Tag: maldives

A new storm brewing over the Maldives

The following article is by Paulo Casaca, the Executive Director of the South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF).

Many Europeans flock to the beautiful Islands of the Maldives to spend their honeymoon, discover the amazing scuba diving possibilities, and walk in pure sandy beaches and to enjoy the warm hospitality of people of the island state. The Maldives is often referred to as Paradise on earth. Today, this statement could not be further from the truth. Many visitors are unaware of the political and constitutional turmoil, the increasing danger posed by fundamentalists, the inefficient and politicized judiciary, and the erosion of human rights and democratic principles. They are neatly tucked away on island resorts, while Malé is once again prone to turn into a battleground.

The 30 year long authoritarian era of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who ruled the country from 1978 to 2008, formally came to an end seven years ago, but the reality on the ground is different. Gayoom has managed to keep a firm grip on power through old friends, family members and beneficiaries.
When Mohamed Nasheed, a long time democracy campaigner won the country’s first multi-party elections in 2008, there was hope the longest reigning autocracy in South Asia would come to an end. Nasheed was able to initiate first steps in democratizing the island state, but his efforts were blocked by a destructive opposition that continued to act ewithin the same obstructive and totalitarian logic of the past. The 2012 coup d’état that ousted Nasheed from power, half-way through his term, showed that the forces of oppression had not been silenced and were still alive and kicking.

The dysfunctional state of democracy, especially with regards to the judiciary, became blatantly evident in the recent terrorism charges and sentencing of Nasheed through what can only be described as a “show trial.” The fact that judges presiding over the trial had acted as prosecution’s witnesses says it all. Not only are judged politicised, biased, and negligent of the constitution, they also lack professional education and training. In May 2013, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judged and Lawyers Gabriela Knaul described the Maldivian Justice system as a “system in crisis” and expressed great concern over political bias and low qualifications. Nothing has changed in the past two years.

And nothing will change, if the international community shies away from robust measures. In 2004, the EU’s threatened sanctions on the Maldives in the wake of human rights abuses and totalitarian governance void of any democratic principles. Only then did the regime, under the auspices of supranational bodies, start changing its atrocious behaviour towards its own people. Only when the party cadre was affected personally, did they slowly and unwillingly soften their chocking grip on civil society and the hope of freedom.
Issuing statements is a good and necessary first step. It creates awareness, and generates and increases the interest of the public. But it is not enough.

If democracy wants to have a chance in the Maldives, the international community must help pro-democratic forces. Roughly a decade after the first wave of sanctions, the EU especially, has to consider imposing them again. Freezing foreign assets and all non-humanitarian aid as well as issuing travel bans are efficient tools in this regard.

There is a old Maldivian proverb, Furifá huri badiyale gudu gude naalhaane (roughly translated from Divehi: “The water pot that is full will not shake”). Under Nasheed, water was poured into the water pot, but it trickled away due to existing holes and new holes added by the then-opposition. Now the vessel is on the brink of being completely emptied. The EU and other supranational institutions should play their role in preventing the water from being absorbed by the authoritarian modus operandi.

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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Adhaalath condemns Maldives abstention on UN gay vote

The religious conservative Adhaalath Party has condemned the government for abstaining from a United Nations vote on a resolution against providing gay marital benefits to all UN employees.

The secretary general of the Adhaalath Party, which condemns homosexuality, told Vnews the abstention indicated that the Maldives did not oppose providing the marital benefits for gay couples.

In a tweet yesterday, Adhaalath said that it was “shameful” that the Maldives abstained from voting on the resolution, which was voted down last week.

Secretary general Iaadh Hameed added that the government’s foreign policy should be built upon Islamic principles and values, and that those policies should not encourage irreligious acts.

The vote on the resolution was held on March 24, after Russia challenged UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s decision to provide marital benefits to legally wed gay and lesbian couples similar to those provided to heterosexual couples.

However, the UN General Assembly rejected the resolution, with 80 countries voting against it, 43 countries voted in favour and 37 countries abstaining.

While China, Belarus and Muslim-majority Malaysia voted in favour of the resolution, Muslim-majority Indonesia also abstained.

Previously, the Maldives government had strongly criticised the European Union, saying that EU asked the Maldives to legalise same sex marriage and freedom of religion in exchange for extending duty-free status on Maldivian fish.

Economic development minister Mohamed Saeed claimed at the time that the EU declined to extend the duty exemption after Maldives refused the condition of “allowing homosexual relations and the opportunity for people to follow any religion they want”.

“The Maldives is an Islamic state and will remain so. We will uphold Islam. We will not compromise on anything that conflicts with Islam,” he said.

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Two Maldivians reported dead in Syria

Two Maldivians have died in the Syrian civil war this month, according to local media reports.

Abdulla Mohamed Didi, 38, from Addu City, died in a bombing in Syria’s Idlib on March 26, while Ahmed Munsiu, 28, from Fuvahmulah Island, died on March 18 in Syria, Haveeru Daily has reported.

Abdulla reportedly left to Syria via Malaysia three months ago, without informing his family. He was married with three children.

Speaking to Haveeru, Munsiu’s mother Rifath Ahmed said her son had gone to Syria with his wife, Suma Ali on February 22.

Rifath said the couple regularly communicated with her online, but since Munsiu’s death, she has not heard from Suma. However, she has heard Suma was in good health.

In February, local media reported a three-month-old Maldivian baby died in Syria after suffering from respiratory difficulties. The child’s mother attempted to travel back to Malé due to a lack of adequate medical facilities, but was prevented due to lack of cooperation from her husband, local media said.

Since the first reports of Maldivians travelling to ISIS-held territories for jihad surfaced last year, a steady stream of recruits have left the country, including couples and entire families.

The exact number of Maldivians who have traveled abroad for jihad remains unclear, but Commissioner of Police Hussein Waheed in early January estimated over 50 Maldivians could be fighting in foreign civil wars.

Waheed’s comments came after local media reported a dozen had traveled to Syria at the start of January.

Despite assurances that the activities of radicals are being monitored, the group said to have left in early January included a number of individuals known to police.

They included a suspect in the murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali, and an individual arrested over the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan.

Since then, on February 1, a former cleric of Malé’s Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital and his wife reportedly left to ISIS-held territory in Syria for jihad.

In January, four would-be jihadis were apprehended in Malaysia, with media reporting that they were brought back to the Maldives and released after the authorities seized their passports. A similar group were returned from Sri Lanka in November.

In September 2014, online Jihadist group Bilad Al Sham Media (BASM) claimed four Maldivians had been killed in the Syrian civil war.

A BASM Facebook post that month said two Maldivian men identified as Abu Dujana and Abu Ibrahim had died in battle.

These reports followed similar stories in May 2014 when two Maldivians – who had taken the names of Abu Nuh and Abu Turab – were said to have been killed after travelling to Syria for jihad.

While the group claimed that Abu Dujana was the founder and editor of the BASM page, the group has not provided any information regarding his real identity, stating that this omission was at the request of his mother.

Local media had, however, identified Abu Dujana as Yameen Naeem of Georgia in the Maafannu ward of the capital Malé. It was reported that the man, in his early twenties, travelled to Syria after studying in Egypt.

On August 24, Islamic Minister Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said in a tweet “ISIS is an extremist group. No space will be given for their ideology and activities in the Maldives.” He has since urged Maldivians not to travel abroad for jihad.

Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon on August 26 issued a press release condemning human rights abuses carried out by the IS and called for the respect of life and dignity in the spirit of Islam.

Subsequently, approximately 200 people carrying the ISIS flags marched in Malé calling for the implementation of the Islamic Shari’ah.

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party has repeatedly questioned the government’s sincerity, alleging the government had failed to take concrete action against growing radicalism.

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Nasheed to sue four Criminal Court judges for defamation

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has decided to sue Criminal Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed along with the three judges who presided over his terrorism trial for defamation.

In a press release today, the opposition leader’s legal team accused the Criminal Court of falsely claiming in the media on Thursday night (March 26) that it would release the full court report required for the High Court appeal as Nasheed had signed the transcripts.

However, the Criminal Court has yet to provide transcripts despite the legal team’s March 15 letter requesting the full case report. The court has made no move to get Nasheed to sign the transcripts, they added.

The Criminal Court found Nasheed guilty of terrorism on March 13 over the military detention of Judge Abdulla in January 2012. Many international and domestic observers have expressed concern over the rushed trial, claiming it was marred by major irregularities including the court’s refusal to call defence witnesses.

Nasheed’s lawyers and supporters last week urged the Criminal Court to release a report of case proceedings, but the court had previously blamed the delay in issuing the full report on Nasheed and his lawyers’ alleged refusal to sign statements made during court hearings.

In today’s press release, lawyers said the court had showed Nasheed a transcript of proceedings from the first hearing of the trial, but the former president refused to sign it as it did not accurately represent his statements at court.

“President Mohamed Nasheed requested amending the document by including what he said at court. But the Criminal Court has not done so to date,” lawyers explained.

The court attempted to get Nasheed to sign the transcripts on March 13, the press release continued, but Nasheed told the court officer he would sign it in the presence of his lawyers.

“The Criminal Court has been repeatedly saying that the report has been provided to us because President Nasheed has not signed it. However, the court has not made any attempt to get President Nasheed’s signature on the statements that should be included in the report,” the press release added.

The court’s subsequent claim last Thursday night that Nasheed has signed the report was therefore “a blatant lie.”

“Therefore, President Nasheed has decided to file a defamation suit at the Civil Court against Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed and the three judges who presided over the case,” the press release stated.

The three judges are Judges Abdul Bari Yoosuf, Abdulla Didi and Sujau Usman.

Nasheed’s lawyers on March 26 announced the opposition leader would not seek an appeal at the High Court, stating he believed there was no opportunity for justice due to executive control of the judiciary.

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Anti Corruption watchdog suspends government’s flagship loan scheme

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) today suspended President Abdulla Yameen’s flagship loan scheme, Get Set, after receiving a complaint alleging corruption.

The ACC declined to reveal additional details.

Minister of Youth and Sports Mohamed Maleeh Jamal insisted the youth entrepreneurial loan scheme was transparent and pledged to cooperate with the investigation.

“We do not have anything to hide. It is being carried out much more transparently than that. We have given all the information ACC wants, including copies of files of the mark sheets,” Maleeh told local media.

Get set program was originally launched by president Yameen’s government to help young businessmen with establishing and starting up of their businesses.

The Get Set Program offers loans between MVR 300,000 ($19,506) to MVR 800,000 ($52015.61), to Maldivian entrepreneurs between 18-35 years of age. The deadline for submission was February 28.

The Ministry of Youth previously reported it had received 570 applications and had shortlisted 107. These will be sent to the Get Set programme board, who will determine the final recipients.

“The forms have not been forwarded to the Get Set board yet. They are still with a preliminary technical committee. The members of the committee are very knowledgeable and carrying out their task very well and very transparently. The committee also includes an observer from the UNDP. We the guarantee you there is no space for corruption,” Maleeh said.

The ACC has said it will complete the investigation as soon as possible.

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Sheikh Mohamed Didi resigns from Ministry of Islamic Affairs

State Minister for Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Didi resigned from the government on Saturday.

Didi, a member of religious Adhaalath Party’s (AP) consultative council, said he resigned to respect the party’s March 17 decision to withdraw support for President Abdulla Yameen’s administration.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Didi said the religious conservative party had unconditionally backed Yameen during the 2013 presidential polls with immense hope, but the president had only shown “brutality” towards citizens.

Didi accused the government of jailing opposition politicians, claiming the illegal weapons charge against former Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim was fabricated. He said his attempts at resolving issues within the government were unsuccessful, and said he would now join the opposition’s activities.

The Adhaalath Party has allied with its former rival, opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), under the banner “Alliance Against Brutality” and called on President Yameen to free imprisoned former President Mohamed Nasheed and former Defence Minister Nazim.

AP member and Deputy Minister for Law and Gender Shidhatha Shareef also resigned from the government on March 22.

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Nazim unfairly sentenced after an investigation and trial “rigged with irregularities,” says MDP

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has condemned in the “strongest terms” the sentencing of former Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim to 11 years in jail.

The Criminal Court on March 26 found Nazim guilty of smuggling weapons. Denying the accusation, Nazim had said the weapons were planted at his home by rogue officers on the orders of Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb.

Both the police and the Tourism Minister have dismissed Nazim’s claims as baseless and untrue.

The MDP said Nazim was sentenced in an investigation and a trial “rigged with irregularities.”

“Despite the state not being able to disprove the contradictions in testimony given by state witnesses and the irregularities in the Police investigation raised by the defence, the court sentenced Col. (Rtd) Nazim to 11 years in jail,” the party said in a statement today.

The MDP noted the Criminal Court did allow Nazim’s legal team to call the majority of defence witnesses on the claim they would “not negate” the prosecution’s evidence.

The opposition party also said the court had refused to address the “blatant irregularities” evident in the Maldives Police Service’s investigation of the case, ranging from the initial warrant to search the former Defence Minister’s residence, to the chain of custody process in relation to the weapons that were supposedly found in his apartment.

The statement also noted the “unlawful” trial was presided over by the same three judges who sentenced former President Mohamed Nasheed to 13 years in jail on terrorism charges on March 13.

“The sentences against President Mohamed Nasheed and Col. (Rtd) Nazim, arrests of over 120 people, including MPs and media, and the sending of 90 cases for prosecution against people detained from peaceful protests highlight the politicisation of the entire criminal justice system,” the MDP said.

‘There is no separation between the Government and the Judiciary in the pursuit of their political objectives. Their attempts to eliminate their political opponents through politically motivated charges and sham trials do not contain even a veneer of due process,” said MDP Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor.

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#NameThatPolice: Police photo warning sparks social media outcry

The Maldives Police Services on Friday warned social media users against harassing and posting photos of individual officers online, prompting a social media outcry with dozens of Twitter users posting pictures of police brutality with the hashtag #NameThatPolice.

“Publicizing photos of individual police officers, with warnings, on social media is unacceptable,” the police said, claiming the act was aimed at intimidating police officers and inciting hatred towards the police force.

Appealing to social media users to be more responsible, the police warned of penalties against continued harassment.

The warning came after opposition supporters started circulating photos of individual police officers accusing them of criminality, brutality and bribery. The police statement, however, appears to have escalated matters.

 

Many photos posted by Twitter users were from the brutal police crackdown in the aftermath of former President Mohamed Nasheed’s ouster on February 7, 2012. A Commonwealth backed national inquiry had recommended penalizing officers for brutality, but the opposition says the government had instead promoted officers accused of brutalizing protesters.

Mohamed Shaheed asked, “Are we not allowed to talk about this?”

Speaking to Minivan News, he said the public must publish photos of police brutality, “otherwise it will not stop.”
“This is not aimed at all police officers, just the ones who break the law,” he added.

Some tweets included comical photos of police carrying protesters to police vehicles.

“I think the warning by police is downright ridiculous. Nobody should tell us to stop speaking out against brutality. We will not remain silent when crimes are committed, be it police or any other state institution,” Twitter user Ibrahim Huzam told Minivan News.

“In addition to the lack of discipline and professionalism, police act very hostile towards the public, this is very wrong,” he added.

Tensions are high in Malé with the opposition protesting daily over the imprisonment of former President Mohamed Nasheed and former Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim. Protests have now entered a seventh consecutive week.

Confrontations between police and protesters have increased recently, and hundreds including MPs and journalists have been arrested.

Chief Superintendent of Police Abdulla Nawaz on March 26 said inidivdual police officers have been confronted and intimidated at their homes, adding that efforts were underway to “psychologically weaken” police personnel

Nawaz also accused certain media outlets of attempting to falsely portray police as brutal towards civilians and said the media cut off live feed when protesters attacked police officers. He warned the police would arrest media personnel if they obstruct police duty.

Former Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim has meanwhile accused the police’s Specialist Operations (SO) officers of framing him by planting illegal weapons at his home and committing criminal activities including the chopping down of Malé City’s Areca Palms in October last year.

The police have denied the accusations as baseless and untrue.

Nazim was sentenced to 11 years in jail on Thursday (March 26).

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ARC children’s storybook shortlisted in Gourmand World Cookbook Awards

A storybook for children by a Maldivian child rights advocacy group has been shortlisted in the 2015 European Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

The Sneaky Snare of the Syrupy Slurp Slops was shortlisted in the category for Best in the World for Children’s Books.

The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards celebrates and awards books about food and/or drinks and features a number of books by world-renowned chefs, publishers and authors every year.

The Sneaky Snare of the Syrupy Slurp Slops, released in 2014, is an educational children’s book based on the message of “Re-think Your Drink,” encouraging children to drink water and plain milk, whilst making them aware of the dangers of consuming energy drinks, soda and other sugary drinks.

It is the second book in ARC’s Health Eating and Active Lifestyles (HEAL) campaign.

President of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards Edouard Cointreau said: “It is quite an achievement to be on the shortlist. It is extremely difficult. The quantity and quality of entries from the 205 participating countries have reached a new high this year. All the books shortlisted are truly excellent, in very different ways”.

The 6 shortlisted books include books from USA, Spain, Canada, Sweden and the UAE. The awards are to be announced on June 9.

ARC’s first storybook, The Colourful Companionship of Casey Cabbage, won two awards in Gourmand Awards in 2013, namely Best Children’s Book in Maldives and Best Charity and Fundraising Book in Asia. It was also nominated for the Best in the World category.

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