Clashes in Meldives as leader is ousted

Clashes in Meldives as leader is ousted

The ousted President of the Maldives, credited with bringing democracy to the Indian Ocean island resort, said on Wednesday he was forced out of power at gunpoint, prompting clashes between police and angry supporters.

Police tried to break up the protests with tear gas and baton charges as former president Mohamed Nasheed's party said he too was "beaten" by police.

The Maldives on Tuesday installed Vice-President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik as president who promptly denied being part of any coup against Nasheed after weeks of opposition protests and a mutiny by police.

"Yes, I was forced to resign at gunpoint," Nasheed told reporters after his party meeting a day after his resignation. "There were guns all around me and they told me they wouldn't hesitate to use them if I didn't resign."

He did not elaborate on who held him at gunpoint, but one of his aides told reporters that he had been hustled out by the military.

Call for justice

"I call on the chief justice to look into the matter of who was behind this coup. We will try our best to bring back the lawful government," he said.

In his first comments since his televised resignation, he urged Waheed to step down and said he and his supporters would take to the streets "if police use force."

Hundreds of supporters protested in the evening, prompting police to fire tear gas and make baton charges in Republic Square, near the police and military headquarters.

Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party said the former president had been beaten and appealed for international help.

"We strongly condemned the violent attack by the Maldivian Police Service on President Nasheed and senior officials of the MDP," the party said in a statement.

"President Nasheed is being beaten up as of now in an ongoing peaceful protest."

On the streets leading out of Republic Square, dozens of flip-flop slippers favoured by Maldivians lay abandoned or broken after protesters fled.

Waheed earlier said he was holding discussions with all Maldivian parties and expected to have nominations for his cabinet ready in a few days.

REUTERS/Williams/Cokey