MALE, Maldives – Maldives police used tear gas and batons to break
up a protest early Sunday demanding that President Mohamad Nasheed step
down. Dozens of people were injured and many were arrested.
Thousands
of protesters converged on the capital, Male, on Saturday night to
rally against economic hardship, alleged government mismanagement and
wasteful spending. Organizers said about 5,000 people demonstrated
overnight.
Police spokesman Ahmed Shiyam said
officers asked the protesters to leave but the demonstrators started
throwing objects at the police. He said 10 people were arrested for
damaging property.
Mohammed Shareef, a
spokesman for the opposition Dhivehi Raithunge Party, said about 44
protesters were taken away by police, including two party lawmakers and
leading activists.
There is no independent confirmation how many remain in detention.
Shareef
said the demonstration was organized to protest the government's
alleged inaction on rising unemployment and soaring prices of essential
items caused by the devaluation of the currency.
He insisted the protest was peaceful until police used force, saying seven people were injured and one remains hospitalized.
Maldives,
an Indian Ocean archipelago of 1,200 islets inhabited by around 300,000
people, has a tourism-driven economy. Nasheed was elected president in
the country's first multiparty election in 2008 after 30 years of
authoritarian rule. AP
