US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO694

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000694 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS 
NSC FOR DORMANDY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/11/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, EAID, MV, Maldives, Tsunami 
SUBJECT: MALDIVES: IN MEETING WITH AMBASSADOR, PRESIDENT IS 
POSITIVE ON GORM'S RELIEF FUND AND POLITICAL REFORM PROCESS 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead.  1.4 (b,d) 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  In an April 7 meeting with President 
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Ambassador Lunstead briefed the 
Maldivian president on the current situation regarding 
additional USG tsunami rehabilitation assistance.  In 
response, Gayoom underscored the flexibility and 
accountability of the government's National Fund, established 
for tsunami assistance donations.  President Gayoom provided 
an update on the political reform process, stating he 
believed the Special Majlis would begin substantive work 
shortly on proposed reforms.  Viewed from the top, everything 
in Maldives seems under control as usual.  While the 
government tsunami recovery effort is impressive, the 
political reform process has not yet received the same level 
of attention.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (C) In an April 7 meeting with Maldivian President 
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Ambassador Lunstead discussed USG 
tsunami assistance funding options and inquired about the 
 
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progress of the on-going political reform process.  Abdulla 
Shahid, President Gayoom's Executive Secretary, Dr. Ahmed 
Shaheed, Chief Government Spokesman, and Dr. Hala Hameed, 
Director General of the President's Office also attend. 
Poloff participated as notetaker. 
 
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Tsunami assistance 
 
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3.  (C) In preparation for his end of April trip to 
Washington, Ambassador said he wanted to discuss tsunami 
reconstruction and funding developments to be able to brief 
officials in Washington.  The Ambassador informed President 
Gayoom about President Bush's tsunami funding supplemental 
request currently being debated by Congress and the various 
assistance funding mechanisms for Maldives that were under 
consideration.  President Gayoom expressed thanks for the 
information about possible supplemental funding, noting that 
his country had "ambitious reconstruction programs."  It will 
take $406 million to restore Maldives to its pre-tsunami 
situation, Gayoom stated. 
 
4.  (C) The Ambassador commented that many people were 
impressed with Government of the Republic of Maldives' (GORM) 
organization and reconstruction planning, including former 
U.S. Presidents Bush and Clinton and officials who attended 
the assistance meeting in Manila.  The Ambassador also 
informed President Gayoom about the upcoming private sector 
tsunami relief summit, scheduled to take place in Washington 
 
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in May, about which Gayoom was unaware.  Ambassador urged 
Gayoom to take advantage of this meeting to showcase his 
government's efforts and seek private sector assistance. 
 
5.  (C) Regarding official USG assistance, the Ambassador 
noted that the U.S. normally does not give funding directly 
to governments, but recognized that the Maldives' situation 
represented a special circumstance, especially given the 
scarcity of international NGOs in Maldives.  The Embassy is 
having on-going discussions with officials in Washington 
about how to structure assistance to Maldives, including the 
possibility of using the GORM's National Fund (formerly 
called Trust Fund), the Ambassador said.  President Gayoom 
responded that he has established a Board of Overseers for 
the trust, which included UN and private sector participation. 
 
6.  (C) The President and Ambassador also discussed 
development of an early warning system, especially following 
the March 28 earthquake off the Sumatran coast.  Maldives 
experienced some higher swells on March 28, Gayoom said, but 
there was no tsunami.  The Ambassador encouraged Gayoom to 
have the GORM forward technical-level points of contact that 
could be passed to U.S. counterparts monitoring worldwide 
seismic and tsunami activity. 
 
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Political reforms 
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7. (C) Updating the Ambassador on the political reform 
process, Gayoom described the Special Majlis -- the assembly 
to consider constitutional amendments -- as having "teething 
problems," but estimated that the members would begin 
substantive work on potential reforms in the next 45-60 days. 
 The President worried, however, that the Special Majlis 
would not be able to complete its work within one year, as he 
had requested.  The Ambassador noted that the outcome will 
set the tone for the country for many years to come, and the 
assembly should work expeditiously, but seriously.  When 
asked if the members exhibited great differences of opinion 
about the direction of the reforms, Gayoom replied there were 
not large differences, but thought that proposals to remove 
gender barriers and create a prime minstership would be the 
most controversial. 
 
8.  (C) The Ambassador underscored US support for Maldives' 
reform efforts, noting that change in a peaceful, open, 
internally guided manner would be a great example to the 
world.  While acknowledging Maldives' ability to manage the 
reform process, Gayoom said he still welcomed international 
advice.  Working through the Commonwealth, he said, the 
organization was sponsoring a team of experts, including Tan 
Sri Musa Hitam, former deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia. 
Gayoom thought the Special Majlis would welcome such 
consultants.  The Ambassador said U.S. organizations like NDI 
and IRI might be able to provide assistance once the GORM 
established and legalized political parties.  The U.S. will 
continue to look for opportunities to help, he added. 
 
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Comment 
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9. (C) President Gayoom seemed relaxed during the meeting 
with the Ambassador, very grateful at the prospect of 
significant U.S. tsunami reconstruction aid, and confident 
that a mechanism could be agreed on for the use of that 
assistance.  While the Maldives still needs aid and 
assistance to rebuild the lives and livelihoods of its 
citizens, Gayoom has a good reason to be confident.  The 
government is well-organized in its relief efforts and quite 
capable of demonstrating so to potential donors (see 
septels).  As rebuilding and redevelopment progress, more 
people will once again refocus on the political reform 
process initiated by President Gayoom a year ago.  The 
President will then have to demonstrate that he can spur the 
Special Majlis to increase its pace and be more responsive to 
people's desire for change without appearing to control its 
activities.  End Comment. 
 
LUNSTEAD