Tag: president abdulla yameen

President and first lady distribute food to the disabled

President Abdulla Yameen and First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim are distributing food to disabled people registered in the capital Malé and its suburbs Hulhumalé and Villingili.

A package of rice, dates and cans of tuna are being distributed with a message saying the gifts are from the president and the first lady.

The first lady visited homes of disabled people last week and visited chronically ill patients at the state-run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) on Sunday.

When asked if the couple if distributing the food on the occasion of the upcoming Islamic month of Ramadan, the first lady’s secretary Fathimath Rahma told Minivan News there was no particular occasion.

The gifts were bought on the couple’s own funds, she said.

One family reported receiving five kilos of rice, one kilo of dates and five cans of tuna, while another reported receiving 20 kilos of rice, one kilo of dates and six cans of tuna. They welcomed the gift from the president and the first lady.

An eyewitness at the IGMH said he saw the first lady handing out envelopes with money to the patients at IGMH.

“When I asked them what the envelope was, they gave it to me and I saw the envelope said it was from the couple and contained MVR1,000,” he said.

But Rahma dismissed rumours the first lady had distributed money to the sick at the IGMH.

“The first lady only visited the patients there, she did not hand them any envelopes,” she said.

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Three arrested from opposition protest

Three men were arrested from an opposition protest on Wednesday night when they reportedly refused police orders to step out of the street and on to the pavement.

Opposition MP Rozaina Adam told Minivan News that police officers pushed some hundred protesters on to the pavements at the main junction of Chaandhanee and Fareedhee Magu. Three protesters were arrested for disobedience to order.

“They are cracking down on our right to assembly and free speech.  This is how rights are taken away in dictatorships, step by step,” she said.

The allied opposition parties, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the Adhaalath Party and the Jumhoree Party (JP), are protesting over the imprisonment of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed and the ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim, and the takeover of JP Leader Gasim Ibrahim’s businesses.

A police spokesperson said the protesters had been told to stay on the pavements to avoid blocking traffic. Protesters were very cooperative, he said.

The official declined to comment on the opposition’s claims of narrowing rights. “But we never do anything against the law.”

The three men who were arrested remain in police custody.

Since a 20,000-strong march on May 1, the police have banned the use of four-wheeled vehicles in protests. In April, police banned the use of sound systems beyond 11pm and protesting beyond 12am.

MP Rozaina said the protest had ended at 11pm when the police ordered sound systems to be shut off.

MDP Vice President Mohamed Shifaz said the police had prevented supporters from holding a demonstration on Monday as well.

The opposition had protested peacefully every day from February 10 to May 1.

Violent clashes broke out on May Day when protesters attempted to enter the city’s restricted Republic Square. Some 193 people and the three leaders of the allied opposition parties were arrested. Protests have slowed since then to just three or two days a week.

The opposition has opened a campaign hall for its nightly activities and have announced a third mass protest on June 12.

In a speech this morning, President Abdulla Yameen welcomed “non-stop protests” but said the government will not tolerate attacks on police officers.

“To politicians, I say, we will not allow you to violate police officers, torch property and disrupt the peace. Political activities should be carried out, but it should stay within the limits,” he said.

Two police officers were beaten on May Day. Some 14 people were arrested. At least three of the suspects have told lawyers police severely beat them and threatened to kill them.

The president also condemned calls for a tourism boycott.

“People who call for boycotting tourism in political turmoil are enemies of the country,” he said.

Photo: social media

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President vows to file criminal charges over Afrasheem murder allegations

President Abdulla Yameen has vowed to file criminal charges against an opposition leader who had implicated the president in the 2012 murder of MP Afrasheem Ali.

Several defectors from the ruling coalition, including Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla, have said that the president and the tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb know the truth behind the brutal murder.

“I am being accused falsely. This government will penalise them. I want to file charges against those who are making these accusations. Not that of defamation, but criminal charges. I will file charges against Sheikh Imran,” President Yameen said at a ceremony to open a domestic airport at Raa Atoll Ifuru.

Afrasheem, an MP for the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) representing Ungoofaaru constituency in Raa Atoll and also a moderate religious scholar, was stabbed to death outside his home on the night of October 1, 2012.

Police had said the killing was politically motivated.

President Yameen said the government will build an Islamic Centre on Ungoofaaru in Afrasheem’s memory.

Hussain Humam, the chief suspect in the murder and the only person convicted of the crime so far, has alleged the president and the tourism minister’s involvement in the killing.

At the first hearing of his appeal at the High Court in April, Human, who was sentenced to death in January 2014, said the pair “will know best” the details of the crime.

Sheikh Imran, at a mass anti-government protest on May 1 said: “Humam said the truth. President Yameen and Adeeb know best those who murdered Afrasheem.”

The home minister, Umar Naseer, was the first to link Afrasheem’s murder with President Yameen.

Speaking at a public rally after he lost the PPM’s 2013 presidential primaries, Naseer accused Yameen of having illicit connections with gangs, the drug trade and said he had witnessed a visit to Yameen at the PPM’s office by a suspect who was arrested and questioned by the police over the MP’s murder.

He retracted the allegations when he joined the cabinet.

The Maldives decriminalised defamation in 2009. The parliament then set the maximum penalty for civil lawsuits against slander at MVR5,000 (US$325).

The Prosecutor General Muhthaz Muhsin last week said his office is looking into what sort of criminal charges could be filed over the allegations against the president and the tourism minister.

Several politicians, including ex-PPM MP Ahmed Mahloof and ex-police chief Abdulla Riyaz, revived claims of links between Afrasheem’s murderers and President Yameen after joining a campaign against government authoritarianism.

The police in early May questioned Abdulla Riyaz over comments he had made over Afrasheem’s murder on opposition-aligned Raajje TV. The now-opposition MP had said he will reveal information of the murder “when the time comes.”

The president’s half-brother, former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, sued a newspaper editor in 2011 for re-publishing a New York Times article on misuse of state funds revealed in a 2008 audit report.

He lost the case, but successfully sued the late historian Ahmed Shafeeq over claims that 111 people had been killed in police custody during Gayoom’s 30-year reign.

Imprisoned ex-president Mohamed Nasheed has recently said he will sue four judges of the Criminal Court over claims made regarding his terrorism trial, in which he was sentenced to 13 years in jail.

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Malé city councillor dismissed from PPM council over photo with ex-defence minister

The Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has dismissed Malé city councillor Zaidhul Ameen from the ruling  party’s council, reportedly over a photo with convicted former defence minister Mohamed Nazim.

A photograph of Zaidhul Ameen with Nazim and his family in Singapore circulated on social media today. PPM’s deputy secretary general Abdul Aleem is also in the photo.

Nazim was convicted of weapons smuggling charges in March sentenced to 11 years in prison.

The photo was taken while Nazim was in Singapore for medical treatment. The retired colonel returned this week after more than a month in Singapore.

PPM spokesperson MP Ali Arif said Ameen was removed from the party’s council because of a disciplinary issue.

“As far as I know he had two cases against him in the disciplinary committee. The committee investigated the case and decided to expel him,” he said.

Ameen declined to comment on the issue, but said he will release a statement later.

Media reports suggested that he was expelled for “taking a photograph with a man who tried to assassinate the president”.

The police claimed that documents found in a pen drive in Nazim’s apartment contained plans to assassinate President Abdulla Yameen, tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb, and police chief Hussain Waheed. Nazim has maintained that the weapon and pen drive were planted by police on Adeeb’s orders.

PPM’s deputy secretary general Aleem is also reportedly under investigation by the disciplinary committee, which has yet to determine a penalty.

In March, a solder was demoted after he wrote, “We are with you, Nazim sir,” on his Facebook page.

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Government rejects ex-president as MDP representative in talks

The government has rejected ex-president Mohamed Nasheed as a representative for talks with the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

In a tweet today, president’s office spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali said the government had rejected Nasheed’s name because he is serving a jail sentence.

Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in jail in March on terrorism charges relating to the detention of a judge during his tenure.

Foreign governments and international bodies including the UN have criticised the trial for apparent lack of due process, while the European Union parliament has called for the ex-president’s immediate release.

Nasheed’s arrest and jailing triggered daily protests and a historic anti-government protest on May 1. Nearly 20,000 people took to the streets and some 193 people were arrested.

The government subsequently called for separate talks with the three allied opposition parties – the MDP, the Jumhooree Party and the Adhaalath Party.

The MDP’s national council yesterday proposed Nasheed, chairperson Ali Waheed and parliamentary group leader MP Ibrahim ‘Ibu’ Mohamed Solih to represent the party in talks with the government.

MDP vice-president Mohamed Shifaz said the party will hold a meeting to decide on a response to the president’s office’s statement.

“But I personally believed that we should be able to determine who should represent us. Not the government,” Shifaz said.

“When they say he is serving a jail term, we need to look at the circumstances in which he was sentenced. The Maldivian public and the world do not accept the trial and its verdict. Nasheed is a former president, and a man loved by a large majority of the public. Maldivians do not see him as a convict.”

In late April, the pro-government majority voted through amendments to the Prison and Parole Act that prohibited inmates from holding high-level posts in political parties. The revised law effectively stripped Nasheed of the MDP presidency.

Some ruling party MPs have also threatened to cut financial payouts to Nasheed by amending the law on privileges and immunities of former presidents to exclude individuals serving a jail sentence.

Speaking to Minivan News, Muaz said the government will proceed with the talks as soon as representatives are decided.

“If there is no legal, medical, physical or administrative obstructions regarding the representatives proposed by the three parties, we will proceed with the talks,” he said in a tweet today.

President Abdulla Yameen’s proposed agenda for talks focuses on three aspects: political reconciliation, strengthening the judiciary and legal system and political party participation in economic and social development

The government has ruled out negotiations over the release Nasheed and former defence minister Mohamed Nazim, insisting the president does not have the constitutional authority to release convicts before the appeal process is exhausted.

The opposition has previously questioned the government’s sincerity, pointing out that several opposition leaders had been arrested from the May 1 protest.

While the Jumhooree Party (JP) has accepted the invitation for talks, the religious conservative Adhaalath Party proposed its detained president, Sheikh Imran Abdulla, among the party’s representatives.

Imran was arrested on May 1 and remains in police custody.

The JP’s representative for talks, deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim was also arrested, but released by the High Court. The police are appealing the court’s ruling at the Supreme Court, a move the opposition says is aimed at barring Ameen from representing the JP.

During the national council debate yesterday, MP Eva Abdulla stressed the importance of talks involving all political parties, including the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

“MDP is the first party that called to solve the political crisis. So we are happy the government took the initiative to hold talks and we accept it. But we want to hold the discussions together, not separately as the government has suggested,” she said.

“We are not going to discussions to talk only about what the government wants. The discussions will include what the government wants, but also what we want. The agenda of the talks also should be set at the discussions.”

The opposition coalition has called for a third mass protest on June 12.

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MDP proposes imprisoned ex-president to represent party in talks

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has proposed imprisoned former President Mohamed Nasheed, chairperson Ali Waheed and MP Ibrahim “Ibu” Mohamed Solih as representatives for talks with the government.

The main opposition party’s national council adopted a resolution today to accept the government’s calls for dialogue to resolve the ongoing political crisis.

“The [MDP] believes that the anxiety and distress in the country can be resolved by all the opposition parties sitting down at the table for discussions with the government,” reads the resolution.

President Abdulla Yameen’s proposed agenda for talks focuses on three aspects: political reconciliation, strengthening the judiciary and legal system and political party participation in economic and social development

However, the government has ruled out negotiations over the release Nasheed and former defence minister Mohamed Nazim, insisting the president does not have the constitutional authority to release convicts before the appeal process is exhausted.

President’s office spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz was not responding to calls at the time of publication.

However, Muaz told Haveeru before the resolution was passed that the government will go ahead with the talks even if the MDP declines the president’s offer.

During the national council debate on the resolution, MP Eva Abdulla stressed the importance of talks involving all political parties, including the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

“MDP is the first party that called to solve the political crisis. So we are happy the government took the initiative to hold talks and we accept it. But we want to hold the discussions together, not separately as the government has suggested,” she said.

President Yameen had sent invitations to the three allied opposition parties separately and assigned two ministerial teams for the talks.

Eva also argued that the agenda for the talks should be up for discussion.

“We are not going to discussions to talk only about what the government wants. The discussions will include what the government wants, but also what we want. The agenda of the talks also should be set at the discussions,” she said.

Eva also suggested MDP should not join the discussions without the proposed delegation: “I don’t think there is anything we can solve without the delegation MDP proposed.”

Nasheed is currently serving a 13-year jail term at the high-security Maafushi prison following his conviction on terrorism charges in March.

The MDP has maintained that the trial was a politically motivated attempt to bar the party’s president and presumptive candidate from the 2018 presidential election.

Foreign governments and international bodies including the UN have criticized the trial for apparent lack of due process, while the EU parliament has called for Nasheed’s immediate release.

MDP chairperson Ali Waheed was meanwhile released from police custody this afternoon. He had been held in remand detention since his arrest in the wake of the mass anti-government demonstration on May 1.

Police have concluded an investigation on charges of inciting violence and forwarded a case against Waheed to the prosecutor general’s office. A seven-day extension of detention granted by the criminal court expired today.

While the Jumhooree Party (JP) has accepted the invitation for talks, the religious conservative Adhaalath Party proposed its detained president, Sheikh Imran Abdulla, among the party’s representatives.

Imran was also arrested on May 1 and remains in police custody.

Speaking at today’s emergency meeting of the national council, MP Ibu, MDP parliamentary group leader, noted that the acceptance of the government’s invitation does not mean the party trusts the government.

“We are going to sit down with the government not necessarily because we trust them. We should always learn from what has happened in the past. Recently we saw the Ukrainian government sitting down for talks with Russia despite the distrust,” he said.

Ibu said the planned mass protest for June 12 – organised by the MDP –  is also a call for discussions.

“The June 12 protest is also a symbol of negotiations and talks. So I call on the people of Maldives who support our cause to come and join us in discussions,” he said.

Other members of the national council questioned the “sincerity” of the government’s invitation for talks.

“The deputy leader of JP, Ameen Ibrahim, was set free by the High Court but the state once again appealed his case in the apex court to detain him again. So the intent of the government is questionable,” said MP Rozaina Adam.

Ameen is among the five-member team to represent the Jumhooree Party. Some opposition politicians contend the police’s attempt to detain Ameen is an attempt to prevent him from representing the JP.

The resolution was passed with the support of of 42 members with one vote against.

The dissenting member objected referring to Nasheed as the party’s president, arguing that the government might reject the resolution on the grounds that he no longer holds the post.

In late April, the pro-government majority voted through amendments to the Prison and Parole Act that prohibited inmates from holding high-level posts in political parties.

The revised law effectively stripped Nasheed of the MDP presidency.

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Ruling party holds children’s evening on president’s birthday

The ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives held a children’s evening in Malé to mark President Abdulla Yameen’s 56th birthday.

The president did not attend the event.

Government employees and supporters across the country cut cakes, and a special song was made for the president.

Celebrations in Lhaviyani Atoll Naifaru

In Gaaf Alif Kolamafushi:

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) held a children’s event and a music show in Malé on May 17 to mark jailed ex-president Mohamed Nasheed’s birthday. Supporters across the country cut cakes and posted pictures online.

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Youth minister dismissed

President Abdulla Yameen has dismissed today minister of youth and sports Mohamed Maleeh Jamal in a cabinet shuffle.

Recently appointed health minister Ahmed Zuhoor was handed the youth portfolio and deputy gender minister Iruthisham Adam was appointed as the health minister.

The reason for Maleeh’s dismissal is unclear. Neither Maleeh nor president’s office spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali were responding to calls at the time of going to press.

Maleeh appeared with other cabinet minister at a ceremony held this morning to inaugurate a scientific feasibility study for a planned bridge between capital Malé and airport island Hulhulé.

The dismissal was announced at noon.

Maleeh is the cousin of vice-president Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, who the president has reportedly sidelined. The vice-president who was very active during the presidential campaign rarely appears in public now.

Maleeh is alleged to have close ties with ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim, who is currently serving an 11-year jail term on weapons smuggling charges.

According to the pro-government newspaper Vaguthu, documents police found in a pen drive at Nazim’s apartment show the Yameen administration is divided into factions respectively led by the president and Nazim.

Nazim’s “team” included Dr Jameel, home minister Umar Naseer, former Police Commissioner and current JP MP Abdulla Riyaz, Maldives Ambassador to Malaysia Mohamed Fayaz ‘FA,’ former State Trading Organisation (STO) Managing Director Adam Azim (Nazim’s brother), PPM MP Hussain Manik Dhon Manik, PPM MP Ahmed Nazim, Maleeh, and president’s office minister Abdulla Ameen.

Police claimed the documents suggest Nazim was planning to assassinate the president, tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb and police commissioner Hussein Waheed.

Nazim says the pen drive along with a pistol and bullets were planted at his home by rogue police officers on Adeeb’s orders.

Maleeh’s dismissal comes amidst a political crisis triggered by the jailing of Nazim and ex-president Mohamed Nasheed.

Minister for Islamic affairs Dr Mohamed Shaeem resigned on May 5, after the arrest of religious conservative Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla from an opposition protest.

President also reassigned state minister of Islamic affairs Dr Mohamed Ali to the housing ministry, and appointed state minister for housing Athifa Shakoor to the gender ministry.

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President sets terms for negotiations, rules out ex-president’s release

President Adbulla Yameen has set terms and representatives for talks with the opposition amidst growing domestic and international calls for dialogue.

Two teams of seven ministers will hold separate discussions with the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), and with the Jumhooree Party and the religious conservative Adhaalath Party.

President Yameen’s proposed agenda focuses on three aspects; political reconciliation, strengthening the judiciary and legal system and political party participation in economic and social development.

President’s office spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali, however, ruled out negotiations over the imprisonment of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed and ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim, insisting the president has no role in the pair’s release.

“The President’s Office has sent letters to the Maldivian Democratic Party, Adhaalath Party and Jumhoory Party today. In the letters, the government has officially requested for discussions,” he said.

“The discussions will proceed within legal limits. The problem before was the president does not have the legal means to meet the demands of the opposition,” Muaz said, referring to president Yameen’s earlier comments ruling out any dialogue with the opposition over jailed opposition leaders.

“Now, the president’s interest is to protect the country and its people. The president will consider the interest of the whole nation rather than that of individuals,” Muaz said.

The terms set by the president are:

  • Seek solutions within the perimeters of the Maldivian legal system to ‎resolve existing political tensions and differences of opinion towards ‎establishing political reconciliation, and to explore avenues to strengthen ‎national solidarity; ‎
  • Determine measures needed to further improve the constitutional, ‎legislative and judicial models within the country, for the purpose of ‎strengthening the Maldivian democratic system based on our own past ‎experiences and international best practices;‎
  • Encourage the cooperation of all political actors within the country ‎towards the nation building process, and in securing the social and economic ‎development of all Maldivian citizens

The opposition on Thursday welcomed President Yameen’s call for talks, but had separately demanded the release of leaders who were detained from the mass antigovernment rally on May 1.

MDP’s chairperson Ali Waheed and Adhaalath president Sheikh Imran Abdulla were remanded for an additional seven days and 10 days, respectively, by the criminal court yesterday.

JP deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim was released last week when the high court overturned the criminal court’s 15-day remand.

The government has proposed home minister Umar Naseer, fisheries finister Mohamed Shainee and minister of the president’s office Abdulla Ameen to hold talks with the MDP.

A team of four state officials including tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb, minister of the president’s office Mohamed “Mundhu” Hussain Shareef, housing minister Mohamed Muiz and environment minister Thorig Ibrahim will participate in the talks with the JP and the Adhaalath Party.

The Adhaalath Party had previously stated they will not sit down with the tourism minister, who Imran has accused of corruption and illicit connections with criminal gangs.

But Muaz said no party has officially set any conditions for talks with the government yet.

Of the 193 people who were arrested from the May Day protest, only a few remain in police custody.

The prosecutor general Muhthaz Mushin yesterday said only 30 will be charged for now, and that a committee is reviewing charges against 98 protesters who are “first time offenders.”

The charges range from disobedience to order, obstructing police duty and assaulting police officers, and carry a penalty of MVR3000 or a six-month jail term.

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