MALDIVES: GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION NEGOTIATE ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 COLOMBO 000481

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM MV
SUBJECT: MALDIVES: GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION NEGOTIATE ON

REFORM

REF: A) COLOMBO 455 B) COLOMBO 429 C) 2006 COLOMBO 1910

Classified By: Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr., for reasons 1.4 (b, d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Ibrahim Hussein Zaki, the acting President
of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP),met the
Ambassador in Colombo on March 20 to offer an update on the
ongoing talks between his party and the governing DRP
(Maldivian People's Party). The two parties meet regularly
and cover: Track 1, constitutional reform; Track 2,
legislative cooperation; and Track 3, creating a political
atmosphere conducive to democratization (ref B). While both
sides have agreed on a number of measures so far, Zaki
worried that Tracks 2 and 3 may be stalling, and requested
international pressure on the DRP to urge continued
cooperation between the parties. The Ambassador promised to
contact the government to express support for further
negotiations, and followed up by writing to Foreign Minister
Ahmed Shaheed. Shaheed responded that his government remains
open to inputs from the MDP on constitutional reform, but
will not address Track 3 demands such as overturning criminal
convictions of MDP activists. Zaki also noted that his
party's internal leadership election is scheduled for June 2,
and he plans to run for the presidency and ask Mariya Ahmed
Didi, a recipient of the Secretary's International Woman of
Courage Award, to be his running mate as the vice
presidential candidate. End summary.

TRACK 1 TALKS:
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM POSSIBLE?
--------------


2. (C) Ibrahim Hussein Zaki, acting President of the
opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP),called on
Ambassador in Colombo on March 20. Zaki, who has charges
pending against him based on anti-government comments in the
lead-up to a planned rally in fall 2006 (ref C),was not
allowed to leave Maldives at the end of February. An MDP
member told PolOff that the Attorney General intervened on
Zaki's behalf to grant him permission to leave the country.
Zaki gave the Ambassador documents outlining the cooperation
to date between the MDP and the ruling DRP (Maldivian
People's Party) based on ongoing cross-party talks.


3. (SBU) President Gayoom initiated the talks in February
2007 in his capacity as DRP party leader by sending an
invitation to the MDP to meet and discuss constitutional
reforms. The MDP sought to widen the scope of the talks.
Negotiating teams from each side have been meeting regularly
in Male' since February 15 to discuss three different sets of
issues. Track 1 covers constitutional reform; Track 2,
legislative cooperation to pass bills in parliament,: and
Track 3, building an environment conducive to
democratization.


4. (C) For Track 1, the DRP's negotiating team includes the
reformist Foreign Minister and Attorney General, as well as
the hard-line Home Affairs Minister Ahmed Thasmeen Ali,
Higher Education Minister Abdulla Yameen (the President's
brother),and Health Minister Ilyas Ibrahim (the President's
brother-in-law). During a meeting with the DCM in Male' on
February 28, Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed said he had urged
President Gayoom to field a team of "decision-makers" so the
opposition could not complain that the reformists acting
alone did not have the authority to commit the government to
action. DRP parliamentary group leader Aneesa Ahmed is her
party's lead negotiator; she is on the DRP teams for each of
the three tracks. The MDP Track 1 team includes party chair
Mohamed Nasheed and several parliamentarians from the Special
Majlis (the expanded legislature convened to draft a new
constitution).


5. (SBU) Negotiations on Track 1 yielded agreements to hold

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a national referendum on a parliamentary versus presidential
system of government, lower the voting age from 21 to 18, and
appoint a working group with one representative from each
party and an international expert to draft a constitution and
present it to the parties for comment. Both sides agreed to
invite UNDP-sponsored Canadian constitutional scholar Douglas
Schmeiser, currently in Maldives advising the Special Majlis
under a grant from the UN Development Program.


6. (C) When the DCM met with him in Male' March 1, Schmeiser
said, "The present constitution of the Maldives is, beyond
doubt, the worst in the world." Schmeiser said that although
he was hired to advise the Special Majlis, he was frustrated
by the lack of direction, the lackadaisical attitude of the
staff assigned to him, and the short-term political
maneuvering of both parties. He said he was drafting the
constitution himself, and had already written sections
covering the judiciary, the legislature, human rights, and
property law. Unfortunately, according to March 21 press
reports, the chair of the Special Majlis drafting committee
did not release Schmeiser from his duties in order to allow
him to take part in the three-person working group, so the
panel failed to meet.

TRACK 2:
LEGISLATIVE COOPERATION SOMEWHAT SUCCESSFUL
--------------


7. (SBU) The DRP's Track 2 team includes parliamentarians,
the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and hard-line
Health Minister Ilyas (who the opposition says has failed to
attend a single meeting). The MDP's delegation primarily
consists of parliamentarians, including Mariya Ahmed Didi (a
recipient of the Secretary of State's International Woman of
Courage Award). The Track 2 groups instituted twice weekly
meetings, and have agreed to cooperate on 19 pieces of
legislation. These include the new penal code as drafted by
American law Professor Paul Robinson with UNDP funding, a
criminal code, and bills on evidence, police procedure,
parole, elections, media freedom, broadcasting, and political
parties, among others. On March 14, the parties discussed
the criminal procedure bill and forwarded proposed changes to
the Attorney General's office with a request the office
re-draft the bill in accordance with their joint
recommendations.

TRACK 3:
UNABLE TO AGREE ON "ENVIRONMENT FOR REFORM"
--------------


8. (SBU) The opposition reports that DRP lead negotiator
Aneesa Ahmed, along with Home Minister Ali and Foreign
Minister Shaheed, appointed to the Track 3 team, have all
been absent from every meeting. The Attorney General
attended one meeting on March 7, and the Finance Minister and
Justice Minister have attended more regularly, according to
the opposition's briefing packet. The MDP team consists of
Ibrahim Hussein Zaki, members of the MDP shadow cabinet, and
two parliamentarians.


9. (SBU) Track 3 discussions have covered the Police
Integrity Commission (PIC),freedom of assembly, and an MDP
insistence that political prisoners be released and some
court cases against party activists be dropped. The parties
have agreed that a "technical team" with representatives from
the parties, Attorney General's Office, and police, can
determine the mandate and composition of the PIC. However,
the cases against MDP activists are proving to be a sticking
point in the negotiations. On March 21, DRP lead negotiator
Aneesa Ahmed told the press in an interview that the DRP
"does not accept the MDP's contention that (MDP detainees)
are prisoners of conscience or political prisoners. They are
common criminals." In the same interview, Ahmed noted that

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she and the DRP negotiating teams only represent a political
party and therefore cannot commit the government to
particular courses of action.

MDP SEEKS INTERNATIONAL MEDIATION
--------------


10. (C) The Ambassador told Zaki the U.S. was pleased with
the level of cross-party cooperation so far, and he hoped it
would yield more speedy reforms. Zaki responded that only
international mediation would force the DRP to honor its
commitments. He said he had met with the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office in London and sought an observer for the
talks. He expressed hope that High Commissions in Colombo,
preferably the British, could send diplomats to Male' to
facilitate the discussions. He asked for international
support for continued cooperation. Shortly after meeting
with Zaki, the Ambassador wrote to Foreign Minister Shaheed
to urge further dialogue.


11. (C) In a March 21 reply, Shaheed offered assurances that
the DRP remains committed to dialogue with the MDP. Shaheed
said his government prioritizes constitutional change and
expressed worry that without a complete revision, the planned
2008 election would not be a multi-party, free, and fair
event. He said the MDP is making unreasonable demands in
Track 3, such as asking that the government release all MDP
activists serving criminal sentences and insisting that the
President announce the date he will leave office. Shaheed
said that while the DRP needs a reminder that it should be
inclusive in planning reforms, the international community
should urge the MDP to engage constructively rather than
undertake a "witch hunt." The Ambassador wrote to Zaki
expressing hope that the two sides could reach compromise on
Track 3 and ultimately implement systemic reforms to benefit
all Maldivians, a goal that should outweigh short-term
political considerations.

DIDI MAY RUN FOR PARTY VICE PRESIDENCY
--------------


12. (C) During the meeting with the Ambassador, Zaki also
reported that the MDP will have a congress June 2 to elect
the party president. Zaki has been acting party president
for the last 10 months, since the resignation of the first
elected president, Ibrahim Ismail, over a personality
conflict with party chair Mohamed Nasheed. Zaki said he
would ask Mariya Ahmed Didi to campaign with him as his vice
presidential candidate. The June party congress will have a
one member, one vote system. Zaki claimed that the MDP has
just over 30,000 active members, equivalent to ten percent of
the Maldivian population.

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


13. (C) The level of engagement between the DRP and MDP is
encouraging, especially on "Track 2." Currently, 22 reform
bills are pending, with some mired in committee and others
introduced but never discussed. If the two sides manage to
build consensus outside of the legislature, many of these may
actually pass in parliament. Nevertheless, the road ahead
remains bumpy. Clearly, the MDP sees the talks as an
opportunity to press further demands on the government, and
it has moved the goalposts several times in the past. Still,
it is a fair request to ask that the government release party
members who were tried and sentenced under spurious
"disobedience to order" charges. While the MDP lacks
political maturity, a major reason it has failed to develop
as a party is the government's heavy-handed tactics, such as
detaining party leaders and activists and charging them with
vague offenses.


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14. (C) For the government's part, the high-level
negotiating team for Track 1 demonstrates strong commitment
to constitutional reform, undercutting MDP complaints of
insincerity. That said, however, Aneesa Ahmed is
disingenuous in claiming the delegates represent the party
and not the government. The DRP has made few efforts to
establish itself as a functioning political party, and its
factions remain united only by the party leader, President
Gayoom. Furthermore, each DRP delegate is a well-established
government official; the Justice Minister or Attorney General
should have the authority to address the issue of political
prisoners. Numerous cases, many cited in our annual country
report on human rights, bear all the hallmarks of politically
motivated prosecutions. Maldives still has a long way to go
before multi-party democracy and human rights protections are
fully entrenched. We believe the country is moving in the
right direction, albeit slowly. Continued cooperation
between the government and major opposition party is an
encouraging sign. We will continue to do our best to help
foster it. End comment.
BLAKE