Coup In Manila/phi Failed

[LaoPo]

Arroyo vow after Manila coup bid

"The renegade troops had barricaded themselves in the hotel (luxury Peninsula Hotel) after breaking out of court where they were standing trial over a failed 2003 mutiny."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7119123.stm

Coup Suspects Surrender in Philippines

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jQbcYN6...gCv1EQD8T7DE500

LaoPo

[LaoPo]

Deja vu in Manila siege crisis

In most countries, the occupation of a luxury hotel in the heart of the capital by renegade soldiers would constitute an alarming national crisis.

But Thursday's events in the Philippine capital, Manila, have a weary familiarity about them.

The officers leading the occupation had in fact just stormed out of a court where they were on trial for a similar incident four years ago, when they took over another hotel and a shopping mall, also in Manila's main business district.

Back then they were calling for the overthrow of President Gloria Arroyo, alleging corruption and abuses of power.

Now they are making the same demands, through a website, calling on other members of the armed forces to rise up against a president they claim has lost her legitimacy.

Unspoken tolerance

The so-called "Oakwood incident" of four years ago ended without bloodshed, when the mutineers were persuaded to surrender.

But previous coup attempts in the late 1980s resulted in widespread shooting and dozens of deaths.

Yet the officers who led those coups were pardoned, and in some cases went on to successful careers in politics.

There appears to be an unspoken tolerance of armed intervention by disgruntled officers claiming to act against corrupt governments.

The armed forces have been heavily politicised since their involvement in the people power uprising against the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship in 1986.

There is strong resentment in the poorly paid and badly equipped rank-and-file against top officers and politicians.

But these persistent coups and mutinies also underline the weaknesses of the 21-year-old democratic system in the Philippines, which has for the most part produced ineffective and corrupt governments.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7118536.stm

Watching the Manila siege unfold

By Michael Barker

BBC News, Manila

I was on a first floor balcony when troops lobbed tear gas canisters and I had to retreat inside after a short time.

It was a rather uncomfortable experience as I witnessed an armoured personnel carrier storming the hotel lobby and missing the top of a Christmas tree by a whisker.

The sort of protest which ended peacefully in Manila is not unusual in the Philippines.

The fact that journalists were able to cover the events unfolding at the Peninsula Hotel shows in a way the freewheeling nature of the media here and of Philippine democracy.

Police and the military are rather powerless to stop journalists roaming around.

In fact, many of the news people walked all the way from the court, where some of the rebels were on trial for a similar attempt from 2003 and entered the hotel alongside them as the protest was starting.

As the standoff ended peacefully, I saw police taking some of the journalists away, something which did not happen four years ago.

2003 mark II

The protest was eerily reminiscent of 2003, when everything happened, as now, under the full glare of the local and international media.

Rebel soldier surrendering in 2003

The protest was almost a carbon copy of the one from 2003

Then, as now, everything ended without bloodshed, though this time shots were fired.

President Gloria Arroyo, who was the target of this coup attempt, presumably did not want the whole affair to drag on too long, given the worldwide media coverage.

As for ordinary people, they have become jaded with popular protest, with the scale of anti-government demonstrations shrinking all the time.

There is apathy and cynicism at this sort of attempt to remove Ms Arroyo from power.

I have seen no massing of people in Manila and no soldiers responded to the rebels' appeal to overthrow the elected president.

It was more of a personal protest against Ms Arroyo and there was certainly no groundswell of support for the move.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7118778.stm

LaoPo

[JimsKnight]

Alls well, ends well

[Chloe82]

I watched it all live on the BBC this afternoon.

[sbk]

Philippines hunts for more suspects in rebellion

1 day ago

MANILA (AFP) — Philippine authorities launched a manhunt Friday for more suspects accused of helping stage a dramatic but short-lived rebellion against the government which was put down by the military.

The small band of primarily armed forces officers, who seized a luxury hotel Thursday to demand the resignation of President Gloria Arroyo, were bundled off by police after a lightning raid, but officials said others were involved.

Despite the ongoing search, a beaming Arroyo appeared on government television late Friday to say that "the rule of law has triumphed."

"The Philippine people have shown our civil institutions are strong," Arroyo said, branding the mutineers as "desperate men who were blind to the will of their fellow Filipinos."

Senior state prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco told local television network ABS-CBN that 50 people had been charged with rebellion, including ringleaders Navy Lieutenant Antonio Trillanes and Brigadier General Danilo Lim.

All of them appeared before a special tribunal with a police escort, their arresting officers and battery of lawyers. The charge carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Police chief Avelino Razon earlier said documents found among debris in the Peninsula Hotel, which SWAT teams stormed in a hail of gunfire and tear gas to end the stand-off, indicated "four groups" had taken part in the mutiny.

He told reporters at least three renegade officers seen taking over the hotel had managed to get away despite the security cordon and a subsequent overnight curfew in Manila.

"One left a wig at the hotel premises," Razon told reporters.

Officials said up to 20 other people who were not part of the hotel siege were under investigation, including politicians and businessmen said to have financed the rebellion.

"Some of them are businessmen but I do not want to be hasty by naming names," National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales was quoted as saying in the local press.

"We are investigating the possible involvement of certain politicians," said armed forces chief of staff General Hermogenes Esperon, without giving further details.

Police said that 14 soldiers and as many as 36 civilians had been detained for their role in the mutiny including Roman Catholic bishop Julio Labayen, who was later released to the custody of his fellow bishops.

Arroyo has faced repeated coup attempts since taking power in 2001, and many of the people involved in Thursday's mutiny had come directly from a court hearing into their involvement in a 2003 coup attempt.

Razon said some were the "usual suspects" from previous attempts to bring down the government in the Philippines, where the military, big business and the Catholic church all hold powerful sway over national political life.

The armed forces can make or break a president, and the leaders of Thursday's uprising had appealed to the rest of the military to join them.

However, their appeal met little response and authorities later used an armoured personnel carrier to force their way into the hotel lobby, prompting the mutineers to surrender.

Despite the rebellion's failure to attract large numbers of supporters onto the streets, it appeared to have been well-organised.

Police did not stop the rebels on their way to the hotel, witnesses said, and a detailed website appeared as the uprising was launched that included harsh criticisms of the state of the nation under Arroyo.

Among those found with the rebels were former Philippine vice president and vocal Arroyo critic Teofisto Guingona as well as Bishop Labayen.

Foreign and local press organisations criticised the police for taking dozens of journalists into detention after they refused to leave the hotel despite the impending raid, calling it a violation of freedom of the press.

The journalists were released before dawn Friday.

More than 1,000 leftist activists staged a rally near the presidential palace on Friday, declaring their support for the mutineers as they waved red banners and placards saying "Gloria, out now."

Police said the rally ended without incident.

Arroyo has been repeatedly accused of stealing her 2004 election after tapes emerged of her talking to an election commission official while the votes were still being counted.

AFP

[jonniebkk]

I know the Peninsula hotel in Makati is nice...but this is getting ridiculous The last time these jokers staged an abortive coup they also based themselves at the Pen. I guess they have a membership with that hotel group. However, feel sorry for the owners...seeing that APC shooting-up the entrance and going through the front door must have caused some serious wear and tear on the furniture and carpets

Another day...another coup attempt in the Phils...what else is new

[thai_narak]

I know the Peninsula hotel in Makati is nice...but this is getting ridiculous The last time these jokers staged an abortive coup they also based themselves at the Pen. I guess they have a membership with that hotel group. However, feel sorry for the owners...seeing that APC shooting-up the entrance and going through the front door must have caused some serious wear and tear on the furniture and carpets

Another day...another coup attempt in the Phils...what else is new

i guess they get good food and services in Pen everytime they staged a coup there. i saw cooks and waiters standing in the background from a photo published in one of the online newspaper.

they should grind these jokers and feed them to the ducks. in philippines, all they need is a heavy handed leader like the late Marcos but without the "scrambled egg brains".