Tag: maldives

EC dismissals: Fuwad and Fayaz remain EC members, says Majlis committee

The parliament’s independent institutions oversight committee yesterday declared that the Elections Commission (EC) President Fuwad Thowfeek and Vice President Ahmed Fayaz still remain in their posts despite the Supreme Court’s verdict to the contrary.

Yesterday (March 10), parliament also sent a letter to Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain and Attorney General Mohamed Anil stating that the dismissals were contrary to the constitutional procedures governing their appointment and dismissal, as well as the Elections Commission Act.

The letter stated that the contents were based on the legal advice of parliament’s Counsel General Fathimath Filza after her analysis of the Supreme Court’s verdict.

Senior leaders within the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) have today criticised the letter, noting it did not represent a parliamentary decision and also that such statements were beyond the Majlis’ remit.

EC President Thowfeek, Vice President Fayaz and the remaining members – Ali Mohamed Manik and Mohamed Farooq – were also been summoned to attend a committee meeting at 1:30pm today (March 11).

The EC members have been summoned for the purpose of discussing how procedural matters were carried out during the case proceedings, as well as to discuss ‘suo moto’ proceedings as applied through the constitution.

The committee held discussions with the EC members as well as Thowfeek and Fayaz at a closed-door session today.

In addition to the members of the EC, the committee also decided to summon members of the Judicial Services Commission at 2pm today to debate ‘suo moto’ and the means of taking action against the Supreme Court.

Deputy Chair of the committee, MDP MP Rozaina Adam – who chaired Monday’s meeting – alleged that while the Supreme Court has the constitutional mandate of having final say in matters of justice, what is currently being observed is a tendency to abuse those powers.

MDP MP Imthiyaz Fahmy stated that “it is an obligation to criticise a court on which’s bench sits ‘naked’ judges” – referring to the leaked sex video of Supreme Court judge Ali Hameed. He added that there is no law which outlaws the criticism of courts outside of court hearings.

“What we are seeing today is judicial shamelessness,” Fahmy said, asserting that the Supreme Court’s verdict against the EC was unconstitutional.

“It’s a parliamentary statement, not a decision”: PPM PG Leader

PPM Parliamentary Group Leader Moosa Zameer has responded to the letter sent yesterday, stating he did not believe it was a parliamentary decision.

“I don’t believe it is a decision. On the other hand, the parliament can release a statement or send a letter to someone based on the advice of the Counsel General. However, that is not a parliamentary decision,” said Zameer.

“We don’t accept that the letter signed by the speaker and his deputy is a parliamentary decision. Parliamentary decisions are ones which are taken on the parliament floor,” Zameer is quoted as saying to local media.

He added that it was obligatory for all to obey the orders of the Supreme Court, and that the PPM’s stand echoed this principle.

When contacted by Minivan News for further comment, neither Zameer’s nor PPM MP Ahmed Nihan were responding to calls at the time of press.

President Abdulla Yameen has also criticised the letter, claiming that it is outside the parliament’s mandate to release such a statement.

Speaking at the launching of PPM’s Villimalé parliamentary candidate Ahmed Nihan’s campaign, Yameen stated that it was the norm in a modern civilisation to obey the rulings of the Supreme Court.

He reiterated that the government would follow the orders of the Supreme Court and that it would proceed to elect new members to the EC.

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Airport staff strike over bad food and bad bonuses

Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) employees working at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) went on strike today over the low quality of food served at the staff cafeteria as well as cuts to the annual company bonus.

The protest began early this morning and continued until around noon. At around 10:30am, the managing director of the company arranged a meeting with a five member group representing staff, as well as with the CEO Ibrahim ‘Bandhu’ Saleem.

While the protesters estimated that approximately 250 – 300 employs were ready to go on full strike, the situation was resolved following the meeting after employees were assured that solutions would soon be found for all their concerns.

Speaking to Minivan News, one of the five staff negotiators said that the main two demands of the protesters were the improvement of the conditions of the staff restaurant ‘Beach Rest Cafe’, and the resumption of the annual company bonus for employees – which has been “discontinued for the past two years”.

When disbursed by India’s GMR – the previous company that managed the airport – some would receive a bonus of MVR1500 while others would receive as much as MVR30,000, said the staff negotiator.

“It started with the Beach Rest issue. Even today they served rotten curry. This has been going on for a while now. We cant eat the food they prepare,” he explained.

MACL Corporate Communications Manager Hassan Areef said that the situation was resolved shortly after negotiating with protesters.

“Beach Rest is not run by the company, but we will talk to them and address the issue immediately,” he said.

When asked about the company bonus, he said that information would be revealed on that as progress is made, but assured that the company would this issue also.

“When the situation was resolved the staff were happy, they went back to work immediately,” Areef said.

Ibrahim Rasheed, a protester who took part in the dialogue, said that staff were promised the cafeteria issue would be addressed immediately and that another cafeteria would be established within two or three months.

Another protester said that the CEO had assured them the annual bonus would also be arranged shortly.

“He said it will be arranged very soon – as soon as the ongoing audit is completed. We were told that the bonus will be even better than before,” he said.

According to MACL staff concerned about the bonus, the issue has been taken to senior management several times within the past two years without any response.

In 2010, the GMR Male International Airport Pvt Ltd (GMIAL) – a consortium of the Indian GMR Group (77%) and the Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad (23%) — was awarded a concession contract to manage the airport for a period of 25 years.

However, President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s government prematurely terminated the agreement and the airport was handed over to the 100% government owned MACL in December 2012.

GMR later filed a compensation claim of US$1.4 billion for “wrongful termination”.

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Assaulted inmate flown to Sri Lanka for medical treatment

Officials from the Home Ministry have confirmed to local media that Ibrahim Azar – critically injured during a jail fight in Maafushi prison last month – has been sent to Sri Lanka for medical treatment.

According to a report on the incident shared by the Maldives Correctional Services (MCS) with parliament’s government oversight committee earlier this month, Azar had requested to be transferred from his cell more than an hour before the assault.

A person familiar with the matter told Minivan News that Azar was attacked by his cell mates after calling prison officers when a fight broke out between two of his cell mates on February 24.

“Azar was kept in A-B/Unit-3 of Maafushi Prison with two other inmates, and that day the two inmates had an issue and started fighting,’’ the source said.

“Azar called the prison officers and the prison officers talked to the two that were fighting and resolved the issue – but as soon as the prison officer left they started fighting again.’’

He added that Azar called the prison officers once more, though the fighting had stopped by the time officers arrived and so the guards left the cell again.

“It repeated three times, and after the fourth time prison officers were called Azar was attacked by his two cell mates,’’ the source said.

The source alleged that Azar’s cell mates attacked him using a razor blade. He received multiple wounds to his body, and his head was allegedly banged against the cell wall or the metal fence.

However, officials from the MCS had denied that any “sharp objects” were used in the assault when asked by MPs at the oversight committee meeting.

The source meanwhile said that the hospitalised inmate was “very skinny” and “very weak.”

“After the attack the prison officers had to wrap him inside a mat to carry him outside due to bleeding, his head was smashed,” he said.

“The inmates have to shake the metal fences to alert the prison officers if anything is happening otherwise they will pretend they did not hear,’’ he said.

“If one cell starts shaking the fences all the other cells will start shaking the metal fence.’’

MCS report

According to the one-page MCS report, on February 24, Prison Corporal Mohamed Mujthaba, the ranking duty officer at the time of the incident, was informed by guards of unrest in cell number 12 of unit three, wing one, at about 5:25pm.

Mujthaba questioned the prisoners and was asked by two of the three inmates in cell 12 – Ali Ashwan of Ma. Oasis Villa and Azar – to be transferred to a different cell.

“However, when [the inmates] were asked to explain the reason for wanting to change cells, they refused to do so until they were taken out of the cell,” the report revealed.

At about 6:00pm, the report stated, instructions were given to transfer the inmates, but the third inmate in cell 12 – Ahmed Liushan, also from Ma. Oasis Villa – obstructed prison guards who attempted to take the other inmates out of the cell.

At about 6:50pm, Mujthaba and Emergency Support Group officers made their way to the cell upon hearing a commotion from the unit, finding the “severely beaten” Azar inside.

Negligence in the prison was also reported to have led to violence in December 2010 after inmates attempted to inform prison officers of the illness of a cell-bound inmate.

After officers failed to respond to pleas from inmates, prisoners reportedly shook the bars to gain the attention of officers – who were subsequently alleged to have beaten the inmates causing the disturbance.

“Nobody cares for the inmates, only some politicians speak about it, but only for political purposes and not with the intention of correcting anything,” said a source close to the incident at the time.

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EC dismissals: President pledges to abide by court ruling, criticises MDP boycott talk

President Abdulla Yameen has said the government will ensure that rule of law prevails, and that executive will respect and abide by Supreme Court rulings.

“God willing, my government will definitely uphold the rule of law. All entities of my government will abide by the Supreme Court ruling,” Yameen said last night.

Speaking at the campaign launching ceremony of ruling Progressive Party of Maldives’ (PPM) VilliMalé constituency candidate Ahmed Nihan, Yameen stated that it was not acceptable practice in “civilised societies” for other institutions to criticise decisions made by the Supreme Court.

However, when Nihan himself was asked about the courts decision on Sunday evening, the MP expressed his reluctance to make any comment.

“I would have to really think twice before I go ahead and say anything about the Supreme Court,” he said. “The Supreme Court may think that it’s a contempt of law if I said anything.”

Announcing that the President’s Office had called for applications to the vacant posts in the Elections Commission (EC), Yameen reiterated the government’s stand that it would complete all necessary preparations to hold the Majlis elections on March 22 as stipulated by the apex court’s ruling.

“We are working to ensure that we have some names by 3pm on Thursday. God willing, we will complete the work tasked to us by the Supreme Court within the six days they have assigned to us,” he continued.

Yameen stated that his government would not question verdicts released by the Supreme Court and that his administration had complete respect for the judges on the bench.

However, the president did admit that judicial reform must be discussed, adding that “this includes the issue of delays in case completion. Even MDP [opposition Maldivian Democratic Party] members will accept that there are some cases that have been halted midway.”

“Even President Nasheed himself will believe that there are certain cases which do not proceed at all in our judiciary,” said Yameen.

“You can’t achieve results by playing the game off the field”: Yameen

President Yameen further stated that he finds the tendency of first world countries to “interfere” in internal matters of small countries in a manner that contradicts “the lessons in governance that they continue to deliver” to be highly concerning.

“I have even previously stated when I was working in the presidential campaign that in our administration, we will maintain the independence and sovereignty of deciding on our internal affairs in Maldivian hands. God willing, our government will achieve that,” he stated.

Referring to the opposition party’s consideration of boycotting the upcoming parliamentary elections, Yameen argued that “you can’t achieve results by playing the game off the field”.

He called on the MDP members to participate in the elections and join the parliament if they wanted to bring reforms, especially to the judiciary.

“I want to say to all MDP members that the Maldives is a country belonging to every one of us. This is not particularly Adhaalath Party’s Maldives. Nor is it specifically PPM’s Maldives. Nor is it Jumhooree Party’s Maldives. And especially, this is not just the MDP’s Maldives. This country belongs to all of us,” Yameen stated.

He stated that the MDP should not resort to boycotting the elections, and must come out and vote. He added that it is crucial in a modern society to demonstrate via parliament how one should act when power begins from the people.

“Depriving membership for themselves from an institution elected for a five year term – depriving their members from their right to have their feelings expressed – this is not a manner in which a political party would act in a modern environment,” the president said.

Meanwhile, the MDP held a meeting of its National Council yesterday night with the intention of deciding whether or not to boycott the approaching polls.

While the meeting was closed to media, some local news outlets were able to report proceedings.

According to local media, two proposals were made at the meeting – former President Nasheed proposed boycotting the upcoming elections and protest the Supreme Court’s decision, while another unnamed member is said to have proposed that the party protest but that it still participate in the election.

The meeting was brought to a halt by Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik citing differences of opinion, with a follow up meeting to be scheduled in the near future.

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IUCN holding a free seminar on sustainable manta tourism

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature Maldives is holding a seminar to inform local residents about sustainable practises in “manta tourism” in the Maldives.

The free public seminar will be held on this Saturday (March 15), from 10:00 – 12:00 at the Faculty of Education Auditorium, Ameenee Building, Malé.

Based on surveys of experienced divers and tourists, the manta-related touristic activity is estimated to be worth about US$8.1 million per year in direct revenue.

There is a concern, however, that the large numbers of tourists flocking to popular manta sites could be having a negative impact on manta numbers.

The seminar will discuss different options for developing a responsible ‘manta Tourism’ and will describe some best practices to follow while viewing mantas because preventing disturbances will help keep a healthy population of rays in the Maldives.

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EC dismissals: Majlis says commissioners’ removal was unconstitutional

The People’s Majlis has written to the chief justice and the attorney general, stating that the president and vice president of the Election Commission (EC) were removed contrary to the constitutional procedures governing their appointment and dismissal.

The letter – signed by Speaker Abdulla Shahid and Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim – also noted that the move contravened the Elections Commission Act.

According to Majlis, the content of the letter was based on legal advice of parliament’s counsel general after her analysis of the Supreme Court’s verdict.

The Supreme Court yesterday sentenced EC President Fuwad Thowfeek to six months imprisonment under Article 88(a) of the penal code, and ordered the enforcement of the sentence be delayed for a period of three years.

The verdict also declared that Fuwad and Vice President Ahmed Fayaz had “lost the right and legal status to remain members of the commission and that the pair’s seats on the commission have become vacant”.

The letter stated that it was the People’s Majlis which is tasked with the appointment and removal of EC members, and that for any given reason a member of that commission can only be removed by a simple majority of votes in a parliament sitting as “clearly stated” in Article 177 of the constitution and Article 14 of the Elections Commission Act.

“Referring to the said article of the constitution and the elections commission act, it is clear that the authority to appoint and remove member from that commission is especially reserved for the People’s Majlis without the involvement of any other party.”

The letter also said that the removal of the pair by the Supreme Court contravenes the procedures specified in Article 177 of the constitution and Articles 5, 10, and 14 of the EC Act.

The letter referred to a number of statements from the Supreme Court’s verdict nullifying parliament’s removal of Mohamed Fahmy Hassan from the Civil Service Commission (CSC) in March last year.

The Majlis today noted that the constitutional procedures for removing EC members and CSC members were the same, saying that the court’s previous ruling had said the following:

“It is clear from the letter of the constitution that the constitution does not allow any of the three powers of the state to carry out the constitutional jurisdiction or functions of another, and that it is clearly stated that the system of separation of powers, and check and balance established between three powers by constitution is an principal feature of the constitutional system and the constitution of the Maldives.”

Referring to the same verdict, the letter said that the court had stated that “all powers of the state should fulfil their jurisdictions and functions within the constitutional limits set for that power by the constitution”.

The same ruling also stated that constitutional procedures regarding independent institutions are there to ensure their independence. In this regard, the verdict noted that tasking the executive with appointment, the parliament with removal and accountability, and the chief justice with oath taking are also check and balance procedures established under the constitutional principle of separation of powers.

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MWSC contracted to establish water and sewerage systems in three islands

The Ministry of Environment has on Monday contracted the state enterprise Maldives Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC) to build water and sewerage systems in three islands –  Mulah and Dhiggaru in Meemu Atoll and Maamigili in Alif Dhaalu Atoll.

The Environment Ministry stated that the main objective behind contracting the work to MWSC was to bring down the expenses that the state will need to spend on the projects, stating that the move saved 20 percent of the total cost.

The ministry further stated that physical work on the projects is expected to begin within a week from today.

MWSC stated that they have planned to complete the work in a period of 18 months. They further revealed that a total of MVR140 million (US$9 million) is estimated to be spent on the project.

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Criminal Court orders police to present Zaki and Siyam to hearing

The Criminal Court has released an order on Sunday asking the police to keep government coalition partner Maldivian Development Alliance leader and owner of Sun Travels Ahmed Siyam and Nasheed administration’s Special Envoy Ibrahim Hussain Zaki in police custody and to present them to court hearings.

The order was released as the court has been unable to deliver the summons for the hearings to the two individuals.

Siyam is being summoned to court regarding a case where customs discovered he had tried to bring in a bottle of alcohol in his luggage to the Maldives in March 2012.

Zaki is being tried for a case against him for possessing drugs and alcohol during a police raid of the island of Hondaidhoo in November 2012 where he and a number of others, including MDP parliament members Abdulla Jabir and Hamid Abdul Ghafoor were arrested.

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Economic Council to decide on how to proceed with TATA flats

Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Dr Mohamed Muizzu has stated on Monday that a decision on how to proceed with the flats constructed by Indian construction Company TATA can be made only after the Economic Council deliberates and decides on the matter.

The minister stated that it had been noticed that no physical work had been constructed at the site of the flats since the structure had been built. He said that the government has already held discussions with the subcontractor after work was halted.

“At the time, the concerns they raised had to do with agreements and amendments made to agreements before we started leading the ministry during the Waheed administration,” Muizzu is quoted as saying in local media.

“As the matters were raised outside the agreed contract, and the whole concept is a developer finance concept project, we were unable to accommodate their requests and we left it at that then.”

According to Muizzu, the current delays are due to the government’s refusal to conduct any work outside of the agreement.

“It is when the Economic Council decides on the manner that we will know how to proceed. We have even been deliberating with the Indian High Commission about the matter of work on these flats being halted,” he stated.

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