Did the U.S. undermine democracy in the Maldives because it wants to set up military bases there?

[JohnyCanuck]

There was depressing news from the Maldives this week, after the Indian Ocean island nation voted in the second round of presidential elections on November 20. Mohamed Nasheed, the dynamic, young, pro-environmentalist Muslim leader who had led after the first round, lost by a couple of percentage points to the old regime’s candidate, Abdulla Yameen.

As I reported, the impressive Nasheed had been elected back in 2008, but then overthrown in a military/police coup on February 7, 2012. Since then, the old regime had tried to block Nasheed and his reformist, youthful Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) from making a comeback, including annulling and postponing the election three times, and regularly arresting and jailing his nonviolent supporters.

The rest of the world protested vigorously; the Canadian foreign minister even marched in a pro-democracy demonstration in New York. But the United States was conspicuously quiet. The Obama administration accepted the illegal coup in 2012, and issued only feeble admonitions at the more recent pre-electoral maneuvers.

Why the pathetic and embarrassing silence, given that Nasheed and his movement are exactly the kind of forward-looking, democratic Muslims the United States should be supporting every chance it gets?

Continued at: http://mondoweiss.net/2013/11/undermine-democracy-military.html

[Cali_Democrat]

1. The US wasn't vocal enough about the coup and therefore it undermined democracy?

What an incredibly stupid article.

If the US is too forceful and vocal, it is imperialistic. If it isn't vocal enough, it's undermining democracy.

Either way, the US is evil evil evil.

The US cannot get involved in every single thing that happens in the world.

Just. No.

[mwrguy]

2. Wouldn't surprise me

We have a long history of doing that sort of thing.