The Parliament’s Petitions Committee on Tuesday rejected a petition submitted by Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) and endorsed by over 150 journalists, urging the Parliament to reject a contentious media bill that seeks to replace the existing self-regulatory system with a government-controlled commission.
On August 18, Thulhaadhoo MP Abdul Hannan Aboobakr, an independent lawmaker aligned with the government, submitted a bill that seeks to dissolve the Maldives Media Council (MMC) and the BroadCom, replacing them with a single regulatory body — a seven-member Maldives Media and Broadcasting Commission (MMBC), composed of four members elected by the media and three appointed by the President of the Maldives with parliamentary approval, with the President also given the authority to appoint the commission’s head. It also empowers the MMBC to impose major penalties against media outlets as well as individual journalists, including during the investigative stage.
The bill, widely panned both local and international journalism groups, is openly backed by the People’s National Congress (PNC) administration. The Parliament went into recess on August 19, but has been holding extraordinary sittings and committee meetings to work on the bill.
On September 3, the MJA submitted a petition signed by 151 journalists from 41 different media outlets demanding the withdrawal of the bill to both the Parliament and the President’s Office.
During a meeting of the Petitions Committee on Tuesday afternoon, Hinnavaru MP Mohamed Abdul Rahman, a lawmaker from PNC, said that the concerns raised by journalists had been addressed with the amendments made to the bill. He presented a motion to have the petition rejected. The motion was seconded by Madaveli MP Mohamed Shameez, a fellow PNC lawmaker, and passed with a majority vote of 7-5. The sole dissenting vote came from Vaikaradhoo MP Hussain Ziyad (Fittey), a lawmaker from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), while a second lawmaker chose to abstain from the vote.
Despite the widespread concerns over the legislature’s implications on press freedom and freedom of expression, the Independent Institutions Committee passed the bill with multiple government-drafted amendments proposed by the committee’s deputy chair, Kelaa MP Abdulla Shareef on Monday late afternoon, as journalists and opposition lawmakers broke out in protest.
The Parliament is scheduled to hold an extraordinary sitting at 04:00 pm on Tuesday, during which the ruling PNC is expected to use its supermajority to ensure the passage of the bill.
While the agenda has not been disclosed, several PNC lawmakers told Sun that the party plans to pass the bill during the sitting.
A crowd of protestors, most of them journalists, have been gathered outside the Parliament Building since the morning in protest of the expected passage of the bill, amid heavy police presence.
There have been several incidents of clashes between the police and protestors during the ongoing demonstration.