Tag: maldives

Police order to cease DhiFM coverage unconstitutional, says Police Integrity Commission

The Police Integrity Commission has ruled that an order by Maldives Police Services for DhiFM to cease coverage of a riot outside the presidential residence on January 28 was unconstitutional and violated the police act, reports Miadhu.

Police claimed that the order was given because the DhiFM coverage was broadcast in such a manner that it was a potential threat to national security, however police failed to convince the commission.

The commission claimed that two police officers went to DhiTV following an order by Superintendent of Police Ahmed Saudhee, with Saudhee taking the orders from Deputy Commissioner of Police Ahmed Muneeru, according to Miadhu.

Following the incident, Department of Information docked five points from DhiFM’s broadcasting license for eight contract violations,

Police had accused DhiFM of airing live interviews with people calling for others to join the protest and overthrow the government through violence. DhiFM claimed plain clothed officers entered the station’s premises and demanded the broadcast be terminated, raising the ire of advocates for media freedom.

The content review committee at the Department of Information found that DhiFM’s coverage breached aspects of the code including failing to distinguish between fact and opinion, produce unbiased and balance coverage of controversial/political events, and promoting criminal activities as “something good or acceptable”.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

UK transplant surgeon dies while snorkeling at Meedhupparu

A top UK transplant surgeon has died while snorkeling on holiday in the Maldives.

Reports in the UK press claimed the 61 year-old consultant transplant and vascular surgeon, Ali Bakran, was on holiday with his wife Diane and daughter Miriam when he was pulled from the water and pronounced dead.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said the incident occurred at the Adaaran Meedhupparu Resort in Raa Atoll.

“The cause [of death] was most likely drowning but it is very difficult to confirm without a postmortem, and that is not something we can do here [in the Maldives],” Shiyam said.

Meedhupparu Resort’s management would not confirm that the incident had occurred, and said the resort would not release any information to the press until the matter had been investigated.

Bakran’s son Adam told the Liverpool Daily that the cause of his father’s death on August 27 was still unknown, and that the family was waiting for the results of a post-mortem to be conducted in the UK.

“We have no idea if he died before he drowned. My mum saw him snorkeling and then half an hour to 45 minutes later he was pulled from the water,” he said.

Bakran worked at the Royal Liverpool Hospital for over 20 years, and set up the charity Aequitas to help make careers in medicine more accessible to underprivileged students.

Fellow charity trustee Professor John Aston, also the UK’s North West Regional Director of Public Health, told the newspaper that Bakran “was a man who had quite humble origins overseas and was very committed to improving access to medical school among people from poor backgrounds. He wanted other kids to have the same chances as he had, and his commitment to social justice and equality and opportunity is something to be recognised.”

Registrar at the Royal Liverpool Hospital Ajay Sharma said the staff were very upset.

“At times, people in the hospital would be taken aback or a bit stunned because he would do whatever was necessary for his patients – he would bulldoze his way for patients,” Sharma said.

“When he was travelling, Mr Bakran would call me from America or Australia to check on his patients.

Balkran is the latest tourist to die in a series of snorkeling-related incidents this year.

In mid-August a Chinese couple holidaying in the Maldives disappeared from their resort after they went for a swim.

The 38 year old woman and 40 year old man were holidaying with their 13 year-old daughter on the Hilton Irufushi Beach and Spa Resort in Noonu Atoll.

On March 14, police received a report that a Chinese national, Rui Dai, died while snorkelling at Holiday Inn Kandooma Resort, South Malé Atoll.

Earlier that same month another Chinese man died while snorkeling at Chaaya Lagoon Hakurahura Island Resort, less than a day after a German tourist died in a snorkeling accident at Embudu Village Island Resort.

Mohamed Ibrahim ‘Sim’ from the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) has previously stated that resorts need to ensure that inexperienced or elderly snorkelers are aware of the dangers, such as the country’s strong currents.

MATI is currently working with the Ministry of Tourism to make tourists more aware of the risks to snorkelers.

“Chinese guests in particular need to be made more aware because the Maldives is a totally different environment than what they are used to,” Sim said.

“The UK tour operators already pass on this kind of information, but China is a new market and the operators need to be made aware also,” he added. “Few resorts have reception staff or guides who speak Mandarin.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Letter on civil servant food allowance

Dear Mohamed Fahmy Hassan, President of the Civil Service Commission (CSC),

Assalaamualaikum Wrh. Wbr.

My civil servant colleagues and I congratulate you for your nomination as the new President of the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

We take this opportunity to bring to your attention that there are a number of civil servants who are entitled to a food allowance but have not been paid to date.

This we believe is because they are not the majority. But we also believe the CSC must respect the feelings of the minority as well and that we hereby request you to look into the issue a bit seriously and without any further delay.

We have seen that a staff member travelling to the workplace by bus, organised by the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), are paid a food allowance, but the same staff travelling to the workplace by sea –
much further in terms of distance and much more difficult to travel – have NOT been paid a food allowance.

If we look at the set rules and regulations for providing a food allowance we believe it contradicts the rule and how it is been practiced because the rule says a staff member travelling to a workplace other than his/her residence are entitled to a food allowance and a travel allowance.

Again, this in contradictory when those who don’t get a food allowances are still provided with a travel allowance, which doesn’t really make sense and is really problematic.

Now the question is why these employees are been paid a travel allowance if they are not entitled to a food allowance. We believe travel allowance has been paid for the same reason as the food allowance has been paid.

Since the issue has been repeatedly notified to the Zinmaadhaaru Verin (ZV) and the Permanent Secretaries (PS) but remains unattended and ignored, please kindly try to help the civil servants get their entitled food allowance as soon as possible.

Sincerely yours,

Mohamed

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Comment: Discrimination against women in the Maldives

The Ministry of Gender and Family, the Maldives Study on Women’s Health and Life Experiences 2007 suggest that one in every three women undergo some kind of abuse through their life, be it physical, psychological or sexual abuse.

For this reason, as a woman working to empower women, I felt a ray of hope on November 25, 2009, when the parliamentarians endorsed their commitment to the campaign to stop Violence against Women in the Maldives.

Unfortunately, the recent discussions held at the last meeting of the People’s Majlis (Parliament), before they went into recess, were shocking to some of us. Some of the parliamentarian’s crude remarks denote discrimination against women that is unacceptable for the lawmakers of the Maldives.

This is not the first time that such discriminatory, undermining and sexual language has been used toward women on the parliament floor.

The Maldives Constitution ratified in 2008. Chapter 2, article 17 states that everyone is entitled to rights and freedoms without discrimination of any kind including race, national origin, color, sex, age, mental or physical disability, political or other opinion, property, birth or other status, or native island.

In this respect, the United Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which Maldives ratified in 1993, specifically stipulates equal rights to women, to stop discrimination against women and places an obligation on the state to provide and protect the rights of women.

It is interesting to note that the parliamentarians did not question the sex of the candidates at the time when the names were sent to the Majlis by President of the Maldives, and when they reviewed and approved the names for the five membership positions of Human Rights Commission (HRCM).

The discussion heated up when it became apparent the President [Mohamed Nasheed] had sent female nominations for the President and Vice-President of HRCM, which are high positions.

Why is it that the thought processes of the parliamentarians then turned upside down? The parliamentarians did not debate over why women were not nominated for bench of Supreme Court, nor why there is only one woman elected for both the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), and no woman sitting in Elections Commission.

The majority of the public and private sector do not provide equal opportunities for women when it comes to decision-making positions. These high positions and are not barred by Islam, and neither by the Maldivian Constitution.

The media lacks awareness about women’s rights and the importance of promoting gender equality. The misconception spread about gender equality is that women and men are equal. This is incorrect – the correct account is that men and women are biologically different because of their sex but gender is socially constructed.

This means that there are positions or jobs that the society believes that either men or women can do. This is the interpretation that the parliamentarians had when they had the discussions on the last day before recess.

If women’s names had been approved by parliamentarians according to their first deliberations, the approval should be based on their competency. The deliberations on the Majlis floor indicate lack of knowledge about women’s issues and women’s problems.

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]

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

UK student visa procedures eased for Maldivians

The UK Border Agency has announced it will expedite the processing of student visas for Maldivian applicants whose courses are due to commence by the end of October 2010.

UK Border Agency further stated that visa applications submitted between 8 to 14 September 2010 would be processed within five working days, making it easier for Maldivian students as they can obtain visas by travelling to Sri Lanka only once.

The UK High Commission to the Maldives is affiliated with the UK’s Sri Lankan High Commission. During a recent debate in the House of Commons, Members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Maldives raised the difficulties Maldivian students face when trying to obtain a visa to study in the UK, as well as mobilising British financial assistance to the Maldives.

The debate was organised by the UK-Maldives All Party Group with the support of the High Commission of Maldives in London, and was open to the public.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Parliament’s paralysing of HRCM is “unforgivable”: Saleem

Parliament’s failure to approve a President and Vice President of the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) before going into recess has left the country without a functional human rights body, according to former HRCM President Ahmed Saleem.

“Because of the irresponsible behaviour of the Majlis, the three member commission sworn in on August 17 is now defunct,” Saleem claimed.

The required quota of commission members is five.

“Two new members are still to be sworn in and there is no President or Vice President to preside over the meetings, which must be held at least once a month according to HRCM’s regulations,” Saleem explained.

“What the Majlis has done to HRCM is unforgivable, and it’s all because HRCM and human rights are not as important to the Majlis as taking their leave,” he said.

“The Majlis is destroying this country and leaving the government incapable of doing anything.”

Saleem’s concerns about HRCM were echoed by a coalition of local human rights NGOs, including the Maldivian Democracy Network, Maldives NGO Federation,Transparency Maldives and Democracy House.

“According to Article 9 of the HRCM Act, the President of the Commission holds the chair in all meetings of the Commission and is also tasked with assigning complaints that the Commission receives to the different members,” the coalition observed in a statement.

“The Vice-President of the Commission takes over these responsibilities when the President is either absent or unable to perform these duties. Thus, the non appointment of either a President or a Vice-President is an immense obstacle to the effective functioning of the Commission.”

The NGOs claimed it was the duty of the Majlis “to ensure that an important institution such as the HRCM does not fall into a legal void”, and that leaving the institution to flounder until parliament reconvenes in October “would be a great disservice to the people of the Maldives.”

The reasons for parliament’s failure to resolve the appointments of the commission’s President and Vice President are unclear.

The three members appointed to the Commission from the list sent to parliament by President Mohamed Nasheed included Maryam Azra Ahmed of Maafannu Hukuradhige, Jeehaan Mahmood of Dheyliyage in Hinnavaru of Lhaviyani Atoll and Ahmed Thalal of Henveiru Adduge. Saleem was listed but was not approved by parliament  – “it is my job to be critical of the government – I was surprised when the whole opposition voted me out,” he commented.

However President Nasheed’s nominations for HRCM’s President and Vice President, Azra and Jeehaan respectively, were not approved prior to parliament’s recess – an approval Saleem described “as usually just a formality”, but critical to the functioning of the institution.

Speaking in parliament on August 30 (pages 69-75), DRP Deputy Leader Ilham Ahmed said that while he considered the people appointed for HRCM as capable, the role of President and Vice President “should include a male.”

“Even if you look at it from a religious perspective or from the perspective of good policy, there should be a male in either post,’’ he said.

Independent MP for Kudahuvadhoo, Ahmed Amir, said it was “against human rights” to have two females in the roles of President and Vice President.

“It is the woman who calls for equality most of the time,’’ said Amir.

Minivan News attempted to contact Ilham, but he hung up with an apology.

Saleem observed today that the last commission “had men as President and Vice President and nobody said anything.”

“This time [President Nasheed] proposed two ladies. I have no problem with that – but they must be capable people,” he said, adding that “it would be nice to have a man and a woman for the sake of gender balance.”

The NGO coalition called on parliament to remain free of gender bias, stating that as the laws allowed women “to take up not only the Presidency of the Republic, but also become judges, commission members, commission presidents, and take up other important posts in the State, and that the Presidency and Vice-Presidency of most other commissions and bodies in the country are dominated by men, there is also no room to claim that women being appointed as both President and Vice-President of the HRCM is contrary to the rule of equality among the sexes.”

To not appoint a person to a particular post on grounds of the person’s sex “would in fact be contrary to Article 17 of the Constitution which enshrines the principle of non-discrimination”, the coalition suggested.

Maldives High Commissioner to the UK and the first female in the Malidves to receive a PhD, Farahanaz Faizal, said it was “absolutely horrifying to know that in the 21st century some of our parliamentarians are trying to obstruct this and discriminate against women simply because of their gender, no matter how experienced or qualified they may be.”

“In our recent past, we have had very capable women leaders in all walks of life, both in the government and outside, such as Moomina Haleem, our first female cabinet Minister,” Dr Faizal said.

Deputy Minister for Health and Family, Mariya Ali, said she felt it was important that “more women are in such positions, because it inspires younger women to seek higher education, and shows them what they can achieve if they work hard.”

“I feel it is a very important step for us to take that women are given such high posts, because unless they are taken, stereotypical attitudes towards women will persist,” she said. “If they are capable, why not appoint them?”

Recourse

Saleem suggested that the government had made a mistake by not waiting until all five members of the commission had been approved, including the President and Vice President, “instead of rushing the whole process.”

“No democracy can function without a functioning human rights body,” he said.

“According to Article 297 of the constitution, the old commission must continue functioning until a new five member commission takes over. If there is to be a legally functional HRCM to protect the rights of the Maldivian people it can only be the HRCM appointed for five years in November 2006 – or else constitute the new one lawfully ASAP.”

Parliament was also recently criticised for leaving HRCM in constitutional limbo following the conclusion of the interim period, after failing to conduct the reappointments in time for the August 7 deadline.

A source at HRCM observed at the time that the legal legitimacy of the institution’s activities were questionable until the new commission was approved: “we don’t even know if we are supposed to be going to work.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Daylight robbery increasing, warns Chief Inspector

Theft and robbery are crimes increasingly conducted  in daylight, said Police Chief Inspector Mohamed Jamsheed, Head of Property and Commercial Crime, during a press conference today.

Many of these crimes were committed by professional thieves known to police, he explained, including many who had been convicted and imprisoned, but had escaped from custody.

“The release of some convicted people is also a very dangerous issue for society,’’ Jamsheed said.

“Last week some people broke in to the IBS office and damaged the doors, drawers and other office property, and stole jewelry, three mobile phones and Rf 71,350 (US$5500),” he noted, adding that police had already arrested a man, Mohamed Mujthaba, in connection with the case.

‘’He was a fugitive who escaped from jail, after he was convicted in drug related case and brought to Male’ for medical treatment,’’ Jamsheed said. “He was arrested on Makunudhoo in Thaa Atoll.’’

Jamsheed said that police had discovered “a lot of items believed to be stolen” in his house, while other stolen items were believed to have been already sold to other people.

Jamsheed also disclosed information about forged dollar notes discovered in a house in Male’.

‘’Police discovered US$248,300 in forged notes inside Mahchangolhi Kuhlhafilaage,’’ he said. ‘’All the notes were printed with one serial number.’’

He said an elderly man, Hussein Ali, had been arrested in connection with the case.

‘’This person was already been arrested by police on charges in different cases,’’ he said.

Jamsheed appealed for any person with information on the cases to notify police, and urged people to prevent strangers from entering houses if they claimed to be searching for someone.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Reeko Moosa calls for end of peace talks with DRP

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP and parliamentary group leader Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik has called for ceasation of cross-party peace talks with the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP).

Moosa’s appeal to MDP Chairperson Mariya Ahmed Didi and President Mohamed Nasheed to quit the peace talks were made following amendments presented by DRP to parliament during its last sitting two days ago.

“The bill on Courts was presented to the parliament’s floor following discussion with opposition and independent MPs, after coming to an understanding,” said Moosa. “After agreeing not to propose any amendments, all of a sudden they started proposing them.”

Moosa claimed that Speaker of the Parliament and DRP MP Abdulla Shahid dismissed the sitting while MDP MPs were calling for the bill to sent back to committee.

The amendment that triggered uproar and the cancellation of the sitting was a proposal to prevent the courts from conducting trials related to activities of the former government. The amendment also obstructs the retrial of controversial cases.

“The opposition intends to hide the big crimes committed by the former government,’’ Moosa explained. “DRP’s parliamentary majority is not a reason for MDP to beg the opposition.”

DRP MP Abdulla Mausoom said the last sitting of the second session “was ruined” by MDP MPs when the session “was not going the way MDP MPs wanted.’’

“We have the right to propose amendments; all the things they are saying are excuses,’’ said Mausoom. “MDP MPs just do not like following the due procedure of the parliament.’’

‘’Our amendments were proposed to broaden the bill and to frame it in such a way that the courts can perform their work best,’’ he said. ‘’All the amendments were presented after discussion with [DRP’s] parliamentary group.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

JSC appoints Commissioner and Vice Commissioner

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has appointed Supreme Court Judge Adam Mohamed Abdullah as Commissioner and Dr Afrasheem Ali as Vice Commissioner.

Adam Abdullah was nominated in competition with the new Attorney General, Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad. Dr. Afrasheem Ali was appointed in competition with Aishath Velezinee, the President’s Member on the Commission.

JSC members now include Adam Mohamed, Dr Afrasheem, Velezinee, Shuaib Abdur Rahmaan, Lower Court Judge Abdulla Didi, High Court Judge Abdulla Ghanee, lawyer Ahmed Rasheed, Civil Service Commission (CSC) President Mohamed Fahmee Hassan, Parliament Speaker Abdulla Shahid, and Attorney General Dr Sawad.

The JSC isan independent institution charged with overseeing the judiciary, investigating complaints and taking disciplinary action.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)