US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO1392

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001392 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/19/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PREL, MV, Maldives 
SUBJECT: MALDIVES:  ATMOSPHERE CALM BUT TENSE AMID FEARS 
FOR DETAINEES' WELFARE 
 
REF: COLOMBO 1337 
 
Classified By: CDA JAMES F. ENTWISTLE.  REASON:  1.5 (B,D). 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (C)  Summary:  The atmosphere in the Republic of Maldives 
remained calm but tense in the week following the August 
12-13 demonstrations against the government in Male', the 
capital.  Night-time curfews (from about 11:00 p.m. to 4:30 
a.m.) remain in effect, but schools and businesses are open, 
and movement during non-curfew hours is not restricted.  The 
Government of the Republic of Maldives (GORM) has assured the 
Embassy, via diplomatic note, that all detainees arrested in 
connection with the demonstrations will be treated humanely, 
but concern for their welfare persists.  EU Missions in 
Colombo are sending a fact-finding delegation to the Maldives 
August 22-24, while the GORM is sending a special envoy to 
meet with the Sri Lankan Prime Minister and Foreign Minister 
in Colombo this weekend.  With the demonstrations behind it, 
the GORM is clearly on damage control.  Although official 
GORM statements are attempting to depict the demonstrators 
and detainees---who include at least eight Members of the 
Regular and Special Majlis--as "extremist" and 
"fundamentalist" elements in order to discredit them, so far 
we see little evidence to support such claims.  End summary. 
 
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TROUBLE IN PARADISE 
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2.  (SBU)  The Maldivian capital of Male' remained calm but 
tense during the week following the August 12-13 
demonstrations against the government (Reftel).  A visiting 
Maldivian businessman told us that night-time curfews from 
11:00 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. remain in effect, but that 
businesses, shops and schools are open and that movement 
during non-curfew hours is not restricted.  Airports are open 
(our interlocutor had flown to Colombo from Male' just a few 
days after the demonstrations), and tourist resorts 
unaffected. 
 
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MALDIVIAN ENVOY TO VISIT SRI LANKA; 
EUROPEANS OFF TO MALE 
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3.  (C) Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar 
called in the Charge, and polchief  August 19 to review the 
situation in Maldives.  Kadirgamar said that Maldives looked 
to Sri Lanka as a "big brother" and numerous Maldivians had 
extensive contacts in Sri Lanka.  He had heard from a number 
of Maldivians asking for some sort of GSL help in the wake of 
the recent unrest and arrests in Male,.  He said he had been 
observing, both through Sri Lankan High Commission in Male' 
and via his own Maldivian contacts, the progress of Maldivian 
pro-democracy activism, but had so far seen no evidence of 
the radical or fundamental Islamic elements the Government of 
the Republic of Maldives (GORM) had hinted at. 
 
4.  (C) Kadirgamar said he had been planning to put out a GSL 
statement urging reconciliation and expressing hope that the 
political reform process would not be derailed by recent 
disturbances.  He had just learned, however, that Maldivian 
President Gayoom was sending his Minister of Health to 
Colombo this weekend as a personal envoy to review the 
situation with the GSL.  He and Prime Minister Rajapakse 
would meet with the Maldivian envoy (President Kumaratunga is 
leaving town today until the end of the month).   The GSL 
will wait to put out its statement until after meeting with 
Gayoom,s envoy. 
 
5.  (C) Kadirgamar said he wanted to coordinate GSL efforts 
with the UK, India and the United States and asked Charge, 
for input.  Charge, gave Kadirgamar a copy of the U.S. 
statement and stressed that our two primary concerns were the 
continuation of political reform and treatment of prisoners. 
Our view was that Gayoom had taken a hard look at his 
political system after the disturbances a year ago and 
implemented a serious reform effort.  Many of his inner 
circle stood to lose in this process, however, and probably 
were working to scuttle it.  Kadirgamar  said U.S. views 
parallel his and that he would provide a readout next week on 
his weekend meeting with the Maldivian envoy. 
 
6.  (C) Several European missions in Colombo have decided to 
send an EU fact-finding delegation to Male' August 22-24.  We 
understand that most of the Europeans' meetings with the GORM 
will take place on August 23.  We have asked for a read-out 
following the delegation's return to Colombo. The British 
High Commission in Colombo has told us that FCO has issued a 
statement on the Maldives similar to our own.  A call from 
the British Deputy Prime Minister to the Maldivian president 
remains under consideration as well. 
 
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DETAINEES' WELFARE REMAINS A CONCERN 
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7.  (C)  On August 18 poloffs met with Maldivian businessman 
Mohamed Ismail Maniku, who had traveled to Colombo to seek 
legal counsel for his friend and former SAARC Secretary 
General Ibrahim Hussein Zaki, who, along with an estimated 
eight other MPs, remains in detention following the 
demonstrations.  According to Maniku, Zaki has been allowed 
only one phone call and no visitors during his detention. 
Although Zaki's wife received no indication that her husband 
was being mistreated in prison when she spoke with him by 
telephone, Maniku said he believes his friend runs a grave 
risk of torture and mistreatment while in custody.  He added 
that there had been unconfirmed reports that Dr. Mohamed 
Munavvar, another prominent detainee, had been "assaulted" in 
custody.  To his knowledge, none of the detainees has yet 
been formally charged. 
 
8.  (C)  Maniku expressed concern that the GORM's 
characterization of the demonstrations as a coup attempt 
might be a thinly veiled ploy by the government to justify 
adopting especially draconian and non-transparent measures 
against detainees and to undermine the credibility of the 
pro-democracy movement.  (Note:  At a press conference on 
August 17, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, President Gayoom's 
Communications Director, charged that the demonstrators were 
attempting to overthrow the government.  End note.) 
Moreover, since none of the detainees has yet been permitted 
access to legal counsel and since there is only a handful of 
lawyers in the country anyway--and almost no one willing to 
undertake such risky and controversial cases--prospects for a 
free and fair trial are dim, he said.  (Complicating the 
situation, one of the Maldives' most prominent attorneys 
appears to be among the estimated 180 detainees.) 
 
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GORM EXPLANATIONS 
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9.  (U) On August 18 the Embassy received a faxed diplomatic 
note from the Maldivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 
ostensibly in direct response to the Department's August 16 
statement.  The note asserts that "the Government of 
Maldives' resolve to continue the process of political and 
constitutional reform remains unchanged . . despite recent 
setbacks."  The note blames a "fundamentalist" Muslim cleric 
for sparking the demonstrations, an event which unnamed 
"others who were behind the scene" used "to arouse more 
anti-government feelings among the public. . . The events of 
12th and 13th August clearly show that if any opportunity is 
given to these extremist elements, they would become 
extremely vicious and dangerous.  While the Government is 
determined to continue with its reform agenda, it will take 
every possible measure to prevent these radical elements 
spreading their destructive propaganda in the country."  The 
note goes on to report that the President has set up a 
special commission to ensure that all detainees are treated 
"properly" and reports the GORM's willingness to allow 
representatives of the National Human Rights Commission "or 
any other similar bodies" to visit the detainees.  In 
conclusion, the note asserts, "all detainees will be treated 
humanely, fairly and in accordance with the Constitution of 
the Republic of Maldives and as per the international norms 
of human rights."  The Embassy has not yet been able to 
verify whether members of the National Human Rights 
Commission (one of whom is among the detainees) or other 
similar organizations have been able to visit the detainees. 
 
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COMMENT 
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10.  (C) The GORM has arrested nearly 200 people in the wake 
of the demonstrations, and we do not know most of them. 
Those that we do know, however--a former Attorney General; a 
former SAARC Secretary General; a member of the National 
Human Rights Commission; and a prominent local 
businessman--do not fit the "extremist" and "fundamentalist" 
tags the GORM has leveled against them.  Such sensationalist 
name-calling seems an attempt to duck the politically 
difficult pro-democracy reforms that we believe these 
demonstrations are really about and that the GORM has pledged 
to undertake.  The reassuring tone of the MFA's dipnote 
notwithstanding, the GORM's kneejerk clampdown on the 
demonstrators does not bode well for progress on promised 
reforms.  We will continue to press the GORM for evidence 
that it will uphold the commitments to continue the process 
of reform and to ensure international human rights standars. 
ENTWISTLE