Tag: maldives

Police ‘arrest’ MDP petition table

The police today confiscated a table set up by the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party to gather signatures for a petition to free jailed former president Mohamed Nasheed, claiming the furniture obstructed pedestrians and traffic.

The move sparked outrage and a flood of mockery on social media, with some calling for a new petition to free the table, while others questioned the police response to rising violence in Malé City, which has seen four murders in two months and continued stabbings.

A 32-year-old man was knifed in the capital last night, police said. Local media reported that he was not seriously injured.

The removal of the table comes as authorities crack down on opposition activities including anti-government protests. It also apparently fell foul of a power struggle between the housing ministry and opposition-dominated Malé City Council over who can grant permission for the use of public spaces.

One social media user, @sofwath, said: “Stop brutalizing the table. Free the table now!”

The MDP continued collecting signatures outside its offices on Malé’s Sosunmagu, despite the confiscation of the table. The petition urges President Abdulla Yameen to free Nasheed, who was sentenced last month to 13 years in jail on terrorism charges.

Translation: the collection of signatures on the petition has resumed at the MDP’s office.

A police media official said that the MDP had not sought the required permission from the housing ministry to set up tables on the pavement.

The housing ministry last year announced that it had the power to approve use of public land and roads in the capital, in an apparent removal of these powers from Malé city council.

But Malé City councillor Shamau Shareef said he did not recognise the housing ministry’s authority in this area, as its regulations usurped the opposition-dominated city council’s powers under the Decentralisation Act.

Several prominent individuals, including former president of the Elections Commission Fuwad Thowfeek and former environment minister Ahmed Abdulla, have now signed the petition.

The opposition Alliance Against Brutality last week brought in a power generator for a mass gathering at the Artificial Beach when the state-run electricity company refused to allow them to pay for the use of power lines.

STELCO reportedly said it could only power housing ministry approved events.

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Maldivian fishing vessel catches fire

A boat belonging to Maldivian fisheries company Mifco has caught fire while undergoing repairs at a Sri Lankan dockyard.

Adli Ismail, managing director of the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (Mifco), said the cause of the fire in the boat’s insulation has not yet been identified, according to Haveeru.

Colombo firefighters were able to bring the fire under control within an hour.

“There was no structural damage to the boat. However, I really think we will need to replace the insulation,” said Adli.

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Divers plan underwater protest for Nasheed release

One hundred divers will wave flags underwater in protest against the jailing of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed on Saturday.

The dive, entitled “Free Climate Hero”, will take place near the West Park Cafe area of the capital on Saturday from 4pm to 6pm.

“You will see flags coming out of the water,” said said Hussein Latheef, a lead organiser of the event, according to Haveeru.

The dive protest is the latest in a series of events aiming to lobby for Nasheed’s release since he was jailed for 13 years on terrorism charges last month.

During his presidency, from 2008 to 2012, Nasheed was an active climate campaigner, highlighting the plight of the Maldives as a small island state vulnerable to rising sea levels.

In 2009 his cabinet made headlines by holding an underwater cabinet meeting calling for global cuts in carbon emissions.

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Ruling party wins Alifushi by-election amid bribery claims

The  ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) has won a council by-election in Raa atoll Alifushi amid accusations of vote-buying and a high-profile handout of air-conditioners to the local school.

PPM candidate Aminath Ali won 685 votes at the by-election held on Saturday, while Ali Hameed, the candidate from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), received 490 votes of a total 1175 valid votes cast.

However, the MDP said it had not been a fair fight, as members of the PPM had donated air-conditioners and cash to the island school shortly before the vote. They also alleged that vote-buying had taken place.

The MP for Alifushi constituency, Mohamed “Bigey” Rasheed Hussein, told Minivan News: “PPM did not campaign. They bought votes and used tactics of anti-campaigning.”

A government delegation that included ministers and parliamentarians visited Alifushi two weeks before the by-election and handed MVR 10,000 from First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim to the island school, while presenting the donation of air-conditioners.

Asked about the air-con systems, Ahmed Nihan, leader of the PPM parliamentary group, said: “The ACs were gifts from Abdul Raheem Abdulla [vice president of the PPM].”

“Members giving out gifts is not intended for corruption or to influence the election,” he added.

Nihan said that MPs being socially involved and helping citizens did not constitute a reason to accuse them of corruption, and denied any connection with the vote.

The PPM’s election win in an opposition stronghold parliamentary constituency indicated the growing support for the government, despite the recent coalition between MDP and former PPM allies, the religious conservative Adhaalath Party and Jumhooree Party.

“This is a government win over the MDP, Adhaalath Party and the Jumhooree Party, over all opposition parties. We are very proud since we won this election at a time when all of these parties were on the island campaigning against us,” PPM deputy leader and tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb said.

A landmark study by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) found last year that more than one in three Maldivians were offered bribes for their votes or witnessed vote buying in the March 2014 parliamentary polls.

It said vote buying in the Maldives had assumed “alarming proportions”.

Accusations also surrounded a visit by Ahmed Sulaiman, president of the elections commission, to Alifushi, with the MDP claiming he was involved in door-to-door campaigning for the PPM.

According to Rajje.mv, the elections commission said Sulaiman was at Alifushi on an official visit and that they had no knowledge of wrongdoing.

During the campaigns, the two parties traded blows over the unfulfilled promise of a sewerage system for the island, with PPM representatives blaming Rasheed, the MP, who voted against the overall government budget in parliament.

Rasheed said, however, that it was down to the government to fulfil its promise of a sewerage system. “They should work according to their word,” he said.

Rasheed said he did not believe vote-rigging could have taken place on by-election day, as observers from both parties were present at polling stations.

PPM president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who was president of the Maldives for 30 years until 2008, congratulated the PPM candidate via Twitter, saing: “Warm congratulations PPM candidate Aminath Ali on a resounding victory in Alifushi council by-election today.”

The councillor’s position on Alifushi became vacant when Abdul Latheef Abdul Raheem, also with the PPM, resigned.

PPM will be holding a firework display, its customary celebration, on Alifushi tonight.

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Businesses around Maldives protest electricity subsidy cut

Most shops, cafés and restaurants in the northern business hub of Haa Dhaal Kulhuduhfushi were closed in protest over electricity subsidy cuts on Sunday as anger builds among companies around the Maldives over steep rises in power bills.

Businessmen demonstrated in Addu City in the south, while others in Gaaf Dhaal Thinadhoo are preparing to boycott paying their bills, which in some cases tripled overnight when the subsidy was removed.

In Kulhuduhfushi, more than 100 shops and restaurants will be closed until 8pm Sunday in protest over “unfair electricity rates” and subsidy cuts, while more than 100 people have been protesting outside the office of electricity company Fenaka since this morning.

Shops would normally open from the early morning until 10pm.

“We will continue to raise our voice till the government is ready to listen to us,” said Adam Shareef, a member of the steering committee on electricity subsidy cuts in the island.

“We will continue our protest outside the electricity company till the government responds, but the shops will reopen tonight.”

The government has removed electricity subsidies to companies from last month onwards, while domestic households have been told to reapply for subsidies before April 9.

Businesses in Kulhuduhfushi, Addu and Thinadhoo have condemned the subsidy cuts and are also angry about the high price of electricity in the atolls compared with the capital, Male’ City.

Only a few shops were open in Kulhuduhfushi today, including the two state owned shops run by State Trading Organization and the businesses of Mohamed Zuhair, a well-known businessman in the atoll.

“I do support the cause and I think the differences in electricity prices are a gross discrimination between the peoples of the atolls and the people of Male’ City,” said Zuhair, also a member of the steering committee.

“But closing down all the shops without giving due warning to the public will not benefit them. That’s why all of my shops are open.”

Zuhair said one of his shops had previously received monthly bills of MRV 23,000 ($1,500) and these have now shot up to 60,000, while another store’s bill tripled from MVR 7,000 to MVR 21,000.

The difference in electricity prices between Male’ and the atolls is an issue of big public concern.

Prices in Haa Alif, Haa Dhaal, and Shaviyani atolls are 72 percent higher than in the capital, while those in Addu City and Fuvahmulak are up to 37 per cent higher than in Male’ city, according to figures from Fenaka Corporation, which provides electricity for most islands in the Maldives.

Mohamed Ismail, a local from Kulhuduhfushi, said: “We feel like we are second class citizens. The state is providing electricity for the islands as well as Male’.

“So why should there be any difference? Are we not worthy of being treated fairly?”.

Meanwhile a group of businessmen in Addu City in the south also protested over differences in electricity prices and the subsidy cut.

“Some businesses did not accept the electricity bills and today a number of businessmen protested outside the electricity company office,” said the mayor of Addu City, Abdulla “Sobe” Soadhig.

Businesses in Gaafu Dhaalu Thinadhoo, also in the south, have decided not to pay the electricity bill until the government reinstates subsidies or prices fall.

“We are in talks with the government to find a solution to this problem. But we cannot simply wait and hope for a government response,” said Abdulla Saneef, a Thinadhoo council member.

“The steering committee, which pretty much covers all businesses, has already decided not to pay the electricity bills.”

The government has previously said that the large distances between the Maldives’ remote islands mean that services such as electricity will inevitably be more expensive in the atolls.

The International Monetary Fund has urged the government to move its subsidies to a targeted system, rather than blanket payments.

Fenaka had not responded to queries at the time of going to press, while President’s Office spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz was unavailable for comment.

The government, presenting its 2015 budget, said that it would target electricity subsidies to the poor, while rumours have been circulating on the social media that households with air conditioning systems would not receive the domestic subsidy.

However, Mujthaba Jaleel, CEO of National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) said that “every household that applies for the subsidies will get it,” according to Haveeru.

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Anti-corruption body seeks criminal offence of ‘illicit enrichment’

The anti-corruption watchdog has proposed including ‘illicit enrichment’ as a criminal offence in the new penal code to combat what is seen as endemic corruption in the public sector.

The absence of a legal framework to investigate claims against state employees and probe sources of income amounts to “completely ignoring and not criminalising one of the main acts of corruption,” the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) said.

An overwhelming majority of Maldivians believe corruption is a major problem among public officials, according to Transparency International surveys, while the opposition accuses the government of making little progress on the issue.

The watchdog on March 31 submitted 13 amendments to the Attorney General’s Office for inclusion in the penal code, which is due to come into force on April 13.

The commission said the UN Convention Against Corruption encourages the criminalisation of illicit enrichment, which is an offence in some 42 countries, including China, Argentina, Bhutan, Malaysia, and India.

The Maldives is a signatory to the convention, which defines the offence as “a significant increase in the assets of a public official that he or she cannot reasonably explain in relation to his or her lawful income.”

A penal provision for illicit enrichment would “encourage the implementation of the system for wealth declaration in its fullest sense,” the commission said.

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) spokesperson Imthiyaz Fahmy told Minivan News the party believes strengthening the asset disclosure system is important as there is no mechanism at present “to check how a person suddenly becomes rich”.

“There are ministers in this government who did not have anything when they were appointed to the cabinet but suddenly became billionaires,” he alleged.

However, the MP for Maafanu North questioned whether the government would submit the amendments to parliament.

“We don’t believe this government would do anything sincerely,” he said, adding that this was based on its record of moves such as a law barring prisoners from political party leadership, widely seen as aimed at ex-president Mohamed Nasheed.

Asset disclosure

Anti-corruption NGO Transparency Maldives suggested in December that an effective asset disclosure regime would improve public trust in state officials.

In TM’s 2013 Global Corruption Barometer Survey for the Maldives, 97 percent of respondents believed corruption was a serious problem in the public sector.

“Asset declaration generally requires a certain category of public officials – also identified as ‘politically exposed persons’ to describe individuals entrusted with prominent public functions – to disclose their financial and business interests,” TM said in a position paper.

An asset disclosure system can detect corruption, demonstrate the government’s commitment to fight corruption, and help make officials accountable, the NGO said.

The constitution requires the president, ministers, MPs, and judges to submit annual declarations to the auditor general, the People’s Majlis, and the Judicial Services Commission, respectively. However, the information is not available to the public.

While MPs annually declare property, business interests, and liabilities to the Majlis secretary-general, the financial statements are not made public.

The former auditor general told TM that a lack of punitive measures for those failing to submit information rendered the system ineffective.

TM noted that the current system does not require the submission of assets for spouses and children of public officials “which makes cases of illicit enrichment and conflicts of interest invisible and harder to detect.”

“Moreover, the disclosure of business and activities outside the jurisdiction of Maldives, and details of substantial gifts or benefits are also not a requirement in the current system,” stated the paper.

The report suggested that measures for non-compliance would also enhance public trust in democratic institutions.

“Implementing a strong asset disclosure regime would show the state’s commitment to fight corruption and would give a strong message to public servants, a message of zero tolerance to corruption,” said TM.

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Women urge drastic action from president on drugs

A women’s group campaigning against drug abuse has handed the government a petition urging President Abdulla Yameen to prioritise the Maldives’ drug crisis.

The Society for Women Against Drugs collected 359 signatures calling on the president to improve the quality of drug rehabilitation care, and to launch medical care for addicts suffering from withdrawal symptoms in police custody.

“Successive governments have attempted to address the problem of drugs, but they are not doing enough and we don’t see politicians prioritizing the issue,” said the group’s chairperson Fathimath Afiya after handing over the petition last week.

According to a 2012 UN report, there are 7,496 drug addicts in the Maldives. However, critics say the true figure is much higher.

Meanwhile, health advocacy groups have expressed concern over a high risk of HIV spreading among an unmonitored population of injecting drug users.

President Yameen in February acknowledged that changes were needed in the drug rehabilitation system, but the cabinet in March discussed mechanisms to decrease state expenditure on drug care centres.

Home Minister Umar Naseer last year pledged to prioritize drug trafficking and last month brought in a sniffer dog squad.

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Opposition anger over release of protest ‘attacker’

A 28-year-old man arrested for disrupting an opposition protest last week will be released tomorrow, sparking outrage among opposition supporters.

Mohamed Nasheed Abdulla, an activist for the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives, was arrested after protesters accused him of charging into a crowd of demonstrators on a motorcycle on April 1 in Malé. He did not cause serious injuries.

The next day the Criminal Court transferred him to house arrest for five days, which is set to expire today.

A spokesperson for the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, Imthiyaz Fahmy, condemned the criminal court’s “double standards”, noting that opposition supporters arrested at protests were frequently detained for ten to 15 days in police custody.

Unlike Abdulla, the opposition supporters are also being released on condition they stay away from protests for a set period of time.

“These people who attack us, they are the dangerous people, not elected MPs,” said Fahmy, in reference to a court’s Friday decision to hold independent MP Ahmed Mahloof in police custody for an extra 15 days.

Mahloof has been held without charge since he was first arrested from a protest on March 25.

Fahmy also accused the police of failing to take action against individuals who he says continue to attack opposition protesters and vandalise speaker systems and trucks used in protests.

Several individuals the opposition say are gangsters have been caught on camera assaulting protesters and journalists and dousing protesters with crude oil and petrol. Some protesters say they have also been threatened with knives.

The police say they have arrested several people, but that only the court has the authority to detain suspects for longer.

Meanwhile, the release of protesters on condition they stay away from demonstrations for a set period has met with criticism from legal experts and the prosecutor general.

“Releasing a person suspected of a crime with conditions other than ensuring the person’s return to the court maybe unconstitutional,” the prosecutor general wrote in a letter to the chief judge of the criminal court.

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High Court says Nasheed can still appeal

Former president Mohamed Nasheed can still appeal a 13-year terrorism conviction at the High Court despite the end of the 10-day appeal period, the court says.

However, Nasheed’s lawyers say they believe they have no legal route through which to launch an appeal, and the ex-leader’s only hope for release is a clemency procedure initiated by the president.

The legal team says Nasheed is seeking a political solution involving President Abdulla Yameen, saying he has no faith in the judicial system to treat his case fairly.

Nasheed’s conviction last month was met with outrage from the opposition, which has been holding daily protests, while his trial was heavily criticised by several international bodies.

Late appeals

High Court judges are authorized to accept a late appeal if a “reasonable justification” is given, court media official Ameen Faisal said.

These include the lower court’s failure to provide detailed reports into court proceedings on time, as had happened in Nasheed’s case.

However, a lawyer on Nasheed’s team says there is no legal avenue to file an appeal, because the Supreme Court has removed the High Court’s discretionary power to accept late appeals.

This change was made in the same January ruling that shortened a 90-day appeal period to 10 days, shortly before Nasheed’s trial.

Only President Abdulla Yameen can now resolve the impasse, Nasheed’s lawyer Ibrahim Riffath said. The president can reduce Nasheed’s sentence through special powers granted in the Clemency Act.

In January, the Supreme Court voided Article 42 of the Judicature Act which set out appeal deadlines and gave judges discretionary powers in accepting late appeals.

The 90–180 day appeal period obstructed justice, the Supreme Court said. A new 10-day appeal period was set out, but the apex court was silent on procedures for late appeals.

Riffath said the High Court must now seek the Supreme Court’s instruction before accepting an appeal.

Political solution?

In any case, Nasheed’s team on March 19 announced that the former president desired a political solution and would not seek an appeal, stating he had no faith in the judiciary.

His lawyers believe such an appeal would inevitably fail, because they do not believe the High Court judges to be independent.

Six of the nine High Court judges are to be relocated to two new High Court branches with reduced powers in the north and south. The government-controlled judicial watchdog has not yet decided which judges will be relocated, and the threat of this demotion has silenced the judges, Nasheed’s lawyers believe.

President’s spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali last week suggested President Yameen could consider granting a pardon if Nasheed asked for it, saying the office had not received a letter yet.

But Riffath said the normal clemency procedures do not apply in Nasheed’s case, as the president cannot pardon offences relating to terrorism. However, the president on his own initiative could reduce sentences or postpone them indefinitely under special procedures listed in Article 29 of the Clemency Act.

Article 29 states that the president can reduce sentences depending on the age, health or special circumstances of the convict.

Yameen has so far insisted that the court process is independent from his government and that he is not personally involved.

Daily protests are ongoing across the Maldives, and opposition leaders last Thursday reiterated calls for President Yameen to initiate talks.

The government last week stripped Nasheed of membership of the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, by using its parliamentary majority to pass a law banning prisoners from political party membership.

Separately, the ruling PPM has also submitted an amendment to the law on privileges for former presidents stripping any president who resigned – as Nasheed did, although he said it was under duress – from army protection and financial privileges.

Nasheed was convicted in a trial condemned by the UN, Amnesty International and the EU, US and UK over lack of due process. Amnesty called the trial a travesty of justice, while the UN said it made a mockery of the constitution and international treaties.

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