Don’t dismiss young officers’ rumbling – Enrile

Opposition senator and re-electionist Juan Ponce Enrile cautioned the military top brass and Malacañang not to dismiss the the art of military rebellion aired by young military officers to oppose the policy of appeasement being pursued by the Arroyo government in relation to dissident groups.

Enrile made the warning in reaction to statements made by newly-appointed chief of staff Lt. Gen. Diomedio Villanueva and new defense secretary Angelo Reyes that the military remains united and that the possibility of a military coup is remote.

"That is our experience too," Enrile said, referring to the time when he was still head of the defense establishment while young military officers plotted behind their backs to launch a coup against presidents Ferdinand Marcos and Corazon Aquino, both of whom he served in the same capacity.

Another factor that might bring about a military rebellion is the possibility of massive cheating in the coming May elections that would be perpetrated by those in power.

Enrile said he also doubted if soldiers in the field would fire at civilians to quell a popular movement against election fraud if called upon by those in government to control civil disturbances.

"Don’t ever think that soldiers in this country are robots. . . they are close to the people. They know the feeling of the people," Enrile stressed.

Members of the Young Officers’ Union (You) had earlier manifested their strong opposition to the Arroyo government’s plan to allow the holding of peace negotiations with the communist National Democratic Front (NDF) in another country.

Another proposal, this time from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that is also being given serious consideration by acting president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is the return of more than 40 MILF camps which were regained by government troops at grea tloss of life.

YOU spokesman Capt. Gregorio Altamirano said that a military uprising is in the offing should the Arroyo administration bow to the conditions being imposed by the rebels.

Commenting on the military offensive against the MILF last year, Altamirano said: "(Arroyo) officials should understand that this is not only Estrada’s all-out war policy, but a collective policy of all commanders in the field who know the situation."

"We have lost people. And it will not be for nothing," Altamirano warned.