Aug 1, 2009
Cory Aquino remembered
I just found out that Cory Aquino died today, and felt compelled to write a little about her as I admire her greatly. The former Philippine president was one of the few principled political leaders that the country has ever known, and is still highly regarded today among Filipinos. She led the People Power Revolution in 1986 (a.k.a. EDSA I, a shorthand for the country's highway Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, where millions of people demonstrated during the February Revolution) that braved the offensive of Marcos's loyalist troops and, in a matter of four days, forced the exodus of Ferdinand Marcos, his wife Imelda and a handful of cronies to Hawaii, ushering in Asia's first chapter of democratisation. She had also been a longstanding champion of human rights and democracy, having overseen the redemocratisation of nearly all spheres of the country's political life, including the ratification by plebiscite of a progressive 1987 Constitution, the restoration of civil liberties, and the introduction of free and fair elections--arguably the freest since elections were first introduced by the Americans under colonial rule.
Cory's global influence cannot be overstated. A mere 7 months after People Power, Taiwan saw the formation of the island's first opposition party, Democratic Progressive Party, in its postwar history. The L-sign flashed by Cory's supporters became a standard scene in Taiwanese opposition rallies that year. Soon afterwards, in 1987 the dictator Chiang Ching-kuo was forced to end the 38-year martial rule in response to massive societal pressures. In South Korea, too, the slogan 'people's power' reverberated on the streets of Seoul, and in 1987 forced the military regime to hold the country's first democratic elections in decades. It is also well-known that Cory's example had influenced Pakistan's late pro-democracy leader, Benazir Bhutto, who drew considerable inspiration from People Power during her own struggles with the military in the 1980s. Scholars have also noted the spread of People Power--nonviolent active resistance by ordinary civilians--as a term to describe the events of the 1989 velvet revolutions across East-Central Europe and the Tian'anmen student uprising in the PRC.
Although her life has ended, history will remember Cory as an inspirational and influential revolutionary for generations to come. And quite unlike the despised Marcoses, whose autocratic rule and plunder of the country have left a devastating political as well as economic legacy in the Philippines, Cory will be remembered as a democracy fighter who stood among the people and for the people during the worst of times.
Cory's global influence cannot be overstated. A mere 7 months after People Power, Taiwan saw the formation of the island's first opposition party, Democratic Progressive Party, in its postwar history. The L-sign flashed by Cory's supporters became a standard scene in Taiwanese opposition rallies that year. Soon afterwards, in 1987 the dictator Chiang Ching-kuo was forced to end the 38-year martial rule in response to massive societal pressures. In South Korea, too, the slogan 'people's power' reverberated on the streets of Seoul, and in 1987 forced the military regime to hold the country's first democratic elections in decades. It is also well-known that Cory's example had influenced Pakistan's late pro-democracy leader, Benazir Bhutto, who drew considerable inspiration from People Power during her own struggles with the military in the 1980s. Scholars have also noted the spread of People Power--nonviolent active resistance by ordinary civilians--as a term to describe the events of the 1989 velvet revolutions across East-Central Europe and the Tian'anmen student uprising in the PRC.
Although her life has ended, history will remember Cory as an inspirational and influential revolutionary for generations to come. And quite unlike the despised Marcoses, whose autocratic rule and plunder of the country have left a devastating political as well as economic legacy in the Philippines, Cory will be remembered as a democracy fighter who stood among the people and for the people during the worst of times.
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