US envoy arrives in Maldives
February 11, 2012
A top US government official arrived in the Maldives Saturday to help resolve a political crisis sparked by the resignation of former President Mohamed Nasheed earlier this week.
Nasheed, the country's first democratically elected president, has said he was forced to resign on Tuesday in a coup backed by the military and mutinous police forces. He claims new President Mohammed Waheed Hassan, the former vice president, was part of a conspiracy to force him from power.
US Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake met with Hassan in the capital, Male, on Saturday to gain further information on the disputed transfer of power. He was also expected to meet with Nasheed and other leaders of the Indian Ocean nation later in the day.
"[Blake] will see all of the major players and have a chance to talk about an appropriate way forward and reconciliation and national unity mechanism," said Victoria Nuland, a spokeswoman for the US State Department. The US briefly recognized the new Maldives government on Friday before backtracking, saying the situation was unclear.
A UN special envoy met with both sides on Friday, and delegations are also expected from the European Union and India.
No early elections
Nasheed on Friday called for early elections, but the new president has rejected Nasheed's demand, saying the country would hold the next election by November 2013, on schedule.
"Simply because an ex-president wants an election we can't have one just like that," Waheed's spokesman Masood Imad told the AFP news agency. "There is a constitutional process."
The new government has denied the coup claims, insisting Nasheed stepped down voluntarily. President Hassan intends to form a coalition government to restore stability after violent protests earlier in the week.
Following Nasheed's coup claims on Wednesday, riots broke out across the country. At least 18 police stations were burned, and dozens of vehicles and government buildings were destroyed.
cmk/pfd (AP, AFP)