Tag: maldives

Bill passed on separate administration for National University and Kulliyah

A National University bill was yesterday passed in the Majlis requiring the religious-focused Kulliyah to be run under a separate administration, providing opposition politicians a victory against the government, Miadhu has reported.

The government had argued that running the Kulliyah under a single administration within the university would allow it to reduce costs of a service that had a much smaller number of students, according to the report.

However, MPs said to be opposed to a single university administration that included the Kulliyah claimed that their victory would allow for improved standards and courses in higher education.

“Teaching the Islamic cultivation does not mean it is only teaching the Arabic language. It is to teach in set methodology. It is to cultivate from childhood itself. This is to make them responsible citizens of society,” Faresmathoda MP Ibrahim Muttalib was quoted as saying by Miadhu.

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Adhaalath Party condemns president’s ”dangerous warning” on Gayoom

The Adhaalath party, led by State Islamic Minister Sheikh Hussein Rasheed, has condemned the ”dangerous warning issued” by President Mohamed Nasheed against the return of his predecessor, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, to national politics.

The president was this week reported on the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) website as warning that history might return if Gayoom comes back to the Maldives for political campaigning and that his life could be in danger, despite the state’s attempts to protect him.

”Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and other former presidents of the Maldives are persons honoured and secured by the state according to the laws,” said Adhaalah party in a statement. ”The warning president Mohamed Nasheed issued was against Islamic Sharia, the constitution, human rights and democracy.”

Sheikh Rasheed said the action of Nasheed was very ”uncivilized and low graded” and that his party condemned the action in the strongest possible terms.

”We sincerely appeal to the president not to repeat such words and not to encourage actions that might disrupt the peace of the nation or  lead to terrorism,” the party said.

Sheikh Rasheed said he would not like to add any further comments on the issue.

The main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party [DRP] has also condemned the action in the strongest possible terms following the president’s warning.

Nasheed warned Gayoom to stay out of the Maldives claiming that it was for his own safety, referring to the death incidents of former presidents who were killed after their resignations.

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Razee confident budget aims can be met as voting day looms

With voting to finalise the 2011 state budget expected to take place later today, acting Finance Minister Mahmood Razee said he remains confident that the government remains on target to meet its financial objectives, though stressed it was too early to say without “seeing amendments” suggested by parliament.

Despite criticisms by some opposition MPs regarding what they see as a lack of detail in the budget over the exact nature of government spending – particularly in areas of decentralisation and broadcaster funding – Razee said this morning that he believed any potential member-submitted amendments would not set back proposed aims of trying to reduce spending.

“We would only be concerned [by the amendments] if the total budget goes over the 12.37bn (US$962.6 million) originally set,” he said.

Razee added that it would also be vital to try and ensure the predicted 2011 budget deficit remained at about 16 per cent, after coming under pressure from financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cut the current figure of around 26.5 per cent.

“We would need to maintain the deficit at that level [16 per cent].  Most of the discussions we have had about the deficit have been in line with this,” he said. “However, I don’t know what will happen until voting.”

The passing of the annual budget is constitutionally required to be completed before the end of the previous calendar year, with the government having claimed to be focused on spending cuts as part of plans to try and reduce the country’s budget deficit.

There has been concern over whether the budget will be passed on time, with debate taking place within parliament over the last few days as members have attempted to add amendments to the annual expenditure before passing it through the Majlis.

Budget criticism has come from both opposition MPs like Ahmed Nazim and independent members like Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed over claims that there is insufficient detail about the exact nature of certain government spending projects.

Nazim has claimed that although opposition members were just as committed to ensuring the country’s budget was completed within the deadline, there remained concerns over issues such as the government supplying about Rf54 million to the Maldives National Broadcasting Corperation (MNBC) without seemingly including it in the budget.

“There are so many problems with the budget, which is lacking details regarding a number of projects and figures,” he said.

Nasheed, an independent MP, also said last week that he had identified some preliminary concerns over spending allocation in the budget, particularly in areas such as decentralisation, despite claiming he was optimistic that the finance document would be passed before the New Year deadline.

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No calls for Sri Lanka travel ban despite “Influenza Pandemic” caution, says CCHDC

The Maldives Centre for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC) has said it is not advising people against travelling to Sri Lanka amidst concerns about a recent rise in cases of the H1N1 influenza virus in the country, adding that no cases of the disease have been confirmed in the Maldives of late.

According to the CCHDC, data from the Sri Lankan Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition’s Epidemiology Unit has recorded 342 cases of the disease, which in turn has been linked to 22 deaths in the country. Sri Lankan authorities have said that the country, particularly around the city of Colombo, is undergoing an “epidemic of Pandemic Influenza”, with 65 cases of H1N1 occurring just last week – between December 13 to December 19 – resulting in nine deaths across the country.

An official from the CCHDC told Minivan News that it was not calling for any travel restrictions as a result of the influenza report, but added that the centre did urge any travellers to be cautious when visiting the country.

In terms of caution, the centre urges travellers to maintain basic hygiene measures like washing hands, particularly among those most susceptible to the disease such as pregnant women, children and the elderly.

“The disease is spread by the respiratory routes, so we recommend avoiding crowded areas as much as possible, particularly as measures like wearing masks will not really help,” said a spokesperson for the centre.

Regular washing of the hands with soap was strongly recommended by the CCHCD, which said it had not had any confirmed cases of the virus recently in the Maldives, thought the centre claimed it would continue to keep the public informed.

However, beyond precautionary measures, the CCHCD has said that anyone developing a fever, a cold or a cough upon returning from Sri Lanka or being in contact with other travellers should try and obtain medical advice as soon as possible.

More information for those concerned about the virus is available by calling 3315334.

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Parliament’s General Committee condemns MJA

Parliament’s General Committee has condemned the Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) for issuing a statement claiming it had attempted to threaten journalists.

The General Committee of the parliament said that it had summoned journalists from private broadcasting channels VTV and DhiTV recently, but rejected claims it had threatened reporters.

In a statement issued on Monday December 27, the General Committee’s chair, MP Nazim Rashad, said that the journalists in question were summoned regarding a complaint made by an MP over allegations they had edited video footage and broadcast it in a manner that would smear the member in question.

”Obstructing independent media in the country in any way, along with allegations that this committee attempted to make the media back-down is not acceptable by this committee or by the honourable MPs of the parliament,” the statement said. ”But it is the responsibility of the committee members to fulfill their responsibility at their level best under the Parliament rules of regulation.”

The statement added that issuing a claim to obstruct the work of the committee was against the constitution as well as being very irresponsible.

”We call on everyone not to obstruct the work of the parliament and its committees when investigating such cases,” the statement said. ”Parliament is one pillar of the state which enact laws, elects appointees for independent commissions and listens to the complaints of the media and independent [organisations] to protect the rights of its citizens. Therefore, we remind no one to conduct any action that will disregard the sanctity and honour of parliament.”

The MJA said in a statement that it believed the parliamentary General Committee had attempted to narrow press freedom by threatening and pressuring journalists.

The association added that using edited video footage is not against the ethics of journalism and that the full responsibility of what was said in the footage should be taken by the person who said it.

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President urges Gayoom to “stay out” of Maldives politics over safety fears

President Mohamed Nasheed has warned that it would not be wise for Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the nation’s former president, to return to the country for campaigning purposes after publicly announcing that he had given up on his political career.

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) website reported that Nasheed had heard that Gayoom was returning to the Maldives for local elections campaigning and warned that ”it might cause history to return”, potentially endangering the former leader’s safety.

The comments have been condemned by some in the main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), which was formerly led by Gayoom, as being spoken out of  “fear” over the impact the former president may have on the elections.

Senior figures from the (DRP) last week told Minivan News that Gayoom would be returning to the Maldives to campaign for the party in the upcoming local council elections and had also been invited to stand once again for the presidency.  However,  Gayoom has not officially commented to the media or made a decision regarding these possible plans.

Nasheed said he was concerned over the implications Gayoom’s return may have on the country and those opposed to the former leader, according to the website.

“‘Sometimes when former presidents leave the country and then return back to the Maldives, a very regrettable fate has occurred,” he said.  “I am concerned that something very regrettable is about to happen in Male’.”

Nasheed claimed that some former presidents have had difficulties  when they returned to the Maldives after leaving, while others have had their political lives destroyed.

”If Gayoom is returning to politics then he is messing with the feelings of the citizens that could cause them to confront and return to their history and it is very possible that a regrettable consequence may occur,” he said. ”Do not mess with the feelings of the citizens of the Maldives, because when they are shaken, I can’t even curb the pressure.”

The president said he would nonetheless do everything he could for the safety of the former president.

”But still if you are speaking of returning to politics, again, it is more likely to see the history of the Maldives to return,” he said. ”It is not what any of us would wish to see.”’

Meanwhile, DRP MP Ahmed Nihan condemned the remarks of Nasheed in the ”strongest possible terms.”

”His comments were very inappropriate to be said by a president to a former president,” claimed Nihan. ”We know the hidden interpretation of the words he had said.”

Nihan said that both the MDP and Nasheed were afraid, as they understood that they would not stand a chance against Gayoom.

”They understand without a doubt that it is the DRP who will win the local council elections if Gayoom comes out,” he said.

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JSC fails to convince Civil Court of its misconduct complaints procedure

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC), an independent body constitutionally mandated to oversee the ethical standards of the country’s judiciary, yesterday failed to convince the Civil Court that it had any form of standardised procedure for dealing with complaints against judges.

The JSC is currently defending itself against allegations of allowing bias and favouritism to influence its decisions on complaints of judiciary misconduct and was yesterday required to provide documentary evidence to the court proving the contrary. However, the evidence may have opened up more questions about its operations in the court.

The current case relates to action being taken by Treasure Island Limited, which is suing the JSC over allegations that the body had dismissed three complaints of misconduct it made against Interim-Supreme Court Justice Mujthaz Fahmy and Judge Ali Naseer for reasons of favour and bias towards the judges.

Civil Court Judge Mariyam Nihayath said that the documents submitted by JSC did not clarify for her – as had been claimed they would – that a standard operations procedure was in place to prevent arbitrary decision-making on complaints of judiciary misconduct. She added instead that the documents submitted to court by JSC as evidence had raised questions of whether the commission had any procedure at all for dealing with complaints.

Judge Nihayath said in addition that it appeared that any member of the Commission had been free to individually decide that a complaint did not need further investigation, despite having claimed otherwise.

The JSC, set up by the 2008 Constitution, is required to get a majority or consensus vote from members in all complaints-related decisions. It is also required to keep records of how each member voted for a specific decision to be reached.

At the behest of Treasure Island, the court had asked to see records of meetings at which Commission members agreed not to look into the company’s allegations any further. The JSC failed to locate the documents after conducting a “thorough search”.

Last week, the JSC admitted that some complaints procedures did not conform to either constitutional stipulations or its own regulations, though the commission maintained that it did have a specific method in place nonetheless.

This method, as explained by the JSC in the court, involved a process of “administrative screening”, whereby the Chair pre-selected which complaints were about judiciary misconduct and therefore worthy of deliberation and decision by members.

The rest were responded to by a letter, signed by the Chair, informing the complainant that a decision had been made not to investigate the matter any further. Treasure Island had received two such responses to its complaints.

This ‘administrative’ method, the JSC said, was far less time-consuming than that stipulated in the Constitution and saved members time to attend to their constitutional duties.

Of the three randomly selected such responses submitted to court by the JSC yesterday, Judge Nihayath noted that they were not signed by the Chair – only one of them was found to have been signed by the Vice Chair and another by a member.

Furthermore, she said, two of the letters included the words “the Commission has decided”, allowing the inference to be made that the decision not to investigate had been taken by the JSC and not the signatory acting alone.

JSC Legal Representative Abdul Faththah said he could not explain why the decisions had been conveyed by the three different figures instead of the Chair alone, as in the “administrative screening” process he outlined last week.

The phrase “the Commission has decided” being included in the responses, Faththah explained, was not about the individual decision itself, but related to a decision taken in November 2008 in which the ‘administrative” alternative to the Constitution had been agreed upon.

Judge Nihayath also asked Faththah why it was that two of the letters had been signed by the then JSC Chair and Vice-Chair respectively, yet a member with no other authority, Hassan Afeef, could also write to a complainant dismissing their claims.

“I don’t really know why that happened on that day”, Faththah said. “Perhaps, I said in the last submission that the procedure was for the Chair to sign the responses’, but, he said, that did not seem to be the case.

Fathah added that he had randomly selected the letters shown during the case from a file especially kept for responses to complaints dealt with by the “administrative screening process” of the JSC as opposed to its Constitutional stipulations.

Judge Nihayath will also hear Treasure Island’s response to JSC evidence on January 5, when she will also rule on whether or not to summon witnesses that have been requested by both sides.

She has scheduled the last hearing for 19 January 2010 when both sides are expected to make their closing submissions.

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President meets with international eye expert

President Mohamed Nasheed yesterday met with ophthalmologist Dr Roberto Pinelli to discuss challenges in battling eyesight defects and diseases in the Maldives.

Dr Pinelli, who founded the private healthcare centre the ILMO Institute, which aims to research and treat problems with the human eye, met with the president to discuss possible future collaborations within the Maldives.

Dr Pinelli is said to have pioneered treatments around the world in refractive surgery and vision.

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“Pictures paint a thousand words” for tsunami exhibition curator

A collection of children’s drawings and photographs depicting Maldivian perceptions of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami have been unveiled as part of the first exhibition to be hosted at Male’s new National Gallery building, six years to the day that large swathes of South Asia were hit by the devastating waves.

The exhibition is called Drawing the Wave, which combines photographic images with drawings provided by school children from a number of islands on how they remembered the tsunami.

Amidst canvases of bright crayon illustrations depicting cartoon-like trees and vivid wavy blue lines devouring football pitches, houses and even stick-like drawings of people, questions and phrases are written that are said to have expressed the fears of young people across Meedhoo, Madifushi and Buruni; three islands badly hit by the tsunami.

“Are we a sinking nation?”, “We lost our school. We lost our future. Someone lost their parent” and “Don’t we deserve something better?” are just some of the phrases written upon the images drawn up by students in the eighth and ninth grades back in 2005, based on their experiences of surviving the tsunami.

These writings, according to exhibition curator Ragni Afeef, powerfully reflected concerns about the Tsunami from the experiences of children that have lived through the waves.

“There are three or four drawings created by students in grade eight or nine that contained writing that is very moving,” she said, talking of how the words belied the child-like images on display. “They were teenagers at the time, teenagers who had seen computers at their school destroyed and were unable to sit exams. They were frustrated on another level entirely.”

The exhibition, which was opened yesterday evening in the presence of President Mohamed Nasheed and a number of other guests such as the Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Mariyam Zulfa, is expected to remain at the National Gallery for two weeks. It has previously been shown at venues across Norway, from where Afeef is originally from.

“These drawings have travelled a long way,” said the curator during the exhibition’s opening.

Afeef told Minivan News, that she had also contributed a number of photographs to the exhibition of sandals and footwear found discarded and partly destroyed in February 2005, two months after the Tsunami had struck.

During this period, Afeef visited a number of beaches that had been struck by the Tsunami, many of which she had said had been “littered with the footwear” during the devastation.

“I wondered to who did they belong? What is their story,” she said.

Speaking during the exhibition opening, Afeef said that despite the childlike contents of the images, when it came to the seriousness of the content, she believed in the old adage that “a picture can paint a thousand words”.

“This is the first exhibition in the new National Gallery,” she said. “A museum can help explain to a world what it means to be human.”

With the artwork now back in the Maldives, Afeef claimed that she had come “full circle” with the exhibition and was at “the end of this particular journey”, despite her hopes that the government may take the exhibition to the three islands where the art originated from.

However, Afeef claimed that she hoped to fulfill a longstanding plan to return to the islands and try and see how life had changed at the rebuilt schools, “perhaps in a year or so”.

While remaining in touch with a teacher from Meedhoo who helped compile the work shown in the exhibition, Afeef said she had not been able to remain in contact with the children whose work now provided an account of a major moment in Maldivian history for a global audience.

However, as part of what the curator saw as a positive legacy of the exhibition, she claimed that the exhibition had led to collections in Norway that had raised money to provide computers for a future generation of school children in the Maldives.

The Drawing the Wave exhibition is expected to remain on display at Male’ National Art Gallery for the next two weeks. More information is available through the National Gallery on 3310729.

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