Three Burmese expats who jumped off a boat to get to Male’ have been rescued, report police.
In a statement today, police said the three men jumped off the boat in an attempt to leave the country and return to Myanmar, after their employer failed to pay their wages for three months.
Police said the men were found in the sea by a small dingy that was out fishing this morning at 5:30am.
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(0)Business tycoon and leader of the government-aligned Jumhoree Party (JP), MP Gasim Ibrahim, has expressed confidence he will win the upcoming presidential election in the first round of voting.
Speaking at a rally in the party’s Male’ headquarters yesterday (June 16), Gasim was quoted in local media as claiming that he was well placed to become the Maldives’ next president based on a recent spike in the JP’s membership.
According to the latest statistics from the Elections Commission (EC), the JP’s current membership stands at 12,154 members (five percent of eligible voters) with a further 1,374 membership forms pending approval.
The JP, a member of President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s coalition government, recently announced that it would decide whether to contest the election alone or within a coalition after the conclusion of its national conference later this month.
However with the party expected to officially unveil its leader during the congress, MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla said the JP anticipated fielding its own candidate during the election.
“What I will say is that our articles and regulations state that our leader has to run as a presidential candidate. We have to run for the seat on our own,” he said last week.
Raheem added that the party did nonetheless have criteria under which it would look to join a coalition.
Speaking last night, Gasim predicted a growing number of MPs would join his party and unite behind him in order to back a candidate he claimed could steer the country from corruption.
“[That leader] is Gasim Ibrahim,” he said.
Gasim is also the chairman of the Villa Group, which owns resorts, shipping lines, electronic stores and a cement packing factory in the Maldives. Gasim also owns private broadcaster Villa Television (VTV), and is a member of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC).
The MP for Maamigili claimed a surge in his party membership suggested that people were now thinking about what was best for the country and which party offered the best solution to the nation’s woes.
Gasim maintained that the public ultimately did not wish to elect a leader who would defy them, claiming instead that they wanted an experienced person capable of running the country.
“Even a fishing vessel must be handed over to a good captain,” he stressed.
Gasim claimed that with his wealth he had provided education for a lot of students, as well as covered medical expenses for a number of citizens.
If elected president in September, Gasim pledged to continue providing further help to the people, something he claimed the public were already aware of.
JP Spokesperson Moosa Rameez was not responding to calls at time of press regarding the comments.
The election is set to take place on September 7, and the Elections Commission (EC) has announced that a total of 241,000 people will be able to cast their vote in the second multi-party presidential vote to be held in the country since ratification of the 2008 constitution.
Two major political parties in the country – the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) – have so far announced their intentions to field candidates.
Incumbent President Dr Mohamed Waheed has also announced his intention to stand, backed by a coalition including his own Gaumee Iththihaadh Party (GIP), the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) and religious conservative Adhaalath Party (AP).
The opposition MDP is fielding former President Mohamed Nasheed, who controversially resigned from office following a violent mutiny by sections of the police and military on February 7, 2012.
Both Nasheed and his party continue to allege his government was toppled in a bloodless coup d’etat, accusations that were later rejected by a Commonwealth-backed Commission of National Inquiry (CoNI).
The PPM will meanwhile be fielding former President Gayoom’s half-brother, MP Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, as its presidential candidate. Yameen secured the party’s ticket after a fierce presidential primary against former PPM activist Umar Naseer. Naseer was later dismissed from the party after making accusing Yameen vote rigging in the primary.
First round claims
Election rules dictate that a candidate must secure over 50 percent of the popular vote to secure the presidency in the first round. Should no candidate secure a simple majority, a run-off second round election is then required to be held 20 days later between the top two candidates.
Former President Nasheed, who commands the single largest political support base in the country in terms of party membership, has previously predicted that he would win the election within the first round with a 57 percent popular vote. The party claims to have been pledged 125,000 votes already – 52 percent of total eligible voters, or almost 60 percent of the first round assuming an 85 percent voter turnout (as the figure stood in 2008, another ‘high stakes’ election).
Former DRP Spokesperson Ibrahim Shareef said the party, which is backing President Waheed in the election, did not believe there was a single party in the country capable of securing an outright win in September.
“No party in the country will get more than 35 percent of the vote during the first round, even the MDP which remains the biggest single party,” he said last month.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Police Integrity Commission (PIC) has said no complaints have been received of officers in Addu City refusing to provide a warrant or identification while conducting searches on members of the public or their private property.
Addu City’s Mayor yesterday (June 16) alleged he had received multiple complaints that plain clothes officers who refused to provide either identification or a warrant were searching members of the public in the streets and in their homes.
The allegations were raised following the Maldives Police Service (MPS) warning issued Saturday (June 15) claiming criminals had been posing as officers in the Addu City area for the last two weeks in order to commit robberies.
PIC Director General Fathimath Sareera Ali Shareef told Minivan News today that as the commission had received no reports of officers failing to provide their identification or a warrant during searches, it would not be investigating allegations against officers in Addu City.
“We would only look into the issue if there were complaints made of police doing wrong,” she said.
Shareef added that while the PIC had been made aware of the reports of criminals posing as officers in Addu, the matter was a criminal investigation and therefore the responsibility of the police.
“We understand that these robberies involve members of the public posing as police. I would hope no officers were involved in this,” she said.
A police media official meanwhile confirmed yesterday that investigations were under way in Addu City into several separate incidents where individuals falsely claiming to be officers searched members of the public in the street or at their homes before robbing them of valuables.
Police were presently working to identify the individuals accused of posing as police in order to commit robberies, though no arrests have been made at the time, the official added.
A statement released by authorities on the weekend said that all genuine officers – even those on duty in plain clothes – are required to carry their police identification. The public was therefore encouraged to ask officers to see such documentation when they were being searched or questioned.
However, Addu City Mayor Abdulla Sodig said that after having recently received numerous complaints about Special Operations (SO) officers allegedly forcing their way into homes to conduct searches without uniforms, warrants or identification, it was increasingly difficult for the public to verify real police in the city.
“We never get complaints about thieves breaking into properties disguised in police uniform,” he alleged. “We have received complaints that the SO perform searches of people and property without their ID or uniform. Also, people have been beaten, threatened, abused, abducted and locked up without relatives being informed.”
Sodig argued that on the back of allegations certain officers were conducting their duties without wearing uniforms or providing their ID, local thieves had found themselves able to exploit public uncertainty to perform robberies.
“Some people have issued complaints with us and the PIC. These are not fake police officers, they are genuine officers who are refusing to show their ID and stopping anyone on the street they like,” he claimed yesterday.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Civil Court has today dismissed a case submitted by Chief Judge of the High Court Ahmed Shareef to overturn his indefinite suspension by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
The case was dismissed by Civil Court Judge Hathif Hilmy after the claimant did not attend a hearing scheduled for today, while also failing to provide any reasonable grounds for his absence.
The Civil Court said that the hearing was scheduled for 1:00pm.
Judge Ahmed Shareef was suspended on the same day that the High Court cancelled a hearing of a case involving former President Mohamed Nasheed.
The hearing 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.
Shortly after the cancellation, the JSC declared that the commission had indefinitely suspended Shareef.
He was the presiding judge in former President Nasheed’s case against the JSC.
JSC Chair and Supreme Court Justice Adam Mohamed Abdulla insisted at a press conference later that day that the disciplinary action had no relation to the former president’s case.
The JSC then announced it had appointed Judge Abdul Rauoof Ibrahim as acting Chief Judge of High Court until the conclusion of its inquiry into complaints filed against the suspended chief judge.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) has announced the purchase of 18,000 tonnes of breakwater rocks required to complete the construction of five island harbours previously stalled due to a lack of the material, according to local media.
Sun Online has reported that the company had acquired the materials from a shipment previously imported to the country by Indian infrastructure group GMR for construction of a new terminal at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA). The airport development deal, signed during the administration of former President Mohamed Nasheed, was declared void last November by the government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed.
A MTCC spokesperson told local media that the acquisition of breakwater rocks would allow the company to resume construction work on harbour projects for five islands.
These islands include Manadhoo in Noonu Atoll, Ungoofaaru in Raa Atoll, Komandoo in Shaviyani, Feeali in Faafu Atoll, while a harbour is also being constructed in Meemu Atoll
The 18,000 tonnes of special rocks are now being transported to the islands, with authorities estimating that there would be enough building material to begin work on four harbours, with a further acquisition of breakwater rocks expected soon, according to Sun Online.
MTCC announced last month that it was suspending harbour construction on four of the islands as the remaining work required further supplies of reinforcement rock boulders or conglomerate.
On February 15 this year, the Indian government revoked a special quota afforded to the Maldives for the import of aggregate and river sand. The move led to a shortage in the supply of construction material and subsequent rising costs for construction companies.
The Indian government’s decision followed a diplomatic row with the Maldives following the current administration’s termination of the concession agreement with GMR to upgrade and develop INIA.
The government’s sudden eviction of the Indian investor did not however 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.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Elections Commission (EC) has said it has been forced to delay the publication of an amended voter registry for September’s presidential election as a result of the number of complaints filed by the public.
The amended list of voters was originally due to have been published today in the government gazette.
EC Vice President Ahmed Fayaz said that despite the delay, the commission was in “full swing” with its preparations for the presidential election scheduled for September 7. He added that the commission was presently working to address a number of concerns, including assuring that the legitimate electorate were not deprived of their right to vote due to preventable issues.
According to the latest EC records, the electorate presently consists of 240,302 individuals – 31,008 more voters than the number of participants in the 2008 presidential election.
The statistics indicate that 123,565 males and 116,737 females are presently eligible to vote on September 7.
Voter registry to be “hopefully complete by week’s end”
Thaufeeq informed local media that the commission had received 2,790 complaints based on the initial voter registry, adding that verifying these complaints had proved to be highly time consuming.
“When we are verifying complaints about deceased people being listed in the voter registry, sometimes we need to actually send staff to the addresses in question to carry out verification of the claims. It’s this verification process that is taking up time,” he was quoted as saying.
Thaufeeq stated that with the commission’s staff working day and night to complete the required amendments to the voter registry, he remained hopeful that the final list would be published by the end of the week.
Thaufeeq further called on citizens and political parties to extend their cooperation in checking whether the amended list had addressed the previously lodged complaints.
“It is also very important that each individual checks the voter registry within five days after it is published to ensure that their details are correctly included in it,” he continued.
Previously, EC President Thaufeeq stated that the commission was confident the voter registry would be completed by a deadline of June 14.
He said at the time that the amendment of the voter registry had gone “better than expected”, despite challenges remaining in notifying all the complainants about the changes made to the list, as is required according to regulations.
Ballot boxes
The EC said it estimated approximately 500 ballot boxes would need to be set up for the vote on September 7.
“As per our current estimate, 495 ballot boxes will need to be set up countrywide, but that number may still increase,” Thaufeeq was quoted as telling local media.
According to the existing EC plans, 122 ballot boxes will be placed in Male’ City: 48 for citizens registered in Male’, and an additional 74 for citizens registered in other islands who live in Male’. While ballot boxes are to be placed in other inhabited islands, 55 tourist resorts will also have polling booths stationed in them.
Resorts which do not have a minimum of 50 eligible voters working in it will not have a dedicated polling booth. Instead, the Elections Commission is appealing to management of such resorts to allow staff to travel to the nearest island to place their votes.
Additionally, all jails and detention centres in the country will have ballot boxes, as well as other nations which have a minimum of 100 Maldivian citizens living in them. These countries are said to include India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and the UK.
Concerns pending solutions
EC Vice President Ahmed Fayaz has however expressed concern that the identity cards of hundreds of inmates will have expired prior to voting day.
“We have been discussing the issue with them. The renewal of identity card requires a fee to be paid, and the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services have told us that they do not have sufficient funds to carry out ID renewals for the inmates,” Fayaz said.
“In the end, the only viable solution is for the concerned state authorities to find a solution for this,” he said.
Political parties contesting in the upcoming election have previously spoken to Minivan News about their respective concerns over registration and identity card renewal ahead of the vote.
Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s Membership and Campaign Committee member Ahmed Shahid spoke of such concerns, alleging that based on the current situation, “it doesn’t seem as though the state is really trying to solve the issues prior to the elections”.
“From the information we have gathered, we understand that approximately 40,000 identity cards will expire before September 7. According to the the information we have, the Department of National Registration has the capacity to issue about 350 or so cards a day. This suggests that the 40,000 people from the electorate will not all be able to get the cards renewed before the elections,” Shahid said at the time.
Earlier this month, Government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Nihan said the party was continuing to come across issues within the recently published election registry due to incorrect information and the inclusion of voters now believed to be deceased.
He said that with an estimated third of the population also having moved from their home islands to the capital in recent years, correct registration would be another vital issue in the lead up to September.
Nihan claimed the EC therefore “has a lot of work to do” in the lead up to September to ensure its database of registered voters was both up-to-date and correct.
“The government also has to try and provide the funds for the EC and also participate with international stakeholders to get the assistance to ensure elections are free and fair,” he said.
(0)Dislikes(0)A 66-year old man was stabbed in Addu City and robbed of his mobile phone and wallet this afternoon, police have confirmed.
The incident occurred at 2:44pm today, with the wounded man later being admitted to Hithadhoo Regional Hospital.
He was later identified by police as Hassan Ali of Saifaimaage, who had previously worked for the Maldives Police Service in a civil position before retiring with honour.
The case is now under investigation.
Local media has meanwhile reported that the man received injuries to his arm and ear in the attack.
No arrests have been made in connection with the case at present.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives Police Service (MPS) has alleged that criminals have been posing as police officers in Addu City for the last two weeks in order to commit robberies.
In light of the allegations, authorities are warning members of the public to request the ID of any officer approaching them for questioning or to conduct a search.
However, Addu City Council today alleged that it had not been informed of any cases where thieves were posing as police in the municipality, but had received multiple complaints of plain clothes officers searching people and private property without a warrant or ID.
A police media official confirmed that investigations were presently under way in Addu City into several separate incidents where individuals claiming to be officers searched members of the public in the street or at their homes before robbing them of valuables.
Police are working to identify those who are posing as police in order to commit robberies, though no arrests have been made so far, the official continued.
However, police claim that no complaints have been lodged regarding reports of officers refusing to show their identification when requested by the public in Addu City.
In an official statement published yesterday (June 15), police reiterated that all genuine officers – even those on duty in plain clothes – are required to carry their police identification. The public was therefore encouraged to ask officers to see such documentation when they were being searched or questioned.
The robberies were suspected of having been committed as part of attempts to defame the reputation of the police in Addu as officers continue with an operation designed to curb crime in the city, the statement added.
As part of this operation, a task force consisting of 50 Special Operations (SO) police arrived in the atoll on January 17, 2013 and were supposed to remain only until April 17 this year, Addu City Council has previously claimed. However, these SO force have remained in Addu City, targeting those allegedly involved in drug and gang issues.
Council’s uncertainty claims
Addressing the police warning today, Addu City Mayor Abdulla Sodig said he had not been contacted by authorities or received complaints of criminals disguising themselves as police officers to steal from the public.
However, Sodig said that with his office receiving complaints about officers allegedly forcing their way into homes to conduct searches without uniforms, warrants or identification, it was increasingly difficult for the public to verify real police in the city.
“We never get complaints about thieves breaking into properties disguised in police uniform,” he alleged. “We have received complaints that the SO perform searches of people and property without their ID or uniform. Also, people have been beaten, threatened, abused, abducted and locked up without relatives being informed.”
Sodig argued that on the back of allegations that certain police officers were conducting their duties without wearing uniforms or providing their ID, local thieves had found themselves able to exploit public uncertainty to perform robberies.
“Some people have issued complaints with us and the PIC. These are not fake police officers, they are genuine officers who are refusing to show their ID and stopping anyone on the street they like,” he claimed. “They are going out without their uniforms on to conduct searches. People here know they are ‘star force’ [SO] Police.”
The ‘star force’ was a name previously given to the police SO unit during the latter stages of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s 30 years as head of state.
Sodig claimed that in the past, the city council had been informed by police of any special criminal operations being conducted by officers. However, he claimed Addu City Council had presently received no information concerning the allegations of fraudulent officers operating in Addu.
“Police do not concentrate on thieves or drug users, rather they focus on political party members and activists,” he alleged.
Minivan News was awaiting a response from the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) at time of press.
Arrest allegations
Last month, Mayor Sodig claimed 50 people were arrested in advance of a visit by President Dr Mohamed Waheed to Addu City, alleging that “90 percent of those taken in were MDP (Maldivian Democratic Party) supporters”.
Police however denied making the arrests.
As part of an ongoing police operation in Addu to “keep the peace”, “lots of people were taken into custody and were released after their information was collected”, a police media official who spoke with Minivan News initially stated.
The same official later refuted the statement, claiming that only one person was arrested in Addu City on May 7.
Addu City Council had said it had previously requested police “provide extra strength to increase numbers to about 30 per station.”
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldivian crew of the MV Asian Express cargo ship, which sank off the coast of India last week, returned safely to the country yesterday (June 15), the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has confirmed.
MNDF Spokesperson Colonel Abdul Raheem said today that all 18 Maldivian nationals on the ship’s 22-member crew had returned to the country “in good health”.
The MV Asian Express, a 35 year-old Lily Enterprises vessel, was travelling from Port Md Bin Qasim in Karachi to Male’ when it encountered engine trouble, reportedly after being fuelled with contaminated oil, according to Indian media reports.
In addition to engine trouble, the vessel suffered a two-to-three-metre vertical crack on its starboard side below the waterline and a failed communication system before sinking.
The ship’s owners yesterday told local media that they had decided to sell the 35 year-old ship just before the incident occurred.
“We decided to sell the boat not because of its condition, but due to its small size and high maintenance cost. An Indian living in Dubai has offered to buy it,” Ahmed Saleem, shipping manager of Apollo Holdings, was quoted as saying in Haveeru.
After its crew had been rescued, the vessel sank with its cargo of 4000 tons of cement and 2400 tons of sand.
The MV Asian Express was carrying aggregate imported from Pakistan, after a shortage began impacting the Maldives’ construction industry.
Aggregate was previously imported to the Maldives from India under a special quota, however this was temporarily revoked on February 15 amid a breakdown in the country’s relationship over the government’s eviction of Indian infrastructure giant GMR and ongoing mistreatment of Indian nationals working in the country.
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