Police reportedly fired tear gas and clashed with protesters as they attempted to push the crowds backwards. There were also reports of Nasheed being manhandled by security forces. Nasheed only suffered minor injuries, according to his supporters.
Nasheed stepped down earlier this week in the wake of a police mutiny and clashes on the streets after weeks of anti-government protests.
Nasheed said he was compelled to resign to prevent bloodshed. Asked why he had stepped down, Nasheed said “Because I didn’t want them to go shooting our people. They were threatening me and they were threatening the people. I didn’t want that.”
Nasheed said he believed he still had the backing of the people and hinted he would seek office in new elections, currently scheduled for next year. “We are certain that the people of this country are with us,” he said.
Nasheed’s home is currently guarded by soldiers. Mohamed Waheed, the former vice-president sworn in as Nasheed’s successor said that was for his family’s protection. Waheed also said he had revoked a travel ban preventing Nasheed and other officials from leaving the country.
Members of Nasheed’s Maldives Democratic Party have already denounced the events, with a former presidential aide, speaking anonymously, telling Al Jazeera that he has been “profoundly shocked” by what he has witnessed.
“You call it what you want,” he said. “But when someone metaphorically and physically puts a gun at your head and tells you to resign, that’s a coup in my mind.”
Nasheed’s former foreign minister said Islamists were behind the takeover in the mostly Sunni Muslim nation of 330,000 people.
“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 news agency.
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