US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO1718

C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 001718 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/14/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, MV, Maldives 
SUBJECT: MALDIVES:  IN-LAW OF PRESIDENT ELECTED SPEAKER OF 
SPECIAL MAJLIS; NDI AND AI EXPRESS CONCERN FOLLOWING VISITS 
 
REF: A. COLOMBO 1704 
     B. COLOMBO 1686 
 
Classified By: AMB. JEFFREY J. LUNSTEAD.  REASON:  1.4 (B,D). 
 
1.  (SBU) Abbas Ibrahim, the brother-in-law of President 
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, was elected Speaker of the Special 
Majlis by open ballot on October 14.  Shaheen Hameed, 
Gayoom's nephew, was elected Deputy Speaker.  Ibrahim 
received 70 of the votes from the 98 MPs attending; former 
front-runner and current detainee Ibrahim Gasim received 
five.  Eleven or twelve Special Majlis MPs walked out in 
protest over the absence of a secret ballot in the voting 
process.  It is unclear whether they will return when the 
Special Majlis reconvenes next week.  With the Speaker 
elected, the next order of business for the Special Majlis 
will be to consider proposed reforms (including a draft by 
President Gayoom) to the Constitution.  A delegation from 
Amnesty International (AI) told the Ambassador on October 15 
that the Government had agreed to allow AI to comment on the 
draft.  (Note:  AI has not yet seen the draft.) 
 
2.  (C) A two-person delegation from the National Democratic 
Institute (NDI), who visited Maldives at the request of UNDP, 
told the Ambassador on October 15 that interviews conducted 
with residents of remote islands revealed deep-seated and 
wide-spread skepticism about the Government's actual intent 
to reform.  In NDI's view, Gayoom likely underestimates the 
level of pro-reform sentiment, assuming it is limited to a 
few prominent activists in the capital.  NDI's report on the 
visit will include recommendations on laws governing 
political parties; the creation of a civil service; the 
enforcement of constitutional rights; and the establishment 
of civic education programs. 
 
3.  (C) The findings of the AI delegation, which had an 
opportunity to meet with detainees in private, confirmed that 
while physical abuse had ended once the detainees were moved 
to Dhoonidhoo Island, many exhibited signs of mental and 
psychological stress.  Some of the female detainees reported 
incidents of sexual abuse by arresting authorities when they 
were first apprehended.  Some of the improvements to the 
detainees' situation promised following the Ambassador's 
October 6-7 visit have already been instituted (Ref B). 
According to Moez Doraid, UNDP Resident Representative, at 
least some of the detainees have now been given access to 
legal counsel.  The AI delegation reported that some 
detainees were being allowed very limited space in which to 
exercise (i.e., given access to the small walkway in front of 
their cell doors), while others were not.  Reading and 
writing materials had not yet been provided, AI Legal Advisor 
Debra Long noted, but she believed that they would be soon. 
The AI team had met with all seven female detainees, three of 
whom were released immediately thereafter.  The team 
expressed concern about the remaining four female detainees, 
noting that all seemed to have been detained because of their 
connections to male political activists, rather than for any 
infringement of law. 
 
4.  (C)  The AI delegation noted an apparently genuine desire 
for reform among certain sectors of the Government, and said 
they were seeking the best ways to encourage those reformers. 
 The reform process will be lengthy--especially revisions to 
the Penal Code and criminal justice system.  In the interim, 
the delegation will urge the Government to consider 
implementing short-term remedial measures (such as 
instituting a system of bail) that could alleviate some of 
the concerns about the detainees' welfare. 
LUNSTEAD