MALDIVES: IN-LAW OF PRESIDENT ELECTED SPEAKER OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 001718

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SA/INS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/14/2014
TAGS: PGOV PHUM MV
SUBJECT: MALDIVES: IN-LAW OF PRESIDENT ELECTED SPEAKER OF
SPECIAL MAJLIS; NDI AND AI EXPRESS CONCERN FOLLOWING VISITS

REF: A. COLOMBO 1704

B. COLOMBO 1686

Classified By: AMB. JEFFREY J. LUNSTEAD. REASON: 1.4 (B,D).


1. (SBU) Abbas Ibrahim, the brother-in-law of President
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, was elected Speaker of the Special
Majlis by open ballot on October 14. Shaheen Hameed,
Gayoom's nephew, was elected Deputy Speaker. Ibrahim
received 70 of the votes from the 98 MPs attending; former
front-runner and current detainee Ibrahim Gasim received
five. Eleven or twelve Special Majlis MPs walked out in
protest over the absence of a secret ballot in the voting
process. It is unclear whether they will return when the
Special Majlis reconvenes next week. With the Speaker
elected, the next order of business for the Special Majlis
will be to consider proposed reforms (including a draft by
President Gayoom) to the Constitution. A delegation from
Amnesty International (AI) told the Ambassador on October 15
that the Government had agreed to allow AI to comment on the
draft. (Note: AI has not yet seen the draft.)


2. (C) A two-person delegation from the National Democratic
Institute (NDI),who visited Maldives at the request of UNDP,
told the Ambassador on October 15 that interviews conducted
with residents of remote islands revealed deep-seated and
wide-spread skepticism about the Government's actual intent
to reform. In NDI's view, Gayoom likely underestimates the
level of pro-reform sentiment, assuming it is limited to a
few prominent activists in the capital. NDI's report on the
visit will include recommendations on laws governing
political parties; the creation of a civil service; the
enforcement of constitutional rights; and the establishment
of civic education programs.


3. (C) The findings of the AI delegation, which had an
opportunity to meet with detainees in private, confirmed that
while physical abuse had ended once the detainees were moved
to Dhoonidhoo Island, many exhibited signs of mental and
psychological stress. Some of the female detainees reported
incidents of sexual abuse by arresting authorities when they
were first apprehended. Some of the improvements to the
detainees' situation promised following the Ambassador's
October 6-7 visit have already been instituted (Ref B).
According to Moez Doraid, UNDP Resident Representative, at
least some of the detainees have now been given access to
legal counsel. The AI delegation reported that some
detainees were being allowed very limited space in which to
exercise (i.e., given access to the small walkway in front of
their cell doors),while others were not. Reading and
writing materials had not yet been provided, AI Legal Advisor
Debra Long noted, but she believed that they would be soon.
The AI team had met with all seven female detainees, three of
whom were released immediately thereafter. The team
expressed concern about the remaining four female detainees,
noting that all seemed to have been detained because of their
connections to male political activists, rather than for any
infringement of law.


4. (C) The AI delegation noted an apparently genuine desire
for reform among certain sectors of the Government, and said
they were seeking the best ways to encourage those reformers.
The reform process will be lengthy--especially revisions to
the Penal Code and criminal justice system. In the interim,
the delegation will urge the Government to consider
implementing short-term remedial measures (such as
instituting a system of bail) that could alleviate some of
the concerns about the detainees' welfare.
LUNSTEAD