Tag: maldives

Troubled paradise: Skilled expatriates falling foul of workplace challenges

In the first of a two part article, Minivan News looks at the challenges facing skilled expatriates coming to work in the Maldives and the current systems in place to prevent both employees and employers from suffering workplace malpractice.

A growing number of expatriate workers in fields ranging from education to project management have told Minivan News they are considering leaving the Maldives, and in some cases have already left the country, amidst difficulties and desperate circumstances linked to “cultural clashes” and discrimination from local employers.

Several foreigners who have worked in the Maldives have spoken to Minivan News of the more negative experiences they have had with local employers, who they allege in cases have been “suffocating”, “scary”, and even deceptive in their treatment of expatriate staff, leading them to leave their posts prematurely and in some instances flee the country.

Statistics

Despite these claims, statistics from government organisations upholding the country’s employment act suggest that the number of official complaints from expatriates regarding their work situation were significantly less than the complaints received by local staff.

The Employment Tribunal told Minivan News that between 2009 and 2010, the proportion of complaints received from expatriates regarding poor or illegal treatment represented less than 10 percent of its total cases.

A tribunal spokesperson, who wished to remain anonymous, said that it had yet to receive a single case of alleged workplace discrimination facing foreign workers, although it accepted the practice undoubtedly occurred and that foreigners required greater recourse should they face illegal treatment in their work.

The Ministry of Human Resources, Youth and Sports, which has the Labour Relations Authority under its remit, said it had not been made aware of significant concerns among expatriates – particularly those from Europe and Asia Pacific – of widespread difficulties or a culture clash experienced working with local employers.

Senior government sources have in recent months outlined concerns about the treatment of huge numbers of unskilled labourers from countries like Bangladesh that are often illegally trafficked into the country, though skilled workers from abroad also appear to have issues with work practice.

While the number of expatriate staff complaints is statistically limited in comparison to the number of concerns received from local employees, foreigners who have sought career development in the Maldives have raised concerns about a pattern of experiences they fear others may face.

One Australian teacher, who spent a year at an international school in the Maldives, found that after years of working across Asia the Maldives was the most “personally challenging”.

The teacher said that while not regretting his experiences in the Maldives, there was very little information on what workers should expect and a seeming lack of interest and acceptance of the foreign experience he had been employed to provide.

“I found work in the Maldives extremely challenging from the point of view of trying to initiate and foster an ‘international education’, with huge limits being put on what could be facilitated in the classroom in terms of curriculum and content – mostly due to ‘culture clashes’,” he said.

“I found many levels, from management, staff and the local community down to students themselves, very unyielding in accommodating ‘international quality teaching and learning’.”

Although working in a very different industry, one UK expatriate – employed for several months as a project coordinator for a high-profile reclamation and construction project before opting to leave the country and her job – said she felt her position was ultimately untenable and that she had put too much faith in the word of her employer before arriving in the Maldives.

“The owner informed me that I should not compare myself to other expatriates from Europe and that expats should work weekends and holidays as they do not have a social life,” she claimed.

“My advice to anyone moving to the Maldives would be to make sure you have a contract that is legally recognised in the country, including the provision of allowances, medical insurance and a job description before you commit. Promises can turn to dust and someone’s word is not necessarily their bond.”

Another employee from the UK, bought to the country to work as a travel journalist and writer after several years working in the Middle East, claimed that she was also unprepared for office life in the Maldives. The employee said her employer led her to feel powerless from treatment she believed amounted to bullying.

“[I] began to feel I was being watched at every step at work. Despite there being one rule for Maldivian staff – keeping whatever hours they pleased, turning up in the afternoon and going to meetings through the day – they brought in a performance management system especially for me, increasing my workload and making me work six days a week,” she said.

Speaking to Minivan News, a representative for the Maldives Employment Tribunal – formed in 2008 to ensure companies were fulfilling their obligations to the country’s labour laws – said that the Maldivian Employment Act was designed to protect both local and foreign workforces equally.

However, the tribunal spokesperson added that the formation of a special union or workers’ associations to protect the interests of foreign employees would no doubt be beneficial to foreign staff, particularly those not fluent in Dhivehi or English.

“If there is a union that can represent foreigners on their behalf, or a workers’ association or something that can represent [foreign workers], then it will be easier to give them access to the tribunal,” the spokesperson said.

According to the tribunal’s figures, in 2009 a mere eight percent of complaints received regarding workplace mistreatment were from expatriate workers, despite these workers constituting a third of the country’s population. In 2010, this figure halved to four percent.

No enforcement

At present, employers in the Maldives are not bound by decisions of the tribunal even if they were found to have breached their contractual or legal obligations, the spokesperson said.

The tribunal is awaiting changes to the Employment Act that will allow edicts to be legally enforced by the country’s Civil Court. A true reflection of of the number of disgruntled foreign employees was likely to follow, the spokesperson said.

“The tribunal itself and the Employment Act is silent on enforcement, so if we issue a verdict and no one enforces it, there is nothing we can do on this,” the spokesperson said.

“Maybe this is why people do not want to go through the hassle of [the tribunal]. If the decision is not implemented, what do they get at the end of the day? We have proposed the Employment Ministry amend the act so that enforcement power could be given to the Civil Court. But these amendments are still going on.”

Local considerations

The tribunal spokesperson said that there was little difference in the standard and type of complaints coming from either local or foreign employees, with few cases concerning discrimination.

“We normally get complaints about unpaid wages and unfair dismissal so it’s sort of the same. It’s basically unfair dismissal and unpaid wage that we receive, even from locals. We get very few cases of discrimination,” the spokesperson claimed.

The tribunal had not dealt with cases such as forced labour or discriminatory behavior from employers, she said, “although this does not mean it is not taking place fairly openly.”

“I think it is all happening in the country, even if we do not receive such cases. Anybody who in this society knows it is happening in the country,” the spokesperson added, emphasising that employment laws were nonetheless designed to treat local and foreign workers equally regardless of their nationality.

Foreign workers in their own words

Three expatriate employees who have all moved on from their posts recount their experiences of working in the country. The names of the individuals have been changed to protect their identities.

Michael, 28, Australian teacher

“I found working in the Maldives to be a thoroughly challenging, but rewarding experience. Unlike other regions of the world, which provide you with a plethora of websites, books and other resources to enhance your knowledge of what the country will be like to live and work in, there was little to go on before leaving – apart from the Lonely Planet guide (which is more of a resort guide than a window into the inner workings of the country itself).

So going there I had little idea of what living and working in the Maldives would be like. Early challenges included the ‘norm’ for ex-pat life abroad – finding suitable accommodation, getting acquainted with new work conditions and new colleagues, finding friends and generally finding your feet in a new place. I lived in Hulhumale’, which is a swift ferry ride away from the capital city of Male’ – this provided the quiet I desired, but I was close enough to experience Male’ when I had to or wanted to.

I was employed as an English teacher at an international school, which is my profession in my home country. I found work in the Maldives extremely challenging from the point of view of trying to initiate and foster an “international education”, with huge limits being put on what could be facilitated in the classroom in terms of curriculum and content – mostly due to ‘culture clashes’.

I found many levels, from management, students themselves, staff, down to the local community, very unyielding in accommodating “international quality teaching and learning”. To me this is what an international school should provide – opportunities for students to develop holistically and develop critical thinking skills, with an empathy and understanding for different cultures and lifestyles.

The culture of the Maldives and its unwillingness to broaden its horizons and be open to outside influences made school life extremely challenging, not to mention the management of the school ( European in origin) not being open to “local interests and desires” for a child’s education.

The Maldives can also be quite a ‘suffocating’ place, especially for foreign women – Maldivian males are quite primitive in some of their behaviour and I have both witnessed and heard of gross misconduct and harassment on many levels towards Western women. As a male, the country is without doubt an easier beast to handle, but foreign women definitely have cause for concern when dealing with locals at times.

On the whole, once settling into a vastly different style of ex-pat life that I had been used to, I really enjoyed living and working in the Maldives. It is quite a shock to begin with, with rigid cultural and religious elements, quite foreign to many western day-to-day lives, having to be adhered to.

Outside of work there is plenty to do if you have a thirst for everything outdoors. I wouldn’t trade my year there for anything, I met some wonderful people – both local and international, and would recommend people give the Maldives a go.”

Natalie, 47, British project coordinator

“Recruited by a Sri Lankan businessman in the UK to work as a project coordinator in the Maldives, I was very excited about finding what seemed to be an excellent opportunity for my career development, working on a reclamation and construction project.

Having thoroughly researched the UK company, I accepted the job offer to work for the newly established Maldivian company, set up specifically for the project. With what I understood to be tight project timescales, I relocated within a month having the draft of a skeleton contract in email, trusting the owner of the business that the company and its employees were like a family; we could finalise the details of the contract at a later date.

Once there the owner informed me that I should not compare myself to other expatriates from Europe and that expats should work weekends and holidays as they do not have a social life. My advice to anyone moving to the Maldives would be to make sure you have a contract that is legally recognised in the Maldives, including allowances, medical insurance and a job description before you commit. Promises can turn to dust and someone’s word is not necessarily their bond.

Life in the capital of Male’ for a woman is not an easy one. Despite respecting the culture and religious beliefs, wearing suitable clothing and behaving appropriately, the Maldivian men do touch and grab women inappropriately.

There is a great deal of resentment from some Maldivians towards expats and contractors from Europe and the Americas. Fortunately though, some recognise the potential for change to achieve future growth and prosperity in a greener and more international culture.

My experience is something I do not regret. I had the pleasure of meeting His Excellency the President on more than one occasion and was fortunate to make good friends and business associates. Lessons have been learned: such is life.”

Dana, 30, UK journalist

“I have lived and worked on respected publications in the Middle East, I was used to cultural differences and striking harmony between the two ways of working. I believed I was well prepared for the challenges of working in a society with similar beliefs to the Maldives, but nothing prepared me for the challenges that lay ahead.

I was at first pleasantly surprised with the apartment where I would be living. It was a three-bedroom flat with all mod-cons. Upon arriving, the publisher asked me which room I wanted to take and then proceeded to lock the other rooms, he retained a key for the flat and left.

The next morning, for my first day at work I had a rude awakening. The office boy who had collected my luggage was standing above me saying “madam, madam wake up!” Frightened out of my mind, I screamed at him to get out of my room. It was a strange and scary start to the day.

Any newsroom is supposed to be buzzing with reporters going in and out the office and colleagues coming in and out. Instead the publisher wanted it to be like a factory, rehashing press releases. He even had the general manager prepare us job descriptions, though it was clear that he hadn’t the first clue about journalism and was contending with staff with more than five decades of media experience between them.

Increasingly I also began to feel I was being watched at every step at work. Despite there being one rule for Maldivian staff, keeping whatever hours they pleased, turning up in the afternoon and going to meetings through the day, they brought in a performance management system for me, increasing my workload and making me work six days a week.

The office itself was dangerous and there were no health and safety regulations. The unlit entrance to the office had live cables swinging above the off the stairs and water on the bathroom floor. A campaign to bring it up to safe standards fell on deaf ears.

The general manager took me aside and tried to blacken the names of my colleagues, telling me they were not acting professionally in his eyes, but that he liked them and would give them more chances to improve.

Why was he telling me this I thought? I didn’t want to get involved, being such a newbie. Then he tried insinuate if I played by the rules I would do well. I didn’t like his tone or his allusions. It was as if he was trying to see what side I was on and divide and conquer. Baffled, I said that my colleagues had showed me nothing but kindness and respect and I didn’t want to be part of anything he was insinuating. I felt really uncomfortable with all of this.

I told my colleagues about his strange behaviour and bribes. They said they were not surprised. At various times he had tried the tactic with them all.

This alarmed me. Understandably at this point I was scared because I did not know what I had got in to. I only took the job because I thought this was an opportunity to further develop myself after my Middle East experience. I didn’t have the resources to move on.

Strangely, there was another power struggle going on between the publisher and the GM, who used to turn up late in the afternoon. Overall their attitude was arrogant and disdainful towards us and they showed no recognition for how hard the staff had been working to make their product
a success. Morale was so low in the office and all the energy and enthusiasm I had brought with me was being sapped. I felt I had served a lifetime, though barely a week had gone by.

There was a clocking in machine and we were required to clock in between 9am and 5pm and soon our interviews were being classed as time out by the publisher and his minion. I couldn’t believe their method of thinking!

We had contacts begging us to go out and visit them, yet we were ‘trapped inside the office.’ We tried everything to convince the publisher in the value of letting us out of the office. Yet he turned it into a punishment, banning press trips from the second week.

The day after Halloween, I received a phone call from my colleague who said she had just been fired. I was running late into the office from a meeting, so I couldn’t quite process it, she said that she had not been given any reason for the dismissal. My editor and the other reporter were in the office when I arrived and you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. It was such an awful morning. My macabre mood suited the topic of my writings that day a feature about ghouls and jinnis of the Maldives for a Halloween special.

We met outside for lunch and one of the reporters revealed that he was tendering his resignation on principle. The editor said he was looking for other jobs abroad but he would need to stay in this job for as long as possible. I felt for them and for the nightmare struggle they must have had so far. I felt suicidal after a few weeks, how about these poor souls?

I began to feel increasingly fearful as I did not want lose my job and have to go home. Not after all the struggle to get here. All those hours spent working in three menial jobs back to back, and taking on limited freelance contracts over the summer just to manage the airfare to the Maldives. I had no option, I was trapped, without enough money to go forward or back.

A few days later all hell broke loose. First the reporter who had tendered his resignation was called in and told that he was going to be dismissed that day, even though he was owed 30 days notice.

Then the editor was called in – luckily he had also just written his notice and handed it in before he could have the satisfaction of dismissing him. Two bully security guards were called in to almost forcibly remove them. I was so upset and shocked by the whole events which were unfolding. It was all going too fast – I couldn’t compute.

My state of mind was in tatters at this point imagining the worst, wrestling with my conscience, my pride and my dignity. My home was part of the work package so could not leave the company and try to find another job.

I didn’t have a choice. At this stage still hadn’t even been paid. I was also running out of cash and there was no one to help back home.

So I stayed… but at this point I still hadn’t even received my visa, and was required to leave the country and go to Sri Lanka. Still with no money, I asked the publisher to pay my expenses, but he said he would only pay for the airfare. I asked for an allowance to spend but he refused. Instead he turned out his moth-eaten wallet with £5 GBP and 15 rupees he said I could exchange.

In the meantime my colleagues had an awful time of it having to shift from place to place, but with the help of friends they got by and began setting up their own plans for the future. I tried to support them where I could.

Then I was called into the office and the publisher said he had been told that someone was else living in the flat and there were people visiting me. So what? I felt violated and angry as he had just admitted he been watching my flat. He said that he needed to give permission for anyone to stay. Another control mechanism.

The wheels were already in motion for my own removal. My visa was still in the process of being arranged and they had my passport. Less than 10 days later my fears were realised. I was called into the office and told that they would no longer continue with my employment and when I asked about my passport I was told I had to go to the immigration building to collect it.

I called one of my friends who had contact with immigration and I was told to come down to the office, they had my passport and tickets for me to fly out with Qatar within two days. I filed a case
with the employment tribunal and got my passport back.

The employment tribunal was a long and arduous process and in the end they ruled against me, as I hadn’t worked there long enough so I could not receive any compensation for the trauma of the last few months. Despite a ruling by the court to issue a one way ticket to the country of my choosing, I still have to receive that ticket from the employer. Along the way he pulled all sorts of nasty tricks including putting holds on empty tickets so that he would look good in court, and gazumping me when I went to buy a ticket at the same travel agent.

Overall, I felt an overwhelming feeling of freedom. I want to help people from making the same mistakes as me.”

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Council invalidates resolution to seize Gayoom’s house

The Male’ City Council has invalidated a resolution it passed yesterday to seize former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s house, 24 hours after the decision was made at a ‘sidewalk’ meeting held amidst a protest outside parliament.

Deputy Mayor Ahmed Samah Rasheed told Minivan News that the decision to invalidate the resolution was made at a council meeting at 5:00pm today, which the North Maafanu Councillor chaired.

“There were two proposals up for a vote,” he explained. “One was for invalidating the resolution while the other was to make a decision next Monday after considering the legal issues. But all the councillors were in favour of invalidating it. There was a difference of opinion over when it should be done.”

As the vote for the first proposal was tied at 4-4, Samah said that he cast the tie-breaking vote to invalidate yesterday’s controversial resolution.

While the Deputy Mayor said that he wish to comment on the reasons for the council’s decision, he revealed that President Mohamed Nasheed had expressed displeasure with the resolution.

“We met with the President this morning,” he said. “The meeting was not held about this issue but President Nasheed told us that he was very unhappy about it.”

The council’s decision has been roundly condemned by all parties, including the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) as well as the Prosecutor General (PG).

In a statement yesterday, PG Ahmed Muiz condemned the resolution, calling the decision “very irresponsible”.

The PG said that the constitution was clear that a person’s property shall not be taken without his consent unless a court of law issues a verdict to do so.

“In a circumstance that a court of law rules the seizure of property, it shall only be taken after paying fair compensation in return,” said the Prosecutor General, adding that the PG had a responsibility to uphold the rule of law and protect the rights of people.

Speaking to Minivan News, Muiz insisted that the issue of seizing Gayoom’s house was a civil issue and that it should be solved by a court.

“Technically it is a civil issue, and the court has to decide on the issue,” he said. “They have to defend themselves in court.”

He also said the PG Office had not yet decided to take any measures to address the issue.

Meanwhile, former President’s son Faarish Maumoon today issued a press release to the local media saying that Kinbigadhoshuge was property of Gayoom and that his family would do all they could to prevent it from being taken by the state.

Gayoom’s family expressed concern that a state institution was attempting to seize property owned by others while the constitution stated that it shall be protected and respected, and that ultimately such decisions may harm all the citizens of the Maldives.

Samah had previously told local media that the council had sent a notice to Gayoom asking to evacuate the house within 30 days, but Faarish said it had not yet been received.

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Comment: Majlis fiddles with democracy as society burns

The country is broke and the price of living is going up every day while the standard of living is going down.

The price of a can of tuna is now 20 percent higher than it was a few months ago. A valhoa mas kiba, part of our staple food since time immemorial, is now beyond the common person’s reach. A bottle of water was Rf10 just a month ago; it is Rf14 this month.

Electricity bills, water bills, gas bills, are all hugely more expensive than any other country in the neighbourhood. A majority of people are living hand to mouth.

A vast chunk of the country’s youth population are either addicted to drugs or recovering from it. They are unemployable, and out on the streets, committing crimes big and small or looking in vain for another chance at life.

The standards of teaching in public schools are abysmal, and private schools remain an unaffordable dream for the majority. To say that public schools are free is to lie through one’s teeth; for people are paying through their noses for private tuition – a parallel education system that exists in a parallel universe. It is the elephant in every classroom that nobody in authority wants to talk about – the government cannot regulate it without first acknowledging the massive failings in the education system; and a majority of the teachers do not want to talk about it because it is the cash cow that supplements their meagre incomes.

Children from other islands are having to migrate to Male’, boarding with host families or packed into small rooms the rent of which they share; paid by parents who break their backs working on farms or on fishing boats, just so their children can get an education. The housing crisis and social problems related to overcrowding increase.

The health system is too weak to cope with any unexpected outbreaks of disease; Maldivian doctors are still the minority and are offered less pay and benefits than their expatriate counterparts; and infant and adult mortality rates are needlessly high. It was all too clear to see with the recent dengue fever outbreak.

Unemployment rates are sky-high while trafficked Bangladeshis are bought and sold by the planeload. They live in their scores of thousands working and living on building sites; existing in an alternate realm of worker drones, buzzing away in the background, building, serving, cooking, cleaning, maintaining; jobs that Maldivians consider themselves too good to be doing.

Their presence is acknowledged only when the buzzing gets annoying; when their levels of ‘civilisation’ are deemed not to match our allegedly impeccable manners and faultless social graces; and when foreign governments chastise the Maldives for its cruelty for putting a price on the heads of human beings and selling them to the highest bidder.

Longstanding traditions of peace, friendliness and cleanliness have disappeared; replaced with avarice and aspirations of grandeur achieved by any means possible. Basic civility, let alone friendliness, is conspicuous in its absence: the smile; the queue; the exchange of niceties; respect for the elderly; the weak and the vulnerable; the knowledge of belonging together – what are they? People push, shove and climb over each other to get to an undefined ‘there’ faster than anyone else – literally and metaphorically.

It is all there to see in the pantomime that the Majlis is enacting, fiddling with democracy as society burns. What is the purpose of these theatrics? Are we supposed to be impressed with his behaviour? Are we supposed to admire this display of ignorance as ‘people power’? Is this to be seen as standing up (or sitting down) for the rule of law? Are we supposed to applaud these MPs for their ‘valour’ in forcing a needless confrontation between legislative and military power?

Are we supposed to cheer in adulation or tremble in fear when one MP who was only recently bought by one party now shouts at the party he had just left?

Are we to ignore the fact that if such members did indeed have an ideology, or a set of deeply held political beliefs or values they would not be so easily bought and sold?

Are we supposed to laugh with them and chuckle at the smirks on their faces when they are being led away by the army? Are we supposed to let our children hear the filth that is sprouting from their mouths into our airwaves on daytime TV? Are we to appreciate as media savvy the manner in which, like a bunch of schoolboy bullies in a playground, they are taking photographs and videos of each other being bundled away by men in army fatigues?

Are we supposed to be appreciate as role models of feminism the female voices heard screeching like cockatoos at the spectacle of MPs being carried away like chimpanzees by zoo handlers? What exactly is being celebrated here? What state will our nation be in the coming years if these are our highest representatives, if this is the pinnacle of success that our children as future leaders can aspire to?

Whatever destruction that three decades of dictatorship could not unleash on our society with its ruinous policies, society is wreaking upon itself. We did not have a transition to democracy, we just changed one supreme power to which we subjugate ourselves for another: Mammon for Maumoon.

The Majlis should be where the people turn to for solutions to their problems. It is, however, both the representation of all our problems as well as their nucleus and their source.

What a sham.

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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Mumbai bomb blasts kill 17, injure 131

Three bomb blasts in the Indian city of Mumbai have killed at least 17 people and and injured 131.

No organisation has yet claimed responsibility for the blasts, which Indian authorities said were caused by explosives planted on motorcycles and a scooter.

Reuters reported that suspicion was falling on the Indian Mujahideen (IM), “an underground terrorist group sworn to avenge the massacre of hundreds of Muslims in the neighbouring state of Gujarat.”

“The choice of neighbourhoods in south and central Mumbai suggested that, as in the past, the attempt was to terrorise the city’s businessmen, particularly from among its Gujarati community,” Reuters reported.

The first explosion occurred in rush hour at 6:54pm in the Zaveri bazaar, a well-known jewelry market. The second took place at 6:55pm at the Opera House, while the third bomb exploded at 7:05pm in the neighbourhood of Dadar.

The attack is the fourth major terrorist incident in India’s financial capital since 2003. The last attack, in November 2008, saw gunmen from Pakistani-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) rampage through the city for three days.

The LeT was also blamed for an attack in July 2006, with 180 people killed when seven explosions destroyed trains on the city’s commuter network.

Reuters reported than plans to set up 5000 surveillance cameras across the city had been gathering dust despite vast sums of money poured into counterterrorism efforts.

“We see a lack of political will to take this [protecting the city against terror attacks] on on an emergency basis,” CNN-IBN reported.

“Mumbai is a soft target, it will always remain a soft target. The only way to combat this is through good intelligence, and that’s not there.”

India and Maldives counter-terrorism cooperation

Indian interest in the Maldives is partly prompted by counter-terrorism concerns. The Indian Ocean is, President Mohamed Nasheed said in October 2010, “India’s soft-underbelly.”

“Security issues in the Indian Ocean have lately become more and more serious. We see the Mumbai attack also as an Indian ocean issue,” Nasheed said at the time.

Indian newspaper The Economic Times noted that the Maldives landed on the Indian intelligence radar after Sultan Park bomber Moosa Inas was reported to have been linked to the LeT and had travelled to Kerala before the bombings, a popular recruiting ground for the group.

Indian news portal Rediff.com has previously quoted Indian intelligence bureau sources as saying that the LeT “has nearly 1,000 operatives active in the Maldives”, and that there was no way the group’s operations “can be curbed unless there is very good intelligence sharing with the Maldives.”

The intelligence sources claimed that in the last three months “there has been an increase in LeT activites in the Maldives, and several persons from [the LeT’s] Kerala group have slipped into the country and are busy setting up operations there.”

President Mohamed Nasheed has dismissed the notion that the LeT had presence in the Maldives or was looking to establish a base – rumours that sporadically appear in the Indian media – but has acknowledged “serious” issues concerning the emergence of radical groups with some members trained in Pakistan.

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Maldives making strides: US State Department

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has praised the strides the Maldives is making, during a visit by Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem.

“The United States is very impressed with the many strides that the Maldives is making, and also the role that you are playing regionally and even globally on important issues like climate change and so much else,” Clinton said.

Naseem thanked the State Department for the guidance and assistance from diplomats in Colombo and Washington towards the country’s transition from dictatorship.

“I think that was the pivoting of the Islamic awakening. And thank you very much for all that,” he said.

“And we are working very closely on the – in the areas of human rights in Geneva, also on the perils and the difficulties that the small island states are facing due to climate change and the climate extreme weather conditions that we are having at the moment. And I wish to thank the United States very much. And we have also cooperation in the areas of coast guard training and military training, and many of our social, health, and other areas.”

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Maldives a vital force of high ambition in climate diplomacy: UK Special Representative for Climate Change

International climate change negotiations are reaching a critical “and potentially quite dangerous moment” ahead of this year’s COP17 summit in Durban, the UK Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative for Climate Change John Ashton has said during his first visit to the Maldives.

With economic meltdowns in Europe, deep internal political debates in the US and the drive in developing economies to create jobs for the increasing number of people migrating to cities, political attention was  being distracted from climate change, he observed.

“There are lots of distractions and we need to keep an eye on the ball. The Maldives can help the international community to do that,” he said. “Whenever I get a chance I draw attention to the circumstances of the Maldives, and I encourage people here to use the platform they have because their voices need to be heard more widely.

“The Maldives is extremely important. Because of its vulnerability, particularly to sea level rise, and the skills of President Mohamed Nasheed in communicating the country’s predicament globally, the Maldives has a global influence on perceptions of climate change. I’m here because we need to learn to see this problem though eyes of the Maldives. What is clearer here than in other places is the scale, urgency and existential nature of the problem. In our global response to climate change, we haven’t developed a response commiserate with that urgency.”

Underneath the ongoing climate talks, he said, “is a battle between low and high ambitions. It is partly played out as a battle between those who want to see a legally binding approach and those who want a voluntary approach – which is likely to be as effective as a voluntary approach to speed limits.”

Ashton predicted that climate negotiations in Durban and over the next few years would lead to a “decisive battle between the two models.”

As a country with intense vulnerability to climate change, the Maldives had an opportunity to use its iconic status to frame the debate.

“One goes [to the talks] and feels the tussle between the forces of low ambition and high ambition. The Maldives is very much a force of high ambition, and that is appreciated very much by all of us who identify with the need for a high ambition response, including the UK,’ Ashton said.

Minivan News understands that international delegations expressed surprise and confusion during talks held in Berlin in early July, when the Maldives’ Deputy Environment Minister Mohamed Shareef appeared to entertain support for special response measures proposed by Saudi Arabia – measures which would see the kingdom compensated for lost oil revenues.

A person familiar with the matter voiced frustration at the position and claimed it signalled the Maldives “has gone from being a world leader to a banana republic in international climate policy in the space of little more than a year.”

Speaking to Minivan News today, Dr Shareef said “I don’t believe for one minute that Saudi Arabia’s concerns are genuine, and I don’t like the idea of response measures.”

“This has been taken out of context. Our argument is that the concerns of all parties should be addressed,” he said. “Real concerns should be kept, the others thrown out. My argument is that we can’t just put difficult issues aside – there are very difficult issues in this negotiation we are not considering. Saudi Arabia and OPEC countries are blocking [the negotiations] and we are not addressing their concerns. There should be a mechanism to address the concerns of all parties.”

Ashton today observed that “there is always a danger at these meetings of over-interpreting what other people are saying. People have their antennae finely tuned, and if you are someone who doesn’t go to all of the meetings it’s quite easy to misinterpret something as the opposite of what was meant.”

“I don’t know what was said. But I have in all of my engagement with Maldives seen it as a voice of pragmatic high ambition in the global conversation, and that has been greatly reinforced by all the meetings I’ve had here. I wouldn’t read too much into indirect accounts of what one Maldivian official might have said in Berlin.”

The agreement on climate was, Ashton said, “the most complex piece of diplomacy ever devised. It’s not surprising that it has twists and turns, not the least because the problems involving not just negotiation but the underlying domestic politics of the parties involved in the negotiation. Every negotiation involves compromises, and there are people who want to go faster, and people who want to go slower.”

The Maldives’ hitherto empathetic and uncompromising position on climate change had given it an “ enormous authority as an arbiter as to how fast is fast enough,” he said.

“If I was a representative of the Maldives I would not be willing to compromise on that, because the stakes are so high.”

It was legitimate to raise the subject of response measures, Ashton said, as “this really is about a re-engineering of the global economy. Lowering carbon emissions affect how we produce electricity, use land and conduct industry. It not an environmental negotiation about air or water quality, it’s an economic negotiation. You have to accept this is going to have disruptive consequences, and where you have economic disruption you have politics. Political economy comes into play because you have a distributional problem – how opportunities are shared and how risks allocated. That’s true within economies, and to some extent internationally.”

Questions surrounding response measures and distribution were significant for the Maldives, he said, because it suffered from climate change “in an existential way. If the sea level rise, there are real questions about the viability of a state like the Maldives. In an order of priorities, problems like that should come right at the top.”

Response measures recognised that the process of reengineering the global economy was disruptive, he said, “and that there is time for economies to adapt.”

“But I don’t think it is legitimate for the whole process to be held hostage by an issue like this. Because in the end if this is the approach that everybody adopts, we will get precisely nowhere.”

The Maldives’ had an opportunity to benefit financially from becoming a carbon neutral economy, he predicted, “because all your energy comes from diesel, which you have to import, and over the next 10 years is going to become more expensive. You could probably [adapt] in a way that doesn’t impose additional burdens on the economy, and actually save money while building a more resilient and energy-secure economy.”

The world had confidence, Ashton said, that the Maldives’ ambitions to become carbon neutral by 2020 “is not just cosmetic positioning. I came here partly because I wanted to see what was happening with the carbon neutral plan. I’m hugely impressed.”

“Maldives make a huge difference. Athough people understand carbon neutral economy, a lot of people feel it thwill be a burden – a risk to the economy rather than an opportunity, and perhaps a risk to political stability. People hesitate. What the Maldives can say in pursuing its carbon neutral plan, is that ‘If we are, why can’t you?’. That’s a powerful message.”

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Male’ City Council to confiscate former President’s house during ‘sidewalk’ meeting

Male’ City Council passed a resolution today to seize the official residence of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Ma Kibigasdhoshuge, for the state with compensation.

At an impromptu meeting held outside parliament this morning amidst public protests, nine councillors of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) sat cross-legged on a red carpet decked out on the road and unanimously endorsed the resolution. The two opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) councillors did not attend the ‘meeting’.

Former Mayor “Sarangu” Adam Manik confirmed the council’s decision and defended the legality of the move.

“The meeting was a lawful meeting and all decisions made during the meeting will be lawful and shall be implemented,” insisted Manik, who also chaired the meeting.

However the former municipality head refused to comment any further on the matter.

Article 41(n) of the Decentralisation Act empowers the city council to seize private property “if necessary” after providing “fair compensation”.

Ahmed Nihan, spokesperson of the Z-DRP faction formed behind the party’s ‘Honorary Leader’ Gayoom, told Minivan News today that he did not believe the council’s decision was legal.

“How can they claim land owned by someone? Even the constitution states that everyone must respect others private life and house,” Nihan said. “The current government is helpless to rule the country.”

Nihan said that the Male’ City Council had violated the rights of the former President, adding that the council did not have the legal authority to seize land.

“The ultimate outcome of such decisions will be other island councils will start making such decisions in council meeting and will start claiming others’ properties,” he suggested. “Now also Kaafu Atoll Guraidhoo Council is claiming that the resort (Kandooma Island Resort) right next to the island is a part of the island.”

The DRP MP for Vili-Maafanu strongly condemned the decision made by Male’ City Council.

“It is another desperate action of the government,” he said. “Mad people like Adam Manik will do such things like sitting on the road and holding council meetings.”

Nihan argued that the Male’ City Council could not take the land without Gayoom’s consent.

“Although the council has decided to pay compensation in return for the land, still it cannot be taken without the consent of former president,” he insisted.

Nihan said that he was not aware if Gayoom had officially decided to take any action concerning the decision.

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EC condemns DRP MP Rozaina for “misleading the public”

The Elections Commission (EC) has condemned main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Rozaina Adam for allegedly misleading the public about a by-election to be held in Baa Atoll Thulhaadoo to replace a dismissed DRP councillor.

Thulhaadhoo DRP Councillor Umaira Abubakur was dismissed after she missed more than seven council meetings in a row without providing a valid reason, according to the EC.

Under article 119(b) the Decentralization Act, aa councillor can be removed if he or she misses seven consecutive meetings “without offering a valid reason that is acceptable to the council.” Umaira did not attend ten meetings which took place while she was ostensibly participating in a workshop in Bandos Island Resort.

Speaking at a press conference last week, Rozaina had said that Umaira was not informed of the council meetings as stipulated in the Decentralization Act, alleging that the four Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) councilors on the five-member island council conducted six emergency meetings in her absence as part of “a planned effort” to remove her from the post.

“There are a number of things that prove that she was dismissed without any grounds and that this was planned by them,” Rozaina had said. “Up until May, the Thulhaadhoo council held 23 meetings. However during the period when Umaira went to the workshop, they held ten meetings, four of which were normal meetings but the other six were held as emergency meetings.”

She added that the emergency meetings were conducted to decide trivial matters. “For example, an emergency meeting was held for the sake of changing the days where normal meetings take place.”

The EC contended in a press release yesterday that Rozaina’s remarks implied that it the decision to dismiss was made by the EC and not the council.

“In dealing with matters related to local councils or other matters, the Elections Commission does not refer to the wealth and gender of the person and will act with respect to the rights of the person and with adherence to the authorities vested in the commission under laws,’’ the EC in response to Rozaina’s remarks about discrimination against a female councillor.

Moreover, the EC denied that the commission was “in a rush” to hold the by-election, pointing out that the law dictates that an election has to be held within 45 days from the day a seat becomes vacant.

MP Rozaina was not responding to calls at time of press.

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Opposition expects government will transfer state media assets in spite of High Court ruling

Opposition MPs remain confident that the government will eventually hand over key assets of the Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation’s (MNBC) TV and radio operations, despite a High Court decision yesterday to suspend an existing lower court ruling requesting such a transfer.

Back in May, the Civil Court appeared to have ended a year-long tug of war between opposition MPs and the government over state media by ordering the MNBC to transfer assets and staff from its radio and tv operatons to the parliament-established Maldives Broadcasting Corporation (MBC).

Despite Yesterday’s High Court ruling to withhold the Civil Court’s earlier verdict on transferring Television Maldives (TVM) and Voice of Maldives (VOM) to MBC, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Dr Abdulla Mausoom believed the government would in the long-run have to hand over the broadcast assets.

“The government has to follow the rule of law on this issue,” he said. “I think ultimately the government will have to hand over the [MNBC assets] as has been required under the [Majlis] legislation.”

The High Court had now ruled in favour of the government over the dispute, announcing that any transfer of assets from the MNBC would be withheld until it ordered otherwise.

According to Mausoom, the High Court’s decision was presently being seen as a temporary ruling, claiming the judiciary had already had the final say on the fate of TVM and VOM after the lower court ruled that the MNBC was legally obligated to hand over the assets.

However, online local news service Sun has reported that upon passing the High Court judgement, Chief Judge Ahmed Shareef claimed he had acted on “legal” and “equitable considerations” in withholding the Civil Court decision, a decision he claimed was made on the basis of reasons provided by the MNBC.

The case had been ongoing for over a year and become an increasing contentious issue following an initial government decision to transfer the assets and staff from Television Maldives (TVM) and Voice of Maldives (VOM) to the 100 percent government-owned corporate entity MNBC.  TVM is now broadcast as the MNBC One channel.

By April 2010, the opposition-majority parliament had taken action to create MBC and passed an order for the government to transfer MNBC’s assets and staff to this body.

MNBC has been labelled pro-government by critics, while proponents argue that as most other mass media is owned by senior opposition political figures and favours the opposition, the government had no alternative voice. In being formed by parliament, the MBC has a board appointed by the Majlis, to which it is also answerable. The government has claimed this structure serves only to ensure political influence in the running of the state broadcaster and refused to comply with the legislation on these grounds.

Opposition figures and high profile political activists such as Umar Naseer, a dismissed Deputy Leader of the DRP, have held protests requesting the “freedom” of state media from what they allege is government control and influence.

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