It's not a coup, says new Maldives president Mohammed Waheed

In his first interwiew to the Indian media, the new president of the Maldives, Mohammed Waheed Hassan, tells TOI's Indrani Bagchi that he hasn't come to power in a coup. He also says he's not a fundamentalist. Excerpts:
Q: Was it a coup?
A: No, it wasn't. It was a constitutional transfer of power after the resignation of former president Mohamed Nasheed. In fact, I was not even there during his resignation. I was called in from parliament and administered the oath of office by the chief justice.

Q: President Nasheed said the day after he resigned that he was forced to quit almost at gunpoint. What do you have to say to that?

A: It's not the first time Nasheed changed his word, and it won't be the last. The fact is that Nasheed no longer enjoyed the support of the people. There have been demonstrations against his government for weeks now. He ordered the police not to protect the people. He ordered the army against the police, which demoralized the police force. He had no support from the police or the people. That's why he resigned voluntarily. read more