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OO RUEHBI
DE RUEHLM #1348/01 2741026
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O 011026Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6894
INFO RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 0434
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 7421
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 5556
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 4044
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 1409
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 8012
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 5647
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 2343
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001348 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS, SCA/RA, AND CA/OCS/ACS/NESCA W HURT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL CASC MV
SUBJECT: MALDIVES: BLAST IN MALE APPARENTLY TARGETS 
TOURISM, SHOCKS GOVERNMENT 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY: A blast in Male's Sultan Park on the 
afternoon of September 29 wounded 12 foreign tourists. 
Foreign Minister Shahid told Ambassador the same day that the 
Government of Maldives (GORM) was shocked by the incident and 
does not know who was responsible.  Eleven arrests have so 
far been made in connection with the incident.  The 
opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said that the 
blast showed the "Government has failed to tackle crime" and 
"is tolerating extremism."  Post has issued a warden message 
saying there is no need to cancel travel plans to resorts, 
but suggesting tourists refrain from nonessential trips to 
the capital for now.  Regional LEGAT and A/LAT from New Delhi 
traveled over the weekend to Male' to provide investigative 
support to the Maldivian Police, and two additional FBI 
agents will join them this week.  The Embassy issued a public 
statement on October 1 condemning the bombing.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) A blast in Male's Sultan Park on the afternoon of 
September 29 wounded 12 tourists, two British, two Japanese 
and eight Chinese. Local media say the explosion, the first 
ever bomb blast in Maldives, was caused by an improvised 
explosive device triggered by a mobile phone.  Maldives 
government spokesman Mohamed Shareef confirmed that 12 people 
received burn injuries, but were in stable condition. 
 
Government Unsure Who to Blame 
------------------------------ 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Foreign Minister Shahid told Ambassador on 
September 29 that the Government of Maldives (GORM) was 
shocked by the incident and does not know who is responsible. 
 President Gayoom on Sunday said publicly that groups calling 
for the boycott of Maldives resorts must "share some 
responsibility" for the incident.  He did not name, but was 
clearly referring to, the UK-based group Friends of Maldives 
which has encouraged tourists to boycott those resorts that 
are owned by members of the Government.  Ruling party 
spokesman Ibrahim Shafiu told the website Minivan News that 
"in a situation like this, you think about who your enemies 
are... unless proved otherwise by the investigative 
authorities, we will be unable to believe they are not 
involved in this."  One unnamed government official 
speculated in the local press that the attack, which occurred 
during Ramadan, could have been conducted "by jihadists on 
our tourism industry." 
 
Opposition Blames the Government 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) 
has said that the blast showed that the "Government has 
failed to tackle crime."  MDP spokeswoman Mariya Didi accused 
the Government of "tolerating extremism and not taking action 
against extremist activities in the country."  One opposition 
contact made a far-fetched speculation to PolOff that the 
blast may have been an LTTE retaliation for recent GORM 
support to the Sri Lankan security forces.  He also noted 
that the blast occurred in a site that is constantly 
monitored by police cameras and wondered whether perhaps the 
police were somehow involved. 
 
Eleven Suspects in Custody 
-------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Eleven arrests have been made in connection with 
the incident.  A police spokesman told Minivan news that all 
arrests were based on forensic evidence.  The Australian High 
Commission in Colombo told Pol Chief that on September 30 a 
Maldivian regularly residing in Colombo had been arrested in 
connection with the incident while attempting to leave 
Maldives.  Embassy later learned that the individual had 
actually left Maldives, but was detained on arrival at the 
Colombo airport at the request of Maldivian officials and 
returned to Male'. 
 
Travel Advice Adjusted 
----------------------- 
 
COLOMBO 00001348  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶6.  (U)  Post has issued a warden message (cleared with CA) 
saying that resort islands and the international airport are 
still considered safe, but suggesting tourists refrain from 
nonessential trips to the capital island itself for now. 
(Note: Male's international airport is on a separate island, 
and tourists rarely visit the capital on their way to resort 
destinations.)  The British Government has also decided to 
update its travel advice to include information on the 
incident, according to the UK High Commission in Colombo, but 
also is not issuing a blanket warning against travel to 
Maldives. 
 
U.S. Provides Investigative Assistance 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In response to requests from President Gayoom and 
local law enforcement officials, LEGAT and A/LAT arrived in 
Male' on September 30 and October 1 from New Delhi to provide 
investigative support to the Maldivian Police.  Two FBI 
agents from the Los Angeles Field Office of the 
Extraterritorial Investigations Unit will arrive in Male on 
October 3 to provide additional assistance.  The presence of 
the team from Los Angeles will not be publicized.  The 
Foreign Minister thanked the Ambassador for the USG's quick 
and helpful response. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) In a phone consultation with RSO, LEGAT noted that 
training on crime scene investigations provided earlier to 
Maldivian law enforcement authorities under ATA and other 
programs appeared to have paid rich dividends.   Maldives 
police had immediately moved to secure and cordon off the 
blast site, preserving important evidence and collecting 
relevant material in evidence bags.  They also immediately 
called for assistance.  This is far above the standard 
normally encountered in South Asia in handling crime scenes 
and should greatly assist FBI and other agencies in 
evaluating what happened in Male'. 
 
Embassy Issues Statement Deploring Incident 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) On October 1, Post issued the following statement 
and published it on its websites: "The U.S. Embassy was 
shocked and saddened to learn of the bombing incident in Male 
on September 29.  We express our sympathy to those who were 
injured, and to their families.  We condemn without 
reservation this senseless act of violence.  The U.S. Federal 
Bureau of Investigation's regional representative is 
currently assisting the Maldivian authorities in their 
investigation." 
 
¶10.  (SBU) COMMENT:  The explanations proffered by both the 
government and opposition regarding the affiliations and 
motivations of those responsible for the blast strike us as 
politically motivated and unlikely to be borne out by the 
subsequent investigation.  However, Maldivian authorities 
appear to be well on their way to identifying and detaining 
those involved.  The wide array of accusations and 
speculation surrounding the event indicate the degree to 
which this incident has shocked and alarmed the country. 
While it is too early to draw firm conclusions, the 
circumstances strongly suggest that the real target of this 
attack was Maldives' burgeoning tourism industry.  Once Post 
learns more from the preliminary investigations now underway, 
we plan to hold another EAC meeting to assess our plans for 
Maldives Friendship Week, November 3-7. 
BLAKE