Raajje News Blog

#Maldives: The Supreme Court and the Judicial Services Commission have called upon the Parliament to stop interference in the judiciary and to respect the separation of powers as guaranteed under the constitution. The call was made in response to the decision by the Parliamentary Subcommittee on Government to summon before it the three Majistrates on the bench to hear the criminal case against former President Mohamed Nasheed. The summons to the Majistrates was for 3.45 on 9th October, just 15 minutes prior to the scheduled time for the first hearing in Nasheed's criminal trial. The Parliamentary Subcommittee has a majority of MPs belonging to Nasheed's party Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and is headed by MDP MP Ali Waheed. Nasheed was arrested earlier today upon a court warrant issued due to Nasheed's violation of two court orders in the case. In separate press statements both the Supreme Court and the Judicial Services Commission provide legal and constitutional gr...

#Maldives: September revenue collection is 2% less than forecast, announced Maldives Inland Revenue Authorty yesterday. In a fact sheet publicized yesterday, MIRA reported that revenue collection in Maldivian Rufiya for September totalled 6.6.3 million and 29.2 million in dollars. This was an increase of 16% over September 2011, but a decrease of 2% from the projected value. Tourism land rent contributed 36.4% to total revenue, while Goods and Services Tax contributed 28.6%. Business Profit Tax contributed 12.3%, Tourism Tax 11.3% and Airport Service Charge 4.3%. Over 50% of US dollar revenue was from Tourism Land Rent while Tourism Tax contributed 15.6%, thus making it 65.7% YS dollar revenu directly from the Tourism industry. These figures is brings into sharp focus the high dependence of Maldives on the tourism industry, and industry now being threatened by former President Mohamed Nasheed and his friends overseas.Mohamed Nasheed has consistently carried out campaigns over...

#Maldives: Corruption in governments lives on long after the corrupt leader is removed from office. Such is the state of Maldives, after its liberation on February 7th, 2012 from the corrupt administration led by former President Mohamed Nasheed. Even after the national liberation movement that removed the corrupt leader from office, powerful networks of loyalists are left in place that attempt to strangle the resurgence of the independent sovereign state. Eight months after Nasheed's resignation from office, Maldives is still struggling to rehabilitate the fledgling democracy that he raped together with his money hungry partners. The corrupt leader rules through outright bribery, graft and corruption on a far larger scale than comprehensible to the ordinary citizen. The beneficiaries of the corrupt leader's largesse range from multinationals, rich playboys, international networks promoting private agendas, local businesses, party activists, drug dealers and local gangs. Such...

Male', Maldives. Almost two months since the transfer of power between President Mohamed Waheed and his predecessor Mohamed Nasheed, and democracy in Maldives shows little sign of getting back on track. The Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary continue to be in limbo with respect to the major issues confronting the country and the people today. The legitimacy of the Executive is disputed by the largest party in the country, Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party. The majority of international spectators appear to support the MDP stand, with powerful players such as the EU calling for an early election to install a 'legitimate' government. MDP, in its traditional style, have taken their demands for an early election to the streets, with continued widespread protests which the Waheed government have been unable to control. Prolonged and violent confrontations between protestors and security forces are radicalizing increasing numbers of youth. The police use of ...

Male', Maldives. The woes of Mohamed Nasheed, Supreme Leader of Maldives Democratic Party, appear to be increasing as the party's senior leadership distance themselves from the violent turn of Nasheed's street rallies. Some members of Nasheed's cabinet and top administrators have left the party. Party President Dr. Ibrahim Didi and senior MPs have appealed to party members not to leave the party but to be patient while they attempt to reform the MDP. Others have highlighted the need for reform within the party, alleging that decisions related to party activities are not taken through due democratic processes. Some MDP MPs have again urged Nasheed to halt street riots and pursue peaceful resolution through Parliament and through the all party Peace Talks. However, two days after Nasheed used his MPs and mobs to successfully suspend Parliament, peace talks between political parties have also been stalled. The three major coalition parties in President Waheed's Nati...

Male', Maldives. A House of Representatives of the people (Parliament) is an integral institution of functional democracies. Finally, yesterday it too fell victim to the mobocracy presently taking over the Maldives. Following the hijacking of Parliament by a small group of MPs, Parliament sessions have been suspended indefinitely. At least, until it is able to proceed without the use of force, the criteria being given by the Parliament Speaker as the reason for suspending it. The reasoning given by the hijackers of the Parliament defies not only logic, but the very essence of democracy. The leader of the group of Maldivians who stopped Parliament, Mohamed Nasheed, Supreme Leader of the Maldives National Democratic Party (MDP) says that the objective is to force Maldives to an early presidential election. Nasheed, who resigned from the post of President on February 7th, claims that he was forced to resign at gunpoint by the military, and has called for his successor to step down ...

Male', Maldives. The public outcry is widespread over yesterday's defeat of democracy by mobocracy as the Maldivian Parliament was hijacked by a small mob of MPs who support Mohamed Nasheed, the titular Supreme Leader of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). With his hijacking of the democratic institution of the people's representation in governance, the People's Majlis (Parliament), Nasheed has successfully undermined all three powers of democracy, the Executive, the Judiciary and now the Legislature. Nasheed resigned as President of Maldives on February 7th after weeks of continuous public protests against his military arrest of a senior judge, his declaration of all lower courts of justice as invalid, and his actions to restrict fundamental freedoms including freedom of speech, peaceful assembly and media. The hijackers, led by Nasheed's cousin by marriage MP Ibrahim Salih and Nasheed's cousin, MP Eva Abdulla, constituted of a mere 12 out of 77 elected M...

Male’, Maldives. As President Mohamed Waheed completes his first official trip to Addu Atoll, his political opponents claim all Addu Atoll is with them. Addu City Council lent credence to this claim by passing a resolution earlier this week, denouncing the National Unity Government as unconstitutional. President Waheed completed his visit amidst substantial support, significant at a time that Addu is still reeling from arson and vandalism by supporters of Mohamed Nasheed, who resigned from his post as President early this month. Nasheed had even warned President Waheed not to even attempt to step onto Addu soil. Addu is a crucial voting bloc in any elections in the country, a fact evidenced by voting history and acknowledged by all political parties. Unfortunately, Addu has also a dubious reputation of being for sale in any vote. With its distinct dialect and close knit society, Addu has a history of seeking self-recognition, in competition with the more politically powerful Male’...

Male', Maldives. On February 7th this year, the reins of the Maldivian Presidency passed to Mohamed Waheed Hassan Maniku, the fifth President of the country. Waheed, then Vice President, ascended to the Presidency when Mohamed Nasheed resigned after weeks of civic protests against him. Some say Waheed was a puppet of the leaders of an alleged coup to topple Nasheed. Nasheed accuses him of leading the alleged coup. Others accuse him being a cowardly man with a history or running away when the going got tough. Very few recall that the country's long road to political reform did indeed begin its modern phase with Mohamed Waheed. Political opponents seek to hide the fact that Dr. Waheed is the man who first introduced a Bill of Rights to the Constitutional Assemply, the first to introduce a Bill on Freedom of Speech to the Majlis. Nicknamed the Professor by his classmates for his studious nature, Waheed may not have a flamboyant history of a prisoner of conscience. Nor does he h...

Male', Maldives. Maldivians watch stunned as new President Mohamed Waheed calmly invites foreign interference in their domestic affairs, just two weeks after he ascended to power following the resignation on strongman Mohamed Nasheed. Claiming to be a national unity government, the inexperienced Waheed administration is falling over its two left feet dancing to Bollywood music mixed with European colonial lyrics. The Waheed government's capitulation of Maldivian national interests and national sovereignty is unprecedented by any Maldivian government at anytime throughout the country's long history. Throughout the annals of our history Maldives maintained her sovereignty and defended uncorrupted Islam as her religion by maintaining policies of non-interference in our domestic affairs by foreign powers. A small island state in the vast Indian Ocean, overshadowed by the looming mass of India in the North, Maldives has weathered many turbulent political storms, emerging some...

Male’, Maldives. Maldivians are increasingly disillusioned and bitter as they and their country people are ridiculed and torn apart by international media following the resignation of Mohamed Nasheed as Maldives President after the Canarygate Scandal. The Canarygate Scandal is the final series of events leading to the end of the three years of Nasheed’s rule on February 7th 2012, a rule earmarked by abuse of executive powers, obstruction of justice, contempt and lockdown of the Legislature and Judiciary, corruption, graft and nepotism. Canarygate gets its name from Nasheed's family name, Canary, so named because of the countless evidence of nepotism, cronyism and corruption during his rule. While western commentators and the neighbourhood strongman India dismiss Canarygate as just a political fisticuff between Nasheed and his predecessor Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Maldivians call upon the new Government for justice, for the Maldivian people and for democracy in Maldives. They ask ...