MALDIVES: OFFICIAL BLAME OF FUNDAMENTALISTS FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001427

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS
NSC FOR E.MILLARD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/26/2014
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM MV
SUBJECT: MALDIVES: OFFICIAL BLAME OF FUNDAMENTALISTS FOR
PROTESTS CONTINUES WHILE OUTSIDERS SEE GORM FEAR OF REFORM

REF: COLOMBO 1400 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Charge' d'Affaires James F. Entwistle. 1.4(b,d)


1. (U) This is an Action Request -- please see Para Thirteen.


2. (C) SUMMARY: The Maldivian government continues to
allege that fundamentalists are behind the August 12-13
demonstrations. In an August 26 address before Parliament,
President Gayoom reiterated his commitment to reform and
explained his reasoning for the state of emergency. Of the
approximately 200 people arrested, only 74 remain in
detention as of August 26, including 7 parliamentarians and 5
women. In a debriefing on the EU's August 23-24 visit, one
member of the delegation questioned the government's
explanation of its actions in the wake of the protests,
instead believing the GORM was desperately trying to control
the reform process. The crackdown on pro-reformists was in
reaction to the GORM's fear that the reform process was
getting beyond its control, the EU delegate thought. The GSL
Foreign Minister described his meeting with the Maldivian
envoy earlier this week as "expected." Meanwhile, the
International Committee of the Red Cross is requesting
assistance from the international community to encourage the
GORM to enter into a formal relationship with the
organization. Given widely disseminated information, the
GORM will likely have a hard time convincing the
international community of its version of events and an even
harder time controlling the reform process it began. END
SUMMARY.

Government blames fundamentalists
--------------


3. (U) On August 26 Presidential Communications Director Dr.
Ahmed Shaheed told poloff that President Gayoom had addressed
the Majlis earlier in the day to brief MPs on the August
12-13 incidents and the subsequent declaration of the State
of Emergency. Gayoom also used the opportunity, Shaheed
said, to reiterate his commitment to continue the process of
reform despite the recent disturbances, a process in which,
according to Shaheed, the president hopes to enlist the aid
of the National Democratic Institute (NDI).


4. (SBU) The State of Emergency allows the authorities to
&waive8 several Constitutional provisions, including
detainees, right to access to legal counsel, the requirement
that detainees be officially notified of the charges against
them within 24 hours of their arrest, and the seven-day limit
within which suspects must be produced before a magistrate,
Shaheed reported. In addition, the Emergency gives the
authorities the permission to &intercept8 the detainees,
communications and to restrict freedom of movement through
the imposition of curfews. (Note: The curfew, which now
runs from 12:30 a.m. ) 4:00 a.m., is limited only to the
capital of Male, and is not in operation on resort islands.
End note.) Although the Emergency allows detainees to be
held without charge for an indefinite period, Shaheed
asserted that authorities were &working round the clock8 to
frame charges against those involved as quickly as possible.



5. (C) Those detained in connection with the events of
August 12-13 generally fell into three categories, Shaheed
contended: those with a &political agenda8; Muslim
&extremists8 that are loyal to &Sheik8 Ibrahim Fareed, a
local religious figure recently charged with committing acts
against the state, and common criminals. Most of those
released so far fell into the third category, Shaheed said.
He confirmed that 74 individuals remain in detention,
including five women, two members of the Regular Majlis and
five Members of the Special Majlis. To date, 122 of those
originally detained have been released, Shaheed said,
including 25 minors under the age of 18. He emphasized that
members of the Maldives, National Human Rights Commission
had been given access to all prisoners (although he did not
know how many had actually been visited) and that the
Government had invited the ICRC and Amnesty International to
visit as well.

EU Delegation sees official fear of reform
--------------


6. (C) An EU delegation, consisting of Colombo- and New
Delhi- based diplomats from the Dutch, French, and British
missions visited Maldives August 23-24 to speak with the
government and the detainees arrested in the wake of the
protests. On August 26, Harry van Dijk, Deputy Head of
Mission at the Netherlands Embassy in Colombo described the
visit to polchief and poloff as informative and troubling at
the same time. Van Dijk said the entire five-person
delegation was left with the impression that the government
was engaged in a power struggle that began on June 9 when the
President announced his sweeping views for constitutional
reforms. When the government experienced the first
contentious meeting of the Special Majlis -- convoked to
address the constitutional reforms -- van Dijk said he
believed the government quickly realized that it may not be
able to "control" the reforms, as it had envisioned. In
response, the GORM was using the veil of fundamentalists to
crack down on those in the pro-reform movement, van Dijk
said. Describing Gayoom as having "village syndrome," van
Dijk added that the President was likely unable to cope with
the widespread change he suddenly saw coming.


7. (C) In addition to their meetings with GORM officials
(the police, Human Rights Commission, MFA interlocutors, but
not the President or Foreign Minister),the EU delegation
also met with several of the detainees including six MPs,
Sheik Fareed, the government-characterized fundamentalist who
instigated the August 12-13 protests, and one commissioner on
the Human Rights Commission. The GORM had placed constraints
on the meetings with the detainees, requiring both a police
and MFA official to be present and restricting detainees from
speaking about the events leading to their arrest. Regarding
their arrest and detention, the prisoners told the EU
delegation the following:

-- They alleged physical abuse in the arrest process, but
said that they had been treated fairly while in detention at
Dhoonidoo prison. All alleged psychological abuse in prison
however;

-- All the men had been kept in solitary confinement, without
access to lawyers or legal books, including the constitution.


-- The one female detainee visited stated that she had been
abused while in detention at another prison facility,
although that the abuse had stopped upon her transfer to
Dhoonidoo. She had, however, been held in a cell with
another female;

-- Those who had requested family visits were allowed such,
but under the same constraints as the EU delegation visit.

With the exception of one of the detainees, the EU delegation
said the rest of those visited seem to be good physical
condition.


8. (C) The delegation also quietly met with those who had
been arrested August 13 and "conditionally" released. They
spoke on condition of anonymity, van Dijk said, since their
release was contingent on not speaking to outsiders about
their experience. Van Dijk said those released were still in
fear of the government and had a strong sense of intimidation
by the government. In his impression, van Dijk said, the
"bystanders" who were released were also likely abused in
prison to "discourage further support for the reform group."


9. (C) Contemplating ways to go forward, van Dijk said that
the EU would likely issue a statement, politely saying that
it was not fooled by the government's official version of
events. Further the statement would probably call for the
restoration of fundamental rights and the rescinding of the
state of emergency. Van Dijk felt that, given Maldives'
strong dependence on EU tourists, the EU likely had leverage
with the Maldivian government. Confirming van Dijk's
impressions, Margaret Tongue, poloff at the British HC told
poloff on August 25 that the Maldivian Minister of Tourism
was acting as Special Envoy for the GORM in visits to the UK,
France, and Italy. Tongue added that the Maldivian
minister's first stop had been with HMG on August 25.
GSL meets GORM envoy
--------------


10. (C) In an August 25 conversation with Charge', Sri
Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar said that the
August 23 GSL meeting with the Maldivian envoy, Health
Minister Ahmed Abdullah, "went as expected." The GSL
subsequently issued a statement -- note: very similar to the
U.S. one -- that said Abdullah had assured both Kadirgamar
and GSL Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse of the safety of the
detainees. In a separate press conference after the meeting,
Abdullah was quoted as saying that GSL officials were
"supportive of the political development...and hoped the
situation would return to normal."


ICRC intent on official relationship
--------------


11. (C) During an August 25 meeting, Robert Przedpelski,
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Deputy Head
of the Regional Delegation for South Asia, updated polchief
and poloff about the status of ICRC's proposal to the
Maldivian government. Przedpelski said that ICRC had
presented a draft MOU to the GORM in April 2004 to establish
a formal relationship. He added that several government
officials supported the proposal, including the Attorney
General and Human Rights Commission, and stated it had
reached the level of the president. In the wake of the
August 12-13 protest and subsequent arrested, Przedpelski
said the Attorney General had indicated that the ICRC could
visit the detainees even without an MOU. In response,
Przedpelski said he declined because he wanted an officially
defined relationship so that ICRC could visit under its own
terms and not for the GORM's political expediency. While
Przedpelski said he was going to continue the dialogue with
the GORM, he asked for quiet help from the international
community to bring about a resolution to the ICRC's proposal.

Comment
--------------


12. (C) That Gayoom seems to believe that he can publicly
insist on his continued commitment to reform while
simultaneously detaining leading pro-reform forces
incommunicado offers the best example of the "village
syndrome" the Dutch DCM observed in him. The "reform" Gayoom
referred to in his August 26 address before the Majlis
clearly does not seem to be the same kind of reform
envisioned by his political opponents, who, for the time
being, have become his political prisoners. Although some of
the remaining detainees may be legitimate threats to
Maldives' security, the GORM's continued insistence on
linking pro-reform detainees with murky "extremists"
paradoxically appears to be an attempt to discredit a reform
process that Gayoom himself originally championed. Despite
his provincialism, Gayoom appears sensitive to international
criticism and opinion. We should continue to remind him that
events in his "village" have gained a far wider audience, one
that expects him to uphold his commitments to true reform.
END COMMENT.

Action Request
--------------


13. (C) Mission requests that Department officials raise the
issue of a potential GORM-ICRC MOU when they meet with
Maldivian Envoy Latheef next week. Signing an MOU with ICRC
can only help the government, as it can potentially refute
allegations of prison abuse with the contention that it
receives official visits from the Red Cross. END ACTION
REQUEST.
ENTWISTLE