! 6
Monday, July 28, 2003
Philippine
soldiers
surrender
By Hrvoje Hranjski
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MANILA, Philippines — Mutinous troops who
seized a Manila shopping and apartment complex
demanding the government resign ended a 19-hour
standoff late Sunday and returned to barracks without a
shot fired.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced the
crisis was over in a televised address, as experts defused
explosives the mutineers had rigged up inside the finan
cial district’s Glorietta complex.
“This is a triumph for democracy. May God bless
the Philippines,” the smiling and visibly relieved presi
dent said as aides with her at the presidential palace
applauded.
She said that 296 soldiers, including 70 officers,
were involved and that all would face prosecution based
on “the articles of war.”
Generals loyal to Arroyo had sent hundreds of troops
to surround the besieged complex, home to wealthy
Filipinos, foreign businesspeople and diplomats. The
surrender by nearly 300 renegade forces followed nego
tiations between their leaders and top government offi
cials — and repeated threats from Arroyo to crush the
rebellion with armor and sharpshooters.
The rebellious soldiers and officers, wearing cam
ouflage and red arm bands emblazoned with sun rays,
carried rifles as they were trucked away to a nearby
army base.
The Philippines has seen dozens of military upris
ings and coup attempts since the “people power” ouster
of dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.
Sunday’s rebellion erupted 24 hours ahead of a state
of the nation address by Arroyo — and amid rumors of
a coup plot — but she denied the standoff had loosened
her grip on the presidency.
“I assure the world that this event does not in any
way injure our national security and political stability,”
she said.
Renegade troops claimed to have 2,000 supporters,
but the group inside the complex was far smaller. There
appeared to have been little public support for the
mutiny, and Arroyo’s armed forces chief of staff, Gen.
Narciso Abaya, pledged loyalty to the president.
The mutineers had complained about corruption and
misconduct by senior officers and the government, as
well as favoritism within the ranks and problems with a
military retirement fund.
Some demanded an inquiry into a recent spate of ter
ror bombings in the country’s south and better control
over military weapons and ammunition distribution.
“We are not attempting to grab power. We are just
trying to express our grievances,” a senior mutiny
leader, navy Lt. Sr. Grade Antonio Trillanes, told
reporters. He said the explosives were for self-defense.
“If they try to take us down, we will be forced to use
it.”
Some emerged from the standoff saying they were
happy it was over. “We have gotten across our message
clear to the whole nation and maybe to the whole
world,” said marine Capt. Nicanor Paeldon.
The unrest at the Glorietta complex started after
Arroya ordered the arrest late Saturday of junior officers
and soldiers who deserted with their weapons and were
believed to be plotting a coup.
The United States has been working closely with the
120,000-strong Philippine military, which has been bat
tling Muslim separatists and communist rebels for three
THE BATTALION
\
Heard it through the grapevine
SHARON AESCHBACH • THE BATTALION
Senior finance major Chris Nabours searches for the "Big Harvest is held each weekend at the winery until Aug. 17 with
Kahuna" at the Messina Hof Winery & Resort located in Bryan a full day of events such as picking, stomping, a tour and wine
Saturday morning during this weekend's harvest festival, tasting.
Americans hunt for Saddam near his hometown
By D'Arcy Doran
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TIKRIT, Iraq — American forces focused
their hunt for Saddam Hussein around his
Tigris River hometown and reported a near-
miss Sunday in a raid to capture his new chief
of security — and perhaps the ousted dictator
himself. A U.S. soldier was killed south of
Baghdad, the latest death in a spike of guerril
la attacks.
Troops of the 4th Infantry Division, acting
on tips from informants, hit three farms in the
Tikrit region in a pre-dawn attack but learned
their specific target — the security chief —
had left the area the day before.
“We missed him by 24 hours,” said Lt.
Col. Steve Russell, who led the operation that
was witnessed by an Associated Press
reporter.
The raid was prompted by Thursday’s cap
ture in Tikrit of a group of men believed to
include as many as 10 Saddam bodyguards.
Soldiers learned from them that Saddam’s
new security chief — and possibly the dictator
himself — were staying at one of the farms,
Russell said.
Hundreds of soldiers, backed by Bradley
fighting vehicles, surrounded the farms as
Apache attack helicopters hovered above. No
shots were fired as about 25 men emerged
from the houses peacefully. They were
detained briefly and released later Sunday.
“The noose is tightening around these
guys,” said Col. James C. Hickey, a brigade
commander. “They’re running out of places to
hide, and it’s becoming difficult for them to
ii
They're running out of
places to hide, and it's becoming
difficult for them to move be
cause we’re everywhere.
— Col. James C. Hickey
U.S. Army
move because we’re everywhere. Any day
now we’re going to knock on their door, or
kick in their door, and they know it.”
Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, visited 4th Infantry command
ers in Tikrit on Sunday and later told reporters
in Baghdad that Saddam “was too busy trying
to save his own skin” to lead the insurgency
against American forces.
“He is so busy surviving he is having no
impact on the security situation here,” Myers
said. “It’s a big country, but we’ll find him,”
Myers met with Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez,
commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq,and
planned to leave Monday.
In Tikrit, the army would not name the man
they targeted, but said he was believed to have
taken over Saddam’s security after the June 17
arrest of Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti,
Saddam’s cousin and presidential secretary,
Mahmud, who was No. 4 on the U.S. listof
most-wanted Iraqis, controlled all access to
Saddam. He and Qusai Hussein, one of
Saddam’s son, were believed to be the only
two people trusted with knowledge of 1
Saddam’s whereabouts.
The U.S. military also had mounted amis
sion to get Saddam on Tuesday in Mosul after
killing Qusai and his brother, Odai, a military
source familiar with the operation told theAP.
The second raid by elements of the 101st
Airborne Division came after intelligence
sources reported Saddam as being at a differ
ent location in the city.
“We missed him by a matter of hours,” the
source said on condition of anonymity.
Later Sunday, U.S. forces raided the home
of Prince Rabiah Muhammed al-Habib in an
upscale west Baghdad neighborhood and
killed an undetermined number of people,
witnesses said. One hospital reported at least
five Iraqis killed.
Volume 1
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NEWS IN BRIEF
Dennehy
Continued from page 3
Bolton said Dennehy told him the down payment for
the Tahoe he bought came from “one of his girl
friends.”
“I find it very difficult to believe that anybody, in a
time like this, would be wanting to hold Baylor and the
Baylor coaching staff on trial,” Bolton said. “I would
think you would want to be more worried about your
loved one.”
But in a high-profile case, it’s not surprising that
such allegations have surfaced, said Peter Roby, direc
tor of Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of
Sport in Society.
Given the level of media interest, “there’s going to
be someone looking for the other big story because they
can’t keep regurgitating the same story,” Roby said.
“I would hope the public-at-large is going to want to
wait and be fair and see what happens,” he said. “If
there are any violations involved, those will come out in
due time.”
But for now, the focus should remain on the murder
case, he said.
“It’s life-or-death versus allegations of wrongdoing
with recruiting,” Roby said. “As much as sports is
important to our society, it needs to be kept in its prop-
U.S. prison population
growth hurts states
WASHINGTON (AP) - America's
prison population grew again in
2002 despite a declining crime
rate, costing the federal govern
ment and states an estimated $40
billion a year at a time of rampant
budget shortfalls.
The inmate population in 2002 of
more than 2.1 million represented
a 2.6 percent increase over 2001,
according to a report released
Sunday by the Bureau of Justice
Statistics. Preliminary FBI statistics
showed a 0.2 percent drop in over
all crime during the same span.
Some experts say mandatory
sentences, especially for nonviolent
drug offenders, are a major reason
inmate populations have risen for
30 years. About one of every 143
U.S. residents was in the federal,
state or local custody at year's end.
Others say tough sentencing
laws, such as the "three strikes"
laws that can put repeat offenders
behind bars for life, are a chief rea
son for the drop in crime. The
Justice Department, for example,
this year ordered Bureau of Prisons
officials to stop sending so many
white-collar and nonviolent crimi
nals to halfway houses.
Israelis release militants
before Sharon's U.S. trip
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel's
Cabinet voted Sunday to release
jailed Islamic militants, partially sat
isfying a Palestinian demand in
peace talks and strengthening
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's
hand ahead of a meeting with
President George W. Bush.
A senior Israeli official traveling
with Sharon said that about 540
prisoners would be released within
a week - about 210 from the mili
tant Hamas and Islamic Jihad
groups, about the same number
from Fatah, headed by Yasser
Arafat and Palestinian Prime
Minister Mahmoud Abbas, and the
rest criminals,
Ministers voted 14-9 to authorize
the release, reversing government
resistance to freeing members of
Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The two
groups are responsible for most of
the suicide bombings that have
killed hundreds of Israelis in three
years of violence.
The Palestinians have been call
ing for a mass release of
Palestinian prisoners, arguing that
at least 3,000 of the 7,700 in Israeli
jails present no security risk.
Dems ask Richardson
to chair convention
WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic
officials will nominate Bill
Richardson, the Hispanic governor
of New Mexico, to be chairman of
the party's 2004 national conven
tion, several Democrats said
Sunday.
Alice Huffman, president of the
California NAACP, will be nominat
ed to head the convention com
mittee.
The plan to nominate
Richardson as convention chair
man was mentioned in published
reports Sunday. Democratic
National Committee Chairman
Terry McAuliffe planned to
announce the decision Monday in
Boston.
"Governor Richardson is hon
ored to have been chosen,' 1
Richardson spokesman Billy
Sparks said Sunday.
New Mexico has a prominent
place in the primary calendar in
2004, holding a Democratic cau
cus on Feb. 3, when several states
have contests just a week after the
New Hampshire primary.
Troop
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