Tag: minivan news

Dr Mariyam Shakeela appointed Acting Minister of Gender, Family and Human rights

Minister of Environment and Energy Dr Mariyam Shakeela has been appointed as the Acting Minister of Gender, Family and Human rights by President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik.

The announcement follows the dismissal of former Minister of Gender, Family and Human rights Dhiyana Saeed on Monday for acting in a manner not suited for a minister, according to the President’s Office.

Dhiyana strongly criticised the president and the government over the arrest of her husband, Kaashidhoo MP Abdullah Jabir, who was arrested under suspicion of drinking alcohol.

At a press conference held by Dhiyana and her husband, Dhiyana demonstrated how Jabir was beaten by the police, claiming that the arrest was politically motivated.

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Maldivians called to pray for Palestine following conflict

Adhaalath Party (AP) President Sheikh Imran Abdulla called for Maldivians to pray for a Palestinian victory in the current conflict with Israel.

During the “Maldivians with Gaza” gathering held last night (November 20), Imran told how the Palestinians needed Maldivians to pray for them following the air strikes on Gaza.

“Today we are consulting with various people. Discussions are underway to open a fund to help Gaza, based on the way the events might unfold in the next few days,” Imran said.

During a recent visit to Palestine, Sheikh Mohamed Didi relayed the grim scenes he had witnessed, also adding that Palestinians love the Maldivian people and were grateful for the relations displayed by the country.

“Water tanks were on every roof. When we asked they said it were there to combat the water shortage caused due to the water cuts by Israel. A mosque was torched while we were there,” Didi detailed.

A special prayer was conducted for the Palestinian people at last night’s gathering.

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MP Yameen proposes Parliament look into EC Member sexual harassment allegations

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Abdulla Yameen has proposed that the Committee on Independent Institutions investigate allegations of sexual harassment against a member of the Elections Commission (EC).

Following a staff protest at the EC in March, a complaint was lodged with the oversight committee that some members were acting in breach of existing laws and regulations. A female employee of the EC who had attended a related committee meeting in June stated then that a member would take hold of her hand while she was serving drinks.

Chair of the committee Independent MP Mohamed Nasheed shared details of the issue. He stated that Yameen was referring to a matter where a female employee had stated that when she served coffee to a particular EC member, he would “take hold of [her] wrist and do something.”

Stating that the accused member had been summoned and questioned on the matter previously, Nasheed clarified that the issue was not an actual complaint filed by any staff member of EC.

Nasheed stated that after reviewing the responses the committee had at the time decided that it was not an issue that needed further attention.

However Yameen said that the matter should be reviewed under the clause regarding Personal Relations of Employees. He proposed that the employee who had made the allegation be summoned to committee to clarify more details of the matter.

Yameen raised the issue the day after the President of the Civil Service Commission Mohamed Fahmy was voted out of his post under sexual harassment allegations.

All PPM MPs who participated had voted against the removal of Fahmy.

Speaking at the debate on Fahmy’s removal, PPM MP Shifaq Mufeed said “We might be faced with an unrecoverable loss if we remove Fahmy, as he is a member of both the CSC and the JSC (Judicial Services Commission). If we remove Fahmy, there may come planned false allegations against other members of independent commissions.”

Elections Commission Vice President Ahmed Fayaz said that he had no knowledge of the matter.

“I have never received a complaint as such from any staff member about any EC members. Nor do I have any knowledge of such a complaint being even officially lodged, verbally or written, at either our commission, the police, gender ministry or anywhere else,” he added.

Minivan News tried contacting Yameen at the time of press, but he was not responding to calls at the time of press.

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IPU’s findings of alleged human rights abuses against MPs to be revealed tomorrow

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) delegation sent to Maldives to tackle alleged human rights abuses of MPs will be holding a press conference tomorrow to discuss their findings.

The IPU’s human rights mission to Maldives comes after increasing reports of political intimidation and turmoil following former President Mohamed Nasshed’s removal from office earlier this year.

The three-day mission from November 20 to 22 includes Philippine Senator Pangilinan from IPU’s Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians and IPUS’s Human Rights programme head – along with two other IPU delegates – conducting several high-level meetings at the invitation of the government.

The talks will include discussions with President Mohamed Waheed, government ministers, the Speaker of the national parliament and other high level parliament and judicial authorities.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP for Galohu North Eva Abdulla, who participated in the meeting of IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians on October 21, said that the IPU has already condemned the attacks and continued harassment of MPs, whilst “expressing concern” at the delay in the investigation and prosecution of wrongdoers.

“What this trip will highlight to the IPU is that MPs are under even more threat now. Not only has not a single case against the police has not been prosecuted, but instead we are seeing that almost every single MP who filed a case with the Human Rights Commission (HRCM) or Police Integrity Commission (PIC) are they themselves being prosecuted in return.

“In addition, the government is targeting the parliament as a whole, as well as individual MPs,” Eva told Minivan News.

According to a press release issued by the IPU on Tuesday (November 20), currently 19 Maldivian MPs from the MDP have lodged cases with the IPU Committee over allegations of “excessive violence, arbitrary arrests, intimidation and criminal charges believed to be politically motivated”.

The IPU also mission intends to address incidents involving the arrests and intimidation of other MPs in the past few days.

Two MPs, along with other senior figures in the MDP were recently arrested for the alleged possession of drugs and alcohol on the island of Hodaidhoo in Haa Dhaal Atoll.

Whilst police said that they had found large amounts of “suspected” drugs and alcohol upon searching the island, MDP alleged the arrests were a politically-motivated attempt to disrupt parliament ahead of a no confidence motion against President Waheed, and an amendment to voting procedure to make such votes secret.

Jumhoree Party (JP) MP Abdulla Jabir – who was arrested during the raid, but has since been released – alleged the way in which the police conducted the raid was like that of a “terrorist killing operation”.

A press release from MDP on November 19, regarding the treatment of former SAARC Secretary General and Special Envoy to former President Nasheed, Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, who was hospitalised as a result of the police operation, claims that the “attack” is part of a pattern which has seen opponents of Mohamed Waheed “regularly imprisoned and/or beaten by police”.

Speaking about the case, MDP’s international spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor – also arrested and allegedly beaten alongside Zaki – said: “The attack against Zaki is an attack against democracy and against India. It is a further example, if one were needed, of the Maldives’ descent into a police state – where the security forces are beyond criticism, and can act with complete impunity”.

In the build up to the vote on taking secret votes in no confidence motions against President Waheed Hassan Manik and other cabinet members, further allegations made by Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ali Azim claim that the president and other senior members of the executive had approached him, offering to cancel the court summons if he agreed to vote for the secret balloting in a way they preferred.

Days prior to the secret voting motion, DRP MPs Mohamed Nashiz and Azim had been ordered to appear in court over the the failure of Funaddoo Tuna Products to repay loans worth MVR 117 million (US$7.5 million) to the Bank of Maldives.

Azim alleged that in addition to Waheed, his Political Advisor Ahmed Thaufeeq and Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza had called him and made similar statements.

The decision by the IPU to carry out the mission was decided at IPU’s 127th Assembly in Quebec City last month in a series of resolutions recommended by the IPU Committee.

According this week’s press release, the committee expressed “deep concern at reports of renewed ill-treatment, detention and harassment of the MPs by law enforcement officers as well as shock at the killing of MP Afrasheem Ali in early October”.

The press release further states: “Maldives has been in political crisis since February when incumbent President Mohamed Nasheed was replaced by his Vice-President Mohamed Waheed. Since then, there has been growing international concern at the political intimidation and serious outbreaks of violence in the country.”

In March, the MDP parliamentary group submitted cases alleging police brutality against the former ruling party’s MPs to the IPU’s human rights committee at the 126th Assembly held at Kampala, Uganda.

The cases concerned targeted police brutality against MDP MPs on February 7 and 8, in particular on the latter date during a heavy-handed police crackdown on an MDP protest march that left scores injured and hospitalised, including former MDP parliamentary group leader and Hulhu-Henveiru MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik and Maafanu South MP Ibrahim Rasheed ‘Bonda’.

Three classified reports by the IPU concerning police brutality against MDP MPs have been shared with parliament and the executive since the transfer of presidential power on February 7, the party revealed last month.

The IPU is a global organisation of parliaments, established in 1889. It works to foster coordination and exchange between representative institutions across the globe. The IPU also offers technical support to affiliated nations. The Maldives has been a member of the organisation since 2005.

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New policies to recover president’s political trip expenses

The Auditor General has begun to establish policies ensuring that expenses for both campaign and unofficial trips made by the president are repaid to the state.

Auditor General Ibrahim Niyaz said that in developed countries, criteria are established to distinguish the president’s official and unofficial visits.

“We have experienced it before, and are experiencing it now as well, that State funds are used for the wife and children to accompany the President when he travels abroad. As a rule, unless it’s a state visit, it would not be acceptable that State funds are used even for the wife. So it’s important that these policies are established in detail, which is why we are doing this,” he told Sun Online.

He stated that studies are currently being carried out by taking similar policies in countries like the USA as examples. After the study has been concluded, it can be decided as to why a trip is categorised as a political trip.

“For example, we see multiple visits being made to the atolls as we approach local elections. Promises are made during these trips. That shows that they are campaign trips. We will establish policies on how to act under those circumstances,” he said.

According to the Auditor General, the policies will be sent to parliament and the president’s office, both of whom will be recommended to execute them.

“These policies will not obstruct the President’s trips. He will be able to travel with full security and such. The purpose of these policies is that the political trip expenses are recovered,” he said.

Niyaz said that Ministers should also pay for their campaign trips.

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DhiTV editor criticised at Parliament’s Privileges Committee

Editor and News Head of DhiTV Midhath Adam has been heavily criticised at the Parliament’s Privileges Committee following accusations of defamation.

Midhath faced accusations from multiple MPs in a case filed by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson and Hulhu-Henveiru MP Reeko Moosa Manik, accusing DhiTV of defaming his business and family.

At the committee meeting held today, Kaashidhoo MP Abdullah Jabir further accused DhiTV of broadcasting stories that were shaped to attack him personally.

Jabir claimed that DhiTV spreads information to win government support, twists news and is used to facilitate expansion of the business activities of the Champa family.

DhiTV is mostly owned by Champa Mohamed Moosa, a major businessman and resort owner in the Maldives.

In response to Jabir’s accusations, Midhath denied that DhiTV spun news stories or reports on speeches from members of parliament. He further added that he attended the committee meeting as the editor of DhiTV, and not a representative of any family.

Further accusations came from Mahchangolhi-south MP Mohamed Rasheed, who accused DhiTV of acting against media standards and working against the parliament.

He used an example of DhiTV playing Hindi music whilst videoing the actions MPs of MDP on parliament opening day.

In response, Midhath said that it was possible that such a video was shown by a group given DhiTV On-Air time, adding that the video was not prepared by DhiTV.

Maafannu-north MP Imthiyaz Fahmy accused DhiTV of spinning MP’s statements, adding that the practice of editing MP’s speeches before broadcasting goes against the agreement made between the parliament and broadcasting stations.

Committee Chairman Mathiveri MP Hussain Mohamed asked Midhath whether DhiTV “spin” or slant” stories before broadcasting, and if they have a policy on broadcasting biased news.

Midhath said that DhiTV never followed any policy to spin or slant news stories. He further stressed that they never dubbed speeches made by MPs before broadcasting.

When Imthiyaz Fahmy proposed to obtain the copies of DhiTV’s news stories related to Manik’s case, Midhath said that the stories in question may no longer be available as they were broadcast in 2010.

Midhath added that regulations stipulate on-air material should be saved for two months, after which important recordings are archived.

The case filed by Reeko Moosa Manik states that DhiTV damaged the reputation of his business, and also ruined the reputation and honour of his family. It also states that speeches made about Moosa by Gemanafushi MP Ilham Ahmed and Thoddoo MP Ali Waheed at the Parliament in November 2010, were edited and broadcast by DhiTV.

Jabir proposed to summon the Board of DhiTV to the Committee. The Committee Chairman said that voting on this proposition will be conducted at the next Committee meeting.

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Elections commission decide no fingerprints on political party membership forms

Political party membership forms will not include fingerprints, the elections commission has decided.

A decision was made by the independent bodies committee of parliament earlier this month due to concerns from political parties over the rejection of membership forms citing invalid or unclear fingerprints, a statement read.

The concern from political parties is that there is no system to verify the authenticity of the fingerprints on membership forms.

Elections commission stressed that since they enforced to include finger prints, the number of false registrations had reduced.

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Right to silence bill accepted by parliament

The bill on right to silence has been accepted by parliament and sent to the national security committee for review.

Parliament accepted the bill after a three-day debate concluded with 46 votes in favour and 27 votes against.

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) parliament members debated against accepting the bill, whilst pro-government members spoke out in its defence.

Pro-government members argued that the bill does not undermine any rights ensured by the constitution and that the bill states how and when the constitutional right to silence can and cannot be exercised.

Opposition argued that the bill constricts a right ensured by the constitution.

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“No animosity” toward JP after voting in favour of secret votes: President’s Office

The government has no animosity towards Jumhoree Party (JP) despite its members voting in favour of taking secret votes, President’s Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza has said.

Although JP members voted in line with the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the government perceived it as JP’s policy, Abbas said.

Both MDP and JP party members voted in favour of taking secret votes on the no confidence motion against President Mohamed Waheed Hassan and cabinet members in parliament.

“As you know during the time of special parliament Gasim supported to take a secret ballot to elect a parliament speaker. That was in 2004. That is his view on the matter.

“The president says that the government has no animosity toward the way the leader of JP voted or MP’s voted,” Abbas said.

Abbas stressed that the transport minister’s portfolio is still reserved for JP, as the party is still part of the coalition government.

JP Vice President Ameen Ibrahim has been nominated for the post after Dr Ahmed Shamheed was dismissed from his transport minister position.

Human Rights Minister Dhiyana Saeed was also dismissed from her post yesterday.

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