COLOMBO — A domestic inquiry commission in the Maldives has concluded that former president Mohamed Nasheed's resignation earlier this year was legal, and that he was not forced to step down at gunpoint as he has claimed. Nasheed has rejected the report, which formally released Thursday, and his supporters have resumed street protests in the Indian Ocean nation. Nasheed became archipelago nation's first democratically elected president in 2008 after 30 years of autocratic rule but his allegedly illegal order to arrest a senior judge led to public protests and his February resignation. The commission was set up to investigate allegations that mutinying police and soldiers forced him to step down. “With regard to the idea that there was a ‘coup d'état', nothing in the Maldives changed in constitutional terms — indeed, the constitution was precisely followed as prescribed," the report said, referring to then Vice President Mohammed Waheed Hassan assuming power after Nasheed resigned. It said even though Nasheed claimed a gun was held to his head forcing him to resign, he later said it was only a metaphor and there was no actual firearm. The commission did say acts of police brutality were committed against Nasheed supporters following his resignation. Nasheed's supporters were accused of attacking several police stations and court houses. “It is evident that Maldives is experiencing the challenges of its transition. It is a young democracy with many new and fragile institutions and bodies which are contending with persistent elements and tendencies of a former political culture," the report said. It recommended that the country's judiciary, police, legislature and human rights commission be strengthened to deliver an effective and independent service. On Wednesday, a commission member that Nasheed appointed walked out of a meeting, claiming the final report excluded accounts from many key witnesses, as well as video and photo evidence. Later scores of Nasheed supporters demonstrated, apparently in response to the former president's claim that he was prepared to “change the government from the streets." — AP
