Maldives president quits

Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed resigned on Tuesday in the wake of weeks of protests and a mutiny by police. Nasheed immediately handed over power to his vice president, Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik.

"I resign because I am not a person who wishes to rule with the use of power," Nasheed said in a televised address. "I believe that if the government were to remain in power, it would require the use of force, which would harm many citizens."

Tensions in the island nation had escalated since the arrest last month of a judge who the president accused of being in the pocket of Nasheed's predecessor, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Three weeks of street protests followed with the former prime minister facing accusations of acting like a dictator. Demonstrations culminated on Tuesday in a mutiny by police, who took over the state television offices in the capital, Male, and broadcast calls for Maldivians to join the demonstrators.

The judge was freed shortly after Nasheed stepped down.

Coup allegations

Earlier an official in the former prime minister's office said these acts had amounted to a coup d'etat. "It's a coup, I am afraid," the aide said, asking not to be identified. "The police and Gayoom's people as well as some elements in the military have forced the president Nasheed to resign. According to my book it's a coup."

Once a political prisoner, Nasheed took office in November 2008 as the first democratically elected president of the Maldives, bringing to an end 30 years of Gayoom's autocratic rule.

The Maldives is made up of 1,190 islands in the Indian Ocean. Over 300,000 people, predominantly Sunni Muslims, live on the 200 inhabited islands.

The country is popular with honeymooners and high-end tourists - divers in particular. Tourism is the largest industry and accounts for one-third of Maldivian economic activity.

ccp, ncy/msh (AFP, Reuters, DPA)