Maldives' ex-president :Was forced to resign

The Maldives' ex-president Mohamed Nasheed told AFP Wednesday he had been forced to resign by armed police and army officers in a coup plot hatched with the knowledge of his successor. Nasheed, speaking to AFP by telephone from the capital Male, said he had gone to military headquarters on Tuesday where he found about 18 "middle-ranking" police and army officers in control. "They told me if I didn't resign they would resort to use arms," he said. "I took it as a threat. I wanted to negotiate the lives of the people who were serving in my government." He added that he feared his "vice president was in on it" referring to Mohamed Waheed, who was sworn in as head of state on Tuesday. "I am afraid he's always entertained an idea to become the president. He's never been able to do that. When the opportunity was available to him, he took it," the 44-year-old said, speaking from a family property. Waheed, a former UN worker and parliamentarian, denied any involvement in a "coup" on Wednesday and said he would ensure the rule of law is upheld. The army denies they toppled Nasheed. Nasheed's resignation came after a small band of policemen mutinied on Tuesday morning and refused to obey an order to break up an anti-government protest where demonstrators were demanding the president step down. The officers later took over state television. Nasheed explained that he then went to military headquarters and found a group of men, some of them carrying small arms, who gave him an ultimatum. He said he did not recognise any of them. Some were in uniform and some were without. "They said that if I did not resign by one o'clock they would not hesitate to do anything and it was obviously what they were talking about," he added, speaking from a family property He claims he was subsequently driven by the men to the presidential office where "they forced me to write a resignation letter" on presidential letter-headed paper. He went on to announce the decision in a press conference broadcast to the nation. Nasheed said the coup was the result of a conspiracy by opposition parties, particularly the one headed by former strongman Maumoon Abdul Gayoom who he beat in the islands' first democratic presidential elections in 2008. Islamist radicals had been whipped up to oppose him, he said, referring to statements from some groups alleging he was under the influence of Jews and was trying to bring Christianity to the Muslim nation. "They (the opposition) feared they had no chance in the election next year," he said, referring to the presidential election scheduled for November 2013. "There is no reason why people should be toppling the government." Since the initial mutiny on Tuesday morning, Nasheed said mobs had smashed up the offices of his Maldivian Democratic Party and a party worker had been murdered.