Comments on: Micronesia and the murky world of chequebook diplomacy http://www.501places.com/2013/02/micronesia-chequebook-diplomacy/ Travel stories that won't change the world Wed, 11 Jun 2014 06:07:46 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.2 By: Ourjourneytothesea http://www.501places.com/2013/02/micronesia-chequebook-diplomacy/#comment-70583 Tue, 05 Mar 2013 06:43:32 +0000 http://www.501places.com/?p=9067#comment-70583 I’ve been looking at Micronesia as a possible surf holiday destination. Do you have any tips/photos to share?

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By: Ziyad http://www.501places.com/2013/02/micronesia-chequebook-diplomacy/#comment-70567 Thu, 21 Feb 2013 20:09:40 +0000 http://www.501places.com/?p=9067#comment-70567 If Micronasia is living example of check-book diplomacy, the Maldives is on the way of becoming one.

Maldives; with good use of our own natural resources became self-sufficient – and got lifted out of the list of UN least developed countries. Also, we slowly graduated from a controlled society to a one of full democracy; without much fight among us.

Just at the turn of us into a full democracy, the worlds biggest and strongest democracies seem adamant in installing a dictatorship in the Maldives.

We are being forced to throw away our constitution and laws and become sub-subservient to India. Economically; corruptly India bought out all major profitable infrastructures and bought our the first democratically elected president; to the extent getting him to promise publicly to decide UN votes as per India’s say.

Luckily, popular long protests brought the president down with many constitutional crimes on his belt. As in the news now, India is hiding in their high-commission the accused-former president without allowing Maldives courts to conduct due processes. The so called free media people were for 3 years enjoyed free holidays on poor Maldivians money — writing about underwater stunts, his publicity movies with state funds; not noticing the crimes committed on the people of the Maldives.

India and UK are demanding to drop severe court cases (such as his orders to military high-jacks Chief Justice for 20 days) saying they wanted him (be it a criminal) to participate in election; so that India can buy out Maldives.

It is, therefore, very easy to point out when a small country like Mironesia is in the spiral already – if Maldives experience is anything to learn from, we can say big powers systematically high-jack smaller countries – and will not allow to act and prosper independently.

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By: Jeruen http://www.501places.com/2013/02/micronesia-chequebook-diplomacy/#comment-70547 Tue, 19 Feb 2013 10:11:47 +0000 http://www.501places.com/?p=9067#comment-70547 Thanks for the very thought-provoking post. In my experience, most tourists and travelers just simply pass through a place, without knowing the intricate power struggles that are in place behind the things they see. Hence, I found your entry quite informative and different from the usual travel entry. It also reminds me of home. In the Philippines, almost every infrastructure has a poster or a billboard, saying which senator or congressman/woman paid for its construction. It makes me puke. At the same time, it makes me sad to realize that part of the reason these self-publicizing billboards exist is because they actually work: most people don’t have the education to think for themselves, and thus are easily swayed by these propaganda, to the advantage of politicians who are more likely after their own self-gratification instead of being what they should be, a public servant.

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