Maldives environment minister resigns ahead of poll

By Judith Evans and Olivia Lang

MALE, Aug 31 (Reuters) — The environment minister of the Maldives quit on Sunday, becoming the 12th cabinet member to resign this year ahead of historic elections due in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation.

Environment Minister Ahmed Abdullah, the longest-serving cabinet member in President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s government, also quit the ruling party.

That means Gayoom, who has ruled for 30 years, and his Dhivehi Raiyyithunge party now have a parliamentary majority of just two seats out of 50 heading into the first multi-party elections on the islands since he came to power.

“I’ve resigned because I don’t agree with the government’s thinking, their beliefs and policies,” Abdullah told Reuters. “I have always tried to implement sustainable environmental policies but they have not been carried out.”

Human rights groups and critics have accused Gayoom of ruling the islands like a sultan of old, and having cracked down hard on political opposition.

But he has won some international attention for speaking out on global warming and rising sea levels, issues close to home for the Maldives — which on average is just 1.5 metres above sea level.

Already this year, 11 other ministers have resigned. Seven of them were required to choose between government service and their business interests when constitutional reforms barring them from doing both went into effect on Aug. 7.

The ministers of trade, tourism and finance also quit in July over controversy surrounding an expected 4.4 billion ruffiya ($342 million) budget deficit.

A number of former ministers have joined the new Republican Party, through which former Finance Minister Gasim Ibrahim is planning to challenge Gayoom. ($1=12.8 ruffiya) (Writing by Bryson Hull; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Maldives’ Biggest Drugs Haul Was Destroyed, Say Police

The 1.6 ton stash of cannabis found on the Maldivian seabed two years ago was destroyed in the months following the find, police have said in response to comments from the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

Police said the country’s biggest drugs haul – composed of 1,697 plastic bags of narcotics found by lobster catchers in a lagoon near Alif Alif atoll – were burned in front of the media and police officers on eight separate occasions.

One packet of hashish is being kept for use as evidence in any trial, although police have not arrested anyone in connection with the case.

The move follows questions raised by the MDP at a campaign event this week.

Presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed (Anni) said drugs were imported “with the government’s knowledge” and he had heard complaints that confiscated drugs, such as the 2006 haul, are sold on.

Police media coordinator Sergeant Shiyam said some of the packets were destroyed in Dhoonidhoo island in the presence of a committee and the media. Others were burned in larger quantities at Hulhumalé.

Media were invited to all the sessions, Shiyam says, which were held on 21 June, 26 June, 28 June, 1 July, 8 July, 15 July, 5 August and 2 September 2006.

According to local media reports at the time, 21 out of 1600 kilos were burnt on 26 June 2006.

The police statement said presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed had “given misinformation”. They “requested people not to spread rumours” about the police service.

“Confiscated drugs in the Maldives are labelled by a special committee and they are securely held. After they are confiscated, under special supervision they are weighed and they are destroyed,” the statement says.

The cannabis was found in April 2006 by locals diving for lobsters in shallow waters. Shiyam says the case is still open, and that earlier investigation found the “packaging was from a European country”.

The government has faced criticism for a lack of action in dealing with the drugs trade, as well as allegations of complicity.

Concerns have been repeatedly raised by members of the public and groups such as Society for Woman Against Drugs (SWAD) over drugs returning to the streets after arrests.

At the time of the haul two years ago, the MDP called for an independent body to oversee the drugs’ destruction.

They released a statement saying the “police hierarchy had become millionaires from the drugs trade”.

The country’s second biggest drugs haul was made in April this year, when 13.6 kilograms of heroin was found in the capital, Malé. Police said they had arrested six suspects but, unlike in other cases, did not reveal names.

In 1997, three Maldivians were found to have orchestrated an attempt to smuggle in 1,372 grams of hashish oil in seven professionally packed cans of corned beef while they were about to board a flight to Malé from Trivandrum Airport in India.

Original article here

American NGO Condemns Maldives Constitution Over Religion Clause

Minivan News, 9 August 2008

An American-based NGO promoting religious pluralism has condemned the Maldives’ new constitution over a clause requiring all citizens to be Muslims, saying it does not conform to international norms and human rights.

The Institute on Religion and Public Policy (IRPP) says the regulation in the country’s new constitution – ratified on Thursday – undermines basic guarantees of rights and freedoms.

The move follows criticism from US Ambassador Robert Blake, who also said the clause violated international covenants, describing it as a “concern” earlier this week.

The clause was left unchanged in the constitutional drafting process – despite being flagged up as a controversial issue – due to its sensitive nature in an Islamic country.

Islam Only

Article 9, Section D of the constitution now states that “a non-Muslim may not become a citizen of the Maldives,” which the IRPP says violates minorities’ freedom of worship.

“This denial of citizenship to non-Muslims is an extraordinarily harsh measure which places the Maldives among the worst countries in the world in regards to the legal foundation for freedom of religion and belief,” the Institute President Joseph K. Grieboski is reported to have said.

The Maldives government says the country is 100 per cent Muslim, and also bans the import of un-Islamic texts or symbols.

Ambassador Robert Blake said last Wednesday that the clause was a concern, but added that the Maldivian government was working to find a solution.

“Religious freedom is a very important part of our constitution. The [Maldivian] government understands our concern that this clause contravenes international conventions it is a party to,” he said.

But religious parties appear to support the new rule. Both Sheikh Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari, head of the religious Adhaalath party scholars’ council, and Islamic Democratic Party (IDP) presidential candidate Umar Naseer have said they agree with the tightening of the regulation.

Constitution

The clause could affect those who convert away from Islam, or who are children of Maldivians married to non-Muslims, but it is not clear whether it will ever be put into practice.

Despite being flagged up as difficult to implement prior to the constitution being passed in the Special Majlis (constitutional assembly), it was left unchanged in the final draft.

Information Minister Mohamed Nasheed has said this was due to the sensitivity of the issue. “No Maldives politician would want to take the case up,” he told Minivan News in May.

“It will be very difficult for Maldives mentality to accept Maldives citizens may belong to a different faith,” he added.

Politicians have been reluctant to condemn the rule ahead of upcoming presidential elections, the country’s first multi-party polls.

Former attorney general Dr Hassan Saeed, an independent presidential candidate, disregarded the issue saying it wasn’t relevant as “we do not have a non-Muslim population”.

Tenets Of Islam

In addition to denying non-Muslims citizenship, the new constitution establishes several other precepts regarding religion.

It limits freedom of expression to that which is “not contrary to a tenet of Islam.”

The Institute on Religion and Public Policy is reportedly drafting an analysis of the new constitution for expected release in September.

The Institute is an international, inter-religious non-profit organization which aims to ensure freedom of religion.

The Maldives’ previous constitution stipulated individuals must be Muslim in order to vote in elections, but not in order to be a citizen. Maldives became an Islamic country in 1153.