Nasheed calm as he awaits arrest

Male: The former president of the Indian Ocean archipelago of the Maldives awaited arrest in his house yesterday, vowing to stay and fight against the government he says ousted him in a coup with the connivance of the police and military.

Mohammad Nasheed spoke to reporters at his home on a narrow lane in Male, capital of the islands renowned for their luxury getaway resorts, as rain poured and hundreds of onlookers gathered under umbrellas awaiting the arrival of police.

Nasheed, the islands' first democratically elected president, appeared to be daring the government led by his former vice president, Mohammad Wahid Hussain Manik, to arrest him after violent protests on Wednesday spread outside Male.

"The home minister has pledged [I will be] the first former president to spend all my life in jail," said Nasheed, who was relaxed and smiling and showed no signs of his reported beating on Wednesday.

He said he hoped the international community would act quickly as "the facts on the ground are that tomorrow I will be in jail".

However, there was no sign of the police by early evening. Police Commissioner Abdullah Riyaz, when asked by Reuters if and when a warrant would be served, declined to comment. With Nasheed finding himself in the midst of a turmoil, his family fled to Sri Lanka, a country nearest to the Maldives that is located over 750 km away. Nasheed's wife Laila Ali arrived here Wednesday night, reported the Sunday Leader.

She spoke to President Mahinda Rajapakse over telephone after her arrival. Rajapakse then telephoned new Maldivian President Mohammad Wahid and urged him to ensure the safety of Nasheed.

Nasheed said he would accept his arrest, as he did 27 times before, under the reign of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who jailed him for six years in all.

Gunpoint

The former president spoke a day after he declared his overthrow in a gunpoint coup engineered by a coterie of police, military and political rivals, and led thousands of supporters onto the streets where they clashed with riot police and troops.

Only about 330,000 people live permanently in the Maldives but there has been much interest in the tumult there this week because of the huge numbers who visit the islands on holiday.

The Maldives gets about one million visitors a year, most seeking a sun-and-sand getaway at resorts that charge up to $1,000 (Dh3,670) per night.

Earlier yesterday, police commissioner Riyaz told reporters that 18 police stations and two courts on other atolls including the second-largest population centre, Addu, had been burned or attacked by Nasheed supporters the day before.

Nasheed called the violence "spontaneous".