MALDIVES Corruption in Corrections

An audit of the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS) has found that corrupt practices and a poor working environment were rife.
   The report, compiled by the Civil Service Commission (CSC), identified 46 problems in 16 areas that needed to be reformed, including abuse of lower-ranked employees by senior officials, personal use of office equipment, and salaries paid out to staff on supposed leave without pay.
   The DPRS report is the second compliance audit report to be made public following that into the Islamic Ministry.
   It said that the Department’s vehicles and sea vessels were used for personal purposes.
   Some employees complained of sexual abuse although there were no reports of this in the Department’s records.
   The report found that due to a lack of coordination between the human resources section and the budget section, salary payments had been made to dismissed staff, employees on leave without pay and employees with poor attendance.
   The CSC noted that additional amounts paid out with salaries were unaccounted for.
   “As a result, it is not possible to determine for what reason the amounts were paid,” the report said.
   The report found that some employees were not paid for overtime hours while senior employees filled out a slip to show that they arrived at the office on time after coming late.
   Employees also took longer than the one-hour lunch break during working hours and ‘going out to tea’ during official hours was common.
   The report concluded that the Department had not made adequate use of its training budget.

 

http://www.psnews.com.au/worldpsn2887.html

Regimes in Sri Lanka, Maldives, forge questionable alliance

Maldivian Vice-President Dr Mohammed Waheed, meeting Mahinda Rajapaksa over the weekend at the UN General Assembly Sessions, assured the latter of the support of Male to Colombo’s stand on its human rights issues, according to Maldivian media Haveeru, Tuesday. “Early this month Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed defended Sri Lanka’s position at the UN Human Rights Council sessions held in Geneva,” Haveeru said in its feature “Maldives assures support for Sri Lanka amidst UN allegations.” The undue extra efforts taken by the present regime in Male to shield Colombo against the struggle of Tamils and Muslims in the island need careful scrutiny by the people in Maldives and peoples movements across South Asia, commented a political observer in Male.

President Nasheed came to power by toppling the three-decades rule of Mamoon Abdul Gayoom in the first-ever democratic elections held in Maldives in October 2008.

The main issues of the election campaign of Nasheed were human rights abuses and escalating drug-related situation in the country under the rule of Gayoom.

All independent observers tell that both have escalated further under Nasheed.

In his struggle to end the ‘guided democracy’ of Gayoom and to bring in ‘liberal democracy’ Nasheed was seeking the intervention of ‘International Community’.

Whatever were the domestic problems in the rule of Gayoom, for three decades Maldives was maintaining admirable neutrality in international relations and was keeping it away from military alliances.

Gayoom was also maintaining decent and measured neutrality in the war of nations in the island of Sri Lanka, despite the involvement of a Tamil militant group in a coup against him.

But in December 2008, just within two months of Nasheed coming to power, Maldives entered into a military alliance supporting the Rajapaksa regime against Eezham Tamils.

In December 2008, the Maldivian defence representative was in the military delegation of 7 countries, USA, UK, Japan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Maldives that visited the war scene in Vanni, providing diplomatic and logistical boost to the genocidal operations of Sri Lanka’s military.

Maldives today is having strategic relations with Israel too.

President Nasheed, his foreign minister Mr. Ahmed Naseem and many others in the present regime of Male were getting personal protection in Colombo from the Rajapaksa brothers while struggling against the rule of Gayoom.

In the late 1970s, Mr. Nassem was accused of a coup organized by him from Colombo and he was tortured for that by the regime of Gayoom.

Personal business interests and residential interests always played a role in the relationship of the regimes in Colombo and Male.

Maldivian Vice-President Dr.Waheed, the first Ph.D. holder of the country who had his early education in Colombo, praised Rajapaksa during the meeting with him at the UN for the ‘speedy progress in development’ in Sri Lanka and discussed several issues related to trade between the two countries.

Meanwhile a Wikileaks document classified by the US Ambassador in Colombo, Ms. Butenis says that drugs traded through Sri Lanka go to Maldives, and the chief of the patrons of the drug kingpins in Sri Lanka is the Labour Minister of the Rajapaksa regime, Mervyn Silva.

Ms. Butenis was citing the arrest of a Maldivian woman and her Sri Lankan husband with 9 kilos of heroin.

Citing the capture of another bulk of 30 kilos of heroin in Mannaar that probably came from India, Ms. Butenis said in the cable “The sheer volume of the bust indicates the heroin is bound for a "big time dealer" in the country before being forwarded to other destinations, perhaps the Maldives or Europe.

Maldivian involvement is also traced in the land grab in Puththa’lam for ‘tourism purposes’ while many Sinhala corporates have holdings in the resort islands in the Maldives.

Describing the nature of State in Maldives, some years ago, a High Commissioner of Pakistan in Male said that Maldives doesn’t have a government but a Limited Company. He was called back shortly after that.

While the complex business greed of culpable characters in Colombo and Male work against upholding human values in the relationship of the peoples of both the islands, diplomatic circles tell that esoteric forces of defence interest in the USA and UK secretly influence Maldives to defend Rajapaksa regime and the genocidal State of Sri Lanka.

While one part of the Establishments in the USA and UK openly talk about war crimes accountability and international investigation, there is another section that works in opposition, diplomatic circles say.

They cite the examples of the US Asst Secretary of State Robert Blake having a lot of influence with Maldives and candidates of the Conservative Party of the UK secretly working in the foreign ministry in Male, virtually controlling it.

Talking on the dubious orientation of key figures of real strategic operations in the West the diplomats cited the example of Sir. John Sawers, who now heads UK’s intelligence service, MI6. He was the one who at the height of the Vanni war dealt with the UN Security Council on behalf of the UK. Instead of voicing for stopping the genocide his observation was that the LTTE was long ‘blighting’ Sri Lanka. 

 

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=79&artid=34471

17th SAARC Summit: ‘Building Bridges’ core theme

Hameed Shaheen

ISLAMABAD: ‘Building Bridges’ will be the core theme for the two-day 8-nation 17th SAARC Summit beginning in the picturesque Atoll Addu in Maldives next month on November 10-11, 2011. The theme, preferred by the Republic of Maldives, represents a range of new diplomatic initiatives covering geo-physical regional connectivity to conscious nursing of political dialogue among the SAARC community to narrow down differences.

This will be the third-time SAARC Summit being hosted by the Maldives government: the previous ones held in 1990 and 1997 respectively.

SAARC community consists of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The 16th Summit was held in April 2010 in Bhutan with Climate Change as its central subject of deliberations.

Maldives is trying to bridge political differences among the member countries of the SAARC forum. Pakistan has already informally proposed establishment of SAARC police to track down inter-regional crimes. For academic plus cultural linkage a SAARC university has also gone operational in New Delhi.

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani who is expected represent Pakistan at the 17th SAARC summit on November 10 and 11, 2011, will have second occasion of meeting with his Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh there. Premier Gilani has said at the weekend that he would also talk to Afghan President Hamid Karzai about Pakistan-Tajikistan road link project on the SAARC occasion. This link will be part of New Silk Road mega project connecting South Asian region with Europe and beyond having commercial centers all along the route.

An earlier SAARC event at Thimpu/Bhutan in April 2010 was instrumental in resumption of Pakistan-India dialogue process which had broken off following 26/11 Mumbai events. On that occasion Prime Minister Gilani’s meeting with his Indian counterpart helped open up years long choked channels for diplomatic dialogue between Islamabad and Delhi.

http://kashmirwatch.com/news.php/2011/10/16/17th-saarc-summit-8216-building-bridges-8217-core-theme.html

China's stepped up moves in Maldives worry India

NEW DELHI: Alarm bells are ringing afresh in the Indian security establishment over renewed efforts by China to expand its footprint in Maldives, even as New Delhi and Beijing continue with their strategic shadow-boxing all across the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

With China poised to establish a full-fledged embassy at Maldives, strategically located southwest of India astride major sea lanes in IOR, officials say Beijing has stepped up its "lobbying'' to bag a couple or more of crucial development projects in the 1,190-island archipelago.

China, in particular, seems interested in developing Ihavandhoo and Maarandhoo Islands, with transhipment ports among other things, as well as grabbing a piece of action in the development of the country's second international airport at Hanimaadhoo.

"The islands in question are located in the Haa Alif Atoll, situated in the north of Maldives. China wants a presence in these islands since they are the closest to India and Sri Lanka,'' said an official.

There have also been reports about Chinese plans to establish a naval submarine base in Marao, an island of Maldives, but they have remained shrouded in mystery.

China's efforts to make further inroads into Maldives have gained momentum after the visit of Wu Bangguo, the chairman of the standing committee of the Chinese National People's Congress, to Male in May.

China has for long being building maritime and other linkages with eastern Africa, Seychelles, Mauritius, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Cambodia, among others. Pakistan has been a more-than-willing partner in all this, with the Gwadar deep-sea port being built with Chinese help in Baluchistan.

China's main aim is to ensure the security of its sea lanes facilitating its critically-needed energy imports. But there is no getting away from the fact that it also amounts to a virtual encircling of India, in what is called the "string-of-pearls" construct.

Indian military brass' concerns about the "serious challenges" posed by China's expanding footprint in IOR as well as South Asia, incidentally, are expected to figure once again during the annual combined commanders' conference to be addressed by PM Manmohan Singh on Tuesday.

India, too, has been taking steps to counter China's strategic moves by stepping up its defence engagement with countries like Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles. After defence minister A K Antony's visit to Male in August 2009, for instance, Indian warships and Dornier reconnaissance aircraft are helping Maldives in maritime patrol and surveillance. New Delhi is also assisting Male to set up a network of ground radars in all its 26 atolls and link them with the Indian military surveillance systems.

Earlier, apart from hydrographic surveys and other military assistance, India had 'transferred' INS Tillanchang, a 260-tonne fast-attack craft designed for fast and covert operations against smugglers, gun-runners and terrorists, to Maldives in 2006.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-10-10/india/30262896_1_indian-military-surveillance-systems-ins-tillanchang-maldives

India to base anti-piracy patrol plane in Maldives

India will base a Dornier maritime patrol aircraft in the Maldives from Wednesday to carry out surveillance of the Indian Ocean island nation's exclusive economic zone and also maintain an anti-piracy vigil in its waters. The Indian Navy plane will operate from Male and will stay there for three weeks, a navy spokesperson said here Tuesday.

India has been sending a warship or a naval plane to perform security roles for Maldives in the last two years, with Somali pirates becoming active close to island nation.

It has also gifted a fast attack craft to the Maldivian maritime forces. India serviced the craft and returned it to the Maldives.

A Indian Navy ship also carries out hydrography surveys in  Maldivian waters to aid navigation. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has also set up a chain of coastal radars for the island nation, apart from training its personnel in operating the equipment.

The assistance is provided by India as a goodwill gesture towards its neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region and is in consonance with what Defence Minister AK Antony told naval commanders during their conference last week.

"The Indian Navy has been mandated to be a net security provider to the island nations in the Indian Ocean Region. We would like to assure our maritime neighbours about our unstinted support for their security and economic prosperity," Antony had said.

Similar assistance is provided by India to Mauritius too, with a speedboat being gifted to the Mauritian maritime force by the Indian Navy. A coastal radar chain and automated identification system too have been set up by India in Mauritius for maritime surveillance of the island nation.

Mauritius has also placed an order for an offshore patrol vessel with Kolkata-based defence shipyard Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers.

India has also gifted a fast attack craft to the Seychelles. It was involved in anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean a few months ago.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-to-base-anti-piracy-patrol-plane-in-Maldives/Article1-758784.aspx

Lack of Funds Causes Halt of Thilafushi Lagoon Reclamation Project

Thilafushi Corporation Limited (TCL) has blamed the delay in getting finance from banks for the halt on the reclamation project carried out by Heavy Load Maldives.

TCL Managing Director Mohamed Wafir said the corporation earlier planned to establish shore protection measures at the reclaimed area along with reclamation of land.

”But we were unable to get finance from banks because false reports surfaced about the project just as we started the work. We’ve been carrying out the project on contractor-finance basis,” he said.

Wafir stressed that the corporation held talks with HSBC and Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) to receive finance for the project but failed because of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) order to halt the project.

“We again held discussions with the banks and decided to secure finance halfway through the project. We’re currently negotiating with the banks to secure finance,” he said.

The Managing Director further noted that the corporation is trying to secure a US$48 million loan in order to reclaim and develop Thilafalhu into an industrial zone.

”The loan is almost final. We’re working on to begin the shore protection work and seven parties have expressed interest to carry out the project. We expect to complete the project within three months,” he said.

”We can begin reclamation after three months. Despite the project being put on hold, other works will be carried out at the area.”

TCL’s Corporate Affairs and Legal Manager Mohamed Latheef said yesterday that the board decided to halt the project based on the recommendation of the project’s engineer to establish shore protection measures before proceeding with further reclamation.

The corporation is to build a loading area at the newly reclaimed land before Heavy Load resumes the project and is expected to establish a Male-Thilafushi ferry network, water and sewerage systems and build roads and the Thilafushi International Port.

TCL awarded the US$21 million (Rf269.8 million) project, to reclaim 130 hectares from Thilafushi lagoon, to Heavy Load on September 30, 2010. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), however, asked the company to halt the project, alleging corruption was present in the process of awarding the project.

The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Parliamentary Group Leader, ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik, holds shares in Heavy Load.

Meanwhile, Heavy Load moved the dredger and other equipment used for Thilafushi reclamation to Hulhule and is reclaiming the land to construct the proposed new terminal at the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport.

By Abdullah Jameel (haveeru)

http://www.dredgingtoday.com/2011/10/17/maldives-lack-of-funds-causes-halt-of-thilafushi-lagoon-reclamation-project/

Exchange of trade teams between Pakistan and Maldives urged

ISLAMABAD: Maldives urged exchange of business delegations for promotion of bilateral trade and strengthening of SAARC Chamber with the view to play an import role in the trade and development of the member countries.

Foreign Minister of Maldives Ahmed Naseem and ambassador of Maldives in Pakistan Adam Shahnaz during meeting with President of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Senator Haji Ghulam Ali underscored the need to further increase cordial relations between both the countries.

They said there were many products, which could be exported to Maldives by Pakistan.

This would not only help Pakistan in increasing its exports, but would also improve relations between both the countries’ business community.

The Maldives Foreign Minister invited Pakistan’s investors and said they would be extended all support, cooperation and concessions on their investment in Maldives.

Haji Ghulam Ali said promotion of trade, exchange trade delegations and cordial relation would further strengthen the friendship of both the countries. He accepted the invitation. staff report

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\10\13\story_13-10-2011_pg5_9