Tag: maldives

President has reduced home minister’s powers, claims Haveeru

President Abdulla Yameen has reduced the powers of Home Minister, local news agency Haveeru has claimed.

Citing an unnamed senior government official, Haveeru said Yameen’s decision comes in response to Home Minister Umar Naseer’s order on low ranking police officers to investigate Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb for alleged unlawful activity.

In a separate report, Haveeru has also claimed Naseer in a January 26 confidential letter requested the Maldives National Defense Forces (MNDF) to provide an armed military bodyguard or a pistol to defend himself.

Naseer declined to comment on both allegations today. Meanwhile, President’s Office Spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali also refused to comment on the issue and said all cabinet ministers are authorized with the necessary powers to carry out their responsibilities.

Speaking to Haveeru earlier, Muaz denied the reduction of the Home Minister’s powers and  said there have been no changes in the Home Minister’s mandate or powers.

Powers

According to Haveeru, Yameen limited the Home Minister’s powers because Naseer had given direct orders to low ranking police officers without consulting the president. The investigation order came in the second week of July after the commissioner of police delayed investigations into the alleged wrongdoing, Haveeru reported.

Adeeb co-chairs the cabinet’s economic council along with Yameen and is the deputy leader of Yameen’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

Article 16 of the Police Act allows the home minister to command individual police officers of any rank, and gives him powers equal to that of top level police officials. However, the same article also states the president may limit these powers.

Referring to a police mutiny which unseated former President Mohamed Nasheed in February 2012, Haveeru’s source claimed Yameen may have reduced the home minister’s powers to prevent another ‘February 7’. Police officers had demanded Nasheed’s resignation claiming the former president had issued unlawful orders.

Naseer had also allegedly ordered a probe into the controversial arrest and expulsion of Russian national Roman Valerevich Seleznyov earlier this month, Haveeru said.

Speaking on state broadcaster Television Maldives last week, Naseer had said the Maldivian government would have “acted differently” if the Home Ministry had been aware that an alleged hacker expelled on July 5 was the son of a Russian lawmaker.

Haveeru also claims to have received a copy of a confidential letter Naseer had sent to Minister of Defence Mohamed Nazim on January 26. In the letter, Naseer allegedly wrote, “Maldives Police Service intelligence has received information of a plot to attack me. In this regard, if I was attacked with a sword, my securities can not control that.”

But the MNDF have refused to comply with the minister’s request and security for Naseer continues to be provided by an unarmed police officer and a personal bodyguard, Haveeru reported.

Tension with Yameen

Naseer has previously accused Yameen of illicit connections with local gangs and drug cartels. Naseer’s comments came after Yameen beat him in the PPM’s presidential primaries in 2013. Naseer has also suggested Yameen’s involvement in the murder of PPM MP and Islamic scholar Dr Afrasheem Ali.

Naseer was then expelled from PPM and went on to back Jumhooree Party (JP) candidate Gasim Ibrahim. The JP placed third and endorsed Yameen in the second round of polls on the condition that the two parties form a coalition government.

After appointed as home minister, Naseer has said his allegations against Yameen were untrue and were mere ‘political rhetoric.’

The coalition was dissolved in May on a dispute over the parliamentary speakership. Two of the four JP ministers have signed on to PPM, and the third was dismissed. Naseer is the only remaining minister on a JP slot.

He is being prosecuted for ‘disobedience to orders’ regarding a January 2012 incident in which he called on anti-government protesters to storm the military headquarters with 50 ladders.

The Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office is charging Naseer with violating Article 8 (a) of the General Laws Act of 1968, which prohibits speech or writing contravening Islamic tenets.

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Maldives’ swimmers break more national records in Glasgow

Maldivian swimmers have continued to break national records in the pool at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

After three records fell on the first day of the games last week, four more have fallen in the following days.

Nishwan Ibrahim, Aminath Shajan, and Aishath Sajina all continued to improve on the previous records in the 200m freestyle and 100m butterfly, the 100m freestyle, and the 100m breaststroke, respectively.

The Maldives team consists of two competitors in the athletics, six in Badminton, six in table tennis, four in swimming, and five in shooting events.

Hussein Inaas will compete in the first heat of the mens 400m at 3:25pm today, Maldives’ time.

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Singapore Islamic authority approve Maldives halal certificates

Singapore has become the first country to accept the Maldives’ Halal certification, the Ministry of Islamic Affair has revealed.

Local media have reported the ministry’s announcement that the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore has accepted the certification, currently used by three Maldivian fisheries firms.

“After the approval of the certificate by Singapore, the market is looking forward to an even bigger expansion,” Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed told Haveeru.

The move to award Halal certification followed the EU’s decision to refuse the extension of duty-free status to Maldivian fish imports late last year due to the Maldives’ failure to adhere to international standards regarding freedom of religion.

The EU represents the single largest export partner for the Maldives.

The government promptly formed a Fisheries Promotion Board in order to target new markets, with Felivaru Fisheries, Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO), Horizon Fisheries all awarded Halal certificates in April.

Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs Dr Aishath Muneeza told Sun Online that the certification had been approved for three years by the Singapore authority, expressing confidence that the development would open up international markets.

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Dhiraagu concert delayed in solidarity with Palestinians

Local telecommunications provider Dhiraagu has cancelled its annual Eid al-Fitr music event in solidarity with Muslims facing Israeli attacks in Palestine.

“This is a very colourful event which we hold to celebrate Eid every year. But we’ve cancelled this year’s Eid show to express our grief for the suffering faced by Muslims in Gaza,” Senior Marketing Communications and Public Relations Executive Imjad Jaleel told Sun Online.

He went on to explain that the show will be held during Eid al-Ada in October instead.

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Comment: Open letter from refugee Abraham Naim to people of Maldives

Abraham Naim is a Maldivian who claimed asylum in New Zealand last year for fear of persecution at home due to his homosexuality – a crime under the Maldives’ Shariah-based legal system.

Naim made international headlines last month after New Zealand media wrote about his prize-winning drag act, performed under the pseudonym Medulla Oblongata.

To the people of the Maldives,

There have been a lot of things said about me in the media back home, and I would like to say a few things in response.

Firstly, I am not a transgendered woman, I am a drag queen. What I do is performance art. I do not wish to live as a woman. I entertain people and talk about issues that have affected me while living in the Maldives and abroad.

I am not crazy and I am not a monster. I believe in human rights for all Maldivians, and for all the people of the world. I am exercising my right to self-expression. I care deeply about people no matter how they happen to present themselves physically. Human rights are for all people, no matter how they choose to live their lives.

Some of you think I am an example of what is wrong with Maldives’ society.

I am not what is wrong with Maldives’ society. Kleptocracy is what is wrong with Maldives’ society. Child prostitution is what is wrong with Maldives’ society. State sponsored drug trafficking and addiction is what is wrong with Maldives’ society. Poverty and corruption is what is wrong with Maldives’ society.

I am a Maldivian and proud. I ask all of you that you to take a good look at your situation in the Maldives, rather than at me. You may try and dismiss what I have to say, but try to see the truth: you live in the country that I fled. My asylum was absolutely legitimate. You live in a place deemed one of the twenty-five worst places to live in the world.

I refer you all to the Biological Behavioural Survey of the Maldives done in 2008. The survey was done in conjunction with the UN, WHO, and UNESCO.  It discovered the illness in our society. It exposed the truth that HIV rates climb as people fall victim to something so easily preventable through education, that drug use begins as young as eight in the Maldives, that injecting drug use starts as young as twelve in the Maldives; that prostitution also begins as young as twelve in the Maldives; and poverty and inequality hangs in the air like an odourless gas.

This is not the way society should function. The children of the Maldives, YOUR CHILDREN, are being terrorised and destroyed by this evil – and yet here you all are getting upset by one little drag queen.

Some of you have asked me if my friends and I have lost our minds.

We have not lost our minds, we are exercising our freedoms. I can’t tell if your comments imply disbelief in my lifestyle or a misplaced religious concern for my immortal soul, but let me explain something to you: I am doing nothing wrong by living my life the way I want to, the way that makes sense to me. The way that makes me feel happy.

I am an honest person; what you see on my pages is how I think and feel, and there is nothing in our culture that prohibits me from doing so. I believe you are making up the rules as you see fit, based on the ideas you have about the world and what you feel comfortable with. As the French political thinker De Tocqueville noted, ‘society has a network of small, complicated rules that cover the surface of life and strangle freedom’. These small, silly rules oppress you just as much as they oppress me. How are they serving you exactly?

To all the Maldivian people who are messaging me on social media:

Many of you have been messaging me just saying “hello” and do not know what to say when I message you back. I am a busy drag queen and I am not able to try and befriend all of you, particularly as I never know whether your intentions are hostile or not. If you have something that you want to say, something thoughtful to say, please say it. Otherwise you are free to read my posts to find out what I think.

Some of the messages I get from you have asked me to come back to the Maldives to be some sort of political activist and fight for your rights. If I go back to the Maldives I will almost certainly be killed. The request to come back irritates me no end. I have only just been granted asylum, I am only just settling into my new country and the upheaval I went through in becoming a refugee was enormously upsetting.

I had to leave knowing I would never see most of the people I truly care about ever again. I would not see the young children in my extended family grow up and become adults, and I would have to leave a part of my life behind forever.

If you want to change Maldives society, then change it. The old fat men in power who squeeze the life out of our country only have as much power as you give them. You can be the change that you are looking for.

It may no longer be my place to try and force new ideas on this country that perhaps cannot, or will not change before it slips back into the Indian Ocean, but I still believe all of you deserve so much better. I will not censor myself because what I have to say might make others feel uncomfortable. That I cannot control.

Although I am abroad I promise to keep fighting for what I believe in – civil and human rights. I am always happy to hear your stories. I am happy to talk about the oppression you are facing, my door is always open, and I will always support you.

Before I am a drag queen, before I am a gay man, and before I am even a man, I am human.

As the philosopher Kierkegaard once said; to label me is to negate me. It may make it easier for you to see me as the enemy, but I am simply a person trying to live my best life in peace and happiness, and I wish the same for all of you.

I promise to do everything I can to bring your voices to the international stage. I know how hard it can be. I have lived it.

Live the life you want.

Sincerely,

Medulla Oblongata A.K.A.Abraham Naim

P.S.*

I would also like to address my winning performance at Miss Capital Drag this year, which many Maldivians were very upset about. It was reported in the Maldives as me winning a stripping competition. It was not. It was a drag competition. Nobody in the Maldives has ever seen the performance because only a snippet was uploaded on to the internet.

The Maldivian reaction to what I did thousands of miles away speaks volumes about the brutal outlook of the country. I am not saying that you are wrong because you don’t know, care, or understand what drag is; but what I am saying is that the government reacting to the performance by sending thugs around Malé to viciously assault anyone who seemed a bit too well dressed or sophisticated was disgusting and pathetic and hurt me deeply.

There are cultural aspects of what I did that may be lost in translation, but I will try to give you an idea of what it was all about.

In the West, drag is part of the rich cultural tapestry that reflects the diversity of people and outlooks. It is a vibrant part of the world’s cultural history, and has been an art form in one way or another going back since before ancient Greece.

I wanted to talk about myself through my performance. I wanted to show that I was from the Muslim world using an iconic piece of clothing, the abaya, a garment that is worn by both men and women. I removed it to reveal a tailored haute couture garment that I had been sewn into. I am not the first drag queen from the Muslim world to have worn Muslim attire.

Indian drag queens can wear divine hand painted saris, African drag queens can wear the most colourful tribal attire, but somehow because the outfit I wore was symbolically Islamic, it has taken on almost sacred qualities. Have any of you ever stopped to consider that the issue existed before I stepped on to that stage? I did not create it; Muslim women’s attire has been a battleground since before I was born. Yes, I was aware of that. I have been aware for some time that exploring many aspects of my culture holds implicit criticism, because they are things already bathed in controversy.

The mere concept of what appears to be a woman removing Islamic clothing and revealing western clothing has scandalised a nation all the way over in the Indian Ocean somewhere. You have surrounded women’s appearance in so much mystery that it has overtaken a deep part of the cultural psyche. I performed this for the benefit of the audience that was there on the night, not for Maldivians to choke on their breakfast reading the morning paper. The hang-ups of people in a society which ostracised and oppressed me, and ultimately caused me to seek asylum in a foreign country are no longer mine to worry about.

*This is an edited version of the original postscript which can be read in full here

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Russian accused of drug-smuggling remanded until trial

Russian national Purtova Angelina has been remanded until her trial for allegedly smuggling 2.5kg of cocaine into the Maldives.

Angeline was arrested on January 27 this year when she arrived in the Maldives from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Despite being sent to the Prosecutor General’s Office in April, the case has been delayed due to a dispute between the Criminal Court and the PG’s office over the provision of a translator.

Haveeru reported yesterday that Angelina will now be held until her trial has concluded.

The Law on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances stipulates that a foreign national charged with importing over 1 gram of narcotics will be sentenced to life imprisonment. There is also a possibility of received a minimum fine of MVR10,000 (US$651).

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Army ordered the use of expired tear gas and pepper spray on protestors, says dismissed captain

The Maldives National Defense Forces (MNDF) ordered soldiers to use expired tear gas and pepper spray on protestors during the presidential polls of November, dismissed Captain Abdul Muizz Musthafa told the Civil Court on Tuesday.

In a third hearing into an unfair dismissal case, Musthafa claimed he had been dismissed from the army for exercising a constitutionally enshrined right to refuse obedience to unlawful orders.

Musthafa is the first of the nine officers dismissed after President Abdulla Yameen assumed power in November to press charges against the dismissal. The nine were fired for allegedly sowing discord within the military.

The former captain said he had sent photos proving expiration of the tear gas and pepper spray canisters to his superiors via instant messaging service Viber.

But the photos were deleted immediately and the canisters were sent to the armory where razor blades were used to scratch off the expiration dates. The canisters were then sent back for use, Musthafa claimed.

He also claimed he was dismissed in a personal dispute between former Vice Chief of Defense Forces Brigadier General Farhath Shaheer and Chief of Defense Forces Major General Ahmed Shiyam.

MNDF Lawyer and First Lieutenant Mohamed Naseem said the MNDF does not trust Musthafa. The former captain does not uphold military obedience and had spoken out against his superiors on social media, said Naseem.

In response, Musthafa noted the MNDF has not carried out any investigations into misconduct against him to date.

He is seeking reinstatement and has asked the Civil Court to order MVR6 million (US$389,105) in compensation for damages.

In June Brigadier General Ahmed Nilam – dismissed along with Musthafa – also filed a case with the Human Rights Commission (HRCM) relating to his suspension and eventual dismissal from service.

Upheaval and dissent

In a statement on Musthafa’s dismissal, the MNDF accused the captain of collaborating with former Brigadier General Abdulla Shamaal in collecting signatures from MNDF officers on a letter which had been prepared “in the guise” of supporting the Chief of Defense Forces Major General Ahmed Shiyam.

A copy of the letter leaked on social media expressed concern over delays in the presidential elections in 2013, and the repercussions should a president-elect not be determined by the end of the presidential term on November 11.

A statement by the military said Shamaal had leaked the letter on social media “in order to reveal dissent within the military,” and accused Musthafa of aiding Shamaal and planning “to commit dangerous acts using the troops under his captainship”.

The presidential elections of 2013 were marred by repeated delays after the Supreme Court annulled the first round of polls held in September.

Following the MNDF’s first letter of concern, the force amended its regulations to punish officers who promoted “upheaval and chaos.” Several officers were suspended and Shamaal was removed from his position as the commandant of training and doctrine.

In mid-November, as the possibility of holding presidential polls by the end of the presidential term dimmed following police obstruction and Supreme Court orders to delay the second round of election, 73 mid ranking officers circulated an appeal calling on fellow soldiers not to obey any “unlawful” orders issued by then President Dr Mohamed Waheed and his political appointees.

Shortly after President Abdulla Yameen was inaugurated, nine senior-ranking officers were dismissed.

On November 25, Chief of Defense Force Major General Ahmed Shiyam called for “100 percent loyalty” from the MNDF.

“Soldiers must have absolute loyalty. Every single man and women working in this institution must have this characteristic. Otherwise, they are lacking the most important characteristic of a soldier,” Shiyam said.

In September 2013, the Civil Court ordered the Maldives Police Services to reinstate former Head of Intelligence Mohamed ‘MC’ Hameed who had been dismissed by the police’s disciplinary board for unspecified offenses.

Local media at the time said Hameed dismissal was related to a report published by the opposition on the controversial transfer of power in February 2012. The police have appealed the case.

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Maldives team take part in 20th Commonwealth Games

Athletes from the Maldives took part in the opening ceremony for the 20th Commonwealth Games in Glasgow yesterday.

The 23-strong team paraded alongside j ust under 5000 fellow competitors from 71 nations and territories.

The games were officially opened by Queen Elizabeth after singers Susan Boyle and Rod Stewart were joined by a giant kilt in a ceremony celebrating Scottish culture.

Following the conclusion of the official baton relay, Queen Elizabeth noted that the baton represented “a calling together of people from every part of the Commonwealth and serves as a reminder of our shared ideals and ambitions as a diverse, resourceful and cohesive family.”

Hassan Saaid – the holder of the Maldives’ record for the 100m – carried the national flag into Celtic Park where the team was greeted by a crowd of 40,000.

Saaid – a competitor in the London Olympics in 2012 – recently returned from a year of training in Jamaica, during which time he beat his personal best and again broke the Maldives national record.

Saaid and Hussein Inaas will compete in track events, while the Maldives will field six competitors in Badminton, six in table tennis, four in swimming, and five in shooting events.

Badminton player Maisa Ismail is the youngest member of the team, aged just 15-years-old while Ismael Shafeeq is the most senior Maldivian competitor and will take part in the rapid fire pistol shooting event.

17-year-old Mohamed Naseem, from Hithadhoo in Addu City, is the sole competitor from the southern atolls. Naseem will compete in both the men’s singles and doubles events in addition to the mixed doubles.

The Maldives’ swimmers were the first to compete today, with three national records falling.

Aminath Shajan broke her own national record in the 200m women’s freestyle event, Aishath Sajina set a record time for the 50m breaststroke, and Nishwan Ibrahim became the fastest Maldivian male in the 50m butterfly event

Despite consisting of 53 member states – which make up just under one third of the global population, the games include additional territories competing under their own flags.

The largest team sent to Scotland for games is Australia’s, made up of 417 athletes, while Brunei has entered just one competitor to compete in the games

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MACL staff protest discrimination in annual bonus

An estimated 150 employees of the state-owned Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) demonstrated over discrimination in bonus payouts today.

The protests started on Tuesday morning after leaked documents indicated senior management and an estimated 200 staff members working at the duty free shops were to receive a percentage of profits while other employees were only to receive an amount equivalent to their basic salaries.

Speaking to Minivan News, a staff members who took part in the protests said senior staff and duty free staff were to receive up to MVR80,000 (US$5188) while most staff members were to receive between MVR6000 (US$389) and MVR15000 (US$972).

“Around 1900 employees are to receive an amount equivalent to their basic salaries, which comparatively is a very low amount. Their [management] justification is that duty free employees reached a profit target. But there are others who work as hard, and earn the company as much money in other departments,” she said.

A handful of senior level employees in some departments would receive between MVR25,000 and MVR50,000 (US$1621 – US$3242), she said.

“This is a huge difference, a huge discrimination which is against the company’s general human resource policy. Most of us are giving our hundred percent to the company, and our work brings in as much money as the duty free staff,” the protesting staff member said.

The demonstrations were peaceful and not intended to obstruct airport operations in the airport, she continued.

“We stood up for our rights, we are not against the management nor did we have any intention to obstruct the operations here. We were demanding an explanation.”

Managing Director of MACL, Ibrahim ‘Bandhu’ Saleem, met the protesters yesterday and told them the company board will hold discussions and reach a decision on the matter as soon as possible.

In response, protesters today demanded a deadline for the decision. Subsequently, the company issued a circular stating that bonus payouts will be revised and a decision will be made before August 31. The circular was changed a second time to specifically mention that the issue will be resolved in an equitable manner on the protesters’ demands.

An MACL spokesman told Minivan News today that the leaked document was not an official one and no decisions have been made yet over the distribution of bonuses.

“The management have discussed the issue with the protesting staff members now and it is settled. Everyone has gone back to work. It all started with a leaked document, which is not final in anyway. The bonus amounts would be announced before August 31,” he said.

The decision to grant annual bonus to employees was made after a staff members protested its discontinuation in March. At the time the employees also raised the issue of the poor quality of food provided at the staff cafeteria.

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