Tag: MDP

MPs call for expeditious investigation of Minivan News journalist’s disappearance

MPs today expressed concern with the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla and called for an expeditious investigation during a debate on a motion without notice submitted by opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Imthiyaz Fahmy.

Presenting the motion, Imthiyaz said the authorities were neither adequately investigating the disappearance nor sharing findings with the family or the public.

“[Rilwan] disappeared [11 days ago] while journalists were being sent death threats very openly and while [Rilwan] was also facing various forms of intimidation regarding his reporting,” reads the motion.

Imthiyaz referred to the MDP bringing to the government’s attention the abduction and intimidation of alleged advocates of secularism by a vigilante group in early June, noting that no action had been taken to date.

He also referred to the arson attack against opposition-aligned private broadcaster Raajje TV and near-fatal assault of Raajje TV journalist Ibrahim ‘Asward’ Waheed.

Feared abduction

MDP MP Ibrahim Shareef said he did not believe that lack of progress in investigating either the death threats or Rilwan’s disappearance was “a coincidence.”

“Malé has become a jail in broad daylight, full of fear. Now since the threats started being sent, the first person, a journalist, has been abducted. In the future, you will see many MPs being brutally murdered. It is being planned and executed now,” he claimed.

Imthiyaz meanwhile noted that the case has been submitted to three parliamentary oversight committees “to hold the government accountable” regarding the investigation.

Imthiyaz revealed that he received a text message threatening to “behead” him after he submitted the motion yesterday.

He slammed the government for failure to provide security for MPs in the face of death threats and intimidation.

Referring to Minivan News reporting eyewitnesses seeing a man in dark clothes being forced into a vehicle at knifepoint outside Rilwan’s apartment around 2am on August 8, Imthiyaz questioned police’s failure to investigate the incident after it was reported.

“So there is room for us to suspect that police are aware of this and are deliberately not investigating,” Imthiyaz said.

Debate

Imthiyaz’s urgent motion was accepted for debate with bipartisan support after 51 MPs voted in favour. One MP, however, voted against the motion, which opens the floor for a one-hour debate on matters of urgent public importance.

During the debate, opposition MPs criticised police efforts to find Rilwan as sluggish and lacking seriousness, whilst pro-government MPs defended and lauded the police.

While Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MPs insisted that police were doing everything possible, MDP MPs contended that public safety was no longer assured in the Maldives.

However, all MPs stressed the seriousness of the case and extended sympathy to Rilwan’s family, praying for his safe return and wishing success in the search effort’s of family and friends.

PPM MP Abdulla Rifau noted that police have searched Hulhumalé for three days and advised against “obstructing” the investigation with unwarranted speculation.

He added that the ruling party had put out a press statement expressing concern and calling for a swift investigation.

Adhaalath Party MP Anara Naeem suggested conducting awareness raising programmes and teaching self-defence to children and adolescents.

PPM MP Abdulla Sinan said any hinderance or threat to those who impart information was “unacceptable.”

Rilwan had been expressing his “independent thought,” he continued, which “sometimes conflicted with some of our tenets and bases”.

However, he added, there should be an unfettered environment for free media in a democracy.

PPM MP Ahmed Ameeth – a former DhiTV presenter – said journalists were in a state of fear and warned that Rilwan’s disappearance would adversely affect press freedom.

Liberal versus conservative interpretation of Islam

Referring to media reports claiming former President Mohamed Nasheed spoke against enforcing Islamic Shariah, PPM MP Ahmed Thoriq said neither journalists nor former presidents could “work against the tenets of Islamic Shariah in this country.”

“While journalists against capital punishment are going missing, this is something we should really think about,” the former football star said.

Thoriq criticised Minivan News for reporting updates on the investigation before police revealed information to the public and urged sharing information with the police.

“If [they] want to be the paper that breaks every piece of information the quickest, in truth it is likely that the person they are looking for might not be found,” he said.

Jumhooree Party MP Ali Hussain meanwhile suggested fostering a national debate on the issue of disagreements concerning Islam, arguing that there was “a clash” between a conservative or “literalist” interpretation and a more “liberal” interpretation.

Rilwan’s disappearance was the result of “intolerance” between the two schools of thought, he contended, advising changes to the curriculum to inculcate tolerance.

“We have to teach how to live with people of different opinions. We cannot establish the democratic environment we want without doing so,” he said.

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SEZ bill sent to Majlis floor as MDP continues protest

Parliament’s economic affairs committee completed its review of the government’s flagship special economic zone (SEZ) legislation yesterday and sent the bill to the People’s Majlis floor with minor revisions.

While Jumhooree Party (JP) and opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs had boycotted meetings last week, the committee resumed the review process yesterday after JP Leader Gasim Ibrahim assured cooperation for continuing the assessment.

However, Gasim and JP MP Abdulla Riyaz reportedly left the meeting later and the bill was voted through with only MPs of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and coalition partner Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) in attendance.

Reflecting its combined 48 seats in the 85-member house, the PPM-MDA coalition has voting majorities on key oversight committees.

Among the amendments brought to the draft legislation, a provision was added to include an MP on a 17-member investment board, which would demarcate and oversee the SEZs.

JP and MDP MPs had walked out of a committee meeting last week alleging procedural violations by the committee’s chair – PPM MP Abdulla Khaleel – and objecting to his alleged refusal to incorporate recommendations made by various state institutions.

The MPs in the minority accused pro-government MPs of deliberately disregarding their input.

Khaleel told newspaper Haveeru yesterday that suggestions from state institutions were included to the extent that “the bill’s main concept would not be lost”.

“Dangerous”

MDP MPs did not attend yesterday’s committee meetings.

Last week, the main opposition party announced protests against passing the bill in its current form, warning of “dangerous” consequences, contending that it would pave the way for drug trafficking, money laundering, and human trafficking.

After boycotting the committee last week, Gasim had also warned that an SEZ law would facilitate massive corruption, threaten independence and sovereignty, and authorise a board formed by the president “to sell off the entire country in the name of economic zones.”

Meanwhile, at a press conference on Saturday (August 16), PPM Parliamentary Group Leader Ahmed Nihan accused opposition MPs of obstructing implementation of the government’s economic policy.

The majority leader urged MDP MPs to respond to technical aspects of the bill in lieu of “misleading” political rhetoric.

The government maintains that SEZs with relaxed regulations and tax incentives were necessary both for foreign investors to choose the Maldives over other developing nations and to launch ‘mega projects,’ which President Abdulla Yameen has said would “transform” the economy through diversification and mitigate the reliance on the tourism industry.

Yameen has also dismissed concerns with the absence of parliamentary oversight in the legislation – such as requiring parliamentary approval for presidential appointees to the investment board – arguing that that leasing islands or plots of land was the prerogative of the executive and that affairs of governance was outside the Majlis’ mandate.

Filibuster

At today’s sitting of parliament, MDP MPs raised consecutive points of order – for nearly half an hour – contending that the committee completed its review with unprecedented and undue haste after ignoring the views of opposition MPs.

PPM MPs meanwhile urged Speaker Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed to exercise his authority to expel unruly MPs.

However, unable to continue with the day’s agenda, Speaker Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed adjourned proceedings twice.

Following the adjournment, the MDP parliamentary group informed the press that its MPs were protesting in the chamber against efforts to “silence” the minority party as well as the fast-tracking of the SEZ bill review despite assurances from the speaker that opposition concerns would be heard.

At a press briefing yesterday, MDP MP Ibrahim Shareef said pro-government MPs did not allow opposition MPs to amend the draft legislation and insisted that the review process was conducted “dictatorially” in violation of parliamentary rules.

Shareef had warned that MDP MPs were willing to bring Majlis sittings to a halt over the SEZ bill.

The MDP has been holding nightly rallies at its haruge (meeting hall) in Malé to protest “openly selling off the country” through SEZs.

Following last night’s rally, a group of protesters took to the streets and demonstrated in front of President Yameen’s private residence.

The MDP has also launched a petition (Dhivehi) calling on the government to withdraw the SEZ bill, warning that it would “destroy” the decentralisation system as the president could bypass local councils, declare any region an economic zone, and lease land for a period of 99 years.

In addition to import duty and tax exemptions for investors, an SEZ law would allow the president to “divide and distribute various regions of the country” to businesses of senior government officials, the party claimed.

Moreover, companies with foreign shareholders would be able to purchase land without paying sales tax, the MDP noted, which would pose a threat to national security.

“This would be selling off the country’s natural resources dubiously on the cheap for the benefit of a few people,” reads the petition.

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PPM seeking to silence minority voice in parliament, says MDP MP Imthiyaz Fahmy

Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed has proposed an amendment to the parliamentary rules of procedure to require a vote to accept a resolution before opening the floor for a debate, opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs have revealed.

At a press conference today, MDP MP Imthiyaz Fahmy explained that Speaker Maseeh – a member of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives – had sent a letter to the general affairs committee requesting the revision.

Under the existing rules or standing orders, a resolution submitted to parliament has to be debated on the floor ahead of a vote.

Imthiyaz contended that the move by the majority party – which holds a comfortable majority in the 85-member house – was intended to “silence” the minority.

If the amendment is brought to the rules, Imthiyaz explained that resolutions submitted by the main opposition party would not be put up for a debate. A vote would first be called on whether or not to accept the resolution.

The MP for Maafanu North noted that a resolution he submitted in July calling for a parliamentary debate on a controversial decision by the Judicial Service Commission clearing Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed of misconduct has yet to be tabled in the agenda by the speaker.

The resolution was submitted after pro-government MPs voted down a motion without notice submitted by the MDP for a parliamentary debate on the issue.

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Parties reach agreement for committee to resume review of SEZ bill

Political parties in parliament have reached an agreement for the economic affairs committee to resume its review of the governments flagship special economic zone (SEZ) legislation after the Jumhooree Party (JP) and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) boycotted proceedings last week.

At a meeting held last night to resolve the impasse, JP Leader Gasim Ibrahim reportedly assured cooperation for continuing the review process, explaining that he had walked out in protest of the committee chair refusing to incorporate recommendations from state institutions.

The business tycoon said he boycotted Wednesday’s (August 13) meeting after his suggestions to address “one or two issues” in the bill were ignored.

Representing the main opposition party, MDP MP Mohamed Aslam insisted that the party’s concerns should also be addressed.

If not, Aslam said, the party would “take to the streets” in protest. On Thursday (August 14), the MDP announced protests against passing the bill in its current form, warning of “dangerous” consequences.

After walking out of Wednesday’s meeting, Gasim had also warned last week that an SEZ law would facilitate massive corruption, threaten independence, and authorise a board formed by the president “to sell off the entire country in the name of economic zones.”

Further meetings of the committee – where the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and ally Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) have a voting majority – had been cancelled following the boycott.

At last night’s meeting, PPM MP Ahmed Ameeth proposed holding a meeting today to approve a timetable to conduct the review process. While MDP MPs voted against it, the proposal was passed with the JP MPs’ support.

Subsequently, at the meeting this morning, the committee passed a motion proposed by Ameeth to give authority to the committee’s chair – PPM MP Abdulla Khaleel – to hold meetings every day of the week except Friday to fast-track review of bills.

The motion was passed with five votes in favour. While JP MPs Gasim Ibrahim and Abdulla Riyaz voted against the motion, MDP MPs on the committee did not attend today’s meeting.

Khaleel has previously declared his intention to complete the review process and send the bill to the Majlis floor for a vote before the end of August. Parliament breaks for a one-month recess at the end of the month.

Parliamentary oversight

The MDP has meanwhile been holding nightly rallies at its haruge (meeting hall) in Malé to protest “openly selling off the country” through SEZs.

Speaking at a rally Thursday night, MP Eva Abdulla objected to the absence of parliamentary oversight in the draft legislation, noting that a 17-member investment board appointed by the president would have the authority to create SEZs.

While the president’s nominees to independent institutions required parliamentary approval, Eva noted that parliament would not have a similar confirmation role for endorsing members to the board.

As investors would not have to pay import duties or taxes for a 10-year period, Eva contended that the public would not benefit from the SEZs.

Investors would also be able to bring in foreign workers under relaxed regulations while companies with foreign shareholders would be able to purchase land without paying privatisation fees or sales tax.

In other countries, Eva said, such incentives were offered to investors in exchange for creating job opportunities for locals.

At a rally in Addu City on Friday night (August 15), MDP MP Rozaina Adam urged the public to consider why President Abdulla Yameen did not wish for parliament to exercise any oversight despite the PPM’s comfortable majority in the People’s Majlis.

The MP For Addu Meedhoo suggested that the president did not want his own party’s MPs to be aware of the “illegal activities” and “massive corruption” that would take place in the SEZs.

Responding to the criticism from the opposition, President Yameen told reporters prior to departing for China Thursday night that leasing islands or plots of land was the prerogative of the president or the executive.

“Parliament could make rules. That’s why we’re making a law. But after the rules are set, it is not the parliament that would designate the economic zones. Parliament is not concerned with governance,” he argued.

Parliament could amend the draft legislation to address shortcomings, Yameen added, suggesting that the president having authority to create SEZs was no cause for concern.

On the tax incentives, Yameen contended that resorts were also developed with similar tax exemptions.

“Even now, everything brought in for a new resort under development is exempt from [import] duties,” he said.

“So they have enjoyed the benefit of special economic zones without a law through the tourism law. What we’re trying to do now is to give that benefit through the special economic zone.”

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President Yameen, MDP sends Independence Day felicitations to India

President Abdulla Yameen and the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) sent felicitations and greetings to India yesterday on the occasion of the neighbouring country’s Independence Day (August 15).

“In separate messages sent to the President and Prime Minister, President ‎Yameen extended warm greetings and sincere good wishes of the Government ‎and the people of the Maldives, to the people and the Government of India,” read a statement from the President’s Office website.

“He also expressed his hopes for further progress of the close relations of ‎‎friendship, understanding and co-operation that exist between the Maldives ‎and India.‎ In his message, the President extended his good wishes for continued ‎progress and prosperity of the people of India.‎”

President Yameen sent a similar message to the president and prime minister of Pakistan on the occasion of the Islamic state’s Independence Day, extending “warm greetings and sincere good wishes of the government and the people of the Maldives, to the people and the government of Pakistan” and expressing his “hopes for further consolidation of the warm and cordial relations that exist between the Maldives and Pakistan.”

The MDP meanwhile issued a statement extending “congratulations and best wishes to the people of India on the auspicious occasion of the 68th Independence Day of India.”

“While we renew our celebration of good relations, Indian Independence today means much more than just the Independence of present India, as Indian development over the years has given hope to all of South Asia,” the statement read.

“The Maldivian Democratic Party shares the Indian peoples’ aspirations for a powerful India, playing a preeminent role in South Asia. The Maldivian Democratic Party reiterates its stance that India must remain the supreme power in the Indian Ocean region; a position that should be accepted, indeed welcomed, by the Maldives.”

The main opposition party also expressed “gratitude for continued Indian concerns and assistance where necessary in dealing with dangers not only to the future stability of the Maldives but also to the security of the wider region.”

The statement went on to express “profound gratitude to Indian institutions and government for continued engagement in spheres of trade, development and especially with all political entities in strengthening and safeguarding democratic institutions in the Maldives.”

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IFJ calls on government to speed up investigation into Rilwan’s disappearance

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) together with its affiliate the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) has called on the government “to speed up investigation to clarify of whereabouts journalist Ahmed Rilwan Adbulla, who is missing since August 8.”

In a joint statement, the MJA called on “all relevant authorities to make an extra effort to clarify the whereabouts of Abdulla,” while the IFJ said the disappearance was “deeply concerning.”

“We call on the authorities to undertake a full investigation up to and including the time of his disappearance, conducted with the upmost seriousness, with all findings released to the public. The disappearance of journalists is a serious matter and full support must be provided to the family,” said the IFJ.

The MJA meanwhile expressed “grave concern over recent incidents of threats sent through text messages to local journalists.”

The MJA also called on “all parties to refrain from obstructing a free and independent media in the Maldives.”

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) meanwhile put out a statement last night expressing concern with the police investigation and efforts to locate Rilwan, which it contended were “inadequate”.

The main opposition party noted that Rilwan disappeared at a time when journalists were facing intimidation and receiving death threats.

The MDP referred to the party bringing to the government’s attention the abduction of alleged advocates of secularism by a vigilante group in June.

“However, we note with regret that the government has taken no action concerning [the abductions],” the statement read. The party also referred to previous threats against journalists and the arson attack against the opposition-aligned private broadcaster Raajje TV.

At the time, the party claimed to have “received information that some religious extremists have kidnapped young people claiming they had committed irreligious acts.”

The MDP said the public was anxious following Rilwan’s disappearance due to the government’s failure to share information and updates regarding the investigation.

“And we note with concern that especially Rilwan’s family and independent journalists are facing extreme anxiety and sadness due to the [disappearance],” the party said.

The party called on the government and the relevant authorities to step up the investigation as well as efforts to find Rilwan with more focus and attention than at present.

The statement concluded with a prayer for success in the efforts by Rilwan’s family and friends to locate him.

Both the Human Rights Commission of Maldives and Home Minister Umar Naseer have expressed concern at his disappearance, while the police’s efforts to locate Rilwan are ongoing.

Police have launched an official appeal for assistance, requesting that anyone with further information call the Police Hotline 332 2111, or Serious and Organised Crime Department at 9911099.

A team of around 30 friends and family members focused efforts on the more isolated areas of Rilwan’s island of residence Hulhumalé yesterday.

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MDP to protest against “dangerous” SEZ bill

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has declared its intention to protest against the governments flagship special economic zone (SEZ) legislation, warning that passing the bill would pose serious dangers to the Maldives.

“We note that the bill on special economic zones in its current form would allow the government to conduct transactions broadly with no transparency and no opportunity for oversight, as a result of which the possibility of losing the country’s independence and sovereignty would be high,” read a press release from the main opposition party yesterday.

The government, however, maintains that SEZs with relaxed regulations and tax incentives were necessary both for foreign investors to choose the Maldives over other developing nations and to launch ‘mega projects.’

The MDP noted that its lawmakers along with Jumhooree Party (JP) MPs boycotted the economic affairs committee yesterday – which was in the process of reviewing the draft legislation – in protest of procedural violations by the committee’s chair and “dictatorial” actions of pro-government MPs.

MDP and JP MPs also objected to the economic committee allegedly disregarding recommendations and commentary on the bill sent by various state institutions.

Reflecting its combined 48 seats in the 85-member house, the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives and coalition partner Maldives Development Alliance have voting majorities on key parliamentary oversight committees.

After walking out of a committee meeting yesterday, JP Leader Gasim Ibrahim warned that an SEZ law would facilitate massive corruption, threaten independence, and authorise a board formed by the president “to sell off the entire country in the name of economic zones.”

Incentives

The MDP press release warned that an SEZ law would allow the government to bypass local councils, declare any region an economic zone, and lease land for any period.

The law would undermine the Decentralisation Act and restrict the authority granted by the constitution for local councils to “raise funds,” “own property and incur liabilities,” the party contended.

Geographic areas declared an SEZ would be removed from the jurisdiction of local councils.

However, Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb told Minivan News in June that an SEZ law would encourage further development of tourism outside of the central atolls or the ‘sea plane zone’ – referring to the proximity from Malé’s international airport – and assured that councils would be consulted.

“I believe that by doing the SEZ Act, we will bring the investment to these regions and this is the real decentralisation of investments,” he said.

The MDP also expressed concern with the tax breaks offered to investors in SEZs, which it argued would limit opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Concessions in the current draft include tax exemptions and relaxed regulations for employing foreign labour.

Investors would be exempted from paying either import duties for capital goods or business profit tax, goods and services tax and withholding tax for a period of 10 years.

Regulations on foreign workers would be relaxed while companies with foreign shareholders would be allowed to purchase land without paying privatisation fees or sales tax.

Article 74 meanwhile allows up to 40 percent of any zone to be tourist-related development with tax and duty exemptions.

Moreover, private airports and seaports in the zones would be outside the jurisdiction of the Maldives Customs Service.

The enactment of an SEZ law would pave the way for “dangerous and serious crimes,” the MDP press statement continued, such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and human trafficking.

“Castles in the air”

Former President Mohamed Nasheed had dubbed the legislation the ‘Artur Brothers bill’, referring to an infamous pair of Armenians linked with money laundering and drug trafficking who made headlines last year after they were photographed with cabinet ministers.

Nasheed has also dismissed SEZs and the touted mega projects as “castles in the air.”

Referring to the opposition to his administration’s public-private partnership projects on religious and nationalistic grounds – with opposition parties accusing the government of “selling off state assets” – in a speech at an MDP event on Tuesday night (August 12), Nasheed argued that the current administration’s economic policies were far worse judging by their terms.

“There could be no bigger deception of the Maldivian people,” he said.

Nasheed also contended that Maldivian law would not be enforced in the SEZs, claiming that gambling would be allowed in the zones.

President Abdulla Yameen meanwhile insisted in a speech on Monday night (August 11) that foreign investments in the zones posed no threat to Islam or Maldivian sovereignty, assuring that the businesses would be fully subject to Maldivian law.

The government’s objective was “economic transformation” through diversification – to mitigate the reliance on the tourism industry – and shifting the economy from its “present production frontier” to a higher level, Yameen explained.

Yameen had declared in April that the SEZ bill would become “a landmark law” that would strengthen the country’s foreign investment regime.

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Fear, intimidation aimed at stalling development, says Nasheed

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has expressed concern over a regression in democratic gains, and claimed government’s attempts at intimidation and fear is intended to stall development.

Speaking at an August 12 commemoration of the tenth anniversary of Maldives’ first mass pro-democracy protests, Nasheed said August 12, 13 of 2004 was a “day Maldivians stood up against torture and called for what is rightfully theirs.”

“On that day, Maldivians gathered to realise their hopes. That day, Maldivians called for what they continue to call for today. Housing, education, healthcare, income generation, a dignified life,” he said.

In what would later be referred to as ‘Black Friday’, security forces teargassed and brutalised protestors and cut off all mediums of communication including messaging services and internet. President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom announced a state of emergency and suspended the constitution. Hundreds of protesters were detained for months.

The Maldives is once again seeing a return to its authoritarian past with the recent increase in death threats against opposition politicians, Nasheed said.

“Inciting fear is aimed at stalling development,” he said, alleging the death threats was a government attempt to stop the opposition from criticising and uncovering the truth behind its “cloud castle” policies.

“Torture in jails, killing Evan Naseem, or putting me in stocks is not aimed at torturing Galholhu Kenereege Mohamed Nasheed, or killing Evan Naseem, but to incite fear among the public. To let it be known criticising the powers that be is dangerous,” he said.

Criticising the dissolution of the ruling progressive coalition and President Abdulla Yameen’s flagship special economic zone (SEZ) bill, Nasheed said Yameen’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) had backtracked on campaign pledges after assuming power.

The PPM at the time had portrayed Maldives as a holy land, pledged to end foreign interference and uphold sovereignty. But the SEZs, Nasheed suggested, will allow foreign companies to plunder Maldivian resources without any oversight.

“In the special economic zones, there will be no duty, no immigration, no customs, no Maldivian laws,” he said.

Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party in a statement on Tuesday also said: “on the tenth anniversary of August 12, 13, we note, with great concern, we have slid back to the conditions of pre-2008.”

It listed Nasheed’s controversial ouster in 2012, police brutality of February 7 and 8 in 2012, the Supreme Court and police interference in the 2013 presidential polls, increased incidences of arbitrary arrest, government’s violations of freedom of expression and association, filing trumped up charges and murder attempts against opposition supporters and threats to freedom of the press as signs of regression.

Nasheed in his speech also criticised attempts at limiting the powers of councils, and what he claimed was the return of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s narrative that the Maldives is a resource poor nation.

The mantra allows the government to slow down development, at the pace of one harbour a year and harbors for the 196 inhabited islands in 196 years, he said.

The MDP has exposed the narrative as a falsehood as it increased government revenue, without a dramatic increase in national gross domestic product, by establishing a modern tax system, Nasheed said

He went on to claim the protesters gathered at the Republic Square in August 2004 could have overthrown Gayoom and replaced him with Gayoom’s brother in law Ilyas Ibrahim.

Ibrahim contested against Gayoom in 1993 for the People’s Majlis vote for the presidential candidacy, but narrowly failed and was subsequently jailed and banished for a number of years.

Nasheed also claimed senior military officers had told him Gayoom could be ousted in 2007 through a military coup d’état, but the MDP resisted.

“We do not want to overthrow the government through a coup. We want a system that facilitates development,” he said.

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JP and MDP MPs boycott committee reviewing SEZ bill

Jumhooree Party (JP) and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs boycotted parliament’s economic affairs committee today in protest of alleged procedural violations by the committee’s chair in his haste to complete reviewing the government’s flagship special economic zone (SEZ) legislation.

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Abdulla Khaleel – the committee’s chairperson – was “repeatedly violating Majlis rules and committee rules as well,” said JP Leader Gasim after walking out of a meeting this morning and raising a point of order at the ongoing parliament sitting.

The SEZ law would authorise a board formed by the president “to sell off the entire country in the name of economic zones,” the business tycoon said.

He added that the committee was not considering recommendations by state institutions concerning relaxed regulations, exempted import duties and tax incentives.

PPM MPs wanted to complete assessment of the bill “like a snap of the finger,” he said.

Speaker Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed, however, said he could not accept Gasim’s objections as a point of order and advised the Maamigili MP to submit a complaint outside the sitting.

Backing Gasim’s stance, MDP MP Eva Abdulla – who had walked out of the committee with Gasim – contended that procedural violations at committees must be dealt with by the speaker.

As the “smallest example” of Khaleel’s misconduct, Eva alleged that the chair was participating in votes while the rules stipulate that he could only cast a vote to break a tie.

The chair was completely “disregarding” recommendations and commentary sent to the committee by the Maldives Police Service, Customs Service, Local Government Authority, and Maldives Monetary Authority, Eva claimed.

Moreover, the views of JP and MDP MPs were deliberately being ignored, she added.

Parties in the minority should be respected, she continued, warning of disruptions to proceedings at parliament sittings if the issue was not resolved.

In a second point of order, Gasim said he would not stand for the PPM misusing its parliamentary majority to get its way in flagrant violation of rules.

If the SEZ bill is passed into law without revisions, Gasim said the country’s “independence would be lost” and “certain people” would be allowed to carry out corrupt dealings.

PPM MP Riyaz Rasheed meanwhile advised resolving the dispute through dialogue in lieu of disrupting proceedings with quarrels in the chamber.

Shortly after the second session of today’s sitting resumed at 11am, Speaker Maseeh adjourned proceedings in the face of consecutive points of order raised by JP and MDP MPs.

Fast-tracking

Khaleel had told newspaper Haveeru last week that he expected to complete the review process and send the bill to the Majlis floor for a vote before the end of the month.

Parliament breaks for a one-month recess at the end of August.

As the bill was a high priority for the government, the MP for Faafu Nilandhoo said he had decided to hold two meetings for every day when there is a parliament sitting.

Khaleel had stressed that stakeholders would be consulted and technical expertise would be sought.

Prior to walking out of today’s meeting, Gasim advised that it was “very important” to specifying a period for offering tax incentives to investors instead of leaving it to the discretion of a board.

Eva meanwhile objected to PPM MPs refusing to “accommodate” any recommendations from state institutions and urged the chair to “respect parliamentary practice.”

In response, Khaleel insisted that he was conducting proceedings in accordance with the rules and that comments that were “not against the spirit of the bill” were being considered.

After the JP and MDP MPs walked out, Khaleel continued the review process – with PPM MPs and coalition partner Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) Leader MP Ahmed ‘Sun’ Siyam Mohamed in attendance – and put articles 34 through 48 to a vote after seeking proposed amendments.

Reflecting its simple majority in the 85-member house, the PPM-MDA coalition has voting majorities on parliamentary oversight committees.

Meanwhile, responding to criticism of the SEZ bill from the opposition, President Abdulla Yameen insisted in a speech on Monday night (August 11) that foreign investments in the zones posed no threat to Islam or Maldivian sovereignty, assuring that the businesses would be fully subject to Maldivian law.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed contends that the zones would be used for criminal enterprises, “irreligious” activities such as gambling, and money laundering.

The opposition leader had dubbed the legislation the ‘Artur Brothers bill’, referring to an infamous pair of Armenians linked with money laundering and drug trafficking who made headlines last year after they were photographed with cabinet ministers.

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