US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO1878

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001878 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS 
PACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/25/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, MV, Maldives, Human Rights 
SUBJECT: MALDIVIAN FOREIGN MINISTER HERALDS BEGINNING OF 
"SUBSTANTIVE" REFORM; JUSTIFIES TERRORISM TRIALS OF 
OPPOSITION FIGURES 
 
REF: A. COLOMBO 1823 
     B. COLOMBO 1824 
     C. COLOMBO 1716 
 
Classified By: AMB. JEFFREY J. LUNSTEAD.  REASON:  1.4 (B,D). 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (C) Maldivian Foreign Minister Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, 
accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister Aminath Didi and 
Maldivian High Commissioner Dr. Mohamed Asim, called on the 
Ambassador in Colombo October 31 to offer the Government of 
Maldives' (GORM) side of recent events in the country, 
including the investigation of opposition press figures (Ref 
A), the sentencing of opposition activist Jennifer Latheef 
(Ref B) and the trial of opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed. 
Shaheed acknowledged that the chain of events, which took 
place over the space of two weeks, likely looked bad to 
outside observers and blamed the asymmetry of the terrorism 
charges leveled against Latheef and Nasheed, when compared 
with the acts they allegedly committed, on Maldives' archaic 
legal code.  Shaheed asserted that President Maumoon Abdul 
Gayoom remains sincerely committed to democratic reform 
nonetheless, adding that the Special Majlis formed to 
consider constitutional amendments stands poised, after a 
year of debating rules of procedure, to enter the 
"substantive" phase of its deliberations.  The Ambassador 
expressed concern at recent events and urged the GORM to 
consider at least some of the recommendations made by various 
international legal authorities to improve the judicial 
system.  He encouraged dialogue between the GORM and the 
opposition, noting that even well-intentioned reform efforts 
imposed from the top down could go awry if they lack popular 
support.  End summary. 
 
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SHAHEED:  IT'S NOT AS BAD AS IT LOOKS 
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2.  (C) Maldivian Foreign Minister Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, 
accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister Aminath Didi and 
Maldivian High Commissioner Dr. Mohamed Asim, called on the 
Ambassador in Colombo on October 31 to explain the Government 
of Republic of Maldives' (GORM) side of recent events in the 
country, including the investigation of opposition press 
figures (Ref A), the 10-year sentence for terrorism handed 
down to opposition activist Jennifer Latheef on October 18 
(Ref B) and the commencement on October 27 of the terrorism 
trial of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairman Mohamed 
Nasheed.  Claims by Amnesty International and other human 
rights groups that Latheef was sentenced to ten years for 
throwing a stone distorted the facts of the case, Shaheed 
contended; Latheef was convicted of "actually aiding and 
abetting violence" during a public demonstration in August 
2003.  Assertions that the only witnesses against Latheef 
were policemen were also false, Shaheed said; private 
citizens also offered testimony during her trial. 
Allegations that the GORM unduly delayed her sentencing were 
also unfounded, Shaheed continued, explaining that a number 
of other related trials (including those of the police 
officers whose acts of brutality first sparked the protest 
Latheef participated in) had to take place before Latheef 
could be sentenced.  (Note:  There was a hiatus of 14 months 
between the conclusion of Latheef's trial and the sentencing. 
 She was allowed at least one trip overseas during that 
time.)  Shaheed noted Latheef has the right to appeal her 
sentence.  Finally, he said that she might serve only a short 
portion of her sentence, as in common in Maldives. 
 
3.  (C)  With respect to complaints that Nasheed's defense 
attorney had not been given access, as promised, to the 
evidence against his client, Shaheed explained that under the 
Maldivian legal system the prosecution turns over the 
evidence on the first day of the trial to the judge, who then 
turns it over to the defense.  (Note:  The Attorney General 
offered the same explanation of the process when the 
Ambassador spoke with him by telephone on October 27.) 
During the opening day of the trial on October 27, Nasheed's 
attorney had asked for an adjournment of 90 days to study the 
evidence against the MDP leader, Shaheed reported, which the 
judge may grant.  He added that after Nasheed was taken away 
at the end of the trial's first day, some people attempted to 
storm the courthouse, and some arrests were made.  He cited 
other disturbing incidents--the home of a High Court judge 
was broken into and an MDP member had reportedly held a 
meeting to denounce all judges as traitors--as causes of 
concern for the GORM.  Some contributors to the opposition 
"Minivan" newspaper (Ref A) are under investigation, Shaheed 
conceded--but for activities unrelated to their profession as 
journalists, adding that one had been arrested for narcotics 
trafficking in 2000. 
 
4.  (C)  President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom remains as committed 
to reform as ever, Shaheed averred.  The Information Minister 
has cleared all pending applications for new newspapers and 
magazines, he reported, and is consulting stakeholders on a 
new press code and the formation of a press council.  The 
Special Majlis, formed in 2004 to consider proposed 
constitutional amendments, is ready now, after a year largely 
spent in finalizing rules of procedure, to begin the second 
phase--which Shaheed described as the "substantive part"--of 
the reform process.  The GORM hopes to solicit input into 
this important endeavor from all the stakeholders, he said. 
He blamed the tsunami and the lack of public education in the 
rudiments of democracy for the delay, but noted that "we 
realize we must move ahead."  The problem is that "elements 
of the old system," like the rigid and antiquated penal code 
under which Latheef was sentenced, still exist, giving the 
judge little leeway in sentencing once she was found guilty 
of the charge and thus complicating efforts to show that her 
trial conforms to the reform program, the Foreign Minister 
remarked.  "We know the events of August (12-14) do not 
constitute terrorism per se,"  he acknowledged, and "the old 
system has to respond to new challenges" like open dissent 
and opposition protests.  Once the Maldives enacts a new 
penal code, "these sentences will be a thing of the past," he 
predicted.  In the meantime, however, the only thing the GORM 
can do under existing circumstances is to "be open and 
transparent and ask for help" from the international 
community, he concluded. 
 
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MANY RECOMMENDATIONS ARE MADE, 
BUT FEW ARE CHOSEN 
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5.  (C) The Ambassador thanked the Foreign Minister for his 
visit and noted the importance of recent events in Maldives. 
Stressing US support for Maldives' genuine reform efforts, 
the Ambassador said that he has often defended the reform 
process against critics who deride it as a sham.  Emphasizing 
that he has always believed Gayoom to be sincere in his 
posture on reform, the Ambassador expressed concern that 
Latheef's harsh sentence and Nasheed's trial raised serious 
questions about the reform process.  Acknowledging that 
objectivity is difficult when the Embassy, without a presence 
on the ground in Maldives, must rely on others for 
information, the Ambassador said he understood the evidence 
presented against Latheef was ambiguous at best.  The GORM 
has readily admitted on numerous occasions that its judicial 
system contains severe flaws, he observed, and has actively 
solicited--and received--advice from a number of 
international authorities on how to improve.  Could not some 
of the many changes recommended have been adopted to avert 
the appearance of a stacked deck against Latheef? the 
Ambassador asked.  Failing to implement any of the 
international judicial authorities' suggestions in time for 
the Latheef trial left the GORM open to charges of 
unfairness, he noted; a similar failure to do so in time for 
Nasheed's trial--which is bound to draw even greater public 
scrutiny--could bring it even harsher criticism, the 
Ambassador said.  While acknowledging the need for GORM to 
maintain sovereignty over its legal system, the Ambassador 
suggested it might consider ways to engage more continuously 
with the international legal community. 
 
6.  (C)  Recalling his September 25-27 visit to Maldives (Ref 
C), the Ambassador said he had stressed to all interlocutors, 
including those in the MDP, that both the GORM and the 
opposition have responsibilities in the reform process. 
During that most recent visit, he sensed increasing public 
distrust of GORM motives, he commented.  Thus it is crucial 
that the GORM demonstrate now that the reform process is 
real, he advised Shaheed. The single most important thing the 
GORM could do immediately, he suggested, is to open dialogue 
with members of the MDP.  The Ambassador cautioned that 
imposing top-down change on people without grassroots 
consultations--even if undertaken with the best of 
intentions--might prove counter-productive. 
 
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REFORM SENTIMENT VS. 
DESIRE FOR STABILITY 
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7.  (C) There are limitations on how far the GORM can go to 
accommodate pro-reform sentiment at the moment, Shaheed 
responded.  Unused to dissent, the biggest concern of the 
GORM right now is stability, he explained; "we're not 
accustomed to turbulence."  Although individuals in the 
government have varying degrees of commitment to reform, 
Shaheed said, there is nonetheless a "critical mass" at 
present within the Cabinet that favors reform, although the 
events of August 12-14, 2005 "dampened the wave of reform 
begun" by the new Cabinet appointees.  Now that the trials of 
those arrested in the August 12-14 unrest (including Nasheed) 
have begun, reform can progress, he said optimistically, 
adding that the oft-promised reform "roadmap" would be 
unveiled within the next few weeks.  He cited an initiative 
to appoint a judicial commission with authority to hire and 
fire judges (a power hold solely by the President at the 
moment) as an important step to be taken at some point soon. 
The GORM maintains frequent contact with members of the MDP, 
he reported, asserting that there is "tension" within the 
opposition movement itself among those who disagree on the 
pace of reform. 
 
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COMMENT 
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8.  (C) The usually suave Shaheed seemed more nervous and 
less eloquent than we have ever seen him.  His almost 
sheepish attempts to reassure us that, with one leading 
opposition figure's daughter now safely away for ten years 
through a questionable process and the trial of another MDP 
leader underway, "substantive" reform may now begin were 
unpersuasive, and he knows it.  (In a phone conversation with 
the Ambassador last week, Shaheed admitted his own concerns 
about the Latheef and Nasheed trials.)  Official GORM 
responses to international pressure for reform are falling 
into a disturbingly familiar pattern--acknowledging the need, 
lamenting that the time is not right just now, but welcoming 
international help in the future.  As the Ambassador pointed 
out, the GORM has already asked for and received numerous 
suggestions from foreign experts on needed reforms, some of 
which could and perhaps should be implemented.  The battle 
within the GORM between a desire for "stability," as Shaheed 
described it, and the need to respond to reform demands 
continues.  For now, as Shaheed reported, maintaining 
stability and averting "turbulence" remains the overriding 
concern for the GORM. 
LUNSTEAD