VZCZCXRO9726
PP RUEHBI RUEHPW
DE RUEHLM #0552/01 1410806
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 210806Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0017
INFO RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 1690
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 8698
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 6932
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 3064
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 9321
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI PRIORITY 2484
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 6627
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR PRIORITY 0355

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000552 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/INSB AND OES PATRICK HUDAK 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2019 
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON EENV MV
SUBJECT: MALDIVES: AMBASSADOR PUSHES FOR CONSOLIDATION OF 
DEMOCRATIC GAINS 
 
REF: A. COLOMBO 531 
     ¶B. COLOMBO 489 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires James R. Moore Reasons 1.4(b)(d) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In farewell calls on President Nasheed, Vice 
President Waheed, and Foreign Minister Shaheed, Ambassador 
warned of growing political and ideological polarization in 
Maldives and encouraged the government to work closely within 
its coalition and with opposition parties to continue and 
further the country's democratic transition.  He pushed the 
GORM to appoint qualified members to independent 
institutions, such as the Human Rights Commission, the 
Elections Commission, and the Judiciary, and to ensure that 
these and other government institutions have the ability to 
operate without untoward political interference.  Meanwhile, 
opposition and coalition members warned that President 
Nasheed is engaging in inappropriate and unconstitutional 
behavior; FM Shaheed bluntly stated that Nasheed will be 
impeached in the coming months.  President Nasheed and others 
praised Ambassador for his close and frank cooperation with 
Maldives, particularly his efforts to assist the reform 
process throughout the past two and a half years.  End 
summary. 
 
Farewell, Mr. President! 
------------------------ 
 
¶2. (C) Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed ("Anni") praised 
Ambassador for his cooperation with Maldives throughout his 
tenure as Ambassador, in particular his support for the 
reform process and the country's recent transition to 
democracy.  He stated that he was rather pleased with the 
recent parliamentary results (ref A), even if his Maldives 
Democratic Party (MDP) was unable to gain the entire thirty 
seats it targeted.  "The important thing," he said, "was 
obtaining 26 seats so that the government is safe."  By safe, 
the President meant that opposition party would be unable to 
impeach him.  He nevertheless underscored the importance of 
maintaining the coalition, even though some of the Ministers 
will likely change due to the shift in the power balance in 
the Parliament. 
 
¶3. (C) Nasheed asked the Ambassador for advice and 
suggestions as the government moves forward, noting that he 
is "undoubtedly making some mistakes, albeit 
unintentionally."  The Ambassador underscored the need, for 
the long-term stability of recent democratic gains, for the 
President to work closely with both his coalition and the 
opposition.  Ambassador stated that some firmly believe that 
Maldives is becoming more polarized, both politically and 
ideologically.  To counter this, the President should take 
sincere steps to engage meaningfully with others. 
 
¶4. (C) Ambassador also encouraged the GORM to appoint 
qualified individuals to the independent institutions that 
many fought so hard for, including the Human Rights 
Commission, the Elections Commission, and the Judiciary. 
Highlighting the May 16 establishment of a presidential 
commission to investigate allegations of corruption againstofficials of the former government, the Ambassador oted that 
existing institutions could likely addess these allegations 
without alienating the oppsition.  Nasheed waved off the 
Ambassador's concern, outlining that the new commission is 
meant to assist those institutions merely through the 
collection and sharing of data, not take action on its own. 
Ambassador underscored that public perception does matter, 
and that if such actions are seen as partisan, they can be 
harmful to the government's ability to deepen the democratic 
gains it has accomplished.  The goal should be greater 
inclusion of various parties in the political dialogue, not 
polarization. 
 
Climate Change 
-------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Noting both the U.S. and GORM governments' 
commitment to climate change, the Ambassador encouraged 
closer bilateral cooperation on this issue.  Nasheed agreed. 
Looking ahead to the next round of climate change 
negotiations in Copenhagen in 2010, Nasheed said that a 
follow-on Kyoto Protocol document should be more proactive. 
 
COLOMBO 00000552  002 OF 003 
 
 
Rather than being a list of things that countries should not 
do, it should tell countries what they should do; for 
example, it could tell countries to build renewable energy 
plants vice coal power plants.  The Ambassador noted that the 
U.S. has significant new and emerging green technology 
available that could likely assist Maldives in its efforts to 
become the world's first carbon-neutral country. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) In a subsequent meeting with Vice President Waheed, 
the Ambassador congratulated Waheed as being chosen to 
spearhead the President's Advisory Council Climate Change. 
Waheed noted that his first goal is to clarify the GORM's 
position, which will deal heavily with issues surrounding 
adaptation.  He is at present immersing himself in various 
technology solutions, such as concetrated solar power, that 
will aid Maldives.  He lso noted that the GORM is at present 
working wit Japan, which has sponsored a rural-electrication 
project on a small island. 
 
Discontent with Nasheed 
----------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) member (and Former 
Foreign Minister) Abdulla Shahid and DRP MP (and power 
broker) Thasmeen Ali outlined for Ambassador their view that 
the May 9 parliamentary elections were a straightforward 
statement by the public that the expectations aroused by 
Nasheed have not been met.  More importantly, Shahid said 
that Nasheed acted inappropriately and unconstitutionally 
during the election, causing disgust among voters.  Shahid 
alleged that the use of state resources by Nasheed to promote 
his fellow candidates, as well as the denial of equal access 
to state media for other parties, were just two of numerous 
serious errors in judgment on the President's part. 
Intimidation of civil servants was another.  Ali stated that 
Nasheed is now guilty of actions the MDP freqeuently 
criticized the former government of taking.  "He may state 
democratic principles, but he does not promote them," Ali 
commented. 
 
¶8. (C) Shahid said many Maldivians now view Nasheed as "too 
dictatorial."  This was echoed by current Foreign Minister 
Ahmed Shaheed, who stated that parts of Nasheed's government 
"are crossing lines that Gayoom did not cross."  He warned 
that while the government should see itself as a caretaker 
helping to transition itself to a better democracy, many 
instead appear to want to establish a foundation for a new 
thirty-year dictatorship under Nasheed.  Speaking frankly, he 
stated that the government was "devastated" by its poor 
performance in the parliamentary election, but relieved that 
it received the necessary 26 seats to block impeachment. 
However, Shaheed predicted frankly that one individual would 
leave the MDP, and that the President would be impeached for 
his actions at some point this year.  Shaheed explained that 
if an impeachment takes place, the President must immediately 
resign.  The Vice President takes control, and new elections 
must take place within six months. 
 
¶9. (C) Shaheed noted that many within the government and 
Shaheed's own party, Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), are 
frustrated because the government refuses to take advice from 
others or to consider taking a middle path.  Shaheed stated 
that establishing the rule of law should be the government's 
top priority, but it seems the government is too interested 
in politicking to focus on its pressing legislative agenda - 
a task that will now be more difficult with DRP control of 
Parliament.  Salah Shihab, fellow DQP member, told Ambassador 
that many people voted for former President Gayoom's DRP 
party as they felt it was the only party powerful enough to 
check Nasheed's rising ambitions 
 
IMF:  FM expects request in 2009 
------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (C) Maldives remains i serious financial straits. 
Revised budget expenitures are expected to be 67% of GDP 
(ref B) in 2009.  Tourist arrivals are down by a 
less-than-expected 10-15%, but various sources report 
tourists are spending considerably fewer dollars in country 
than normal.  A black market for U.S. dollars, which is 
pegged at 12.8 Maldivian rufiyaa against the U.S. dollar, has 
emerged.  FM Shaheed stated that despite a concessional loan 
 
COLOMBO 00000552  003 OF 003 
 
 
of $100 million from India in late 2008, the government will 
need to request IMF assistance this year to avert failure. 
He commented that the President is loathe to do so because he 
is wary that IMF conditions will result in a need to get rid 
of many political appointees to cut government expenditures. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶11. (C) We find some of the rhetoric about Nasheed's and the 
MDP's "dictatorial tendencies" overblown. Maldives has made 
considerable progress in democratization in the last two 
years.  The outcomes of the two elections - presidential and 
parliamentary -  should speak for themselves; each was won by 
the opposition at the time, although the ruling party and the 
opposition had changed roles.  Maldivians have now firmly 
established the principle that they can and will change their 
government at the ballot box.  Still, there can be no denying 
that Nasheed and the MDP botched what should have been a 
relatively easy interregnum betwen the two elections by 
trying too hard to set themselves up as the new natural party 
of government.  They have now paid the price for their 
attempt at political hegemony.  Concerns about Anni's ability 
to lead his country to a scucessful completion of its 
democractic reform process are strong and growing; it will 
now be interesting to see whether the MDP can manage the 
disappointment generated by its unexpectedly clear election 
loss.  Embassy believes that a period of "cohabitation" 
between the MDP-led government and the Parliament's 
opposition majority could actually help to consolidate the 
principle of pluralism in Maldives - but only if both parties 
can demonstrate greater political maturity.  It is up to them 
to make this work; a failure to cooperate would be a major 
setback for Maldives' so-far successful experiment in 
democracy. 
MOORE