University of Arizona - Desert Yearbook (Tucson, AZ)

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PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT FERDI- NAND Marcos signs a receipt for the controversial report on the assassi- nation of opposition leader and ex- senator Benigno Aquino. DEATH AND POLITICS IN THE PHILIPPINES In October 1984, over one year after the assassination of Philippine oppostion leader Benigno Aquino, an indepen- dent panel released its findings on the assassination and who ordered it. The report, pointing to Gen. Fabian Ver, was unfavorable to the Marcos administration and added to the pressure on Marcos to step down. Since Marcos took office as President of the Philippines, the islands have been in a near-constant state of martial law. Demonstrations protesting Marcos ' policies, martial law, or supporting the left-wing rebels, were common and violent, but by 1984, fueled by Aquino ' s assassination, they had be- come intense, requiring troops to put them down. The report claimed that officers in the nation ' s armed forces, headed by Ver, had ordered the killing. While the report did not accuse Marcos, testimony pointed to a strong involvement by him. Although Ver resigned, many people were angered by the lack of punishment for Ver, and feared a Marcos cover-up of the incident. RIOT POLICE BATTLE protestors in the Philippine capital of Manila. The riots increased sharply after the Aquino commission report was published. PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT FERDI- NAND Marcos signs a receipt for the controversial report on the assassi- nation of opposition leader and ex- senator Benigno Aquino.

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MINKS ARE THE IROH ' LADYS 4 LIBYAN DICTATOR MUAMMAR Khadafy addresses his nation dur- ing the standoff in London. British intelligence claimed that Khadafy himself ordered the attack. BRITISH PRIME MINISTER Mar- garet Thatcher maintained her fam- ous Iron Lady image throughout 1984, despite attacks against her on the political and personal level. STRIKING BRITISH MINERS ' wives show their support for their husbands in a rally in Yorkshire. The coal miner ' s strike has been go- ing on since 1983. ENGLISH POLITICAL TROUBLES Thatcher ' s government was assailed by more than bombs in 1984. Strikes by coal and dock workers, questions about the 1982 Falklands War, and an abrupt face-off with Libya plagued Thatcher ' s administration. UNIONS: Two strikes threatened England ' s ecomony in 1984. A shortage of dock workers caused by a two-week walkout by the Transport and General Workers Union closed England ' s ports in the summer of 1984. The closing created traffic jams at the Channel Port ferry crossings and caused several tense confrontations between strikers and angry mo- torists. More damaging to England ' s economy was the Mineworker ' s Union strike. The strike, held in protest of government plans to close 20 coal mines, took 140,000 of England ' s 180,000 coal miners from their jobs. The strike, which began in May, 1984, contributed to a significant drop in the nation ' s ecomony, and promised a cold winter for England. BELGRANO: A commission investigating England ' s han- dling of its 1982 war with Argentina over the Falkland Is- lands released its report in September, 1984 causing a stir in Parliament. In May, 1982, the British Navy sank the Argen- tinian cruiser Belgrano, killing over 200 seamen. British Ad- miralty officials said the ship had entered the declared war zone, making it an acceptable target. However, investigation of naval logs showed that the Belgrano had been leaving the zone when attacked, allowing opposition party member to accuse Thatcher of condoning an unprovoked attack on the ship. LIBYA: An incident at the Libyan Embassy in London in April, 1984, caused a serious break in Anglo-Libyan rela- tions. A group of Libyan dissidents and students studying in England, supporting the National Front for the Salvation of Libya, gathered for an anti-Khadafy protest in front of the Libyan Consulate on Embassy Row. Suddenly, a burst of machine gun fire burst out from an embassy window, wounding several students protesters and leaving an Eng- lish policewoman lying dead in the street. Police quickly surrounded the embassy and removed the wounded, and a unit of the Royal Air Force used in the raid on the terrorist- held Iranian Embassy in 1980 was put on alert. However, according to the 1948 Geneva agreement, entering the em- bassy with troops would be a declaration of war on Libya. Wishing to avoid an escalation of the already-tense situa- tion, and fearing a massacre of the 8,000 British citizens in Libya, the English government was limited to expelling the Libyan embassy staff, allowing the killer to go free, much to the chagrin of the British press. UNITED KINGDOM 23

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JAPAN, HONG KONG EXPERIENCE TURBULENT TIMES JAPANESE PROTESTORS DEMON- STRATE against increased Japanese militarism. Similar demonstrations were held to protest visits by nucle- ar armed U.S. Naval ships. HONG KONG HAS one of the high- est population densities on earth and an annual Gross National Prod- uct equal to 40 percent of all of Communist China. Two Pacific neighbors began major new political paths in 1984. In Japan, a rising sentiment for a stronger defense and the opening of better relations with South Korea blazed a new political trail for that nation. In the British colony of Hong Kong, the question of that nation ' s fate was finally answered. HONG KONG: After two years of debate between Britain and China, the people of Hong Kong were told of their fate: Hong Kong would revert to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, when Britain ' s lease on the city would expire. The Chinese were pleased to re-establish their claim, since Hong Kong ' s gross national product is equal to 40 percent of China ' s total GNP. The English were glad because they were able to get the Chinese to leave Hong Kong as a capitalist enclave until 2047. Hong Kong ' s population was not pleased, however. The announcement of the agreement caused some apprehension among Hong Kong ' s investors, and among the estimated 15 million refugees from communist China living in Hong Kong. Many of both groups planned to relocate to England or Taiwan when the change of goverment took affect. JAPAN: The government of Japan turned over two new political stones in 1984. After abandoning most military force after World War II, the Japanese gave into pressure from its Pacific allies and agreed to increase its share of Pacific alliance forces. This required a large increase in Ja- pan ' s defense funding, a move which brought protest from some Japanese. Japan also moved toward better relations with South Ko- rea in 1984. Japan and Korea had often been at odds with one another, and Japan occupied Korea from 1910 to 1945. How- ever, the September 1984 visit from South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan promised better relations. PACIFIC 25