Tag: minivan news

Media monitoring report hints at bias of local media

Transparency Maldives has published a report monitoring the performance and bias of six media outlets between March 23 and April 4 of this year.

The six outlets evaluated were DhiTV, MNBC One and VTV (television), and Haveeru, Miadhu and Minivan News (print).

News content produced by these outlets during the reporting period was categorised by subject (corruption, politics, human rights, etc), the air time and centimetres of coverage recorded, and the tone assessed (positive, negative, neutral).

This was reported by three people who ranked the connotations of words and pictures from positive to negative on a scale of 1-5.

Transparency Maldives observed notable limitations in the report, most significantly the small time period (two weeks) of monitoring. There was also no analysis of the order of news stories indicating the priority of subjects to the Maldivian press, or the omission of coverage.

Content was also subject to the news agenda of the short reporting period, and the subject matter of stories analysed did not incorporate stories relating to crime, gender or religion.

Key headlines on Minivan during the reporting period included: ‘Death of tourist at Kuredhoo Island Resort last year was accidental, finds UK inquest’,  ‘Parliament falling short of public expectations despite work rate, says Speaker Shahid,’ ‘Mahlouf calls on DRP supporters to shun “Thasmeen faction” rally’, ‘Blackmarket dollar crackdown won’t address demand, warn businesses, financial experts’, ‘Judges legitimised JSC’s actions with their silence’, and ‘Staff threw stones at intruder and left him in the water to drown, alleges Baros staff member’.

DhiTV

DhiTV was the first private television station to be registered in the Maldives in 2008, by local businessman Mohamed ‘Champa’ Moosa. It faces allegations from the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) of favouring the opposition.

25 percent of DhiTV’s coverage of parliament and 36 percent of its coverage of government during the reporting period was negative. Other subjects with a high weight of negative coverage included President Mohamed Nasheed (41 percent),  Ahmed Thasmeen Ali’s faction of the opposition Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (43 percent), and the Maldivian Democratic Party (22 percent).

DhiTV’s most balanced coverage was of police, which was 80 percent neutral.

MNBC One

MNBC is a 100 percent government owned corporation that manages the assets of former state broadcaster Television Maldives (TVM) and Voice of Maldives (VOM). It is currently locked in a legal dispute for its assets with the Maldives Broadcast Corporation (MBC), a body created by the then opposition-majority parliament. It faces allegations from opposition parties of favouring the government.

Twelve percent of MNBC’s coverage of the government during the reporting period was positive,  and four percent negative (the remainder was neutral). 17 percent of the station’s coverage of President Mohamed Nasheed was positive and 83 percent was neutral – there was no negative coverage of the President during the reporting period.

All of MNBC’s coverage of the council, police and Adhaalath Party was neutral.

VTV

Villa TV (VTV) is owned and funded by local business tycoon and Jumhoree Party (JP) MP Gasim Ibrahim, and faces allegations of political bias due to the nature of its ownership.

VTV’s coverage of parliament was very neutral (90 percent), while its coverage of government during the reporting period was 35 percent negative.

Coverage of Ahmed Thasmeen Ali’s faction of the opposition (DRP) was overwhelmingly negative (67 percent), significantly more so than its coverage of the MDP (20 percent negative to six percent positive).

31 percent of VTV’s coverage of its owner’s Jumhoree Party (JP) was positive – only two percent was negative. The report noted that the space afforded the JP was “significantly high”.

Haveeru

Newspaper Haveeru is the largest national daily with a print run of 3000 copies. It was first published by Mohamed Zahir Hussain, who according to Transparency “has close ties with former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom”.

Haveeru’s coverage of the government during the reporting period leaned towards negative (12 percent negative, 7 percent positive), and coverage of the MDP was almost twice as negative as positive (21 percent to 10 percent). Coverage of parliament was more negative (27 percent) than positive (nine percent).

Coverage of the DRP was 29 percent negative and only one percent positive. 46 percent of its coverage of Thasmeen’s faction was negative (to six percent positive), while its coverage of Gayoom’s faction was more balanced (32 percent negative, 13 percent positive). Coverage of the People’s Alliance (PA), founded by Gayoom’s half brother Abdulla Yameen, was 60 percent negative.

Twelve percent of Haveeru’s coverage of police was negative, compared to two percent positive.

Miadhu

Miadhu was founded by Ahmed Abdullah, the Minister of Energy, Environment and Water under the former government.

“Miadhu boasts a record of having no complaints about their publications so far, according to the Editor Abdul Latheef,” the report noted. Miadhu claimed to be circulating 3000 copies.

Miadhu’s coverage of the government was 17 percent positive and 19 percent negative, however its coverage of President Nasheed was weighted towards the positive (18 percent positive to 3 percent negative).

The newspaper’s coverage of the DRP was more significantly negative (12 percent) than positive (two percent).

Miadhu’s coverage of police, council, court and the elections commission was neutral.

Minivan News

Minivan News was analysed by Transparency alongside with print media, despite it being an online publication. Articles were printed and content physically measured in centimetres.

Initially established by the MDP in 2005 “due to the futility of attempting to cover [then] opposition news in the conservative media outlets that existed then”, Minivan News and the now defunct print publication ‘Minivan Daily’ met with strong interference from the former government, with several of its foreign reporters being deported.

“Many staff of Minivan were subjected to police intimidation, threats and harassment,” Transparency’s report noted, while the newspaper’s office in Colombo was raided by Sri Lankan police after it was falsely reported to be “a hub for dealing in arms.”

Following the change of power in 2008 the Minivan Daily newspaper was disbanded together with all funding from politically-affiliated sources. The Minivan News website was passed to a succession of foreign editors who attempted to establish it as a credible and objective source of news of the Maldives, and it has since relied on income generated through banner advertising.

Minivan’s coverage of the government during the reporting period was more significantly negative (19 percent) than positive (four percent). Coverage of President Mohamed Nasheed was generally balanced at 9 percent negative and 10 percent positive.

Minivan’s coverage of key institutions was overwhelmingly neutral, including the President’s office (100 percent neutral), High Court (100 percent), Supreme Court (100 percent), Council (100 percent), Local Government Authority (100 percent), Anti-Corruption Commission (100 percent) and parliament (98 percent). The exceptions were the Judicial Services Commission, of which coverage was 19 percent negative and 0 percent positive, and the Civil Court (44 percent of coverage was negative).

Coverage of the DRP inclined towards negative (34 percent) over positive (6 percent). Coverage of Thasmeen’s faction during the reporting period was 76 percent negative, while coverage of Gayoom’s faction was 23 percent negative. Coverage of the PA was 62 percent negative.

Minivan’s coverage of the MDP was slightly more negative that it was positive (8 percent to 6 percent respectively).

Transparency noted that Minivan’s coverage of the Adhaalath Party was 100 percent positive.

Recommendations

Transparency Maldives’ Project Director, Aiman Rasheed, acknowledged that the results were impacted by the key stories and news agenda of the short reporting period, “but even though two weeks is the minimum reporting period possible, you can already see the patterns emerge.”

Transparency’s Director Ilham Mohamed said media’s coverage in the week of the local council elections was also analysed, but said the results would be shared individually with media outlets as one week was too short a reporting period for a statistically-sound analysis. Transparency was considering expanding the project to include a longer monitoring period, she said.

Key recommendations in the report for media outlets included ensuring that journalists employed are provided with professional training and apprenticeships, and curbing the influence of owners and financial interests.

“Editorial policies of all media outlets should respect the principles of fair and balanced coverage and provide all parties with equal opportunities to present their view,” Transparency stated. “This is especially so during election period where the election laws specifically call for fair coverage to all candidates.”

Several political parties had announced boycotts of various media outlets on the assumption that coverage was politically influenced, the report stated, calling for an end to such boycotts.

“Political parties should recognise and respect the independence of journlists and media to ensure equal access to interiews, press conferences, party functions and access to speakers at panel discussions.”

The report also called for groups such as the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) and South Asian Federation for Media Associations (SAFMA) “to play a stronger role in advocating for media freedoms.”

Download the full report (English)

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Baby steps at Durban yield negotiating draft

The first week of the 17th UN Climate Conference closed in Durban, South Africa today with a 73-page draft negotiating text, which was issued to conference members for further discussion.

An “amalgamation” of drafts, the document includes suggestions for relevant issues such as finance, technology, cooperation and capacity building. Included in the recommendations are steps to create a $100-billion-per-year Green Fund by 2020 to help developing countries tackle the causes and impacts of global warming.

The text does not address the conference’s entrenching concern: a legally binding agreement regulating carbon emissions by developed and developing countries. Instead, a separate group has been assigned to address the issue, and will report directly to the Conference of Parties.

According to the text, India’s Economic Times observes that “the South African presidency would like the final outcome of the meeting to be a ‘party-driven’ process.

With a stated ambition to serve as a bonding agent for individual group work done at the conference the draft text “provides an overview aimed at enabling delegates to see where there are gaps or lack of balance and to find ways to address these accordingly,” reads the introduction.

A final document will be submitted to the Conference of Parties and the general assembly for review in the coming days.

Another leading concern is the expiration of the Kyoto Protocol, a legally binding agreement to cut carbon emissions which was not signed by the world’s leading emitters, China and the United States (US). While the European Union has voiced support for the agreement, Canada suggested withdrawal at the conference’s start and other countries dug in their heels over signing a second term.

Over the weekend, however, China indicated it would consider a “legally binding” deal to reduce emissions. The decision followed a public rally on December 3.

US National Public Radio (NPR) reporter Richard Harris, reporting from Durban, said Kyoto alternatives do exist.

“For example, it might be possible to reach an agreement to set a global limit for emissions from energy-intensive industries such as steelmaking. Or, if the world agreed to put a price on carbon (not likely at the moment), that would encourage a shift away from carbon dioxide emissions without requiring a treaty that spells out national emissions limits. A gloomier possibility is the world will not act until and unless there’s a catastrophic event that’s clearly triggered by climate change.”

His conclusion echoes the Maldivian delegation’s message, articulated by Environment Minister Mohamed Aslam: “Our survival will be our top priority.”

Upon his departure for the conference, Aslam said the Maldives would lobby for a new international agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions and prevent a rise in sea level, and would not relent to any country.

“We can’t go on without finding a conclusion to this. The Maldives will lobby for and say whatever we have to say to any country it is that we will not be able to move forward without endorsing this agreement.”

Officials at the ministry had not received sufficient updates from the Durban delegation to comment. Minivan was unable to reach the delegation abroad at time of press.

Meanwhile, former UN climate chief Yvo de Boer told the Associated Press (AP) that although he believes world leaders want an agreement, a failed negotiation process for a climate agreement had been a factor in his decision to leave his post 18 months ago.

“I do not see the negotiating process being able to rise to that challenge, being capable of delivering on that,” he told AP. “I believe the sincerity on the part of world leaders is there, but it’s almost as though they do not have control of the process that’s suppose to take them there.”

Do Boer, who refers to annual 194-nation summit as “a bit of a mouse wheel”, termed the current talks and their predecessors “a log that’s drifted away.” However, he recognises a group fear of leadership.”There is understandably a reluctance to be the first one to jump,” he said.

Meanwhile, the public is urging a plunge. “Occupy Durban”, a movement inspired by the ongoing “Occupy Wallstreet” protest in New York City, has assembled South African and foreign citizens protesting the “conference of polluters” which many claim does not represent the people.

Responding to Canada’s souring relationship with the Kyoto Protocol, indigenous citizens of Canada’s northern territories arrived in Durban “to act as a witness and to bring back the message of what Canada is saying so that we all understand where the Canadian government is at,” one protestor told CBC News Canada.

“We know that as indigenous people we have a lot of knowledge that is relevant to ecosystem, and that knowledge needs to be used when working on climate change adaptation,” said Daniel T’selei, a member of the indigenous youth delegation.

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Maldives calls for increased foreign intervention in Syria

The Maldives, European Union (EU), United States (US) and Arab League have convened a UN Emergency Session on human rights in Syria. The session is taking place at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The Maldives was named one of the seven most important countries on the UN Human Rights Council earlier this year.

A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed the Maldives played a key role in convening the session, which addressed the killing of thousands of Muslim civilians by Syrian security forces since the its Arab Spring began earlier this year.

The Maldives has also expressed full support for measures taken by the Arab League against Syria, which include economic sanctions.

The BBC today reported that Syria’s government said the League’s proposal to allow observers into the country placed “impossible conditions” on Damascus and infringed on Syria’s sovereignty.

The session in Geneva included a report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, which revealed “widespread evidence of gross and systemic human rights violations in the country.

“The conclusion of the Commission of Inquiry is that these violations amount to crimes against humanity, and thus necessitate referral to the UN Security Council and the International Criminal Court,” read the statement.

Addressing the session, Maldives’ Ambassador Iruthisham Adam accused President Bashar al-Assad’s government for missing “numerous opportunities to respond to the protests with dialogue and reform”, instead choosing repression, the statement claimed.

Adam further noted that Syrian authorities had rejected “numerous international efforts to mediate” by various bodies including the UN and the Arab League.

Adam concluded that the crimes committed constituted crimes against humanity, and therefore the international community would be expected to take further measures to protect the civilian population.

According to a UN estimate, 4,000 civilians have been killed since March. November was the deadliest month with nearly 950 casualties. Protestors acted peacefully until recently, when reports indicate that activists and civilians took arms against Syrian officials.

The Maldives has objected to Syria’s state-sponsored violence for several months. In August, Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem firmly declared, “the time for promises is over – it is now time for action.”

More recently, 11 Syrian nationals were detained attempting to get into Germany and Switzerland via Maldives with forged Turkish passports. The government has pledged not to deport them to Syria, and is awaiting the family’s resolution.

While the Maldives supports international pressure during Syria’s unrest, it also backs Sri Lanka’s preference for privacy post facto. Amidst rising demand for an international investigation into Sri Lanka’s human rights violations at the end of its civil war, President Mohamed Nasheed voiced support for an internal investigation.

“We must understand that a number of very, very bad things happened but we must be able to move forward,” Nasheed said previously, distinguishing between investigating past abuses and supporting ongoing violations.

Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed previously spoke to Minivan News on the subject.

“You can’t have reconciliation and long-lasting peace unless you respect human rights and set up mechanisms to do so,” he said. “But we should steer clear of politicisation, or the divisions that have kept the flame of terrorism alive in Sri Lanka for so long. We are saying let Sri Lanka find a way forward and achieve reconciliation – we are not saying we don’t care about the past.”

Sri Lanka’s LLRC report was presented to the President on November 15, and to Parliament on November 20. Its findings have not yet been made public.

Meanwhile, the UN Emergency Session in Geneva adopted a new resolution to increase international pressure on Syria by citing crimes against humanity. It will refer the matter to relevant UN bodies in New York and will establish a UN Special Rapporteur on Syria.

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Burst tire forces emergency landing at airport

An Emirates flight made an emergency landing at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) on Friday, December 2 and sustained damages to two tyres. No passengers and crew were injured.

The Emirates flight EK635 was en route from Colombo to Dubai when it landed in Male’ at 10:35 pm on Friday. It had suffered the deflation of two tyres in its left main landing apparatus.

A spokesperson for INIA said pilots are trained for such situations, and the plane was brought to a safe stop on the INIA runway.

An Emirates spokesperson stated that, “All passengers disembarked safely from the Boeing 777-300 aircraft and are currently being looked after by ground staff. Transit and onward passengers will be accommodated in hotels if necessary.”

The airport was closed until 4:20am on Saturday, December 3 while the issue resolved. Only small aircraft with prior approval were allowed to depart during that time.

“The aircraft is currently being assessed by engineers and will be towed from the runway as soon as possible. Emirates apologise for any inconvenience caused. The safety of our passengers and crew is always of paramount importance,” read the statement from Emirates.

The Dubai-based airline launched daily flights between Colombo and Male’ in August this year, raising service to 19 flights per week. It has been flying to the Maldives since 1987.

Along with Sri Lankan airlines, it is one of the most active international carriers in the country.

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Comment: Speak now, or forever hold your tongues

The Maldivian government’s reaction to the fallout from the UN Human Rights Commissioner’s address to the Majlis is deeply disappointing. It largely confirms what many increasingly allege: the change President Nasheed and MDP promised was limited to regime change and does not include a genuine commitment to democratic reform.

Navi Pillay called on Maldivians to consider putting a moratorium on the practice of flogging. She did not say Maldivians who believe in Islam should abandon their faith. She pointed out that the Maldivian State is one of the few among followers of Islam that still engages in the practice of flogging, imposed disproportionately on women.

Her fundamental proposition was: why not be as compassionate as your faith allows instead of being as cruel as it gives you room to be? Her suggestion was that we discuss and debate among ourselves to find this path to compassion. The official government response to this was, shockingly, ‘You can’t argue with God.’

The Islamic Ministry’s condemnation of Pillay’s speech, and its criticism of MPs for ‘allowing’ Pillay to address the parliament are hardly unexpected. At the helm of the Ministry is Dr Abdul Majid Bari who, while having no qualms about pocketing money earned from his stake in the alcohol-guzzling pork-eating infidel tourism industry, presents himself as an ultra-pious conservative when it comes to affairs of the Maldivian public.

This deep-rooted hypocrisy is what allows a man who holds a doctorate in the interpretation of the Qur’an to mislead the Maldivian public into thinking that multiple interpretations of Shari’a and hadith are unequivocally un-Islamic and that debate is beyond the Islamic pale.

The view of Dr Bari and other ‘Islamic scholars’ such as Dr Afrashim Ali (the ex-singer who treats the subject of his doctoral exegesis as a state secret) is neither new nor uncommon.

Had they taken the time to put it to the public in a coherent manner it would read: in view of the fact that there are specific offences and sanctions prescribed in the primary sources of Islamic jurisprudence, the Qur’an and Sunna, there is no justification for suspending regulation specifically outlined in these divine sources.

This is the view of most conservative proponents of the Shari’a, and is obviously the one held by Dr Bari and others leading the charge of the flogging brigade. It is, however, by no means the only view on the subject within Islamic thought and jurisprudence.

Rather, there are a great variety of ‘Muslim voices’ offering different views—conservative, liberal and pragmatic—about whether and how the idea of human rights and Islamic normative requirements fit together.

Diverse ‘Muslim voices’ on human rights

Even before the modern era, Islamic law was characterised by a broad jurisprudential diversity based on geographic, ethnic and racial as well as philosophical grounds.

This is evident from the fact that it was 400 years after the death of Prophet Mohammed that ijthihad—reasoned interpretation of the sources of Islamic law—was brought to an end with the increased petrification of the Shari’a by medieval jurists.

Many liberal Muslim reformers thus demand the recovery of ijthihad in order to do justice both to modern needs and to the original spirit of the Shari’a. They emphasise the Shari’a’s original meaning as a ‘path’ or a guide, rather than a detailed legal code.

These liberal Muslim voices do not attempt to deny the binding character of Shari’a. What they ask for is active reasoning, ijthihad, which was originally regarded as an independent source of Islamic law.

Their view, as expressed by Lebanese philosopher Subhi Mahmasani is, ‘The door of ijthihad should be thrown wide open for anyone juristically qualified. The error, all the error, lies in blind imitation and restraint of thought.’

Critical approaches of liberal Muslims such as Mahmasani, Egyptian judge Muhammad Said al-Ashmawy and Abdullahi Ahmed An-Nai’m have often highlighted the humane character of the Qur’anic revelation, which is the most important source of the Shari’a.

Tunisian scholar Mohamed Talbi has argued, for example, that ‘Were it possible for us to ensure a life of justice and equality in a different way [to corporal punishment], this would certainly be a way pointing in the same direction as the Qur’an does.’

Although Shari’a had continued to be the predominant legal system in matters pertaining to family law, from the 19th century onwards, Islamic criminal justice had gradually retreated from public law.

The introduction of Islamic criminal law through legislation is thus a relatively recent phenomenon that emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Libya enacted Islamic criminal laws in 1972-1974, Pakistan did so in 1979, Iran in 1982 and Sudan in 1983 and 1991.

And, despite the enactment of such laws, there has been a strong tendency within most Islamic societies to restrict the applicability of hadd punishments as much as possible.

In Pakistan, for instance, the Federal Shari’a Court resisted the reintroduction of stoning in the early 1980s by repeatedly refusing to apply this form of punishment. Prime Minister Zia ul-Haq replaced some of the judges with his own allies to finally have stoning judicially confirmed as being in accordance with Shar’ia.

What these arguments, incidents and discussions suggest is that reconciliatory mediation between tradition and modernity seems conceivable not only among those who are consciously liberal but also among conservative Muslims, as has been argued by many academics.

In light of the rich Islamic jurisprudence referred to above, it is hard to see what the Islamic Ministry’s statement ‘No Muslim has the right to advocate against flogging for fornication’ is intended to do. Except, of course, to shut the Maldivian public off from any other teachings and characteristics of Islam other than those held by Dr Bari and the Islamists who rule Maldivian thought today.

Yellow: the colour of cowardice?

The deafening silence of any opponents of Dr Bari and other Islamists’ extremist views is inexplicable.

Does this mean that among the Muslim scholars that this country now has in such multitudes, there is not one person who disagrees with the extremists’ position? Does it mean, as the recent Religious Unity Regulations suggest, that Maldives will only consider as legitimate Muslim scholars those who purport a particular fundamentalist view of Islam?

Is there not one member of the Maldivian judiciary, the legal community at large, the legislature, or civil society capable of espousing a different position? Does the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives agree that the UN Human Rights Commissioner is wrong? If not, why not say so? Where are you all hiding? What are you afraid of?

Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem’s statement that there is ‘nothing to debate’ is ‘singularly counter-productive’. It makes President Nasheed’s same-day appeal for gender equality ring hollow, like many of his other statements that emphasise democracy and human dignity.

We may never know details of the Faustian pact President Nasheed and MDP have made with Dr Bari and other proponents of extreme Islamism. What we do know is that it is costing the Maldivian people their democratic, and religious, right to intellectual debate and growth.

No matter how far above rising sea levels it is capable of lifting us, or how much it can lift our colossal debt burden, it is not worth keeping in power a government that lacks the courage to raise Maldivians above the quagmire of ignorance the Islamists are sinking us into at such a rapid pace.

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]

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Rome Statute activated in Maldives

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) became active in the Maldives today, following a required 60-day period after depositing the Instrument of Ratification.

The Maldives recently became the 118th state member of the International Criminal Court following a favorable vote in Parliament. It is the third South Asian country to join the ICC after Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

By adopting the Rome Statute, experts say, the Maldives has benefitted its own legal system by expanding training opportunities. It has also taken a step towards greater transparency on the international level.

Based in the Hague in the Netherlands, the ICC is an independent, permanent tribunal established in 2002 to prosecute individuals accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. After 2017, it will exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression.

The Maldives is expected to participate in the 10th Assembly of State for the Rome Statute, scheduled in New York between 12-21 December.

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“Systemic failure to address corruption”: Transparency Maldives

The Maldives has risen slightly to rank 134 in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

The country scored 2.5 on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (very clean), placing it alongside Lebanon, Pakistan and Sierra Leone.

The score however is a mild improvement on 2010, when the Maldives was ranked 143th and below Zimbabwe. The Maldives still rated as having higher perceived corruption than many regional neighbours, including Sri Lanka (86), Bangladesh (120) and India (95).

Project Director of Transparency Maldives, Aiman Rasheed, warned that the ranking could not be compared year-to-year, especially in the Maldives where there were only a three sources used to determine the index (India has six).

“Corruption in the Maldives is grand corruption, unlike neighbouring countries where much of it is petty corruption,” Rasheed said. “In the Maldives there is corruption across the judiciary, parliament and members of the executive, all of it interlinked, and a systemic failure of the systems in place to address this. That why we score so low.”

Faced with such endemic and high-level corruption, it was “up to the people of the Maldives to demand better governance”, he said.

Addressing corruption would have political ramifications for the 2013 presidential election, Rasheed agreed, especially for young voters – 40 percent of the population is aged 15-24, resulting in thousands of new youth voters every year.

“Young people are hugely disillusioned by corruption in the Maldives. They have a vision of the type of country they would like to live in,” he said.

New Zealand, Denmark and Finland ranked as having the least perceived corruption, while North Korea, Somalia, Afghanistan and Burma ranked last.

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SE Asia should focus on keeping kids HIV-free: WHO

HIV/AIDS is shifting profile from a “life-threatening emergency to a manageable chronic disease,” finds an annual report on the Global Response to HIV/AIDS.

The report was released in honor of World Aids Day on December 1, 2011 by World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in collaboration with international partners.

The report analyses the health sector’s prevention, treatment and care to those infected in low- and middle- income countries using data through 2010. Among the recommendations for South East Asia was to eliminate childhood infection by 2015.

“We must learn from our experiences, and work to ensure that no child born gets infected with HIV,” Dr Samlee Plianbangchang, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, said in a press statement.

As of 2010, 16 million people out of South East Asia’s population of 593 million had been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. But statistics suggest a synchronized solution. Over the preceding decade infection rates in South-East Asia declined by a sharp 34 percent while the number of people receiving treatment increased ten-fold.

“We are coming out of a transformative decade for the HIV/AIDS epidemic. With innovative treatment regimens, improved health services as well as political commitment, HIV-positive people who are on treatment are living longer and better lives,” Plianbangchang said.

As WHO pushes South-East Asia to eliminate the disease it makes children a priority. Towards that end, an initiative to eliminate new paediatric HIV infections and congential syphilis by that date was launched this year.

Meanwhile, less than one in five pregnant women in the region do not have access to testing facilities, and two out of three infected pregnant women do not receive anti-viral prophylaxis.

Historically the Maldives has been minimally affected by HIV/AIDS, however social trends are putting the population at risk.

Between 1991 and 2006 only 13 HIV cases were reported among Maldivians, compared to 168 among expatriate workers. Of the Maldivian cases 10 were sailors, two were spouses, and one was a resort worker who had traveled abroad; 11 cases were male, and all patients cited heterosexual transmission as the cause.

Yet the country’s geographical constraints have made it highly dependent on foreign imports. This has been shown to include human trafficking for purposes including sexual entertainment. In 2010, an HIV-positive prostitute was arrested locally.

Late last month, human trafficking was reported a growing industry. In 2008, a World Bank report listed mobility, sexual practice, commercial sex work and drug use as leading risk factors. Although HIV is not prevalent within the Maldives, the report claims travel, work and education abroad open opportunities for transmission.

The Maldives also has the world’s highest divorce rate, indicating a high rate of shared partners within the country. Without any formal sexual education in schools and a general stigma around purchasing a condom, the basic defenses against HIV transmission are low.

The report also cites drug use as a risk factor for two reasons. “Drug users may resort to selling sex to earn money, and injecting drug users (IDUs) may share needles/syringes.”

In Awareness, the Maldives scored in the middle-range. While 99 percent of Maldivians polled had heard of HIV/AIDS and 91 percent knew at least one mode of HIV transmission, only 50 percent said condoms can protect against HIV and 34 percent did not know that a healthy looking person can carry the virus.

Currently, the government and independent organisations provide support and awareness within the Maldives. The National AIDS Council, established in 1987, oversees the National AIDS Program (NAP) which coordinates and monitors a multi-sectoral response to the issue.

United Nations’ Development Program (UNDP) is also running a project, active in the Maldives until 2012, with several local NGOs. It aims to support preventative efforts and improve treatment.

Among the conclusions drawn in WHO’s 2011 report on Asia are:

  • Cambodia was the only country to achieve universal ART access
  • 39 percent infected children had access to paediatric HIV treatment
  • 49 percent of people living with HIV are in India
  • Infections among children declined by 23 percent in Asia, but increased by 31 percent in East Asia
  • Asia’s death toll from AIDS-related causes in 2010 was the largest outside sub-Saharan Africa; approximately 310,000 people died
  • Half of the 4.5 million people in Asia who inject drugs live in China
  • Homosexual transmission is highest among men in Indonesia, India and Myanmar

Officials at the Ministry of Health and Family and WHO Maldives were unavailable for comment at time of press.

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GMR case ruling due next week

The Civil Court has addressed the case filed by Opposition Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) Vice President Imad Solih against GMR and will deliver the results next week.

Solih claimed that the Airport Development Charge (ADC, US$25) and Insurance Charge (US$2) to be collected from international passengers at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) is unconstitutional.

At yesterday’s hearing, Solih said that since the Insurance Charge is considered a tax the ADC should be treated as such, reports Haveeru.

The government has claimed that the ADC is not a tax.

State attorney Aishath Shyza said the ADC did not qualify as a tax because it was not a compulsory contribution by the people to the government.

ADC is to be collected by GMR and put towards the current airport development project.

GMR plans to begin collecting the charges from passengers on all international flights departing after midnight on 1 January 2012.

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