But Mohammed Lateef, a Sri Lanka-based member of the Maldivian Democratic Party, which claims that it cannot function in the atoll, challenged this assertion, saying violence was engineered by government forces to derail reforms, and that India has a moral responsibility to intervene, as it had saved President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom after a 1988 coup attempt.

Dr Shaheed told rediff.com on the telephone from Male, capital of the Maldives, that the unrest began on Thursday when a few protestors gathered outside a police station at the Jumhooree Maidan demanding the release of a person "picked up for questioning".

But when the police agreed, there "was a further escalation of demands, for three other persons". When that too was complied with, "there was a demand for the release of convicted prisoners", which the government obviously could not do.

After Friday prayers at a nearby mosque, "the demonstration was hijacked by Muslim fundamentalists and criminals," Shaheed said. "They have no democratic agenda. They have in fact protested against the American library because it houses books like the Bible, and accused the president of apostasy because foreign missions are allowed to practise other religions in their chanceries. They also want the voting age to be reduced to nine!"

According to the spokesman, the mob became increasingly violent, stabbing and seriously injuring two unarmed policemen, torching a government building, and attempting to invade the police headquarters.

"The government acted with much restraint, and security services used minimal force in dispersing the mob," he said. "The main instigators of violence have been identified and arrested, and will be charged in a court of law. This mob cannot be considered pro-democracy in any way because it did have any such agenda or demands."

Though the strength of the mob varied at different times, "the main core was no more than 200 odd people," he said. "If you include bystanders and people who congregrate at the neighbouring mosque, perhaps at one time the total may have reached 5,000."

Shaheed said President Gayoom had presented an agenda for constitutional reform on June 9, which has since been tabled before parliament. The proposal seeks to provide greater independence to the judiciary, separate the powers of the heads of state and government, and impose a two-term limit for the presidency. "It also envisages a multi-party system of government."

Gayoom has served as president for 26 years. In November 1998, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi sent 1,600 commandos to help quell an uprising against him by rebels led by businessman Abdullah Luthufi, who was said to be backed by Tamil rebels in neighbouring Sri Lanka.

But Lateef, speaking to rediff.com on telephone from Colombo, said, "First and foremost, everyone knows that Maldives has been under family rule for the past 26 years. These people have been looting and raping the country, and ruling with a brutal hand. Gayoom is a sadistic animal whose best friend is [ousted Iraqi president] Saddam Hussein."

Lateef was a member of parliament for three months in 1990. He was jailed and exiled for reportedly planning a no-trust motion against Gayoom.

Lateef, whose three daughters are in jail in the Maldives, said that among those arrested were Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, former tourism minister and former secretary general of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, and former attorney general Muhammad Munavar.

"Are these the criminals and fundamentalists that Shaheed is talking about?" he asked. "India, which had no qualms about sending troops to help Gayoom retain power in 1988, has been extremely slow in showing concern. India has a moral obligation, a moral imperative, to see that Gayoom does not continue to torture and brutalise his people."

The Maldives, with a population of just 3,00,000, receives 5,00,000 tourists each year. Justifying his call for a boycott of tourism in the atoll, Lateef said Gayoom's government has held it like a "Damocles sword over us, saying that if we do anything to affect tourism, we would be destroying the nation's economy."

Of the recent 'violence' in Male, Lateef said, "Only one stone was thrown, while the fire they speak of was actually engineered by the fire brigade, for television. As for democracy, the current Cabinet has two of Gayoom's brothers, two brothers-in-law, two nephews, and many of his business associates and university mates.

"Maldives cannot have democratic rule as long as Gayoom is in power. Because he knows that once his family rule is gone, he will be exposed. Survival has made them animals, dogs. And these are the people who talk of democracy? It makes me want to puke!"