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Philippines President: Coup try quashed
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-25 09:03
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced she had quashed a coup plot
Friday and declared a state of emergency, gambling that the backlash wouldn't
leave her government crippled.
Philippine
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, right, gestures as she talks with
business group leaders inside the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila
on Friday Feb. 24, 2006. Arroyo declared a state of emergency as she
struggled with a reported coup plot and a possible repeat of the popular
revolts that ousted two
predecessors. [AP] |
It was one of the toughest days yet for Arroyo, who already has withstood two
coup attempts and other crises during five tumultuous years in power.
Imposing a state of emergency is a dangerous move in a country still smarting
from the martial-law decrees of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos. It came on the
eve of the 20th anniversary of the culmination of the "people power" revolt that
ousted Marcos.
Riot police — already on heightened alert as reports of a coup plot have
circulated for more than a week — used force to disperse two protests before
they could gather steam, leading to accusations that Arroyo was suppressing
dissent.
Former President Corazon Aquino and about 5,000 people were allowed to march
peacefully to a memorial to her late husband Benigno, whose assassination in
1983 sparked huge protests that led to the revolt against Marcos.
Aquino, a one-time Arroyo ally, criticized the emergency declaration and
reiterated a call for the president to "make the supreme sacrifice" and resign.
"I believe that during these times, we should not forget that many sacrificed
to regain our democracy," Aquino said.
The stock market fell and the peso ended at its lowest level in nearly a
month.
The protesters want Arroyo to resign because of alleged election-rigging in
2004, as well as accusations of corruption and human rights abuses like the
purported killing of activists by security forces. Arroyo vigorously denies the
accusations.
An army general also was arrested and a police commander was relieved of his
duties as military chiefs moved to prevent any rebellion.
The military played major roles in the revolt that ousted Marcos and a
similar uprising that toppled President Joseph Estrada in 1991, and it has a
recent history of restiveness.
Arroyo ordered a security clampdown, with military camps barricaded to keep
troops from joining the demonstrations.
Military chiefs said they backed Arroyo and had eased the threat of a coup,
but had not wiped it out completely.
U.S. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said Americans in the Philippines
were advised to be careful. "Our view is that the constitution of the
Philippines and the rule of law must be respected and violence must be rejected.
We hope the situation will return to normal," he said in Washington.
Arroyo said she was in control but clearly was worried about losing her grip
on events as her opponents tried to hijack anniversary commemorations.
Many Filipinos see the four-day "people power" revolt that toppled Marcos on
Feb. 25, 1986, as their country's proudest moment.
Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye told reporters that the commemorations
have been canceled and the military was ordered "to prevent and suppress lawless
violence."
Arroyo, who started with a pre-dawn meeting of her national security council
and remained in the presidential palace late Friday, appealed for calm. She said
the political opposition was determined to bring down the elected government.
"This is my warning against those who threaten the government: the whole
weight of the law will fall on your treason," Arroyo said in a nationally
televised statement.
Her chief of staff, Mike Defensor, said no curfew will be imposed but the
declaration bans rallies, allows arrests without warrants, permits the president
to call in the military to intervene and lets her take over facilities —
including media outlets — that may affect national security.
Amnesty International spokeswoman Saria Rees-Roberts said the rights group
was "concerned that this state of emergency may increase the risk of serious
human rights violations, and may undermine the rule of law in the Philippines."
Arroyo's aides linked Estrada, who was toppled in massive street protests in
2001 and held under house arrest on charges of plunder, and several others to
the coup plot.
Estrada dismissed the allegations, saying he's been out of work and under
detention for five years and didn't have the money to finance a coup. "I don't
have any work, how can I finance?" he asked.
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines, the country's largest lawyers' group,
said it will question the legality of Arroyo's declaration before the Supreme
Court. And Rep. Teodoro Casino said anti-Arroyo protests won't end.
Rep. Roilo Golez, Arroyo's former national security adviser who withdrew
support from her, warned things could get worst. "This could get out of control
... if her crisis team doesn't manage this well," Golez said.
Arroyo survived three impeachment bids in September, when her dominant allies
in the House of Representatives used a technicality to block complaints of
alleged corruption and vote-rigging.
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