Islanders of Filladhoo in Haa Alifu Atoll gathered at the beach yesterday upon President Mohamed Nasheed’s arrival on the island to protest the current government’s religious policy.
President of Filladhoo Council Mohamed Vijaan told Minivan News that the protesters conducted the protest to express their opinion from the time President arrived until he left the island.
“I do not know which party they represented or the amount of protesters,’’ Vijaan said. ‘’They were protesting against placement of ‘idols’ in Addu and demanding to give the money that Filladhoo is waiting to receive from the money foreign countries gave in aid to the country following the 2004 December tsunami.’’
Vijaan said the money was granted to the Maldives during the time of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
‘’Due to a court ruling the money was not given to Filladhoo, and this government said they would appeal the case at the High Court but after that there was no news of it,’’ Vijaan said, adding that 110 houses in Filladhoo were destroyed by the tsunami.
He said President Nasheed arrived to the island at 12:20pm and left at 3:30pm yesterday. The protesters protested until his departure.
Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said that it was not a protest but a group of people expressing their opinion.
‘’There was no unrest,’’ Zuhair said. ‘’It was this government that introduced freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.’’
According to the President’s Office the President met with Island Councils of Filladhoo and exchanged views with the Council members on proposed development projects for the islands.
‘’He also called for the support of the Island Councils in executing government policies,’’ read a statement on the President’s Office website.
An increase in extremist rhetoric in the Maldives may affect the country’s international image and the ability of its citizens to freely travel abroad, Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem warned on Thursday.
The Maldives had “a lot to lose” should such intolerance continue, Naseem said: “A large number of Maldivians travel outside the country and such rhetoric will have implications for the average Maldivian travelling abroad, and on those Maldivians already living abroad.”
The Maldives was a liberal democracy “with a Constitution based upon respect for the human rights of all,” Naseem claimed.
“As a democratic nation, each of us should be willing to listen to the views of others. It is our collective responsibility to promote equality and tolerance and to strengthen our democracy. A reversal of our democratic values could alienate the Maldives and tarnish its world renowned reputation for hospitality,” he said.
Islam was a religion of “dignity, peace and tolerance,” Naseem added. “Anyone who tries to use religion to incite hatred or violence is acting contrary to our national values and our Constitution.
“I call on all Maldivians to choose the path of peace and reconciliation, and to stay to the path of the traditional moderate Islam that has earned Maldives its place as a model Islamic country among the international community,” he said.
Asked about the ongoing detention of controversial blogger Ismail ‘Khilath’ Rasheed, who was today declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International after his participation in a ‘silent protest’ calling for religious freedom, Naseem acknowledged that the matter “was of concern to the international community.”
“We must protect our Constitution, but whatever needs to be investigated can surely be investigated without arresting anybody,” he said.
Police Commissioner Ahmed Faseeh was meanwhile today reported in newspaper Haveeru as expressing concern that the Maldives was heading towards becoming “Afghanistan” – except that unlike Afghanistan, it was not able to produce its own food.
Organisers of both the ‘Defend Islam’ and ‘Moderate Islam’ protests assured parliament’s national security committee that there would be no violence tomorrow. However Faseeh expressed concern over police intelligence suggesting the involvement of gangs.
“They are very versatile and we advise everyone to refrain from encouraging them. Even if they’re used for a good cause, it just encourages them,” Haveeru reported Faseeh as saying.
Adhaalath Party has called on all its members and others joining the protest tomorrow to protest peacefully, uphold all laws and respect foreign missions.
In a statement issued by former State Minister and current Spokesperson of Adhaalath Party Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed called on protesters to cooperate with the armed forces and to put patience forward if someone initiates a confrontation.
‘’I advise all protesters that participate in this protest in all the islands to use decent language to express your opinions and to uphold Islamic policies,’’ Shaheem said in the statement. ‘’And, I also advise to not to refer any political party with fault language and to set an example for others.’’
Sheikh Shaheem also said there have been many challenges in recent days, and advised protesters to aim for unity and remain within Maldivian law.
“Adhaalath Party is a party that loves peace, respects the state institutions and respects diplomatic relations and international conventions,’’ the statement read.
Meanwhile, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed Musthafa expressed concern that if MDP protested on the same day as the opposition parties-NGO Coalition protest, there was a risk that both protests would turn violent.
‘’I advised the President today to delay our protest supporting ‘moderation’ but it was a decision made by the party,’’ he said. ‘’We tried to stop the MDP protest by submitting a petition but we did not have the majority support so we cannot challenge the majority.’’
Musthafa said that he was not happy with the decision but was obliged to follow decisions made by the party majority.
Recently there have been unconfirmed reports of mercenaries from terrorist groups being recruited for the protest.
Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Spokesperson Major Abdul Raheem said that there have been no confirmed reports of said recruits and referred Minivan News to the police.
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said ‘’it is very difficult to say anything about it.’’
Today the Commissioner of Police Ahmed Faseeh and Chief of Defence Force Major General Moosa Jaleel was summoned to the parliament’s National Security Committee meeting along with MDP Planning Committee officials, NGO Coalition President Abdulla Mohamed and Adhaalath Party president Imran Abdulla.
All the parties assured the parliament that they will not confront each other and that the protests will go peacefully.
NGO Coalition President Abdulla Mohamed was today questioned at the committee whether pregnant women and children will participate in the protest, to which he replied that he cannot stop pregnant women and children from coming to the protest.
Local newspaper SunFM reports that during today’s committee meeting MDP MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik questioned Adhaalath President Abdulla whether Al-Qaeda mercenaries were recruited to the protest. Abdulla replied that he did not want to answer that question.
The Maldives Media Council (MMC) has called on protesters at tomorrow’s protest not to obstruct journalists or violate the press freedom.
MMC also said journalism was a national service like the work of the armed forces, and called on the armed forces to provide as much as opportunity for the press to take coverage of the protest.
MMC also called on journalists to be careful for own safety while reporting on the protest.
Senior figures of the uling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) together with a number of supporters have started signing a petition calling on MDP’s National Council to reconsider an earlier decision to protest on Friday.
Secretary General of MDP Ahmed Shah today confirmed to Minivan News that some “hardcore figures” in the party has started signing the petition.
‘’I do not know who is in charge of this petition or who is taking the lead, but I have had reports that it is going on,’’ said Shah.
Asked about his opinion on the decision to hold a protest in support of moderate Islam at the same time as the opposition and religious NGO-organised ‘Defend Islam’ protest, he said that he and all MDP members were obliged to follow any decision made by the National Council.
He said the petition was expected to reach the National Council sometime this afternoon.
Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair today told Minivan News that a media report about a meeting supposedly held by the President this afternoon to meet with MDP National Council members was correct.
‘’The President has assured that he will go out with the MDP supporters to express support for moderate Islam and oppose extremism,’’ Zuhair said.
On Friday opposition political parties and a coalition of local NGOs have planned to conduct a protest to ‘’protect Islam.’’
Following the announcement of this protest, MDP’s National Council had a meeting and decided to hold a ‘moderate Islam’ protest at the same time as the opposition-NGO coalition protest.
Amnesty International has declared imprisoned blogger Ismail ‘Khilath’ Rasheed a prisoner of conscience, and called for his “immediate and unconditional” release.
The controversial blogger was arrested on December 14 following his participation in a ‘silent protest’ on Human Rights Day, calling for religious tolerance in the Maldives.
A group of men attacked the protesters with stones, and Rasheed was taken to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) with a fractured skull. He was subsequently arrested for questioning over his involvement in the silent gathering, and the Criminal Court granted police a 10 day extension of detention for the investigation.
“The continued detention of Ismail ‘Khilath’ Rasheed is in breach of international treaties on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the Maldives is a state party,” Amnesty said in a statement.
“Amnesty International is dismayed that instead of defending Ismail ‘Khilath’ Rasheed, who has peacefully exercised his right to freedom of the expression, the government of Maldives has detained him. Moreover, the government has taken no action to bring to justice those who attacked the ‘silent’ demonstrators, even though there is credible photographic evidence of the attack.”
The attack on Rasheed and his subsequent detention was a “clear example of the erosion of freedom of expression in the Maldives,” Amnesty stated.
“This basic human right is not just under attack from some religious groups; it is also violated by the government of the Maldives. All people in the Maldives should be able to enjoy their right to freedom of expression without being attacked or detained by the police.”
President Mohamed Nasheed was himself declared an Amnesty prisoner of conscience in 1991, following his repeated and prolonged incarceration by the former government.
A photo of Rasheed's alleged attacker taken by the protesters
Journalist detained
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has also called for Rasheed’s immediate release.
“All he did was start a debate about the issues of religious freedom and tolerance in Maldives,” RSF stated.
“The authorities must explain the reasons for his arbitrary detention and release him at once. It is disturbing to see the government yet again yielding to pressure from the most conservative fringes of Maldivian society.”
Rasheed was one of the country’s leading free speech advocates and one of the few Maldivians bloggers to write under his own name, RSF observed.
“The Maldivian constitution bans the promotion of any religion other than Islam but guarantees freedom of assembly and expression as long as it does not contravene Islam. Rasheed professes to be an adherent of Sufism, which emphasises the inner, spiritual dimension of Islam.”
Reaction
President Mohamed Nasheed’s Press Secretary, Mohamed Zuhair, told Minivan News that Hilath had been arrested under an existing regulation passed by parliament that had no bearing on the [executive] government.
“The government’s policy is to allow freedom of expression to the greatest extent possible under the Constitution,” he said.
Under new regulations published by the government in September, interpreting the 1995 Religious Unity Act passed by parliament, media is “banned from producing or publicising programs, talking about or disseminating audio that humiliates Allah or his prophets or the holy Quran or the Sunnah of the Prophet (Mohamed) or the Islamic faith.”
Violation of the Act carries a prison sentence of between 2-5 years, and the Communications Authority of Maldives (CAM) in November blocked access to Rasheed’s blog on orders from the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, on the grounds that it contained anti-Islamic material.
Rasheed was arrested amid growing religious and political tensions in the Maldives in the lead up to a ‘Defend Islam’ protest to be held on Friday, December 23.
The protest follows several incidents of religious intolerance in the past few months, including as vandalism of the ‘idolatrous’ SAARC monuments in Addu Atoll and hostility towards calls by the UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay for a moratorium and debate on the flogging of women for extramarital sex.
The December 23 protest is being organised by a coalition of religious NGOs and opposition political parties, who have attacked the government for decisions such as its diplomatic relationship with Israel.
“The government is saying that the Maldives has had an unbroken Islamic tradition for 800 years, and 90 consecutive Chief Justices who have applied Sharia Law,” Zuhair said.
“The President is asking everyone to take a stand tomorrow on the 23rd for the continuation of the Maldives’ moderate Islamic tradition,” he said.
It was “not accurate” to suggest that the government was yielding to fundamentalist fringe elements, he insisted.
“This is political. [Former President] Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and his cronies are testing their support base. The people who are funding this so-called Islamic gathering are the same people selling pork and alcohol.”
A local man has posted a five-foot tall bill to Laamu Gan Hospital, after the hospital claimed it lost the previous bill he sent, local news outlet Sun reported on Wednesday.
Masood Abdullah from Laamu atoll Mathimaradhoo island claimed that the South Central Health Services Corporation owes him Rf9600 (US$622) for two rooms he rented out to the corporation for 32 days at Rf300 per day, Sun reported.
According to him, the hospital requested he resubmit a bill claiming it was lost, when he asked to clear the payment.
“So this time I sent a bill which won’t be lost,” he was quoted as saying in Sun.
The Criminal Court has convicted former Civil Court Judge Mohamed Hilmy and his wife Aminath Ali for sexual misconduct, two years after the pair were discovered by police near the Hulhumale’ garbage dump in a state of undress.
Police arrested Hilmy and Aimanth, at the time his girl friend, around midnight on November 12 on suspicion of sexual misconduct. The pair refuted the charges, claiming it was a police set up.
However, the criminal court noted that three police constables who witnessed the act had testified stating that “Aiminath’s underwear and pants were down to her knees” and that Hilmy had his “pants down to his knees”.
Photos taken by the constables at the scene were also presented to the court.
Based on pictures and testimonies, the court ruled that Hilmy and Aiminath were guilty of sexual misconduct, and sentenced the pair to six months’ banishment and 15 lashes each.
However, the sentence was deferred for three years under section 292 of court trial regulations.
Hilmy, who has heard high-profile cases including former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s request for an injunction against the Presidential commission and the Herathera Resort dispute, was suspended from the bench soon after his arrest.
The press statement issued by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) at the time stated that Hilmy was asked to stay home until notified by the JSC or until the police investigation was completed.
“Further, the commission has asked the Police Integrity Commission to investigate a complaint from Mohamed Hilmy that police mistreated him, exhibited profane behaviour and gave defamatory information to media,” the JSC said.
Shahinda Ismail, President of the Police Integrity Commission, confirmed to Minivan News at the time that a complaint was filed by the Judges Association (JA) and the JSC, requesting the commission look into the matter.
“In their letter, the JSC said the JA are saying that he has complained to them, that he was walking in Hulhumale’ with his fiancé and police came and handcuffed both of them and basically undressed them by force,” she said.
The police denied the accusations in a public statement.
“The two had to be taken into custody on suspicion of sexual behaviour in a public place as they were at the garbage dump in the south of Hulhumale’ with their pants down,” police said.
Police further denied the allegation that the judge was abused by police and photographed after his pants were forcibly pulled down.
Hilmy told Haveeru following his arrest that he lived in Hulhumale’ and was walking with his fiancé when they were set upon by police.
The judge alleged that police handcuffed him, used obscene language and beat him before photographing him.
Hilmy further alleged that a senior police threatened him at a meeting at civil court and told him they would show him how powerful the police force was.
According to local news reports, Aminath and Hilmy were married soon after the incident and now have child together. The pair are now practicing lawyers at private firms.
Local religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf has called on the parliament to enact stronger regulations to protect Islam, beyond the the Religious Unity Act.
In a statement issued today Salaf claimed there were regulations protecting sea turtles, whales, birds, lagoons and the environment, but no adequate regulations that protected Islam as such.
Salaf claimed that the new Religious Unity Regulations allowed “anyone to play with the faith of Maldivians, any way they want to.”
The NGO accused the government of pressuring and threatening Salaf when Salaf once asked Home Ministry, Islamic Ministry and the parliament to investigate some persons that have violated the Religious Unity Regulation.
Salaf also claimed that Ali Ahsan, the developer of the website promoting Friday’s protest, was arrested under the Religious Unity Regulations.
An Islamic Conference due to be held at Thinadhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, organised by the Foreign Ministry and the Islamic Ministry, was questionable, Salaf said in the statement, alleging that article 22 of the regulation allowing for the deportation of missionaries was deleted before it was published in the gazette.
Salaf this week declined an invitation from President Mohamed Nasheed to meet and discuss their concerns.
In its statement, Salaf accused President Nasheed of pardoning “Christian missionaries” deported by the former government, and attached a list of names and passport numbers of individuals blacklisted by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
Foreign Minister under both governments, Dr Ahmed Shaheed, has previously told Minivan News that allegations of proselytising against foreigners were often “political charges” deployed by the former President, and had reached “saturation point”.
“There is this very, very deep reaction to anything un-Islamic in this country, and you can use Islam as a political tool quite easily,” he told Minivan News in June, following his appointment as UN Special Rapporteur on Iran.
“But I think people are getting fed up with it – you can see the reactions in the press to my appointment as special rapporteur. DRP MP Mahlouf said it was a Zionist conspiracy and a trade-off for favours done to Israel on my part. These things ring hollow the more you say them. They become cliche.”
At the height of the heated election rally in October 2008, the former government “mischievously suggested” that Salisbury Cathedral in the UK was conspiring to blow up the Islamic Centre in Male’ and build a church.
Salisbury Cathedral subsequently denied the allegation.
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