CONFIDENCE EBBS IN THE MORI ADMINISTRATION - LEADERSHIP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KOLONIA 000150

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/26/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL CH FM
SUBJECT: CONFIDENCE EBBS IN THE MORI ADMINISTRATION - LEADERSHIP
GROWS ERRATIC

CLASSIFIED BY: Miriam K. Hughes, Ambassador, Amembassy Kolonia,
State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (C) The administration of Federated States of Micronesia
(FSM) President Emanuel Mori is increasingly perceived within
the FSM as secretive and ensnared within the narrow interests of
cohorts from the President's home state of Chuuk. Mori, who is
reserved by nature, rarely addresses the FSM Congress, which
elected him, or the Micronesian people. He appears to rely upon
a close circle of advisers, who are all trusted colleagues from
Chuuk, including Chief of Staff Kasio Mida, Attorney General
Maketo Robert, and SBOC Director Fabian Nimea.


2. (SBU) Nimea is a young and relatively inexperienced
appointee who heads an unwieldy cabinet entity created by Mori,
which agglomerates Statistics, Budget, Overseas Assistance and
Compact Management in one sprawling, rudderless office. Under
consideration by the FSM Congress is a bill to disaggregate
SBOC, which would return budgetary responsibility to the
Department of Finance and attach economic planning to the
Department of Resources and Development. The U.S. Department of
the Interior attributes poor administration of the U.S.-FSM
Amended Compact in part to the dysfunction of SBOC.


3. (C) The unraveling of a higher minded national agenda and
commitment to reform, which Mori proposed with eloquence at his
inauguration in July 2007, appears to have begun last February
when Mori appointed Maketo Robert (Chuuk) as Attorney General
(AG). Robert had already been suspended from practice before
the FSM national bar owing to misconduct as a lawyer in a Chuuk
land dispute case, in which Robert allegedly attempted to
represent both sides. The appointment of Robert, who has a
reputation for consorting with Chuukese criminals, prompted
erstwhile supporters of Mori to predict that the President's
ability to lead and to deal with a powerful FSM Congress would
slide down hill.


4. (C) Knowledgeable observers have alternatively perceived
Mori as capitulating to powerful Chuukese demands and/or as
deviously repaying political debts that enabled him to
unexpectedly attain the Presidency. "The Congress now has the
President over a barrel," Chuuk financial reformer Gillian Doone
(protect) commented shortly after the Congress confirmed the
nomination of AG Robert. In fact, the President's judgment and
ability to lead appear to show impairment. Mori's hearing
handicap (the President is partially deaf) may contribute to an
impression of disorientation. Vice President Alik Alik (Kosrae
State) has maintained a discreet distance, almost to the point
of invisibility. Within the Cabinet, schisms are apparent
between the Chuukese, who are close to the President, and the
Pohnpeians, such as Resources and Development Secretary Peter
Christian, who travels frequently to China and appears to
operate and make deals with virtual autonomy.


5. (C) Within the Department of Justice that AG Robert heads,
three of a total staff of six attorneys have resigned, quietly
citing a pattern of corrupt practices. Former Assistant
Attorney General and Chief Litigator Kembo Mida, who is the son
of the President's Chief of Staff and a graduate of the
University of Michigan law school, claims that Robert
consistently shelves all cases pertaining to alleged criminal
activities in Chuuk, and he will keep them on hold
indefinitely. Mida believes President Mori is complicit.
Another attorney, who is a highly regarded American, also
recently resigned before the expiration of her contract. She
described a series of questionable practices, including a closed
meeting in which Mori angrily dismissed all legal arguments
against the establishment of a qualified insurance registry in
the FSM. "I don't care about the legal loopholes," Mori
supposedly said, signing documents that the American had urged
him to avoid.


6. (C) Other decisions by Mori reflect similarly erratic
judgment, naivety and/or bad advice from his advisors, including
Presidential priorities to:

-- Establish submarine fiber optic cable (SFOC) linkages to all
four FSM states. Mori endorsed the diversion of $55 million USD
from U.S. Compact infrastructure funds to extend a SFOC
telecommunications network from a future Pohnpei project, which
has not yet begun, to the three less developed FSM states, all
of which lack substantial Internet subscribers and computers.
Mori supported the SFOC notion as the FSM's sole initiative and
resolution at the annual Compact Joint Economic Management
Committee (JEMCO) meeting in Washington in August. When U.S.
JEMCO members objected on grounds that Compact infrastructure
grants are intended to build schools, roads and health
facilities, the Micronesians withdrew their resolution.
However, the Micronesians indicated they may turn to another

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undisclosed country to obtain a low interest loan.

-- Decentralize Micronesian passport processing, including
releasing stocks of blank FSM passport books to the four FSM
states and diplomatic missions in Guam, Hawaii and Washington.
In response to strong objections from the U.S., the FSM Congress
and state legislators, Mori agreed to put this legislative
proposal on hold pending further analysis. However, he went so
far as to endorse a $800,000 USD proposal from the 3-M Company.
Under pressure, he reluctantly acknowledged that the fraud
vulnerabilities inherent in localized production of passports
could ignite U.S. border security concerns that would jeopardize
the Micronesians' visa-free travel privileges under the Compact.

-- Shut down Caroline Islands Air (CIA),which provides the only
air transport service to the outer islands of Pohnpei and Chuuk.
Mori stated he did not like the high fuel consumption of CIA's
small Australian model planes, and he would prefer to buy new
airplanes from China. The FSM Congress unanimously overrode the
President's veto of a CIA fuel subsidy in order to try to
restore CIA operations and ensure transportation for officials
and the people of the outer islands. In the meantime, the Mori
administration has introduced an alternative bill to create a
new Micronesian airline company.

-- Hire a foreign company to manage FSM airspace in order to
raise additional revenue. In response to Mori's inquiry about
this idea, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has
prepared a letter that reminds the President of FAA
responsibility to provide airspace management services under
terms of the Compact that are vital for air transport safety.

-- Reform the anarchic and bankrupt state of Chuuk. Mori
repeatedly stated that he would bank his own political career on
his intention to restore fiscal accountability to his home
state. In a loosely confederated FSM constitutional system,
however, the FSM National Government (FSMNG) has little
authority over the states. Chuuk's Governor has resisted
imposition of controls by Mori, eluding major reform and
exposing the shortcomings of the President's agenda.


7. (C) As Mori's frustrations have increased, he has appeared
less in public and he makes few public addresses. Rather, his
Chief of Staff tends to issue politically slanted media releases
that have diminishing credibility. State representatives and
national senators quietly complain about lack of responsiveness
and communication from the Presidency. When Mori threatened to
shut down Micronesia's only Internet chat room, which the
non-government organization Micronesian Seminar runs, the head
of the Seminar Father Fran Hezel, took the President to lunch
and quietly explained that such a measure would be
unconstitutional.


8. (C) Comment. In a consensus-driven Micronesian culture,
the strongest accusations against President Mori are uttered
with caution behind closed doors. Nevertheless, a quiet but
growing chorus of critics alleges that he is governing like a
so-called shady and opportunistic Chuukese politician. In Yap,
Mori insisted upon hosting a large reception for an official
meeting and then refused to pay the bill. Conservative Yapese
politicians repeatedly complain about this incident as well as
about blocked Compact infrastructure projects. A new
infrastructure Project Management Unit (PMU),which Mori
attached to his office, has failed to advance projects to the
states' satisfaction. The FSM Congress will consider a measure
to transfer the PMU back to the Department of Transportation,
Communication and Infrastructure, which along with the overhaul
of SBOC, would constitute another swipe at the President's
executive reorganization plan. Yapese and Pohnpeians have begun
to whisper the word 'impeachment.' However, no FSM President
has ever been impeached, and nine of the 14 FSM Senators
represent Chuuk. An erosion in support by the Chuukese
delegation could portend problems for Mori's current position
and his chances for reelection.


9. (C) Comment continued. Barring unforeseen circumstance,
Mori is likely to remain at the helm of his fragile nation for
the nearly three remaining years of his term. In the meantime,
long-time American residents warn that Mori harbors ambiguous
feelings and even subtle hostility toward the United States.
They have advised to "watch what he does and not what he says."
President Mori is a pious Catholic, who is soft-spoken,
respectful and eloquent at meetings. Yet he remains a complex
personality enigma. A rough but working balance of power among
the FSM Congress, the Supreme Court and the quasi-autonomous
states should serve to keep the President's less grounded
instincts in check. However, Australian Embassy colleagues
share concerns that Mori's erratic performance could portend a
vulnerability to the enticement of quick fixes from other
regional powers, as well as a potential for instability in the
FSM.
HUGHES