Posted on 07/27/2003 2:23:00 PM PDT by nuconvert
Philippine Opposition Senator to be Charged Over Coup Attempt
Opposition senator Gregorio Honasan, a former military coup plotter, will be charged for involvement in a coup attempt by junior officers against Philippine President Gloria Arroyo.
"We have very clear and strong intelligence report that his involvement in this is deep so we are readying charges and we will prepare other legal moves," Interior Secretary Jose Lina said said in a television interview.
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Mr Honasan, a former army colonel, popularly known as "Gringo", led several bloody coup attempts in the 1980s but was pardoned under a peace deal after which he entered politics.
Mr Lina's accusation came after a group of about 60 junior officers and enlisted men occupied part of a sprawling shopping mall in the Manila financial district, calling for the replacement of the government of President Gloria Arroyo.
The rogue soldiers, who Mrs Arroyo has accused of planning a coup, said they want the government replaced by a "national recovery programme."
Officials commented that this sounded suspiciously like a political platform Mr Honasan had been campaigning for in recent months.
A spokesman also said the military had received information that Mr Honasan had talked to the officer "and he himself has said he is the adviser of these young officers".
Haven't people been executed here for attempted coups before?
I think he blew his chances for May 2004.
No death penalty in the Philippines.
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