New Maldives leader to form 'unity cabinet'

The new president of the Maldives was to appoint a cabinet of "national unity" on Wednesday, as he sought to counter allegations of seizing power in the holiday paradise in a coup backed by Islamic extremists. President Mohamed Waheed, the former vice president, was sworn in as the new head of state on Tuesday, just hours after his predecessor Mohamed Nasheed resigned in the wake of a police mutiny and weeks of anti-government protests. "Even the former president's party will be invited to join the cabinet of national unity," said Mohamed Shareef, a presidential aide and spokesman for the Progressive Party, a key ally of the new regime. It was unclear if Nasheed's Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) would participate in any new government after it released statements late Tuesday, condemning what it called a "coup d'etat" backed by "rogue elements" in the police and army. The MDP said Nasheed had been forced to resign under duress, and his foreign minister, Ahmed Naseem, said Wednesday that Islamist parties in the Sunni Muslim island nation of 330,000 people had been behind the takeover. "I was with the president throughout and I knew what was going on Tuesday. It was nothing but a coup by Islamists," Naseem told AFP. The army on Tuesday had categorically denied playing any coercive role in the former president's decision to step down. Following his resignation, Nasheed was escorted by armed guards to a family residence where he spent the evening, under conditions that Naseem said amounted to house arrest. The capital Male was calm Wednesday, but there was added security with checkpoints set up in and around the police and military headquarters. The weeks of protests that led to Nasheed's downfall had erupted after he ordered the army to arrest Criminal Court Chief Justice Abdulla Mohamed on charges of misconduct and favouring opposition figures. Opposition parties accused him of trampling over the constitution, and the demonstrations were swelled by religious conservatives who regarded his regime as un-Islamic. Spokesman Shareef rejected any suggestion that the new president had ridden to power on a religious card, saying the administration was opposed to "extremism" of any kind. "It is ludicrous to say that there was an Islamist coup. We are a model for moderate Islam," he said. Shareef did not comment on what cabinet posts might be offered to the religious Adhaalath Party, which has been described as an offshoot of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood movement. President Waheed was due to hold his first press conference at 10:30am (0530 GMT). Tuesday's events marked a spectacular fall for Nasheed. The 44-year-old rose to power from grassroots opposition to the 30-year autocratic regime of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who imprisoned him on several occasions. His clear victory over Gayoom in the country's first free elections in 2008 was hailed as heralding a new era of democracy and progressive politics. He used his mandate to build a reputation internationally as a committed campaigner against climate change and once held a cabinet meeting underwater to highlight the dangers of rising sea levels. But economic problems and high inflation damaged his popular standing, while Islamic activists attacked him on religious issues, including flights arriving with Israeli tourists and "improper" social conduct on island resorts. The Maldives, a nation of almost 1,200 islands on the equator, is dependent on tourism and is famous for its upmarket holiday resorts and hotels that cater to honeymooning couples and high-end travellers. In a brief public statement following his swearing in, President Waheed vowed to uphold the "rule of law" and, in a telephone call to Robert Blake, the US assistant secretary of state for South Asia, said he was committed to preserving democracy. He told Blake that presidential elections would be held as scheduled in November 2013. UN Assistant Secretary General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco was due to arrive in the Maldives late Wednesday for talks on the political crisis that had been scheduled before Tuesday's power transition. "The visit remains timely precisely in light of recent events," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told AFP.