maldives – Page 628 – Minivan News

Repair work commences on Dhiraagu submarine cable

Dhiraagu has reportedly commenced work this afternoon on repairing a damaged section of submarine cable off the Sri Lankan coast responsible for disrupting the company’s internet services in the Maldives over the last week.

Local media has reported that repair work on the cable began at around 2pm this afternoon in a collaboration between Dhiraagu technicians and engineers from Sri Lankan Telecom (SLT).

Commencement of the repair work has been dependent on the arrival of a specially equipped ship called the Asean Explorer, which completed its journey from India to Sri Lanka yesterday. It is not known yet how long repairs may take, though Dhraagu claims it has continued to work on strengthening services and capacity for its internet clients.

Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the company said it did not wish to speculate on the possible cause of the damage to the submarine cable that connects Dhiraagu’s Maldivian broadband network to the wider world.

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Politicians must seek ”broadest support” rather than dividing country: Dr Hassan Saeed

Since 2008, our country has become even more divided. Politics in the Maldives seems to be pretty polarized with citizens and voters seeing things in very black and white terms, President Waheed’s Special Advisor, Dr Hassan Saeed writes for Haveeru.

Responsible government, and for that matter responsible opposition, should not seek to divide the country but try to gain the broadest support possible by building consensus.

But how do voters make up their minds about how they are going to vote? Do they study the manifestos or policy platforms of respective candidates and parties and then weighing all the options make their minds up in a calm and collected fashion? Are they offered distinct and competing visions of the road down which the Maldives might travel by political parties? How much genuine choice and difference is there in the offer from our politicians and political parties?

In 2008 it was relatively easy. The election was really only about whether voters wanted change or continuity. In 2013 political parties will have the opportunity to come of age and spell out to the voters what they really stand for and why their ideas and policies can take the country forward. At present many voters will cast their vote because of

•   Habit – “I’ve always voted this way”,
•   Family – ‘my family is..’
•   Island loyalty- “this is an X political party island”
•   Personal interest-“what are you going to do for me personally?”
•   Personality-“I like X”

And the last one is the most dangerous because it can lead to a crude populism where big personalities attempt to outbid each other with unkeepable promises and voters compile ever more unachievable and unrealistic shopping lists. That’s how we end up in the financial mess that we are in now with a budget deficit of over US$300 million this year.

All-party talks resume with agreement on priority issues

The Indian-sponsored all-party roadmap talks that stalled last month appear to be gathering momentum again after parties agreed on a new set of priority issues.

After asking the parties involved to list the five issues that concerned them most, the convener, Ahmed Mujuthaba, compiled a list of three issues which would be focused on in future talks.

The primary concerns of all the parties combined were: firstly, the country’s economic troubles; secondly, the constitution and laws of the country; and, thirdly, the judiciary and crime.

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) were represented at the talks by Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, who said the meeting was “very successful.”

Jumhoree Party (JP) representative at the talks Abbas Adil Riza – also President Mohamed Waheed’s spokesperson – informed Minivan News that there had been an agreement that only the convener would comment to the media on the content of the talks.

Despite repeated attempts, Minivan News was unable to contact Mujuthaba.

“I think there is momentum,” said Ghafoor. “We should have done this from the start.”

This is in stark contrast to the reaction of the previous MDP representative in the last round of talks, former Home Minister Hassan Afeef, who branded the talks “ridiculous”, describing them as “a farce”.

The talks appeared to have stalemated at the conclusion of the last meeting on April 7 after the MDP continued to question the make-up of the talks. The party argued at that meeting that all registered parties in the country ought to be included in the discussions, criticising the decision to include certain government-aligned parties without an apparent democratic mandate.

Ghafoor explained that the main concern of the MDP was that the party would have been outnumbered eight to one, making voting on any decisions senseless, despite it representing the largest number of MPs and political membership. However, Ghafoor explained that the convener had yesterday made it clear the process of agreement would now be based on consensus rather than votes, meaning that this previous objection was “no longer relevant”.

Whilst the talks do not immediately address the calls for early elections, Ghafoor argued that other parties could not avoid the issue forever.

“We agreed to start talks with issues they are comfortable with,” he said, but argued that the discussion of early elections remained a key part of the talks envisioned in President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s road map.

“As long as the roadmap exists, the issue of early elections exists,” commented Ghafoor.

Observing progress

The talks are being observed by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) mediation expert Pierre-Yves Monette. After speaking with parties following the last round of talks, Monette was reported by Sun Online as stating that he had seen no serious obstructions to a successful resolution of political differences.

“The worst thing would be not to want to listen to others, to be incapable of listening to other points of view. I have experienced this in my job in many other countries – but I don’t find that here. There is clearly willingness to listen, and to talk. They know they disagree on major issues. They are ready to listen to the arguments of others and to enter a dialogue: this is the beginning of a possible solution,” Monette was reported as saying.

Ghafoor said he felt that Monette had played a “significant part” in making this round of talks a success. He did, however, note a tension amongst the smaller parties represented at the talks towards the observer, notably those with little or no formal representation in the Majlis or local government, including the Gaumee Ittihad (GI), Jumhoree Party (JP) and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

He argued that even the presence of Monette at the talks prompted a xenophobic response from these groups. Of the list of concerns listed by the parties and collated by the convener, Ghafoor claimed that foreign interference was a point raised by many of those present.

The all party roadmap talks resumed yesterday following the return to the country of the convener of the talks Ahmed Mujuthaba.

A coalition of Maldivian NGOs working under the banner ‘Thinvana Adu’ (Third Way) called earlier this week for a renewal of efforts to enhance dialogue between political parties. “It is our belief that a crucial step towards resolving the political crisis in the country…is for all political parties to resume dialogue and commit to a politics of compromise.”

In a press release, the group gave a thinly veiled criticism of Mujthaba’s schedule, which has seen him absent from the country for long periods of time, further slowing the progress of the talks.

“The Party Talks convener must be able to devote adequate time to the matter,” read the statement.

The next meeting is scheduled on May 5, between 2:00pm and 6:00pm. Ghafoor claimed that the convener had wished to devote longer to the talks. He said that Mujuthaba’s desire for an intensive three-day session was blocked by the smaller parties.

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Criminal court employees screened amid tuberculosis scare

Public health workers screened Criminal Court staff for tuberculosis (TB) and conducted awareness sessions about the disease on Thursday after an employee tested positive for the infectious disease.

A court employee told Minivan News today that staff were relieved health officials were now working to put a stop to the potential spread of tuberculosis at the court. However, the member of staff said their colleagues were “seriously concerned after one employee was tested positive”.

The employee speculated that the disease may have been transmitted to the court employee from a TB patient, who was brought to the court two months ago for a police custody extension.

Local media has reported that three court employees are thought to have tested positive for the disease so far. These reports were today dismissed by court workers.

The staff member observed that the local media had picked up on the TB case because of the awareness session being held at the court today, while claiming that reports of multiple confirmed cases was misleading.

“It was just one confirmed but everyone was very scared. All the employees have been screened now and nobody else was tested positive. But since there was widespread scare, doctors came to the court today and gave us information on TB,” the employee noted on condition of anonymity. “There was some concerns but everything is normal at the court now,” he added.

The potentially serious disease spreads from person-to-person through the air, for example, if someone coughs or sneezes. It primarily attacks the lungs.

Despite, the TB scare at the Criminal Court, the Maldives has achieved notable success in TB control since the establishment of a National TB control programme (NTP) by the Department of Public Health in 1976. Maldives has an estimated incidence of 47 per 100,000 population of all forms of TB and has sustained the global targets for TB control since 1996, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO’s) communicable disease department for South East Asia.

Tuberculosis, which had a prevalence in the Maldives of 35 cases per thousand people in 1974, had declined in 1996 to about 0.66 per 1000. Childhood TB (under 5 years) is almost nil for the past three years due to the high rate of BCG vaccination, the report added.

The WHO also observed that upon adopting the recommended Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS) in 1997, the TB patients in the Maldives continues to receive effective treatment.

However, the Health Ministry has recently raised concerns over a growing number of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Maldives. The rate of TB prevalence among the country’s expatriate population is also reportedly on the rise as well.

“Large migrant workforce from high TB-burden countries,” is identified by the WHO as major challenge for local health bodies. However, the WHO has claimed that “MDR-TB and TB-HIV are not major problems in Maldives.”

Meanwhile, a growing diagnoses of multi drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and treatment sites are being established in the region. In 2010, almost 4000 MDR-TB patients were put on treatment. There are currently 105,000 MDR-TB cases estimated of affecting the region. These figures were taken from the WHO annual report on tuberculosis titled “Tuberculosis Control in the South-East Asia Region 2012”.

The South-East Asia Region registered an estimated five million prevalent, and about 3.5 million incident TB cases in 2010. Though the death rates in the region have declined due to successful implementation of the DOTS (directly observed treatment, short course), the disease still claims about half a million lives a year in the Region, the report read.

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Maldives government selects Ruder Finn for “controversial” brief: PR Week

The Maldives’ government has appointed US-based public relations agency Ruder Finn in a deal worth upwards of US$150,000 a month, reports public relations industry magazine PR Week.

However Deputy Minister of Tourism Mohamed Maleeh Jamal told Minivan News that the government was still evaluating the bids.

“I can’t disclose the costs or names, but we are evaluating three companies: one in India, one in China, and another in America,” Maleeh said.

President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s spokesperson, Abbas Adil Riza, told Minivan News that the appointed company would only be responsible for promoting tourism, and would not be involved in politics or government.

Tthe request for proposals (RFP) document issued by the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) on April 9 states that the successful agency will be required to target stakeholders in the UK, USA, Commonwealth countries, “all relevant EU institutions”, academic institutions and NGOs, “arrange 1:1 meetings with influential and open minded potential champions”, and “arrange briefings to build links at various levels with the UK, US, Commonwealth and major European governments.”

The agency will “feed in academic arguments to those identified”, and “determine champions who are willing to speak publicly on Maldives”, in a bid to “Rally an alliance of support for the Maldives”.

Locally, the chosen company will be required to “assist with the roll out of policy and other announcements to media, parliamentarians,government, NGOs and others.”

Speaking to PR Week, Ruder Finn’s Senior Vice-President and Ethics Officer Emmanuel Tchividjian defended company’s decision to take on the contract.

“We believe Ruder Finn can contribute positively to the people of the Maldives, a country that depends on tourism for the bulk of its economy,” Tchividjian stated.

“Prior to deciding to pursue the tender, we closely examined the complexity of the current political situation in the country. We were encouraged by the desire of the current government, in place according to the country’s constitution, to focus on ensuring stability, democracy and transparency in the Maldives, including a free press,” he said, but acknowledged “diverse points of view” surrounding the change of government on February 7.

The 50,000 member-strong Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which was ousted from power on February 7 following what then President Mohamed Nasheed described as a coup d’état planned by the opposition, sponsored by wealthy resort tycoons and carried out by a mutinous police and military, continues to maintain that the new President’s government is illegitimate and a return to the autocratic era of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

David Hardingham, founder of the UK-based Friends of Maldives (FOM) NGO that has issued a travel advisory against several resorts owned by those by the MDP accused of involvement in the coup, suggested to PR Week that Ruder Finn should “tear up the contract, and think twice in the future about with whom it does business.”

“Clearly our hope was that no responsible PR firm would shake hands with a dictatorship that toppled a democratically elected leader at gunpoint,” the FOM founder told the PR industry trade magazine.

“We can only ask ourselves: is a company with offices in seven countries and a long list of respectable clients really so desperate for the money? Because this kind of work does nothing for its reputation,” he added.

Controversial clients

Ruder Finn is no stranger to controversial clients. Up until the late 90s the company was instrumental in crafting an infamous campaign for US cigarette giant Phillip Morris disputing evidence that smoking was harmful to public health.

According to Sourcewatch, in 2004 the Ruder Finn was appointed to promote Israeli national carrier El Al, while in 2008 the company’s Israel branch represented a “Facing Jihad” conference, “a summit of European lawmakers who are united in their shared belief that Islam today poses a serious threat to Western civilization.”

PR in the Maldives

Other foreign PR companies that have been active in the Maldives have included the Campaign Palace, a London-based group engaged by former President Gayoom to develop his Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP), and New York-headquartered Hill & Knowlton (H&K), which was commissioned by Gayoom in 2003 and subsequently recommended – and in some cases implemented – most of the pre-2008 democratic reform in the Maldives.

H&K’s 2003 report on the Maldives, titled ‘Issues audit and communications strategy for the Government of the Maldives’, revealed that the firm was responsible for much of the human rights and governance reform that paved the way for the country’s first democratic election in 2008.

H&K’s recommendations included the separation of the security forces into police, military and correctional institutions, constitutional reform and the introduction of multi-party democracy, strategies for the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM), reform of the Majlis, reform of the criminal justice system and an end to the practice of flogging.

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Withdrawing US$1.2 million case against Meridian Services “a mistake”, says STO

A request to withdraw a US$1.2 million case against Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) MP Riyaz Rasheed’s Meridian Services Pvt Ltd was sent to the court “by mistake”, the State Trading Organisation (STO) has said.

Managing Director of STO Shahid Ali was quoted in local media as stating that the letter had been mistakenly sent, and they had intended to delay the hearings.

“We sent the letter to the court regarding the case, because there were decisions that had to be made by the board of directors, and since the company did not have the required legal number of board of directors on STO’s board, we had intended to ask the court to delay the hearings,” Shahid Ali told newspaper Haveeru.

“But in the phrasing of the letter sent to the court from the STO, we had mistakenly asked for the withdrawal of the case. That letter was sent to the court asking to withdraw another case,” he added.

In a press statement received by Minivan News today from the STO, the organisation stated that the letter sent to the court had “typing errors” and that due to these errors, the context of the letter had differed drastically from that of what the organisation had originally intended, which was to delay the hearings until the board members had been appointed.

The statement also stated that the STO would resubmit the case again to Civil Court within a period of seven days, and the works were already underway in preparing the necessary documents that would be submitted to the court.

The case concerned an unpaid sum of money worth Rf 19,333,671.20 (US$1,253,804.88), regarding Meridian’s use of the STO’s credit facilities.

Civil Court Judge Abdulla Jameel Moosa on Sunday ruled that the case was dismissed, in response to a letter sent by the STO requesting the case be withdrawn.

Judge Moosa in his verdict stated that the court had received a letter from the STO requesting the court withdraw the case.

The letter sent to the Civil Court by STO stated that “there were decisions to be made by the STO’s board of directors, and that after the “change in government”, the board did not have a sufficient number of members left to meet quorum and hold a board meeting. Therefore, the board was unable to make the required decisions, the public company stated.

Initially, STO and Meridian Services made an oil trade agreement on 31 March 2010, which gave Meridian Services a credit facility worth 20 million rufiyaa (US$ 1,297,016.86) for purchasing oil from STO, and that payments had to be made within a period of 40 days.

However, in August 2010, STO lowered its credit limit from Rf20 million to Rf10 million (US$648,508.43) and shortened the payment period from 40 to 30 days.

Meridian Services sued the STO for breach of contract claiming that STO had brought in the changes to the credit facilities without giving the required notice of one month, in the event that the STO decided to change the credit facility with regard to a policy change.

However, Meridian Services lost the case after Civil Court Judge Abdulla Jameel Moosa ruled in favor of STO, stating that the STO had not breached the contractual terms agreed between the parties and that the documents the STO had submitted to the court was evident that it had brought the changes in proper compliance with the agreement.

Speaking to Minivan News at the time, former legal director of President’s Office and lawyer Hisaan Hussain questioned whether such a big case could be withdrawn without even a board resolution.

“We are not speaking of an ordinary company. This is a public company and its making such a decision without a board resolution is a huge concern. STO has public share holders; they have to be answerable to the share holders,” she told Minivan News at the time.

With Regard to the withdrawal of the case by STO, opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Spokesperson, MP Imthiyaz Fahmy alleged that it another attempt in “cleansing” all the “corrupt politicians” who had been involved in bringing about “the coup on February 7”.

However, STO in its statement denied such allegations made against the organization and its staff, citing it as false and untrue.

STO is a major supplier of general goods and pharmaceuticals to the Maldives, as well as fuel. It also supplies aviation fuel to Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

The organisation was initially formed in 1946 as a fully state-funded business, in the name of Athireemaafannu Trading Agency (ATA), with the task of purchasing and importing essential food items in bulk to be distributed nationally via local traders and their own retail outlets. It was later expanded and rebranded as the State Trading Organisation.

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No reason to continue suit against Kulliyya over banning face veil in class, rules High Court

The High Court has ruled that there was no reason to continue a lawsuit filed against the Kulliyathul Dhirasathul Islamiyya school by a student who was instructed to remove her face veil in class, or be expelled.

Rector of Kulliyathul Dhirasathul Islamiyya,Dr Ibrahim Zakariyya Moosa, reportedly told Mehenaz Hussein last year that her face veil should be removed in class or face being expulsion if she refused to do so.

The High Court said the Attorney General (AG) had advised the court that the article banning the face veil in class had now been removed from the regulation and the student, identified by the court as Mehenaz Hussein, was now attending classes wearing the face veil.

After the article banning the face veil was removed Mehenaz was no longer banned from wearing the face veil in class, the High Court ruling said.

The High Court Judges Shuaib Hussein Zakariyya, Abdulla Hameed and Ali Sameer were the presiding judges.

The case was first presented to the Civil Court and the Civil Court also ruled that there was no capacity to continue the case as a suit related to the same case was filed in the High Court at the time.

Dr Zakariyya reportedly told the girl that studying was compulsory under Islam, and that if wearing the face veil obstructed her from studying, she should not wear it even if it was a Sunnah.

Mehenaz told an online religious newspaper at the time that Dr Zakariyya had told her that in different parts of the country terrorists had used the hijab to hide weapons, and that there was “no way to identify the sex of a person wearing the full hijab”.

Speaking in a hearing of the case in February, current Attorney General Aishath Azima Shukoor told the court that up to date Kulliyathul Dhirasathul Islamiyya did not have a specific uniform to wear and that she believed that students should be allowed to attend classes wearing face veil.

At the time, Azima also told the court that the regulations would be amended within a week to allow students to wear the face veil in class.

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MDP President alleges misrepresentation by Maldives Ambassador to EU

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has released a statement from the party’s president, Dr Ibrahim Didi, accusing the Maldives’ Ambassador to the European Union Ali Hussain Didi of misrepresenting his impression of the events of February 7.

“It has come to my attention that yesterday the Maldives’ Ambassador to the European Union, Mr Ali Hussain Didi, made a sworn declaration before members of the European Parliament that contained false information about statements I am purported to have made on the evening of February 7,” said Dr Didi in the statement.

“Ambassador Didi is said to have informed the European Parliament that on the evening in question I said publicly that what happened on that day was not a coup. I believe that considering the importance of the events of February 7, and considering the importance of the hearing before European Parliament members, it is important for me to put the record straight,” he said.

“Ambassador Didi’s claims are incorrect and have no basis in fact. At no point on or after February 7 did I deny, publicly or otherwise, that President Nasheed’s removal from power was anything other than a coup d’etat. Indeed, it was my view then and remains my belief now, that President Nasheed was coerced into resigning by rogue elements of the police and security services working in coordination with senior politicians – politicians who were then in opposition and are now in Government.

“I am deeply disappointed that Ambassador Didi would relay false information to the distinguished members of the European Parliament, and that the regime of Dr Waheed would be involved in spreading such falsehoods,” he said.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali had no immediate response but said the Ministry would release a statement if warranted.

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President and inquiry commission pass responsibility for reforming CNI

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan on Wednesday claimed that it is was up to the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) to allow new members in its investigation of the controversial transfer of power on February 7, while the commission insists that it cannot self-enact changes to its composition.

Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, Waheed contended that it was upto the commission to “allow new members” to join the investigation.

“It is a matter that commission has to decide on. I met with the commission’s president and mentioned it. Even though I had appointed the commission, I have said that it is an independent commission. I do not criticise or oversee their work,” Waheed observed. “I am open to work as they commission want.”

However, when contacted by Minivan News on April 17, a spokesperson for the CNI said that the commission was itself unable to enact changes to its composition.

“The CNI was set up by the president, so it will be for the government to discuss this [CMAG’s findings],” the spokesperson said.

The CNI was set up by Dr Waheed Hassan to investigate the controversial change of power on February 7 which the ousted Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) maintains was a coup d’état orchestrated by remnants of the former dictatorship, funded by several resort interests and carried out by mutinous police and military units.

However, the commission’s credibility has been challenged by both local NGOs and the Commonwealth which has urged the government “to review immediately the composition and terms of reference of the Commission to make it genuinely independent, credible and impartial.”

According to Waheed, discussions on reforming the CNI are underway, but stopped short from giving a date on when the changes will be finalised. The government-set deadline for producing the final inquiry report is May 31.

“Talks are underway on reforming the Inquiry Commission. But no decisions have been made yet. We will inform as soon as decisions are finalised,” Dr Waheed told the press.

Responding to Waheed’s remarks, Aiman Rasheed, Project Coordinator at Transparency Maldives today contended that the “changes should have been made months back”.

Transparency Maldives, Maldivian Democracy Network, Democracy House, and the Maldives NGO Federation, itself representing 59 organisations, joined forces to push for “immediate changes to the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) so that it gains public trust and confidence and is able to achieve its objectives.”

“To put it simply, the commission was established by a presidential decree. Therefore any changes to the commission’s mandate, composition or scope of investigation can only be made by the president himself,” Aiman pointed out.

He observed that the government has failed to respond to the civil society’s requests to reform the mandate and scope of the CNI based on cross-party agreement.

“If the CNI completes its investigation with the current composition, it is bound to create further chaos,” Aiman concluded.

Waheed noted that he has spoken to the head of the commission over civil society’s request for observer status and added that the decision must be taken by the commission.

Meanwhile, CNI has come under fire from the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) which released a statement last week giving the government four weeks to reform the body established to investigate the February 7 change of power lest CMAG consider “further and stronger measures”.

“The group was of the view that the Commission of National Inquiry, established to assess the events leading to the transfer of power on 7 February 2012, is not independent or impartial, and has failed to gain sufficient support in Maldives,” read the CMAG statement.

Subsequently, members of parliament backing President Waheed have called on the state to withdraw the country’s membership from the Commonwealth, during a debate on a resolution forwarded on Monday.

Newly sworn in Vice President Mohamed Waheed Deen claimed at the same press conference that allowing foreigners to intervene in the domestic affairs would be an an “attack on our independence and national sovereignty”.

However, Waheed today noted that the “government does not consider leaving Commonwealth” and added that the international organisation in which Maldives participates, can continue to make recommendations, but the decisions on the national matters “will be solely made by us”. “We are not going to do whatever someone tells us to do.”

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