Tag: maldives

Releasing PIC findings ahead of CNI report “of utmost importance”: PIC President

The Police Integrity Commission (PIC) has stated its intention to release findings from ongoing investigations into alleged breach of laws and regulations by police officers during the lead up to and in the direct aftermath of February’s controversial transfer of power.

Speaking to Minivan News today, PIC President Shahinda Ismail said the institution would be releasing three separate reports. These reports will focus on the events of February 6 and 7, the events in Male’ on February 8 and the events in Addu Atoll on February 8 and 9. She also stated that these reports would be available to public upon release.

“I feel that it is of utmost importance to release the reports before the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) report comes out. If not, there is a chance that the PIC investigations are not given the importance it merits. We’re working to get this done,” Shahindha added.

Meanwhile, local news website Haveeru quoted PIC Vice President Dr Abdulla Waheed as saying that the commission has gathered information from a variety of sources and its reporting was now almost complete.

Asked if PIC had so far taken action against any police officers found at fault through the investigations, Waheed refused to comment on it before the release of the said reports.

With reference to the HRCM reports released last Saturday, Waheed said that the commission had not yet discussed the findings concerning police conduct. He added that the commission would be able to respond to them once government offices resumed work after the holiday period.

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Male’ festival aims to clear HIV “misconceptions” among migrant population

A “HIV Awareness Festival” being held this weekend in Male’ aims to provide free advice and medical examinations, alongside activities for those interested in learning about HIV/AIDS in a friendly environment, organisers have said.

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the main organiser of the festival, the aim for the event is to promote HIV/AIDS awareness amongst a rapidly growing migrant population in the Maldives – identified as one of the most vulnerable groups to contract the deadly virus.

It is an opportunity to connect migrant workers to the available HIV preventive and curative services in the Maldives as well.

“The festival will create a platform for migrant workers to obtain information on prevention of HIV/AIDS and clear misconceptions through activity-based interaction in their native languages,” a press statement about the event read.

The festival will begin at 4:00pm in Sultan Park and throughout the event, stalls will be providing basic healthcare checks, for dental and eye health, voluntary counselling and testing for HIV/AIDS – all free of charge.

A jumble sale will also take place, while snacks and music will reflect the different food and cultures of migrant populations.

According to the organiser, the stall activities are supported by various foreign embassies and civil society organisations.

HIV situation in Maldives

Compared to many countries in the region, the Maldives had been found to have a low prevalence of HIV.

As of December 2011, state figures reveal a total of 15 HIV cases were detected among Maldivians, while 289 were identified among the expatriate migrant labour force.

However, the challenge remains to maintain the low prevalence rates amid widespread high risk behaviours.

Heath Minster Dr Ahmed Jamsheed has contended that these high risk behaviours – including unsafe injecting, unprotected sex with multiple partners, serial monogamy, group sex, gang rape, commercial sex, and unprotected male-to-male sex – have put Maldives at the brink of an HIV/AIDs explosion.

Recent studies suggest that migrant construction workers, injecting drug users, female sex workers, men who have sex with men, seafarers, resort workers and young people are the seven groups at the most risk for contracting deadly virus.

An unknown number of 80,000 to 110,000 foreign workers – almost one-third of the total local population – is estimated to be working in Maldives – primarily in the construction and service sectors.

Thousands of them are undocumented workers who have entered the country illegally, possibly escaping the mandatory HIV screening process.

Through the Global Fund Supported Programme in the Maldives, health authorities and UN agencies are working to run outreach programmes on HIV, targeting the groups most vulnerable to contracting HIV and strengthening national HIV preventive mechanisms.

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International Labour Organisation intervenes over MPWU harassment allegations

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has written to the Maldives government for a response to allegations that members of the Maldivian Ports Workers Union (MPWU) have been harassed over their political views.

In a letter seen by Minivan News,  Cleopatra Doumbia-­Henry, Director of the ILO’s International Labour Standards Department, asked the government for its observations about accusations raised by MPWU members concerning workplace harrasment.

The letter also “denounces” the termination of MPWU president Ibrahim Khaleel, executive committee member Yazeedh Abdhul Hameed and six other union members.  Concerns were also raised by the ILO over the suspension of 49 trade union members, the reassignment of many union members to other ports, and accusations of threats and harassment towards union members.

The MPWU itself has previously alleged that authorities at Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) had violated worker rights based on their political activism. MPWU President Khaleel has previously sent a letter to MPL CEO Mahdi Imad, in which he said, “Although the constitution guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of assembly , it is now common within MPL to stop employees from expressing certain political views, and to violate the Employment Act by unfairly dismissing employees and transferring employees to different departments without prior warning or explanation of any offense committed.”

Speaking to Minivan News today, Deputy CEO of MPL, Ahmed Faiz said they had already sent a response to the ILO on behalf of the Maldivian government. Faiz was unable to share the contents of the letter, but said that it was based around the authorities’ belief that the MPWU was being used as a political tool.

On the topic of MPWU’s accusations of harassment and unfair treatment based on political activism, Faiz said “There can be no grounds to make these accusations. Even today MPL employs many staff who belong to different political parties. We even have people in managerial posts who are actually members of MDP.”

Faiz also went on to say, “MPL is a service provider which deals with a variety of clients. In this time of political turmoil, such activism out in the open may have a bad impact on the company itself and that is why we took measures to stop them”

Earlier this month, the World Federation of Trade Unions also expressed concern over this matter.

MPWU President Khaleel was not responding to calls at the time of press.

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Police find forged dollars and alcohol bottles during salon raid

Police raided the premises of the ‘Natural Beauty Harbor Salon’ in Male’ Tuesday evening (August 21) with officers discovering alcohol, forged US Dollars and materials used for sexual activities.

Police said Tuesday’s raid was part of a special operation launched jointly by the Drug Enforcement Department (DED) and Police Intelligence after authorities received reports that illegal drugs were being stored at the salon.

According to police, a search of the premises was conducted at 10:07pm, after officers obtained a search warrant from a local court.

Police said they discovered materials used for sexual activities, as well as controlled drugs,  US$2000 in forged currency, a large amount of money suspected to have been gained through prostitution, five bottles of unspecified alcohol, and a further three empty bottles.

A 38 year-old Maldivian man and a 27 year-old Thai woman were inside the salon when police raided. Both have been arrested.

Police said the business was located at the third floor of Mahchangolhi Maaharaage’.

According to a report on online newspaper ‘Sun’,  the Maldives Police Force has so far closed 22 properties believed to have been operated as brothels, since February.  As part of this crackdown, 83 people have reportedly been arrested since the crackdowns began following the controversial transfer of power.

The paper said that the Islamic Ministry had claimed police have confiscated Rf63,000 and US$2,640 allegedly obtained through prostitution.

In June, the Home Ministry said that twelve brothels have been shut down in an operation launched by police after President Mohamed Waheed assumed office in February.

A month earlier, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs said it was formulating rules and guidelines for registering and operating alternative medicine centres, spas and beauty salons to prevent the use of such establishments as a front for prostitution.

Shutting down spas and massage parlours doubling as brothels was a key demand of a ‘mega protest’ on December 23 organised by eight political parties and religious NGOs to ‘Defend Islam’ against the alleged concerns of the liberal policies of the former Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government.

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HRCM findings on discussion agenda during President Waheed’s Sri Lanka visit

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan is to discuss the findings of several reports released this week by the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) with the Sri Lankan government during a two day official visit to the country.  The official visit began today.

The findings of the HRCM, which were published earlier this week in several different reports, will be among the discussion topics with senior officials in the country, the Sunday Times of Sri Lanka  has reported. The president is also expected to use the trip to meet with expatriates and Maldivian business owners living in the country, as well as visit the War Heroes Monument in Sri Jayawardenapura.

Speaking to Minivan News yesterday, President’s Office spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza said the official visit was taking place this week after having been previously postponed. He added that the visit would focus on high-level talks with Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa and senior officials concerning wider bilateral relations and commercial opportunities between the two nations.

According to Abbas, no discussions were expected to take place on how the government would deal with the potential findings of the Commission of National inquiry (CNI), which was set up by the president to review February’s controversial transfer of power.

The President’s Office website has said that President Waheed will be accompanied during the visit by Minister of Environment and Energy Dr Mariyam Shakeela, Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb, Economic Development Minister Ahmed Mohamed and Foreign Minister Dr Abdul Samad Abdulla.

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Mother of abandoned guest house baby a 13 year-old minor, police confirm

The manager of a guest house in Male’ has discovered a six month old baby left alone in one of the property’s rooms on Monday (August 20), prompting a police investigation that today revealed the child’s mother to be a 13 year-old minor.

According to local media reports, the child was discovered by the manager of the M. Hudhufas guest house in the capital after he heard the baby crying for several hours. Upon entering the room, he discovered the child alone and unharmed.

The Maldives Police Service was alerted to the scene immediately, with the baby being taken into state care temporarily while a search was conducted for the child’s parents.

A girl claiming to be the child’s mother later came to the police station by herself after officers called the mobile number she had provided while checking into the guest house.

“We called the number to confirm if she was the baby’s mother and asked her to report to the station. When she came, we found out that she was just a 13 year-old girl,” Police Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef said.

When asked about the circumstances surrounding her pregnancy, Haneef noted that no further information could be revealed about the case at this stage, as the mother was a minor herself.

A police investigation is currently ongoing in collaboration with the Gender Ministry.

Haneef also declined to confirm if the police were investigating the details of how the minor became pregnant or if there was suspicion she may have been the victim of abuse.

“We have now returned the girl and her baby to her family,” he added.

Speaking to Minivan News today, Deputy Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem also pointed out that in cases involving minors, “no conclusions” should be drawn until an investigation into the matter was completed.

When asked if a minor who gives birth to a child out of marriage could face criminal charges, Shameem said that it was “very unlikely”.  He contended that, under the law, a child below 18 cannot give their consent for sex – therefore any resulting pregnancy is deemed to be the result of sexual abuse.

“For example, in this case, we need to determine first if she is in fact the mother of the baby or not. Then we need to find out how she got pregnant and where her parents were when this happened, because they are responsible for looking after their underage children,” Shameem added.  “She is a minor so she cannot give consent [for sex], so police need to investigate the case. It it is very unlikely in such cases for minors to be charged and prosecuted,” he explained.

The “Stringent Punishments for Perpetrators of Sexual Violence Against Children Act’ explicitly states that a child below 13 years of age cannot give consent to any form of sexual relationship, which will be deemed as abuse – a punishable criminal offence.  If the child is aged between 13 to 17 years of age, the court must similarly deem that she or he cannot give consent to any form of sexual relationship unless proven otherwise in court.

However, given the history of cases of unmarried pregnancies in the country – often resulting from sexual abuse or unsafe sex – women or girls have traditionally faced the brunt of legal repercussions and widespread stigma. Subsequently, there have been a number of recent incidents reported in media where pregnant women have been forced to take desperate measures, such as self-induced abortions, infanticide or leaving babies abandoned.

In June, police recovered the body of a newborn infant buried in the outdoor shower of a house on Shaviyani Feydhoo island. The baby’s mother was identified as a 15 year-old school student.

Meanwhile, over the last two years, three newborns have been found dead in the country, with another two incidents where newborn children were discovered abandoned but alive. Two foetuses were reported discovered during this two year period, one hidden in a milk tin and the other at the bottom of Male’s municipal swimming pool.  Another fully-developed baby was thrown into a park having apparently been strangled with underwear tied around its neck.

The two babies found abandoned and alive have now been placed under state care.

The Centre for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC) has described these incidents, as well as the figures detailing an increase in the rate of sexually transmitted diseases, as evidence of a sexual health crisis in the Maldives.

Nazeera Najeeb, who leads the reproductive health unit of the CCHDC, told Minivan News in an interview earlier this year that the centre was witnessing an “alarming” increase in cases of underage and unplanned pregnancies, where some girls are getting pregnant “without even knowing it”.

“These unwanted pregnancies are subsequently resulting in more unsafe abortions, baby dumping or infanticide,” she noted.

Najeeb added: “Not just that, sexual violence committed against girls such as sexual abuse and rape, remains at alarmingly high levels. In most cases, abused girls did not even know what happened to them, because no one talks to them about it.”

To curb these perceived problems, she stressed the need for implementing a comprehensive sex education curriculum in and outside educational institutions to create greater awareness on sexual and reproductive health subjects.

Though the concept of sex education is widely supported by health authorities, including Health Minister Dr Ahmed Jamsheed, efforts to implement such practices nationally have been limited.

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Save Our Surfspot (SOS) campaign gathers support

“Maldivian surfers are beginning to attract support from around the world for a campaign to save a popular surfspot from privatisation,” reports Travel News Maldives.

“The Save Our Surfspot (SOS) campaign was launched in response to news that the Government of the Maldives wants to sell Thanburudhoo Island in North Male’ Atoll and its two surf breaks known as ‘Sultans’ and ‘Honkeys’ for US$5million. The island is also a breeding ground for herons, a protected bird in the Maldives.

The campaigners have organised an online petition via international campaign website Avaaz with a target of 10,000 signatures, as well as a social media campaign to encourage people to support the cause. Their calls are now starting to be taken up by the international surf media and supporters as far away as Australia, the USA and Russia.”

Read more

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HRCM findings will reflect CNI conclusions on transfer of power: President’s Office

The government will not make “special” preparations to address the findings of the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) once they are published next week, claiming it does not expect any “abnormal” outcome from the report that would see its legitimacy questioned.

President’s Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza today told Minivan News that while it did not wish to speculate on the CNI’s outcome before receiving its findings on August 29, the government expected similar conclusions regarding the transfer of power to those of the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM).

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has dismissed the government’s claims, adding that the CNI was an independent body, overseen by international partners, and would therefore focus on the “big picture” concerning the power transfer, rather than any individual report.

The HRCM yesterday publicly released several reports around alleged human rights abuses committed in the lead up to February 7, as well as reported violations that occurred once the government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan came into power on February 8.

Among some of the key findings of the reports were that former President Nasheed gave “unlawful orders” to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and police officers at the Artificial Beach area on the evening of February 6. The HRCM also concluded that the Maldives Police Service needed to investigate alleged brutality conducted by its own officers after the transfer of power.

The HRCM’s findings are expected to be taken into consideration by the panel currently overseeing the CNI, which includes members appointed by President Waheed and a representative for former President Mohamed Nasheed. Under its reformed composition, the CNI is also co-chaired by retired Singaporean judge Govinda Pannir Selvam. Representatives from the United Nations and the Commonwealth will also advise the CNI’s work.

The CNI was initially established by President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan to investigate the details of February’s controversial transfer of power, before having its board reconstituted following international and domestic pressure.

Potential outcomes

With the government expected to receive the CNI’s report on August 29 – a day before it will be released to the public – Abbas Adil Riza said that the President’s Office saw “no need” to devise plans to address the potential outcomes of the CNI.

“The HRCM report has proven what we have always maintained about how this government came to power. We expect similar findings [from the CNI] that the previous chief executive displayed gross negligence and a violation of laws. We don’t expect a different stand,” he claimed. “However, on the basis of the CNI report, we will take necessary actions against any criminal behaviour found to have been committed at the time, should issues be raised.”

Abbas added that elections were therefore still scheduled for July 2013. Both the MDP and the Commonwealth Ministerial Acton Group (CMAG) have called for early elections to be held during 2012 to resolve the increasingly bittier political divide in the country.

With President Waheed expected to travel to Sri Lanka tomorrow for a postponed state visit, Abbas claimed that no discussions regarding the CNI and its outcomes were planned with Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa.

He added that the visit would therefore be focused on high-level talks concerning wider bilateral relations and commercial opportunities between the two nations.

“Out of context”

Responding to the release yesterday of the HRCM’s findings, MDP Spokesperson and MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said the party’s “experts” were studying the individual reports at present before making comment.

However, on a first glance basis, he accused the HRCM of publishing a “convoluted array of statements” that were additionally “out of context” with wider happenings during the transfer of power.

“The report accuses [former] President Nasheed of issuing unconstitutional orders, the whole thing is out of context and frozen over a 48 hour period,” he said. “At this stage, I would say there are many oversights in these findings.”

Ghafoor added that Abbas’ claims that the CNI would draw a similar conclusion to the HRCM’s findings reflected the position taken by Umar Naseer, Interim Deputy Leader of the government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

On Sunday (August 19), Naseer leaked details of the HRCM’s findings before they had been released publicly, focusing on claims that Nasheed had given “unlawful orders” to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and police officers at the Artificial Beach area on the evening of February 6.

He added that the HRCM report concluded that the MNDF and police officers at the Artificial Beach area were “unlawfully” ordered to leave the area, which led to a breakdown in command and control of the security forces.

The HRCM report was also said by Naseer to conclude that Nasheed’s orders to leave the area violated article 245 of the constitution, by obstructing security forces from fulfilling their lawful duties.

However, Ghafoor added that he was “not concerned” that the HRCM’s findings would lead the CNI to dismiss the MDP’s allegation that it was removed from office in a “coup d’etat”.

He claimed that due to international participation, the CNI, as an independent body, was well placed to view the HRCM report in the wider context of Maldivian politics. Ghafoor claimed that the CNI would be aware of alleged concerns over the conduct of the country’s independent institutions to do their work without political influence.

Ghafoor alleged that during the last three years, the majority of former opposition, now government-aligned, MPs had allowed the country’s independent institutions to be “shielded” from scrutiny concerning the outcomes of their work.

“The HRCM has always been a source of problems concerning independence” he claimed. “You just need to look at its failure to investigate the atrocities committed under the former government [of President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom].”

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Maldivian football contemplates new horizons ahead of Nehru Cup

Maldivian football fans will look to New Delhi this week as the national team competes for the first time in India’s Nehru Cup.

The team arrived in Delhi yesterday ahead of their first game against Nepal tomorrow evening at 6:30PM (7:00PM local time).

The match will be played in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which will host all the tournament’s fixtures.

The tournament begins this evening, with India taking on Syria.

Mauroof Ahmed, Technical Director of the Football Association of Maldives (FAM), said that despite being invited at short notice, the team were in good physical shape.

“In terms of fitness we are well prepared. In terms of spending time together as a team, we need more games,” said Mauroof.

Following their opening fixture, the Maldives will play the hosts and holders India on Saturday (August 25),  Syria on Monday (August 27), and Cameroon a week today (August 29).

This will complete the round robin stage of the tournament, at the end of which, the top two sides will play for the trophy on September 2.

Team Coach Istvan Urbanyi told maldivesoccer.com of his high expectations despite a lack of time for preparation.

“I wish we could have a long-term preparations. This time, I am going with a team prepared by clubs, definitely fitness wise,” said Urbanyi.

“I have the maximum expectations because we tried our best even though we didn’t have enough time to build up a team.”

Despite media reports that they have sent an inexperienced squad, the tournament’s favourites are Cameroon, who sit a clear 88 places above any of their opponents in the FIFA world rankings.

Meanwhile, the teams from the Asian Confederation are all thought of similar ability, with the Syrians officially ranked highest and the Indians the lowest. Of the participants, the Maldives is the only side to have moved up the rankings in the past 12 months.

Cameroon’s invitation to the tournament continues the tradition of high quality international opponents featuring in the competition since it started in 1982. Previous non-Asian confederation invitees have included Argentina, Uruguay, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Russia.

This year’s tournament is the 15th edition of the Nehru Cup which was resumed in 2007 after a ten year hiatus. The most successful team in the competition’s history is the Soviet Union, who won four titles during the 1980s.

Football development

However, in a region fixated with cricket, the Maldives stands out as a nation that has seemingly shunned wickets and bats for goal-posts and football boots.

“Football has been the number one sport for quite a while,” say Mauroof. “There is a long history of football here, going back 55 years.”

“Cricket is not very popular. In terms of space and available land, football is far more convenient,” he added.

During the recent European Football Championships, huge screens were set up across the capital Male’ to show every game live.

Hundreds of boys turn up every night to play on the sandy pitches on the southern side of the Male’, often having to wait for another game to finish before placing their portable goals at either end of any available space.

Mauroof explained that the best way for the game to continue to develop in the Maldives was to find overseas opportunities for its players.

“The football association is doing work to get players international exposure. We have a close links with the Japanese FA and plan to send one player and one coach to Japan,” said Mauroof.

“Playing in the local leagues will not bring players to an international level. The mentality has to be changed. The challenge is to instil professionalism,” he continued.

The national team’s current captain and leading goalscorer, Ali Ashfag, was offered opportunities in Europe with Portuguese club Benfica as a younger player before opting to remain in the Maldives.

More recently, youngster Mohamed Miraash Imthiyaz travelled to Spain this summer to play with an FC Barcelona under-13 side.

“He is very talented,” said Mauroof. “He has been in our development programme for two years.”

Mauroof was quick to add, however, that Miraash’s parents had been the main driving force in securing opportunities for their son.

“The parents are very motivated. Miraash has also attended other international academies for clubs like Manchester United and Liverpool,” he said.

However, limited finances were described by Mauroof as being a key issue in the further development of the sport, with overseas opportunities often dependent on sponsorship money.

“It will take time,” he said.

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