Britain hits out at Maldives crackdown

Britain has criticised a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Maldives, but the island country’s government justified the action by saying the demonstrators were trying to topple president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s regime.

“We are concerned by reports of attacks by the police on peaceful protesters in Male (the capital) last Friday, the subsequent declaration of a state of emergency, and large numbers of arrests, including of members of the Special Majlis,” the British Foreign Office said in a statement.

The Majlis is the Maldives parliament.

“We look to the government of the Maldives to ensure that all those arrested are treated in accordance with local law and international norms,” said the statement. “They should either be charged or released as soon as possible.”

Nearly 200 people were arrested following Friday’s protests, in which police fired tear gas to disperse about 3,000 people outside the police headquarters in Male. Dozens of protesters, who were demanding the release of political prisoners, were wounded.

Among those arrested were Mohamed Munavvar, a former attorney general, and Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, an ex-national development minister. Both were sacked in November.

“The mob had attempted to overthrow the democratically-elected government in the Maldives,” said a statement posted on Gayoom’s official web site today.

It said the protesters had “engaged in a frenzy of violence, and that the president had announced a state of emergency to restore law and order after security services worked with restraint for over 17 hours to peacefully disperse the mob through dialogue and discussion.”