Not pursuing politics of revenge: Maldives VP Deen

The new Maldives government is not inclined to pursuing politics of revenge and does not intend to arrest ousted president Mohamed Nasheed, the country's new Vice President Mohamed Waheed Deen said on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference, a day after delivering his maiden address to a nation in political turmoil, Deen said he had assumed the office to "bail water out of a sinking boat". Deen used his first address to list development and socio-economic requirements as his government's frontal priorities.

Answering questions from the media on Monday, he said the current government does not intend to take revenge on any particular person. "The current government will not take revenge on anyone. I can say with confidence that President Waheed (Hassan) has no such plan, and neither do I," said Deen, who was also part of the former administration of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

When asked if the government might arrest Mohamed Nasheed, Deen said the government is not interested in sending the former president to prison, "The government isn't trying to send Nasheed to prison. We won't do that in the future either. It's not something we want to do," he said.

Deen said earlier too he had joined former president Gayoom's administration with an aim to lift it out of a crisis. "People said when I joined Gayoom's administration, that I had just got on-board a sinking ship. I told them, I went on-board to bail out the boat. Once again I am on-board to bail out the boat, and I will bail with all my might," he said.

In his address to the nation yesterday, Deen said development and civilisation in the country should be informed by Islamic values and customs. He said all leaders of the country must strive to preserve the Islamic faith in the people, for "Islam is the most civilised religion". He called for a deep reflection on the deteriorating social conditions of the Maldives.

"The political situation will not improve, unless the socio-economic situation improves," he said, pointing out that a lot of development work needed to be doe.

He stressed the importance of education and proposed long-term education loans in the country, besides empowering sports associations to build future leaders.