Manila churns up instability threat ahead of rallies
18 Jan 2008 08:35:12 GMT Source: Reuters
By Manny Mogato MANILA, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The Philippines reiterated on Friday concerns of a vague destabilisation threat ahead of anti-government rallies next week but analysts said the warnings were likely tactical and the threat small. Rumours of coup plots are common in the Philippines but the the military chief said he could not ignore reports that rogue troops were planning to take advantage of protests on Tuesday marking the anniversary of a violent rally in 1987. "I cannot simply let it go. We want to nip things in the bud. We are not letting our guard down. We want to assure our people that we're 24/7 on the job to defeat threats from the communists and the small right-wing groups," General Hermogenes Esperon told reporters. On Tuesday, security forces arrested four former army rangers and a former marine corporal, all implicated in a previous coup plot in Feb. 2006. One was later released. "We've seized guns and foiled attempts to transport weapons near their targets, but some recruitments are still going on," Esperon said, adding he was confident the bulk of the military remained loyal to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Rally organisers and analysts said the threat of a fresh coup plot after the stunning failure of the last sedition attempt in November was minimal and said the government was likely trying to dissuade people from taking part in the protests. "It's the government that is sabotaging our peaceful rally and destabilising the country," Danilo Ramos, the secretary-general of a leftwing farmers group, told Reuters. He said he expected 5,000 people to take part in a march near the presidential palace on Jan. 22. Mars Buan, an analyst at security consultancy Pacific Strategies and Assessments, agreed that the warnings were largely tactical. "Our checks revealed there isn't any specific intelligence about a specific plot," Buan told Reuters. Arroyo has survived three attempts by rogue soldiers to topple her, the most recent in November when a handful of troops holed up in a luxury hotel vainly calling for her ouster. Analysts say her position is secure due to a strong majority in the lower house of Congress, a middle class fed up with political intrigue and the prospect of presidential elections in 2010, which has distracted opposition politicians. Apparently unperturbed by her government's destabilisation warnings, Arroyo is leaving for the World Economic Forum in Switzerland on Jan. 22 and returns on Jan. 28 after a sidetrip to the Middle East. "Half of our battle in the Philippines is to overcome the self-indulgent political theatrics that send the wrong message to the world," she told foreign diplomats in Manila on Friday. (Reporting by Manny Mogato, editing by Carmel Crimmins)
Philippines Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza gestures during a Reuters interview in Quezon City Metro Manila January 17, 2008. The Philippines' drive to attract more tourists must be balanced ...
