South Bend, February 16, 1986
The Election Fraud in the Philippines
Since the presidential election in the Philippines on February 7, the international community has followed the events in the Philippines with astonishment, disbelief, and finally indignation. Senator Richard Lugar who chaired the American election observer delegation said repeatedly that the election was fraudulent. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines in Manila declared outright that the election was a fraud and called on the Filipinos to exercise passive resistance. Nonetheless, last night President Ferdinand Marcos was declared the winner and confirmed in office for six more years by the National Assembly in Manila.
February 23, 1986
At the Brink of Civil War
The situation in the Philippines has come to such a pass in the last 48 hours that the country could any moment plunge into the abyss of a civil war. Since the Chief of Police, Fidel Ramos, has, together with the revolting faction in the army, established a camp in the Defense Ministry against the presidential palace, the military, police, and the general public has been divided. In stirring scenes, unarmed civilians threw themselves in front of advancing tanks in order to protect the rebels. At first, rumors were spreading that Marcos had left the country. But then, there were reports that Marcos was determined to crush the resistance and that he had already put artillery in position.
While the U.S. government had at first assumed an attitude of nonintervention, President Reagan and the Senate have now given Marcos to understand that they no longer consider the Marcos regime legitimate and therefore urged Marcos to relinquish power so that a peaceful transfer of the presidency to Corazon Aquino can take place. Above all, it was Senator Lugar who said unmistakably that in his view Marcos had no basis anymore to support his government. Many Filipinos abroad are now facing a difficult question of conscience. Thus, the Consul General of the Philippines in Lost Angeles resigned, saying: “I would rather be a traitor to one man than a traitor to my country.”
February 25, 1986
Two Presidents
For a moment, the Philippines were confronted with the peculiar situation of having two presidents in office. Ferdinand Marcos as well as Corazon Aquino were sworn in as presidents. Finally, Marcos, giving in to the pressure of the unfolding events, resigned. Thereby, a larger bloodshed was prevented. While Marcos fled with his family and a few of his supporters to the Clark Air Force Base in Manila, the masses stormed the presidential palace.
A number of remarkable events have happened in this transition of power in the Philippines. It was a revolution, which literally took place in front of the television cameras. It was a genuine popular uprising to achieve freedom and justice. The pictures of people in the streets, placing themselves in front of the armed government troops and forcing them to withdraw, remain unforgettable.
Addendum
[Corazon Aquino was the widow of the opposition leader Benigno Aquino who was murdered in 1983. She succeeded in bringing together the divided opposition against the dictatorial Marcos regime. She won the presidential election of February 1986, although Marcos had tried everything to systematically thwart the election. Corazon Aquino held the office of the presidency from 1986 to 1992. In February 1987, the referendum for a democratic constitution for the Philippines was accepted.]
February 28, 1986
Olof Palme (1927-1986)
The news that the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated in broad daylight in the streets of Stockholm came tonight like a bolt from the blue. With him one of the most distinguished personalities leaves the political stage in Europe. The news struck the world with consternation just as Sweden itself. Palme was 59 years old.