Tag: maldives news

Defence Minister visits India seeking military cooperation

Minister of Defence Mohamed Nazim has asked India for assistance in developing the capacity and human resources of the MNDF.

During an official trip Nazim visited the Indian military’s DEFEXPO exhibition-2012 in New Delhi, and also met military officials from Malaysia and Nepal.

Nazim met with his Indian counterpart A K Anthony, speaking about potential opportunities for Maldives’ military personnel to gain experience and training in India.

The Defence Minister was accompanied by Commandant of the Coast Guard and Director General of Intelligence Brigadier General Ahmed Shahid, and Principal Director International Defence Corporation Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim Hilmee.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Former President Nasheed schedules India visit for mid-April: Zee News

Former President Mohamed Nasheed is set to visit India later this month as part of an international tour to try and garner support for early elections in the Maldives amidst allegations that he was removed from office in a “coup d’etat”, Zee News has reported.

The proposed visit has been announced as Nasheed finishes up a visit to the US where he has been speaking to students, diplomats and popular talk shot host David Letterman about his views on the state of democracy in the country.  He has also been using the trip to promote the documentary film “The Island President”:

44-year-old Nasheed, who became Maldives’ first democratically-elected president following multi-party polls in October 2008, had resigned on February 7 in what he claims was a coup.

He said he was shocked at the US and Indian governments’ rapid move to recognise the new regime headed by Mohammaed Waheed Hassan after he was ousted from power.

“I will go to India in the middle of next month and plan to meet as many political leaders as possible,” including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Nasheed said.

“I would like to ask the people of India to be with us and to not let go (of their support for us). They should not let dictatorship return to Maldives. We have to have early elections. We can come back on track again. We definitely need the support of India,” he said.
Nasheed, who is in the US for the release of a documentary on climate change, said he hopes India will “come around” and support him even though it had moved quickly to recognise the new regime in Maldives.

Read more

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Parliament schedules approval of Vice President, cabinet appointments

Parliament is to resume tomorrow after being stalled due to ongoing political turmoil in the Maldives.

Votes scheduled include approval for the appointments of President Dr Waheed’s Vice President and cabinet ministers.

On February 16, Dr Waheed appointed Dr Waheedudeen, a local business tycoon who was also an Atolls Minister under former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, as the Vice President.

According to the constitution of the Maldives, cabinet members require the consent of the parliament.

Dr Waheed also appointed Dr Abdul Samad Abdulla as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdulla Jihad as Minister of Finance and Treasury, Dr Mohamed Jameel – Vice President of the then-opposition Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP)as the Home Minister, Dr Asim Mohamed as the Minister of Education, Dr Ahmed Jamsheed as the Minister for Health and Ahmed Shafeeu as the Minister for Fisheries and Agriculture.

Prominent lawyer Azima Shukoor, who helped the former opposition win many court cases against Nasheed’s government, was appointed Attorney General. Dr Ahmed Shamheed was appointed Minister for Transport and Communication, Ahmed Adheed as Tourism Minster, Ahmed Mohamed as the Minister for Economic Development, Dr Ahmed Muiz as the Minister for Housing and Environment, Gayoom’s Spokesperson Mohamed Hussain ‘Mundhu’ Shareef as the Minister for Human Resources Youth and Sports, Mohamed Nazim as Defence Minister, and Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed as Islamic Minister.

Shaheem had resigned as State Minister for Islamic Affairs under Nasheed’s government  following the burning of the Israeli flag in Republic Square over opposition to a visiting delegation of Israeli eye surgeons, whom Islamic NGOs had accused of coming to the Maldivies to illegally harvest organs. Shaheem was one of the speakers at the event, along with current Vice President of Gayoom’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) Umar Naseer, voicing anger at the acceptance of aid from Israel.

Current Health Minister Jamsheed was the Head of the Centre for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC) during Nasheed’s administration, but  later resigned saying he had no work to do in the CCHDC and that there no purpose in such a position.

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has meanwhile alleged that the new Vice President was one of the powerful businessmen who assisted the coup financially.

MDP obstructed the first attempt made by the Speaker to hold the first parliament sitting of the year, during which Dr Waheed was supposed to deliver his presidential speech. The sitting was eventually called off.

The second attempt was made to hold the sitting on March 19, in which Dr Waheed managed to delivered a truncated version amid MDP MPs heckling him and calling him “traitor”. Police meanwhile clashed with protesters outside the parliament.

Speaking to Minivan News, MDP MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said the Speaker would ask for a vote to send the issue to the committee, and then MDP MPs would object to it because the party did not recognise the legitimacy of Dr Waheed’s government, and therefore the ministers and Vice President in it.

”Our stand is that we represent the government, so we will not give a response to the Presidential Speech given by the traitor,” he said. ”We believe that Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) is the main opposition party and they have to respond to the speech.”

Further complicating matters is that Dr Waheed’s party has no MPs in the parliament, a unforeseen circumstance unforeseen in the parliamentary regulations which requires an MP of the ruling party to present bills on behalf of the government.

”We will be actively involved in all the parliament’s work, but we will object to issues we find unacceptable,” Ghafoor said.

In the early hours of February 7, police and military officers defied orders of the then-President Nasheed and joined opposition in a protest held in Republican Square, demanding the release of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed.

At first a squad of police joined the protesters, confrontation between the police and army officers sparked the arrival of more police and eventually an attack on military headquarters.

Police officers demanded to see the then-police commissioner Ahmed Faseeh, who resigned hours later.

Former senior officers under Gayoom’s government then took over the police and started giving orders, which were obeyed.

Police and army officers then began calling for the resignation of the president, who remained inside the defence force headquarters with a handful of army officers still loyal to him.

Several attempts were made by Nasheed to control the situations, but the military and police split int two groups and spread throughout the city, joined by opposition supporters.

A large group carrying weapons such as iron bars, knives, machetes and other such items entered the state broadcaster in Galolhu and brought the station under their control.

Protesters in police vehicles and  army trucks were deployed near the MDP Office in Galolhu and the office was vandalised.

Nasheed subsequently resigned, allegedly “under duress”, and Dr Waheed took over the position.

There was a spike in lawlessness in Male’ City that day, as young people took advantage of the police being busy with politics, riding motorbikes in breach of almost all the road safety regulations, while others were seen rolling joints on the streets and carrying sharp weapons.

On January 28, newspaper Miadhu reported that Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Deputy Leader Umar Naseer had told private TV channel VTV that Vice President Mohamed Waheed Hassan would constitutionally become the next President of the Maldives after President Nasheed resigned from the post at the climax of the judicial crisis.

The paper at the time reported Naseer as saying that ‘’very soon the army and police will give up and leave the President because they know he is being trapped by increasing abuses of power and violation of the Constitution.’’’

‘’It may be tonight, tomorrow or a month from now when the defence forces and police decide to leave the President – and that is the deciding moment,’’ Naseer said. “At that time, Vice President Waheed will take over according to the Constitution. We do not have any wish to get positions of the new Government, but we expect the new government will be a national government.’’

MDP Parliamentary Group Media Coordinator and MP Mohamed Shifaz, MP Mariya Didi, MDP MP Mohamed Musthafa and MDP Spokesperson and MP Imthiyaz Fahmy ‘Inthi’ did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

Likes(1)Dislikes(0)

Man stabbed to death near West Park restaurant

A group of men stabbed a man to death near West Park restaurant this afternoon.

Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef said the victim was attacked at about 4:15pm while he was on Boduthakurufaanu Magu, the outer ring road of Male’.

”His body was taken to Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) at 4:15pm,” Haneef said. ”His body was carried to the hospital by a witness and a Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officer who was in the area.”

Police identified the victim as Ali Shifan of Fairy Corner in Maafannu Ward.

”His age is not verified yet,” he said. ”According to witnesses, a group of men on a GN model motorbike came and attacked the victim.”

He said the number of assailants had not also been verified yet.

”It could be one, two or even four,” he said.

IGMH Spokesperson Zeenath Ali told Minivan News that she could only confirm the death of the person.

”We do not have clear details at the moment,” she said. ”But he was dead when he was brought to the hospital.”

She said the hospital could not verify the age of the victim.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

MDP submits case of police brutality against MPs to IPU

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has submitted a case alleging police brutality against their parliamentarians to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

The case has been filed with the IPU’s committee on the human rights of the parliamentarians, in the ongoing 126th IPU Assembly held at Kampala, Uganda.

MP Eva Abdullah, one of the delegates representing the Maldives in the conference earlier said that MDP would submit the case of police brutality that took place between February 7-8.

She had also said that apart from the police brutality that took place in February, she would also highlight ongoing police brutality against ordinary citizens in Male’.

The delegates participating in the IPU Assembly include Speaker of Parliament Abdullah Shahid, MDP MP Eva Abdullah, MDP MP and the party spokesperson Imtiyaz Fahmy, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Yusuf Naseem and MP Ali Arif from Progressive party of the Maldives (PPM).

Speaking to Minivan News, MDP Spokesperson MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said that the MDP has been communicating with the IPU regarding the ongoing political situation.

“We have been regularly sending updates to the IPU. Eva and Imthiyaz who are the two delegates representing the MDP will speak on behalf of MDP.” Hamid said.

Local Newspaper Haveeru News reported that the case filed by MP Eva Abdullah has been scheduled for discussion on Sunday.

It also reported that IPU has invited the Maldivian government to participate in the discussions. Spokesperson of the President’s Office, Abbas Adil Riza, will set to represent the government in the discussions.

IPU delegates have visited the Maldives twice since the transfer of power that took place in the Maldives on February 7.

The organisation last visited the Maldives on March 17. MDP MPs prevented President Mohamed Waheed Hassan from giving his presidential address on the opening session of parliament on March 1.

During the visit, Martin Chungong, Director of Programmes for the IPU, told the gathered media that it was vital for parliament to preserve its integrity by continuing to function correctly as well as calling on all parties to avoid inciting or committing acts of violence during the session amidst the “political stand-off”.

The IPU is the world organisation of parliaments and was established in 1889. It works to foster coordination and exchange between representative institutions across the globe. The IPU also offers technical support to affiliated nations. The Maldives has been affiliated with the organization since 2005.

The IPU assembly is the principal statutory body that expresses the views of the IPU on political issues. It brings together parliamentarians to study international problems and make recommendations for action. The IPU assembly takes place once in every year.

Likes(0)Dislikes(1)

Earth Hour illuminates Maldives’ ongoing eco-concerns

Maldivians across the country are being encouraged to turn away from the creature comforts of electricity between 8:30pm and 9:30pm tonight to celebrate the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Earth Hour initiative.

With 5,200 cities around the world taking part in the scheme, Male’ residents are being asked to turn off their lights and other non-essential electronics tonight in a bid to raise awareness of the potential dangers facing the planet from factors like global warming. The Maldives has been an outspoken advocate for cutting the planet’s global carbon footprint in recent years, particularly under the previous government.

The current Ministry of Environment and Housing has run two days of events this weekend in collaboration with the Maldives Energy Authority, the Scout Association of Maldives and the Maldives’ State Electricity Company (STELCO) relating to renewable energy developments to coincide with Earth Hour.

Fifty students from each of Male’s schools have  have received invites to the ongoing events, which began yesterday at Hiriya School under the banner of promoting renewable energy sources. Several tourism enterprises and properties will be hosting special events during the day. These include Ibrahim Nasir International Airport, which has said it to be switching off all lights at non-critical areas of the premises to mark earth hour.

Political power

Whilst some enterprises and homes in the Maldives capital will temporarily cut their power supplies, the country does not however appear quite as able to switch off the increasingly fraught political divides exacerbated by former President Mohamed Nasheed’s controversial resignation last month.  Nasheed has himself since claimed he was ousted in a “coup d’etat” by political opposition and a mutiny involving certain sections of the police and military.

In this climate, local environmental NGO Bluepeace has claimed that the current political uncertainty in the country relating to questions over the legitimacy of the government of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan would unquestionably set back the country’s commitments to sustainable development.

With demonstrations raging both in and out of the Majlis between pro- and anti-government supporters over the legitimacy and the functioning of democratic institutions, Bluepeace Director Ahmed Ikram claimed discussions on domestic environmental commitments were being sidelined.

Ikram claimed that national media, beyond covering international campaigns like Earth Hour, were not providing much coverage or promotion to climate change adoption in the Maldives. Ikram alleged this was in part due to sections of the media favouring the former president’s political opponents, reflecting the politicisation of environmental commitments.

“We support [former] President Nasheed. Yes there are times when we may have disagreed with his policies, but we still supported him as our president,” said Ikram. “What we are experiencing today with Maldivian businesses making use of solar panels are the benefits of Nasheed’s work on the environment.”

Despite his personal criticisms of the current government and the long-term prospects for democracy in the country amidst coup allegations raised by Nasheed and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) supporters, Ikram said Bluepeace fully supported the Earth Hour event.

The NGO’s director was therefore confident that the Maldives’ contribution to Earth Hour would be successful tonight, with significant numbers of people expected to turn off their electricity for the one hour.  When asked if he felt that Maldivians were commited to year-long energy conservation beyond one-off annual events like Earth Hour, the Bluepeace Dirctor again claimed that the Maldivian public were generally committed in adapting to climate change.

“I believe that the Maldivian people are the ones who will serve as climate change champions in the end,” he said.

President Waheed has himself committed to follow his predecessor in acting as a spokesperson over the potential impacts climate change poses for low-lying nations like the Maldives during his inaugural address to the country’s parliament earlier this month.

However, Bluepeace Director Ahmed Ikram said the NGO was presently turning its attention to issues related to human rights and democratic reform amidst allegations that Nasheed, who has been an outspoken international advocate for climate change adoption, was forced to resign under duress.

Early days

Though it remains early days for President Waheed’s government, which came to power on February 7, Bluepeace said it had so far heard very little from the new cabinet about how it would be addressing the country’s green agenda in the lead up to the Rio +20 United Nations Conference on sustainable development later this year.

Bluepeace also claimed that while recent appointees such as Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb has begun to raise issues such as how climate change was being linked to destructive coastal erosion across the country – question marks remained over their experience in dealing with environmental affairs.

Adheeb, as well as being the current Tourism Minister, has also served as the Treasurer of The Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI).

Government commitments

Adheeb and President Waheed’s Spokesperson Abbas Riza were not responding at time of press.

Waheed earlier this month pledged to ensure his government remained outspoken internationally in regards to the plight small nations faced from the potentially destructive impacts of climate change.

“The government will encourage the voice of small island nations to be heard in the global arena with regard to climate change,” said Dr Waheed in his inaugural address in parliament. “The Maldives will always participate in voicing the concerns of small island nations.”

Nasheed himself is current travelling the US to raise awareness on the current political upheaval in the country, as well as promoting a documentary film, “The Island President”.

The documentary chronicles his government’s ambitious pledge to become a carbon neutral nation by 2020, and has been garnering increased global coverage since Nasheed was removed from office last month.

Speaking to the Conde Nast Traveler publication to promote the film, Nasheed expressed hope that the country would continue to work towards becoming carbon neutral, but he also challenged the legitimacy of Dr Waheed’s government.

“We were making real progress. I hope the government will continue our policies. But you can’t have good policies without democracy. And you won’t address the climate change crisis without good policies,” Nasheed told journalist Dorinda Elliott. “All democratic movements must talk about both climate change and human rights.”

Despite Nasheed’s high-profile activism to use the Maldives to promote international recognition of the perceived need to cut carbon footprints globally, Greenpeace in 2010 told Minivan News that the Maldives acted more as a symbol than a practical demonstration of how national development and fighting climate change can be mutually exclusive.

“The Maldives can become a strong proponent of a paradigm shift in the World Bank and in developing countries whereby it is recognized that fighting climate change and promoting development go hand in hand,” said Wendel Trio, Climate Policy and Global Deal Coordinator for Greenpeace International.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Three former ministers and wives attacked

Three of former President Mohamed Nasheed’s ministers and their wives were attacked yesterday midnight around midnight, reports Haveeru. A council member of the Progressive Party of the Maldives, Ahmed ‘Maaz’ Saleem, was also attacked an hour earlier.

According to Haveeru, those attacked included Hassan Latheef, the former minister of human resources, youth and sports, Hassan Afeef, the former minister of home affairs and Mohamed Shihab, the former minister of home affairs, and later Nasheed’s political advisor.

The attack happened at  around 12:30am near the KAM hotel, while the ministers were on their way home after the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) rally held at Artificial Beach. Hassan Latheef and Mohamed Shihab were with their wives on separate motorcycle, while Hassan Afeef was riding another motorcycle when the attack happened.

In an interview with local media, Shihab said that all the ministers and their wives suffered minor injuries. He also alleged that the attackers included members of Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

President Waheed expressed his disappointment with the attacks on the ministers on his official twitter account.

Likes(1)Dislikes(0)

Government closes national offices established by Nasheed

The Home Ministry has closed the seven national offices established by Former President Mohamed Nasheed to oversee government projects at regional and local level.

The administrative structures of the seven national offices, formerly called  as the Province offices were formed by Nasheed’s cabinet in March 2011 to oversee developments within seven regions across the country to try and coordinate national developments within the decentralised councils.

Then-opposition had argued that the formation of National offices contradicted the purpose of decentralisation.

The National office’s will be closed from Thursday and all the services will be continued through atoll and island councils, Home Ministry’s Deputy Abdullah Mohamed told Haveeru.

The staff  will meanwhile report to the councils and the assets will be transferred following an audit, Mohamed said.

According to him, as the offices were established under a presidential decree, it will be officially dissolved with a decree.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

President pledges “special attention” to developing smaller communities

President Mohamed Waheed Hassan visited Laamu Atoll yesterday claiming his government will work with small island populations across the country to address local development issues.

Speaking yesterday on Gaadhoo, the president said he regretted that a senior government official was not thought to have travelled to the island community in “several years” and pledged to provide special attention to similar destinations with smaller populations in the future.

“We must visit the islands and see for ourselves the well-being of our people. It is our duty to fulfil the needs of the people as much as possible,” Waheed was quoted as saying in a President’s Office statement.

Waheed added that challenges remained in ensuring that basic services are provided to islands with even very small populations, but pledged to ensure that any development decision was made “democratically, through consultation with the people.”

Likes(100)Dislikes(3)