New Maldivian President Mohammed Waheed yesterday welcomed a Commonwealth mission to investigate the ousting of his predecessor as fresh clashes broke out in the streets of the capital, Male.
Waheed agreed to a Commonwealth ministerial probe into the dramatic fall of Mohammed Nasheed, the nation’s first democratically elected leader who came to power in 2008, spokesman Masood Imad said.
“The president welcomes the Commonwealth mission,” Imad said. “Please come here and see the exact situation. We want not only the Commonwealth, but others too to come and see what really happened.”
The nine-member Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), which deals with serious violations of the 54-nation bloc’s political values, decided on the mission after an emergency teleconference on Sunday.
The Commonwealth Secretariat said the action would “ascertain the facts surrounding the transfer of power, and to promote adherence to Commonwealth values and principles.”
The former president said he was removed in a military-backed coup and on Sunday rejected a US call for compromise and the formation of a unity government.
His Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) supporters clashed with police in the capital on Sunday night, as MDP law makers said that one of their colleagues had been arrested and tortured in the southernmost atoll of Addu.
An Agence-France Presse correspondent saw police use pepper spray to break up a group of about 200 people and arrest at least three demonstrators who shouted anti-government slogans.
Nasheed insisted that the way out of the crisis was a snap -election rather than recommending his party consider a coalition with his former deputy, who succeeded him.
“We want an election and we will campaign for it,” Nasheed told large, cheering crowds overnight on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Waheed has expanded his Cabinet to include members of the former autocratic ruler’s party, and Islamic conservatives will be appointed ministers in coming days.
Conservatives have been demanding the introduction of strict Islamic laws in the Indian Ocean nation that relies on high-end tourism.
Waheed said he was forming a coalition government to help restore stability in the Muslim country ahead of presidential elections due next year. Six members from four political parties were sworn in on Sunday as ministers.
They include the Progressive Party of the Maldives, headed by Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the former autocratic leader who ruled for 30 years until Nasheed defeated him in the country’s first multiparty election in 2008.
Adhaalat, or the Justice Party, which wants to see the introduction of Shariah law, and several other moderate parties will also receive ministerial positions, presidential spokesman Masood Imad said.
Some slots in the Cabinet were being kept open in case Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party changed its mind about joining the coalition government, he said.
The Constitution prohibits any religion other than Islam from being practiced or preached in the Maldives and specifies that it be governed according to Islamic principles. However, authorities have generally been flexible, mainly to preserve the country’s tourism industry.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
RSS