Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05COLOMBO1878
2005-10-31 11:17:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Colombo
Cable title:  

MALDIVIAN FOREIGN MINISTER HERALDS BEGINNING OF

Tags:  PGOV PHUM MV 
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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
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).

-------
SUMMARY
--------

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 MALDIVES'>MV
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).

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


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.

--------------
SHAHEED: IT'S NOT AS BAD AS IT LOOKS
--------------


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.

--------------
MANY RECOMMENDATIONS ARE MADE,
BUT FEW ARE CHOSEN
--------------


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.

--------------
REFORM SENTIMENT VS.
DESIRE FOR STABILITY
--------------



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.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


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