US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO1718

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001718 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS 
NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  10-02-13 
TAGS: PGOV, PINS, PHUM, SOCI, MV, Maldives 
SUBJECT:  Maldives appears calm in aftermath of recent 
unrest in capital; President transfers chief of police 
 
Refs:  Colombo 1674, and previous 
 
(U) Classified by James F. Entwistle, Deputy Chief of 
Mission.  Reasons 1.5 (b, d). 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  The Maldives appears calm in the wake 
of the recent unrest in Male' that was triggered by a 
violent prison disturbance.  President Gayoom has 
launched investigations into the incidents and 
transferred the police chief.  During his recent visit, 
DATT spoke to the acting police chief, who provided 
further details on the police shootings at the prison 
and the Male' riot.  At this point, in the midst of the 
presidential selection process that culminates in an 
October 17 referendum on whether Gayoom should serve 
another term, the GoRM appears to have recovered some of 
its balance and verve after the rare outbreak of unrest. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
=============================== 
Maldives Calm in Wake of Unrest 
=============================== 
 
2.  (C) The Maldives appears calm in the wake of the 
September 20 riots in Male' triggered by the September 
19-20 prison disturbance on Maafushi island (see 
Reftels).  The DATT visited Male' and Addu Atoll in the 
south from September 28-30, and both areas were quiet, 
with life seemingly going on much as it did before the 
rare bout of internal unrest.  Tourism, a big industry 
in the Maldives, was continuing apace, with resorts 
full, and Male's international airport bustling with 
charter flights carrying European and Japanese tourists. 
 
============================== 
Gayoom Launches Investigations 
============================== 
 
3.  (C) For his part, President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has 
undertaken several actions meant to address the 
situation in the aftermath of the unrest, including: 
 
-- Creation of Presidential Commission:  Following the 
death of a prisoner during the prison disturbance at the 
Maafushi island detention facility on September 19, 
Gayoom immediately appointed a Presidential Commission 
to investigate what had transpired.  Later, the mandate 
of the Commission was expanded to include an 
investigation of both the September 19 prison 
disturbance and September 20 attack on the National 
Security Service (NSS) armory on Maafushi in which 
numerous prisoners were shot by NSS personnel.  (Note: 
From what Mission understands, four prisoners total were 
killed in the September 19-20 violence on Maafushi, with 
two dying on the spot and two others subsequently 
succumbing to their injuries in Colombo hospitals.)  In 
public remarks, Gayoom has repeatedly asserted that the 
five-member Commission will be independent from the GoRM 
and will have the needed autonomy to carry out its 
investigations.  The Commission's report is due out in 
short order. 
 
-- Investigation into Male' Riots:  Separate from the 
Presidential Commission, Gayoom has also opened a 
governmental investigation into the circumstances 
surrounding the riot that took place in Male' late on 
September 20.  Numerous public buildings were damaged in 
the riot, which was sparked by the prison disturbance. 
 
======================== 
Transfer of Police Chief 
======================== 
 
4.  (C) In addition to the twin investigations, Gayoom 
also made several personnel changes within the NSS, 
which handles military and police duties in the 
Maldives.  Brigadier Adam Zahir, the deputy chief of 
staff of the NSS and Commissioner of Police, was 
reassigned to a second-tier job in the Ministry of 
Information, Arts, and Culture.  In his place, Major 
Ibrahim Latheef (see below) was made the Deputy 
Commissioner of Police for Operations and has 
effectively been acting as chief of police.  Eleven 
other NSS officers have been fired for their role in the 
prison disturbance. 
 
======================================= 
DATT's Discussions with Police Official 
======================================= 
 
5.  (C/NF) During DATT's recent visit to the Maldives, 
he met with Major Latheef, a longtime Mission contact 
(inter alia, Latheef was one of the NSS officers the 
DATT recently took to Guantanamo Bay and who also 
recently escorted the DCM on a visit to a proposed site 
for a law enforcement training facility in the 
Maldives).  Latheef provided further details about the 
prison incident and riots on Male'.  After briefly 
discussing the September 19 riot at the prison facility, 
Latheef described the following day's incident when 
prisoners tried to storm the NSS armory, also located on 
Maafushi.  Trying their best to quell the disturbance 
peacefully, the police first shot into the air to 
disperse the prisoners.  The situation only deteriorated 
when the prisoners refused to back down and the police 
were forced to actively defend the armory by shooting 
directly at the prisoners in self-defense.  Turning to 
the September 20 riot on Male', Latheef estimated that 
some 300 people took part in the unrest (an Embassy FSN 
who witnessed the event estimated about 600).  The 
police ultimately arrested 121 people, 75 of whom were 
released within 48 hours after being questioned.  Of the 
rest, 15 were placed under house arrest while 31 remain 
in police detention pending charges.  As asserted by 
other GoRM officials (see Reftels), Latheef claimed that 
drug abusers and other hardened criminals, taking 
advantage of the unrest at the prison, were the root 
cause of the disturbance in Male'.  Despite claims by 
the families of the prisoners, Latheef asserted that 
there was no evidence of torture by the NSS during any 
of the weekend incidents. 
 
======= 
COMMENT 
======= 
 
6.  (C) At this point, the GoRM appears to have 
recovered some of its balance and verve after the rare 
breakout of unrest.  During discussions with a visiting 
U.S. team in the immediate aftermath of the unrest, 
Maldivian government officials were clearly shaken by 
the events of September 19-20, which were the first 
serious domestic problems the GoRM has faced since a 
coup attempt in 1988.  Gayoom's steady stream of actions 
and public appearances appear to have steadied the ship 
of state, however.  This is particularly important for 
Gayoom who is the subject of an October 17 referendum on 
whether he should serve another five-year term as 
president.  Despite the recent unrest, he is widely 
expected to win the referendum handily.  It remains to 
be seen whether the riots were a flash in the pan or a 
deeper indication of substantive tensions toward the 
political structure in the Maldives.  END COMMENT. 
 
7.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
LUNSTEAD