Tag: maldives

Opposition allege corruption in Thilafushi port deal

The opposition has alleged corruption in a new government deal with a Dubai-based marine terminal operator to establish a commercial port and free trade zone near Malé.

Opposition members have criticised the deal over an apparent lack of transparency, noting the government had signed an MoU with Dubai Ports (DP) World last month without an open bidding process.

DP World, among the world’s largest ports operators, is expected to invest up to US$300 million in a deep-water complex on the industrial island of Thilafushi, and create hundreds of jobs for Maldivians according to the government.

Tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb said the government will sign an agreement for a joint-venture company with DP World this month.

Former MP and MDP member Visam Ali said DP World was only interested in the Maldives to protect its multi-billion dollar port in India’s Cochin.

“Dubai World has already made a huge investment in the Maldives region. There are three main ports in this region, Colombo, Tutticorin and Cochin. Dubai World has made a US$2billion investment in the Cochin port, to handle a million containers at the same time,” she said at a rally in Kulhudhuffushi this weekend.

“Their only reason to invest in the Maldives is to protect that investment, because if there is a major port in the Maldives their investment in the Cochin port will fail. Maldives’ strategic location will make a port here more beneficial to traders. So Dubai World knows if there is a major port in the Maldives, their Cochin port will not be economically viable. So they are attempting to take control of the Maldives port. There is black money in this.”

Adeeb and DP World were unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.

Meanwhile, London-based maritime analysts Drewry Equity have characterised DP World’s interest in the Maldives as an attempt to take on Colombo’s position in the Indian Ocean, as the Maldives is “more strategically ideal as a cross-road between Far East-Europe and Far East-Africa trade lanes than the Colombo port.”

However, a Maldives port may “cannibalise” transshipment volume at DP World’s main port at Jebel Ali, Drewry said, adding that the best strategy for the company would be to operate the Maldives port as a low margin facility, possibly in partnership with a shipping line.

The maritime research organisation also said Maldives as a transshipment hub “is a digression from DP World’s core strategy of handling higher gateway cargoes, which allows for higher margins.”

Ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives MP Ahmed Nihan last week said the port was a first step in transforming the country into Singapore.

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Sniffer dog locates 300 grams of heroin in first raid

A sniffer dog has located 300 grams of heroin in the Maldives’ first drug raid involving dogs.

The police, with the dog’s help, managed to recover two packets of what they say was a major stash of drugs at a private residence in Malé on Saturday night, after suspects flushed an unknown quantity of illegal drugs down the toilet.

Superintendent of police Ahmed Shifan said the drug bust was “a major green light that sniffer dogs can help resolve the Maldives’ drug problem.”

Police estimate the street value of confiscated heroin at MVR600,000 (US$39,063). A 26-year-old from Gaaf Dhaal Thinadhoo was arrested from Carnation Lodge.

Dogs are illegal in the Maldives for religious reasons, but home minister Umar Naseer last month brought in 16 puppies from the Netherlands to tackle the Maldives’ entrenched drug abuse and trafficking problem.

Local media reported a woman at the scene fainted on seeing the dog, but police say they believe the woman had fainted after seeing the narcotics at her home.

“These are false reports, we believe she fainted after the drugs were discovered, not because she saw the dogs,” Shifan said.

He said the police will not use the dogs to incite fear among the public.

The dog squad reportedly cost the government US$40,000. Custom-made kennels have been established at the airport, and the government has brought in British and Dutch trainers to train police officers on working with the dogs.

Naseer has meanwhile tasked the language academy with naming the 16 puppies. The academy last month invented a new Dhivehi word for the dog squad, ‘faaregema.’

Police were only authorised to use sniffer dogs in operations on Thursday. Shifan said the dogs will also be used to detect counterfeit money.

Last year, the police confiscated 44 kilograms of drugs in 31 nation-wide operations.

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Opposition’s claim of leadership rift angers Gayoom

Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has urged the opposition not to make political statements on his behalf.

The appeal comes after the opposition Maldivians Against Brutality coalition claimed the president of 30 years is unhappy with his half-brother President Abdulla Yameen’s administration.

“Everyone kindly refrain from making political statements on my behalf. I am capable of expressing my views,” the leader of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) tweeted last night.

Gayoom remains popular despite his defeat in the Maldives’ first multi-party polls in 2008.

Rumours of rifts within the PPM have increased since the imprisonment of PPM MP Ahmed Nazim and ex defence minister Mohamed Nazim, and MP Ahmed Mahloof’s acrimonious split from the party.

The opposition coalition, made up of the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, religious conservative Adhaalath Party, members of Nazim’s family and leadership figures of the Jumhooree Party, have been protesting against what they call president Yameen’s attempts to silence dissent.

Speaking at an opposition rally on the island of Kulhudhuffushi on Saturday night, Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla said: “President Maumoon is with us.”

Gayoom found the conviction and sentencing of PPM MP Ahmed Nazim on corruption charges “unacceptable,” he alleged.

Nazim, formerly a close associate of president Yameen, now appears to have fallen out of favour with the current administration. Tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb blamed Nazim last year for a damning report implicating him in a US$6 million corruption scandal.

Gayoom, however, said Nazim’s “service” to the PPM, the parliament, and President Yameen’s campaign should be valued and appreciated.

“However, we should all abide by and accept court verdicts so I don’t want to say anything about that. Even if Ahmed Nazim had to give up his People’s Majlis seat after such a verdict, we should all acknowledge his service to the People’s Majlis,” he said at a PPM rally on Thursday night.

After Gayoom’s speech, president Yameen reportedly left the rally before it ended, fuelling speculation of a rift between the brothers. But the president’s office spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali said the president had to leave on an emergency and was not scheduled to speak.

Gayoom told reporters last month that there was no friction between himself and the president.

He also dismissed claims by Imran that he was a victim of the government’s “brutality.”

“Things are going very well with the party working together with the government. There is no discontent at all,” he said.

He suggested that the opposition was using his name for their political purposes.

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Ex-defence minister appeals weapons smuggling sentence

Former defence minister Mohamed Nazim has appealed an 11-year jail term on weapons smuggling at the high court today.

Nazim’s defence team said the criminal court had failed to provide a required report into court proceedings by the 2pm appeal deadline today.

The US and UK have criticised Nazim’s trial for apparent lack of due process, and the opposition has been protesting daily for his release.

Nazim’s lawyers said the criminal court’s failure to provide the case report “hampered” his right to appeal and that the new 10-day appeal deadline was too short to file an appeal. The Supreme Court had shortened the 90 day appeal period to 10 days in January.

The retired colonel is currently in Singapore seeking emergency medical treatment unavailable in the Maldives. He left Malé on Friday with his wife.

“Nazim said to let the public know he will not flee and will return as soon as his treatment is completed,” a family member said.

Although inmates are usually allotted three months for overseas treatment, Nazim was only given 45 days. The home ministry authorised him to travel to Singapore only, despite the family saying Singapore was too expensive for medical care.

The inmate’s families are usually required to bear expenses for overseas medical treatment.

After a midnight police raid in January, officers said they had confiscated a pistol, bullets and a pen drive containing information that Nazim was plotting a coup d’etat and planning to harm the president, police commissioner and tourism minister. Nazim says the items were planted.

He requested permission to travel overseas three weeks ago after his doctor advised him to undergo some tests unavailable in the Maldives.

The family has declined to reveal details of Nazim’s medical condition, but said it needs to be monitored and treated.

No prison guards will travel with him, but the correctional service and a guardian from the family will come to an agreement under which the guardian will be responsible for the inmate.

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MP Mahloof released after winning protest ban appeal

Independent MP Ahmed Mahloof was released from police custody today, after the high court overturned an ‘unconstitutional’ 15-day detention order and protest ban.

Mahloof was arrested from an opposition protest on March 26 for crossing a police barricade, but since then the criminal court repeatedly re-detained him when he refused to accept a conditional release that would require him to stay away from protests for 30 days.

“The High Court said Mahloof can only be held in custody if there is reason to believe he may flee or fail to attend court hearings. Judges said attending protests is not a reason for detention,” lawyers said.

Mahloof, a close associate of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, was expelled from the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) in February after he publicly criticised President Abdulla Yameen and the government.

He is now part of the Alliance against Brutality, an anti-government coalition, which has been protesting daily over the imprisonment of rival politicians including former president Mohamed Nasheed.

Speaking to the press today, Mahloof apologised for campaigning to bring president Yameen to power.

“I would like to apologise to the people of Maldives for helping such a brutal ruler assume power,” he said.

Human rights group Madivian Democracy Network said the criminal court had released at least 50 protesters on the condition they do not participate in further protests for 30-60 days.

Former president of the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Dr Ibrahim Didi was arrested and held for 15 days last month when he was seen at an opposition protest after having agreed to the criminal court’s conditional release.

Dr Didi was released yesterday.

Earlier in March, MDP MP Fayyaz Ismail was held for 15 days when he too refused the criminal court’s conditional release.

MDP MP Eva Abdulla today called on opposition supporters to disobey unlawful court rulings, and urged the watchdog judicial services commission (JSC) to punish “unqualified judges.”

“What we have here are judges who do not know democracy dispensing unconstitutional sentences. But the checks and balances provided in our constitution is simply not working. The JSC refuses to investigate the judges, and the parliament controlled by the government refuses to hold the JSC accountable. Ultimately, the people are denied any form of justice,” she said.

Last week, the police denied family visits to Mahloof after they discovered “illegal” areca nuts in his pocket.

Mahloof today accused the police of discrimination, saying his lawyers were only allowed to see him before 6pm, while others could see their clients until 11pm.

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Comment: ‘It’s not political’

Mohamed Nasheed, opposition leader and former President, was jailed for 13 years on charges of terrorism for an act that does not fit into any of the over 300 definitions of terrorism that currently exist across the world. One of the five co-defendants in the case, Moosa Jaleel, the current Defence Minister and Nasheed’s Chief of Staff at the time of the said act of ‘terrorism’, was cleared of the same charge yesterday. For Nasheed, the conviction came because he could not prove he was innocent. For Jaleel, the acquittal came because the prosecution could not prove he was guilty. Neither of the verdicts, according to the government, was political.

Rtd Col Mohamed Nazim, Defence Minister until charged with conspiracy to overthrow the government in February 2015, was found guilty of a lesser charge of smuggling weapons into the country. The evidence against Nazim could not have been any more frivolous or, frankly, any more ludicrous. Allegedly, he was planning to shoot and kill Yameen, his right-hand man Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb, and a few others in the current government. He laid out detailed plans of how to do it and supposedly saved them on a pen-drive. More sophisticated event planning can be found in a primary school exercise book. Nazim’s legal team pointed 12 gaping holes in the evidence against him. Yet, he was pronounced guilty and jailed for 11 years. Nothing political about it, maintained the government.

Next came Mohamed Nazim, MP for Dhiggaru area, and, until Ahmed Adeeb weighed into the relationship, Yameen’s closest political ally and partner in all businesses above and below board. Yameen and Nazim went way back, even founded a political party together – People’s Alliance – which later merged with Gayoom’s PPM. Adeeb’s presence somehow muddied the waters between the friends and, before Nazim could say ‘jangiya’, he had been sentenced to 25 years (life) in prison for corruption worth 1.4 million Rufiyaa. The fraud was committed when Nazim was working in the Atolls Ministry back in 2004. When things were good between Yameen and Nazim, the same courts had said about the same allegations that ‘Nazim had no charges to answer.’ But now, out of favour with Yameen, not only were the charges worth answering, they were also worth life imprisonment. Meanwhile Adeeb, who is basking in the sunshine of Yameen’s approval, can happily ignore allegations of corruption worth millions of US dollars. Not only that, the Auditor General who dared expose the allegations, was removed from his positionand a more ‘friendly’ figure put in his place so Adeeb does not have to put up with listening to such ‘drivel’ against him. On top of it all, news came yesterday that theTourism Ministry is to have ‘extended powers’. ‘It’s not political’, says the government.

Meanwhile, life keeps getting harder to live on the islands of Maldives. Taxes have gone up, along with living expenses. Salaries, however, remain as low as ever. While each tourist who arrives in the Maldives – and according to Tourism Ministry figures there were over a 100,000 in February alone – spends an average US$350 a day, the average monthly salary of a civil servant remains below that amount. While the price of fuel has gone down dramatically across the world, electricity bills have become impossible for people to pay. Not only are the bills remaining as high as ever, the government is also cutting subsidies which made it possible for people to pay them in the first place. ‘Don’t make this political’, says the government.

Amidst all this came the news that the President’s Office has given each of the five Supreme Court judges, along with the president of the Anti-Corruption Commission, newly built apartments in Male’ at a discounted rate. Land is the most precious commodity in the Maldives, especially in and around Male’. Decades of centralisation has meant all essential services such as healthcare and education are only available in the capital city with even a modicum of satisfaction. People are desperate for housing in the area – the apartments in Male’ are meant as some sort of a solution for this problem. Yet, instead of the desperate, they are given to the already flush. ‘It’s to protect their integrity’, said Adeeb, speaking for the President’s Office. ‘It’s not political.’

While coping with the hardships of surviving in the messed up economy, half the country is out on the streets attempting to save, through peaceful civil resistance, the last remaining vestiges of democracy. The government has responded by describing civil and political rights enshrined in the 2008 democratic Constitution as ‘loopholes’ through which people are abusing the ruling party. Laws will be made to close them holes, it has said. So the authorities first moved to ban protesting in certain areas, then at certain times, then at certain decibels and, most recently, without prior permission of the police.

The police have taken into custody close to 200 people in less than a month, and the courts have taken to imposing unconstitutional conditions on their release, demanding that they don’t protest for days, weeks or even months, if they want to remain free citizens. Those who defy the bans are locked up, deprived of basic rights and even abused psychologically and physically. Opposition parliamentarians are often the victims. Most recently, MP Ahmed Mahloof defied the conditional ban on protests only to see his wife being physically, and she alleges sexually, abused by a group of policemen as he was hauled away to detention without charge for an undefined length of time. ‘Don’t make this political’, says the government. ‘It’s rule of law’.

To prove that ‘it’s not political’, the government continues to behave as if none of these events are taking place. It has announced plans to prettify Male’ with flowers all over the city; the Clock Roundabout is to get a new clock; one part of the land-sparse Male’ is to be turned into a show area of ‘what it used to be like’; buildings are to be painted; and a dozen or so Maldivians are to sky-dive into the national stadium in a grandiose gesture. Meanwhile, a travelling band of PPM activists are to tour the country setting off fireworks on various islands, when they are not travelling to award air-conditioners and other bribes ahead of by-election votes, that is.

Of course, none of this is political. These are not attempts to pretend that everything is fine. These are not attempts to show that only a few dozen mad people are out protesting, trying to upset the smooth running of a democratically elected, benevolent government which is only trying to do best by its people.

Of course not. All these activities are to celebrate 50 years of independence. Independence? Where is the freedom? you ask. Oh, don’t get political.

This article first appeared on Dhivehisitee.com. Republished with permission. 

Azra Naseem is a former journalist who now works as a Research fellow in Dublin City University. 

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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Government to invite bids for Thilafushi waste processing

The government says it will invite bids next month to separate waste on the “rubbish island” of Thilafushi in the latest attempt to solve the Maldives’ biggest environmental blight.

Tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb, who heads the Economic Council, said he hoped waste separation services would be in place by the end of the year, while a second phase of the project will involve green energy generation from the waste.

“The dumping site will be converted to an environmentally friendly incineration site,” he said.

The changes are to be financed by a new US $6-per-tourist “green tax” introduced in this year’s budget, Adeeb said.

The plan is the latest in a series of attempts to take control of the waste problem at Thilafushi, where garbage from the capital, Male’, and from many resorts is sent.

More than 200,000 tons of industrial and domestic waste were sent to Thilafushi in 2013, the most recent year for which statistics are available, according to government figures.

While some of the waste is sorted and sent to India, most is simply used as landfill or burned. Campaign groups have highlighted the risks to workers from toxic fumes and the contamination of surrounding lagoons by floating garbage.

The former Maldivian Democratic Party-led government had signed a contract with India-based Tatva Global Renewable Energy in 2011 to provide waste management services in and around Male, including establishing a system to generate power from recycling waste.

However, the current government of President Abdulla Yameen cancelled that deal late last year, having previously sought to renegotiate it on “more mutually beneficial” terms.

Environmentalists have questioned whether the political will exists to transform Thilafushi.

“So far, they’ve been trying for 20 years and it’s only getting worse,” said Maeed Zahir, founder of the environmental NGO Ecocare.

The government has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Emirati company Dubai Ports World for development of a new commercial port at Thilafushi, to be built within two years.

 

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Opposition calls for tourism minister asset freeze

The opposition coalition has called for the tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb to face an asset freeze and an investigation over allegations of corruption and bribery.

Defectors from the ruling coalition have in recent weeks accused Adeeb of a series of offences, including using rogue police officers to frame the former defence minister, employing gangs to harass opponents and buying gifts for the First Lady with ill-gotten money.

But Adeeb has dismissed the allegations as defamation. He denies giving first lady Fathimath Ibrahim a car, saying she bought it with her own money.

He was unavailable for further comment at the time of going to press.

Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla claimed Adeeb was in debt when he first assumed the tourism portfolio in 2012, but was now capable of distributing US$100,000 gifts such as a diamond ring for the first lady.

Addressing Adeeb at the opposition’s daily protest on Monday, Imran said: “You, more than all Maldivians, know you cannot buy all these gifts with your ministerial salary.”

He said individuals seeking an appointment with the tourism minister were asked to pay thousands of dollars, and alleged that Adeeb was taking millions of dollars under the table from investors interested in doing business in the Maldives.

Adeeb’s corruption will “very soon isolate you, make you destitute, without anyone to care for you,” Imran warned.

In response, Adeeb said in a tweet: “It’s funny that anyone who has uttered filth to President Nasheed & MDP in past, now need to shout my name to get MDP’s acceptance and support.”

The Adhaalath Party, which played a key role in president Mohamed Nasheed’s ouster in 2012, allied with his Maldivian Democratic Party after charges of smuggling weapons were brought against former Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim.

Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in jail on terrorism while Nazim was sentenced to 11 years in jail last week.

The Maldivians Against Brutality coalition – made up of Adhaalath, MDP, members of the Jumhooree Party (JP) and members of Nazim’s family – today alleged corruption by the government relating to a recent deal to build a new commercial port in the Malé area.

The opposition would not accept such deals, Sheikh Imran said.

MDP chairperson Ali Waheed said the party has conducted a study of the “economic crimes” involved in Thilafushi, and south central Faafu and Dhaalu atolls.

Supporting an asset freeze, MDP spokesperson Imthiyaz Fahmy said Adeeb had hijacked the state’s watchdog institutions to ensure they would not investigate his corruption.

Former auditor general Niyaz Ibrahim was sacked by the PPM after he released a damning report implicating Adeeb in US$6million of corrupt transactions, Fahmy noted.

In the report, Adeeb is accused of funneling money from state companies to a company owned by his family and pocketing money paid by an Italian investor for a resort lease.

In Niyaz’s stead, the PPM appointed a family member of an individual implicated along with Adeeb by the report.

Adeeb at the time dismissed the report as baseless and said Niyaz had been influenced by PPM MP Ahmed Nazim, who he claimed had a personal grudge against him, to write the report.

Nazim was sentenced to life in jail last week over corruption charges in a case dating from 2004.

Fahmy said the government had tied up the hands of judges, the prosecutor general and anti-corruption watchdog by awarding them discounted flats in a luxury apartment complex.

President of the Anti Corruption Commission Hassan Luthfee is now residing in the Rehendhi flats.

When asked if the ACC is investigating any cases involving the tourism minister, the body’s vice president Muaviz Rasheed said it does not comment on specific individuals.

The Auditor General’s Office was not responding to queries at the time of going to press.

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Opposition to field single candidate for vacant Majlis seat

The opposition coalition is holding talks to field a single candidate for a vacant parliament seat after the incumbent MP was sentenced to life in jail on corruption charges.

The Elections Commission has scheduled the by-election for the Dhiggaru constituency for June 13. The call for applications will be open from April 15 – 25.

Though the “Maldivians Against Brutality” coalition is made up of parties with vastly different ideologies, they are confident of fielding a single candidate against the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).

Former PPM partners, the Adhaalath Party and the Jumhooree Party, allied with the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party following what they called a government crackdown on opposition politicians including former President Mohamed Nasheed and former defence minister Mohamed Nazim.

The two were sentenced last month to 13 years and 11 years in jail for terrorism and weapons smuggling, respectively.

Meanwhile, JP leader Gasim Ibrahim is facing a US$100million fine that may bankrupt his Villa Group.

Adhaalath spokesperson Ali Zahir and a PPM councilor for of Meemu atoll council Moosa Naseer have expressed interest in standing for the vacant seat.

The former Dhiggaru MP Ahmed Nazim lost his seat on Monday after the Supreme Court convicted him of defrauding the former atolls ministry.

Ex-MP Nazim, a former deputy speaker of the Peoples Majlis was convicted of defrauding the state of MVR 1.4 million (US $91,400) by submitting bids on behalf of non-existent companies to supply 15,000 national flags to the now-defunct atolls ministry.

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