Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06COLOMBO445
2006-03-22 04:58:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Colombo
Cable title:  

MALDIVES: GROWING PAINS OF DEMOCRATIZATION

Tags:  PGOV PHUM PINR MV 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7370
PP RUEHBI RUEHCI
DE RUEHLM #0445/01 0810458
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 220458Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2875
INFO RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 9031
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 5920
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 3956
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 2896
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 9400
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL CALCUTTA PRIORITY 0149
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 6464
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 4403
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000445 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR MV
SUBJECT: MALDIVES: GROWING PAINS OF DEMOCRATIZATION

REF: COLOMBO 254

Classified By: CDA JAMES F. ENTWISTLE FOR REASONS 1.4(b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000445

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR MV
SUBJECT: MALDIVES: GROWING PAINS OF DEMOCRATIZATION

REF: COLOMBO 254

Classified By: CDA JAMES F. ENTWISTLE FOR REASONS 1.4(b) and (d)


1. (SBU) Summary: During a March 14-16 trip to Maldives,
poloff met government officials, political party leaders, and
civil society representatives, all of whom expressed
commitment to democratic reform but worry about its pace and
implementation. All interlocutors responded positively to
the March 9 release of the 2005 Country Report on Human
Rights Practices (HRR) and requested continued USG engagement
and assistance in democracy-building. Government officials
were hopeful that democratization would move forward, while
many in the opposition remained deeply suspicious whether the
government would ever deliver on its commitments to reform.
Rifts within the government and within the opposition, as
well as mistrust between the two sides, have limited the
speed and efficacy of reforms. Nevertheless, democratization
seems to be moving in the right direction, albeit glacially.
End summary.

--------------
DEMOCRATIZATION:
VIEWS FROM THE "NEW MALDIVES"
--------------


2. (C) During a March 14-16 trip to Maldives, poloff spoke
with government officials, opposition leaders, and civil
society representatives to gauge the status of the reform
process. Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed acknowledged common
goals with moderates in the opposition Maldives Democratic
Party (MDP),and assessed that when the MDP stops dwelling on
the governing regime's past failings, the party could win
over the center and appeal to a broader voter base. Indeed,
he implied if that were the case, he himself would support
the MDP. Nevertheless, he said, extremist elements in the
MDP hinder reform through anti-Gayoom rhetoric and
disengagement with the process.


3. (C) Shaheed welcomed the State Department's 2005 Human
Rights Report (HRR) and said it was important for the
international community to maintain scrutiny over the reform
process. (Note: Shaheed said much the same to the Maldivian
public in a March 12 press release. End note.) In the
meeting with poloff, Shaheed acknowledged his government's
areas for improvement and promised to forge ahead in ensuring

human rights and strengthening democratic institutions. He
said that since the president has been in power for 28 years
and now leads the governing Dhivehi Rayyathunge Party (DRP),
it is easy for the opposition to level charges of insincerity
in the reform agenda. However, Shaheed said, he gained
insight into Gayoom's mind when he worked as his
speechwriter, and he trusts Gayoom is genuinely committed to
reform. Shaheed added that the government's "Reform
Roadmap," complete with a timeline and verifiable benchmarks,
will be released by the end of March.


4. (C) Shaheed highlighted the rifts between the
reform-minded cabinet ministers and the "Old Maldives,"
noting that he himself speaks Dhivehi poorly, can only read
and write it at a rudimentary level, and is ignorant of the
"Court Arabic" that distinguishes many of President Gayoom's
closest advisors in the old guard. Shaheed's major concern
is that Gayoom is a weak leader susceptible to anti-reformist
lobbies in his own camp. Discussing the "Old Maldives,"
Shaheed also noted that police chief Adam Zahir may be
undermining the reform process. Shaheed noted the importance
of training the police in democratic principles and creating
a space for them in the new, open society Maldives is trying
to build.


5. (C) In a separate meeting, Government Spokesman Mohamed
Hussain Sharif confirmed opposition press reports that two
civil servants had been fired for their affiliation with the
MDP. Sharif said the employees in question had announced
support for an MDP press statement that challenged the
government's legitimacy, an act that he said automatically
disqualified them from government service. Noting the
possibility that such acts could be interpreted as stifling
political dissent, poloff suggested a civil service bill
clarifying the rights and responsibilities of government
employees. Poloff raised the same concern in a separate

COLOMBO 00000445 002 OF 003


meeting with Attorney General Hassan Saeed, who said a
private member from the government's DRP had introduced civil
service legislation, which was now under discussion in
committee. (Note: An MDP MP told us that the committee
formed to discuss the proposed civil service legislation has
not been meeting. End note.)

--------------
DEBATE ON NEW LEGISLATION UNDER WAY
--------------


6. (C) In addition to the draft civil service legislation,
the government introduced several reform bills currently
pending before parliament, including one codifying the
Maldives Human Rights Commission (MHRC),four on press
freedom, a police powers act, and a security services act.
The last two will cite rights and responsibilities of police
and military separately. The reform bills will be discussed
in turn, and Attorney General Hassan Saeed told poloff that a
new penal code, drafted in consultation with an American law
professor, will be introduced to parliament within two weeks.
Saeed expressed confidence that the reform bills, including
the penal code, will be passed in parliament, and added that
until they could be legislatively implemented, he would seek
presidential decrees to ensure the bills' substance would be
in force. MHRC commissioners Wahid and Saleem told poloff
that the new MHRC bill will make the body compliant with UN
guidelines and offer independent oversight, assuaging
concerns that caused the chair and two commissioners to
resign in August, leaving the MHRC unable to function.
(Note: The bill has been referred to a committee and is
under debate. End note.)

--------------
CHALLENGES FOR CIVIL SOCIETY
--------------


7. (C) In a March 15 meeting with poloff, Fathimath Shaheeda
of the pro-opposition Minivan Radio explained that since the
radio station has not been permitted to register in Maldives,
she records her news show, sends it as an audio file to be
edited in Colombo, and then forwards it from Colombo to
Europe, from where it is broadcast over the internet. In
addition to technical challenges, Shaheeda said she has been
slandered by pro-government internet sites and media. NGOs,
too, have faced difficulties. In a separate meeting with
poloff that same day, Hindha Ismail described her
unsuccessful attempts to register an NGO called the Detainee
Network, a forum for families of detainees to share
information with one another and with the international
community through daily e-mail updates. Ismail said she and
a colleague have attempted to register the NGO several times
in the past year, but were repeatedly denied, sometimes
because of quibbles as minor as grammar corrections. Ismail
also alleged that her co-founder, an employee at the Justice
Ministry, was threatened with denial of government-funded
medical care if she did not remove her name from the petition
to register the Detainee Network. While Ismail's colleague
withdrew her name, Ismail is still attempting to register the
organization on her own. (Note: We have also received
unsubstantiated reports that other NGO founders perceived as
pro-opposition have been denied registration. End note.)

--------------
OPPOSITION MDP CONTINUES TO OPPOSE,
BUT SOME FIND POINTS OF AGREEMENT
--------------


8. (C) Poloff met with MDP chair Mohamed Nasheeed, who
remains under house arrest pending trial on charges of
sedition and terrorism, as well as separately with several
other MDP representatives. All opposition interlocutors
welcomed the HRR and asked for continued international
oversight of the reform process. Poloff urged MDP
representatives to shift the debate from personality, i.e.
anti-Gayoom propaganda, to process, focusing on a policy
platform. MDP President and MP Ibrahim Ismail said the
government had failed to release funds in the federal budget
reserved for political parties, disadvantaging the MDP. He
also said the MDP plans to release a platform outlining
structural reforms and socio-economic policies within two
weeks, aiming to publish it before the government's Reform

COLOMBO 00000445 003 OF 003


Roadmap. Ismail and several other MDP MPs said they shared
aims with the New Maldives group and felt the need for
greater dialogue with the government. However, others in the
opposition, including Nasheed and Ibrahim Zaki, claimed they
saw no indications the government was committed to reforms.

--------------
ADALATH AND THE ISLAMIC DEMOCRATIC PARTY:
MULTI-PARTY DEMOCRACY?
--------------


9. (C) The Adalath, or Justice Party, is widely perceived as
espousing an orthodox Muslim line generally opposed to the
broad democratic principles the New Maldives cabinet
ministers and the MDP champion. Poloff tried several times
to contact a representative of Adalath, but no one was
available to meet. Adalath does not appear to have a strong
following within Maldives, and many have criticized its
fundamentalist stance on issues such as women's rights.
Poloff met with Umar Naseer, the founder of the Islamic
Democratic Party (IDP),the last to register following the
MDP, DRP, and Adalath. (Note: Naseer, a former National
Security Service official, is cited as a perpetrator of
torture in one victim's asylum testimony for the UN. End
note.) Naseer, a successful businessman, said he finances
the IDP fully himself, also adding that the government has
not released the funds earmarked for political parties.
Naseer and a group of about seven others are steering the
IDP, with a party leadership election due in about one year.
Naseer said his party aims to appeal to centrist voters
unsatisfied with both the government and the MDP, noting
"Ninety-five percent of the population dislike Gayoom, but
most don't want a street over-throw (of the government)."
Naseer said the IDP would limit nepotism and corruption and
champion conservative social values, but offered no specifics
as to how his party is different from the government's DRP.

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


10. (C) There appears to be genuine commitment to reform
across both sides of the aisle, but the government and the
opposition each face impediments. The DRP's credibility as
an engine of reform suffers from having Gayoom, president for
the last 28 years, at the helm of the party as well as of the
nation. In addition, the old guard, including police chief
Adam Zahir, are taking a strong anti-reform stance, exerting
pressure on the President to maintain the status quo. The
MDP, on the other hand, is attempting to make the difficult
transition from activist group to political party. The party
has made some progress into this uncharted new territory,
holding a party congress in December to elect its leadership
and promote internal party democracy. Beyond that, however,
the party has not articulated a set of policies-- other than
"Gayoom must go"-- that offers citizens a clear idea of what
it can deliver.


11. (C) Comment cont'd: As AG Saeed has repeatedly pointed
out to emboffs, "Democracy is more than just elections." The
fate of the legislation pending before Majlis will be vital
in determining te manner in which Maldives shifts from
autocracy to democracy. The new bills, in conjunction with
the new penal code, could ensure greater civil and political
rights for all Maldivians. However, if the discussions
become mired in partisan bickering, as has been the case in
the constitutional assembly, there is a danger the process
will simply stagnate. MPs from both parties have been guilty
of playing to the gallery at the expense of substantive
debate. We will continue to urge all parties to focus on the
issues and serve the best interests of the constituents by
moving the reform process forward. Moreover, Maldives is a
place where relatively small amounts of democracy and human
rights funding can make a difference as this pro-Western
moderate Muslim nation inches down the road towards greater
democracy and respect for human rights. End comment.



ENTWISTLE