Tag: maldives news

MP Muthalib re-joins Adhaalath Party

Former Adhaalath Party MP Ibrahim Muthalib, who resigned from the party and joined the Jumhoree Party (JP) until August this year, has re-joined the Adhaalath Party.

In a statement, the party said that Muthalib resigned from the party due to differences in opinions between the party’s then leadership.

‘’Many citizens hope that other MPs in parliament who love the nation and the religion will join Adhaalath Party,’’ the Adhaalath Party’s statement said. Muthalib was the first treasurer of the Adhaalath Party.

Muthalib resigned from JP – led by local business tycoon Gasim Ibrahim – claiming that his dreams of making the JP the country’s third most active party had been “shattered due to lack of cooperation.”

‘’I resigned because I did not want to remain depressed with these thoughts. For now I just want to relax and remain independent for the time being,’’ Muthalib said at the time. Newspaper Haveeru quoted Muthalib as saying that his resignation came following Gasim’s vote in favor of the appointment of Dr Ibrahim Didi for Fisheries Minister and Thalhath Ibrahim for Defense Minister.

Until Muthalib last night joined Adhaalath, the party had no MP representing them.

Today Muthalib told Minivan News that he decided to join Adhaalath because the party was in need of his assistance and ‘’I have always said that I would join Adhaalath when the change I needed to bring to the party was brought. I resigned from Adhaalath Party on November 2011, and although when I was elected to the parliament I was registered in the Adhaalath Party, I was elected as an Independent MP,’’ Muthalib said.

‘’I had to resign from the Adhaalath Party because of some issues I don’t want to talk about right now,’’ he said. ‘’After resigning from the Adhaalath in November, I joined the Jumhoree Party at the request of some persons, and I worked to make the party a strong opposition party. But it did not work out that way so I had to resign from JP.’’

‘’I want to work with the scholars, I think that is the only way we can set this country the right way – by working with the scholars,’’ he added.

The Adhaalath Party recently terminated the coalition agreement made between the government, and asked Islamic Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari and State Islamic Minister Sheikh Hussain Rasheed to resign from their positions.

Dr Bari respected his party’s decision and resigned from the position yesterday, while Sheikh Hussain has said that he will not resign unless the President requests him to do so.

Dr Bari meanwhile withdrew his resignation from the Adhaalath Party’s religious council, of which he was formerly chairman.

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MP Ismail Abdul Hameed appeals Criminal Court ruling

MP Ismail Abdul Hameed, who was recently sentenced to one year and six months banishment after the Criminal Court found him guilty of corruption, has appealed the case in the High Court.

The Prosecutor General pressed corruption charges against Hameed alleging that he had abused his authority as the former Director of Waste Management at the Male’ municipality to financially benefit a Singaporean company named Island Logistics, in a deal to purchase a barge.

According to local media reports that time, Judge Abdulla Didi noted in the verdict that the agreement stipulated the barge was to be delivered within 90 days of signing the agreement, upon which 50 percent of the value was to be paid to Island Logistics.

Although the barge arrived in the Maldives on October 23, 2008, Hameed had however signed a document claiming that the barge was delivered on schedule on April 28, 2008.

The judge ruled that Hameed’s actions were intentional and in violation of the Anti-Corruption Act.

Under article 73(c)(3) of the constitution, MPs found guilty of a criminal offence “and sentenced to a term of more than twelve months” would be stripped of their seat.

Article 78 of the constitution meanwhile states that “whenever there is a vacancy among the members of The People’s Majlis, an election shall be held within sixty days from the date of the vacancy. A by-election shall not be held within six months prior to a general election.”

However, Elections Commissioner Fuad Thaufeeq previously told Minivan News that the commission does not consider the seat in the parliament is vacant, and noted that Hameed had requested the commission to delay the by-elections as he planned to appeal the case.

When Minivan News contacted Hameed for a comment today, he said he was busy.

Meanwhile, Jumhoree Party (JP) Youth Wing leader Moosa Anwar filed a case in the Supreme Court, requesting the court  determine whether the Kaashidhoo seat should be made vacant after the Criminal Court ruling or if it would  be vacant after appeals were exhausted.

The case was first rejected however Anwar resubmitted the same case to the Supreme Court on September 26. No further information about the case has been reported.

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Maldives remains “partly free” environment for media: Freedom House

Media freedom has remained steady in the Maldives following significant gains in 2009, according to a report by Freedom House.

The country was found to be a “partly free” environment for media, with the constitution protecting freedom of expression “but also restricting freedom of speech ‘contrary to the tenets of Islam’.”

The report was published prior to the release of new regulations enforcing the Religious Unity Act, which bans media ‘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’,” imposing a 2-5 year prison sentence.

Freedom House noted that the overall legal framework protecting free expression “remained weak, with many proposed media reform bills still awaiting passage”, however it praised parliament for passing an amendment to the penal code in 2009 decriminalising defamation.

The organisation noted that legislation to transform the state broadcaster, the Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC), into the Maldives Broadcasting Corporation, a public broadcaster, “was passed in April 2010, but the government delayed implementing the handover.”

Increased media diversity had improved coverage of major political events, including by the state broadcaster, “though the [MNBC] still suffers from pro-government bias.”

Investigative journalism, Freedom House noted, “remains hampered by the lack of an access to information law and a culture of secrecy at government departments.”

While the formation of the Maldives Media Council (MMC) was “cautiously welcomed”, given the preference of advocacy groups for self-regulation, the elections process was criticised for not being sufficiently transparent, and former members of political parties were nominated as candidates to the Council.”

The MMC is currently facing criticism from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for the payment of almost a million rufiya in “living allowances” to Council members beyond their stipulated salaries.

On the advocacy side, Freedom House observed that the Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) “regularly made statements regarding media freedom issues and journalists’ rights during the year, accusing the government and political leaders of interference with the private media in a number of cases”, however it noted that “an alternate group, the Maldives National Journalists’ Association (MNJA), was founded in 2010, reportedly in response to the perceived politicisation of the MJA.”

Private print media had expanded and represented a wide variety of viewpoints, the Freedom House report noted, “however some publications are owned by allies of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom or other political actors, who exercise considerable control over content. Most newspapers are not profitable and rely on financial backing from businessmen with strong political interests.”

The government had “generally” avoided interfering with internet access, used by approximately 28 percent of the population in 2010, however “the Ministry of Islamic Affairs announced in 2008 that Christian and anti-Islam websites would be blocked, arguing that they could negatively affect belief in Islam, and a number of websites were blocked by the Telecommunication Authority at Ministry’s request during 2009.”

Journalists meanwhile remained subject to “some harassment”, with incidents including an attack in August 2010 on the offices of VTV by “unknown assailants”, “and a police attack on journalists covering a political protest in October.” Verbal attacks included threats against media outlets from Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) MP Reeko Moosa, and repeated death threats against certain bloggers “from Islamist extremists”.

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Islamic Minister Dr Bari resigns

Islamic Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari has resigned from the position after pressure from the Adhaalath Party.

He confirmed to Minivan News today he that he had submitted the resignation letter to the President’s Office.

”I resigned out of respect for the decision made by the Adhaalath Party to break its coalition agreement with the government,” Dr Bari said. ”I sent the letter today and they have not responded yet.”

Dr Bari said that although he had resigned from the position as well as the Chairmanship of Adhaalath Party’s Religious Council, he would “remain active in politics.”

Recently, Dr Bari and State Islamic Minister Sheikh Hussain Rasheed Ahmed were asked by the Adhaalath Party to resign, however Sheikh Rasheed issued a statement explaining his refusal to do so.

Dr Bari had earlier resigned from the Chairmanship of Adhaalath Party’s Religious Council.

Today he told the media that he had resigned from the council’s chairmanship after the council issued a statement against his view on Imams, reciting Bismi aloud and permanently reciting Qunoot in Fajr prayers.

The President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair confirmed to Minivan News that Dr Bari had submitted his letter of resignation, but said President Nasheed had not had a chance to read it yet as he had been out this afternoon observing the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST).

Zuhair said he was “surprised” by Bari’s decision as he had “worked patiently and in accordance with the government’s policy” prior to his resignation.

“Even with the religious unity regulations, he worked patiently with the government in a non-partisan way, and he had the last word before it was published,” Zuhair said, noting that Bari had chosen the government’s side in 2009 over its previous alliance with the Jumhooree Party (JP).

Zuhair added that the President valued Dr Bari’s contribution and “patient and academic efforts” as Islamic Minister.

It was too early to speculate on a replacement, he said. However speculation today was that Sheikh Rasheed was among the most likely candidates.

Sheikh Rasheed did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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Adhaalath Party accuses local science association of leading Fuvamulah students astray

The Adhaalath Party has accused the Maldives Association for the Advancement of Science (MAAS) of attempting to lead the students of Fuvamulah schools astray by lecturing them against the tenets of Islam.

In a press release issued by the party’s Fuvamulah branch, Adhaalath claimed that lecturers from MAAS tried to convince the students that human beings originated from monkeys and that “our forefathers were monkeys and we are sons of monkeys.”

‘’They [MAAS] told the students that everything was created from nothing, on its own, without a God,’’ the press release alleged.

The Adhaalath Party claimed MAAS lecturers taught the students about Big Bang Theory and Quantum Theory, and told the students that the earth, universe and everything in it “was created from nothing.”

‘’Students of Fuvamulah understand that it is impossible for something like a pencil to be created by itself. It is regrettable that this scientists’ association did not know as much,’’ the party said.

When the students refused to accept what the lecturers were trying to explain to them, the lecturers spoke in such a way as to make the students feel they were unscientific, said Adhaalath.

Founding member of MAAS, Ahid Rasheed, told Minivan News that the series of science lectures had been solicited by the school, and that students had shown “excitement and curiosity.”

“We were invited to give presentations on science and astronomy, and mostly gave an introduction to science, such as why it’s important, and how can serve as an introduction to the universe,” said Rasheed. “We introduced key concepts in the field such as findings by Einstein, the discovery of gravity, evolution and the Big Bang. But we didn’t promote anything, and we did not mention religion. That wasn’t why we were there.”

Rasheed said the presentations spanned one week and that school staff were in attendance. “If the school and teachers had any objection to what we were teaching, they would have said something. Until today, we have had no negative feedback from people on the island. They’ve actually been inviting us to do more presentations.”

Rasheed supposed the anxiety generated by the lectures was due to basic misconceptions of science, which he said were evident in the classroom.

“We had to do a whole lecture on basics. For example, a majority of the students didn’t believe that humans had gone to the moon,” he said.

In another case, Rasheed reported that younger students were asking basic questions such as why the sky is blue. “Students deserve to know about the basics of where they are, and the world around them,” he said.

The possible contradiction between science and Islam was broached by one student, Rasheed said. “I said what I tell others: that there might be some reservations from Islamic scholars, maybe because of misconceptions about science. But there is no contradiction between Islam and the Big Bang theory as far as I am aware. A majority of Islamic scientists agree with that.”

Pointing out that Islamic scientists were historically famous for their discoveries, Rasheed said “it’s sad because science is not something we can neglect, science means development.”

Adhaalath’s press release noted that the MAAS team was sponsored by the Fuvamulah council. The Fuvamulah councilor is a known member of the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP), from which Adhaalath recently split.

‘’We strongly condemn this act of MAAS, which was also against the Religious Unity Act. We assure the people of Fuvamulah that we will not let them get away with this and will work on this issue until either action has been taken against them or until a trial is conducted,’’ the party said.

Violations of the Maldives’ Religious Unity Act are punishable by up to five years imprisonment.

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Man arrested for sexually assaulting 62 year-old grandmother

Police have arrested a 26 year-old man for allegedly sexually assaulting his 62 year-old grandmother on the island of Hithadhoo of Addu City.

A police spokesperson confirmed to Minivan News that police had received a report of the attack this morning.

However, he did not provide further information regarding the incident.

Local media Haveeru reported that the 26 year-old man was a grandson of the woman, who was half paralysed. She was taken to Hithadhoo Regional Hospital.

A family member told the newspaper that the man had been forcing his grandmother since last Ramadan.

In April this year, a 19 year-old man was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 74 year-old elderly woman on the same island.

Although the police arrested only one person in connection with the earlier case, the family at the time told media that there were three persons suspected of involvement.

Media at the time reported  eyewitnesses as seeing three young men near her house before she was dragged to the island’s beach and sexually assaulted.

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State cannot afford subsidies for fishermen: Finance Minister Inaz

Finance Minister Ahmed Inaz told parliament today that the state would have to reduce other subsidies to issue Rf100 million (US$6.4 million) as oil subsidies for fishermen.

Responding to a query during Minister’s Question time at the first sitting of this year’s final session of parliament, Inaz explained that parliament had approved reducing amounts from other budget items to free up funds to subsidize oil for fishermen.

“It would have been easier if parliament had decided to reduce from a particular item,” he said, noting that potential items included subsidies for water, oil and foodstuffs as well as state benefits for persons with special needs.

“If we cut any of the [budget] items, we would be cutting basic needs,” he said. “The Majlis has not asked the government to cut any particular item so the government cannot cut any item and hasn’t been able to find a fair way to issue subsidies for fishermen.”

Inaz noted that there were other government policies geared towards assisting fishermen and developing the industry.

The Finance Minister added that the 2011 budget was structurally in deficit and oil subsidies could be issued after new tax revenue is collected.

The oil subsidy was added to the budget by parliament when it approved the 2011 state budget in December last year.

During today’s debate on a binding resolution proposed by MP Riyaz Rasheed to compel the government to issue the fishermen’s subsidy, opposition MPs insisted that delays to releasing the funds were “unacceptable” while the government was continuing its “wasteful and useless expenditures.”

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DRP condemns Gayoom’s remarks on losing ground to MDP

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has condemned its erstwhile ‘Honorary Leader’ and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom for saying the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) outpaced the main opposition party while it was “in a slumber.”

Speaking at a rally in Thaa Atoll Guraidhoo on Saturday, Gayoom reportedly said that the MDP became both the largest political party and the majority party in parliament after the new DRP leadership took over.

In a statement put out yesterday, the DRP said Gayoom’s remarks concerning the party were misleading and “contained serious lies.”

Among the alleged falsehoods, the statement noted that the MDP came to power in 2008 after defeating Gayoom, who was DRP’s presidential candidate and ‘Zaeem’ at the time.

“One of the main reasons for DRP having to face one of its biggest defeats and MDP coming to power and causing despair for most citizens was the fact that the whole presidential campaign was run by Gayoom’s eldest son Farish Maumoon as a family matter,” it reads.

It adds that while the DRP under the leadership of Ahmed Thasmeen Ali emerged successful in the past two elections, “we note with regret that the party was unable to win a single election under President Maumoon’s leadership when it was in the government.”

On the loss of MPs in parliament, the statement noted that former President Gayoom lost majority control in the past despite the presence of eight appointed MPs after brother Abdulla Yameen left the DRP with a number of MPs.

Moreover, the statement continues, it was “questionable today” whether the Z-faction’s public criticism of the DRP leadership and “pointing accusatory fingers at the DRP, the party’s leadership, MPs, councillors, senior members sweating to enliven the party in the islands and the party’s common members” was in the service of “the nation and religion.”

The statement concludes by saying that since infighting among the opposition would benefit the ruling party, “it has become clear to the public today that such actions shows the lack of truthfulness and sincerity of the people around President Maumoon.”

Gayoom meanwhile returned to Male’ today after visiting islands in Laamu and Thaa atolls to promote the incipient Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and recruit new members.

The former DRP Zaeem was quoted in local media as saying that the DRP lost ground to the ruling party because of “lack of effort and attention” by the new leadership.

“We cannot achieve anything in the political arena in such a state,” Gayoom said. “That is why we are forming this party. We are forming PPM for a noble purpose.”

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High Court warns of in absentia verdict after MPs fail to show

The High Court yesterday warned that it would issue a verdict in absentia in the appeal of a Civil Court order for Mahadhoo Investments to repay a Rf600 million (US$39 million) loan to Bank of Maldives if representatives of the company fail to appear for the next hearing.

Newspaper Haveeru reported that according to presiding Judge Abdulla Hameed, the last hearing on Thursday was cancelled at the company’s request and rescheduled for yesterday.

The company and its guarantors – Alifushi MP Mohamed Nashiz, brother of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, DRP MP for Mid-Henveiru Ali Azim and Ahmed Rasheed of Maafannu Rafeeguge – had appealed a Civil Court verdict ordering the company to repay the loan.

The High Court judge reportedly said yesterday that he did not wish to dismiss the case as the court had neared a verdict. If the case is rejected without a verdict, the company could file it again.

BML lawyer Mazlan Rasheed argued that the bank would face more difficulties in getting the loan payment if the court dismissed the case.

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