Democracy: American Face Unmasked

From time immemorial man has been actively searching for the ways and means to better his lot by bringing in agencies and instruments of ease to lead a happy life. In this quest, first he made efforts to fulfil his basic needs. These needs having been fulfilled, he went in for securing comforts and devices bringing more ease to usher in an era of prosperity. The third stage he set for himself was of procuring items of luxury which could add to his fulfilment of his desires to land in a state where dreams appear to come true. This helped him cater to his fancies in different fields and he could not set a boundary to these imaginations.

Consequently, wishful thinking gets magnified, diversified and dons newer cloaks with every passing day. However there was nothing wrong with these material possessions and acquisitions if acquired through honest planning and dedicated efforts by one’s sweat of labour. The evil element destroyed the piety of these accomplishments when man wished to prosper by building castles on the dead bodies of others. The substitution of honesty by avarice, fraud and cunning methods, robbing others of their genuine natural rights, became the breeding ground for injustice, exploitation and usurpation of others’ rights by the crafty and the strong.

America is spreading its hegemony over other countries in the name of promoting democracy, free economy and global marketing, equity, enhanced world trade and competitive growth, etc. Since the governments all over the world are extending their areas of operations to new areas and exceedingly regulating the activities of their people, it was obvious that gigantic efforts be made to control these governments themselves – the source of all political power exercising sway on internal economic policies and foreign mechanisms – under the grand alluring traps of the “democracy”. Alas, the type of ‘democracy’ being thrust on many countries is the very negation of the high ideals which the real democracy stands for and strives to achieve! Let us examine the manipulated democracies on the touch-stone of Abraham Lincoln’s definition of democracy as ‘a government of the people, by the people, for the people’ in his Gettysburg speech. He had wished that democracy so conceived shall not perish from the earth but present day American worthies are bent upon banishing this form and substance of democracy by their crooked diplomacy!

What happened in Afghanistan and Iraq in so recent and conscience-stirring that even proverbially short memory of people cannot erase the gory memories of slaughter and maiming of lakhs of innocent, unsuspecting, unarmed and liberty-loving people who did not submit to the evil designs of the aggressor America? Some independent states of erstwhile Russian Union like Ukraine and Georgia, Palestine, Egypt, Venezuela, Spain, Haiti and Iran are some other countries which have tasted the American flavour of ‘democracy’ or are in for similar experience. Many of the countries named here are those which went through the ritual of election in recent past. Wherever America could manage its puppets to be declared as elected, America and its backers joyously declared democracy to have been successful. Such occasions were celebrated and the masses were congratulated for having taken to the splendid highway of political maturity by boarding the bandwagon of democracy to sure success.

On the other hand, a large number of voters boycotted the elections in Afghanistan, Egypt and Iraq. Large scale rigging and other poll irregularities and malpractices were reported by independent poll observers from Egypt but the manipulated poll results in favour of appendages of America was termed as the ‘victory of masses”. Contract this with the election in Palestine where the votes polled were 72 per cent. The results showed Hamas emerged victorious with thumping majority but since the winning party was on the wrong side of USA, the western countries and Israel are leaving no stone unturned to create insurmountable difficulties for the government of the elected party notwithstanding loud talk of democracy being reflection of popular vote. Silence of world governments and lovers of democracy on this flagrant violation and denial of real democratic norms speaks volumes of general apathy of the world when it comes to a confrontation with America in the unipolar world. That way crumbling of Soviet Union has left USA unchallenged and its economic, military and infrastructural might has gone to its head. Hamas is receiving such an inimical treatment even though it does not plead for the division of Palestine while despite Sri Lanka’s LTTE’s open declaration of its intention to bifurcate Sri Lanka, the European Union has not considered LTTE to be a terrorist organisation. While the western media condemns Hamas for its efforts to liberate Muslims’ Quibla-e-Awwal from the unlawful annexation but there is no denying that Hamas has been compelled to adopt its present strategy because of criminal silence of the world conscience on Palestinian atrocities.

Another example can be cited of Venezuela where Chavez was voted to power with a large support of the masses but America is ever busy to see him out due to his independent polices and actions wherein he is seen to adopt Anti-American stand. In world fora Venezuela has often opposed America and has been identified as one of the three countries standing upright and speaking out its mind disregarding American pressure. The agony and mental torture Chavez is going through can be understood from his apprehensions of an unnatural death as a result of American manoeuvring and intrigues to eliminate him. He said this even in a Press Conference in 2005 in the presence of Indian Premier.

Elected President of American Caribbean Island Haiti was evicted from his Presidential Palace by American forces on February 19, 2004 and taken to a nearby island and was replaced by a former C.I.A employee Phillip. US forces were deployed there. It is noteworthy that Haiti is an important route for smuggling of drugs to the tune of about 50 tons every year. It is reliably learnt that a strong group of ruling Republican Party members is aiding and abetting these criminal activities of some anti-social elements for the billion of dollars changing hands in this illicit trade. This group indulging in this economic offence has been christened as ‘Unity for Democracy’. What an alluring name!

 When America opposes some regime, it brings its ‘hidden hands’ into operation. Accordingly USAID started building and encouraging opposition to the elected President under the garb of ‘Programme for promoting Democracy’.

It worked in the areas where opposition to the President could be blown up to a flashpoint. Like Saddam, President of Haiti was also on the hit-list of America and his removal was high on American agenda. Bush government got the IMF aid to Haiti to the tune of $650 million blocked. Moreover, the conditions for procuring World Bank loan were tightened to deprive an un-complying country from the opportunity for national resurrection. Styde, the President of Haiti, has termed American activities as terrorism in the guise of diplomacy, and an enactment of stage-managed uprising against the duly constituted government. The American forces trespassed into Haiti and informed the President that rebellion against him had taken place. He was further told that their only objective is to capture the President, alive or dead. The fear psychosis was created in the most fine-tuned manner, compelling him to give up any sort of defence having been threatened that a single shot fired in defence of the President will only cause large-scale bloodshed. Under the circumstances the American Ambassador posted in Haiti himself secured President’s resignation and arranged for his forced boarding on the plane to leave his country.

Similar scene was witnessed in the Republic of Georgia, once a part of USSR. Edward was removed by force when the parliamentary elections conducted in Georgia on November 22, 2003 showed that he emerged victorious on the strength of the ballot but was disliked by America. Instead USA-supporting President was given the power in Tbilisi. Similar drama was enacted in Ukraine on December 26, 2005 in the name of democracy where the results of the elections one and a half month earlier were so manipulated as to announce 52 per cent mandate for American stooge, capitalist Victor as against his opponent Prime Minister who was shown to have won only 44 per cent of the popular vote. Having successfully manoeuvred the election according to American interests, the event was hailed as the victory for real democracy and the Ukrainian people were felicitated for their wise decision; congratulatory messages started pouring in from Washington, London and other capitals of the western world which indeed were self-congratulatory messages for having achieved their objective, by hook or crook.

Like wise, Milosevic was elected in Yugoslavia in 2000 but the American and allied western countries refused to accept the results of the election as his election was not to the liking of America.

On the other hand, an advocate who was considered to be a useful instrument in furtherance of US interests was assured of America’s aid and support. Yugoslavia was threatened with stoppage of American aid and support of its fellow camp members. Finding no way out, he quit his elected office to spare his country of the intrigues and economic throttling by the ruthless and power-hungry America. What a naked dance of brutality and high–handedness by the champion of democracy in the pious name of democracy!

Iran also went to polls and the fight there was between so-called moderate Ali Akbar Rafsanjani and so-called conservative Ahmedinejad. In the fair election Ahmedinejad openly and clearly defeated his opponent Rafsanjani. But no sooner the result was declared, it increased the wrinkles on the face of western rulers, particularly Bush. Undaunted by about three decades of failed sanctions against liberty-loving Iranians, the US is out to destroy it. The pretext is its nuclear ambition. Iran continues to react scornfully to the US sanctions. But many analysts question the effectiveness of unilateral sanctions by the US in the absence of the concerted action by the United Nations with which Iran cooperated by allowing nuclear inspectors of its nuclear establishment. Still America continues to allege possession by Iran of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) much the same way as Iraq was charged. Sanctions target the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps which is accused of spreading WMDs and IRGC’s elite Quds Force which is called supporter of terrorism. If democracy is essentially honouring the popular verdict and President Bush loves to promote ‘democracy,’ why this vehement reluctance to accept the popular verdict in Iran?

Algeria represents yet another example of Uncle Sam’s ‘innocent intervention’ in that country. Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) was deprived of its genuine right to rule the country some two decades back. Instead, with the willingness and connivance of French and other western powers, military was thrust on the country with the result that more than one lakh people have been killed. Which of these savage powers deserves to be felicitated for the loss of human life on such a large scale and maiming of youths, the aged and the children, human tragedy of pain, tears and torments of widows and orphans!