Tag: President Mohamed Nasheed

Newsweek labels Nasheed ‘Green Guru’ for climate change work

The second largest weekly magazine in the United States, ‘Newsweek’, has awarded President Mohamed Nasheed the title of ‘green guru’ and placed him second among nine other world leaders who have ‘’won serious respect’’ in different global fields.

“As president of an island nation imperiled by rising sea levels, Mohamed Nasheed has become a hero among environmentalists,’’ said Newsweek. “In the run-up to last year’s United Nations climate-change meeting, Nasheed attracted global attention by hosting a cabinet meeting underwater.’’

The paper said that former Vice President of the US, Al Gore, who is also an environment activist, had taken to quoting President Nasheed on matters relating to the human cost of climate change.

‘’In April, the UN elected [Nasheed] one of six “2010 Champions of the Earth,’’ said the magazine.

Achim Steiner, director of the UN Environment Program, praised Nasheed as a politician who is “showcasing to the rest of the world how a transition to climate neutrality can be achieved and how all nations, no matter how big or small, can contribute.”

Britain’s new Prime Minister, David Cameron, tops the list of ‘best world leaders’ in the political magazine, which has a global circulation of 1.5 million.

Newsweek also names President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India, President Lula da Silva of Brazil and President Lee of South Korea in its list of top world leaders.

Image: Newsweek magazine

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Tourism Minister Dr Sawad nominated as new attorney general

Tourism Minister Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad has been nominated as the new attorney general of the Maldives, according to a senior government official.

Husnu Suood resigned yesterday, taking some responsibility for the constitutional crisis, and urged Speaker Abdulla Shahid to step down as well.

The source told Minivan News that Dr Sawad was ready to take the oath of office pending the missing law on judges, which the administration is waiting for parliament to pass.

‘’As soon as the parliament passes the new law on judges, the new Attorney General will take the oath,’’ said the source.

Dr Sawad was not contactable at time of press.

Meanwhile, the MNDF has blocked the the interim Supreme Court judges from entering the Supreme Court, on advice from the former Attorney General that the interim Chief Justice and judges at the Supreme Court ceased to have any legitimacy following the interim period deadline last Saturday.

When queried why the Supreme Court judges were not allowed to enter to the court, the source replied “that’s because they are not judges.’’

The opposition – and yesterday, the Civil Court – contends that the interim Supreme Court continues to function until a new court is appointed by parliament.  The government claims this chapter was annulled after the two year deadline.

The former Attorney General Husnu Suood resigned claiming his position is untenable in the “constitutional void” triggered by parliament’s failure to enact legislation ensuring the continuation of state institutions such as the judiciary.

In his resignation letter, Suood stated that he had resigned because he did not believe that the state could be operated according to the constitution, because he had noted that state institutions had failed to fulfil their responsibilities as obliged by the constitution.

As a consequence, Suood wrote he did not have the opportunity to perform his own duties and responsibilities under article 133 of the constitution, prompting his resignation.

All three arms of state – executive, judiciary and legislature – are now deadlocked.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

President Grants clemency for 39 Maldivians and 10 expats

President Mohamed Nasheed has granted clemency to 39 Maldivians and 10 expats who were sentenced to Maldivian jails.

Most of those granted clemency were inmates sentenced for long term punishments and had spent a long time in the cells, according to Director General of Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services [DPRS] Ahmed Rasheed.

“Among the 39 Maldivians [granted clemency], most were mainly charged with drug-related cases and some of them were sentenced for objection to order and other such crimes,’’ said Rasheed.

“Seven of the 10 expats were sentenced in a single fraud case.”

Rasheed said although clemency was granted to the seven expats, they would be deported from the Maldives.

President Nasheed also granted clemency decreasing the punishment of another 100 convicted criminals.

“These people were also mainly sentenced for drug related cases and some of them had been banished,’’ Rasheed said.

Inmates at Maafushi jail have on many occasions claimed that President Mohamed Nasheed promised that he would grant clemency to everyone in Maafushi jail when he came in to power.

They claimed that most of their parents and family members voted for president Nasheed due to this pledge he made.

However, the Human Right Commission of the Maldives [HRCM] has claimed that Male’ has reached a situation where it is difficult for people to live a normal life due to rising gang violence.

The commission noted earlier this week that the release of people charged with “perilous crimes” such as murder had led to them repeating the crimes, and that the agencies responsible for the implementation of sentences are not taking necessary measures to ensure they were served.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Opposition PA leader under military protection “against his will”

People’s Alliance (PA) leader Abdulla Yameen has told local media outlets that he is being held against his will by the Maldives National Defence Force.

The MNDF has claimed Yameen sought their protection after violent clashes between MDP supporters, police and another group outside his house on the evening of July 14.

The leader of the minor opposition party, who was last week released from house arrest by the Supreme Court, had been accused by the government of corruption, bribery and treason. The MNDF have refused to present Yameen in court, despite an order from the Criminal Court on July 15.

The government has meanwhile said it intends to monitor the judiciary to ensure corruption does not obstruct the judicial process.

Speaking to private broadcaster DhiTV from the Presidential Retreat ‘Aarah’ last night, Yameen said he was contacted repeatedly by Chief of Defence Force Moosa Ali Jaleel and told that the army had orders to take him under protection by force if necessary.

Providing his account of the incident, Yameen stressed that he refused the offer of protection and requested that security forces control the crowd outside his residence.

He added that Moosa Jaleel informed him between 12:00am and 1:00am on Wednesday night that MNDF had “no choice” but to take him under military guard.

Yameen said he was at PA MP Ahmed Nazim’s house at the time when crowds began gathering outside his residence.

“MNDF suddenly somehow knew that I was at Nazim’s house and MNDF soldiers came and took over the whole area,” he said. “They started banging on the door and threatened to come in. Finally, my lawyer Abbas Shareef who was outside called me and said they have warned that they will break down the door and charge in if I did not come out.”

As he was a guest at Nazim’s house and did not wish to “dragged away so inhumanely”, Yameen continued, he left with the officers because “I was forced to and did not have any choice.”

Yameen, former Trade Minister and younger brother of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, strongly criticised the government’s handling of the political unrest in the capital.

“Imagine, every night they come out and smash and destroy so many places,” he said. “What about the rights of my neighbours? It wasn’t just my house that was damaged. What about the children that are traumatised?”

Yameen called on the security forces not to be “too concerned with one individual” and ensure the safety of the public.

“They know who it is that come out like this every time and holler,” he said. “They will do well to take legal action against those people. In no event should they have to neglect maintaining peace and all the soldiers come and protect me.”

Yameen and Nazim along with MP Gasim Ibrahim is currently under investigation for alleged corruption involving “cash for votes” in parliament.

A press release issued by the President’s Office on Thursday states that the unrest was precipitated by an attack on the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) rally on Wednesday night.

It adds that a group of people tried to incite violence and attacked participants at the rally.

In his weekly radio address on Friday, President Mohamed Nasheed said the government was “forced” to isolate political leaders after considering the consequences of inaction.

“Therefore, the isolated individuals will remain so for now,” he said. “The government has now decided to carry on with this.”

The Maldives was experiencing “teething pains” with the present political crisis, Nasheed continued, as multi-party democracy was in still in its infancy.

“When we mature for such a system, we have to always accept that we have to face a number of things that are inevitable and unanticipated,” he said. “I want to assure citizens, we have complete confidence that we can face this. We see the bigger picture. We know the difficulty we are facing today. God willing, we will emerge from it, and no matter how hard the road we have to walk, I have complete confidence that we can walk down it.”

Despite Nasheed’s apparent confidence in resolving the country’s political deadlocks lawfully and peacefully, the outbreak of violence has drawn the attention of international bodies such as the UN.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement “urging all political parties to restrain those who promote violence and confrontation, and to resolve their differences through dialogue.”

“Political rivalries should not be allowed to jeapardise the significat gains the country has registered in democratic reform,” Ki-moon said, pledging the assistance of the UN in resolving the situation.

The UN “recogises the positive steps taken by the Maldives to advance democracy in recent years, and underlines the importance of cooperation and accomodation among the various political actors as an essential ingredient of building democracy,” the statement read.

The United States has meanwhile urged the Maldives to accept offers of mediation from the international community to resolve the political crisis.

“We call on all sides to refrain from violence and to come together to resolve disagreements through dialogue,” the US Embassy in Colombo said.

US Ambassador Patricia Butenis and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse have already held mediation sessions in the country to resolve a deadlock between the executive and what President Nasheed has described as “elements within parliament.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Millions of rufiya and a 100 foot fiberglass fishing boat to join JP: leaked letters allege corruption

Letters sent by MDP MPs to President Mohamed Nasheed containing allegations of corruption against Jumhoree Party(JP) leader MP Gasim Ibrahim have been leaked to the press.

Gasim is currently under house arrest, charged with bribery and treason.

The documents are addressed to the President and signed by ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs  Mohamed Nazim, Ahmed Easa, Mohamed Gasam, Mohamed Rasheed, Mohamed Shifaz and Ilyas Labeeb.

In one of the letters, Madaveli MP Mohamed Nazim claims that Gasim offered him a 100 foot fibereglass fishing boat and Rf4 million to join the JP, adding that the offer was unlawful and could be considered attempted bribery.

In his letter Kedhikolhudhoo MP Ahmed Easa alleges that Gasim offered him Rf5 million to defect from MDP to the JP.

The letter from Mohamed Gasam, MP for Thinadhoo, claims Gasim had offered him “many rewards” to recruit him away from MDP.

In a letter signed by Hulhu-Meedhoo MP Ilyas Labeeb, the writer mentions that Gasim offered him Rf5 million to buy and construct a house in Hulhumale’.

Press Secretary for the President’s Office, Mohamed Zuhair, said that he could not confirm whether the letters were genuine, or that the letters were the same as those received by the president.

‘’Similar complaints were forwarded to president by several MPs,’’ said Zuhair. ‘’I cannot confirm whether the [leaked] letters are the actual letters.’’

Zuhair said that police were currently investigating the allegations of corruption against the opposition leaders.

Spokesperson for the MDP parliamentary group, Baarah MP Mohamed Shifaz, one of the MPs whose name was on one of the leaked letters, revealed that the leaked letter in his name was an edited version of the letter he actually wrote.

Shifaz said that the middle paragraph of the leaked document in his name was edited.

‘’I did not mention any amount of money Gasim offered me,” Shifaz said. “I wrote that he had offered me different amounts on different occasions.”

‘’I did send a letter to president last month, because of a rumor that circulating in those days that I was about to join the JP,” he said. “It dragged me into a situation where MPs almost lost confidence in me, and I thought the president might feel the same way. So I sent him a letter to make him confident that I would not leave MDP.”

MDP’s Council adopted a resolution late last month to terminate its coalition agreement with JP.

Gasim did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Government to return Maldivian detainees from Syria

Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed, speaking in a meeting at the Maldvian Democratic Party (MDP) headquaters, has announced that the government will return Maldivian detainees from Syria.

Dr Shaheed said that he would soon travel to Syria with the main purpose of releasing the Maldivian detainees from Syrian jails.

”The main reason of scheduled trip to Syria is to release the Maldivian detainees from prison,”  Dr Shaheed said. ”Hopefully, we can release these prisoners and bring them to the Maldives.”

He said the detainees had been kept there for a long time.

”We will bring them and hand over them to their parents,” he said.

He said the Foreign Ministry was a ministry which worked “in transparency making everything visible to the people”.

Speaking in the meeting, Dr Shaheed responded to claims made by the Peoples Alliances (PA) that the current government was trying “to please white people.”

”When the Maldives ran for a seat in the United Nations Human Rights Council, 185 countries voted for us. Are they all white people?” questioned Dr Shaheed.

”Last week the United Arab Emirates (UAE) asked us if they could establish a Maldivian Embassy. Are they also all white people?”

Dr Shaheed did not mention who the detainees were or what they had been arrested for.

Spokesperson for the Foreign ministry Irushadha Abdul Sattar said the ministry was trying to return two Maldivians detained in two different prisons in Syria.

Irushadha said that the two men were detained in Syria due to drug related charges.

”one of them has been detained since 2003 and the other since 2008,” She said.

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Dr Abdulla Mausoom said if the detainees were Maldivians and innocent people, “the government should not wait a single minute without helping them.”

”If there are innocent Maldivians detained anywhere the government should help them,” Dr Mausoom said.

The Maldivian government has recently announced that it will resettle two detainees from Guantanamo Bay jail, creating public outcry. President Mohamed Nasheed dismissed concerns and claimed it was a “humanitarian” act.

Parliament’s National Security Committee is now investigating the case of the detainees the Maldivian government allegedly agreed to bring in to the country, which some MPs claimed might disrupt the peace and sovereignty of the country.

Dr Shaheed and State Foreign minister Ahmed Naseem was on an official trip and was unable to get a comment, while the President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair is on leave.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

President ratifies Decentralisation Act

President Mohamed Nasheed has today ratified the landmark bill on decentralised administration but vetoed the complementary bill on local council elections.

Addressing press today, Nasheed said Attorney General (AG) Husnu Suood advised the president’s office that although the decentralisation bill would not hamper the implementation of government policies, some provisions were “legally questionable.”

“If the bill becomes law, both the attorney general and this office has noted that there could be legal problems in enforcing it without amendments,” he said.

As the constitutional deadline for local council elections elapsed in July last year, he added, a further delay was not advisable.

Although the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) removed the concept of provinces from the government’s bill, Nasheed said the Act does not prohibit the creation of province as it stipulates that new legislation would be needed to form “province councils.”

Opposition MPs argued that grouping atolls into seven provinces was unconstitutional as 21 administrative areas or atolls were clearly specified in the constitution.

Nasheed stressed that it was important to distinguish between political decentralisation, or the formation of local councils, and administrative decentralisation.

The constitution empowers the president to create posts and offices in the atolls to provide services of various government ministries located in Male’, he explained.

“For example, the ministry of economic development registers companies,” he said. “In the past, to register a company you had to come to Male’, fill out the form and get the seal.”

Apart from providing services directly to the region, he continued, the province offices would work together with island and atoll councils on speeding up development projects.

13 points

A statement highlighting 13 legal points raised by Attorney General Husnu Suood regarding the decentralisation bill was issued by the president’s office today.

Suood noted that the bill does not preclude either the creation of provinces or collaboration among constituencies or administrative areas.

Moreover, the law does not prohibit either a government ministry or an independent institution from targeting services to two atolls or undertaking development projects for one or more atolls.

Thirdly, as the bill distinguishes between the central island and the capital island of an atoll, the powers and administrative framework of former atoll offices would be transferred to the atoll council.

It will therefore be left to residents of an atoll to to designate an island for the administrative office of the atoll council.

The AG notes that the composition of city councils specified in the bill was unfair as the city council of Male’, with a population of 125,000, will have 11 members, while the atoll council of Addu, with a population of 29,000, will have 12 members.

Further, the bill does not prohibit island councils from entering into agreements with the government’s utility companies, created for the seven provinces, to provide electricity, water and sanitation.

As the guidelines specified in the bill for island councils and atoll councils to offer municipal services differed significantly, “it is important to streamline the guidelines for providing these services.”

In the case of Fuahmulah, the only island in the Maldives that is also an atoll, the AG points out that its eight island councils with three members each, in addition to a six-member atoll council, was proportionately a high number of representatives compared to other atolls.

While the 9,000 people of Fuahmulah would have 30 elected representatives, the 125,000 people of Male’ would have 11 representatives on its city council.

Moreover, a government minister has to be on the board of the local government authority and is required to answer to parliament, but might not be elected as the chair of the board.

If the minister is not elected to the chair, Suood notes, it is doubtful whether he or she could report to parliament as mandated by article 140 of the constitution.

The AG recommends amending the law to require the chair of the board to report to a minister designated by the president.

Meanwhile, a provision that would allow councils to plan and organize services provided by government ministries was “unconstitutional” as it would strip the ministry of its authority and ministers could not answer to either parliament or the president.

Granting powers to local councils to invalidate contracts and agreements made in the constituency after the ratification of the new constitution “did not make legal sense” and was “unfair” as it could leave third parties without any avenues for redress.

On the twelfth point, the AG recommends designating council members apart from the president and vice-president “non-executive” members with lower pay.

As there was going to be around 1,200 council members in the country, between Rf400 million to Rf500 million would be needed annually for salaries and allowances.

Since the Decentralisation Act stipulates that elections must take place within 150 days of ratification, Suood notes that the local council elections bill must be ratified before June 15.

Local council elections bill

Although the president vetoed the bill on local council elections today, he conceded that he would sign it into law If parliament passes it again without an amendment to allow remote voting.

Fuad Thaufeeq, president of the Elections Commission (EC), told Minivan News earlier this month that the two bills had to be ratified within 28 days of each other to comply with the periods specified in both pieces of legislation.

At the press conference, President Nasheed denied claims by opposition parties that the government was stalling the elections to prolong the tenure of appointed island and atoll councilors.

Nasheed said the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) proposed at the Special Majlis that the parliamentary and local council elections should have preceded the presidential elections.

The number of island chiefs and deputies appointed in the past was above 800, he said, while the number of councilors would not exceed one to each island.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Maafushi jail “in chaos”, claim families of inmates

The country’s main prison in Kaafu Atoll Maafushi is “in chaos”, families of inmates have claimed, with neither the inmates nor jail officers reportedly in charge.

A person familiar with Maafushi jail told Minivan News that the situation was deteriorating daily due to the unfulfilled pledges the government made to inmates.

The source said fights between inmates and jail officers was a daily occurrence.

“It has become the normal situation inside the cells and someone will get hurt. It won’t be a good day without it,” he said.

“Inmates in the cells are demanding fulfillment of the pledges President Mohamed Nasheed made and the jail officers claim they do not have the budget or power they demand.”

Moreover, he said,  inmates were claiming that their parents and family had voted for  President Nasheed because of the pledges he made during the presidential elections.

”They claim that half of Nasheed’s votes came from inmates’ families, who voted for the pledge that they will give parole and clemency to inmates,” he said.

Shortly after the new government came to power, Special Envoy to the President Ibrahim Hussein Zaki visited the jail.

”He came and told all the inmates to think that they all were free now,” he said. ”He said that within weeks everyone will be free.”

He added that inmates were very happy about the news but “after days there was no sign of them and inmates became disheartened.”

In protest, inmates staged a hunger strike in December 2008.

”The State Minister [for Home Affairs, Ahmed Shafeeq] visited the inmates, brought a document signed by the president and told everyone to calm down,” he said. “Then again our families, kids and spouses were happy with the news.”

In October, rioting inmates set Maafushi jail on fire, resulting in violent clashes between inmates and prison guards.

”All the inmates were divided into the damaged cells without even cleaning the place,” he said.

He added that the jail officers continually insist that they did not have sufficient funds.

Inmates did not have pillows, mats, toothpaste, washing powder, enough plates for everyone, enough space for 80 men in a cell and no medication, he said.

”There are no chairs to sit, if the inmates built a chair on their own, MNDF, ESG Force and police will come and give punishments,” he claimed.

Moreover, water given to inmates was not filtered and has led to medical issues.

”But there are not even first aid services there,” he said.

Units with a maximum capacity of 35 was housing between 80 to 90 inmates, he continued.

Further, inmates faced difficulties meeting their parents.

”Former government sent inmates home for three days a month and one month a year,” he said.

He said that sometimes the media said that there were sports and other events conducted for the inmates ”which is not literally how it happens,”

”Only 20 inmates they participate in these events, who are friends and has family relationship with the jail officers,” he claimed.

He said that inmates were counting their days wishing for a day when the president would fulfill his pledges he made to the inmates.

“Day by day Maafushi jail’s condition is going down and inmates have to suffer. Those who sleep on the soft beds, eats on the bigger plates, lives in the bigger houses do not feel what the inmates feel,” he complained.

Response

Director General of Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation (DPRS), Ahmed Rasheed, said he had received information about the scuffles after the latest incident last month.

Rasheed said that inmates were provided with mattresses and pillows but they damaged them “when they get angry”.

”To damage something does not take too much time, but to get money to replace it takes a lot of time,” Rasheed explained.

He said the jail was reconstructed after the inmates set the place on fire, but admitted that it was not like as it was before as ”it took several years to built the place like that.”

He said the department was providing all basic necessities and amenities to inmates.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Salaf to host ‘The Call’ with Dr Bilal Philips

The religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf has announced it will host a series of religious sermons named ”The Call”.

Secretary General of Salaf Mohamed Sobah said that the sermons would be delivered by Dr Bilal Philips from Canada,  and Abdul Raheem Green from United Kingdom.

Sobah said that the sermons would be delivered for four nights.

”the events will be from 3 to 6 June,” Sobah said, ” it will be held at the Alimas Carnival Stage.”

Sobah said that the events will be held everyday from 4 pm to 10:3pm, and that the NGO was expecting more than 10,000 people to attend the sermons.

”The Islamic Ministry is fully cooperating and providing assistance to us,” he said.

He said that the NGO had launched a website for the event, at www.thecall.mv.

”We have many sponsors for the event,” he said, ”which shows that a lot of people support the event.”

Dr Bilal Philips was once brought to the Maldives by Salaf last year. Many people attended the sermon and more than 100,000 people watched it via media.

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said President Mohamed Nasheed naturally supported any religious event in the Maldives.

”If he had time he would attend these sermons himself,” Zuhair said.

He said that Islamic Ministry was a part of the government and that president supported any event the Islamic Ministry assisted and supported.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)