MALDIVES: ATMOSPHERE CALM BUT TENSE AMID FEARS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001392

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SA/INS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/19/2014
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL MV
SUBJECT: MALDIVES: ATMOSPHERE CALM BUT TENSE AMID FEARS
FOR DETAINEES' WELFARE

REF: COLOMBO 1337

Classified By: CDA JAMES F. ENTWISTLE. REASON: 1.5 (B,D).

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) Summary: The atmosphere in the Republic of Maldives
remained calm but tense in the week following the August
12-13 demonstrations against the government in Male', the
capital. Night-time curfews (from about 11:00 p.m. to 4:30
a.m.) remain in effect, but schools and businesses are open,
and movement during non-curfew hours is not restricted. The
Government of the Republic of Maldives (GORM) has assured the
Embassy, via diplomatic note, that all detainees arrested in
connection with the demonstrations will be treated humanely,
but concern for their welfare persists. EU Missions in
Colombo are sending a fact-finding delegation to the Maldives
August 22-24, while the GORM is sending a special envoy to
meet with the Sri Lankan Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
in Colombo this weekend. With the demonstrations behind it,
the GORM is clearly on damage control. Although official
GORM statements are attempting to depict the demonstrators
and detainees---who include at least eight Members of the
Regular and Special Majlis--as "extremist" and
"fundamentalist" elements in order to discredit them, so far
we see little evidence to support such claims. End summary.

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TROUBLE IN PARADISE
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2. (SBU) The Maldivian capital of Male' remained calm but
tense during the week following the August 12-13
demonstrations against the government (Reftel). A visiting
Maldivian businessman told us that night-time curfews from
11:00 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. remain in effect, but that
businesses, shops and schools are open and that movement
during non-curfew hours is not restricted. Airports are open
(our interlocutor had flown to Colombo from Male' just a few
days after the demonstrations),and tourist resorts
unaffected.

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MALDIVIAN ENVOY TO VISIT SRI LANKA;
EUROPEANS OFF TO MALE
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3. (C) Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar
called in the Charge, and polchief August 19 to review the
situation in Maldives. Kadirgamar said that Maldives looked
to Sri Lanka as a "big brother" and numerous Maldivians had
extensive contacts in Sri Lanka. He had heard from a number
of Maldivians asking for some sort of GSL help in the wake of
the recent unrest and arrests in Male,. He said he had been
observing, both through Sri Lankan High Commission in Male'
and via his own Maldivian contacts, the progress of Maldivian
pro-democracy activism, but had so far seen no evidence of
the radical or fundamental Islamic elements the Government of
the Republic of Maldives (GORM) had hinted at.


4. (C) Kadirgamar said he had been planning to put out a GSL
statement urging reconciliation and expressing hope that the
political reform process would not be derailed by recent
disturbances. He had just learned, however, that Maldivian
President Gayoom was sending his Minister of Health to
Colombo this weekend as a personal envoy to review the
situation with the GSL. He and Prime Minister Rajapakse
would meet with the Maldivian envoy (President Kumaratunga is
leaving town today until the end of the month). The GSL
will wait to put out its statement until after meeting with
Gayoom,s envoy.


5. (C) Kadirgamar said he wanted to coordinate GSL efforts
with the UK, India and the United States and asked Charge,
for input. Charge, gave Kadirgamar a copy of the U.S.
statement and stressed that our two primary concerns were the
continuation of political reform and treatment of prisoners.
Our view was that Gayoom had taken a hard look at his
political system after the disturbances a year ago and
implemented a serious reform effort. Many of his inner
circle stood to lose in this process, however, and probably
were working to scuttle it. Kadirgamar said U.S. views
parallel his and that he would provide a readout next week on
his weekend meeting with the Maldivian envoy.


6. (C) Several European missions in Colombo have decided to
send an EU fact-finding delegation to Male' August 22-24. We
understand that most of the Europeans' meetings with the GORM
will take place on August 23. We have asked for a read-out
following the delegation's return to Colombo. The British
High Commission in Colombo has told us that FCO has issued a
statement on the Maldives similar to our own. A call from
the British Deputy Prime Minister to the Maldivian president
remains under consideration as well.

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DETAINEES' WELFARE REMAINS A CONCERN
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7. (C) On August 18 poloffs met with Maldivian businessman
Mohamed Ismail Maniku, who had traveled to Colombo to seek
legal counsel for his friend and former SAARC Secretary
General Ibrahim Hussein Zaki, who, along with an estimated
eight other MPs, remains in detention following the
demonstrations. According to Maniku, Zaki has been allowed
only one phone call and no visitors during his detention.
Although Zaki's wife received no indication that her husband
was being mistreated in prison when she spoke with him by
telephone, Maniku said he believes his friend runs a grave
risk of torture and mistreatment while in custody. He added
that there had been unconfirmed reports that Dr. Mohamed
Munavvar, another prominent detainee, had been "assaulted" in
custody. To his knowledge, none of the detainees has yet
been formally charged.


8. (C) Maniku expressed concern that the GORM's
characterization of the demonstrations as a coup attempt
might be a thinly veiled ploy by the government to justify
adopting especially draconian and non-transparent measures
against detainees and to undermine the credibility of the
pro-democracy movement. (Note: At a press conference on
August 17, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, President Gayoom's
Communications Director, charged that the demonstrators were
attempting to overthrow the government. End note.)
Moreover, since none of the detainees has yet been permitted
access to legal counsel and since there is only a handful of
lawyers in the country anyway--and almost no one willing to
undertake such risky and controversial cases--prospects for a
free and fair trial are dim, he said. (Complicating the
situation, one of the Maldives' most prominent attorneys
appears to be among the estimated 180 detainees.)

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GORM EXPLANATIONS
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9. (U) On August 18 the Embassy received a faxed diplomatic
note from the Maldivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
ostensibly in direct response to the Department's August 16
statement. The note asserts that "the Government of
Maldives' resolve to continue the process of political and
constitutional reform remains unchanged . . despite recent
setbacks." The note blames a "fundamentalist" Muslim cleric
for sparking the demonstrations, an event which unnamed
"others who were behind the scene" used "to arouse more
anti-government feelings among the public. . . The events of
12th and 13th August clearly show that if any opportunity is
given to these extremist elements, they would become
extremely vicious and dangerous. While the Government is
determined to continue with its reform agenda, it will take
every possible measure to prevent these radical elements
spreading their destructive propaganda in the country." The
note goes on to report that the President has set up a
special commission to ensure that all detainees are treated
"properly" and reports the GORM's willingness to allow
representatives of the National Human Rights Commission "or
any other similar bodies" to visit the detainees. In
conclusion, the note asserts, "all detainees will be treated
humanely, fairly and in accordance with the Constitution of
the Republic of Maldives and as per the international norms
of human rights." The Embassy has not yet been able to
verify whether members of the National Human Rights
Commission (one of whom is among the detainees) or other
similar organizations have been able to visit the detainees.

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COMMENT
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10. (C) The GORM has arrested nearly 200 people in the wake
of the demonstrations, and we do not know most of them.
Those that we do know, however--a former Attorney General; a
former SAARC Secretary General; a member of the National
Human Rights Commission; and a prominent local
businessman--do not fit the "extremist" and "fundamentalist"
tags the GORM has leveled against them. Such sensationalist
name-calling seems an attempt to duck the politically
difficult pro-democracy reforms that we believe these
demonstrations are really about and that the GORM has pledged
to undertake. The reassuring tone of the MFA's dipnote
notwithstanding, the GORM's kneejerk clampdown on the
demonstrators does not bode well for progress on promised
reforms. We will continue to press the GORM for evidence
that it will uphold the commitments to continue the process
of reform and to ensure international human rights standars.
ENTWISTLE