Aquino gives rebels a deadline

Press, 8 July 1986, Page 10

Aquino gives rebels a deadline

NZPA-AFP Manila President Corazon Aquino returned from; a provincial visit and immediately conferred with top aides as participants in a failed coup continued to occupy the Manila Hotel. She later put a 24-hour ultimatum for the evacuation of the hotel. Mrs Aquino pushed through with an overnight visit to the southern city of Cagayan De Oro yesterday after the Opposition leader, Arturo Tolentino, aged 75, proclaimed himself acting president until Ferdinand Marcos could return from exile. Mr Tolentino and about

1000 civilian supporters and military deserters were still occupying the Government-owned Manila Hotel, which was surrounded by security forces backing Mrs Aquino, when the Presi- , dent arrived. Mrs Aquino described the attempted coup as a sony - adventure but refused to say what would happen if the 24-hour deadline was not met The Minister of Defence, Juan Ponce Enrile, who rejected Mr Tolentino’s offer of a Cabinet post and directed the encircling of the rebels by elite troops, met Mrs Aquino at a suburban Air Force base.

Mrs Aquino conferred with Ministers and military officials led by General Fidel Ramos at the air base. The military represented officers who abandoned Mr Tolentino after finding that they had been deceived into thinking that Mr Enrile and General Ramos had mutinied against Mrs Aquino. The two led February’s revolt that toppled Mr Marcos and forced him to flee to Hawaii. Mr Tolentino, a former member of Parliament, ran as vice-president with Mr Marcos in February’s presidential election. Poll frauds by Marcos partisans fuelled the re-

volt On Sunday night Mr Tolentino took an oath of office as acting president, saying he was acting under orders from Mr Marcos. About 5000 Marcos loyalists rallying at Rizal Park, adjacent to the Manila Hotel, gathered at the hotel gates to support Mr Tolentino. About 100 armed soldiers mingled with them, and about 200 joined at other posts. By dawn today, just a few hundred remained. Mr Tolentino complained that the military had precluded any support from reaching him. “Why?” he asked rhe-, torically. “Because we

want a peaceful demonstration of the people’s will.” Mr Enrile, who helped lead the February revolt, said there were about 180 soldiers inside the bayside hotel yesterday morning. He said he would not punish 210 soldiers who surrendered yesterday morning, saying, “they were misled". Interviewed at the base, Lieutenant-Colonel Danilo Venturina said he and his men went to Manila after receiving orders from high officers to move to the capital in support of Mr Enrile and the Armed Forces chief, General Fidel Ramos.