Demonstration Effect

Sep 17th 2009 | KATHMANDU
From The Economist print edition

LIGHTING Kathmandu with torches by night, protesters have been darkening it by day. Wherever Madhav Kumar Nepal, the prime minister, and his cabinet go, they are greeted by angry Maoists brandishing black flags. A political stand-off is worsening, threatening the fragile peace that has prevailed in Nepal since the end in 2006 of the Maoists’ ten-year insurgency.

September 11th saw the biggest demonstration since May, when Pushpa Kamal Dahal (formerly known as Prachanda), the Maoist leader, resigned as prime minister and took his party into opposition. In a speech to a flag-waving crowd of about 15,000, many in red bandannas, he recalled the 40 demands he made in 1996 to the then government. Its mistake, he said, was to ignore them. Now he has 45.

The implied threat of renewed insurrection may be a bluff. But it shows how bad the Maoists’ relations with Mr Nepal’s ruling coalition have become. Mr Dahal had two objectives: to placate restive party activists still waiting for a revolution; and to leave room for a negotiated outcome.

The Maoists have been protesting ever since May. Mr Dahal resigned when he was thwarted in his attempt to sack the army chief, General Rookmangud Katawal, over his refusal to accept the integration of some 20,000 former Maoist fighters into the national army. General Katawal, who has since retired, was reinstated by the president. The Maoists allege this was unconstitutional and have been demanding a parliamentary debate about it.

The chances of a return to war remain slight. But Mr Nepal’s fragile 22-party coalition is running out of time to find a compromise, as the Maoists, who have blockaded parliament since May, step up their protests, and demonstrate at every government event. In some districts they have begun to set up parallel local governments. This week a Maoist-affiliated trade union shut some private secondary schools across the country for four days. In Kathmandu riot police have responded to protests with bamboo sticks and tear-gas.

Having marginalised themselves, the Maoists now want to lead the government again. They won more seats than any other party in last year’s elections for the constituent assembly. Many analysts believe their inclusion in government is essential for the peace process. But they are not satisfied with a partnership in the coalition, which is all Mr Nepal’s ruling centre-left party has offered them so far. Mr Nepal has also accused the Maoists of trying to split both his party and the coalition. It is just possible that the Maoists will agree to join the coalition under a leader other than Mr Nepal, and that talks due as The Economist was going to press, between the Maoists and the two biggest parties in the ruling coalition, break the deadlock.

Despite the political stalemate, some ground has been made in recent weeks. The constituent assembly, which is supposed to write a constitution for the young republic, has managed to elect a new chairman for the main drafting committee, suspended since May. And the Maoists, who say they will not block the peace process, have agreed to sit on the committee responsible for merging the armies, which intends to complete the job in six months. But it has yet to agree on if or how the former fighters are to be integrated into the army. Until it does, and until a way is found to bring the Maoists back into government, a durable peace will remain elusive.

Maldives Diver Survives After 21-Ton Block Falls On Him

I just saw this great survival story on Maldivian newspaper Haveeru Daily today.

A man has survived without serious injury after a 21-ton concrete block fell on top of him on Sunday while he was diving to survey the area.

The 29-year old Maldivian found himself trapped after the crane wire holding the 15-ft high block snapped while he was levelling the sand in the lagoon directly below. He says he believes it was his air tank which saved him from the weight.

He was then momentarily trapped before the block tilted to the side and he was able to get back up to the surface.

Old Enemies Unite To Promise Smooth Transfer Of Power

Olivia Lang in Male

At a an unprecedented press conference in the presidential palace on Wednesday, president-elect Mohamed Nasheed (Anni) said he would arrange for protection for defeated President Gayoom after his term ends in November.

In an extraordinary display of unity by the two rivals, Gayoom conceded defeat while Anni praised his soon-to-be predecessor as “one of the most important leaders of this country”.

“Revenge, anger – we cannot develop with such an attitude, with a heavy heart we cannot do this. I’m appealing to the public, for the sake of future generations, leave these things aside,” Anni said, with Gayoom looking on.

Gayoom and his government have over many years faced allegations of human rights abuses, including arbitrary arrests, torture and custodial deaths.

Pension

Saying his future government would arrange all legal procedures, Anni added, “We have never had a past ruler staying with us in dignity and honour.”

Gayoom, now 71, will receive “a pension and protection,” said Anni, an iconic activist, who emerged the clear winner on Tuesday with 54 per cent of the vote.

Anni said he wanted the country’s transition to go peacefully and, bearing this in mind, there was “no point in going on a witchhunt and digging up the past”.

“A test of our democracy will be how we treat Maumoon…I believe he’s one of the most important leaders of this country… he is going to be staying with us,” he said.

Asked for his message to the people, he said: “Lower your hearts in success and raise them in defeat.”

And asked about opposition accusations that Gayoom stole $40 million intended for tsunami relief, Anni said it “hasn’t been proved”.

Unlike previous presidents in Maldives, Gayoom has said he would stay in the country, rather than spending the rest of his life abroad.

“Not Fresh”

“You may notice I’m not very fresh – it’s because of something that happened last night… a very important election took place and I got a very second place,” announced Gayoom, after officially conceding earlier in the day.

“I congratulate Mohamed Nasheed (Anni) and the MDP,” he added.

He said he would stay in the capital, Malé, and his Dhivehi Raiyyithunge Party (DRP) would become an opposition party.

“I don’t like being beaten, even in a match, and I don’t like to be beaten in an election either,” he said. “But sometimes we win and sometimes we lose.”

“My legacy is going to be introducing a modern liberal form of democracy: that is the greatest legacy anyone can give,” he added.

Meanwhile, Gayoom denied the tsunami aid allegation completely, saying: “It is a lie that I have stolen government money. I am not a thief.”

On Tuesday, Anni won 97,222 votes, or 54 per cent of the total, while Gayoom secured 82,121 votes, or 45.79 per cent.

The polls were the first time Gayoom has faced opponents in a presidential election, after previously standing six times for election under a one-candidate system.

Six candidates in the first round on 8 October were narrowed down to the two highest vote-winners, Anni and Gayoom, for 28 October’s final vote.

Anni will be sworn in as president on 11 November.

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Elections may be called off

Olivia Lang and Zaheena Rasheed

Members of the Maldives Election Commission may call of the country’s first multiparty elections amid voter complaints over registration, voter lists and vanishing indelible ink.

The commission has met for an emergency meeting as voting difficulties continue in Wednesday’s elections, an official from the elections commission confirmed.

Around 300 protesters are now outside Nasandhura Palace, the central counting base, leading to an estimated ten or more riot police deployed in the area.

An elections commission official, who did not want to be named, told Minivan News there were four main problems which could threaten Wednesday’s polls.

The ink used to mark voters’ fingers to prevent double voting can be washed off, according to citizens who have complained to the commission and observers. Secondly, a number of residents with registration cards have found they are not on the voter list, although it is difficult to estimate how many are having this problem.

Some islands have not received the voter list, according to the same official. And a proportion of people who have recently applied for identification cards did not receive them on time, he added.

Opposition Maldivian Democratic presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed (Anni) says he does not want it called off, saying they are “only slight problems.”

“The election commission is thinking of nullifying it. [But] you cannot nullify it based on one candidate’s complaint,” he told Minivan News. “We are working to extend the deadline so everyone can vote…Some people have an interest in nullifying it,” he added.

It is not yet clear whether President Gayoom has requested the vote be called off.

Independent candidate Hassan Saeed said he was “still consulting” colleagues about it and had not yet made a decision.

Chairperson of the MDP Mariya Ahmed Didi found she was not on the voting list and has expressed concern that MDP supporters were being turned away.

Meanwhile, others have found they are not on the list despite being on the one of the elections commission website, suggesting there are two different lists being used.

Polls opened at 9am on Wednesday.

Asia’s longest serving leader, is free to run for another five-year term

Olivia Lang in Male

President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is eligible to stand for a seventh term in office, Supreme Court judges ruled on Thursday.

In an unsurprising verdict, judges stated Gayoom, Asia’s longest serving leader, is free to run for another five-year term in the country’s first multiparty elections next Wednesday.

Gayoom’s candidacy was challenged by opposition Social Liberal Party, over a new two-term limit enshrined in the constitution, ratified in August.

Following the verdict, Social Liberal Party presidential candidate Ibrahim Ismail conceded defeat, saying he believed justice is not always obtained in court.

“As this decision was made by the Supreme Court we should respect it. But it doesn’t mean we accept it,” he told press outside.

“But we have achieved some of the things we wanted to…The fact that we could bring the issue to such a high level is a success in itself,” he added.

But defending lawyer Ahmed Fizan said the court was right in its ruling. “This was work done by some people to stop the process. This is a good decision,” he said.

The court did not explicitly rule on whether the constitution was an ‘amended’ or ‘new’ constitution, a key controversy in the debate.

The SLP has consistently argued it is revised, and therefore Gayoom has served more than two terms and was therefore ineligible for running again, but the government maintains it is a new document, acting as a clean slate.

Supreme Court judges were voted in on 18 September, the last possible date to meet the 21 September deadline in the constitution for a Supreme Court to come into being.

But opposition MPs walked out in protest at a lack of information on the nominees, whilst legal reform minister Mohamed Nasheed expressed “disappointment” that no candidate had any formal background in common law.

At the time, human rights lawyer Husnu Suood said it was “a sad day for justice”. He also hit out at opposition MPs for walking out instead of attempting to block the government’s Dhivehi Raiyyithunge Party (DRP) through voting.

Thursday’s verdict was made at Muleeage, the former presidential palace building in the capital, Malé.

President Gayoom is also being challenged by the religious conservative Adaalaath Party, who argue he is not a Sunni Muslim, a pre-requisite for presidency. A total of 42 of the country’s religious scholars have issued a fatwa against him.

The verdict of the second case will be issued on Thursday afternoon.

Maldives says 6 candidates running for president

Olivia Lang (AP) – Longtime President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom will face five opponents in the Maldives’ first democratic presidential election next month, election officials said.

The election is the culmination of a four-year reform effort intended to fight corruption and bring democracy to the Indian Ocean archipelago known more as a tourist getaway than a hotbed of political activism.

Though most of the candidates have been known for several weeks, the Election Commission officially announced who would be on the Oct. 8 ballot late Sunday.

Gayoom, who has ruled the Sunni Muslim nation of nearly 1,200 mostly uninhabited islands for 30 years, hopes to capture a seventh consecutive term in office under a new constitution that has been hailed as an important reform step for the country.

His main challengers are expected to be Mohamed Nasheed, head of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, and former Attorney-General Hassan Saeed. A former foreign minister who is also a prominent businessman, an Islamic party candidate and the head of a small opposition party are also running.

“I think this is going to be a very transparent, free and fair election,” Gayoom said after the announcement.

If no one wins an outright majority, there will be a runoff election between the two with the most votes.

Gayoom faced no opposition in previous elections because political parties were banned, and voters were only allowed to vote “yes” or “no.”

He has been credited with turning a sleepy string of fishing islands off the southwestern tip of India into a major tourism destination and filling its coffers with hard currency.

But he has also been accused of ruling the country with an authoritarian grip, while drug abuse and Islamic radicalism have increased during his decades in power.

Gayoom’s candidacy is being challenged in the Supreme Court under new laws that limit presidents to two terms. An Islamic party has also accused him of not being a Sunni Muslim, a prerequisite for the presidency.

Nasheed’s eligibility is also being challenged because of a 2001 theft conviction that was widely viewed as politically motivated.

The elections are the culmination of a reform movement that began in 2004 following mass street demonstrations over the death of a teenager at the hands of prison guards. Political parties were legalized in 2005 and a new constitution, ratified in August, limits the president’s powers and promises Maldivians new rights, including freedom of speech and assembly.

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

Human right abuses in maldives: opinion

Olivia Lang in Male

In 2003, the death of Evan Naseem exposed the public to abuses faced by prisoners at the hands of security forces in the Maldives. Public outrage was reflected by street riots as ordinary people declared they would not tolerate such violence.

Yet four and a half years later, as evidence surfaces once again of torture and beatings in prisons and detention centres, President Gayoom and his government should be concerned about history repeating itself.

Over the years, the Maldives has borne witness to a stream of human rights abuses, including several high-profile incidents, which have pushed the government to pledge a number of changes.

Action was perhaps most notable in 2006 when the country officially became party to a number of international rights conventions, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

And in December, the Human Rights Commission (HRCM) officially became the country’s National Prevention Mechanism for the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, giving it full access to the country’s prisons and custodial centres.

But despite these overarching moves as the country moves gradually along its roadmap for reform, accounts of persistent human rights violations suggest such changes are not reflected on the ground.

As the country heads towards its first multi-party elections, recent months have seen abject failures of the authorities to protect not only ordinary citizens from gang-related violence, but also to those in custody from maltreatment.

While reports of violence in the police-run Dhoonidhoo detention centre appeared to lessen last year, this pattern has seemingly reversed since the beginning of this year, judging from recent information collected by Minivan News.

Last month a number of young people in custody over street violence made allegations of being beaten. Some described in detail how they were handcuffed, hooded, and made to stand at the top of concrete stairs before officers kicked the centre of their backs, causing them to fall down the steps.

Allegations of further abuse have emerged from Dhoonidhoo this week, some from those previously beaten despite reassurances action would be taken.

The testimonials also match others received by Minivan News from other sources this year, which indicate Dhoonidhoo prisoners are regularly dragged out to the football fields, blindfolded and beaten.

And recent accounts suggest prisoners at Maafushi are suffering similar abuse, which appears to reflect a continual pattern at the jail and which has resulted in riots in the past.

Last June, 500 hunger striking prisoners called on the authorities for much-needed reforms, including rehabilitation for drug addicts. Government agreed at the time to a 7-point plan of action.

But the pledges have not been fulfilled – and rehabilitation treatment has still not materialised in any form in the prison, though an estimated 80 per cent of Maafushi inmates are serving sentences for drug offences.

And whilst drugs have become a key issue, socially and politically, there are still no checks on guards in Maafushi, despite reports of them bringing narcotics into the prison.

Perhaps it is not surprising, given the lack of changes, that two petitions have emerged from Maafushi this year protesting against alleged maltreatment and poor conditions. One, addressed to the president, was signed by 300 inmates.

A fortnight ago frustrations boiled over, culminating in a hunger strike by more than 200 prisoners in the high security Unit 2 – roughly a third of the entire prison – after alleged ill-treatment and torture.

Accounts refer to beatings by the Emergency Support Group (ESG) who are called in for extra security, which testimonials indicate use far more than the “minimal necessary” force the Home Ministry say they are trained to use.

One prisoner said he had been “tortured with an electric shock baton”, as well as undergoing simulated drowning with his “head in a water bucket”.

And while the number of cases reaching public attention indicates a rise in mistreatment, for every one of these, many more are likely to be successfully swept under the carpet.

The situation should worry the government, not least because the Maldives receives significant aid from foreign donor governments, some of which may be concerned at a fundamental lack of humane treatment in prisons.

The Maldivian government’s apathy, however, is disquieting. The minister responsible for police and prisons is home minister Abdullah Kamaldeen, who has not stepped down despite chaos in his areas of responsibility and a no confidence motion submitted last month.

It is perhaps ironic that he is encountering a similar pattern to the last home minister, Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, who survived a no confidence vote and was in place during last year’s hunger strike. Thasmeen was later transferred out of the home ministry, becoming minister of atolls instead.

Unsurprisingly, when Kalmadeen’s vote reached parliament, the DRP did not let it pass, and state minister Ibrahim Shafiu said the motion was a tactical move by opposition members designed only to “disgrace” the government.

But surely Kalmadeen does not need opposition members to disgrace him, when the state of the institutions under his control is a clear reflection of his inability to manage his own duties.

Still, others argue he is powerless in a system which has been in place for years. Opposition member Ibrahim Ismail (Ibra) argues Kalmadeen’s position is untenable because the main decisions concerning his remit are actually made between President Gayoom and Adam Zahir, the police commissioner.

Despite several deaths having taken place in police custody under Zahir’s leadership of the force (he was also head of the National Security Services (NSS) at the time of Evan Naseem’s death), he remains in the same position.

If Kalmadeen’s position is superficial, he should not remain sitting in a vacuous role. And if it is not, and he has the power to make decisions, he should address the central failures within the prison system and police.

Even those within the system admit it suffers from inherent flaws. Deputy Home Minister Abdullah Waheed admitted in March that late last year drugs had entered Maafushi because the prison had been controlled by a “gang” of inmates.

Surely it is the Home Minister’s responsibility to ensure that the country’s largest prison is secure and safe, for both detainees and the wider public?

But Kalmadeen’s record does not appear to reflect any sense of accountability. In December, he refused to condemn the alleged violence of Star Force officers in Thaa atoll Kibidhoo last March, instead denying the allegations completely.

Despite photographs of injuries, verbal accounts, and a human rights commission report indicating otherwise, the Home Minister refused to take responsibility, instead saying they those injured were merely “caught up in the crowd”.

It is disheartening that, despite the human rights abuses which consistently tarnish the country’s image internationally, the government is still neglecting to take the issue seriously. Such allegations again show these issues are still not a government priority, despite human rights conventions.

And while there is no doubt that there are encouraging developments, including the work of local NGOs, UN agencies and the human rights commission, the absence of any serious internal, institutional reform or government accountability is likely to mean the police and prison system will continue to fail its people time and again.

[Minivan News]

New Measures To “Reduce” Drug Smuggling Into Maafushi

New measures will help prevent drugs from being brought into Maafushi, the country’s largest prison, the Home Ministry says, while at the same time admitting substantial security gaps have allowed drug smuggling to flourish in the past.

Deputy Home Minister Abdulla Waheed said that the prisoners had been able to “do whatever they wanted” and narcotics control had not been upheld.

And whilst reports suggest that guards bring drugs into Maafushi, Waheed says they are not checked when they enter and leave the prison.

“No Control”

Maafushi jail – which holds around 600 inmates, the majority of whom are convicted of drug offences – has been subject to consistent criticism for turning a blind eye to the internal drugs problem.

And Waheed told Minivan News that whilst trafficking had been “reduced”, there were problems last year due to a lack of training for prison security staff.

The guards “couldn’t do anything about it [the drugs] or anything else” because “a gang” had been in charge, he explained, although he could not specify the number of prisoners in the gang.

When asked how drugs were being brought in, Waheed said that they could have been brought in by prisoners after visits to Malé for medical treatment, or they might have been thrown over the wall.

He said the new measures consisted of further training for prison staff.

Screening

Waheed admitted that despite a screening procedure being in place for prisoners, this had not been effective because of a lack of staff training.

A prison officer at Maafushi, who wished to remain anonymous, told Minivan News today that though the prison carries out body checks, electronic scanners are not used – so prisoners can transport drugs within their bodies.

And meanwhile there is no checking facility for Maafushi staff upon entry, so drug smuggling by guards could go undetected.

One man, whose brother is imprisoned at Maafushi and who also wished to remain anonymous, said a uniformed prison officer had come to his house in Malé to demand money owed by the brother, who he believed was buying drugs in jail.

The same individual added that he had seen his brother during visiting time and that he had been visibly suffering withdrawal symptoms, despite having been incarcarated for over a year.

Criminalisation of Drugs

In June 2007, 450 Maafushi inmates went on hunger strike over conditions in the jail and the lack of treatment for drug addicts.

Whilst drug-related arrests have risen dramatically over the past five years, rather than directing money into drug rehabilitation – currently unavailable in prisons – the government now plans to build three more prisons to combat overcrowding.

In June 2007, UN legal expert Dr Leandro Despouy said that “the criminalisation [of addiction] has proved unsuccessful.”

The government first acknowledged a lack of rehabilitation services in 2003, but has failed to uphold pledges since then to implement effective programmes.