Tag: maldives

Criminal Court orders MDP MP Adil be held in detention until trial concludes

The Criminal Court today granted the Prosecutor General (PG) permission to hold Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hassan Adil in detention until his trial reaches conclusion.

The court has said that permission was granted upon a request made by the PG’s office today during the first hearing of the trial.

Police have alleged that Adil sexually abused a 13 year-old girl belonging to a family with whom he was close friends.

The Criminal Court said the court warrant to hold Adil under detention until the trial end was issued according to article 28 of Child Sex Offenders Special Provisions Act.

The Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Adil in April. His detention was subsequently extended, and then later reduced to house arrest.

Police concluded the investigation of Adil in May and forwarded the case to the PG.

As the trial concerns to a child, the Criminal Court has decided to conduct the trial closed to the public and journalists.

Article 73[c]2 of the constitution states that a member of the parliament will be disqualified if found guilty of a criminal offence that involves a prison sentence of more than twelve months.

Adil was formerly a member of the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) prior to joining the MDP last year.

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Comment: The politics of arrogance

There are so many things wrong with our democracy. A dysfunctional judiciary, stunted and already disintegrating party system, politicised and unprofessional media, polarized society, growing intolerance, xenophobia and the list goes on. But whatever the affliction is, the one underlying factor is always corruption. We know, corruption is an old song sung by all politicians everywhere. But this time around, we are not talking about the corruption of the old, the established and the already corrupt, but about the corruption of a fairly young generation of politicians who will possibly remain in Maldivian politics for another 30-40 years. We are talking about the corruption of a generation of politicians who could have been defined otherwise.

What went wrong?

The Maldives is celebrated as a model for peaceful transition to democracy. The opening up of the political system that began in 2003 led to free and fair elections fairly quickly. The old autocrat was not arrested and thrown into jail as happens in so many other countries, but instead given a hefty pension package and left to himself for the most part. Three branches of the state were made separate and independent, and the fourth estate was given its due freedom. What went wrong?

What went wrong is strikingly similar to what goes wrong in so many African democracies. The liberator who wrenches his people from the clutches of exploitative colonial powers is hailed in as the good leader, and then the people are forever stuck with him. And he is good, at least in the prologue. He must have believed in freedom, in people’s right to make their own destinies and to live a good life, to have fought so long and hard and put his neck on the line. For his bravery and courage, he is rewarded with legitimacy, people’s love and admiration. And he is handed the ultimate prize (via a free and fair election, of course)- the chance to become the president of the first real democracy in that country. But somewhere along the line, the leader miscalculates how far he can push his legitimacy and thinks himself above the law. In order to ‘save his people’, he convinces himself that he has to do whatever it takes, and sometimes the whatever part involves ugly nasty immoral things like corruption, bribery and appeasing big businesses at the cost of the public good.

Let’s not forget the party machinery that often ushers in these liberator-type leaders. What eventually ends up becoming a political party often starts out as a movement, a movement for freedom, liberation and democracy. The sole purpose of the movement-cum-political party is to free the people. And as such, upon independence or at the end of dictatorship, the party becomes a mere vehicle for the liberator-leader to ride in to take his rightful place as the head of the new democracy. Sadly, the party ceases to become anything more. Tangled in the politics of the day, the party fails to mature. It lacks a clearly articulated ideology, a set of values or anything for that matter that can define it independently of its liberation history. And just for the record, no, five key pledges does not amount to an ideology. People cannot be expected to analyse the party manifesto and derive the party’s philosophy on their own, if it exists at all. And no, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s personality does not amount to an ideology either.

What is so wrong now?

The problem is, not only does the party continue to be the liberator’s vehicle to remain in power but it begins to destroy all other parties around it, sometimes by guns and outright violence, but in our case with ‘secret’ deals that are not only accepted, but boasted about in political circles and laughed over at cocktail parties. “Hey, I paid Mrf 5 million and a BMW for that guy over there” wink. “Oh really, well I paid about Mrf 15 million for this guy right here. Prices keep rising by the day…we better buy up all available on the market before prices go through the roof! Hohoho!” And so, riding high on liberation victory, the leader and his party come to practice a vile sort of politics. A politics of “only we can be trusted with power” and “damn those slow and tedious democratic process.” In short, the politics of arrogance.

Of course, the liberator and his party machinery try to justify this politics of arrogance. They say that if they do not deliver and make good on their key pledges, then not only may they lose elections come 2013, but that, lo and behold, they will surely lose it to the old dictator or his brother! Not only that, if the MDP fails to deliver, ‘the people’ will cease to believe in the promise of democracy! And God forbid, we cannot let these things happen, not after all the blood and tears, not after trying so damn hard to go by that complicated and cumbersome constitution.

Therefore, in its mad frenzy to get everything done before the clock strikes 12 o’clock in 2013, the MDP government, instead of putting up a steady honest fight, is buying the entire game and in the process, relying less and less on democratic processes. We need not look beyond parliament for evidence. Let us be clear, the MDP is not outwardly undemocratic. Besides the occasional slip of the tongue, it sticks to its narrative of democratic governance at the podiums. But away from the cameras and the public’s eye, the party and most Maldivian politicians engage in what can be termed as real deal-making. And this real deal-making almost always subverts democratic processes. Surely, this has to be informal politics at its best.

And again, just for the record, given the blatant political prostitution in parliament, even if the government builds an apartment for every Maldivian (doesn’t matter if they can afford it), a hospital (too expensive to maintain) on every island, establishes a fast ferry between all islands and makes every youth drug-free (but perhaps jobless), that does not prove that democracy worked. It merely proves that the MDP party machinery and its tactics worked. And these are two very different claims that have far-reaching consequences.

Why is it wrong?

The bitter result of the politics of arrogance and the corruption and bribery it necessitates is that it is imbibing a new generation of politicians with the view that politics is ultimately about being in power. That without absolute power, you cannot get anything done. That power is the be-all and end-all of politics. In doing so, they have changed the narrative of the land from “what is good?” to “what is the lesser evil?” And that is a damn shame. For if there was a reason I voted, it was because I trusted my elected official to make wise decisions that would contribute to me living well, and at the same time contribute to the greater good of the society. And I also trusted that official to not always see the greater good in monetary terms. And I also trusted that official not to cast the building of a harbor, an airport or a housing project as incompatible with sticking to democratic processes.

So the story goes that, the politics of arrogance not only deprives a nation of honest and virtuous politicians, but also buries the common good and on its tomb, plants the seeds of political power and waters it with the greed and lust of an emerging generation of crass politicians who are morally stunted and politically shackled for years to come.

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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President’s Office encouraging unprofessional journalism, claims MMC

The Maldives Media Council (MMC) has accused the President’s Office of discouraging journalists from following the council’s rulings and code of conduct.

The MMC’s claims came after Press Secretary for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair told news outlet Sun Online that the government did not support any action against journalists of the Sun Media Group, after three journalists conducted an investigation into illegal prostitution in the Maldives.

The Media Council declared the standard of the written articles were unprofessional and that the articles indicated that the journalists may have been engaged in sexual activities with the prostitutes, and that their style of writing encouraged the activity. It referred the matter to the Prosecutor General.

However, Zuhair told the paper that the government did not consider the articles to be inappropriate, or containing words that indicated that the journalists might have involved themselves in any criminal offences.

In a press release issued by the MMC following the remarks made by the Press Secretary, the MMC accused the President’s Office of obstructing the council’s efforts to establish a culture in which journalists worked within a code of conduct.

The council said the executive was speaking in such a way that implied it could influence the work of the council, which was irresponsible.

‘’It makes the public and the media lose confidence in the legal duty of the council to set the media in the right direction,’’ said the Media Council in the statement. ‘’The remarks made by the Press Secretary were made in a way that it encouraged such writings, and was said without showing any respect to the Islamic principles, laws and the beliefs of an Islamic society.’’

The council also noted that it has declared that the articles were inconsistent with the Media Code of Ethics and that the editorial management of Sun had already apologised over it.

After Sun Magazine published series of articles sharing their experience with prostitutes working at spas and salons in Male’, the MMC pulled the magazines from circulation and forwarded the case to the Prosecutor General to file criminal charges against the paper.

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair was not responding at time of press.

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Gulhifalhu developers present deeds for land plots on new island

The first phase of the Gulhifalhu development project – including land reclamation and revetment – cost US$15 million, the company behind it has said.

Global Projects Development (GPD) held a ceremony and tree-planting ceremony on June 11 to present 37 deeds to people who had rented plots of land on the new island, which targeted warehouse development.

Haveeru reported CEO and Managing Director of GPD Sivarajah Manivannan as saying that the total cost of the project was expected to reach US$25 million.

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President’s dancing shames nation: Adhaalath Party

The Maldivian people should “bow in shame” following President Mohamed Nasheed’s dancing at a Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) rally on Thursday, the religiously conservative Adhaalath Party has claimed.

In a video of the incident, President Nasheed is seen dancing with a group of senior party officials while MDP Parliamentary Group Leader ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik sings on stage at Thoddu in North Ari Atoll.

‘’This is not the behaviour we expect to see from the people who are supposed to set an example for Maldivians,’’ said the Adhaalath Party, in a statement. ‘’Their behaviour was uncivilised and irresponsible.’’

The party said it was a national shame that the President had participated in a rally where ‘’males and females danced together like in a disco with a DJ.’’

‘’Heads of nations are supposed set an example for their people. They are obliged to live a very honorable life,’’ said the party. ‘’We don’t see presidents of non-Muslim states dancing and performing circus acts in public.’’

“By all accounts [Reeko Moosa’s] singing was pretty awful,” acknowledged a senior government source.

“The Adhaalath Party has new leadership and this may be them trying to flex some muscle and show they are independent,” the source suggested, adding that Nasheed had emphasised the 800 year durability of Islam in the Maldives while handing out certificates to the winners of a Quran recitation competition this morning.

In its statement, the Adhaalath Party further alleged that the MDP had used government vessels to ferry “hundreds of MDP supporters” to Thoddu, which, it claimed, “shows how much this government is addicted to corruption.”

The political system of the Maldives was moving towards a dictatorship and what the people saw on Thursday night was “the real image of MDP,” the Adhaalath Party stated.

The MDP has had an increasingly conflicted relationship with the Adhaalath Party: its remaining coalition partner and the third largest party in the country. The party’s ranks make up much of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

In February 2010, the government capitulated to the Adhaalath Party’s demands that new regulations licensing the sale of alcohol to non-Maldivians in hotel of over 100 beds on inhabited islands be scrapped, after thousands of people protested in the capital.

Individual liquor licensing, which had been repealed in the lead up to the new regulation, was not reinstated, leading to a flourishing blackmarket around the illegal commodity.

Further clashes between the coalition partners took place in December 2010 over the visit of a group of Israeli eye surgeons from the NGO ‘Eyes from Zion’, resulting in protests in Republic Square, the burning of the Israeli flag, and statements that those Maldivians who accepted the free surgery were at risk of having their organs harvested.

More recently, the Adhaalath Party has threatened to split from the MDP if the government allows Israeli airline El Al to operate in the Maldives. The government has responded that flights will begin on December 13.

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Maldives re-insurance potential spied by Sri Lankan business

The Sri Lanka-based National Insurance Trust Fund (NITF) has announced plans to move into the insurance markets of the Maldives and Bangladesh after posting Rs. 2.7billion (US$24million) in profit over the last six months, local news reports have said.

The NITF has said that it has held talks in the two countries over re-insuring national providers and was expecting to enter both markets soon, according to a report published today in the Sri Lanka-based Sunday Observer newspaper.

Senaka Abeygunasekera, Chairman of the NITF, told the paper that a “large” number of Sri Lankan companies were now funding re-insurance plans abroad, including markets like India and parts of Europe.

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MDP wins Haa Dhaal Atoll council by-election

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate Nasrulla Ismail has won the seat for Kulhudhuffushi-North on the Haa Dhaal Atoll Council with 509 votes.

Ismail defeated Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) candidate Adam Masood Moosa who received 279 votes. 806 people voted out of 2000 eligible voters.

Haveeru reported that the by-election was held after sitting MDP candidate resigned for “medical and personal” reasons.

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Maldives desperate to maintain paradise image amid rising extremism: The Diplomat

Desperate to maintain its image as a tourist paradise, the Maldives is boosting co-operation with regional partners to combat the threat of militants, writes Berkshire Miller for current affairs magazine The Diplomat.

“Senior officials in Washington and New Delhi continue to express concern that madrassas funded by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have the potential to radicalise Maldivian young people through jihadist doctrine. Such fears were given some credence in 2006, when three Maldivians were detained in Sri Lanka on suspicion that they were using the country to transit to Pakistan to join a jihadi training camp. It’s with cases like this in mind that the Maldives’ National Central Bureau – which heads up intelligence and national security operations – remains invested in its partnership with Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigations Department to enhance intelligence sharing on terrorism and national security issues.

“More generally, India is alarmed by the growing presence of radicalism in the Maldives, and has offered its experience in detecting and responding to terrorist attacks. But setting aside the more immediate benefits for it of doing so, the Indian government also likely sees its co-operation with the Maldives through the prism of its grander strategic policy of targeting Pakistani-based terrorism in the region. Over the past few years, the Indian Coast Guard has been continuing its efforts to train Maldivian authorities on ways to avoid maritime terrorist attacks through enhanced surveillance of sea lanes and increased monitoring at key ports.

“The Maldives has little history linking it to terrorism, whether international or domestic. Still, local and regional authorities aren’t taking any chances. After all, Maldivian citizens still recall the Sultan Park bombing in the capital of Male in the autumn of 2007. While no one was killed in the attack, a dozen foreigners were wounded, prompting Maldivian business owners and politicians alike to roundly condemn the infringement to the islands’ harmony and the threat it posed to tourism there.

“State law enforcement authorities quickly rounded up nearly a dozen suspects (10 of whom were Maldivian citizens) within the first few days following the Sultan Park attack. Investigators eventually traced the bombing back to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan, where al-Qaeda and jihadi groups were widely reported to have based their operations. Nine of the 12 suspects – all Maldivian – were arrested in the FATA region, but were later released due to a lack of evidence that they were tied to the attack. While no legal case was made against the ‘Maldivian nine,’ intelligence officials in New Delhi and Washington understandably felt something was amiss with Maldivians ‘vacationing’ in one of the most dangerous parts of the world.”

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Comment: The Israel hypocrisy

On Monday June 6 the Adhaalath Party released an ominous statement claiming that allowing the Israeli national carrier El Al to fly to the Maldives is “a threat” to the country’s economy and statehood.

Maldivian authorities have announced that the airline could begin operations in December this year.

In a valiant effort to shoulder the unwieldy burden of speaking for the 1400-year old Islamic faith, the Adhaalath Party has responded to the news by threatening “nationwide protests”, exhorting citizens “who love their religion” to join them.

It has become absurd theatre to watch the Mullah reach for the raw teats of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and milk the tragedy for all it is worth.

Hawks and doves

First, the facts – the world has overwhelmingly recognised the need for Palestinian statehood.

In his 2009 address to the Muslim world at Cairo, President Barack Obama reaffirmed US support for a two-state solution, recognising both parties as having “legitimate aspirations.”

In perhaps the most pro-Palestinian speech by a US President in history, Obama also asserted in a major speech last month that “the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines”, while also calling for full and phased withdrawal of Israeli military forces from Palestine.

Various polls show that a majority of Palestinians and Israelis support the idea of two states co-existing peacefully side-by-side.

Pope Benedict XVI, Bishop of Rome, and leader of the billion-strong Roman Catholic Church, has also thrown his weight behind the idea of Palestinian statehood. Celebrities, left-leaning Israeli parties, public intellectuals and several high-profile Jews and Jewish organisations around the world have also lent their support to the Palestinian cause.

Why, then, has this convoluted tangle remained unsolved for decades?

Perhaps the answer partly lies in the reactions to the US President’s conciliatory speech.

While Obama’s statements were well-received among Palestinian lobbyists, the right-wing militant Hamas wasted no time in heaping scorn on it. On the other side of the fence, within hours of the US government’s announcement that it “does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements”, hawkish elements in the right-wing Israeli government announced the construction of 1500 more housing units in occupied Jerusalem.

Peace, unsurprisingly, is not welcome by those whose politics depend on division and hatred.

Selective outrage

The Adhaalath party has stated that “the government should not establish ties with oppressive states that violate international human rights conventions.”

Fair enough. But one must wonder why this magnanimous vision is not being applied uniformly to our ties with the rest of the world.

Why does this party not take the moral high-ground on our ties with China? After all, that country has, by numerous accounts, oppressed the people of Xinjiang and Tibet regions for over half a century.

During Chairman Mao’s infamous Great Leap Forward, between 200,000 and one million Tibetans – of whom Muslims form the largest minority – lost their lives. To this day, the Tibetan government operates in exile and their displaced populations have little hope of returning to their homeland.

Why does the Mullah not demand “nationwide” protests against the twice daily flights operating from India – a country that, according to Amnesty International and various other Human Rights NGOs – has continued to exercise brutal military control over Kashmir since 1947?

Apologists for the “boycott Israel” camp insist there is an as-yet-unexplained “difference” between the Palestinian situation and the rest of the world’s humanitarian crises.

Don’t the Kashmiris, who have been fighting for a homeland and self-representation in the most militarised region of the world for a full year longer than Palestinians, find equal sympathy in the heart of the otherwise easily outraged Mullah?

There are, after all, 1.5 million refugees from the vivisected remains of Muslim-populated Kashmir, according to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

Why should the mass-graves unearthed in Kashmir be less of a humanitarian catastrophe than Palestinians going without gasoline?

And why doesn’t the big-hearted Mullah condemn the Kashmiri Islamists as well? Surely, the murder and displacement of over 400,000 Kashmiri Hindus, which the US Congress declared an act of ethnic cleansing in 2006, qualifies as a crime against humanity?

Pray why haven’t the Mullah’s minions gathered outside the Turkish Embassy in Male’ with their pitchforks?

Surely, the Turkish government’s continued denial of justice for the genocide of hundreds of thousands of Armenians – by burning, poisoning, drowning and marching till exhaustion – counts as “violating Human Rights conventions”?

If the Mullah contends those wounds have been healed and forgiven by the passage of time, then perhaps he could also explain his meek silence over the ongoing genocide in Darfur – an area approximately the size of Spain.

Even the Sudanese authorities have officially admitted to a death toll of nearly 20,000 since 2003 – which outnumbers the total Palestinian deaths over the last three decades. Aid agencies on the ground in Darfur have estimated about 400,000 dead as a result of systematic ethnic cleansing, aided and funded by the Sudanese government.

A party that can issue swift press releases condemning the President’s dance moves can certainly spare a word of condemnation for the war crimes in neighboring Sri Lanka, and perhaps organise “nationwide” protests against their airlines as well.

The Maldives continues to maintain ties with undemocratic, repressive regimes throughout the Middle East.

Syria has killed over a thousand Muslims and erased the whereabouts of another ten thousand over the past two months.

Bahrain has ruthlessly cracked down on doctors and nurses attending to injured Muslim protesters.

Should we also reconsider our ties with Pakistan in the light of increasing evidence that points towards decades of sponsored terrorism that has cost numerous lives in bombings of Mosques and market places?

If the argument is that Palestine deserves a special consideration because of the holy sites present there, then the shouldn’t the esteemed Mullah be the first to demand that the Maldives cut off all ties with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – a nation that violates numerous International Human Rights conventions, and is widely alleged to have tortured thousands of its own citizens?

The answer in all these cases, one might reasonably expect, is an unreserved “No”.

Why then does the Mullah vent his spleen so selectively over just one nation – Israel – with a passion and vehemence that he denies for all the other inhuman atrocities taking place in the world?
What explains the Mullahs’ double standards in singling out just one nation – Israel – while maintaining healthy relations with the United States, Italy, England and Australia – all of whom have allegedly ‘wronged our Muslim brothers’ by participating in a global war on abstract concepts?

This two-faced approach towards foreign policy is patently dishonest, disingenuous, and riddled with bias. Genuine empathy and humanitarian compassion is unconditional and transcends all petty distinctions of race, ethnicity and artificial geographical boundaries.

In that context, what is being passed off as ‘humanitarian concern’ by the Adhaalath party, unfortunately, smacks of mere political opportunism.

Sovereign Republic or Arab Satellite state?

A nation is truly sovereign when its leaders have both the will and capacity to take independent decisions that places at its heart the best interests of its citizens.

A note-worthy example is India – the first non-Arab nation to establish diplomatic relations with the PLO, and well-known champion of the Palestinian cause, that nevertheless maintains strong defense and diplomatic ties with Israel.

An indicator of their successful foreign policy would be that despite being a severe critic of Israeli military misadventures in Lebanon and Gaza, India emerged on a 2009 poll conducted on behalf of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, as the most “pro-Israeli” nation in the world ahead of the US!

The sovereignty of Dhivehi Raajje is put under a cloud by those who place Arab priorities above the interests of Dhivehin.

The Maldives was the second nation – and the first Muslim nation – in the world to recognise the state of Israel. Israel became the first modern country to send an ambassador to the Maldives in 1965, during the reign of the Sultan Mohamed Farid.

When the Indian Ocean tsunami struck in 2004, Israel was among the first nations in the world to respond with emergency relief measures. Israeli Magen David Adom has provided training and support to Maldivian armed forces, police and fire departments.

Israeli medical volunteers from ‘Eye from Zion’ have conducted free treatment camps in the Maldives late last year, in a bid to strengthen friendly relations between the two nations.

However, just as with the Hamas and the Far-Right parties in Israel, Maldivian Islamist groups responded to the extended olive branch with claws and daggers.

If hostility seems insurmountable, it is because there are those who cannot stand the idea of peace.

Era of Peace and Dialogue

According to Maulana Jamil Ilyasi, who led an official delegation of the All India Organization of Imams and Mosques, a body representing over 500,000 Imams across India, to Israel in August 2007, “The time for violence has come to an end, and the era of peace and dialogue between Muslims and Jews has begun”

The Senior Indian cleric also called upon Pakistan to recognize the Jewish state, saying “The Jews I have met here say that we are all children of Abraham, part of the same family… The Muslims in India should come and see things for themselves.”

According to Transport and Communications Minister Adil Saleem, 500 Maldivians have traveled to Israel this year – and history bears witness that people-to-people exchanges are the surest way of ensuring lasting peace and mutual understanding.

Those who willfully spurn all attempts at peace have no moral authority to complain about violence.

So when vested interests claim that an Israeli airline would threaten the country – it is a blatant attempt at fanning the fires of hostility.

This so-called “threat” to our statehood and economy comes only from those who seek to stoke baseless controversy for mere political drama.

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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