DECEMBER 7, 1989
CERTAINLY cause for relief and some celebration was the orderly evacuation yesterday of at least 582 foreign tourists and residents from the embattled business and commercial district of Makati. For a while there, it had seemed as if the country would degenerate into another Lebanon, where foreigners are routinely abducted and held hostage by any member of terrorist groups and made victims of a war not of their making.
But to the credit of both government and rebel military. Their representatives were able to negotiate an orderly withdrawal of hotel guests and tenants of the occupied condominium buildings to prevent any unnecessary loss of lives that would have earned the condemnation of the international community.
Credit must go, first, to the officials of the Department of Tourism who initiated and planned the operation and opened talks with the mutineers for a truce during which the foreigners were moved away from the battle zone. Together with the management of the affected hotels, and officials of the embassies concerned, the DOT sought a way out of a potentially bloody impasse, sparing many innocent lives.
Likewise, the loyal military, represented in the negotiations by Brig. Gen. Arturo Enrile, deserves commendation for the handling of the talks with the mutineers and the subsequent ceasefire.
Finally, we are glad that the rebel military leaders showed some sense when they realized that they had no right to forcibly detain their civilian captives and agreed to let them go. They thus sacrificed what was admittedly a bargaining chip in their talks for a possible settlement with the government.
The rebels' decision to spare the foreigners from any further involvement in their sputtering coup attempt came as a surprise to many observers. A great number of people have come to expect the worst from the RAM boys who had reaped some reputation for violence because of their give-'em-hell tactics that had resulted in a number of deaths and injuries, especially among civilians.
As of this writing, a ceasefire is still in effect, and there is reason to hope it may lead to permanent cessation of hostilities, strong rhetoric from both sides notwithstanding. It is too late to bring back to life the soldiers and civilians who have died in the past few days. But it is not too late to stop further bloodshed and the erosion of the Filipino's international image.
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