Tag: maldives

Maldives, India and Sri Lanka agree to increased maritime security collaboration

The second Trilateral Cooperation on Maritime Security meeting between India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka concluded this week with an agreement for greater collaboration and information sharing among their respective naval forces in the Indian Ocean.

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has said that an agreement had been reached during the meeting for Indian and Sri Lankan naval forces to assist the Maldives with search and rescue efforts, as well as dealing with issues such as marine oil pollution.

The meeting, which concluded Tuesday (July 9) was attended by Maldives Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Defence and Urban Development Gotabaya Rajapaksa and India’s National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon.

The first Trilateral Cooperation on Maritime Security meeting was held in the Maldives in 2011, although the MNDF has said that technical meetings have since been held in all three countries.

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Jumhoree Party holds second national conference

Bussiness tycoon and resort owner Gasim Ibrahim’s Jumhoree Party (JP) is holding its second national conference on Wednesday evening at the Dharubaaruge convention centre in Male. According to the party, the national conference will see to the amendments proposed to the charter as well as appoint the party’s leadership.

The Jumhoree Party is currently a part of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s government, however the party is currently fielding its own candidate, leader and resort tycoon Gasim Ibrahim, in the upcoming presidential elections.

According to local media outlet Sun Online, the party’s national conference will be attended by 399 delegates from 35 party branches.

Speaking at the inauguration ahead of the conference, chairperson former Transport Minister Dr Ahmed Shamheed said the party was unable to register newly joined party members at the elections commission, so therefore delegates from an additional 250 branches were unable to attend the conference.

The conference will conclude with the election of the party’s leader and three deputy leaders. Incumbent Party Leader Gasim Ibrahim is the sole contender for the party leadership, while six candidates are contesting for the three deputy leader slots.

The candidates include Party Preisdent Dr Ibrahim Didi, current deputy leaders Dr Hussain Rasheed Hassan and Transport Minister Ameen Ibrahim, MP Ilham Ahmed, Party’s Youth Wing leader Moosa Anwar and Abdulla Amaan.

Local media also reported that three others were also initially in the race, however had withdrawn their names. Those who withdrew included current Party Spokesperson Moosa Rameez, and council members Fuad Gasim and Ali Hameed.

Addressing the delegates, JP leader Gasim Ibrahim said the current constitution, the country’s largest political party – the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – and the country’s first free and fair presidential election were all the result of his hard work towards reforming the country.

Gasim claimed that it was his support and backing that led to the beginning of the first reform movement in 1980. He further said that he had worked with several notable individuals in the country to bring the needed democratic reform to the country, some of whom were now in the MDP’s leadership.

“The fruit that bore from the journey for reform that I began with these individuals is the current constitution. The green constitution that built a proper democratic political culture in this country. The second fruit that bore was the country’s largest political party MDP. The third, is the first multi party presidential election and its result,” Gasim said.

The resort owner said that despite his efforts, the people could neither bring the development or the democracy they really wanted in the country.

“Therefore, continuing my work for reform which I began for the sake of my children, is a religious and a national responsibility on my shoulders,” said the resort tycoon.

He further added predicted that the Jumhoree Party would win the presidential elections and said during his presidency he would steer the country towards prosperity and development.

According to the Jumhoree Party’s website, 36 out of 37 amendments proposed to the party charter were unanimously passed during the conference. The amendments included changes brought to party’s official acronym and changes to party positions.

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JSC investigating more videos of Supreme Court judge

A committee appointed by the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) to investigate a leaked sex video of Supreme Court Judge Ali Hameed are reviewing two additional videos, local media has reported.

In addition to a video in which an individual believed to be judge Hameed has sex with a unidentified foreign woman, the JSC is reportedly investigating videos of Hameed discussing political corruption of the judiciary with a local businessman, and a meeting with former immigration controller Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim. Both have been circulating on social media.

The home of the businessman in the second video, owner of Golden Lane Mohamed Saeed, was recently searched by police.

Police also last week summoned Hameed for questioning over his alleged appearance in the sex tape. The judge is continuing to hear cases, unlike High Court Judge Ahmed Shareef who was recently suspended by the JSC as a “precautionary measure” following non-specific complaints filed by other judges. Shareef was one of the judges hearing a high-profile case concerning former President Mohamed Nasheed.

The motion to suspend Shareef was proposed by then Attorney General Bisham, who subsequently failed to receive parliamentary consent for her appointment.

According to Maldivian law, the crime of fornication is subject to 100 lashes and banishment or house arrest for a period of eight months.

The courts regularly issue this sentence, overwhelmingly to women found guilty of extramarital sex, such as a 15 year-old victim of rape who was sentenced in February after reportedly confessing to an instance of consensual sex.

Sentences are carried out in front of the justice building, next door to the Supreme Court and President Mohamed Waheed’s residence.

Police are also investigating senior Council Member of President Waheed’s Gaumee Ihthihaad Party (GIP) and former Project Advisor at the Housing Ministry, Ahmed Faiz, in connection with leaked sex tape. He has since been sacked from both posts.

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President Waheed holds talks with Saudia Arabian Crown Prince

President Dr Mohamed Waheed met with Saudia Arabia’s Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Thursday (July 11) as part of an official visit to the country.

The visit will also  coincide with the president performing an Umra pilgrimage.

During his meeting with the crown prince, which was also attended by Saudi Arabian Minister of Finance Dr Ibrahim Abdul Aziz Al-Assaf, President Waheed discussed strengthening bilateral ties between the two nations.

Dr Waheed also provided an update on the current economic and political situation within the Maldives, according to the President’s Office website.

President Waheed’s visit to Saudi Arabia follows reports that his predecessor, former President Mohamed Nasheed, had this week had his own request to perform Umra rejected by Saudi authorities.

Local media in the Maldives reported that Nasheed was denied a visa by the Saudi Arabian government, however former Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem, who  was with the former president at the time, refuted the claims as inaccurate.

“I’ve been in constant touch with Saudi [Arabian government] Royal Protocol officials and Nasheed’s visa has not been rejected. They have not said anything like that,” the former Foreign Minister told Minivan News Wednesday (July 10).

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MNDF assists with relocation of Maafilaafushi island residents

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has today continued with efforts to relocate families on the island of Maafilaafushi in Lhaviyani Atoll, local media has reported.

MNDF officers began assisting with the transfer of families to the island of Naifaru yesterday (July 10) at the request of Lhaviyani Atoll Council.

MNDF officials have told Sun Online that the ongoing transfer of the estimated 80 people living on Maafilaafushi was expected to continue on Saturday (July 13).  The military also thanked islanders for their cooperation.

Local media has reported that the decision to transfer residents to nearby islands in Lhaviyani Atoll had been taken after the government declared Maafilaafushi an inhabited island.

The office of Lhaviyani Atoll Council and MNDF Media Officer Captain Abdulla Ali were not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

In 2011, the former government began discussions on transferring the population of Maafilaafushi – then estimated at around 100 residents – to other islands.

Local Newspaper Haveeru reported at the time that residents on Maafilaafushi, which was used by the MNDF for training, had demanded to be relocated due to military exercises conducted on the island.

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Civil Court halts judicial watchdog from taking further action against High Court Chief Judge

Civil Court on Thursday issued an injunction ordering the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) not to take any action against the suspended Chief Judge of High Court Ahmed Shareef, until it decides on the legality of his suspension.

The injunction comes the same day the Civil Court cancelled a hearing of the lawsuit filed against the JSC by the suspended chief judge, after the JSC claimed it could not “print a statement” that was to be presented to court due to an “IT failure”.

The Chief Judge of the High Court was “indefinitely suspended” by the JSC shortly after the High Court cancelled a hearing of the appeal case filed by former President Mohamed Nasheed.

The hearing of Nasheed’s case was scheduled to decide on procedural issues raised by the JSC contending that the High Court did not have the jurisdiction to hear the case, which involved the legitimacy of a panel of judges appointed by the commission to preside over the former president’s trial at the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court.

The JSC however, in a press conference denied any connection with the case but claimed that Shareef’s suspension was regarding a complaint filed against the judge over a year ago.

The Chair of the JSC, Supreme Court Justice Adam Mohamed, was quick to give his reasoning of the suspension, contending that it was a “precautionary” measure while investigation of the complaint was proceeding.

Following the decision, Judge Shareef subsequently challenged the JSC’ decision in Civil Court claiming that the decision contrasted the existing laws and had undermined the independence that a Judge require in executing his legal duties. He had also, through the lawsuit, requested the Court to issue an injunction halting his suspension.

Shareef is represented by veteran lawyer and former Attorney General Husnu al Suood and his law firm Suood Anwar & Co.

The Civil Court Judge Hathif Hilmy dismissed the case after Shareef and his legal team failed to appear before the court on time. However, Shareef’s lawyers again re-filed the case on the same day.

Had it not been cancelled, the JSC was expected to respond to the lawsuit on Thursday’s hearings, but lawyers representing the JSC told the court that commission’s intranet network crashed and therefore they were not able to print the statements which they planned to present to the court.

When the presiding judge proposed to delay the hearings for a later time in the evening, the lawyers claimed the problem could not be fixed within the day.

Responding to the claim, Shareef’s lawyer Suood argued at the court that JSC could have easily printed the statement from another printing shop using a flash drive.

However the JSC lawyers told the court that it would not be able to present the statements the same day even if the printing was done externally.

Following the claim, the presiding judge cancelled the hearing without scheduling a future hearing.

Despite the JSC’s suspension of Judge Shareef following the High Court case regarding Nasheed, the commission is yet to take a similar “precautionary action” against Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed – who appeared in a leaked video indulging in adultery with a with foreign women that is now circulation on social media networks.

Hameed’s sex tape came into media limelight after the arrest of Ahmed Faiz on charges of blackmail – a senior Council Member of President Waheed’s Gaumee Ihthihaad Party (GIP) and former Project Advisor at the Housing Ministry.

A police investigation is already proceeding and Hameed was also summoned for questioning. In the meantime, the JSC itself formed a five member committee to look into the matter which includes JSC Vice Chair Abdulla Didi, commission members Latheefa Gasim, Ahmed Rasheed and two outside lawyers.

Senior figures of the state including President Mohamed Waheed have expressed “sadness” over the incident with the president noting that should the video be authentic, it raises “serious questions”.

However, JSC is yet to take any action against the Supreme Court Justice, who continues to preside over Supreme Court cases even for a precautionary measure.

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Adhaalath Party quits President Waheed’s coalition

Additional reporting by Mohamed Naahii

The Adhaalath Party (AP) has quit President Mohamed Waheed’s ‘Forward with the Nation’ coalition due to “mysterious events”, a day after the party slammed Waheed for telling the AFP the party had “extremist” individuals.

During a two day official visit to Sri Lanka, President Waheed told the news agency that it was “better to work with” the self-claimed Islamist party despite some elements within the party holding “extreme views”, since excluding the party from mainstream politics risked marginalising it. This, he said, would have a “negative long-term effect”.

In a statement (Dhivehi) published on the Adhaalath Party’s website Tuesday (July 9), the party said that it had been offended by the remarks and that such comments from the president would affect its relationship with Waheed’s party Gaumee Iththihaadh Party (GIP). The party also denounced the claim that it held extreme views.

“The Adhaalath Party does not by any means hold extremist views. The party is working to introduce Islamic principles to the country, to protect the Islamic faith of the country and the country’s sovereignty,” read the statement.

“Therefore, the party leadership and its members are deeply disappointed by such allegations,” it added.

Yesterday (July 10) following the party’s announcement that Waheed’s comments would have a “significant negative effect” on their relationship, Adhaalath decided to leave the ‘Forward the Nation’ coalition during a meeting of their Consultative Council.

A near unanimous 97 percent of the council voted to leave the ‘Forward with the Nation’ due to “mysterious events”, as well as the coalitions prospective inability to succeed in “saving the nation” from former President Mohamed Nasheed’s “sacrilegious actions”, AP President Sheikh Imran Abdullah told local media.

“By the will of God, Adhaalath Party will continue to facilitate in providing a safe passage in order to save the nation from Nasheed,” said Abdullah.

He added that the party’s efforts to resolve issues within the coalition last week were “of no use”, however despite leaving ‘Forward with the Nation’, AP will continuously work toward “taking people to safe harbour”.

In a statement (Dhivehi) released today (July 11), the Adhaalath Party detailed their reasoning for leaving Waheed’s coalition.

“They were not putting much effort in preventing Nasheed’s anti-religious, anti-nationalist secular rule from coming back. The ‘broad coalition’ was formed with high hopes to prevent this, but now it seems the coalition is incapable of it,” read the statement.

“No solution has been proposed by other members of the coalition,” it continued.

“By the will of almighty Allah, the Adhaalath [Party] will do whatever it can to protect the sovereignty of this country and its religion from all threats and will continue its actions within the best interests of the state,” it added.

Earlier this week – prior to Waheed’s AFP interview – reports were circulating that the GIP and AP had a falling out with each other after the Adhaalath Party expressed concern over a lack of campaign activities.

Meanwhile, there have been unconfirmed reports suggesting that Adhaalath is now considering the possibility of entering into coalition with resort tycoon Gasim Ibrahim’s Jumhoree Party (JP).

The GIP and ‘Forward with the Nation’ still hopes to work together with AP “even after the presidential elections,” the coalition stated in a press release issued yesterday, following the AP’s announcement it was leaving the coalition.

“The Coalition does not have any hard feelings towards Adhaalath Party,” read the statement.

“We also thank Adhaalath Party Leader Sheikh Imran Abdulla and other members for their time and support in forming this coalition.

“We believe that, even though we do not campaign together, our final goal must be to strengthen democracy and uphold democratic values and also to work in the best interest of the people,” it concluded.

The President’s ‘Forward with the nation’ coalition which is backing Waheed’s bid for election in September, now includes the government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP). However, several key members of DQP have since defected to the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), while DRP leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali was recently taken to court by a series of creditors.

The Adhaalath Party President Sheik Imran and Sobah Rasheed, AP Member and team leader of Waheed’s election coalition media team, were not responding to calls at time of press.

Jumhoree Party (JP) Spokesperson Moosa Ramiz and Gaumee Itthihad Party (GIP) Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza were also not responding to calls at time of press.

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Closer Chinese ties not a replacement for strained Indian relations: President’s Office

The President’s Office has said efforts to establish closer political and economic links with China are not an attempt to directly replace bilateral assistance traditionally provided by India – despite the recent strained relationship between Male’ and New Delhi.

President Dr Mohamed Waheed was reported in Sri Lankan media on the weekend as providing “hints” that the Maldives was moving away from India and towards China in terms of development, economic assistance and bilateral ties.

Senior Advisor to President Waheed, Teresa Wells, said despite a changing relationship with China that had led to growing economic and diplomatic ties in recent years, efforts were also under way to improve relations with India due to earlier decisions by the current government.

Dr Waheed has lately come under criticism by some partners in his coalition government – who are directly contesting against him in this year’s election – for his alleged handling of bilateral relations with India since coming to power last February.

Wells dismissed any implication that ties with India were being cut or reduced.

“The president feels that relations are improving with India,” she said. “ We would want relationships with both India and China.”

Speaking to the Sri Lankan Sunday Times newspaper on July 7, President Waheed said the relationship between the Maldives and India has been strained after his government last November declared a US$511 million airport development agreement with India-based GMR void.

He added that although restrictions on visas for Maldivian patients seeking medical treatment in India and a supply of construction materials remained in place, improvements had since been seen in bilateral relations between the two countries.

President Waheed said that the Maldives had also nonetheless moved to boost commerce ties with China.

“In terms of bilateral assistance, we have more access to Chinese financing now for development projects,” he said.

“Chinese nationals now make up the biggest chunk of tourists to the Maldives. With Europe in recession there is a slight decline of European tourists but with the middle class in China growing, the Maldives has become a new destination for them.”

Election predictions

Dr Waheed also expressed confidence during his visit to Sri Lanka that he would win September’s election by defeating former President Mohamed Nasheed, whom he succeeded following a controversial transfer of power in February last year on the back of a mutiny by sections of the country’s police and military.

“I am very confident of victory in the upcoming poll because I know that the Maldivian people will prefer me over the other candidates. I have steered Maldives through rough waters and very difficult times,” he told the Sunday Times.

“No one will join the former president because everybody has had a bad taste in the mouth after what happened last time.”

President’s own Gaumee Iththihaadh Party (GIP) is currently facing potential dissolution for lacking the minimum requirement of 10,000 members as stipulated in the recently passed Political Parties Act.

Meanwhile, the Maldives Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) last month alleged that of 100 members of the GIP interviewed, 85 percent of those polled had no knowledge of ever joining the party.

National interests

President Waheed also drew on parallels between himself and Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa in terms of efforts to protect national interests and “sovereignty”.

“Sometimes when we are smaller countries there is a tendency to push us around but we both feel we need to stand up to them,” he said.

Playing up his commitment to national interests, President Waheed also told Sri Lankan media that while the state-owned Maldives Airport Company Limited (MACL) had not ruled out future foreign assistance to develop the airport, the country could oversee such work itself.

“The airport is now being managed by our own airport company and there are plans to develop it. We will soon be developing a second runway. We will find the investment facility to develop the airport the way we want,” he was quoted as saying.

The Maldives faces a potential bill of US$1.4 billion – an amount four times the size of the Maldives’ state reserves – from GMR as part of compensation being sought in a Singapore through an ongoing arbitration process.

Coalition criticism

Despite Waheed’s claims about securing financing for the airport, the government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) last month claimed foreign investors were now turning away from the Maldives due to concerns about political stability and safety in the country.

On June 29, PPM presidential candidate Abdulla Yameen was quoted in local media as expressing concern that foreign businesses were shunning the Maldives in favour of financing projects in other countries in the region.

“With our present woes no one wants to invest here. They are looking at Seychelles and Caracas. No foreign investor wants to come to the Maldives,” Haveeru reported him as saying.

Earlier the same month, the PPM – part of the current coalition government – accused President Waheed of ignoring its advice by abruptly terminating the airport development contract with GMR.

MP Ahmed Nihan alleged that while the PPM believed terminating the GMR contract had been the right decision, President Waheed had nonetheless personally taken an executive decision to cancel the agreement without listening to the party’s advice in seeking a compromise with the company and the Indian government.

However, the PPM’s coalition partners later accused the party of making “contradictory statements” regarding the decision to terminate GMR’s concession agreement, accusing its senior leadership of trying to terminate the deal at the time without discussion or following due process.

Despite the high-profile termination of GMR’s concession agreement, the government’s sudden eviction of the Indian investor did not appear on a list of 11 grievances handed to all senior Maldivian reporters by the Indian High Commission in January.

The list instead included concerns such as discrimination against Indian expatriates and the confiscation of passports by Maldivian employers.

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Police forensic expert testifies in Afrasheem murder trial

A police forensic expert has testified in court that he found the DNA of three individuals on jeans worn by Hussain Humam, the main suspect in the murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali.

Local media reported today at the hearing that the forensic expert told the judge that one of these DNA samples matched a the DNA sample of taken from Dr Afrasheem.

He told the court that the second DNA sample obtained matched that of Humam himself. He did not say whether the third sample was identified.

The expert told the judge that the chance of the DNA sample not being Dr Afrasheem was one in 9.8 billion and the chance of Humam’s DNA sample being wrong was one in 1.4 billion.

During the trial Humam’s lawyer Abdulla Haseen asked the forensic expert about the date he received Humam’s jeans, and was informed that he received them on October 2.

Haseen contended that while Dr Afrasheem was murdered between 12:00am to 1:00am on October 1, and Humam was arrested at 1:45am the same night, there was a window for police to put Dr Afrasheem’s DNA sample on Humam’s jeans, and asked the expert if he was able to determine at what time Humam’s jeans received the sample.

The forensic expert told the court that he was unable to determine the time.

Before concluding today’s hearing, the judge announced that another hearing into the case would be scheduled soon.

Dr Afrasheem was a well-known religious scholar and the MP for Ungoofaaru constituency. He was stabbed to death on the night of October 1, on the staircase of his home.

State prosecutors accused Humam, along with Ali Shan – who is also facing the same charges – and a minor identified as ‘Nangi’, of going to the residence of Dr Afrasheem and murdering him with a machete and a bayonet knife.

Humam initially confessed to the murder, but later withdraw his statement claiming it had been extracted under police duress.

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