New Maldives leader to form 'unity cabinet'

[ellisonz]

By Amal Jayasinghe | AFP – 1 hr 51 mins ago

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.

More: http://news.yahoo.com/maldives-leader-form-unity-cabinet-044850490.html

[dipsydoodle]

1. Ex-Maldives leader said forced out "at gunpoint"

(Reuters) - The ousted president of the Maldives, credited with bringing democracy to the Indian Ocean island resort, said on Wednesday he was forced out of power at gunpoint and urged his successor to step down.

The Maldives on Tuesday installed Vice-President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik as president who promptly denied being part of any coup against Mohamed Nasheed after weeks of opposition protests and a mutiny by police.

"Yes, I was forced to resign at gunpoint," Nasheed told reporters after his party meeting a day after his resignation. "There were guns all around me and they told me they wouldn't hesitate to use them if I didn't resign."

He did not elaborate on who held him at gunpoint, but one of his aides told Reuters he had been hustled out by the military.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/02/08/uk-maldives-idUKTRE81709P20120208

[izquierdista]

2. I hope the unity does some good

They DO realize that they have to get everyone to higher ground before the middle of the century and they are all under water, don't they?

[PaulaFarrell]

5. Nasheed did

don't know about the new fella

[ellisonz]

3. Security 'breakdown' in Maldives' second city

AFP – 38 mins ago

The mayor of the Maldives' second-largest city Addu spoke Thursday of a total law and order "breakdown" following a night of violence that saw police stations attacked and torched.

"There's no law and order at all. It's a complete breakdown," Addu City Mayor Abdulla Sodig told AFP by phone, saying his wrist had been fractured when he was beaten up by a group of people who attacked him in his office.

Sodig said police were absent from the city streets, while troops from a nearby military base were focused on protecting Gan Airport -- a major conduit for foreign tourists travelling from the capital Male to luxury resort islands.

With 32,000 residents, Addu is the second-largest city in the Maldives after Male.

More: http://news.yahoo.com/security-breakdown-maldives-second-city-mayor-072757938.html

[SayIt]

4. Sad

Such an isolated paradise there, you never think they'd have such problems.

[PaulaFarrell]

6. only the tourist islands

the main island - where nearly everyone lives - is overpopulated and pretty grim from what I hear.

[Badruddeen]

7. yes

true