The Hindu : Manila stand-off ends, rebels to face charges

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 28, 2003

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Manila stand-off ends, rebels to face charges

By P. S. Suryanarayana

REUTERS

An unidentified renegade junior military officer airing his views against the government of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo during a press conference at the Oakwood Hotel in Manila on Sunday.

SINGAPORE July 27. The mutiny by a small band of "rogue junior officers and soldiers" of the Philippines' Armed Forces ended tonight, without bloodshed, in Manila's fashionable commercial district of Makati, where the armed rebels had barricaded themselves for nearly 21 hours.

No force was used during the standoff, and there were no casualties, as intermittent talks eventually brought the crisis to an end. Hailing the end of the standoff as "a triumph for democracy", the Filipino President, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, said the rebels, numbering 296 including 70 officers, would return to the barracks and also face charges under the "Articles of War".

The surrendered mutinous soldiers covering their faces to avoid the media at Makati in Manila on Sunday.

They would be "investigated" and they had neither asked for nor promised any special treatment, she underlined in a statement from the presidential palace in Manila.

The Military Chief of Staff, Narciso Abaya, had been "directed to immediately restore normality in the military organisation", while "civilians shown to be involved in any conspiracy will (also) be prosecuted".

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