The Commonwealth said yesterday it would send a ministerial mission to the Maldives to probe the ousting of president Mohamed Nasheed as fresh clashes broke out in the streets of the capital Male.
The nine-member Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), which is dealing with serious violations of the 54-nation bloc’s political values, took the final decision after an emergency telephone conference.
“CMAG agreed to constitute a ministerial mission which will visit Maldives urgently to ascertain the facts surrounding the transfer of power, and to promote adherence to Commonwealth values and principles,” the Commonwealth Secretariat said in a statement issued in London.
Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed insists he was removed in a military-backed coup and yesterday rejected a US call for compromise and the formation of a unity government.
Mr Nasheed told supporters overnight in the capital Male he would press for snap elections rather than recommending his party consider a coalition with his former deputy, who succeeded him.
“We want an election and we will campaign for it,” Mr Nasheed told large, cheering crowds, who later dispersed peacefully.
Mr Nasheed said his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) did not accept the new government as legitimate.
As evening fell yesterday hundreds of Nasheed loyalists surrounded the National Majlis, or Parliament, and clashed with police as they demanded the release of an MDP legislator arrested in the southernmost atoll of Addu.
Police dressed in full riot gear used pepper-spray on protesters to lift the siege on the Parliament building, where 20 MDP law makers were petitioning the authorities about the arrest of their colleagues. Mr Nasheed was not among the protesters outside Parliament, but earlier in the day he repeated accusations that the authorities were arresting MDP supporters and people linked to his administration.
The CMAG meeting urged the Maldives to respect “the Commonwealth’s fundamental political values” including the rule of law, respect for human rights and constitutional democracy,the secretariat statement said.
Recognising the “impressive gains made by the Maldives in recent years in consolidating multi-party democracy” CMAG urged a democratic resolution to the turmoil.“CMAG stressed that the way forward must be determined by Maldivians themselves, through inclusive political dialogue in an atmosphere of non-violence, restraint and stability,” the statement said.