Tag: maldives news

Education Ministry orders textbook revision to state Waheed’s presidency legitimate

The Ministry of Education has ordered schools to revise grade 7 Social Studies textbook, and add the following statement:

“President Nasheed resigned on 7 February 2012 after three years and two months in office. Hence, according to the constitution, vice-president Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik was sworn in as president.”

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party condemned the move citing the party’s continued concerns over Waheed’s legitimacy. President Mohamed Nasheed claimed the February 7 transfer of power was a coup d’état.

International bodies, including the EU and the Commonwealth, have called for a speedy investigation into the transfer of power. The statement can be found here.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Somali castaways in Maldives say “no” to repatriation

Forty Somali castaways under the custody of Maldivian authorities have recently refused to return home despite arrangements that were made for their safe repatriation, Minivan News has learned.

According to a top government official, who spoke to Minivan News on condition of total anonymity, the government had devoted “immeasurable amount of time and effort” over the past three years to safely repatriate several Somali nationals who have been discovered in Maldivian waters in dinghies lost at sea.

Many were found in frail health conditions due to dehydration and malnourishment, and had to undergo long treatments before being transferred to Dhoonidhoo Detention Center, where they were provided temporary refuge until negotiations on repatriation were finalised.

“However, after all their identities were verified, passports and a chartered flight was arranged for their safe transportation, they refused to go back to Somalia,” said the source, who has worked closely with the case.

“The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)’s delegation arrived in Maldives to confirm their preference because no refugee can be repatriated without consent under the international conventions,” he said. “So the delegation asked them one question – Are you willing to go? All of them said ‘no!'” he recalled.

He observed that the Maldives cannot resort to the option of forced repatriation as Somalia is recognised as a unsafe state.

Maldives has not ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol citing “financial and technical capacity constraints” but the convention prohibits all states, regardless of whether they have acceded it, from returning a “refugee to a territory where his or her life or freedom is threatened”.

“So the project is now a big failure,” he concluded, adding that the Maldives can face “increasing pressures from the international community if it continue with the forced repatriation.”

Minivan News could not get a comment from the foreign ministry at the time of press on how the state intends to move forward in solving the repatriation block.

Authorities have earlier echoed concerns over the increased financial burden to the state in providing shelter to the Somalis, who are said to be now in good health and actively involved in prison-based agricultural projects.

A Maldivian expert on combating human trafficking meanwhile noted in an interview to Minivan News that “if repatriation does not work out, the only legal solution would be for Maldives to sign the international conventions on refugees and Rights of Migrant Workers Families and accept the Somalis as refugees, and provide necessary protection granted under these conventions.”

“The Maldives will be pressured to sign the conventions. But, the question is are we ready to face that? We are already in a crisis with the current 100,000 expatriate population in the country which accounts to one third of the Malidives population. If these conventions are passed, it means, the expat population will be doubled or tripled,” he warned. “Are Maldivians willing to become a minority in their own country?” he asked.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Government questions Nasheed’s eligibility for former president privileges

The President’s Office has raised questions over former President Mohamed Nasheed’s eligibility for constitutionally-provided immunity and privileges.

Article 128 guarantees “the highest honour, dignity, protection, financial privileges and other privileges” to any person who has served in the office of the president and stepped down without committing any offenses.

However, President Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza said Nasheed’s eligibility was in question since he had not completed a full-five year term. Nasheed resigned in his fourth year of office, an act he later claimed was “under duress”.

Riza pointed to Article 3 (a) of the Former Presidents’ Immunity and Privileges Act, which affords a monthly allowance of RF 50,000 (USD 3243) for a president who has served one term, and Rf 75,000 for a president who has served two terms (USD 4864).

Riza said the clause specifies that a president has to complete a five-year term in order to be eligible for financial benefits.

But Nasheed’s former Legal Affairs Secretary Hisaan Hussein said the constitution overrides the Former Presidents’ Immunity and Privileges Act, and said Nasheed had a “right” to immunity and privileges.

Further, Article 12 of the Immunity and Privileges Act, interprets former president to be one “who stepped down after completion of term or resigned from office” without committing an unlawful act, she noted.

Even if the government’s concerns were valid, a full term is specified only with regards to financial benefits, and not in clauses relating to accommodation allowances, health care coverage, security, and travel arrangements, she said. Yet, except for the provision of security, the government had refused to extend any privileges to Nasheed, Hisaan said.

Riza said President Waheed had only arranged for Nasheed’s security “through special privileges afforded to the President.”

International bodies have expressed concerns over Nasheed’s safety, after Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed issued a court order for Nasheed’s arrest following Nasheed’s resignation on February 7.

The Maldives National Defense Forces (MNDF) had held Judge Abdulla in military detention for three weeks prior to Nasheed’s resignation. The order was never acted upon.

The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) summoned Nasheed on Wednesday for questioning regarding his role in Judge Abdulla’s detention.

Riza said the President’s Office has now requested legal advice from the Attorney General Azima Shukoor on providing immunity and privileges to Nasheed. “As soon as we get legal advice, we will proceed,” he said.

Minivan News was unable to contact Shukoor at time of press.

In addition to monthly financial allowances, the Former Presidents’ Immunity and Privileges Act provides for a monthly accommodation allowance up to Rf 50,000 (US$3243). The President and his/her spouse are also entitled health care coverage, security and travel assistance.

Further, if a former president wishes to conduct charitable work, the act allows for an allowance of Rf 175,000 (US$11,349) to cover overhead costs.

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who served as president from 1979- 2008, set up the nonprofit Maumoon Foundation in 2010. The organisation’s stated aims are to assist the poor and needy. It awarded nine scholarships for higher education abroad in 2011.

Likes(1)Dislikes(0)

Civil Court conducts second hearing of MDP’s case against clearing of protest sites

The Civil Court has conducted a second hearing of the case presented to the court by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) against security forces, after the police and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) dismantled MDP’s protest camp near the tsunami monument.

The MDP’s official website reported that the state attorney had denied the allegations made by MDP and contended that a court warrant is not required to dismantle the area.

MDP lawyer Hisan Hassan told the judge that the police could only search the area with the presence of MDP senior persons and that the MDP wanted to clarify why the area was destroyed.

Hisan also told the judge that the police did not even have a list of items they confiscated from the area.

According to local media, state attorney Ahmed Usham told the court that the area was dismantled because the protesters threw bricks at the security forces, and that the dismantling of the protest was not an action that was taken to narrow freedom of speech.

Usham also said that alcohol and items “used to conduct sexual activities” were discovered in the area, and that those were items disallowed under Islamic Sharia.

The state attorney claimed knives and sharpened iron bars and other materials were also found.

He futther alleged that MDP protesters had been attacking police officers that have went there to investigate violence that occurs in the area.

Usham claimed that people gathered in the area had been using filthy words to speak and had been encouraging violence.

He also alleged the education of children living in the area had been affected and that their rights had been violated.

The local media reported that Usham had told the judge that many crimes have been conducted in Male’ after the area was used for “planning and organising crime”, and that criminals had used the area “to flee from police”.

MDP reported that the next hearing of the case is scheduled for Sunday.

The tsunami monument area was dubbed ‘Justice Square’ by the MDP following the outside of former President Mohamed Nasheed on February 7, in what he claimed was a police and military led coup de’tat. Thousands of by MDP supporters had used the area as a camping site during the ongoing protest against the legitimacy of President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s new government.

Following a day of protests on Monday, police and army in a sudden raid on the camp ordered everyone in the area to leave without giving reason, and arrested some of the people who refused.

The police then dismantled the tents, removed all the lights, speakers, megaphones, banners, flags and the stage in the area built by the MDP, and cleared political slogans and graffiti from the sea wall.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Women lead defense of Maldivian democracy: Huffington Post

Recent upheaval on the subject of birth control in the United States serves as a reminder of the way religion can be used as a tool to infringe on the rights of women, writes Mary Keck, Professor of English and Gender Studies at the University of Southern Indiana, for the Huffington Post.

In response to a coup d’état against their first democractically elected president on February 7, thousands of women gathered in the capital of the Republic of the Maldives. They marched in support of early, free, and fair elections. Although their stalwart protests were met by arrests and water cannons, they are undeterred. The struggle to maintain democracy in the Maldives is ongoing, and the women of this island nation know what is at stake.

The persistent activism of Maldivian women has been recognised around the globe. On Thursday, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama stood beside Aneesa Ahmed after presenting her with the International Woman of Courage Award. Ahmed was not the first to be recognized for efforts to advance women in the Maldives. Mariya Didi was honored by Condoleeza Rice in 2007 for similar accomplishments. She was taken into police custody shortly after the coup.

Despite the courageous acts of these women, inhumane practices like flogging are still used in the Maldives mainly as a punishment for females accused of adultery. This Indian Ocean nation may have achieved democracy in 2008, but its constitution rests on an Islamic foundation, which is advantageous to many who wish to assert their fundamentalist beliefs.

A rising tide of extremism has threatened to crash over the Maldives for some time. In early December, the Adhaalath Party (a religiously-based political organization) fumed at the current government’s failure to arrest protesters advocating for freedom of religion. One of the protesters was blogger Ismail Rasheed who sustained a skull fracture when attacked during the gathering. Later that month, the parliament pushed a resolution to ban Israel’s El Al airline, which offers travel to and from the islands.

On February 7, hard-line Islamists raided the National Museum destroying Buddhist and Hindu relics and statues. This fanaticism isn’t only seen in street protests, but the use of violence in the name of Islam has seeped into the country’s political system.

Read more

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Maldives, US share climate change answer: Miscellany News

What oppositional forces in the United States, the Maldives, and other endangered countries like it must understand in order for real change to happen is the sheer risk posed by climate change and the likelihood that, without action within the next few years, humanity may not be able to avoid catastrophic economic damage and loss of life, writes Lane Kisonak for the The Miscellany News.

It has been known for some time that the government of Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed, a former human rights activist who has been called the Nelson Mandela of the Indian Ocean, has been amassing a “sovereign wealth fund” for the purchase of land in India, Sri Lanka or Australia in order to eventually resettle the Maldivian people.

But after all that, Nasheed resigned in February, likely having been forced to do so by allies of Maumoon Gayoom, the dictator Nasheed had unseated in the Maldives’ first democratic elections in 2008 after 30 damaging years in power.

Nasheed’s efforts to protect his people from global warming are, I believe, illustrative of two truths for all societies interested in climate change mitigation: first, the localized nature of climate change politics, and second, how easily it gets pushed aside in favor of other matters due to personal agendas and institutional inertia.

In the Maldives, the chief rationale for the removal of Nasheed after three years of high popular support and decisive action repairing the wounds of Gayoom’s dictatorship was the purportedly wrongful arrest of a criminal court judge on corruption charges. Political forces friendly to Gayoom found it in their interest to take advantage of this incident and align against Nasheed (BBC, “Dramatic fall for Maldives’ democratic crusader,” 02.08.12). In the end they successfully took him down, likely dealing a harsh blow to the Maldives’ climate change efforts and introducing political instability all in the interest of gaining power.

What the United States and the Maldives have in common is the potential within smaller, geographically based units to make large strides in protecting people from climate change. They additionally share institutional roadblocks to getting the job done. Sadly for the Maldivians the obstacle they face—the machinations of the party of a dictator attempting to return to power—may prove much harder to overcome. It is telling, for example, that Nasheed’s efforts were as much about working around his parliament to raise awareness abroad as they were internally focused.

Read more

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Nasheed departs to Lanka to talk about coup

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has departed to Sri Lanka on Thursday on a mission to give information to the international community on “how the Maldives government was changed in a coup” on February 7.

According to the statement released by the Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), “Reeko” Moosa Manik, party chairperson, MDP Parliamentary group leader Ibrahim Mohamed “Ibu” Solih, MP Mohamed Aslam and several cabinet members of his administration will accompany him during the trip.

This is Nasheed’s first trip abroad since his controversial resignation, which the party claims was forced in an opposition backed coup that was aided by rogue security forces.

MDP expects to gain international backing on calling early elections in Maldives to unseat the new President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, whose legitimacy has been widely denounced by MDP supporters following the police and military-led events of February 7.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Ten arrested on suspicion of attacking police officers

Ten suspects have been arrested on suspicion of multiple attacks on police officers, including one female officer this week, Superintendent of Police Ahmed Mohamed told reporters on Wednesday.

Mohamed noted that one male and a female officer was attacked around 11:30pm on Tuesday night while patrolling the street near Nalahiya Hotel.

The assailants struck the female officer at the rib cage and sexually assaulted her while the male officer suffered bruises to head, Mohamed said. Not soon after the incident, another policeman on duty was attacked as well, he added.

All received treatment for the injuries and was released the same night.

Meanwhile, another policeman was also attacked while at his home in Male’ on Wednesday night, Mohamed noted, adding that he escaped the attack without any injuries.

Mohamed observed that a strict investigation will be conducted into the attacks. Details on the suspects were not released.

However he condemned the attacks and added that violence against police will not be tolerated and advised the youth to refrain from such crime.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

President meets the public at Muleaage

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan this morning met with members of the public at the President’s residence to celebrate his assumption of office and Presidential address to parliament.

The reception was held at the official residence of the President, Muleaage. The President currently resides in the official home of the Vice-President, Hilaaleege.

Today’s event appeared quiet with few protesters, as has been the case with many of the President’s recent public appearances. Indeed, the event was a relaxed one with hundreds waiting patiently for a few words with the President – and perhaps a photograph.

The President was accompanied by the First Lady and many prominent members of the new administration were also in attendance.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)