Tag: Mohamed Nasheed

Nasheed to give keynote speech at Islamic conference

Acting President of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Mohamed Nasheed will give the keynote speech to an Islamic convention in Malaysia next month.

The former president will appear at the 3rd International Muslim Unity Convention – to be held on 11-12 June in Putrajaya – alongside former Prime Minister Najib Razak, and former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed.

Malik Obama, the brother of US President Barack Obama and chairman of the Barack H. Obama Foundation, will also take part in the event.

The theme of the convention is ‘Yes to Moderation, No to extremism’, with Nasheed giving a 30 minute lecture on the subject of ‘democracy, justice and peace’.

“As in previous years, the world’s most renowned Muslim politicians, diplomats, scholars and leaders will gather to discuss and present their ideas how the Muslim world can unity to defeat extremism and present moderation as the true authentic voice of Muslims,” explains Nasheed’s personal website.

Nasheed, the Maldives first democratically elected president, was forced to resign from office following a concerted campaign by a coalition of civil and political groups who claimed to be protecting the nation from the MDP’s anti-Islamic policies.

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Former President Nasheed asks High Court to expedite case concerning Hulhumale’ magistrate court bench

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has asked the High Court to expedite the case filed by his legal team challenging the legitimacy of Hulhumale’ magistrate court’s bench.

Speaking to Minivan News today, former Human Resource Minister Hassan Latheef – a member of Nasheed’s legal team – said that the case has remained stalled at the High Court for over a year now.

“We filed the case at the High Court after we noticed that there were many issues regarding how the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has composed the bench,” Latheef explained.

“For one thing, the JSC does not have to bring selected judges from throughout the country and compose a bench to conduct the trial of a specific individual, that is not the normal procedure.”

The original case filed at the Hulhumale’ court – concerning the military’s controversial detention of Criminal Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed in January 2012 – needed to be concluded soon because former President Nasheed did not wish to have pending criminal charges, Latheef said.

“But the case at the Hulhumale’ Court can only be continued when the High Court concludes this case we have filed at the High Court,” he noted.

“’When we filed the case at the High Court, on April 1, 2013 the court issued an injunction ordering Hulhumale’ court to halt the trial against Nasheed until the court concluded the case we have filed.”

The case filed by Nasheed’s legal team challenging the legality of the magistrate court bench was stalled after the JSC suspended the former High Court Chief Judge – who was presiding over the case – pending an investigation over a disciplinary matter.

During the hearings held at the High Court, the JSC contended that the High Court did not have jurisdiction to rule on the case as the panel of judges presiding over Nasheed’s trial was appointed based on counsel from the Supreme Court

Nasheed said at the time that he was  “prepared” to justify the reasons for the arrest of Judge Abdulla, and said he was ready to appear in court to defend the decision.

Nasheed also dismissed accusations of the High Court, the Supreme Court and the prosecutor general that he had ordered the military to arrest Judge Abdulla unlawfully.

“I did nothing unlawful during my tenure,” he insisted.

Nasheed also urged the public to attend the trial and witness proceedings, alleging that the case was politically motivated.

Judge Abdulla’s arrest sparked three weeks of anti-government protests in January, leading the Nasheed administration to appeal for international assistance from the Commonwealth and UN to reform the judiciary.

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Nasheed criticises indirect taxation following amendments to import duties

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has criticised the recent amendments to customs duties, arguing that a strong economy cannot be built upon regressive taxes.

“We have noticed that indirect taxes such as import duty have a very bad impact on the economy,” the acting president of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) told local newspaper Haveeru.

“The tax that is being derived from the poorest man’s toothpaste is equal with the tax levied on the richest man’s toothpaste. We do not believe that this is a smart way of generating state income,” he said.

Nasheed’s comments followed the approval of amendments to the Import-Export Act which increased import duties on a range of goods as part of the current administration’s revenue raising measures.

He told local media yesterday that history had shown progressive taxation, with greater contribution from higher earners, was the best technique to raise state revenue.

During this week’s final debate on the government-sponsored amendments, MPs of the opposition MDP severely criticised the indirect tax hikes, contending that the burden of increased prices of goods would be borne by ordinary citizens.

Once the amendments (Dhivehi) are ratified by the president, a 15 percent tariff will be reintroduced for construction material, articles of apparel and clothing accessories, silk, wool, woven fabrics, cotton, man-made filaments, wadding, special yarns, twine, cordage, ropes, cables, carpets and other textile floor coverings, lace, tapestries, trimmings and embroidery.

Tariffs are also set to be increased from the current zero percent to five percent for sugar confectioneries and diesel motor oil and raised from 10 to 15 percent for organic chemicals and compounds of precious metals, rare-earth metals, radioactive elements or isotopes.

Nasheed suggested that progressive taxation such as the Business Profit Tax (BPT) – introduced during his presidency alongside Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Tourist-GST – would produce a more sustainable economy.

These three taxes were shown this week to have contributed to nearly three-quarters of the state’s revenue in the first quarter of the year, amounting to over MVR2 billion. The introduction of these taxes has seen state revenue quadruple since 2010.

The economic policies pursued during the MDP administration also included sweeping changes to the Import-Export Act, which included the removal of duty on a wide range of items.

The Maldives Customs Service meanwhile revealed last week that its revenue in March increased by 12 percent – to MVR 139.7 million – compared to the same period in 2013 on the back of a 30 percent increase in imports.

Exports, however, dropped by 65 percent last month compared to the same period last year, and imports increased by 11 percent compared to the first quarter of 2013.

The Maldives Monetary Authorities’ latest balance of payments forecasts estimated the current account deficit to have widened to US$562.5 million – representing 22% of GDP in 2014.

Other revenue raising measures to be implemented by the government include raising T-GST to 12 percent this coming November as well as the introduction of GST to telecommunications services from May 1.

Plans to increase Airport Service Charge from US$18 to US$25 appeared to be moving closer to realisation this week, with local media reporting that the measure had been approved my a Majlis committee.

In December, parliament passed a record MVR17.5 billion (US$1.16 billion) budget for 2014, prompting President Abdulla Yameen to call on the legislature to approve the revenue raising measures, which the government contends are necessary to finance development projects.

Recognising that the Maldives is in a “deep economic pit”, President Yameen vowed to slash state expenditure in order to improve government finances following his election victory last November.

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Majlis election: Nasheed calls for MDP restructuring after election defeat

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has called for new leadership within the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) following defeat in what he described as an “unfair” but accepted parliamentary election.

“I request new people to come and run the party,” Nasheed told the media today.

The party’s figurehead said he will continue to serve the party in the future and hopes that members of the party would make clear his role.

“I want new people to come forward to run the party. But I will not go away from the party, I will always remain in doing party work,” he added.

Nasheed, a co-founder of MDP and it’s first chairperson, was elected as the President of Maldives in the first democratic election in 2008.

The position of both president and vice president of the party remain vacant after party president Dr Ibrahim Didi and VP Alhan Fahmy were removed in a no-confidence vote in April 2012. Nasheed said today that a new party president should be elected soon.

“It is important for the party to restructure with these new results and with new people and go forward fast,“ he said.

Commenting on the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives’ (PPM) comments about reforming the MDP, Nasheed said that the work done by all parties in the Maldives needed reform.

“If PPM says that, it should be an inspiration for us. I believe when parties tell each other to strengthen their functioning, it must be accepted,” Nasheed said.

The function of holding the government accountable would be difficult without a majority, he noted, but it would still be carried out by the MDP in other forms such as questioning state institutions and bringing issues to the attention of the public.

“We did hope for a majority. I was hoping for around 45 seats. Not winning the election was a great loss for us. But I don’t think the result is such a loss that we should be so worried that we stop our work and become weak.”

“The MDP will remain as a big party, will hold rallies, give speeches, take trips, will say whatever has to be said politically at anytime. The MDP will protest, MDP will raise their voice over issues. MDP will carry out peaceful political activity?” Nasheed continued.

An official party statement issued today said that the party hopes its members will remain in reforming the country, and assured that the elected candidates of the party will remain in “preventing the country from going off track” and in reforming the judiciary.

“The MDP will always go forward in the path shown by the members and supporters of the party, in ways which are most beneficial for the country,” the MDP press statement read.

Parliamentary Elections

The reasons for losing the election previously suggested by members of the MDP leadership were echoed by Nasheed today

He said the defeat was a result of multiple factors, including undue influence, fear, money, candidates, policies, campaign budget shortages, and a lack of confidence in the election.

Nasheed suggested that expelling employees from companies with government shares and government positions also had a negative impact on the results.

“The voter turnout was very low in many areas. I believe among these reasons are removing Elections Commission members, and lack of confidence in the election from the members of the public,” Nasheed said.

Criticising the Supreme Court’sremoval of the Elections Commission (EC) president and vice president a few days ahead of the parliamentary elections, Nasheed said that such an election will be “very difficult to be considered fair”.

He said that it was a display of power to the public and it resulted in a low voter turnout, as many people believed the election would not make a difference.

“We believe this is not a fair transparent election because of that. I am not saying that things didn’t go well on election day. I’m not saying that we don’t generally accept the election.”

He also noted that the leadership of any party and the those involved in it should take responsibility for the victories and losses.

Commenting on the leadership’s responsibility for the defeat, Nasheed said that negligence of leaders should be accepted when faced with a failure, but that there had been no such negligence to a level which required going into detail and pointing fingers.

Congratulating President Abdulla Yameen for achieving “a great victory”, Nasheed called on him to lead and work with the MDP in reforming the judiciary and sustaining the democratic system.

“We hope that our members will do substantial work in the parliament as an opposition party. We believe there is a lot of work that has to be done through the People’s Majlis.”

“I hope the government will use their parliament majority with care, that they will not take our members to court, and that these members will not have to face extraordinary obstacles.”

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Foreign criticism of court verdicts tantamount to criticism of Islam, says president

President Abdulla Yameen has compared allowing international actors to criticise the Supreme Court and its verdicts as being similar to allowing people to criticise the tenets of Islam.

“This is a message I am giving especially to President Nasheed [former President Mohamed Nasheed]. If you want to maintain the eminence, dignity and sovereignty of the Maldives, do not allow foreign entitities to criticise the final verdicts released from the courts of law.”

“If you allow them to do so, you are giving them the freedom to criticise the Islamic tenets that we have amongst us,” Yameen stated, speaking at a political rally held in the island of Fuvahmulah on Wednesday night.

The president’s comments come shortly after international actors roundly condemned the Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss senior members of the Elections Commission ahead of Saturday’s (March 22) Majlis elections.

Calling on Nasheed to stop criticising the judiciary, Yameen stated that this government will not create commissions to investigate events that occurred in the past.

He further stated that the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives will not try to ‘mete out punishments’ to general members of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party.

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Alleged calls between EC Chair Thowfeek and former President Nasheed leaked

Following the Supreme Court’s verdict removing Elections Commission (EC) President Fuwad Thowfeek and his deputy Ahmed Fayaz from their positions, an alleged phone call between Thowfeek and former President Mohamed Nasheed has been leaked on social media.

The approximately 3 minute long recording consists of Thowfeek and Nasheed allegedly speaking on two different instances. The first conversation appears to involve Thowfeek expressing concern that the court was looking into the case against the EC, and the second focuses on the re-registration to various constituencies of people on the municipal register.

In the first call, the voice alleged to be Thowfeek’s states that “the Supreme Court has once against started on one of its games”, opining that it posed challenges in the work that the commission is conducting in preparation for the parliamentary elections.

While half of the response – alleged to be Nasheed’s – is unclear, he can be heard as saying that he has been made aware of the matter and is thinking about it.

The second call – seemingly initiated by Nasheed – consists of Nasheed calling Thowfeek and speaking about those on the municipal register being redistributed to various constituencies.

“Some of our members went to discuss the matter of the municipal register border, didn’t they? It was agreed then that Maafannu will be kept as in the final report, yes? In short, it was agreed that some changes will be brought to Henveiru and the remaining people on the register will be distributed to the four constituencies of Maafannu, yes?” the voice alleged to be Nasheed’s is heard saying.

The respondent in the recording is then heard to say: “Yes yes, the current borders are something that everyone has agreed on.”

The first voice then inquires, “have any additional changes been brought to the list later on the request of Maafannu Hulhan’gu constituency’s MP Abdulla Abdul Raheem?”

Thowfeek responds saying that no such changes had been brought, but that Abdul Raheem had come to the commission and made many comments.

“I deliberated with various politicians about my concerns”: Fuwad Thowfeek

Thowfeek has responded to the leaked audio, speaking to local media Haveeru today (March 10).

He stated that in various instances, he had deliberated about numerous concerns that arose during his work at the Elections Commission, with numerous political actors.

He detailed that he had spoken of his concerns regarding the Supreme Court’s case against the commission with various politicians, including former President Nasheed.

“I also shared this concern with President Abdulla Yameen through a text message. In that same manner, I shared my concerns with Nasheed too,” he is quoted as saying.

Regarding the conversation about the municipal register, Thowfeek stated that various politicians had visited the commission and held a number of different discussions on the matter.

He said that he had addressed any questions that politicians had about how the commission had sorted out the matter of the register, and had clarified any doubts they might have had.

In this manner, he had offered clarifications to Nasheed, as well as to various members of parliament via phone or through their visits to the commission offices.

“This includes members from all political parties. This even consists of members who support the government. I do not see that there is any problem with offering clarifications about a matter to anyone,” he stated.

The full leaked recording can be listened to here.

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Week in review: March 1– 8

This week saw tensions between the Elections Commission (EC) and the Supreme Court rising as the commissioners were hauled before the court once again.

After telling a Majlis committee that the court’s election guidelines were undermining the commission’s work, EC Chair Thowfeek was grilled by the bench before a travel ban was placed on himself and his colleagues.

As well as having their travel restricted, EC members also raised concern that the commission’s budget – in addition to being given piecemeal by the Finance Ministry – was insufficient to conduct the March 22 Majlis poll.

With voter re-registration completed this week, the EC noted that one in four voters intended to vote in places other than their permanent residence.

After the US State Department’s human rights report joined the chorus of those critical of the Maldives judiciary, Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon asked the international community to support rather than undermine the country’s courts.

After receiving criticism from the political opposition for failing to mention the judiciary’s issues in his first address, President Yameen stated that he had complete trust in the institution.

This comment prompted the Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) Mohamed Nasheed to suggest that this faith stemmed from the Progressive Party of Maldives’ strong influence over the courts.

Speaking on the campaign trail, Nasheed pledged that an MDP majority in the Majlis would seek to reform both the judiciary and the Judicial Services Commission.

Two fellow MDP MPs seeking to return to the campaign trail were the recently jailed Abdulla Jabir and the recently stabbed Alhan Fahmy.

While Jabir’s legal team pleaded with the court to allow the Kaashidhoo MP the opportunity to campaign during his incarceration, Alhan was told that the Civil Court could not invalidate the candidacy of the disputed Feydhoo by-election winner.

Government agenda

As well as listing the government’s recent achievements during his address at the Majlis opening this week, President Yameen explained that a legislative agenda had been formulated. This agenda was subsequently revealed by the Attorney General to include 98 new bills and 109 amendments to existing laws.

The government’s pledge to increase the pension to MVR5000 was delivered – after some confusion – while the Home Ministry’s drive against drugs continued with plans made to reintroduce sniffer dogs to the Maldives.

Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz received a royal welcome from the government this week, releasing a joint statement with Yameen reiterating the countries’ mutual commitment to moderate Islam and strengthened bilateral ties.

As the fallout from the IGMH HIV scandal continued, hospital officials revealed that a member of staff had been taken into police custody after admitting culpability for the error which led to the transfusion of infected blood.

Health Minister Dr Mariyam Shakeela explained that the expenses of the victim’s children would now be borne by the state, though local NGO Voice of Women expressed concern that the family may still face discrimination due to “societal myths and misinformation” about the illness.

Shakeela told the Majlis government oversight committee that her resignation was not the solution to the health sector’s problems.

The same committee was also informed that a Maafushi Jail inmate – left in a coma after being attacked by his cellmates in February – had requested to be taken out of his quarters more than an hour before the attack.

The government’s attempts to keep Raajje TV away from President’s Office press conferences were dropped by the AG this week, while the broadcasting commission asked DhiTV to respond to allegations that it had irresponsibly criticised the Anti Corruption Commission.

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Civil society joins criticism of Supreme Court’s actions against EC

Read this article in Dhivehi

Civil society groups in the Maldives have added their voices to the growing concern over the Supreme Court’s actions against the Elections Commission (EC).

“The Maldivian Democracy Network and the Maldives NGO Federation are gravely concerned by the recent proceedings initiated by the Supreme Court of the Maldives against the members of the Elections Commission of the Maldives,” read a joint press release today.

After using newly introduced procedures to both initiate and oversee contempt of court charges against the EC, the court has subsequently deemed privileged Majlis testimony to be admissible in the case.

Today’s statement closely follows that of the EU’s Sri Lanka delegation which yesterday called upon the government to ensure the commission’s independence ahead of the March 22 Majlis elections.

Recalling the recent controversies surrounding the 2013 presidential election, the NGO statement argued these events had come at a “great cost to the state and the people”.

“We strongly urge all parties to ensure that the upcoming parliamentary elections are efficient, independent and fair. Any hindrance by any party to this process would be undemocratic and unfair for the people of the Maldives.”

The court’s decision to bring the charges of contempt of court refer to criticism of the decision to annul last September’s presidential election first round. The annulment was followed by further cancelled and delayed polls after much wrangling over the court’s new election guidelines.

The EC has also been accused of disobeying a Supreme Court order by dissolving eight political parties earlier this month.

The NGO statement has today referred to the 16 point guidelines as “onerous” and “controversial”.

Supreme Court must earn respect, say NGOs

Describing the current court case as “unjust”, runner-up in the presidential poll Mohamed Nasheed has said that his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) will not compete next month’s vote should the four EC members be removed.

Following today’s second EC advisory committee meeting in preparations for the March vote, MDP Spokesman Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said that the commission owed MVR12 million in pending bills after delays at the Finance Ministry.

Hamid reported, however, that the EC was confident the elections would proceed as scheduled.

The civil society statement noted that the decision to use testimony protected under the constitution had overstepped the court’s boundaries as the ultimate interpreter of the constitution.

Claiming establishing justice to be a tenet of Islam, Supreme Court Judge Ahmed Abdulla Didi has said the EC’s testimony at the independent commissions oversight committee obstructed justice and could be used in a court.

The court has said that no party has the authority to question or criticise its decisions as per Article 145 (c) of the constitution.

“The Elections Commission has been established in very clear terms by the Constitution of the Maldives as an independent institution with its oversight assigned to the people through their representatives in the People’s Majlis,” read today’s NGO press release.

“Writing this criteria in the Constitution cannot bring independence to an institution if it cannot be practiced and fully respected. Similarly, respect for an institution is not inherent to being a part of the Constitution. The Supreme Court must, as every other institution, earn the respect of the people.”

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Week in review: February 16 – 21

The Maldives’ judiciary continued to dominate headlines this week, in particular the Supreme Court’s decision to use privileged Majlis testimony in its case against the Elections Commission.

Citing the establishment of justice as a fundamental tenet of Islam, the court declared the evidence admissible in its ongoing contempt of court case.

Speaking at a campaign event for the Majlis elections, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) leader Mohamed Nasheed suggested the Supreme Court was fearful of an MDP majority in the parliament, pledging judicial reform should this happen.

On the lower benches, televised claims of bribery within the judiciary by Civil Court Judge Aisha Shujoon prompted both the Anti Corruption and the Judicial Services Commissions to launch separate investigations.

The JSC’s investigations into Shujoon’s claims will take place without the Majlis’ representative MP Ahmed Hamza, however, who has been removed as a result of his standing for re-election.

The Human Rights Commission this week called upon the Majlis to expedite the appointment of a new Prosecutor General (PG), before the Criminal Court finally agreed to accept new cases from the Deputy PG.

The court was immediately presented with 20 new cases, although the PG’s Office has said the backlog will take a month to clear. This may hamper new court regulations which requires the office to file criminal charges within 45 days of arrests being made.

The court did find time this week to sentence MDP MP Abdulla Jabir to one year’s imprisonment for failure to provide a urine sample to police in late 2012.

Three more cases are likely to land on the PG’s desk in the next six weeks after police arrested two Bangladeshi men and one woman in Malé for pre-marital sexual relations. For those recently married foreigners, however, the Maldives continues to be the number one holiday destination, an online poll revealed.

Fears were raised by the Tourism Employees Association that the amount of service charge disbursed to resort workers was being reduced as the government plans to raise taxes on the industry. An IMF delegation in the country noted its surprise at the resilience of the economy, suggesting that taxes on the industry were still relatively low.

The new nominee for the governor’s position at the central banking authority suggested that increasing local productivity and reducing reliance on imports – on which 75 percent of the country’s dollars are spent – was vital.

During the SAARC Council of Ministers’ Meeting – hosted on Bandos resort – President Abdulla Yameen stated his belief that trade and commerce were the “magic wand” for achieving the regional association’s goals.

Earlier in the week, while campaigning for the Progressive Party of Maldives, Yameen had labelled the Nasheed government’s transport policy corrupt, vowing to reclaim land given to private companies for ferry services.

He also said that the government would not be seeking to expedite Nasheed’s trial, though he did suggest that the former president must be sentenced for the arrest of Judge Abdulla Mohamed in 2012 if the rule of law is to be upheld.

The police’s campaign to reach out to the nation’s youth continued this week with the third ‘Blues for Youth’ camp. Home Minister Umar Naseer told participants that there was “no task too menial or lowly for a Maldivian”.

Meanwhile, Naseer signed an order shutting down Malé’s Dharumavantha Rasgefaanu mosque after an unauthorised congregation had prayed for the government’s destruction.

As Yameen’s administration approaches the one hundred days’ milestone intact, the policy to provide greater access to healthcare was introduced in Villinigili – albeit on a more modest scale than initially promised.

In nearby Gulhi island, a pioneering desalination project was launched by the UK’s Aquiva Foundation. The project – a joint venture with STELCO – will produce drinking water using the excess heat from electricity generators.

Further north, Alifushi island council has complained that emergency drinking water supplied to the island arrived contaminated with dust and bacteria.

Finally, the Olympic Committee this week announced plans to increase female participation in sports, setting a target of 33 percent of contingents sent to major international games to be women.

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