US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO1669

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 COLOMBO 001669 
 
SIPDIS 
 
MANILA FOR USADB EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 
TREASURY FOR S. CHUN 
EB FOR D. EBERLY 
SA/INS FOR C. SIM AND M. GOWER 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, EAID, MV, Maldives 
SUBJECT:  PROSPECTS FOR REFORM DOMINATE DISCUSSIONS IN 
MALDIVES 
 
REF:  COLOMBO 1621 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: DCM and Econchief visited Maldives 
September 14 and 15 and found newly-appointed cabinet 
members eager to move forward with a bold reform agenda, 
while members of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party 
(MDP)continue to regroup following the August 12-13 
demonstrations and related arrests.  The constitutional 
reform process, while edging forward, is hampered by 
continued procedural debate in the Special Majlis 
(parliament).  The slow pace of reform has prompted the 
opposition Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) to question the 
GORM?s commitment to the democratic process while 
government officials question whether the MDP has the 
patience necessary to operate in a democratic framework. 
Dedicated but overworked Finance Ministry officials agreed 
to work with us to get the U.S. tsunami assistance 
agreement in final during October.  The Ambassador and 
other country team members will raise democracy and human 
rights issues while in Male? next week for the first-ever 
U.S.-Maldives Friendship Week. End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) During a September 14-15 visit to Maldives, DCM 
and Econchief met with the newly-appointed Ministers of 
Justice, Home Affairs, and Atoll Development, as well as 
the Defense Minister, the Attorney General, the Chief of 
Police, the Deputy Finance Minister, the Deputy Minister of 
the Tourism Ministry, the (disenchanted) head of the Human 
Rights Commission and representatives of the opposition 
Maldives Democratic Party (MDP). 
 
New Cabinet Members Largely Young, Very Dynamic 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
3. (SBU) Newly-appointed Justice Minister Mohamed Jameel 
Ali and Home Affairs Minister Ahmed Tasmeen Ali join a 
cabinet that is growing younger and more dynamic as 
President Gayoom continues to make changes in an effort to 
prompt progress in the Special Majlis (parliament) that is 
considering constitutional reforms.  New Atoll Development 
Minister (and longstanding US Embassy contact) Mohammed 
Waheed Deen (a former member of the Maldivian Human Rights 
Commission and a prominent businessman), while not a member 
of the younger generation, was clearly enthusiastic about 
his role in bringing reform to the outlying atolls and 
spoke energetically about replacing atoll and island chiefs 
(roughly the equivalent of mayors), currently appointed by 
the President, with elected officials and devolving power 
and budget authority away from Male? and out to the various 
atolls. 
 
4. (SBU) Jameel outlined an ambitious effort to revamp the 
Justice Ministry, introduce judicial reform, establish a 
national bar and accreditation process and seek training 
for judges trained in both Commonwealth and Sharia law. 
Tasmeen Ali was keen to continue to develop the capacity of 
the national police force, which was split from the 
National Security Service (Maldives? military) late last 
year.  He also outlined plans to develop a separate, well- 
trained prison service and to construct a new prison on 
Maahfushi Island, noting that the current prison there, in 
which prisoners are kept in large common areas rather than 
smaller cells, makes it almost impossible to control or 
remove individual prisoners.  He noted that his ministry, 
as part of the GoRM decision to invite the ICRC in to look 
at prison conditions, will work from ICRC standards as it 
designs the new prison. 
 
Growing Pains for Human Rights and Democracy 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
5. (SBU) Attorney General Hassan Saeed, who has been 
pursuing ambitious reforms since assuming his position a 
year ago, continues to push this agenda.  He is developing 
a ?reform road map? (which he claimed would be available in 
English in the next ?two to three weeks?) and plans to 
introduce a full range of judicial reform bills in the 
upcoming Special Majlis (parliament) session beginning 
October 1 as well as a ?police act? that would codify 
procedures and responsibilities for the newly-independent 
police force.  When queried about detainees arrested on 
August 12, Saeed said that most had been released, with 
approximately 30 remaining in custody, having been charged 
with various crimes. 
 
6. (SBU) Defense Minister Ismael Shafeeu discussed the 
challenges of trying to confront and quash the growth of 
radical Islam, while allowing appropriate democratic 
dissent to flourish now that political parties are legal. 
He said ?Bangladesh has scared us a lot? (Note: a reference 
to the recent coordinated bombings around Bangladesh.  End 
Note).  Shafeeu discussed the upcoming release of ?Sheikh 
Farid,? a Qatar-educated Islamic fundamentalist detained 
several years ago for suspected terrorist activities. 
Shafeeu said Farid, who ?we have to release since his 
sentence is up,? would be monitored closely, to see if he 
would join forces with the MDP or one of the newly formed 
Islamic parties and to see if he continued to foment his 
radical Islamic ideology.  In that vein, Shafeeu, as well 
as several other interlocutors, expressed concern over the 
new (and legal) ?Justice? party which has a heavily Islamic 
bent.  Shafeeu and the AG both noted that the Islamic 
Democratic Party had not been approved by the Elections 
Commission due to irregularities in the petitions 
submitted.  The party has gone to court over this issue 
(and, while waiting for its legal status to be determined, 
has an office on the Male? waterfront with a small sign 
taped in the window). 
 
7. (SBU) Police Chief Adam Zahir told DCM that the events 
of August 12-13 were unfortunate, but that the police had 
done everything possible to avoid a confrontation. 
Nonetheless, MDP supporters did not keep to a planned 
meeting time and location and made efforts to incite 
supporters and onlookers.  (Note: as reported elsewhere, 
other eyewitness accounts differ.  End Note)  The police 
will be watching the lead-up to September 19 (the second 
anniversary of the killing of three detainees in prison, 
which prompted riots in 2003), and are concerned that there 
may be some agitation among prisoners (Note: the 
anniversary seems to have passed quietly.  End Note). 
Zahir asked DCM for more training opportunities for police, 
noting that experience and training are what many officers 
lack in dealing with these kinds of crowd/protest 
situations (police officer Riyaz Abdulla, well-known to the 
Embassy and just returned from the FBI course in Quantico, 
sat in on the meeting and was ecstatic about his 
experience).  DCM said the USG would continue to look for 
appropriate training opportunities for the police and told 
Zahir that the new RSO would call on him during his 
upcoming initial visit to Male?. 
 
8. (SBU) Human Rights Commission Chairman Ahmed Mujuthuba 
expressed frustration with the slow pace of the Special 
Majlis and with the legislation setting up the Human Rights 
Commission which, in his view, is not in accordance with 
the Paris Principles which set standards for national human 
rights commissions.  Indeed, Mujuthuba tried to resign over 
the issue but President Gayoom and other insiders told him 
that the Special Majlis (when it reconvenes in October) 
would pass legislation addressing his concerns.  Mujuthuba 
is refusing to go to work until corrective legislation 
which he deems sufficient is passed.  He also bemoaned ?the 
manner in which democracy is being introduced,? which he 
described as the government and the MDP shouting at each 
other but no effort being made for the two sides (which in 
his view have much in common) to sit down and try to reach 
accommodation. 
 
MDP Opposed to Gayoom But In Favor Of? 
-------------------------------------- 
 
9. (SBU) In a September 14 meeting,  MDP leader (and former 
SAARC Secretary General) Ibrahim Zaki painted Gayoom as out 
of touch with common Maldivians and forced to reshuffle his 
cabinet and increase the number of political appointees 
within the GORM in order to pack the Special Majlis, which 
has been established to pursue constitutional reform.  MDP 
MP Mohammed Ibrahim Didi said he felt Gayoom might be 
interested in some measure of reform, but that those around 
him, who had benefited from his cronyism over the past 27 
years, were making it difficult for him to move ahead. 
 
10. (SBU) The MDP representatives had a long list of 
grievances against Gayoom: increased Islamic radicalism 
under his watch, corruption, failed tsunami relief and 
reconstruction efforts and human rights abuses.  However, 
when asked to define their party platform and describe how 
the MDP would differentiate itself from Gayoom?s rule, they 
simply said they would develop ?a free and democratic 
state, a prosperous economy and a happy citizenry.?  (Note: 
it is safe to say that President Gayoom and his officials 
would claim exactly the same goals ? including a track 
record of economic growth and recent efforts at democratic 
reform.  End Note)  In a similar vein, the MDP members 
harped on the need for the ?international community? to do 
more but, when pinned down on specific additional steps 
they would like to see the U.S. take, were unable to come 
up with any. 
 
Tsunami Reconstruction Underway, Slowly but Surely 
 
SIPDIS 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
11.. (SBU) DCM and Econchief also met with newly-arrived 
World Bank Rep Richard Scurfield, Deputy Finance Minister 
Riluwan Shareef and UNDP ResRep Patrice Coeur-Bizot.  All 
three painted a picture of tsunami relief and 
reconstruction that was marching ahead, hampered somewhat 
by a lack of absorptive capacity in Maldives, but slowly 
making headway.  Shareef indicated that a significant 
tsunami reconstruction financing gap (approximately USD 100 
 
SIPDIS 
million) still existed and that the increased cost of oil 
was driving up recurrent expenditures, leaving a growing 
budget gap.  (New Deputy Minister for Tourism Abdul Hameed 
Zakariyyah, well-known to us from his recently-concluded 
tenure as Foreign Secretary, told DCM and Econ Chief that 
resort bookings, a major revenue engine, are currently 
running at roughly 70%, down from historic highs but 
significantly up from the immediate post-tsunami period.) 
UNDP and World Bank will be assisting Maldives in its 
meetings on the margins of the IMF/WB meetings in 
Washington with Special UN Representative Clinton and his 
representatives, with an eye towards increased private 
sector investment in Maldives as well as additional 
bilateral assistance.  Scurfield said the Bank had decided 
to open an office, in conjunction with the Asian 
Development Bank, in an effort to improve capacity in the 
Finance Ministry, other Ministries with tsunami 
reconstruction responsibilities and to help push 
reconstruction decisions forward. 
 
12. DCM and Econchief discussed with Shareef the status of 
the U.S. tsunami assistance package.  Shareef noted that 
the GORM was pulling together exact language on what U.S. 
assistance will cover and advised that it should be 
possible to conclude the agreement by late October (Ramadan 
begins in early October and is a period of reduced activity 
in the GORM).  DCM and Econchief urged that the U.S. 
agreement be brought to closure as soon as possible, so 
that U.S. assistance can get out to those in need and 
Washington agencies can include the Maldivian program in 
reporting to Congress on the status of the tsunami 
supplemental funds.  Shareef took the point. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
13. (SBU) Change is afoot in Maldives, though not as 
quickly as some would like (almost every interlocutor 
quickly acknowledged that the Special Majlis needs to pick 
up the pace on constitutional reform).  Nonetheless, the 
registration of parties, the changing face (and average 
age) of the cabinet and the improved handling of arrests 
and incarcerations (including the decision to grant the 
ICRC and EU immediate and full access to detainees) give a 
sense that Gayoom is serious about progress, but concerned 
that the pace of reform be carefully managed.  We were 
again struck by how much Gayoom supporters and MDP members 
have in common when it comes to political and economic 
philosophies and educational backgrounds, and how many in 
the MDP are successful products of the Gayoom system.  In 
many regards, the sole point of contention between the two 
sides seems to be whether one thinks Gayoom is the solution 
or the problem.  The Ambassador will review human rights 
and democracy progress with the President next week when he 
and others from the country team are in Maldives for our 
inaugural U.S.-Maldives Friendship Week.  End Comment 
 
LUNSTEAD