maldives – Page 273 – Minivan News

Military deploys soldiers to protect Maldives media after arson attack

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has taken to the decision to provide security services to various media outlets across the country following the arson attack on opposition-aligned private broadcaster Raajje TV.

MNDF Spokesperson Colonel Abdul Raheem told Minivan News that military officers were now manning “almost all” the country’s television stations as well as the premises of other media outlets.

Colonel Raheem said that, rather than being a reaction to a specific threat, the MNDF had decided to assign officers to guard a number of media stations immediately following the arson attack that destroyed Raajje TV’s offices in Male’ this morning.

“This was our own decision, although some [media] have requested they be provided protection,” he said, adding that officers had also been deployed to Raajje TV, which relaunched its broadcasting this afternoon.

He added that MNDF officers were acting as part of ongoing efforts to provide security for any areas deemed “vulnerable”, having previously provided similar support in the past for the Maldives’ electricity and water infrastructure.

The Maldives Police Service today said it was not involved with the MNDF’s security operation, with its own officers instead performing patrols outside the perimeters of media organisations.

Raajje TV was attacked by a group of masked individuals who doused the station’s computers, desks and main lobby with petrol. The office’s guard was later stabbed and hospitalised with critical injuries.

The attack took place despite the station having previously requested police protection following warnings of an impending attack.

Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed this morning that police had received the letter requesting security, and said they “took action by patrolling the area.”

Media violence

The attack is the second raid on the station’s building by masked assailants. During the first attack – in August 2012 – assailants sabotaged equipment in the station and cut critical cables.

The main office of Villa TV (VTV), a private broadcaster owned by Jumhooree Party (JP) Leader – and third-placed presidential candidate MP Gasim Ibrahim – was attacked during anti-government protests on March 19, 2012.

Extensive damage was reportedly caused to VTV and its property, with the station briefly being brought off air – an act claimed by the station’s owner to be tantamount to “terrorism”.

The Maldives Media Council meanwhile today released a statement condemning the Raajje TV attack as an attempt to “eliminate” one of the country’s most watched broadcasters, calling for security forces to do more to protect media outlets and journalists.

“In view of that, MMC has continuously requested to investigate these cases and asked security providers to be more attentive to media security issues. MMC is consciously discussing all relevant stakeholders to ensure protection of journalists and media stations.”

The MMC last week declared its intention to file a no-confidence motion in the Majlis against Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) members via Parliament’s Independent Institutions Committee.

The council stated its belief that the broadcasting commission had failed to create a healthy broadcast media environment, instead creating fear and discomfort, and that it was therefore unable to fulfill the Broadcasting Act’s mandates.

Media freedom

MMC member and Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) President Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir meanwhile today maintained that media should not cover live events and other developments in the country in a manner that would incite violence.

Zahir confirmed the MCC also published a statement yesterday (October 6) criticising any media found to be trying to incite institutions or individuals to perform violent acts.

The statement specifically condemned any media found to be spreading calls for “terrorism and unrest”, something it said was not permitted even in nations regarded as leading in international standards of press freedom.

Zahir said that the MCC were aware of a number of examples where numerous unspecified media outlets had been covering news in a way that could create unrest.

“Sometimes the language used by [these media outlets] goes beyond what is acceptable within democratic values,” he said.

Zahir cited one notable example of media inciting unrest was by covering the statements of certain politicians who encouraged people to “violate the law” and go against state institutions.

He added that all media had a responsibility to the nation to decide whether or not to cover statements that might lead to violence or unrest.

Asked if the MMC’s statements could infringe on constitutionally-guaranteed press freedom, Zahir argued that the media oversight body was responsible under law to ensure such media freedoms were used in the “right manner”.

“The point is media needs to work for a better society. Media freedom has to be for the betterment of society,” he clarified today.

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Manta rays lacking libido in empty blue seas around the Maldives: The Guardian

” ‘Mantas!’ shouts Guy Stevens from the top deck, pointing to huge bat-shaped shadows gliding under the rippling, turquoise water of Hanifaru bay in the Maldives,” writes Damien Carrington for the UK’s Guardian newspaper.

“Mantas are protected in the Maldives and had been faring relatively well,compared with populations in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and elsewhere, where thousands of the inquisitive creatures are slaughtered each year to supply the Chinese traditional medicine market.

But Stevens is worried by a new threat. Usually about a third of the females are pregnant every year, he says: ‘But then – boom – in 2009 reproduction just stopped.’

‘Is this part of long-term natural cycles or is it something more sinister, related to climate change and human impacts?’ asks Stevens, founder and chief executive of the Manta Trust, which runs its Maldives programme from the Four Seasons resort on Landaa Giraavaru island, with the company funding the Trust’s staff and operations.

‘I suspect it is not natural,’ he says. ‘The meteorological people say the monsoon is changing [from usual patterns], and the fishermen who have been out there for 50 years say it is definitely changing.’

Stevens has been tracking the Maldive mantas for eight years and has 15,000 sightings of 1,500 individuals from the last four years alone. Their feeding events correlate closely with the average speed of the winds, which have been blowing less strongly overall in the past four years.

Weaker winds are less effective at stirring up the seas, meaning the nutrients needed for plankton to bloom are missing. “If primary production is affected, that passes up through the food chain and affects the mantas,” he says, adding that mantas bring in about $20m a year in tourism revenue for the Maldives.”

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Raajje TV returns to air with donated equipment, after station’s firebombing

Hours after an arson attack that destroyed its offices, opposition-aligned TV station Raajje TV began rebroadcasting with donated equipment at 12:40pm today, showing a report compiled with CCTV footage of the destruction of its offices.

“We have to start from zero. But Raajje TV will never die,” the station’s News Head Ibrahim ‘Asward’ Waheed told Minivan News.

The CCTV footage shows five masked men armed with machetes hacking at the locks on a reinforced steel grill. After destroying the lock and yanking open the grill, five men break through a second wooden door as a sixth man holds the building’s security guard hostage.

The footage then cuts to an indoor camera showing the arsonists dousing the station’s computers and desks and main lobby with petrol.

One of the men appears to threaten the security guard while the other attempts to calm him. The guard was later stabbed and hospitalised with critical injuries.

One of the masked attackers pours a trail of petrol out the door as the others retreat downstairs. He lights the trail, creating a fiery explosion that briefly engulfs him. He stumbles down the stairs, just as fireball inside in office explodes the door of the station off its hinges. Further footage shows a massive explosion of fire in the control room of the station.

The arson attack took place after the station requested police protection, following advance warnings it received the previous night of an impending attack. Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed to Minivan News this morning that police had received the letter requesting security, and said they “took action by patrolling the area.”

Asward, who in February 2013 was attacked by assailants with an iron bar that left him with near-fatal head injuries, said the station had restarted broadcasting from offices in a new building with equipment donated by the public, and had taken third party insurance for all of the station’s staff.

“I have been attacked. Our station’s reporters have been assaulted, beaten, arrested and threatened. Critical cables in our control room were cut. But we have always managed to overcome that” Asward told Minivan News.

The station restarted its broadcast with an interview of the Vice President of the Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) Mohamed Shaheeb, followed by CCTV footage of the attack and an interview with former President and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed.

“We will not be able to cover live events because all of our equipment has been destroyed. We will not be able to bring in-depth coverage of the news as we have done in the past,” Asward said.

The station was destroyed on the same day as the Supreme Court’s much-anticipated ruling on whether to allow elections to go ahead.

Vice President of the Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) Mohamed Shaheeb has harshly condemned the torching of Raajje TV.

“This is a cowardly act that violates vital democratic principles of freedom of expression and press. This commission calls for an investigation and prosecution of those involved,” he said.

The US Embassy has also expressed concern regarding the “upsurge in political violence.”

“The United States believes that a free and fair democratic political process depends on peaceful competition at the ballot box and an independent media available to all citizens. We urge authorities to quickly bring to justice those involved in these attacks and call for an end to all violence and political retaliation,” read a statement issued today.

The Maldives Media Council (MMC) condemned the arson attack as an attempt to “eliminate” one of the country’s most watched broadcasters, and criticised security forces to do more to protect journalism.

“Last night’s attack on Raajje TV Station, among the most viewed local channels by most Maldivians, was aimed to permanently shut down its service,” said the media body in statement.

MMC President Husham Mohamed said the regulatory body would be raising an “issue” with the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) over today’s attack.

According to Raajje TV the station had an audience of at least 95,000 people, one of the largest shares of Maldivian media. It reached India and Sri Lanka, and is also streamed online.

The attack is the second raid on the station’s building by masked assailants. In the first attack, in August 2012, the attackers sabotaged equipment in the station and cut critical cabling.

CCTV footage of the attack on Raajje TV:

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MP Abdulla Jabir files complaint against Prosecutor General for not taking action against police

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Abdulla Jabir filed a complaint in parliament against the Prosecutor General (PG) for not taking action against the Maldives Police Service after he was assaulted by arresting officers last year.

Jabir requested on Wednesday (October 2) that parliament’s Independent Institutions Committee investigate the matter and take action against the PG as necessary.

Jabir and fellow MDP MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor are among several senior party figures charged with drug and alcohol offences, after being arrested on on Hondaidhoo Island in November 2012 whilst allegedly under the influence of illegal substances.

Jabir was presented to the Criminal Court by police September 12, after being kept in custody for two days ahead of his trial for alleged possession of alcohol and cannabis.

Earlier this year the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) said that no charges could be pressed against police in relation to the alleged attack against Jabir.

Despite a complaint filed by Jabir’s brother, Ibrahim Shiham, which claimed that there is sufficient evidence proving that police beat Jabir during the arrest, the PIC decided that the case could not be sent to the PG office for criminal prosecution, local media reported.

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Supreme Court further delays election decision

The Supreme Court of Maldives has delayed its ruling on the potential annulment of the presidential election for the second time today.

Originally scheduled for 2:30pm today, the ruling was moved to 5:00pm, before court officials announced the decision to move the ruling back to 8:00pm.

“The Supreme Court can say whatever they want to say. But the constitution must be upheld,” Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed told a crowd of supporters gathered near the courthouse.

The case filed by the Jumhooree Party, alleges systemic fraud in the first round of the presidential election, despite the overwhelmingly positive assessments of all observer missions present.

The concluding arguments in the case were heard on September 25, two days after the court had issued an injunction calling upon all state institutions to halt election preparations until the case had been completed.

Numerous international actors – including the United Nations Security Council – have expressed their alarm at the decision to delay the second round, and the subsequent rising of tensions in the country.

Following the destruction of MDP aligned TV station Raajje TV this morning, party supporters gathered by police barricades on Fareedhee Magu.

MDP Imthiyaz Fahmy called for an investigation of the police’s role in the arson attack.

“[Police Commissioner] Abdulla Riyaz publicly announced previously that police will not provide protection to Raajje TV. Look how it has been absolutely burned down today,” said Fahmy.

Former President – and first-placed candidate in the initial poll – Mohamed Nasheed addressed a crowd of around 300 just before midday.

“The Supreme Court may say anything at two thirty today. Do listen to their verdict, it will make no sense at all.”

“The letters in the constitution cannot dissolve and protect itself, it cannot come out to war to protect itself. It won’t come to life unless we get strength from it and come out to protect it.”

“We are not here to ascertain presidency for Galolhu Kenereege Mohamed Nasheed. We are here to get people’s rights. Not for the MDP, but for all citizens,” he added.

The area – close to the Supreme Court – has been the focal point of MDP protests for 10 consecutive nights following the Election Commission’s decision to abandon preparations for the September 28 run-off, in the face of government and judicial intransigence.

The integrity of the Supreme Court was a persistent theme during early protests, with frequent – often visual – references to the Justice Ali Hameed’s purported role in a series of sex tapes.

“We are demonstrating here and won’t stop until we hear a verdict,” Nasheed’s running-mate Dr Mustafa Lutfi told the crowd.

Police have reported “no tensions and no arrests” during today’s demonstration.

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Supreme Court hearing delayed to 5:00pm

The Supreme Court hearing to give the verdict in the Jumhooree Party’s bid to annul the first round of elections has been delayed to 5:00pm today.

The hearing was initially due to be held today at 2:30pm.

Despite widespread local and international election praise of the credibility of the polls, the third-placed JP alleged the vote was flawed due to electoral discrepancies and irregularities amounting to a “systematic failures”.

The delay in polls prompted global and domestic outcry, and has led to unrest in Male’.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) supporters have taken to the streets in protest, officers in the military have been suspended for allegedly “sowing discord” and air traffic controllers, customs officials, ground handling services and port workers have staged strikes.

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Raajje TV destroyed in arson attack

Additional reporting by JJ Robinson

A group of masked men armed with machetes, iron rods and petrol set fire to opposition aligned TV station Raajje TV shortly before 4:45am today, destroying its offices and control room as well as cameras, computer systems, broadcasting and transmission equipment.

The attack comes days after Raajje TV broadcast a report titled “Forum 15” detailing a plan, including arson, to destroy the station.

According to Raajje TV’s Head of News, Ibrahim ‘Asward’ Waheed, six men forcefully entered the seven story building after stabbing the security guard with a machete.

The guard has been hospitalised and is receiving care for two stab wounds to his back.

The men then damaged the elevator and cut off the building’s electricity. The group continued to break through a reinforced steel door to access station’s offices on the second floor of the building, before covering all equipment in the building with petrol and setting it alight.

A crew member from the airport ferry – docked opposite the building – said he witnessed a group of masked men leaving the building, and the bleeding security guard run to police officers on the corner of the block.

“We were docking at around 4:40 am when I saw about eight masked and gloved men leaving the building. They were wearing jeans and t-shirts. I saw the security guard run out, he had blood on his back,” he said.

“There were policemen on the corner, he ran to them and it looked like they did not help. I say this because he ran back to the building and then ran back to them when people gathered there started shouting,” he told Minivan News.

“At the time there was smoke coming from the offices. Many people there told me they called the police when they saw what was happening. But the police did not answer the phone. and only answered once the whole place was ablaze,” he said.

Station staff were unharmed, although the Maldives National Defense Forces’ (MNDF) Fire and Rescue Services said they had rescued one woman who was trapped on the terrace.

According to the MNDF, the fire was reported at 4:45 am and was put out at 7:00 am. A computer store on the ground floor was also completely destroyed in the blaze.

The station was destroyed on the same day as the Supreme Court’s much-anticipated ruling on whether to allow elections to go ahead.

Station had requested police protection

The station’s reporters had all gone home by 4:00am after providing live coverage of the Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) ongoing protests against the indefinite suspension of elections by the country’s Supreme Court. Eyewitnesses had reported that the license plates of the arsonist’s motorbikes had been concealed, Asward said.

Raajje TV CEO Yamin Rasheed said the station had received reports at 8:00pm on the previous evening that it was in danger of being attacked that same evening, warnings which forwarded to police along with a written request for police protection.

“[The report] was very suspicious, and did not look like a joke. I wrote a letter to police asking for security and requested them to protect us from this attack. But there was no response,” he said.

Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed to Minivan News this morning that police had received Yamin’s letter “and took action by patrolling the area.”

Yamin said Raajje TV has extensive CCTV footage of the arson attack: “It will be very easy to investigate. But we’ve handed it over in past attacks and nothing has happened,” he said.

“We will resume our service as soon as possible. Our directors are very courageous and are willing to try again,” he added.

Vice President of the Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) Mohamed Shaheeb has harshly condemned the torching of Raajje TV.

“This is a cowardly act that violates vital democratic principles of freedom of expression and press. This commission calls for an investigation and prosecution of those involved,” he said.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed said in a tweet that he strongly condemns the attack on Raajje TV, asking the “Raajje TV team not to worry and come back on air as soon as possible.”

Maldives Media Council President Mohamed Husham spoke out against lack of protection to the media in a tweet: “We have not seen any results from the discussions to provide protection equally to all media.”

The Maldives Post Services has suspended services from its main office, which is located next door.

Since the controversial transfer of power on February 7, 2012, Raajje TV has faced increasing threats. In July 2012, the police and the President’s Office had said it would not cooperate with the TV station, blocking the station from President’s Office’s press conferences and police protection at protests.

The Civil Court has since ruled that the police and president’s office’s decisions to ostracize the station were both unconstitutional.

In August 2012, critical cables in the station’s control room were cut, terminating the station’s broadcast. Several Raajje TV journalists have also reported arbitrary arrests and assaults.

In February 2013, men wielding iron rods on motorbikes assaulted Asward leaving him with near near-fatal head injuries.

According to Raajje TV the station had an audience of at least 95,000 people, one of the largest shares of Maldivian media. It reached India and Sri Lanka, and is also streamed online.

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15 year-old boy arrested for having sex with 14 year-old girl

Police have arrested a 15 year-old boy from the island of Alifushi in Raa Atoll on allegations that he had sex with a 14 year-old girl on the island.

Police said that the boy was arrested yesterday (5 October 2013) at about 1pm while he was on the island.

According to police the case was brought to their attention by a third individual.

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Police arrest 12 during large MDP protest on charges of police assault, obstruction

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) held a large protest on Saturday night calling for immediate elections, with thousands of participants in several locations in the capital city Male’.

The rally – which started from the party’s rally grounds near the Tsunami monument – split up into three different groups while walking down the main road of Majeedhee Magu.

The leading group, with several MPs in attendance, was stopped near the parliament building by police and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) lines. The second group, consisting of mainly female protesters, was blocked near the National Library by SO police officers, while the third group went to the Chandhanee Magu-Fareedhee Magu junction where the MDP has been holding protests for over a week.

Protest one – near the parliament

The protest near the parliament – with over a thousand in attendance – was headed by MDP Vice Presidential candidate Dr Mustafa Lutfi, Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik and MPs Imthiyaz Fahmy, Ahmed Rasheed, Ahmed Sameer, Mohamed Shifaz, Mohamed Gasam and Ahmed Easa among others. Several MPs addressed the crowd via sound systems on one of the many campaign lorries that accompanied protesters, constantly playing party-themed campaign songs.

While a line of regular police officers, referred to as ‘Blues’, in riot gear formed the first security line behind the barricades, about 12 Special Operations (SO) officers in full riot gear and holding shields lined up about 10 feet behind them, with yet another security line behind them formed by over a dozen MNDF soldiers, also in riot gear.

The protest continued at the area until just after midnight, though numbers at the location decreased to a few hundred by then. The protesters then marched to join the main cell of protesters who were by then at the Majeedhee Magu-Chandhanee Magu junction. Police barricaded off Majeedhee Magu near the Agora Superstore, which led to the loudly chanting protesters taking a detour through side roads to join the main group, reaching the junction despite police hurrying to block off side roads.

Protest two: Chandhanee Magu-Fareedhee Magu junction

The second group of protesters marched down Chandhanee Magu to the party’s protest site of previous nights, which have followed the Supreme Court’s indefinite delay of the presidential election run-off.

Minivan News observed a number of protesters wearing helmets and dive masks, with one protester saying “this gear is protection against the police’s random attacks with batons and pepper-spray every night”.

SO officers worked to disperse crowds and bring back order after alleged violence incidents took place, including a CCTV camera at the junction smashed to pieces by a man with a large piece of wood. MNDF officers formed a security line between media and the police and protesters.

Police have since announced a manhunt for the person allegedly responsible for smashing the camera, identifying him as Kamil Ibrahim of Beach House from the island of Ukulhas in Alif Alif Atoll.

Police ordered media to remain on the pavement behind police and MNDF lines while the SO officers took possession of the alleged “weapons of violence”, arresting offenders and dispersing crowds, warning media that “if you get off the pavement, you will be removed”. Asked what they meant by “removed”, one officer stated that media “will find out if you step off that pavement”.

Media were however allowed to take photos once police had finished gathering up the ‘weapons’ that were allegedly gathered from the protest site.

One protester claimed to have seen a police vehicle unload bits of wood on Fareedhee Magu, which police allege were collected from the crowd. Minivan News could not confirm these reports as media was ordered to stay behind security lines during the time.

Protesters were pushed off the site, which caused the crowd to split into groups in three different locations: near Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) offices, near Fantasy Store on Fareedhee Magu and near the National Museum on Chandhanee Magu.

After police pushed backed the crowd, the SO loudly chanted their oath, after which Minivan News heard the commander on duty ask the officers to “without much ado, just arrest anyone in any area in Male’ who you think has consumed alcohol”.

Police then went into the crowds and searched a number of protesters and smelled their breath, allegedly checking for the smell of alcohol.

Protest three: near National Library

The final group consisted of over a thousand protesters, mainly female. They marched through the first set of barricades, with protesters voicing intentions to reach Republican Square.

The protest was brought to a halt just in front of Medhuziyaaraiy Magu on the street around the corner from the National Museum by scores of SO officers in full riot gear, wielding batons.

Protesters remained in the location for approximately an hour before police attempted to disperse the crowd, leading them to regroup and join protests on Chandhanee Magu, where police lined up barricades a few feet away from the National Museum.

Sitdown at Chandhanee Junction

At around midnight, protesters in different locations started joining the majority of protesters who were at the Majeedhee Magu-Chandhanee Magu junction.

With a few thousand protesters at the site at around 1:00am, still chanting and asking for immediate elections, a police truck with several SO officers rode through the crowd, taking photos and videos of the protesters.

Protesters initiated a sit down in the middle of the junction at around 2:00 am, with MDP Vice Presidential candidate Dr Mustafa Lutfi and a number of MPs still active in the site.

At 2:40 am, two trucks with over 20 SO officers arrived at the protest site. Minivan News observed at least two people being taken into custody.

An hour later, the SO dispersed the hundreds of protesters still left at the site, arresting additional protesters after frisking many.

Response

“The October 5 protest was an unconstitutional gathering,” a police media official told Minivan News on Sunday.

“Twelve people were brought under police custody at last night’s protests, all of whom were arrested on charges of assaulting police officers, disobeying police orders and obstructing police duties. We are currently working to find the man who is accused of breaking the security camera on the Chandhanee Magu – Fareedhee Magu junction,” he said.

Police said eight out of the 12 arrestees have had their detentions extended by a week by the court today, with one person detained for an 15 days.

Police also confirmed that two persons have been arrested this afternoon on a fishing vessel from Ukulhas – the island of origin of the man police are looking for in relation to the smashing of the security camera – which was docked in Male’ harbour.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) has released a statement noting that during its protest monitoring “some people gathered at the Chandhanee Magu – Fareedhee Magu junction at last night’s protests used wooden bats in a manner which was not peaceful and has conducted unlawful activities. We condemn this act and call on all to exercise the right to freedom of expression in a peaceful manner.”

The statement also said that the commission is receiving a number of complaints about the ongoing protests disturbing the studies of students preparing for their GCE O’Level exams, and called on protesters to not obstruct the students’ right to learn.

The Maldives Police Services has said it will file complaints against the MDP with the relevant authorities for conducting “violent” and “illegal” protests.

Police footage of a protester smashing a CCTV camera and threatening officers

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