Tag: President

Parties conduct peace talks behind closed doors

The opposition joint coalition and the government yesterday decided not to disclose any information to the media regarding the second round of peace talks, in an effort to calm tensions “and give the talks the best chance of succeeding”, according to one member.

A Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP said that during yesterday’s meeting all the parties had agreed not to reveal any details of the ongoing discussions.

“We will issue a joint statement. Now the administrative work of the statement is on going,” he said. A third meeting is scheduled for Saturday.

Chairperson of MDP and MP Mariya Didi, who is also representing the government in the peace talks, said it was “in the best interests of the country” to conduct the meetings behind closed doors.

Spokesperson for the MDP Ahmed Haleem said he would not wish to comment on the peace talks.

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MPs Ahmed Nihan, Deputy leader Umar Naseer and Peoples Alliance leader Abdulla Yamin did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

Meanwhile, President Nasheed welcomed the ongoing all-party talks, which aim to break the present political deadlock in the country between the executive and legislature.

“I very much welcome the discussions and I am optimistic that the parties will reach a productive outcome,” the President said in a statement.“There are people in all parties who are rational, reasonable and respectable and who would like this country to succeed.”

“I believe it is time for the voices of reason and compromise to step forward and leave behind those who hanker for a return to the authoritarian past,” he added.

The relative ceasefire of angry rhetoric between the parties will likely lead to a focus on the judicial reform process, with crowds gathering today outside the  Judicial Service Commission (JSC) demanding action be taken against corrupt judges.

Haleem said the crowd did not only consist of MDP supporters, “but normal people who belong to different political parties”.

“The judges are working against the spirit of the constitution,” he alleged. “They can’t say, ‘We are taking an oath and this is for 70 years’. If that is the case, the president can also take an oath for lifetime.”

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Opposition MPs vow to forward no-confidence motion against President

A group of opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MPs have declared they will forward a no-confidence motion against President Mohamed Nasheed to parliament.

“There is no need to go out and protest on the streets, there is only one individual who is the issue for the Maldives,” said DRP MP Ahmed Nihan. “It is the president who is the issue, and as MPs it is our lawful duty to file this motion and send the president home.”

Nasheed had violated the constitution which justified invoking article 100 of the constitution, concerning impeachment, claimed Nihan.

“Multiple times he has gone beyond the chart and violated the constitution – we have no other choice,” Nihan said, adding that if the president was “allowed to to do whatever he wished, there will be no use for an institution named parliament.”

Nihan said that DRP MP Ahmed Mahlouf, DRP MP and deputy leader of the party Ahmed Ilham and DRP MP Ali Arif were working together to secure the no-confidence vote.

A vote to impeach the President or Vice-President requires a two-thirds majority in the 77-member parliament, and counting the voting history of the Independent MPs, would still require 8-10 of the ruling MDP MPs to cross the floor and vote with the opposition.

Nonetheless, several weeks ago the government revealed that six MDP MPs had written to the President alleging opposition MPs had attempted to bribe them to vote against the government, prompting the resignation of cabinet in protest and precipitating the current political deadlock.

Nihan said he would propose the motion be supported by the rest of the DRP, “although we do not know what would our party’s stand would be,” he said.

“Any MP who works according to the oath and is sincere to their people, will definitely support the motion,” he claimed.

“This is a very serious declaration, this is not a joke. The whole nation is calling in one voice simultaneously for the resignation of the president,” he added.

MDP MP Ahmed Shifaz said that opposition MP were only in parliament with the sole intention of trying to topple the government.

“I can give you 100 percent assurance that they will not be able to topple the government in parliament,” said Shifaz. “Even if they try [with this motion] it would not be successful.”

Shifaz claimed that opposition MPs made such claims to try and boost their status among opposition supporters.

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Maldives celebrates 45th Independence Day July 26: Timetable

Maldives celebrates Independence Day on Monday July 26, marking the 45th anniversary of the country’s independence from Britain.

All events are scheduled to commence following a special prayer conducted after the dawn prayer.

July 26

6:00am: The national flag will be hoisted across all the islands of the Maldives. President Mohamed Nasheed will hoist the national flag in Male’. President Mohamed Nasheed will address the nation.

7:00am: Watersports

8:00am: Opening ceremony of Velaanaage Office, presidential residence of former President Ibrahim Nasir, which will house all government offices under one roof.

9:00am: Launching of the National Museum.

10:00am: Opening ceremony of the new Defence Building. The ceremony will be honoured by the father of Martyr Hussein Adam, who defended the gates of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) base during the 1988 November 3 coup by Sri Lankan secessionists, the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE).

11:00am: launching of the Correctional Training Centre for Children at Feydhufinolhu, by President Mohamed Nasheed and First Lady Laila Ali.

14:00pm: Opening ceremony of the Police Building, by President Moahmed Nasheed and First Lady Laila Ali.

17:00pm: Parade and guard of honour for Preisdent Mohamed Nasheed and First Lady Laila Ali.

20:30pm: Music Show at Alimas Carnival Stage, attended by filmstar Moosa ‘Chilhiya’ Maniku.

July 27

8:30am: Launching ceremony of the MNDF Training Wing at Girifushi, a military island. President and First Lady will attend the event.

10:00am: Launching ceremony of Hulhumale’ hospital’s ICU.

14:00pm: Program to reduce the numbers of crows and bats will be held at Holhudhoo in Noonu Atoll.

20:00pm: A special function conducted by the President and First Lady at Dharubaaruge.

20:30pm: Music Show at Alimas Carnival Stage.

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President reinstates cabinet, awaits parliament’s consent

President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed has reinstated his cabinet ministers in a signing ceremony before Chief Judge of the Civil Court, Ali Sameer, following their mass resignation on June 29, in protest against what they claimed were the “scorched-earth politics” of the opposition-majority parliament.

The only cabinet reshuffle concerned Mahmoud Razee, former Minister for Transport, Civil Aviation and Communications, who was moved to the post of Minister of Economic Development. His former portfolio remains open.

“Cabinet decided to stick together on the issue and resign, to show they are not hell bent on the salaries and niceties of their positions and to prove they want to do good work for the country,” Nasheed claimed.

Following the reinstatement of his ministers, President Nasheed denied the week-long resignation was a publicity stunt for political gain.

“We had to make everyone aware of the gravity of the situation,” he said. “Cabinet members have been complaining about corruption in parliament for some while, [particularly] vote buying.”

“We were last week able to investigate the matter, and I expect police to pass the findings of the investigation to the Prosecutor General’s Office within the next 10 days,” he added.

The ‘new’ cabinet now requires parliamentary consent before resuming office. The President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair confirmed the government had been delaying the reinstatement until it received signs of cooperation from the main opposition party.

Zuhair acknowledged the strategy was “risky”, an observation confirmed by DRP Deputy Leader Umar Naseer, who claimed “there are definitely ministers that the DRP will not approve, and will have to leave the cabinet.”

Zuhair however noted that the wording of the procceedure according to the Constitution was different to the appointment of the heads of independent commissions.

“Parliament is only required to ‘consent or not to consent’ to the [whole] cabinet,” he explained. “Even if the opposition is factionalised, if we get 7-8 MPs on our side the motion will be carried.”

President Nasheed has met opposition party leaders alone in a meeting on Monday evening mediated by US Ambassador Patricia Butenis, including leader of the majority opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party, Ahmed Thasmeen Ali.

President Nasheed today said that while Thasmeen had not explicitly agreed to cooperate in the meeting, “individual DRP MPs have called me, and said they do not wish the government and parliament to remain deadlocked.”

He said the MPs had claimed they did not wish the entire institution of parliament “to be affected by the actions of individual MPs.”

Foreign embassies and international agencies have been nervously eyeing the seemingly erratic behaviour of the country’s administration, fearing a step backward following its democratic transition.

Yesterday Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa also arrived in the country, in a surprise visit on the invitation of President Nasheed to help resolve the political deadlock. He has already met with Thasmeen and former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, at his residence Maafannu Aliwaage.

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

Photo: Umair Badeeu

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Supreme Court judges’ appointments not temporary: Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed

The appointment of judges to the Supreme Court is permanent, claims Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed in a letter to President Nasheed.

The receipt of the letter has been confirmed by the President’s Office press secretary Mohamed Zuhair who said the letter included legal points on expelling judges from the courts. “Such letters by the judiciary will be received by the President with special attention,” he said.

The legal points raised by the chief judge are being studied by the President’s Office’s legal team, said Zuhair, and when the legal team presents its conclusions, the President will make a decision on the letter.

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Dictatorial Majlis hindering progress in Maldives: Mariya Didi

Previously it was a dictatorial executive but now it is a dictatorial Majlis which is hindering progress in Maldives, said Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) chairperson and MP Mariya Ahmed Didi speaking at a ceremony to mark the fifth anniversary of the MDP.

The opposition parties which campaigned for a presidential system are trying to rule the country like a parliamentary democracy, Mariya Didi said, referring to opposition DRP’s Majlis bills which aim to limit the policy options of the government. The MDP sees these bills as an encroachment by the Majlis into the mandate of the executive branch of government, she said.

Members of independent commissions usually work with government agencies, and the president usually names the members of such commissions in almost all countries with a presidential system, Mariya Didi said, but because the opposition DRP controls the Majlis, it has decided that the Majlis would recruit the members of independent commissions.

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Sri Lanka can learn from the Maldives: Sunday Times

Fancy sharply pruning down the cost of the president’s office or any government ministry or department for that matter? Maybe we can learn some lessons from the Maldives, a tiny island state which is having a major voice in the global climate change debate, writes the Sunday Times in Sri Lanka.

Young, vibrant, frank and honest, the young Nasheed has enforced some cuts which to most governments would be impossible. Consider this: The President’s Palace (residence) and its 300-strong staff previously cost the government 400 million rufiya (about $30.7 million) to run. The new President has cut it, virtually to the bone, and now the cost of running the residence is 27 million rufiya! How? He has moved to a smaller house and cut staff at the residence to 23.

The island nation of more than 1000 atolls has undertaken a stringent cost cutting exercise to rid the country of extravagant spending and channelling all this valuable money to social spending including a new social insurance scheme. This is happening under the new regime of Mohamed Nasheed who was elected President of the Maldives in November 2008, ending the 30-year reign of Mamoon Abdul Gayoom.

Read more

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Next SAARC summit to be held in Addu

President Mohamed Nasheed has announced the 17th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit will be held next year in the South Province.

During his weekly radio address last Friday on the Voice of Maldives, the president said the summit could take place in both Addu and Fuahmulah Atolls.

President Nasheed acknowledged it would take a lot of work and preparation to hold the summit in Maldives, but said he was “confident a successful summit could be held in the South Province.”

Press Secretary for the President’s Office, Mohamed Zuahir, confirmed the summit will be held in the Maldives next year, but said a final date has not been set yet. “We are looking at April 2011.”

He said there would be “huge development” in the Southern Province, noting there was already “road building projects” underway in the islands. He said a new conference centre would be built for the summit, as well as other facilities such as indoor halls.

Zuhair added the development projects for the summit will cost “upward of US$10 million.” He said the money will be partly donated by other SAARC countries and partly sponsored by the Maldivian government.

“It’s the first time a SAARC summit is being held south of the Equator,” Zuhair said, “and it will highlight the Southern Province and give us a very good name.”

Maldives was meant to hold this year’s summit, “but due to economic recession” among other things, it was cancelled and held in Thimphu, Bhutan.

“As a member country, it is also our responsibility [to hold the summit],” he said.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Naseem, said holding the summit in the Southern Province “symbolises unity in the country.”

He said “there are quite a lot of people living in the Southern Province and not everything has to be held in Malé.”

He added there is already a lot of infrastructure in the province, so the cost will be feasible for the government.

Maldives was meant to hold this year’s summit, he noted, but it was cancelled due to “some difficulties.”

“It’s a regional thing,” he said, “every [SAARC] country holds the summit.”

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President returns from Malaysia

Last Friday President Mohamed Nasheed returned from his official visit to Malaysia for the 6th World Islamic Economic Forum.

Before his return, the president visited the Maldives High Commission in Malaysia. He urged the staff to set an example for Maldivians living in Malaysia, and to participate in Malaysian cultural events.

President Nasheed also met with a delegation of Malay business people, where he spoke of the importance of broadening economic relations between the two countries.

He said Maldives is now open for business, and invited them to invest in the country. Senior officials from State Trading Organisation (STO) and Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) were present at the meeting.

The president also met with a group of Maldivian students in Malaysia. He advised them to pursue their higher education and asked if they were having any “difficulties that needed attention.”

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