US recognises new government of Maldives

Washington:  The United States on Thursday recognised the new government of Maldives President Mohamed Waheed as legitimate and urged him to fulfill a pledge to form a national unity government.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland also said Robert Blake, the top US diplomat for south Asia, telephoned former president Mohamed Nasheed to tell him Washington backed a "peaceful resolution" of the crisis on the archipelago.

"We do," Nuland told reporters when asked if Washington recognizes the new government as the legitimate government of the Maldives. She called Waheed the president and Nasheed the former president.

Blake, the assistant secretary of state for south Asian affairs, will travel Saturday to the Maldives to meet with both Waheed and Nasheed, who charges he was ousted in a coup, as well as civil society.

"He will be encouraging this national unity conversation," she added.

"Blake spoke this morning to former president Nasheed, conveying assurances that the United States supports a peaceful resolution of this," Nuland said.

Blake assured Nasheed who is facing arrest "that we are also expressing our views to the government that his security should be protected," Nuland said.

Unrest has spread to the far corners of the nation of more than 1,000 islands, as Waheed struggles to maintain order.

Nasheed, the country's first democratically elected president, who has hunkered down at his modest family home in the capital Male since losing the presidency on Tuesday, has appealed for urgent foreign help.

The United States is "also encouraging him, as we encouraged President Waheed that this needs to settled now peaceably through dialogue and through the formation, as the new president has pledged, of a national unity government," Nuland said.

A judge issued an arrest warrant Thursday for the ex-president, who says he was forced from office in a coup, as troops deployed to restore order after a night described by a presidential aide as "anarchy."

Source: http://www.ndtv.com/

Ex-president's allies riot in Maldives, seize police posts

Supporters of the Maldives former president rioted through the streets of the capital and seized some remote police stations Wednesday to demand his reinstatement, as the country's new leader appealed for an end to the political turmoil roiling this Indian Ocean island nation.

Allies said former leader Mohamed Nasheed and other top party officials were beaten by police in the street chaos. The nation's first democratically elected president, Nasheed resigned Tuesday after police joined months of street protests against his rule and soldiers defected.

Late Wednesday evening, Nasheed supporters took control of some small police stations but larger ones stayed under official control, police spokesman Ahmed Shyam said. Residents told local reporters that as many as 10 police stations on small islands may have been seized. The Maldives is made up of nearly 1,200 scattered islands, some of which have just a few hundred residents.

Police said they detained 49 people after the riot.

Nasheed said Wednesday he was forced to resign at gunpoint and he promised to fight to return to office.

"We will come to power again," Nasheed said. "We will never step back. I will not accept this coup and will bring justice to the Maldivians."

Nasheed's party insisted his ouster was engineered by rogue elements of the police and supporters of the country's former autocratic leader, whom Nasheed defeated in the Maldives' first multiparty elections in 2008. Others blamed Islamic extremists in the Muslim country where some have demanded more conservative government policies.

New President Mohammed Waheed Hassan denied claims there was a coup or a plot to oust Nasheed. The former vice president, he said he had not prepared to take over the country and called for a unity coalition to be formed to help it recover.

"Together, I am confident, we'll be able to build a stable and democratic country," he said, adding that his government intended to respect the rule of law.

Later in the day, he appeared to be consolidating his power by appointing a new military chief and police commissioner. He later swore in defense and home ministers, the first members of his new Cabinet.

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.

Hassan, who had promised to protect Nasheed from retribution, said his predecessor was not under any restriction and was free to leave the country. However, he said he would not interfere with any police or court action against Nasheed.

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.

Over the past year, Nasheed was battered by protests over soaring prices and demands for more religiously conservative policies. Last month, Nasheed's government arrested the nation's top criminal court judge for freeing a government critic and refused to release him as protests grew.

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.

A U.N. team is expected in the country later this week.

Source: AP

Former Maldives president beaten, his party says

 

Police attacked the former Maldives president Wednesday, beating him up a day after he stepped down, the Maldivian Democratic Party said.


"We strongly condemned the violent attack by the Maldivian Police Service on President (Mohamed) Nasheed and senior officials of the MDP," the party said in a written statement. "President Nasheed is being beaten up as of now in an ongoing peaceful protest."

Four members of Parliament were abducted as violence gripped the nation's capital, Male, lawmaker Eva Abdulla said, and the head of the party was hospitalized in critical condition.

Police sprayed tear gas and beat demonstrators with batons, she said, and the brutal violence left some protesters bleeding in the streets.

"It's absolute lack of order at the moment," she said. "Nobody seems to be in charge."
Police could not be immediately reached for comment.

Earlier Wednesday, Nasheed had called for his successor to leave office, saying he was forced to resign in a coup.

Nasheed resigned Tuesday after a revolt by police officers. Vice President Mohammed Waheed Hassan was sworn in as president shortly after Nasheed resigned.

Nasheed was the first democratically elected president of the Indian Ocean nation in three decades.

In a nationally televised address, he said he was stepping down because he didn't feel he was able to maintain security and peace in the country, which attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.
Strategically located in the Indian Ocean but extremely poor, the country is threatened by rising sea levels.

Nasheed once held a Cabinet meeting underwater, with ministers wearing scuba gear, to highlight the problem.

Source: http://edition.cnn.com

New Maldives president calls for calm after clash

The Maldives' new president promised to protect his predecessor from retribution after he stepped down amid protests and clashes between the army and police over his decision to arrest a top judge.
President Mohammed Waheed Hassan, who was sworn in Tuesday, called for chaos on the streets to stop and for citizens of this Indian Ocean island nation to work together after months of political turmoil.

"I urge everyone to make this a peaceful country," he said.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party insisted his ouster was a "coup" engineered by rogue elements of the police and supporters of the country's former autocratic leader.
However, a Nasheed adviser denied the resignation came under duress from the military. The adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said Nasheed was left with two choices: order a bloody military crackdown on the police dissidents or resign.
Hassan's office also denied the military pressured Nasheed to quit in the wake of Tuesday's street clashes.

"It was not a coup at all. It was the wish of the people," said Ahmed Thoufeeg, Hassan's secretary.
Authorities denied Nasheed was under house arrest Wednesday, but said the police and army troops were protecting him at an undisclosed location.

"Mr. Nasheed is protected by the current government because there might be some people wanting to harm him," said police spokesman Ahmed Shyam. "He's in a safe place now, but any other action will be decided by the government."

Nasheed's resignation marked a stunning fall for the former human rights campaigner who defeated the nation's longtime ruler to become its first democratically elected president. Nasheed was also an environmental celebrity, traveling the world to persuade governments to combat the climate change that could raise sea levels and inundate his archipelago nation.

Nasheed presented his resignation in a nationally televised address after police joined the protesters and then clashed with soldiers in the streets. Some of the soldiers then defected to the police side.
"I don't want to hurt any Maldivian. I feel my staying on in power will only increase the problems, and it will hurt our citizens," Nasheed said. "So the best option available to me is to step down."
Maldivians waving flags poured into the streets to celebrate Nasheed's resignation. Some playfully threw water at each other. Soon after, the judge was released.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that Hassan had informed the U.S. that the security situation in the Maldives was now under control and generally peaceful.
In a phone call with U.S. officials, Hassan expressed his strong commitment to a peaceful transition of power and the preservation of democracy. According to Nuland, the new Maldivian leader expressed his intent to form a national unity government with opposition participation in the lead-up to a presidential election scheduled for November 2013.
Hassan Saeed, a former attorney general and Nasheed ally, hoped that Nasheed's resignation ends political bickering that has become a hallmark since the country became a multiparty democracy in 2008.
"I am happy that the rule of law and justice prevailed," he said.

Amnesty International called for an investigation into the events of recent weeks and insisted that Nasheed not suffer retribution.

The latest protests in this Indian Ocean nation known for its lavish beach resorts erupted after Nasheed ordered the military to arrest Abdulla Mohamed, the chief judge of the Criminal Court. The judge had ordered the release of a government critic he said had been illegally detained.

The critic, opposition leader Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, had been arrested for allegedly defaming the government during a television interview in which he accused Nasheed's government of working against the state religion, Islam, with the support of Christians and Jews. Religious debates have gained prominence in this Sunni Muslim nation of 300,000 people where practicing any other faith is forbidden.

Hassan — then the vice president — the Supreme Court, Human Rights Commission, Judicial Services Commission and the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights had all called for the judge to be released.

Nasheed's government accused the judge of political bias and corruption, said the country's judicial system had failed and called for U.N help to solve the crisis.

The crisis came to a head Tuesday when hundreds of police demonstrated in the capital, Male, after officials ordered them to withdraw protection for government and opposition supporters protesting close to each other. The withdrawal resulted in a clash that injured at least three people.

Later, troops fired rubber bullets and clashed with the police. When Nasheed visited the police and urged them to end the protest, they refused and instead chanted for his resignation. Mohamed was released after Hassan took power.

Nasheed began his term with great hopes, ending Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's 30-year-reign by winning the country's first democratic elections in 2008. Supporters danced and cheered in the streets at the victory of the charismatic pro-democracy activist, who had been repeatedly jailed by Gayoom's regime.

But over the past year, Nasheed was battered by protests. Maldivians demonstrated against soaring prices they blamed on economic reforms he said were needed to bridge the budget deficit. Islamic activists also protested in demand of more religiously conservative policies.

As the protests grew, there were disturbing signs the one-time rights activist was changing.

Police routinely cracked down on opposition protests, while letting government supporters gather freely. For many, the judge's arrest three weeks ago was the final straw.

Source: AP

President’s office snaps back at VP: Says Executive is no “log of wood” to shoulder equally

Press Secretary for the President’s Office snapped back at Vice President Dr. Mohamed Waheed saying “the Executive is not a log of wood” for the President and the Vice President to shoulder equally, after the latter publicly said he was not “consulted” over government matters calling Nasheed administration “a single man running the show.”

He [the Vice President] is suggesting it is dictatorship again under President Mohamed Nasheed “as if the Executive was a log of wood to carry with which the President should shoulder one end and the VP should be allowed to shoulder the other,” Press Secretary for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair told the Asian Tribune.

On April 12, Dr. Waheed appeared on the Hoonu Gondi (Hot Seat) show on VTV and lamented the fact that though being the Vice President, he is not “consulted” over government matters and he not satisfied in the job.

Later, he told media that the Nasheed administration is still a “one man running the show” like it used to be under President Gayoom.

The “way we function in [this] government is not too different to what it used to be. It’s still one man running the show,” he was quoted as saying in Minivan news.

But Zuhair said Dr. Waheed’s comments that the “country runs like before as single party rule is misleading and deliberate political prevarication as it also suggests that there is no pluralism in the Maldives.”

“No one can actually refute that the political system had completely changed here, that there are multiple parties, independent institutions, so there cannot be a dictatorship,” he said.

The Press Secretary called the Vice President’s comments “pure phantasmagoria which can only be aimed at the public” hoping to persuade some to believe him.”

Asked if President Nasheed is not concerned when his Vice President says he is not happy in the job, Zuhair said: “The President has commented that he would extend serious consideration to the VP’s recent remarks.”

According to Zuhair, Dr. Waheed’s comments are rather “political” aimed at the public and not at the President.

“As the nature of the VP’s remarks were entirely political there is also a misconception that they were aimed at the government. However they were aimed at the public,” he argued.

He [Dr. Waheed] mooted greater participation for coalition parties - - that they participate fully in the government, during the VTV show.

However, Vice President Dr. Waheed is a professional with a Masters in Education Planning and has held key positions in the field of education globally.

He has worked as UNICEF Head of Education in Tanzania, as a Senior Advisor at UNICEF Headquarters in New York and UNICEF Deputy Regional Director for South Asia and Acting Regional Director based in Nepal, amongst many positions held.

Dr. Waheed also noted that his experience in the education sector is not fully tapped by the government.

Waheed’s political party, the Gaumee Ithihad (National Unity) tied up with the then MDP presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed in 2008, becoming his running mate.

However the party failed to win a single seat in Parliament in the May 2010 general elections.

And Zuhair queried as to “how can a coalition partner demand a bigger share in the government when they lack support even for a single MP?”

The Gaumee Ithihad got “negligible public support” during the vote, he said.
Yet he said the Vice President is being consulted “over and above the Constitutional requirement.”

“The Constitution does not sanction the President to divide his executive duties and responsibilities. It is the responsibility of the President to safeguard this important feature in the Constitution.”

“The President is the one and only Head of the Executive and State,” Zuhair explained.

Articles 117 and 122 of the Constitution deals with the responsibilities of the Vice President. It sauys “The Vice President shall exercise such responsibilities and powers of the President as are delegated to him by the President.”

Dismissing Dr. Waheed’s comments on lack of consultation, Zuhair noted “the VP attends daily executive meetings, all weekly cabinet meetings, his party’s ministers work and contribute to the government and attend Cabinet meetings.”

Dr. Waheed’s party has two ministers, two state ministers and number of other political appointees in the government.

“So there are consultations happening all the time in the government, over and above the Constitutional requirement as there is the political element of his own party’s politicians in the government. “

He said “an appeal for any more consultation would be political, outside the parameters of the VP’s role in the Constitution,” adding “the additional engagement would only mean with his party, which is directly related to garnering more public support.”

Source: http://www.asiantribune.com

Vice President says President Nasheed runs “one man show”

Vice President Dr. Mohamed Waheed has accused President Mohamed Nasheed of running a “one man show” saying it was no different to that of President Gayoom’s regime.

The “way we function in [this] government is not too different to what it used to be. It’s still one man running the show,” Dr. Waheed was quoted as saying in Minivan news.

However he assured he was “not picking issues” with the government, but “talking about democratic process,” it said.

Dr. Waheed initially expressed his dissatisfaction with the government in the first ever talk show of Hoonu Gondi (Hot Seat) on 12 April, on VTV.

He said then that “he was in the government not because he is happy with it.”

And his bombshell comments of dissatisfaction with the government in which he holds a key post, were totally unexpected and is not going augur well for the Nasheed administration.

Later, Minivan news quoted Dr. Waheed as saying that he is “not sufficiently involved in the decision making process” of the government.

“I don’t feel I am able to contribute, that consultation is not there,” Dr. Waheed has said according to Minivan news.

He said “it was the president’s privilege not to consult him on everything,” still he thought the core of a democratic government should be “more inclusive and participative.”

Source: http://www.asiantribune.com

Maldives: The Vice President begins a visit to the United States

Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed has departed Male, earlier this morning, on a visit to the United States.

During his visit, the Vice President will participate at a UN General Assembly meeting on renewable energy. The Vice President will also hold meetings with the American officials and private organisations to discuss issues including climate change and effective drug control strategies.

Source: presidencymaldives.gov.mv