July 27, 2003
Disgruntled Troops in the Phillipines?
..."We don't know yet what will happen. But right now the officers requested an open forum to air their grievances,'' navy Lt. Sr. Grade Antonio Trillanes, who is among the officers President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered arrested Saturday, told reporters inside a residential high-rise the soldiers seized in the heart of Manila's financial district. ...
...Rumors of a coup plot had been spreading for the last week. Arroyo took action Saturday, announcing that she had ordered the military and police to hunt down and ``arrest a small band of rogue junior officers and soldiers who have deserted their post and illegally brought weapons with them.''
The officers responded in a video released just before the takeover, accusing the government of selling arms and ammunition to Muslim and communist rebels, staging deadly bombings to justify more aid from the United States, and preparing to declare martial law to stay in power. ...
Renegade soldiers who barricaded themselves inside a commercial center in the Philippines have agreed to return to their barracks.
Details of the agreement that peacefully ended the nearly 19-hour standoff in Manila were not immediately available.
But Philippine President Gloria Arroyo told a news conference that the cases of 296 soldiers involved in the incident will be investigated according to the articles of war. ...
Wonder how long this had been building up? Folks in Australia are very concerned.
Posted by natasha at July 27, 2003 12:55 PM | TrackBack