The Madagascar Coup

To whom it may concern,

It still amazes me that coup d’états in Africa go by seemingly unnoticed in the Western media. And when we do, it is usually too late to intervene or reconcile. Sure we condemn the perpetrators, demand a democratic process, and sometimes resort to cutting off our aid to the new government, but when the dust settles, it is business as usual. Apparently the people of Madagascar have been protesting in the streets since January, but it requires military action, or a resolution, in order to hear about it. I can understand the distractions on the home front are tremendous, and now more than ever we need to focus on our own issues. However, is this the appropriate time to become an isolationist America? Surely our multi-national corporations see potential in mineral rich Madagascar. This latest development in Africa only reaffirms the view that America’s meddling in foreign countries is limited to our self-interests. Does America support a democracy that squashed its preceding democracy with force and then set up their terms?

GUNNAR HAND, AICP