Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03COLOMBO1958
2003-11-07 18:59:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Colombo
Cable title:  

Maldivian President Gayoom inaugurated for

Tags:  PGOV PREL PINR PHUM MV 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001958 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, INR/NESA; NSC FOR E. MILLARD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11-12-13
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PHUM MV
SUBJECT: Maldivian President Gayoom inaugurated for
sixth term; He calls for reforms and reshuffles cabinet

Refs: (A) White House Washington DC DTG 071859Z Nov 03
- (B) Colombo 1819, and previous (All Notal)

(U) Classified by James F. Entwistle, Deputy Chief of
Mission. Reasons 1.5 (b,d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001958

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, INR/NESA; NSC FOR E. MILLARD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11-12-13
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PHUM MV
SUBJECT: Maldivian President Gayoom inaugurated for
sixth term; He calls for reforms and reshuffles cabinet

Refs: (A) White House Washington DC DTG 071859Z Nov 03
- (B) Colombo 1819, and previous (All Notal)

(U) Classified by James F. Entwistle, Deputy Chief of
Mission. Reasons 1.5 (b,d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: On November 11, Maldivian President
Gayoom was inaugurated to his sixth term in office. In
a brief speech given at the ceremony, Gayoom called for
increased democratization and announced that he was
creating a "human rights commission." He did not refer
to the September unrest that shook the country. Later
that day, Gayoom swore in his new, slightly reshuffled
cabinet. In his speech, Gayoom appeared to be signaling
that he understands that there needs to be political
change in the Maldives, but he was very vague on his
precise plans. END SUMMARY.

=====================
Gayoom's Inauguration
=====================


2. (SBU) On November 11, Maldivian President Maumoon
Abdul Gayoom, who has been in power since 1978, was
inaugurated to his sixth term in office. The ceremony
took place in Male', the capital of the Maldives, at the
People's Majlis (Parliament) building. In the elegant,
wood-lined parliamentary chamber, all 50 members of the
Majlis were in attendance, as were other top officials
of the Maldivian government (GoRM),including about a
dozen, colorfully clad jurists (furry red hats, white
robes) from the government's Supreme Council of Islamic
Affairs. Off to one corner, sat members of Gayoom's
extensive family. High-level foreign dignitaries were
also present, including Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal
Krishna Advani. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Tyronne
Fernando was also there, looking very preoccupied (no
doubt worried about the situation in Colombo). In light
of the ongoing cohabitation tensions in Sri Lanka, the
Colombo-based diplomatic corps that was present was
mostly mid-level, with polchief representing the U.S.


3. (U) On November 10, polchief had provided the MFA a
copy of President Bush's letter of congratulations to
President Gayoom (see Ref A). The GoRM was very

appreciative.

========================
Speech calls for Reforms
========================


4. (SBU) After he was sworn in over a copy of the
Koran, Gayoom gave a brief speech in Dhivehi, the local
language. An English-language translation of the speech
was later provided to the diplomatic corps. The speech
was vaguely linked to the GoRM's "Maldives Vision 2020,"
a long-term economic/social planning document that was
developed several years ago by the government. In a
noteworthy new focus for the Maldivian government,
however, the key sections of the speech dealt mainly
with political reform issues. Outlining five key areas
that are part of an overall "action plan," Gayoom
stated, in part:

"The first area of focus deals with the strengthening of
democratic institutions and the processes of
government...The second key area of action involves
placing emphasis on establishing a government that
listens and works with the people, and to introduce
institutional mechanisms to facilitate these
processes...The third principal area of action will
focus on streamlining and reducing the size of the
public service, on increasing productivity, and
promoting the values of service, honesty, and integrity,
especially in relation to public property and
finance...The fourth area of action aims at instituting
modern management practices and re-orienting government
departments to be more result-oriented...The fifth area
of action will focus on strengthening the role of the
family in society and on promoting greater participation
of all sectors of the society in nation-building."

5. (C) While sketching out plans in these five areas,
however, Gayoom did so in only the most general way. No
detail whatsoever was given on how to activate the
People's Majlis, for example, although it basically acts
as a rubber stamp for the president's decisions without
much debate. The lone exception to Gayoom's general
approach was his announcement that he was creating a
"national commission on human rights." Gayoom did not
elaborate on who would serve on the commission and
exactly when it would be formed. By way of a brief
explanation, he did say that the commission would
"safeguard the civil liberties enshrined in the
Constitution of the Maldives, and protect and promote
human rights in the country."

6. (SBU) The speech did not contain any direct
reference to the September 2003 unrest that rocked Male'
following a police firing at a prison on another island
(see Ref B).

=================
Cabinet Reshuffle
=================


7. (C) Late November 11 and per Maldivian custom on
presidential inauguration day, Gayoom swore in his new
cabinet. Despite some rumors that there might be large-
scale changes, it was only slightly reshuffled, with
many names remaining the same. Foreign Minister
Fathulla Jameel, for example, was kept in that slot,
which he has now held for almost 25 years. Abdulla
Hameed, a close relative of Gayoom's, was also kept on
as Speaker of the People's Majlis and Minister of Atolls
Development. In addition, Gayoom remained as commander-
in-chief of the military and the police, the Minister of
Defense and National Security, and Minister of Finance
and the Treasury. There were some noteworthy changes,
though, including:

-- Home Ministry: The new home minister is Ismail
Shafeeu, who had formerly been education minister.
Shafeeu has served as home minister in past cabinets.

-- Planning Ministry: The new planning minister is
Hamdoon Hameed, who had previously been deputy in the
ministry. He replaces Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, who was
dropped from the cabinet.

-- Attorney General: The new attorney general is Hassan
Saeed. Saeed had been a high court judge. He replaces
Mohammed Munavvar, who was dropped from the cabinet.
Munavvar reputedly may be offered another governmental
position, perhaps an embassy. Both Saeed and Munavvar
hail from Addu Atoll, the Maldives' southernmost group
of islands (see Ref B).

-- Education Ministry: Dr. Maumood Shaugee replaces
Ismail Shafeeu as education minister. Shaugee, who was
educated in Canada, had been the deputy in the ministry.

=======
COMMENT
=======


8. (C) Although he did not mention the September
unrest, the unprecedented nature of what happened at
that time was clearly the key background to Gayoom's
speech. In outlining his "action" items, he appeared to
be signaling that he understands that there needs to be
political change in the Maldives so that the government
becomes more inclusive and responsive to public demands.
Given the almost purposeful vagueness of the speech,
however, it is not clear how serious he really is in
implementing these overall objectives. On the positive
side of the ledger, a number of contacts remarked to
polchief during the course of the trip that Gayoom and
his supporters have appeared more interested in
soliciting views from outside of leadership circles in
the past several weeks. That said, although some
technocrats were given slots in the reshuffle, the
cabinet remains filled with cronies and close relatives
of Gayoom's. If further political turbulence down the
line is going to be averted, Gayoom clearly needs to
apply himself to adding meat to his general principles.
END COMMENT.


9. (U) Minimize considered.

LUNSTEAD