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Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Embattled Thaksin's resignation sets off new calls for Arroyo to quit (11:53 a.m.)
MANILA -- The Thai prime minister's decision to resign sparked new calls Wednesday by envious Philippine opposition groups for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to quit over vote-rigging allegations, saying she risks destroying the country.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, in a stunning turnabout following his recent election victory, announced Tuesday he will step down from office in the face of a mounting opposition campaign seeking his ouster over allegations of corruption and abuse of power.
"I envy our Thai comrades," left-wing Representative Teodoro Casino said.
"I hope Arroyo, too, will heed the writings on the wall."
While Thai opposition groups took just a few months to pressure Thaksin from power, Casino said Arroyo has tenaciously clung to power, despite continuous street protests that started in June last year, when allegations of corruption and rigging of the 2004 presidential elections against her surfaced.
"While Thaksin showed he has a heart, Arroyo will cling to power at all costs, even if our institutions, the congress, judiciary, executive get destroyed in the process," Casino said.
Renato Reyes, secretary-general of the large left-wing group Bayan, said Arroyo, unlike Thaksin, may have be afraid of landing in jail if she relinquishes power because of so many criminal allegations and evidence that have surfaced against her, along with a surfeit of political enemies.
Arroyo, celebrating her 59th birthday Wednesday, has denied any wrongdoing.
She survived three impeachment bids last September when her predominant allies in the House of Representatives blocked a potentially disastrous investigation into allegations including an alleged conspiracy by Arroyo, a former elections commissioner and military officials to rig the 2004 polls.
She has tried to project an air of normalcy amid the months long political impasse. On Wednesday, she distributed toys and gifts to children in a Manila orphanage then flew to her Pampanga home province north of Manila to hear Mass and celebrate her birthday with family and friends.
While street protests against Arroyo have been persistent, they have just been a fraction of the massive crowds in the army-backed "people power" that ousted late dictator Ferdinand
Marcos in 1986 and Joseph Estrada in 2001.
Arroyo declared a state of emergency to quell an alleged coup plot last February by disgruntled troops s to replace her with a civilian-led transition council and launched a crackdown on protests and the opposition linked to the failed coup.(AP) |
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