US won’t intervene in RP political crisis this time

Washington welcomed President Arroyo’s pledge to lift a declared state of emergency soon and continues to closely monitor developments in its former colony, though it will not intervene in the Philippines’ turbulent political affairs, the United States’ top regional diplomat said yesterday.

US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill said he met Wednesday with Mrs. Arroyo and her security advisers to gain insights into the political situation.

He said he emerged "with a very clear understanding of the situation" and expressed confidence that the crisis would soon be over.

"We welcome President Arroyo’s desire to lift the state of emergency as soon as possible," Hill told reporters.

Mrs. Arroyo declared the state of national emergency last Friday to counter what she said was an alliance of communist rebels and "military adventurists" that aimed to topple her administration.

In preemptive actions to head off the alleged coup plot, authorities sacked three senior military and police officers whose units were implicated and banned street protests for that day.

There has been widespread condemnation of Mrs. Arroyo’s declaration, with activists likening it to martial law under former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, whose rule was ended by an army-backed popular revolt in 1986.

The President pledged Wednesday to give up her emergency powers "at the earliest possible time."

However, Hill also said "I don’t think this is a time for American diplomats to offer advice. It is for the Philippines to resolve the situation.

"We will not tell you what to do," Hill said. "The Filipino people need to figure out what to do. You have to work things out."

Hill also met with influential former presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos. Aquino has backed street protests calling for Mrs. Arroyo’s ouster, while Ramos has criticized the state of emergency declaration.

He said the political situation was best solved in the "democratic context" by Filipinos and it would not be wise for a foreign diplomat to give advice at the moment.

But Hill said Washington, a close military ally, would closely observe events.

"Obviously, from the US perspective, we want to see this dealt with in the democratic context that we’ve come to expect in the Philippines," he said.

"How concerned are we? We can assure you that we are watching the events," he said. "We are very much aware of the events."

Asked whether the US government would intervene if the situation got out of hand, Hill said: "That would be hypothetical."

Hill was in Manila for a two-day visit, scheduled before the alleged coup attempt, and left yesterday for Indonesia. — With AFP, AP