department had previously been operated under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Immigration Controller Dr Mohamed Ali was not responding to calls at the time of press.

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Parliament committee passes implementing tobacco-free zones as scheduled

Tobacco-free zones are to be implemented from January 1, 2013, after the Subordinate Regulations Committee of the People’s Majlis decided not to delay their introduction, local media has reported.

Entitled “Regulation of Determining Tobacco-Free Zones”, the regulation aims at inhibiting the consumption of tobacco products by prohibiting smoking in certain public areas.

Traders’ associations and MP for Nolhivaram Constituency Mohammed Nasheed proposed to delay the starting date of the Regulation for one year, according to local newspaper Haveeru.

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs were reported to have  supported the proposal to delay the starting date, claiming there to be “a lot of issues” with the regulation.

After considering the matter, the Subordinate Regulations Committee made a final decision on a narrowly-approved vote.

Under the new regulation, smoking or similar consumption of tobacco will be prohibited within the following places; tea shops, cafes and restaurants, parks, government office premises, office premises of companies with government shareholding, office premises of independent state institutions, public places where people usually gather in numbers, old age homes, homes for those who need special care, and rehabilitation centres.

However, under special permission from the Ministry of Health, cafes and restaurants can define a special area where people can smoke.

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Visa restrictions “signal” Maldives must address expatriate concerns: Indian High Commission

Indian authorities have said that tightened restrictions over providing medical visas to Maldivians are a “signal” for the country’s government to address a number of concerns about the nation’s treatment of migrant workers.

The Indian High Commission in the Maldives, which this month tightened rules on granting medical visas for Maldivians, has today claimed the action was taken to draw attention to fears over the treatment of workers from India by both local employers and authorities.

The High Commission has claimed that the tightened restrictions were in line with a bilateral agreement signed back in 1979 and its appropriation by Maldivian authorities in the intervening years.

The Department of Immigration and Emigration has today said it was presently working to address some of the issues raised by Indian authorities.

However, some of the High Commission’s concerns have been played down by Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, who earlier this week dismissed allegations that Indian workers had experienced difficulties in coming to the Maldives.

Diplomatic tensions

Amidst increased diplomatic tensions between the Maldives and India in recent months, members of the public have this month found themselves queuing outside the Indian High Commission in Male’ in order to obtain visas to travel for medical treatment.

In some instances, local people have complained of queuing for over 24 hours outside the high Commission’s building in Male’ to try and get a limited number of daily tokens for obtaining an Indian medical visa.

A high commission source speaking to Minivan News today claimed that critically ill patients seeking urgent medical attention outside of the Maldives were being cleared for travel immediately, while other cases were being prioritised depending on the severity of their illness.

The source also contended that all visas given to Maldivians for travel to India were provided free of charge – a courtesy claimed to have not been extended to Indian citizens coming to the Maldives for work.

The commission spokesperson added that the introduction of the tighter regulations was in line with the visa agreement signed back in 1979 and was imposed as a clear “signal” from Indian authorities that the concerns it had over practices in the Maldives such as the confiscation of passports of migrant workers, needed to be brought to an end.

On November 26 this year, a public notice had been issued by the Maldives Immigration Department requesting no employer in the country should be holding passports of expatriate workers.

The Maldives has come under strong criticism internationally in recent years over its record in trying to prevent people trafficking, with the country appearing on the US State Department’s Tier Two Watch List for Human Trafficking three years in a row.

Back in October, a senior Indian diplomatic official in the Maldives had expressed concern over the ongoing practice of confiscating passports of migrant workers arriving to the country from across South Asia – likening the practice to slavery.

The high commission also claimed this year that skilled expatriate workers from India, employed in the Maldives education sector, had continued to be “penalised” due to both government and private sector employers failing to fulfil their responsibilities.

Meanwhile, a senior Indian medical working in the country has also alleged that expatriate professionals were regularly facing intimidation and fraud in the country from employers and some members of the public.

“Real progress”

Sources with knowledge of the High Commission’s present discussions with Maldivian authorities have nonetheless expressed hope that “real progress” was being seen in trying to address both countries’ respective grievances over the medical visa issue.

Minivan News understands that discussions were being held to ensure that aside from verbal commitments, Maldivian authorities would directly address the concerns Indian authorities held about the treatment of its citizens.

The Department of Immigration and Emigration today said it was presently working to try and resolve some of the concerns raised by the Indian High Commission over treatment of expatriates coming to work in the Maldives.

Immigration Controller Dr Mohamed Ali confirmed to Minivan News that his department was looking into issues such as Maldivian employers confiscating passports of Indian workers.

“We are working on that,” Dr Ali responded when asked if officials were working on issues such as retaining the passports of Indian Expatriates in the Maldives. The immigration chief did not clarify the exact nature of the work presently being carried out by his department on the matter.

Speaking to local media on Thursday (December 27), Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed dismissed accusations from the high commission that Indians were facing difficulties in travelling to the Maldives – as well as claims that some 50 nationals from the country had been deported this year.

Dr Jameel pointed to recent tourism ministry statistics that he said indicated 4,180 Indians had travelled to the Maldives to date this year.

“If you look at these numbers, there is ground to believe that it’s relatively easy for Indians to travel to Maldives. Moreover, the policy is the same for other neighbouring countries,” he was quoted as telling newspaper Haveeru.

Dr Jameel was presently out of the country and unable to respond to calls from Minivan News at the time of press.

However, the High Commission, in a statement released yesterday (December 28) said that the home minister had incorrectly stated figures of visitor numbers to the Maldives

“The [home minister’s] statement contains incorrect facts and figures. While it states that only 4,180 Indians have travelled to Maldives so far this year, as per statistics published by the Maldives Ministry of Tourism, 26,199 tourists from India have arrived in Maldives during the period January – November 2012,” the commission’s own statement read.

“Regarding the deportation of Indian travellers from Male’ International Airport, the High Commission of India stands by its figures. The high commission urges that the above figures may be verified and, the general public may be apprised of the correct facts.”

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MJA express concern over media limitations outlined in assembly bill

The Maldives Journalists’ Association (MJA) has expressed concern over certain clauses in the Freedom of Peaceful Assembly Bill passed this week that it says will directly impact reporting by local and international media organisations.

The bill, passed by parliament on December 26, includes a number of measures such as banning demonstrations outside private residences and government buildings, as well as establishing reporting limitations on media not accredited with the state.

MJA President and board member of the Maldives Media Council (MMC) ‘Hiriga’ Ahmed Zahir stated today that the association has appealed to Attorney General Azima Shakoor and President Mohamed Waheed Hassan to review some of the clauses in the legislation.

According to the bill, only journalists who are accredited by the Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) will be authorised to cover and report on gatherings and police activities in the country. The bill would also require MBC to establish a regulation on accrediting journalists within three months of its ratification.

Zahir claimed that in view of existing laws and regulations, the MBC is mandated with the oversight of broadcast media, while it was the MMC that had been entrusted with regulating all media outlets in the country.

“For one thing, I do not believe that a body appointed by the parliament will be able to undertake the accreditation of media persons in an independent manner free from any influence. We are seeing the MBC failing to address many existing issues even now, so we cannot support handing over additional responsibilities like this to such a body,” Zahir said.

Zahir also stated that in principle, the MJA did not approve of the idea of journalists having to get accredited before being able to report on events like protests.  The MJA has stated that events and gatherings should ideally be accessible to all media outlets.

Zahir also raised concerns that foreign journalists coming to the Maldives would also be required to obtain additional accreditation. He said that international media was already faced with having to meet specific visa requirements and obtaining state approval.

“For example, [international reporters] cannot really cover events if they are just here on a tourist visa, that won’t be allowed anywhere in the world,” he said.

However, due to the current political situation in the Maldives and allegations of some media personnel carrying out “irresponsible activities”, the MJA stated it could ultimately agree on some form of accreditation process.

Zahir nonetheless emphasized that even in such a case, accreditation should be done by a self-regulatory body with representation from media outlets in the country.

“From the existing bodies, we would prefer that the responsibility be handed over to the MMC. The council has representatives from all major media outlets in the country. Its members will respect individual rights and can do an independent job,” Zahir said.

On the back of the MJA’s concerns about the bill’s impact on media, Attorney General Azima Shakoor has been quoted in local media as accepting some form of review may be needed.

“Although the said bill regulates a different issue, one stipulation in this contradicts with the mandates of MBC and MMC. Hence, the best line of action may be to correct this through an immediate amendment. I feel that would be the most convenient solution now,” she was quoted as saying.

The bill further states that if an accredited journalist is suspected of being involved in a gathering’s activities, they would be treated in the same manner of those assembled as to the discretion of the police. The bill, however, does not define what could be considered such an act.

Commenting on the vague nature of the clause, Zahir told Minivan News that loose phrasing seen in the bill potentially left too much interpretation at the discretion of the police and their powers.

“The bill should more clearly define what exactly it means when saying a journalist is ‘seen to be participating in a protest’. They should set down specific actions. For example, it’s not a problem for a journalist to go into a crowd of people gathered, they do not necessarily have to stay behind police lines all the time. Just them walking into a crowd should not be defined as participation. It has to depend on a certain action they do alongside protesters,” Zahir explained.

Zahir stated that although media personnel – as individuals – are granted the constitutional right to participate in demonstrations, the MJA did not encourage such actions.

In the initial draft of Freedom of Peaceful Assembly bill, the accreditation of journalists had been put down as a responsibility of the MMC, as reported in local news websites. However, the responsibility had been transferred to the MBC by the time the bill had been revised at committee level and submitted to the parliament for final voting.

MBC Vice President Mohamed Shaheeb was not responding to calls at the time of press.

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Mother of abandoned baby requests custody of child

A mother arrested this week after her baby was found abandoned on a pavement in Male’ has requested custody of the child, Police have said.

According to the Head of Family and Child Protection Hasssan Shifau, the mother of the abandoned baby is still in police custody.  Authorities have added that any decision to hand over the child would be made by the Gender Ministry.

State Gender Minister Aishath Rameela told local media on Friday (December 28) that a decision on whether to grant custody of the child to the mother had yet to be made.

Rameela stated that the ministry would have to find out if the mother had suffered any physical or psychological trauma before she abandoned the infant.

“Either way we will hold the woman responsible for negligence. So for the time being we will not handover the baby to her,” Rameela said.

According to local newspaper Haveeru the child is to be taken to a children’s shelter in Villimale after being released from hospital.

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Beckhams cut short Maldives holiday due to rain: The Sun

“The Beckhams have cut short their £250,000 Christmas break in paradise in the Maldives – because it would not stop raining,” reports UK-based newspaper, The Sun.

“After three days of downpours, David, 37, Victoria, 38, and their four kids decided enough was enough.

They boarded a private plane back to Male airport in the Indian Ocean island group on Boxing Day before heading to somewhere sunnier.

It was a major disappointment for the family who had arrived at the One&Only Reethi Rah resort last Sunday, hoping to stay for 11 days.

A source said: ‘It really is unfortunate for them, especially because it’s such a beautiful place.

But there was hardly anything for them to do except wait for the rain to stop. They arrived too late to leave in time to snatch Christmas Day somewhere sunny so they left on Wednesday.'”

To read more, click here.

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President Waheed departs on private visit to Malaysia

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik and First Lady Ilham Hussain have departed on a private visit to Malaysia yesterday (December 28), the President’s Office has announced.

No further details about the trip have been provided at the time of press.

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Political parties bill passed with 10,000 member prerequisite

Parliament today passed the long-awaited political parties bill with a clause requiring a minimum of 10,000 members for registration.

Upon ratification, the bill will provide a three month period for any political party with fewer than 10,000 members to reach the required amount or face being dissolved.

The legislation was passed with 64 votes in favour and four against.

Article 11 of the bill states that at least 10,000 signatures would be needed to register a party at the Elections Commission (EC), which would be mandated to ensure that membership does not fall below the figure.

Parties unable to sign 10,000 members would be dissolved.

An amendment proposed by MP Ibrahim Muttalib to lower the figure to 5,000 was defeated 59-6 at today’s sitting of parliament.

Of the 16 parties currently in existence, only three have more than 10,000 registered members, including the formerly ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) as well as the government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

According to the latest figures from the EC, the MDP currently has 47,192 members, DRP has 25,190 members and PPM has 17,900 members.

Business magnate MP Gasim Ibrahim’s Jumhooree Party (JP) has 8,931 members with 5,149 pending membership forms.

The religious conservative Adhaalath Party (AP) has 5,708 members, down from over 6,000 in February this year.

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik’s Gaumee Ihthihaad Party (GIP) has 3,427 members while the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) led by Dr Waheed’s Special Advisor Dr Hassan Saeed has 2,125 members.

Meanwhile, the legislation passed today also stipulates that the Male’ City Council (MCC) must provide a 1,000 square feet plot in the capital for parties with membership exceeding 20,000.  The plot would be used as an administrative office or meeting hall, for which the party would be required to pay rent.

Political parties were first authorised in the Maldives in May 2005 following an executive decree by then-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Prior to the passage of the landmark legislation today, political parties were governed by a regulation.

The regulation required 3,000 members for registration and did not stipulate that parties whose membership falls below the figure would be dissolved.

In March, EC Chair Fuad Thaufeeq told Minivan News that these regulations were “vague” as parties were not required to maintain 3,000 members.

The review of the political parties bill (Dhivehi) was meanwhile completed by the Independent Institutions Committee on December 10. Following a preliminary debate, it was sent to the committee on April 19, 2010.

Writing in his personal blog (Dhivehi) in October, the committee’s chair MP Nasheed revealed that “a clear majority” voted in favour of requiring parties to gain 5000 members before it can be officially registered, and 10,000 members before becoming eligible for state funds.

At the time, Nasheed expressed confidence that the committee’s decision would not be overturned on the Majlis floor when the bill was put up for a vote. He noted that the clauses for membership numbers were backed by the main political parties in parliament.

“When the law is passed, the current registered parties with less than 5,000 members would be given a six month period to reach the figure. If a party fails to reach that figure by the end of the period, the particular party would be dissolved,” Nasheed explained.

The minimum number of membership was later raised to 10,000 and the period shortened to three months before the draft legislation was presented to the Majlis floor for today’s vote.

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