Tag: maldives news

“Don’t give in to fanatical minority”, Reporters Without Borders urges government

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have issued a statement urging the government “not to give in to the fanatical minority” and to do “all it can to ensure the media are free to tackle any subjects they choose.”

The statement came in response to the Islamic Ministry’s ordering of the Communications Authority of the Maldives (CAM) to block the website of controversial blogger, Ismail Khilath “Hilath” Rasheed, on the grounds that it contained anti-Islamic material.

“The increase in acts of religious intolerance is a threat to the Maldives’ young democracy”, RSF said its statement, requesting the “immediate reopening of [Hilath’s] blog.”

RSF noted that there were harsh penalties for blasphemy under Maldivian law following new regulations enforcing the 1994 Religious Unity Act, which bans the media from circulating any material that “humiliates Allah, his prophets, the Koran, the Sunnah or the Islamic faith”.

Incidents involving media workers are rare in the Maldives, RSF observed, “but that is only because most of them prefer to censor themselves and stay away from subjects relating to Islam, unlike Ismail Khilath Rasheed.”

“According to Rasheed, the Islamic Affairs Ministry had his blog in its sights because he is a Sufi Muslim, not a Sunni like most Maldivians, and has always been highly critical of religious fundamentalism.”

RSF compiles the annual Press Freedom Index. The Maldives is currently ranked 52nd out of 178 countries.

President Mohamed Nasheed’s Press Secretary, Mohamed Zuhair, acknowledged that the decision would affect the Maldives’ reputation for press freedom.

“The government has a responsibility to protect the tenets of Islam,” Zuhair said, but urged Hilath to appeal the decision: “I believe there should be more dialogue and discussion before action is taken.”

“Blocking a website containing undesirable material is not an option for the Maldivian government. The Internet is larger than 1-2 Maldivian bloggers. Should we shut out all content deemed undesirable by Islamic scholars, and is it even technically possible with filtering?”

Zuhair noted that the Maldives had benefited from having one the highest rates of Internet penetration in the region.

According to Facebook statistics, one third of the Maldives population have accounts on the social network, the vast majority of them aged between 18-35.

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Haa Alif Atoll councillors allegedly assaulted in Dhidhoo

Haa Alif Atoll councillors were allegedly attacked yesterday by island councillors of Dhidhoo together with a few young men from the island, following a vote of no-confidence against the chair of the atoll council.

An atoll councillor told Minivan News on condition of anonymity that the dispute between the island and atoll councils centered around the vacant residence used by the former Atoll Chiefs.

“The Haa Alif Atoll Province Office gave us the building to stay in because atoll council members were elected from different islands, and we all had to move to Dhidhoo because that is where the atoll council has to hold meetings,” he explained.

The dispute began after island councillors claimed the building for their purposes but were overruled by the Province Office, he said.

“This has been going on for a while,” he said. “While we were staying there with the authorisation of the state, the island councilors broke in and threw us out, and they changed the locks on the doors. Then we had to wait two days without proper sleep, shelter or food.”

The incident led the atoll councillors to move a motion of no-confidence against the chair of the council, who is from Dhidhoo.

“We passed the no-confidence motion and the island councilors came with eight or nine young people in the island and attacked us,” he claimed. “Three of the atoll councillors were injured, but no major injuries were caused.”

Following the incident, he added, atoll councilors were told by the government to move back to their islands until further notice.

“Now all the councilors have moved back to their own islands and we are thinking of ways to conduct our work even while staying in different islands,” he said.

A Dhidhoo island councillor, Abdulla Waheed, however dismissed the allegations and insisted none of the events took place.

Waheed said the atoll councilors were staying in the ‘Atoll House’ unlawfully and claimed that electricity bills had not been paid for the past eight months.

“It is the property of the island council and it has been a month since the atoll councillors were told to hand the building over to the island council because it does not have an adequate place to work,” he said.

The situation in Dhidhoo was “calm and normal” in the wake of the dispute between the councils, he said.

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MP Musthafa blames ‘Reeko’ Moosa over finance controller’s resignation

Finance Controller at the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, Ahmed Assad, resigned yesterday after attempts were made by MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik to exert undue influence over the senior government official, claims Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed Musthafa.

In a text message circulated to several media outlets, Musthafa alleged that several “capable professionals and technocrats” were quitting the MDP government in protest of acting chairperson Moosa’s outsize influence and “corrupt dealings” for personal gain.

Speaking to Minivan News today, Musthafa claimed Moosa had asked Assad for Rf5 to 6 million (US$320,000-390,000) to complete a project awarded to Moosa’s company Heavy Load Maldives to construct the jetty off the island of Kumundhu in Shaviyani Atoll.

Assad was unavailable for comment today as his mobile phone was switched off.

“Assad refused to issue the money and he went into a quarrel with Moosa and Moosa attempted to use his position and authority to exert influence over him,” Musthafa alleged. “He also tried to influence Abdulla Ziyadh, civil engineer of Works Corporation and tried to collect money for a Heavy Load project before it was completed. They completed 20 percent of the work and asked him to pay for 70 percent of work.”

Ziyadh had resigned from his post at the Works Corporation under the Housing Ministry in the wake of the incident, Musthafa claimed.

“Moosa has also taken Rf4 million (US$260,000) worth of oil for credit from Fuel Supply Maldives (FSM) and tried to get more oil for credit without paying for the oil he purchased earlier,” he alleged.

Musthafa said he planned to submit an amendment to the MDP charter to ensure that a businessman could not hold the post of chairperson.

Responding to remarks made by Moosa in the local media that Musthafa was “using my name to gain fame for himself,” Musthafa said: “,I ‘Seafood Musthafa’, was more famous and a millionaire in this country when Moosa was riding a bicycle around Henveiru.”

Contacted for a comment today, MP Moosa Manik said he did not wish to comment on the issue.

Meanwhile, President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair said Assad had not divulged the reason for his decision to leave the government in his resignation letter.

“Unless he confirms the allegations, I would say that is just political speculation and theories,” said Zuhair, referring to Musthafa’s allegations.

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Former member of interim Elections Commission deny corruption allegations by ACC

Former member of the interim Elections Commission (EC), Ahmed ‘Saabe’ Shahid, has denied allegations of corruption made by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over the purchase of over 50 laptops without a public tender ahead of the October 2008 presidential election.

In a statement issued to the media yesterday, Saabe insisted that the procurement of the laptops was a necessary expense for the commission’s preparations for the historic multi-party elections in October.

The first 20 laptops were purchased after considering prices proposed on September 22 in response to a public announcement on September 16. The first round of the presidential election was held on October 8 and the second round run-off on October 28.

“To my recollection, additional laptops were bought on three further occasions,” reads the statement from Saabe. “Of these, the 10 laptops purchased on October 4 with my authorisation were bought on very short notice just four days before the 2008 presidential election.”

The former deputy chair of the EC explained that normal procurement procedures takes at least six days between the public announcement and the purchase.

The 10 laptops were therefore procured based on the September 16 announcement “after considering the period and [quoted] price of the previous transaction” and the company that could provide the notebook computers at the earliest possible date.

“A quotation was received from the company for this and the reason for the purchase was stated in that quotation,” he wrote.

Saabe noted that the EC was afforded a very short period of time to conduct the first multi-party presidential election and the first election where voters had to be registered.

In addition to considerable efforts in preparation, said Saabe, the commission had to make arrangements for Maldivians living abroad to participate in the election and register workers at resorts and industrial islands “to ensure the right to vote for every Maldivian citizen in a very short space of time.”

Saabe observed that while Rf99 million was allocated for the two rounds of the presidential election, the EC actually spent Rf65.1 million and “saved the state Rf30.9 million.”

The savings were the result of measures taken by the commission to reduce cost and wastage, he suggested.

“Section 18 of the Elections Commission Act states that the commission cannot be charged for actions taken with good intentions,” he said, adding that the transactions were made with the intention of doing “the best possible work in an extraordinarily short period of time.”

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UN Human Rights High Commissioner to address parliament

United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Navenethem Pillay will deliver an address at parliament tomorrow, Speaker Abdulla Shahid announced today.

As there is no scheduled sitting of parliament tomorrow, the High Commissioner will give the speech at committee room number one.

Navenethem Pillay is a South African of Tamil descent and was appointed to the post on September 1, 2008.

According to the Office of the High Commissioner, “Ms. Pillay has served as a judge on two of the most important international criminal courts in the modern era, spending eight years with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, including four years as its President, and then the past five years on the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Both of these courts deal with the extreme end of the human rights spectrum — war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, and are at the cutting edge of the development of international law in these areas.”

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Parliament sitting cancelled over loss of quorum

Today’s sitting of parliament was cancelled shortly after 1pm as enough MPs for a quorum were not in the chamber.

Announcing the cancellation, Speaker Abdulla Shahid said the quorum bell had been rung three times without any success.

The sitting was first adjourned at 9.33am after Minister’s Question Time when quorum was lost. The planned resumption at 10am was however delayed to 11am due to failure to meet a quorum.

After 11am restart, preliminary debate continued on amendments proposed by opposition MP Hassan Latheef to the Public Finance Act. MPs also debated a proposal by Thulusdhoo MP Rozaina Adam to create a new standing committee for women and children’s affairs.

Meanwhile, five committee meetings took place today, including a sub-committee meeting to review legislation on corporate profit taxes.

According to Majlis attendance records, of the 77 MPs in parliament, 10 MPs did not come to work today while two were on holiday and two had called in sick. The number of MPs required for a quorum is 26.

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MP Riyaz Rasheed splashed water on chairs: Speaker Abdulla Shahid

Vilufushi MP Riyaz Rasheed splashed water on chairs and tables inside the parliament chamber yesterday after Speaker Abdulla Shahid ordered Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) security personnel to remove the disruptive MP.

Yesterday’s sitting was adjourned 15 minutes after it began when MP Riyaz Rasheed raised points of order to object to changes made to the Security Services ‘241’ committee.

The reworked composition of the committee with the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party’s (DRP) representation down from three seats to two after a number of MPs left the party was later approved in a vote yesterday.

After advising Riyaz to sit down four times, the Speaker adjourned the sitting until the MP was out the chamber. The Vilufushi MP left the chamber about 30 minutes later when MNDF officers were sent in.

When the sitting resumed after 12pm, Speaker Shahid explained that cleaning chairs and tables where MP Riyaz splashed water had delayed the restart. Further delays were caused by electricity problems caused by heavy rains the previous night, Shahid said.

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Parliament passes bill on protection of trees

Parliament today passed a bill on protection of trees and foliage to govern rules for quarantining and sent a bill on small and medium-sized businesses to committee for further review.

However a bill proposed by opposition MP Mohamed Mujthaz to extend the lease of resorts with stalled development by two years with suspended rent was rejected.

A proposal by Thulusdhoo MP Rozaina Adam to form a new standing committee on women and children’s affairs was debated after the General Affairs Committee Chair MP Nazim Rashad presented the committee’s report on the proposal.

Preliminary debate also continued on an amendment proposed by MP Hassan Latheef to the Civil Service Act.

The beginning of today’s sitting was delayed until 11am due to power shortages in the building. Several committee meetings scheduled for the morning were also cancelled due to the problem.

Following voting at 1.30pm, the sitting had to be adjourned at 1.53pm due to loss of quorum.

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Gassan Maumoon sues Police Chief Superintendent Jinah for unlawful arrest

Gassan Maumoon, son of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, has filed a case at the Civil Court against Chief Superintendent of Police Mohamed Jinah, claiming that Gassan was unlawfully arrested on his order.

Gassan’s lawyer Mohamed Waheed Ibrahim ‘Wadde’ confirmed that the case was filed yesterday.

Gassan was arrested last month on allegations that he hurled a wooden plank at protesters from his balcony on October 20. A 17 year-old was critically injured after the plank struck him on the head, resulting in skull fractures and paralysis down his left side.

Waheed told local media this week that Jinah’s order to arrest Gassan was unconstitutional and violated provisions of the police act. The Civil Court was requested to determine that Jinah’s order was unlawful.

Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed had ruled that Gassan’s arrest was unlawful and ordered his immediate release.

The Judicial Services Commission (JSC) has recently competed a report on Abdulla Mohamed detailing the judge’s misconduct, notably politically-biased comments given to opposition-aligned private broadcaster DhiTV.

Contacted for a comment today, Chief Superintended Jinah referred Minivan News to Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam.

Shiyam said police did not wish to comment on a case involving the arrest of a specific individual.

“Besides, the police have not been officially informed of this case,” he added.

Following his release by the Criminal Court, Jinah held a press conference and exhibited video footage of the plank hitting the 17 year-old.

Jinah had said at the press conference on October 16 that police wished to “reveal the truth” about the incident as “deliberately false allegations have been made against police using the media” to bring the institution into disrepute and cast aspersions on senior officers.

Police decided to reveal the video footage to the public because “many people have been using different media to claim that [the incident] never happened and make serious allegations against police,” Jinah had said.

He told the media that the court was now requested to determine that Jinah personally has the responsible to his orders.

When Gassan was arrested, former Attorney General Azima Shukoor and Waheed both went to the Criminal Court and filed a case against police claiming that the arrest was unlawful and to order immediate release of Gassan, to which court the court agreed and ordered immediate release of Gassan.

When Minivan News contacted Jinah for a comment he referred Minivan News to Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam.

Shiyam said that police have been arresting different persons to investigate cases presented to the police and that police would not like to comment on a specific person’s case.

‘’Besides, the police have not been officially informed of this case,’’ he added.

After the incident police met with the press and viewed video footage captured near Aliwaage when the wooden plank was dropped.

Opposition that time said that the wooden plank did not come from Aliwaage and insisted that it was thrown at Aliwaage from the ground.

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