Tag: MNDF

Entrenching the culture of violence among children in paradise: CRIN

February 7 and 8, 2012, was the beginning of a very violent period in the recent history of the Maldives inflicted by its own people, the police and the army, on unarmed civilians, writes former Deputy Health Minister Mariya Ali for Child Rights International Network.

The first democratically elected president was deposed in a coup d’état on February 7. Since then non-violent protests have continued mainly in the streets of the capital city, Male. So far, 412 people have been detained as political prisoners.

Testimonies of male and female detainees confirm that varying degrees of physical, mental and sexual abuse were perpetrated by the police. Violence from the police has been witnessed by children either through their families being directly affected by it or via images on television. Children who witness violence are traumatised with varying degrees of psychological damage that they carry throughout their lives.

This year, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) celebrated Maldivian Children’s Day in their full army clothing, with a designated area created to look like a war zone, and with officers helping children to hold real firearms correctly in their hands and showing them how to use them. Although the MNDF declared that the firearms were not loaded, it failed to recognise the timing and the symbolic message behind the event.

Against the backdrop of continuing violence, growing religious extremism in the island paradise, combined with the message from the current President Mohamed Waheed – “Be courageous. Today you are all mujaheddin [those who fight jihad] who love the nation” – children are internalising the use of violence as a norm.

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Political turmoil and lack of cash challenging supply of drinking water to islands

Islands are hoping for a reprieve to water shortages as the dry season ends, while political turmoil stalls drinking water supply projects.

The Maldives’ Disaster Management Centre has said long-term strategies are being developed to address ongoing drinking water shortages affecting 117 inhabited islands this year alone. The focus comes as some local authorities raise concerns over the level of financial support set aside to assist with dwindling water supplies.

Disaster Management Centre Project Officer Hisan Hassan told Minivan News that in just a “short space of time”, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) had moved to refill public water tanks on 86 of the 117 islands that have raised concerns over water availability.

Local authorities in Addu Atoll have said that as the country’s “dry season” – resulting from the north-east monsoon – draws to an end for this year, heavier rainfall is expected to partly alleviate short-term pressures on island water supplies. However, the same authorities stressed that finance remains a key challenge to ensure water demand can be met in the future through projects like desalination plants and collection tanks.

Looking beyond the drinking water shortages that have arisen during the first four months of 2012, Hisan Hassan claimed a cabinet paper was now being prepared to outline longer-term measures for managing water supplies across the country. He said that the paper focuses on dividing the country into seven administrative regions that would take a more localised approach to shore up water supplies. An emergency operation had already been established to collect information from local islands on the current scale of water supply issues as part of this new focus, according to Hassan.

With a further 13 islands said to be facing uncertainty over their remaining reserves of drinkable water, the Disaster Management Centre said budgetary issues were a strong concern in dealing with possible demand surplus.

Hassan said that with the the country’s south-west monsoon wet season commencing this month, heavier rainfall was expected to be seen in the next few days on a number of islands dealing with low water supplies.

“Met Office predictions have suggested we will see heavy rain in the country’s north and south atolls,” he said. “We do not have confirmed information on this, so we will checking these weather patterns to see if the rain will replenish supplies.”

Minivan News reported last month that in the country’s southerly Addu Atoll, an estimated 90 percent of the local population were reliant on rainfall to bolster their drinking water supplies. Numerous islands in the atoll are said to experience severe supply issues for drinking water annually as a result.

Tsunami impact

Hisan Hassan claimed that the issue of island water supplies had been an ongoing problem for the Maldives since 2004, when a large number of islands were affected by the December 26 tsunami that devastated the wider South Asia region.

“What has happened was that after the tsunami in 2004, 80 percent of islands including the country’s resort properties were flooded with salt water,” he said. “This salt water contaminated ground water, which is the main source of drinking water for many islands.”

From a meteorological perspective, Met Office Deputy Director General Ali Shareef said that the levels of rainfall during the first four months of the current year had been below the national average for the period.

Though unwilling to speculate whether the patterns were part of a trend, Shareef claimed that similar below average rainfall had been recorded over the same period of time in both 2011 and 2010. He added that temperature – another issue likely to impact water consumption – was found to have been consistent in recent years.

The Met Office said the issue of rainfall was just one of a number of factors that had compounded water supply issues of late.

With a growing national population, Shareef said he believed that another concern was over the capacity of the nation’s water collection tanks, which he contended were increasingly struggling to meet demand.

“The water shortages are not completely based on the amount of rain. This year’s [average] rainfall is just about higher than in 2011,” he said. “We may also need to look at how consumers in the country are using their water supplies.”

Addu Atoll is one area that has experienced ongoing problems with maintaining drinking water levels. A number of islands in the atoll such as Feydhoo and Hithadhoo have requested assistance in boosting their supplies.

Addu City Mayor Abdulla Sodig said that in addressing these concerns, some local resort properties, as well as the MNDF’s southern command had been “very supportive” during the last few years in helping to maintain water supplies to the region.

“The MNDF have been very supportive since day one. We have also been getting support from certain resorts that have actually been supplying free water,” he said.

According to Sodig, with the 2012 dry season now having officially passed, an anticipated increase in rainfall was expected to alleviate present concerns about water levels.

“We’re getting enough rain now and I think the problems [with water supplies] will be solved for the moment,” he added.

Looking ahead to the next year, Sodig claimed financial support was proving to be the key challenge in ensuring sufficient supplies of drinking water to the public.

“The regional port here for example has a desalination plant that can distribute water. The MNDF also has one as well, though this is smaller in capacity,” he said. “There are enough desalination plants here to produce water, so the challenge remains a financial one. At present we are buying water from desalination plants at Rf90 per tonne (US$6).”

Sodig alleged that despite providing financial support back in 2009 and 2010 to aid water supply efforts , the Disaster Management Centre had not been providing as much economic assistance of late.

He added that last year, the government had initiated a multi-million dollar water management and sanitation project in collaboration with a foreign infrastructure specialist.

According to Sodig, the potential benefits of the project are expected to be seen in the next few months through the provision of water supplies directly to homes on the island of Hithadoo.

He raised concerns about the long-term viability of the part government-funded project, due in part to political uncertainty following the controversial transfer of power on February 7.

“Right now the project is trying to get a loan from a UK-based company,” he claimed. “However, this has been withheld due to the political situation here.  The loan will not be handed over until elections are held.”

Asked about the challenges facing the government in addressing the country’s water supply shortages, President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad requested Minivan News contact the local water board.

“If you were in another country, you wouldn’t contact the White House or Buckingham Palace about water shortages,” he said.

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MNDF and Indian Navy conduct joint operations in EEZ

The Maldivian National Defense Force (MNDF) has today begun joint naval operations with the Indian navy, patrolling the Maldives’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), reports Haveeru.

The paper reports that the Indian Navy ship and the Coast Guard’s Huravee Launch and Shaheed Ali ships will participate in the operation monitoring the waters for illegal activity.

The operations come as President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan visits India on a visit intended to strengthen bilateral ties with the Maldives’ neighbour.

Defense Minister Mohamed Nazim visited Indian in April, meeting with officials to enhance military cooperation. The MNDF also conducted joint operations, labelled ‘DOSTI – XI’ with the Sri Lankan and Indian navies last month.

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MNDF marks Children’s Day

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) conducted equipment demonstrations and allowed children to handle firearms during an event on Saturday to mark Children’s Day.

MNDF Spokesperson Major Abdul Raheem said the National Library requested the MNDF set up a stall as part of the day’s events, “so we demonstrated our equipment, and people took photos with it.”

Some of those photos – of toddlers handling heavy machine guns and staring down the barrels of pistols – were met with concern by Maldivians on social media channels, who described the images as “just not right”, and “sick and wrong”. One Maldivian twitter user questioned whether the event was part of the new government’s civic education syllabus.

Photo: Jaawid Naseem

In response to concerns, Major Abdul Raheem emphasised that the event was “very safe”.

“When we took the weapons outside we did not take any ammunition,” he explained. “The weapons were technically disabled.”

There was no possibility of even an unloaded weapon falling into the hands of a member of the public, he said.

Mariya Ali, former Deputy Minister of Health and Family with a 20 year background in child welfare in the Maldives, questioned the objective of the exercise.

Photo: Jaawid Naseem

“These children have witnessed violence from the [police and army], and now they are being exposed to the tools of violence. If it is not explained correctly, it can have a longstanding effect on them,” she said. “It is not appropriate for children under the age of eight to be exposed to this.”

Mariya said research into how children perceived authority figures such as the police showed that “Children see them as protectors – in their minds they separate the act of protecting – violence – from the protective side.”

“It would have been better to focus on the protective side, rather than the guns – things like fire safety, and cleaning up after accidents,” she suggested. “Children look up to them, they are important role models.”

UNICEF Resident Representative to the Maldives Zeba Tanvir Bukhari said the organisation was “quite taken aback” and said she hoped the MNDF would consult it when organising future events.

“It’s really very worrying. Children are very fragile at that age – the focus needs to be on care, affection, education and health.  There is a huge risk of influencing children,” she said.

Images courtesy Jaawid Naseem/Jade Photography. Republished with permission.

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Female police officer attacked near MDP protest area

A female police officer was attacked on Friday night while she was waiting near a food cart on Boduthakurufaanu Magu with friends, police have said.

In a statement, police said the officer was attacked by people gathered near ‘Usgandu’, an area given by Male City Council to the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to conduct political activities, following the dismantling of their protest site at the tsunami monument by authorities.

Police said the incident occurred at about 9:20pm on Friday night while the officer was not in police uniform.

According to the police, the woman suffered injuries to her back and chest and was admitted to ADK hospital for treatment.

Police are trying to determine the persons responsible for this attack, police said.

Speaking at a meeting held with police officers and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officers last Saturday night at Kulhudhufushi in Haa Dhaalu Atoll, President Dr Waheed Hassan Manik said the police and army had been having hard time over past three months, and that the government understood that it needed to increase the security of police and army officers, their property and families.

Newspaper ‘Haveeru’ reported Waheed as telling the police and army officers that he appreciated the work of security forces, and condemned accusations made by people against police and army officers as an attempt to cause public disturbance.

In the meeting, Dr Waheed also assured the police and army that he and his cabinet ministers would not give any unlawful orders to the security forces, reported Haveeru.

In March, two police officers, one male and a female, were attacked by a group of people while they were patrolling on the roads near Nalahiya Hotel in Maafannu Ward.

They were admitted to hospital for treatment, according to police.

Three men were also alleged to have entered a policeman’s house with knives.

In the same month a group of two men attacked a police officer and his two brothers on the island of Gemanafushi in Gaafu Alifu Atoll.

Police at the time stated that two men assaulted the police officer and fled, and an hour later stabbed the officer’s younger brother in the head and another of his brothers in the stomach.

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Defence Minister warns of piracy threat in Indian Ocean

Minister of Defence Mohamed Nazim has spoken to Indian media about the growing threat Somali Piracy poses to the Indian Ocean region.

Speaking to the India-based Daily News and Analysis publication, Nazim warned that “these threats have now come to our close proximity… We live by selling dreams of tranquility and even a small incident in our territory could have devastating implications for the region.”

The comments were made the same week that the the first ever tri-lateral naval exercises between Sri Lanka, India, and the Maldives were held. Nazim told the paper that he believed this united approach was the best way to combat the problem.

The Maldives experienced the first confirmed case of piracy within its waters last month when a Bolivian-flagged vessel headed for Iran was hijacked by Somali pirates before being released a few days later.

Nazim also praised the Indian Military for its assistance in equipping and training the Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF). The Defence Minister visited India earlier this month to discuss potential opportunities for additional training of Maldivian troops in India.

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Maldives outlines maritime threats, solutions: DefenceWeb

The Maldives is facing a growing number of maritime threats, including piracy, illegal fishing, human-trafficking, drug-smuggling and gun-running. However, the archipelago is developing its ability to protect against any threat that may reach its shores, DefenceWeb reports.

To this end it has established joint maritime patrols with India and is setting up a coastal radar system and information-sharing network.

In a paper released during the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) in Cape Town last week, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) detailed the threats, challenges and responses to the issue of maritime security.  Due to its location in the Indian Ocean, the 1 190-island nation functions as a natural barrier between maritime traffic transiting through strategic gateways into the Indian Ocean such as the Malacca Straits, Strait of Hormuz and Bab-el Mandeb.

As a result, the Maldives faces a number of transnational criminal and piracy threats, including human-trafficking, drug-smuggling and gun-running.

Although drug-smuggling routes have been known to cross the Maldives for many years, extensive crimes mentioned above are not exclusively known to target the nation. However, the Maldives has experienced an influx of skiffs floating into its waters since December 2009. Today there are 40 suspected Somali nationals in the Maldives waiting to be extradited back, according to the IONS document.

The Maldives is also feeling the shift in piracy operations within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). In May and November of 2010 two merchant ships encountered pirates within the Maldivian EEZ – one was attacked and the other chased by pirates.

Recently, on March 26, 2012, a Bolivian flagged bulk-carrier, the MV Eglantine was hijacked inside the EEZ. To date no Maldivian vessels has been approached suspiciously nor been affected by piracy directly.
Apart from security threats, the Maldives also faces pollution and illegal fishing problems, which is of concern as it dependent on its natural beauty and resources to generate economic growth.

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President Waheed addresses MNDF training graduates

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has addressed graduates of the Maldives National Defense Force’s (MNDF) 56th basic training course, calling for their continued support in protecting the sovereignty and independence of the nation.

Speaking to graduates of the course, which was conducted by the Defence Institute for Training, the president called on MNDF officers to continue demonstrating a high sense of integrity and moral character personally and professionally.

In addressing the professional aspects of the MNDF’s work, Dr Waheed said that it was vital the country’s defence forces remained steadfast in their core values of Islamic principles, selfless service and maintaining the rule of law.

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Defence Minister visits India seeking military cooperation

Minister of Defence Mohamed Nazim has asked India for assistance in developing the capacity and human resources of the MNDF.

During an official trip Nazim visited the Indian military’s DEFEXPO exhibition-2012 in New Delhi, and also met military officials from Malaysia and Nepal.

Nazim met with his Indian counterpart A K Anthony, speaking about potential opportunities for Maldives’ military personnel to gain experience and training in India.

The Defence Minister was accompanied by Commandant of the Coast Guard and Director General of Intelligence Brigadier General Ahmed Shahid, and Principal Director International Defence Corporation Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim Hilmee.

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