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Newly appointed Maldives President Mohamed Waheed speaks at a press conference in Male on Feb. 8. (Ishara S.Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images)
Protests spread on Wednesday in the Maldives over reports that the former president was forced out of power in an apparent coup, according to media reports.
President Mohamed Nasheed, who “resigned” the day before, told reporters that he was in fact “forced to resign at gunpoint,” according to Reuters. “There were guns all around me and they told me they wouldn’t hesitate to use them if I didn’t resign,” he added.
Vice President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik was instated as president shortly after Nasheed issued a statement on Tuesday, declaring his resignation. Nasheed had said that he did not want to cause any more problems for the small Indian Ocean archipelago nation, amid weeks of protests.
“I call on the chief justice to look into the matter of who was behind this coup. We will try our best to bring back the lawful government,” Nasheed added.
Thousands of supporters have taken to the streets to protest Nasheed’s ousting. There were reports that protesters attacked police, while police fired tear gas back at them.
An official with Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party said “when someone metaphorically and physically puts a gun at your head and tells you to resign, that’s a coup in my mind,” reported Al-Jazeera.
