NEW DELHI — A criminal court issued an arrest warrant Thursday for deposed Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed amid fears of further violence in the Indian Ocean nation after rioting the day before. It wasn’t immediately clear what the charges against him were in the confusing and fast-evolving political crisis.
Newly instated President Mohammed Waheed Hassan also moved Thursday to assemble a Cabinet, naming defense and home ministers who had past differences with Nasheed.
The jockeying and political upheaval comes at a sensitive time for a country that had its first election four years ago. It also provides a potential opening for China, which has been angling to expand its influence on India’s doorstep, given the Maldives’ strategic location astride Asia’s main oil shipping lanes. And it threatens the idyllic archipelago’s crucial tourism industry if a protracted crisis starts scaring away European and American travelers.
Nasheed, 44, spent much of Thursday with reporters and allies at his house as several hundred supporters formed a cordon outside under umbrellas in the inclement weather. Local media reports said the deposed president had sent his family to Sri Lanka while he awaited arrest.
Government officials and local reporters said a warrant was also issued Thursday for former Defense Minister Tholhath Ibrahim Kaleyfaanu.
Newly named Home Minister Mohamed Jameel Ahmed said in a telephone interview that violent protests Wednesday by Nasheed supporters — which he said saw shops, courts, police stations and at least 17 police vehicles destroyed — were “clearly an act of terrorism.”
Ahmed added that he didn’t believe the warrant for Nasheed was issued on terrorism charges but was rather related to a police investigation into his firing of a judge last month, which galvanized opposition to his rule.
The United States and India announced they are sending officials to confer and monitor the situation amid concerns that unrest could be exploited by China.
