Word: honasan
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...rebels' shadowy National Governing Council is a troika chaired by General Eduardo Abenina and filled out by Lieut. Colonel Gregorio ("Gringo") Honasan, mastermind of the last two coup attempts, and General Jose Maria Zumel, a renegade officer loyal to the cause of Marcos. In a phone call, Abenina told TIME that the rebels could count on about 60% of the military for support. Soon, he said, they will begin a new phase of the rebellion, destroying property and, perhaps, waging a campaign of political assassinations...
Coup plotters have taken advantage of the resulting frustration among the younger officers to organize against Aquino. According to Candido Filio, a military analyst with the University of the Philippines, Gringo Honasan did not need support from the top brass to launch last week's coup attempt. "He has been working the line of company commanders," says Filio. As it turned out, at least two generals joined the rebellion...
...Noriegas," says Stanley Karnow, author of In Our Image: America's Empire in the Philippines. "They are not thugs by any means." While only about 2,000 rebel troops were involved in the rebellion, several other units declared themselves neutral in the conflict out of respect for Honasan's cause. Even if Gringo's latest attempt to seize power is thwarted, says Karnow, "the symptoms of malaise within the military will still be there...
...part, Honasan remained invisible and mostly silent during the uprising. Except for former RAM member Rodolfo Aguinaldo, governor of Cagayan province, in the far north, no politician publicly sided with the rebels...
Breaking his silence, the still unapprehended Honasan told TIME during a brief phone call, "We do not wish to spurn our friendship with the American people. But I believe it is morally wrong for Ambassador Platt to take sides because it will mean more bloodshed." Saving democracy may be its own reward, but for the U.S., this rescue could have long-term costs. Now that Washington has used force to prop up the Aquino regime, will anything less do the next time a threat arises...