Ex-leader's allies seize Maldives police posts





Police said they detained 49 people after the riot.







Nasheed insisted he was pushed from power by the armed forces.

"I was forced to resign with guns all around me. They told me, if I don't resign, they won't hesitate to use arms," he said.

The military denied that it forced Nasheed to resign at gunpoint. "There is no officer in the military that would point a gun towards the president," said Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Didi.

"The military did not call for his resignation, he resigned voluntarily," Didi said, adding that the military is trying to bring peace to troubled areas quickly.

Police official Abdul Mannan Yousuf promised investigations into complaints of excessive use of force by police.

Speaking to about 2,000 wildly cheering members of his Maldivian Democratic Party in the capital, Male, Nasheed called for Hassan's immediate resignation and demanded the nation's top judge investigate those he said were responsible for his ouster.

Nasheed then led an anti-government demonstration. Police responded by firing tear gas.

"If the police are going to confront us we are going to face them," Nasheed told the rally. "We have to overcome our fear and we have to get strength."

Nasheed's supporters began rioting, throwing fire bombs and vandalizing a private TV station that had been critical of Nasheed's government.

Reeko Moosa Manik, a lawmaker and chairman of the party, was beaten unconscious by police and hospitalized, said his son Mudrikath Moosa. Nasheed and other lawmakers were beaten as well, he said.


Police were investigating the discovery of at least 100 bottles of alcohol inside a truck removing garbage Tuesday from the presidential residence as Nasheed prepared to relinquish power, said Shyam, the spokesman. Consuming alcohol outside tourist resorts is a crime. If charged and convicted of possession of alcohol, Nasheed could be sent to jail for three years, banished to a distant island, placed under house arrest or fined.

Nasheed's resignation marked a stunning fall for the former human rights campaigner who had been jailed for his activism. He is also an environmental celebrity for urging global action against climate change, warning that rising sea levels would inundate his archipelago nation.


Nasheed defended his government.

"I did not want wealth or to continue in the presidency, but I wanted to bring good governance," he said.

The dueling leaders ran as a ticket in the 2008 elections after Nasheed's MDP formed a coalition with Hassan's Gaumee Itthihaad Party, or National Unity Party.

In a news conference Wednesday, Hassan sought to tamp down fears that Islamists were gaining power.

"They are part of the society; you can't ignore them," he said. "But there are wide range of people with different views, philosophies and ideas about politics. I am planning to create a plural multiparty government."

He also worked to reassure the vital tourism industry that the country, known for its stunning beaches and lavish resorts, remained a peaceful place to visit.



Francis reported from Colombo, Sri Lanka.