Maldives' ousted president seeks global help for democracy

Malaysia Sun (IANS) Thursday 9th February, 2012

The Maldives' ousted president Mohamed Nasheed Thursday appealed to the world community to help restore democracy in his country while stating that he was toppled by a small group of police officers.

Nasheed resigned Tuesday amid protests over detention of a top judge and was replaced by vice president Mohamed Waheed.

Talking to Times Nows news channel from an undisclosed location, Nasheed said that he now feared for his life and safety of his family, who has fled to Sri Lanka.

"They want to arrest me and the situation is turning worse," he said.

Nasheed also said that the police have arrested around 250 supporters of his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) so far and appealed to his supporters to remain calm.

Maldivian police said Thursday that they had received a court order to arrest Nasheed. It was issued following a string of arson attacks on police stations and court houses by supporters of the MDP Wednesday.