MALE--President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, widely credited with bringing democracy to the Indian Ocean archipelago, resigned on Tuesday after weeks of opposition protests erupted into a police mutiny, and handed power to his deputy.

Nasheed, the Sunni Muslim nation's first democratically elected presfident , handed over to Vice-President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik and said in a televised address "I believe that if the government were to remain in power it would require the use of force which would harm many citizens."

Protests last year over the faltering economy and scrambling ahead of this year's presidential election, have seen parties adopting hardline Islamist rhetoric and accusing Nasheed of being anti-Islamic. Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party said in a statement that "rogue elements" in the police force and supporters of his predecessor Maumoon Abdul Gayoom had overthrown the government and forced Nasheed to quit.

The MDP called for help from abroad to re-establish democracy and protect Nasheed and senior government members. A presidential aide told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Nasheed had been allowed to return to his home in Male and was no longer under military guard.

Hassan Saeed, leader of the DQP--a party in the opposition coalition--and an Indian diplomatic source in Colombo said Nasheed had asked India for help and been refused. An Indian foreign ministry spokesman said the rebellion was an internal Maldives matter "to be resolved by the Maldives." India helped foil a coup on the islands in 1988 by sending a battalion of soldiers to back the government.

Britain's Foreign Office said a team of diplomats was on its way there and that London viewed developments "with concern" and called on all groups "to find a peaceful way through these difficulties, in accordance with the Constitution."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed for calm and said in a statement that the United Nations would remain a "close partner" of the Maldives.

A Commonwealth spokeswoman said the multinational body was "gravely concerned" and five Secretariat officials had arrived in the Maldives on Monday to see how the Commonwealth could help. "We urge all to respect the rule of law and the constitution and to refrain from acts of violence," she said.