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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Mar 25, 2023 3:29:05 GMT
True, although the insurgency in Sarawak ended in 1990. With a 1986 PoD, the Malaysian communist insurgency may last a bit longer, but long enough to kill off any hope of a peace agreement between the MCP and the Malaysian government. Come to think of it, extending the insurgency might actually fit Tadiar’s foreign and ideological policy for obvious reasons. He wants to send volunteers to quell Malaysia's insurgency? Possible, although in the original version of the TL, we see Filipino troops fighting as volunteers against the Zapatistas, which will definitely happen in this reboot. A deployment of Filipino paramilitaries from Alsa Masa to Malaysia wouldn't be far fetched, although there is also the Sabah issue to consider. I would suspect that Tadiar would give up the Philippine claim to Sabah, only as a formality, in exchange for closer ties to Malaysia, Indonesia, and possibly Brunei. From a strategic perspective, Tadiar's plan to deploy Alsa Masa to Malaysia would allow the paramilitaries to keep themselves battle hardened, as well as forming the backbone of a training group that could train future recruits for the revamped national guard. In addition, he could also send a few troops from the AFP as a way of keeping them battle hardened as well, in exchange for the Malaysian government funding the salaries of both AFP and Alsa Masa volunteers, which would be crucial, as the Malaysian ringgit is a bit stronger than the Philippine peso. Imagine if that Philippine peso had undergone a massive hyperinflation. The amount of ringgits would still be helpful, even if the Tadiar regime would use up most of its dollar reserves, or what's left of them anyways. The next chapter will probably be on a lighter note, as I would have to cover the sporting events that happened. For TTL's 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 1988 AFC Asian Cup and EURO 1988, plus the 1986-87, 1987-88 NFL, NBA, and NHL seasons, and possibly the 1986-1988 MLB seasons. Yes, I will also be keeping TTL's 1989 World Series matchup between the Toronto Blue Jays and the San Diego Padres for the purpose of covering a much worse Loma Prieta Earthquake, and this time we get to see how a Dukakis administration would tackle it, instead of the Dole Administration. I'm still at a loss as to what to do with Al Gore though, but since I put him in the Dole administration because I had no idea of his political affiliation, this time around I'll keep Gore as a Democrat. I actually did enjoy writing the viewpoints of Paul Manafort in the original version, so it may not be far fetched if we get to see TTL's John Bolton sharing his viewpoints of the Dukakis, Jackson, and Kemp presidencies. I would think that this time around, we could see Bolton becoming a Senator or House Representative in a Jack Kemp presidency, though with a bit more power. |
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Post by astrorangerbeans on Mar 25, 2023 5:21:57 GMT
If were born in this TTL, the facial structure and personality traits will be different since my grandfather is working as an overseas worker in Saudi Arabia.
My dad and siblings would eventually flee since the rampage took place in Ortigas as well as bloody civil war would change the lives of our family.
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gillan1220
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Post by gillan1220 on Mar 25, 2023 5:56:13 GMT
Possible, although in the original version of the TL, we see Filipino troops fighting as volunteers against the Zapatistas, which will definitely happen in this reboot. A deployment of Filipino paramilitaries from Alsa Masa to Malaysia wouldn't be far fetched, although there is also the Sabah issue to consider. I would suspect that Tadiar would give up the Philippine claim to Sabah, only as a formality, in exchange for closer ties to Malaysia, Indonesia, and possibly Brunei. From a strategic perspective, Tadiar's plan to deploy Alsa Masa to Malaysia would allow the paramilitaries to keep themselves battle hardened, as well as forming the backbone of a training group that could train future recruits for the revamped national guard. In addition, he could also send a few troops from the AFP as a way of keeping them battle hardened as well, in exchange for the Malaysian government funding the salaries of both AFP and Alsa Masa volunteers, which would be crucial, as the Malaysian ringgit is a bit stronger than the Philippine peso. Imagine if that Philippine peso had undergone a massive hyperinflation. The amount of ringgits would still be helpful, even if the Tadiar regime would use up most of its dollar reserves, or what's left of them anyways. With Filipino troops in Mexico, some in Armenia for UN peacekeeping, and some in Malaysia, so it appear the AFP here is more of a foreign venture than in OTL where it is mostly domestic. But what becomes of Sabah? Is Tadiar secretly trying to fool Malaysia that the junta is helping them so he could have leverage to take Sabah? If were born in this TTL, the facial structure and personality traits will be different since my grandfather is working as an overseas worker in Saudi Arabia. My dad and siblings would eventually flee since the rampage took place in Ortigas as well as bloody civil war would change the lives of our family. This TL serves as a grim reminder that even how bad the Philippines of OTL is (poverty, corruption, and the return of the Marcoses to the Malacanang), it is nowhere as bad as this. TTL's Philippines does not have the gleaming skyscrapers of Makati nor the smart-city looking shopping malls of Ayala and SM. It's merely a poor backwater like Myanmar or Bangladesh combined. I would not be happy if my alt-self was born in TTL. My parents would have been only 25-26 at the time of the Ortigas Massacre. I'm not sure if my mom would join my cousins migrate to America in the 1980s. The same for my dad if he tries to apply for refugee status with a relative living in San Francisco. |
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Mar 25, 2023 7:25:05 GMT
If were born in this TTL, the facial structure and personality traits will be different since my grandfather is working as an overseas worker in Saudi Arabia. My dad and siblings would eventually flee since the rampage took place in Ortigas as well as bloody civil war would change the lives of our family. I would also suspect that your family might also be caught up in the Middle Eastern turmoil that you wouldn't be able to get back to the Philippines by the time Artemio Tadiar rises to power. And as a good chunk of Europe is also at loggerheads over the immigration from outside Europe, it would surprise the world that communist Yugoslavia, which is facing a crisis of its own, would actually open its doors to Filipino refugees stuck in the Middle East, which would spur the Anglophone countries to take the Filipino refugees in faster than the Yugoslav government. My parents might also end up as refugees inside Yugoslavia, before ending up in Canada ITTL. Possible, although in the original version of the TL, we see Filipino troops fighting as volunteers against the Zapatistas, which will definitely happen in this reboot. A deployment of Filipino paramilitaries from Alsa Masa to Malaysia wouldn't be far fetched, although there is also the Sabah issue to consider. I would suspect that Tadiar would give up the Philippine claim to Sabah, only as a formality, in exchange for closer ties to Malaysia, Indonesia, and possibly Brunei. From a strategic perspective, Tadiar's plan to deploy Alsa Masa to Malaysia would allow the paramilitaries to keep themselves battle hardened, as well as forming the backbone of a training group that could train future recruits for the revamped national guard. In addition, he could also send a few troops from the AFP as a way of keeping them battle hardened as well, in exchange for the Malaysian government funding the salaries of both AFP and Alsa Masa volunteers, which would be crucial, as the Malaysian ringgit is a bit stronger than the Philippine peso. Imagine if that Philippine peso had undergone a massive hyperinflation. The amount of ringgits would still be helpful, even if the Tadiar regime would use up most of its dollar reserves, or what's left of them anyways. With Filipino troops in Mexico, some in Armenia for UN peacekeeping, and some in Malaysia, so it appear the AFP here is more of a foreign venture than in OTL where it is mostly domestic. But what becomes of Sabah? Is Tadiar secretly trying to fool Malaysia that the junta is helping them so he could have leverage to take Sabah? If were born in this TTL, the facial structure and personality traits will be different since my grandfather is working as an overseas worker in Saudi Arabia. My dad and siblings would eventually flee since the rampage took place in Ortigas as well as bloody civil war would change the lives of our family. This TL serves as a grim reminder that even how bad the Philippines of OTL is (poverty, corruption, and the return of the Marcoses to the Malacanang), it is nowhere as bad as this. TTL's Philippines does not have the gleaming skyscrapers of Makati nor the smart-city looking shopping malls of Ayala and SM. It's merely a poor backwater like Myanmar or Bangladesh combined. I would not be happy if my alt-self was born in TTL. My parents would have been only 25-26 at the time of the Ortigas Massacre. I'm not sure if my mom would join my cousins migrate to America in the 1980s. The same for my dad if he tries to apply for refugee status with a relative living in San Francisco. I doubt that Tadiar would even want Sabah, given that the operation to get it back not only failed, but triggered the separatist revolt that plagued the Philippines. I would suspect that the Sultanate of Sulu might raise a ruckus about it though. Well, if it is any consolation, the Philippines becoming a cheap imitation of the US goes out of the window when the Chinese would bomb the country into dust during the Spratly Islands war, and as we will also see, the AFP itself is also engaged in criminal behavior to the extent that a good chunk of them would actually end up on trial at the Hague. Imagine Antonio Trillianes testifying at the Hague. The Marcoses are gone ITTL, but now you have the likes of Larry Gadon, Nicanor Faeldon, and even Elly Pamatong as the worst kinds of politician in both the original version and the reboot. Moreover, you now have both anti-Chinese and anti-Japanese hatred in the Philippines in both versions of TL. The former, because of the powerful Chinese Filipino minority that is practically subjected to racial abuse, and the latter, because Tadiar's decision to flood the Philippines with Japanese medical workers creates a similar backlash to the OTL backlash against POGO workers. Only add the grievances from the war, and you'd have Filipinos accusing Tadiar of being a Japanese puppet. So in this case, we may also see Japan asserting more of its national independence and emerge as a surprising third wheel. On the plus side, we now have the Bagatsings being debuted here. |
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oscssw
Senior chief petty officer
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Post by oscssw on Mar 31, 2023 2:56:50 GMT
Roman Slayer Congratulations on winning the 2023 award for best ATL. Well deserved.
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lordroel
Administrator
Member is Online
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Post by lordroel on Mar 31, 2023 7:41:44 GMT
Roman Slayer Congratulations on winning the 2023 award for best ATL. Well deserved. Next time Senior Chief. |
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Mar 31, 2023 15:12:19 GMT
Thanks for the congratulations note.
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Apr 2, 2023 5:39:43 GMT
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR: GET YOUR GAME ON
"When you mention the various names of coaches who coached various high school athletic teams, very few names are mentioned. The world knows of Coach Ken Carter, the man who took over the men's basketball team at Richmond High, but before the ascension of Ken Carter, California was lucky to be graced with the presence of an obscure former Filipino basketball player turned coach. Robert Jaworski, the legendary titan of Filipino basketball, had fled to the United States, along with his entire family, upon the coup and crackdown in EDSA in 1988 that allowed Artemio Tadiar to rise to power as the second dictator, surpassing even his former boss in Ferdinand Marcos as the most notorious Filipino to be known in the world. Though the senior Jaworski could claim his credentials as a winning coach with various Philippine basketball clubs, he faced hurdles when applying to become a high school basketball coach. However, thanks to his status as a political exile, Jaworski would eventually be hired by Mission High School in San Francisco as the new coach, although the Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989 also meant that he had to witness the devastating tragedy that resulted in thousands of dead civilians while commuting from their workplaces. His tenure as a humanitarian volunteer in helping out with search and rescue operations, as well as distributing emergency provisions had won him the admiration of the local community. San Francisco would emerge as one of the top destinations for the Filipino political exiles in North America, although Vancouver and Squamish could beg to differ. The chaotic situation in both the Philippines and the United States meant that his son Robert Jr. had to enter high school as a Grade 12 student in 1988. Like Ken Carter after him, Jaworski was strict with training his players, and he was insistent that they maintain their grade point average of 2.4. Unlike Ken Carter though, Jaworski was also encouraging many of his players, of whom a third of them were white and the remaining two thirds of them are a mixture of African-American, Latin American, and Asian-American students, to attend religious services. His strict training regimen, along with his earlier experience with coaching a professional basketball team in the Philippines, had allowed Mission High School to win six championships from 1991 to 1997, before his resignation as coach of Mission High School's basketball team in favor of John R. Wooden High School, where he would coach from 1997, until 2002, when the Second Korean War had broken out, and Jaworski had planned to become a political activist that would represent the entirety of California's Filipino exile community. Robert Jr. on the other hand, was eventually scouted by various colleges and universities from across the United States and Canada for his talents, resulting in his acceptance into Simon Fraser University. During his years from 1991 to 1995, Robert Jr, led SFU's basketball team into several playoffs, but all of them ending in disappointing heartbreaks. The only positive side to this was that he was selected in the 2nd Round, 53rd pick by the Houston Rockets." From 'The Royal Family of Basketball'
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1986 MLB Post Season Playoffs:
(AL East) Boston Red Sox vs (AL West) California Angels (California Angels win series 4-3)
Game One: California 6-1 Boston
Game Two: California 3-5 Boston
Game Three: Boston 2-6 California
Game Four: Boston 4-1 California
Game Five: Boston 7-3 California
Game Six: California 5-4 Boston (11 innings)
Game Seven: California 3-2 Boston (12 innings)
(NL East) NY Mets vs (NL West) Houston Astros (NY Mets win series 4-1)
Game One: New York 2-1 Houston
Game Two: New York 5-2 Houston
Game Three: Houston 7-4 New York
Game Four: Houston 3-5 New York
Game Five: Houston 0-1 New York (10 innings)
1986 World Series Finals:
Game One: New York 4-2 California
Game Two: New York 3-4 California
Game Three: California 2-1 New York
Game Four: California 2-3 New York
Game Five: California 7-2 New York
Game Six: New York 4-3 California (11 innings)
Game Seven: New York 4-5 California (bottom 9th inning, 1 Out)
California Angels win series 4-3
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1987 MLB Post Season Playoffs:
(AL East) Toronto Blue Jays vs (AL West) Kansas City Royals (Toronto Blue Jays win series 4-3)
Game One: Toronto 3-6 Kansas City
Game Two: Toronto 4-1 Kansas City
Game Three: Kansas City 2-3 Toronto (bottom 9th inning, 0 Out)
Game Four: Kansas City 5-1 Toronto
Game Five: Kansas City 6-3 Toronto
Game Six: Toronto 4-2 Kansas City
Game Seven: Toronto 3-1 Kansas City
(NL East) Montreal Expos vs (NL West) San Francisco Giants (San Francisco Giants win series 4-3)
Game One: San Francisco 2-4 Montreal
Game Two: San Francisco 3-0 Montreal
Game Three: Montreal 2-6 San Francisco
Game Four: Montreal 4-1 San Francisco
Game Five: Montreal 4-3 San Francisco (10 innings)
Game Six: San Francisco 2-1 Montreal (11 innings)
Game Seven: San Francisco 4-2 Montreal (11 innings)
1987 World Series: Toronto Blue Jays (AL East) vs San Francisco Giants (NL West) (Toronto Blue Jays win series 4-2)
Game One: San Francisco 2-1 Toronto
Game Two: San Francisco 2-3 Toronto (bottom 9th inning, 2 outs)
Game Three: Toronto 3-6 San Francisco
Game Four: Toronto 5-2 San Francisco
Game Five: Toronto 4-2 San Francisco
Game Six: San Francisco 3-4 Toronto (game ended at the top of the 9th inning)
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CONTROVERSIAL ARGENTINE-BORN PHILIPPINE NATIONAL MEN'S FOOTBALL TEAM ASSISTANT COACH FACES BACKLASH FROM WITHIN THE FILIPINO PUBLIC OVER PRO-TADIAR COMMENTS
Sydney Herald
November 1, 2015
(Kabankalan, PHILIPPINES) - As if the controversies from his football career hadn't taken a toll on his life, Argentine national and Philippine national men's football team assistant coach Diego Simeone has faced an official reprimand from the President of the Philippine National Football Federation Mariano Araneta for his questionable actions yesterday. Simeone, who was infamous in football circles as the dirty player who played a role in prematurely ending the football career of Gareth Southgate and fighting Owen Hargreaves during the 2002 FIFA World Cup Final in Yokohama, Japan, was sharply criticized by Araneta for making controversial comments on the eve of the commemoration of the former Tadiar dictatorship's establishment. Since his tenure as assistant coach of the Philippine national men's football team, Simeone has been taking orders from the head coach, Miroslav Bojko. However, his comments praising the late Artemio Tadiar had triggered a backlash from relatives of the victims that were murdered on orders of the late dictator. Moreover, Simeone's comments had also earned him admiration from the growing segment of the Filipino far-right extremist community, whose slavish devotion to the preservation of the Tadiar legacy has caused numerous headaches throughout Asia, and while non-Filipino admirers of Tadiar could be found in numerous Latin American, African, and Asian nations, there are also an equal amount of opponents of the Tadiar dictatorship in those same regions. In Vietnam though, the Tadiar regime is praised by the post-communist Vietnamese government for its role in violently ending the communist regime in Hanoi through the infamous Revolution of Dignity.
"Who the hell does that foreign moron think he is, making comments and disrespecting the victims of that military dictator?" says prominent politician Raymond Bagatsing, when asked about Simeone's controversial comments. "I wouldn't be surprised if he turns out to have been an admirer of whoever was the dictator of Argentina when they lost to the British in that war over some little island in the South Atlantic!"
Simeone has often described himself as a proud Argentine nationalist, whose decision to join the Philippine national men's football team as its assistant coach, was driven by both idealistic and ideological conviction. He laments the 'tragedy' of the Philippines losing its connection to the wider Spanish speaking world, and during his work with the Azkals (the nickname of said men's football team), Simeone would often encourage his players to learn Spanish as a way of connecting their country's spiritual and cultural ties to the Hispanophone world. However, Simeone's minor anti-British sentiment that started from his fight with Hargreaves and Southgate has also attracted offers from national teams of countries that have a hostile relationship with Great Britain, most notably India and Ireland, as well as Russia and Iran. However, Simeone is adamant on helping Bojko with managing the Philippine national men's football team until there is an opportunity to take over the head coach position, should Bojko either resign or be fired.
"Diego is doing a great job with the physical training of the football players, but I sometimes worry about some of the players that are being influenced by him," comments Bojko when asked about Simeone's coaching methods. "However, I must also praise him for pitching the idea of establishing football academies in the Philippines for all the young children without any families of their own, since he saw first hand of those horrible camps they call the Goyo Academy, where they indoctrinate those students into becoming fanatical nationalists willing to kill their enemies for the glory of their nation."
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CHINA NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM HIRES OWEN HARGREAVES AS NEW COACH, TRIGGERING CRITICISM FROM WITHIN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION FOR HARGREAVES'S LACK OF INTERNATIONAL COACHING EXPERIENCE
Japan Times
August 15, 2016
(Beijing, CHINA) - Former English national team footballer and coach of Woking F.C., based in Surrey County, England, has been accepted as the new coach of the Chinese national men's football team, following the resignation of Gao Hongbo after a devastating friendly loss to Vietnam, in they were humiliated 4-1. Hargreaves, who was due to finish his tenure as coach of Woking F.C. in the English National League, had received an unexpected offer from the Chinese Football Association after receiving similar offers from various other English clubs like Queens Park Rangers and Swindon Town, as well as football clubs in North America and Asia. Moreover, Hargreaves was also approached by both the Hong Kong and Singapore football associations to coach their national men's teams before receiving the offer from the CFA. In the end, Hargreaves had accepted the offer to coach the Chinese men's national team, but not before being subjected to a barrage of criticisms, both from within the English public and the Chinese football association leadership, for his lack of international coaching experience.
"Can we trust a man who has no experience coaching a team beyond his level? This reeks of desperation on part of our football association leadership," comments MF Lin Liangming, when asked by Chinese state media about Hargreaves's new position within the national men's team. "Although I like to admit it, it's better that we nabbed this Hargreaves guy than our wayward cousins in Hong Kong."
Hargreaves's acceptance of the position in the Chinese national men's team had also prodded the Chinese FA to accept several assistant coaches from England and the Netherlands as well, though they remained unnamed, as they haven't finalized their positions yet. In addition, the Chinese FA had also faced intense scrutiny when their ambitious plans to reform Chinese football had ran into problems, stemming from a neglected football tradition and a lack of a formal youth training system that would enable the Chinese FA to develop home grown talent, as opposed to its neighbors in the Taiwanese, Korean, Japanese, and Filipino football teams. Furthermore, while China has struggled in recent times with its defensive plays and chronic goalkeeping issues that was exploited by the Vietnamese during their friendly. However, the growth of Chinese football ultras has become a major problem in Asian football, as the fans belonging to the ultras have turned out to be hardcore nationalists. Football hooliganism has only become a recent problem, which originated from the 2002 FIFA World Cup final in Yokohama, when English and Argentine fans had fought each other in the aftermath of England's stunning victory that was sealed with David Beckham's legendary goal.
However, lingering political tensions with its neighbors have also played a role in the growing football hooligan problems, with the Philippines and Indonesia emerging as powerhouse hooligan powers. While Indonesia's football hooliganism is mainly aimed at fights between fans of various Indonesian football clubs, Filipino football hooliganism is mainly dominated by right-wing extremists, many of whom are veterans of the Second Korean War and are also alumni of the notorious Goyo Academy schools that were infamous for breeding the worst war criminals that emerged in the aftermath of said conflict. In fact, another infamous match between China and the Philippines that was played, which was back in June 3 of this year, the Philippines eked out a surprising 1-0 win that saw a lot of red cards issued to both sides, and fans of both teams would eventually outdo even their English and Argentine predecessors in hooligan fights.
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"Russian football has gone down the drain when UEFA had unilaterally expelled the former Soviet Union from its organization, due to its atrocities that were committed during the Second Russian Civil War. While Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Belarus, and Ukraine would be admitted into UEFA, Russia's proposed entry was vetoed by Poland and Germany because of its war crimes. UEFA and FIFA had made it clear that the majority of the UEFA members do not want to play with any Russian team as long as they are in said organization. In the end, the emerging Russian Football Association had no choice but to apply for membership in the Asian Football Confederation, along with all of the Central Asian and Caucasian republics of the former Soviet Union. However, the entrance of Russia, the Caucasian and Central republics of the former Soviet Union into the Asian Football Confederation had raised an issue within UEFA, as Turkey is also a UEFA member, but the majority of its territories are in Asia. Furthermore, complications arose when Israel applied to join UEFA, as it was kicked out of the AFC several decades before. The geographical complications that UEFA faced would eventually be resolved, with Turkey being allowed to remain in the organization, Israel being allowed to join, and Russia plus Kazakhstan refusing to join UEFA anyways. The Russian football leagues would face another challenge, due to its geography and the number of teams that are active, both in the European part of Russia and the Asian part of Russia. In 1995, the Russian Premier League would introduce the Western and Eastern Conferences, in a similar system to both Major League Soccer and the hockey league's conference system, with a restriction: there would be no inter-conference matches, as to avoid needless long distance traveling between teams from the two opposite conferences. Furthermore, to comply with AFC Champions League team allocation based on the geographic regions, the Russian teams in the Western Conference would compete in the West Region, while the Russian teams in the Eastern Conference would compete in the East Region. An additional restriction was also placed on the Russian Premier League, as both conferences could only have one top team that could directly qualify to the AFC Champions League group stage, and two teams that are ranked second and third in the league table would qualify to play in the playoff round to decide their fate in the AFC Champions League." From 'The Turbulent History of Post-Soviet Russia's Football', released by Russia Today, October 12, 2015
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Apr 16, 2023 18:24:32 GMT
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE: NORMALIZATION
"The crisis within the Philippines had reached a boiling point when the Philippine peso started to lose its value, as they were still pegged to the US dollar. 1 US dollar was now worth 76 pesos and 32 centavos, and it managed to stabilize itself during the first few years of the Tadiar regime. During Tadiar's first few years in power, the Philippine peso stayed at 1 US dollar worth 87 pesos and 15 centavos, but after the Chinese bombing campaign against the Philippines, and the worsening humanitarian situation caused by the Spratlys conflict, the inflation rose once again. The situation has reached a point where Tadiar had no choice, but to formally close down the Central Bank of the Philippines, as they could no longer perform their duties properly. Thus, when the Tadiar regime had launched its major constitutional reforms, which was dominated by a massive overhaul of its legislative system from a bicameral system to a tricameral system, the new Philippine Estadopeso was declared a new official currency of the state. To ensure that the Philippine economy is being rebuilt, the Estadopeso would not be pegged to any other currency or any precious metals, but pegged to the entire nation's intellectual and physical productive labor of its workforce. To ensure that the economic recovery would go smoothly, the Tadiar regime would issue the Labour Treasury Certificate, which would be issued as currency to all workers placed in large scale reconstruction projects and other public works. Workers who earned these LTCs would spend it on goods and services, which would then trigger additional demands for new jobs geared towards meeting the public hunger for those goods and services they require. Coupled with its diplomatic isolation, the Philippines was gradually able to recover from the devastation of the post-Spratlys conflict. However, Vietnam was not as lucky as the Philippines, as the same kind of devastation that China had inflicted on them had resulted in the suspension of the Doi Moi reforms, which contributed to the economic crisis of their own in Vietnam. That economic crisis would not only play a major role in the 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis, but would eventually lead to the downfall of Vietnam's communist government during the Green Revolution, in which the Vietnamese Green Shirts (backed by the Philippines, the US, and Japan), would trigger a violent uprising and will play a role in the brutal execution of the entirety of Vietnam's communist government." From 'Money and Power: The Unheard Financial Side of the Era of Rogue Generals', released by ABC Documentaries.
--- PHILIPPINES FACES ADDITIONAL TURMOIL AS POPULAR ANTI-MARCOS FIGURES ARE ASSASSINATED IN COORDINATED ATTACK
Vancouver Sun
November 1, 1988
(Manila, PHILIPPINES) - The ongoing political crisis in the Philippines has reached a boiling ppoint when two prominent figures from a popular revolution that overthrew former strongman Ferdinand Marcos were assassinated in a coordinated campaign of targeted killings. Former Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile was killed by a disgruntled soldier with an anti-tank rifle, while Fidel Ramos, another former Marcos official that defected to the Aquino camp, had been shot by a hired gun while getting off a vehicle in the former dictator's home province of Ilocos Norte. The assassinations come at a time when the communist New People's Army are beginning to launch their campaigns once again, as the Aquino government has faced increasing unpopularity over their inability to solve the chronic economic issues stemming from the last years of the Marcos dictatorship. However, newly appointed Defense Minister Artemio Tadiar has also warned that former Marcos loyalist forces are turning to terrorism in order to trigger panic within the Philippine public. Furthermore, the trial and incarceration of the surviving members of both the Marcos and Romualdez families in a series of new prison camps in isolated regions of the Philippines had been a source of outrage for said loyalists. It has also reached a point where pro-Marcos loyalist remnants are engaging in gun battles with government forces and Tadiar-aligned Marines throughout the Philippines, giving the country the image of a nation on the brink of societal collapse.
"I'm starting to think that Macoy was right, though idiotic he may be. Corazon Aquino doesn't know what she's doing, and if she can't fix the Philippines's problems, then she needs to step aside and let someone with an actual political experience to take over!" says one of the Aquino supporters that has grown frustrated with his own leader. "Her political inexperience is being taken advantage of by the communists and the radicals that fought for Artemio Tadiar. This is not a healthy way to run a country."
The growing political instability in the Philippines has also affected its population that are currently employed overseas, as their fears of a military coup could prevent them from returning to their country of origin. While the former Marcos regime may have tolerated the exodus of better educated Filipinos to other nations where they could use their skills to benefit the countries that are hosting them, the Aquino government has failed to address the issues that would have allowed her brethren that are employed overseas to return to the Philippines. Additonally, the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East has also made the situation of the migrant worker population much worse, as fears of escalation of conflict between Iraq and Iran may force other neighboring Middle Eastern nations to temporarily host the migrant worker populations until the conflict subsides. Meanwhile, the Council of Europe is holding talks with the United States on the possibility of taking in the Filipino refugees that might not be able to return to their homelands, should Artemio Tadiar launch a coup against the Aquino government, and has offered solutions to help the Aquino government maintain its position in the face of widespread anger at her inexperience.
"I do not want to admit this, but some of the people protesting against the President of the Philippines have a legitimate grievance, stemming from the civil war that they had. It isn't easy to rebuild a country that had just suffered from a dictatorship," comments US President Reagan, during a press briefing in the White House. "Unfortunately, the people taking advantage of the crisis within the Philippines are so eager to drag the country back into civil war that they're dealing with a potential rise of another dictatorship."
--- "Iran-Contra-Tadiargate was one of the main reasons for the shocking defeat of the Republican candidate Bob Dole, as Michael Dukakis was able to effectively campaign effectively on the platform of reigning in the rogue agents that were working within the CIA. In addition, the Halloween surprise in the Philippines had also exposed the outgoing Reagan administration's complicity in the disintegration of the hastily rebuilt Filipino democracy, as the Tadiargate scandal had not only exposed the colorful opinions of certain CIA agents towards President Aquino, but that several renegade factions were also complicit in shipping weapons to the Tadiar faction during the Filipino Civil War. In fact, the clampdown on protesters in EDSA, starting on November 2, 1988, had revealed that certain advanced American weapons were employed by the Philippine Constabulary gendarmerie to suppress the protesters. Not only was tear gas employed to help with the pacification of the riots, but rubber bullets were also used as well. However, the protesters were rioting against the President's increasing ineffectiveness in tackling the economic crisis that has gripped the country as a whole, and overseas remittances started to trickle down, until foreign currency was no longer arriving on Philippine soil. Furthermore, the same political turmoil in the Philippines has forced its overseas migrant population that are working outside the country to approach various foreign embassies for political asylum, as many of these very same migrant workers were connected to the veterans of the recent civil war. These political refugees, along with those that have been displaced by the fighting, were desperate to relocate to the Anglophone countries, which was a major challenge in itself, as the 1980s was still a time where racial tensions between various races inside the West are still going strong. Once again, the Catholic clergy was summoned to lead the protesters to march for peace, pleading with President Aquino to step down, until new elections could be held. This time around though, there was going to be no election. On the anniversary of the EDSA revolution in 1989, Artemio Tadiar and his loyal followers had struck. Backed by the disgruntled elements of both the Philippine Constabulary and the regular military, they stormed Malacanang and detained the President and her surviving family, as they were escorted to Fort Bonifacio, in the very same cell where Ninoy Aquino had once stayed in. The brutal coup launched by Artemio Tadiar and the establishment of his dictatorship was one of the major foreign policy crises that the Dukakis administration would face, but sadly, Dukakis would not live long to resolve it, leaving his Vice President, Jesse Jackson, to deal with the mess caused by Tadiar." From 'The Rogue Generals Era', directed by Julian Assange.
--- NAIL BITER FINISH FOR 1988 US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AS MICHAEL DUKAKIS WINS PRESIDENCY, WILL BECOME 41ST PRESIDENT
New York Times
November 4, 1988
![]()  President-elect Michael Dukakis addresses his supporters during election night as the Democrats cruised to a nail biting victory over the Republicans, amidst the Johnny Depp controversy.(Washington) - Amidst the controversy surrounding the death of local Tennessee native Johnny Depp in the Philippines from his ordeal related to the civil war that was fought recently, the US presidential election looked to be a huge nail biter as the Republican Party had been narrowly defeated by the Democrats. Defeated candidate Bob Dole had called his opponent Michael Dukakis to congratulate him for his victory, and also stunned his supporters by announcing his retirement from politics altogether, citing the need to step back and let whoever will try to fix the Republican Party to step up. Although Vice Presidential candidate Jack Kemp had also congratulated his Democrat opponent in Jesse Jackson, he did not announce his retirement, saying that the Republican Party needs someone to re-establish order in the house. The Democratic victory in the 1988 US Presidential elections is an indication of the American public's growing frustration with the outgoing Reagan administration, as the Iran-Contra-Tadiargate scandal was viewed by the American people as the main reason for not only the collapse of the Presidential ambitions of impeached Vice President George H.W. Bush, but President Reagan himself is facing a possible impeachment over his own role in the same scandal that has effectively destroyed outgoing VP Bush.
"Our victory is an indication that the American people want change, desire for change, and are desperate to see change. Under my administration, there will be tough challenges ahead for us, but also unique new opportunities to rebuild our relationship with the American people, and our international partners," says Presidential candidate and electorial winner Michael Dukakis. "Rebuilding America anew begins with our communities, and together, we will also fix the problems that plagued our communities."
One of the major campaign promises and platforms of President-elect Dukakis is to re-examine the highway projects that have come to dominate much of the American nation, as critics of the double arch structures that are being constructed have pointed out the dangers of building such a structure. Moreover, the increased number of vehicles that are being used by ordinary Americans are contributing to the increase in air pollution, according to environmentalists, who have also pointed out that such an increase can potentially lead to scenarios where acid rains may occur. However, it is in the foreign policy sphere that the Dukakis campaign team faced the biggest hurdles, as with the growing political crisis in the Philippines, as well as the coup that recently overthrew Mikhail Gorbachev in the Soviet Union by conservatives led by Anatoly Lukyanov, that may have a major impact on US-Soviet relations. In addition, the coup in the Soviet Union has also exposed a deep rift within the Warsaw Pact, as several communist nations within the bloc have condemned the coup as unconstitutional, while other communist nations have supported the coup. Finally, the ongoing war in Afghanistan, as well as the conflict between Pakistan and India would also grab the attention of the newly incoming American president.
"Let us not forget that the ongoing conflict in the Indian subcontinent has benefited the Soviets the most, as we are now forced to spend more resources in defending Pakistan instead of trying to bleed the Soviets dry," says prominent former NSA advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, who is expected to be named as the new Secretary of State under the incoming Dukakis administration. "India has gifted the victory in Afghanistan to the Soviets with their stunt at the border with Pakistan, though of course, the separatist movement cultivated by Pakistan as a means of destabilizing India is also at fault as well."
--- Portions from the Interview with Former Vice President of the Philippine Government-in-Exile Rogelio Singson
Deutsche Welle, released on March 12, 2017
Discussing the 'EDSA Dos' Revolution that Led to the Rise of the Tadiar Dictatorship
Interviewer: Before your rise to power as Aquilino Pimentel's Vice President, you were known in business circles as the de facto leader of the overseas Filipino Chinese financial community, despite the Gokongweis, Tans, Sys, and many other people that are claiming the top spot. In your time as a political figure within the Filipino political exile community, you were able to give speeches to your fellow Filipinos who are living in Vancouver, Canada, about what you saw during the 1989 EDSA Revolution number two, or as they call it in the Philippines, EDSA Dos. Can you please explain the difference between the revolution in 1986, and the one that broke out in 1989?
Singson: Certainly. (pauses) The 1989 EDSA Revolution was ironically enough, aimed at deposing Corazon Aquino in favor of holding new elections where competent politicians with real governing experience would campaign for the seats of President and Vice President. I was a part of the Aquilino Pimentel campaign team, where I worked to canvass any barangay that might have a chance of throwing their support behind Mr. Pimentel. Although of course, the new elections were never held on account of Artemio Tadiar seizing power, Pimentel saw my hard work in trying to get him elected as the main reason why he selected me to become the vice president of the government-in-exile that's hosted in Canada.
Interviewer: Was the 1989 EDSA Revolution far bloodier than the one that happened in 1986?
Singson: You have to understand that the 1989 EDSA Revolution actually began in November of 1988, when both Fidel Ramos and Juan Ponce Enrile were assassinated by so-called terrorists from the Bagong Lipunan group. In reality, the assassins were hired contract killers paid for by Artemio Tadiar to instigate enough political turmoil to seize power. The protests in November of 1988 had began with a demonstration in EDSA, but events in Laoag and Cabanatuan had played a bigger role.
Interviewer: In what capacity did events in Laoag and Cabanatuan play a role in the growing destabilization inside the Philippines?
Singson: Laoag and the entirety of the Ilocos region, or what we now call the Ilocos Prefecture within the Samtoy Region, had been a Marcos stronghold, and loyalties to the former Marcos dictatorship are hard to kill off. Curiously enough, La Union Prefecture is the home province of the late military dictator, and so you'd see a lot of political instability there. However, it's Nueva Ecija that has emerged as the hotspot for the biggest political instability, mostly because you have divided and fractured loyalties that have emerged as a result of the civil war.
Interviewer: As I understand it, there were major protests in those areas, right?
Singson: Yes, and I also have to add that Batangas Prefecture became a major hotspot for the pro-Tadiar faction, mostly because it is also where the war against the communists took place during the civil war. It is also within Selurong Region that you have the largest population of neo-fascists that reside there.
Interviewer: Okay, moving on. Could you please describe the coup that propelled Artemio Tadiar into power?
Singson: Certainly. As I've said, the protests in Manila, Cabanatuan, and Laoag had played a role from November of 1988 onwards, but there was a pause in the protests because of the Christmas holidays. Remember that Christmas, New Year's, and Epiphany are the three biggest events in the Philippines. Thus, you'd see no protests breaking out during those times. It was only when failed assassination attempt was made on not only Tadiar, but Ricardo Morales, Edgardo Doromal and Saulito Aromin on Valentine's Day, that was when pro-Tadiar supporters began to stage riots throughout the Philippines. It was only on February 22, 1989, that Tadiar finally launched his coup against the Aquino government.
Interviewer: I do seem to recall the time when a prominent cleric named Cardinal Sin had led the procession throughout EDSA, and when he denounced the coup by Tadiar the next day after the coup was launched, did he do something that everyone around the world should have paid attention to. Do you remember what I was talking about?
Singson: Yes, because I was actually in EDSA when Cardinal Sin had lit himself on fire, to protest the coup. It did electrify the opponents of the coup for a bit, but the anti-Aquino protesters that were calling for her to step down, were now divided between joining the Tadiar camp, and forming a separate faction that wanted new elections, but without the participation of former President Aquino.
Interviewer: I'm also surprised that you managed to survive the incoming massacre after Tadiar had deployed military assets into EDSA, and many of the troops that would later play a role in killing the protesters came from both the Philippine Constabulary and the Philippine Marine Corps. What was the difference between Tadiar's massacre at Ortigas in 1986 and the massacre in EDSA three years later?
Singson: Unlike what happened in 1986, this time around Tadiar had no qualms about shooting protesters and brutally suppressing the protests. By the time EDSA Dos had ended in bloodshed, the number of victims killed in the 1989 EDSA revolution had quickly surpassed the number killed in the 1986 revolution. Unfortunately, President Aquino and her family were locked up in Fort Santiago, while many of her cabinet ministers were able to flee for the safety of various foreign embassies. Former Vice President Salvador Laurel fled to the safety of the former South Korean embassy, while Jamie Ongpin would flee to the Australian Embassy. Only Solita Monsod and Augusto Sanchez would join the Tadiar camp, and would remain loyal, even after Tadiar's death.
Interviewer: The coup launched by Tadiar also affected many Filipinos that were trapped in foreign countries, since they feared returning to their homeland, now that another dictatorship was established. You've also fled from the Philippines too, right?
Singson: Yes. I first fled to Macau, then Hong Kong, and finally to Canada. The Filipinos that were stuck working in Malaysia and Singapore were asking for political asylum in the Canadian, American, and Australian embassies, while the Filipinos that are already working in affluent Western countries had to apply for a special permanent residency status, citing fears of political persecution, should they return. However, it's the Filipino migrant workers in the Middle East that proved to be the biggest trouble, since they were also stuck in a literal war zone as well, and not a lot of embassies in the Middle East were offering any services due to the conflict between Iraq and Iran. Keep in mind that Europe was also beginning to get used to the idea of a multicultural society, and old prejudices die hard. While Western Europe was debating on how many Filipino refugees would be taken into Europe, one government is already pushing to admit more refugees than Western Europe.
Interviewer: You are of course, referring to Yugoslavia being the first European nation to take in the Filipino refugees from the Middle East, right?
Singson: Yes, and the funny thing is, that both Iraq and Iran had maintained their diplomatic ties with Yugoslavia, and had formally asked them to take in all the foreign migrant workers that were stuck in their respective countries. Yugoslav Foreign Minister Budimir Loncar arrived in Tehran to meet with the Iranian military junta, so they can discuss the process of evacuating the Filipino migrant workers that were stuck in the war zones. Additionally, Mr. Loncar would also give the Filipino migrant workers an option of seeking services in whichever embassy of their own choice once arriving on Yugoslav soil. In a way, the Filipino political exiles can thank Mr. Loncar for saving their lives by acting as the middle man between them and the governments of the countries that they want to reside in as refugees.
--- COUP IN MANILA! DEFENSE MINISTER GONE ROGUE AS MILITARY OFFICERS SEIZE POWER, PRESIDENT AQUINO AND FAMILY PLACED UNDER HOUSE ARREST!
Sydney Herald
February 22, 1989
 Supporters of the military coup led by Artemio Tadiar greet the soldiers as they arrive in Manila from all over the Philippines. (Manila, PHILIPPINES) - In what was a foregone conclusion after months of political instability, several officers within the Philippine military, led by newly appointed Defense Minister, Artemio Tadiar, has launched a coup against the Aquino government. The coup d'etat had kicked off at around 3 AM, when the nightlife around the Philippine capital is dying down. Numerous witnesses had reported that a large convoy of military trucks and other armored vehicles that were obtained during the Filipino Civil War had started to converge around Pasig River, across from Malacanang Palace. The actual coup started with Special Forces soldiers and Marines silently entering Malacanang Palace, with Tadiar personally leading the coup as they managed to round up the household staff that was employed by the Aquino family. Finally, President Aquino herself and her children were rudely awokened by a single gunshot as the Marines and Special Forces soldiers pointed their guns at them, and were dragged from their beds. As of right now, the deposed President and her children are locked up in Fort Bonifacio, in the same cell where the deposed President's late husband was locked up. Moreover, other military units had also launched similar operations that paralyzed the entire provincial and municipal governments, often enlisting the support of barangay captains in exchange for financial compensation. In addition to President Aquino's arrest, several of her cabinet ministers, except for Ms. Solita Monsod and Augusto Sanchez, whose announcement of their defection to the Tadiar camp had spared them from imprisonment. Yet, at the same time as the arrest of the entire Aquino government, several former members of the notorious Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, the political party of former President Ferdinand Marcos, had been assassinated by paramilitary units allied to its breakaway group, the Kilusang Pambansang Soberanya, of which former Vice President-elect Arturo Tolentino was party leader.
"The tragedy of the Philippines is now being exposed for the entire world to hear. The icon of Filipino democracy has now been deposed by a man most notoriously known for his role in killing those peaceful protesters at Ortigas Avenue, and I fear what he would do to the protesters if they came out in opposition to his coup," says Ramon Mitra Jr., who managed to avoid getting arrested by fleeing for the safety of the New Zealand Embassy after a sympathetic soldier who was a part of a unit that Tadiar had commanded had warned him of the imminent arrest. "Our democracy is being undermined once more, and there is no telling what kind of nightmare Artemio Tadiar has in store for the Philippines."
Various protests against President Aquino's inability to handle a gargantuan economic crisis that resulted from the recent civil war and the uprising that toppled the former dictator in Ferdinand Marcos were held throughout the Philippines. Yet, communist guerrillas still smarting from the devastating counteroffensive launched by the Tadiar-backed renegade military forces had regained their initiative by launching a new attack on Tayabas, with the sole intention of reforming the Tayabas People's Republic, the self-proclaimed communist breakaway state that was formed during the Filipino Civil War. However, the resurgent communist threat has allowed the newly formed junta to increase their support for the anti-communist paramilitary group, Alsa Masa, by giving them carte blanche against any captured communist fighter that fell under their captivity. In addition, anti-junta protests are expected to break out in response to the coup by staging their own demonstrations in EDSA, though it is feared that an emboldened junta might be more willing to use lethal force against the protesters.
"President Marcos was a thief, and President Aquino is a useless moron who was only elected because of Ninoy's death. Without Ninoy's death, his wife wouldn't even be known by the entire country," says Lt. Col. Franco Calida, while addressing the new recruits that formed another new Alsa Masa unit in Concepcion, Tarlac. "Moreover, her decision to hire that communist thug Lagman as Minister of Labor is an indication that she intends to sell our country to the communist hordes in the continent. Yet, America too, must accept its role in destabilizing our country, for they haven't gotten over the fact that we are a sovereign nation that seeks to protect its own interests!"
--- Excerpts from Oliver Stone's Documentary Film, 'The Burning Pearl: The Philippines from Marcos to Tadiar'
STONE: The Philippines would have two revolutions within a span of three years, starting with the 1986 revolution that toppled former strongman and dictator Ferdinand Marcos, and would end with the 1989 revolution that toppled the woman who was propelled to power by the same protesters that took to the streets in order to protest the election results that were in favor of the former dictator. It was the 1989 revolution, however, that marked the beginning of another dictatorship, this time far worse than the one that happened three years earlier.
(cuts to the scene of the nuns and priests leading the procession on EDSA, and appearing before a large number of military vehicles and soldiers pointing their rifles at them as Artemio Tadiar begins to speak)
TADIAR: This is the order that I'm issuing as the temporary head of the Council for National Sovereignty, that all demonstrators must peacefully leave the streets, or we will have no choice, but to shoot.
PROTESTERS: Dictator! Get out!
(scene changes to the soldiers of the AFP firing on the protesters)
TADIAR: (in Tagalog) Do not show mercy to these traitors. They had a chance to leave without causing chaos, and they chose to disobey. Kill them all.
(echoes of gunshots and screams continue to be heard)
STONE: As former Soviet dissident Yuri Bezmenov had described in the four methods of subversion, the first thing that came into mind was the demoralization of a population. In the Philippines's case, demoralization had already kicked in with the increase in prices for fuel and basic foodstuffs. The economic malaise that has taken a hold of the country since the Marcos years had already become more widespread, and it didn't take long until the actual destabilization will begin. Unlike the Soviet playbook on ideological subversion, there was no 'playbook' to speak of regarding the Philippines's descent into madness. Demoralization came in without the need to attack the moral fibre of the entire nation. Destabilization kicked in with the aid of a declining economy and political upheavals, crisis kicked in with the protests erupting against President Corazon Aquino, and normalization kicked in with the Tadiar-led coup.
(scene changes to protesters being machine gunned down by troops commanded by Tadiar)
STONE: Tadiar's coup against the Aquino government was surprisingly quick, given that the Philippine military is ideologically divided along political lines. However, the officers that pledged their loyalty to Tadiar had also emerged as the few fanatical followers that obeyed and enforced the will and order of the military dictator. The Three Stooges, as the political exiles had mockingly called them, had pledged their loyalty to Tadiar when he helped save their military careers. Ricardo Morales had been a former Marcos loyalist who was arrested by his own boss, shortly before Tadiar intervened. Saulito Aromin and Edgardo Doromal were arrested for attempting to launch a coup against former President Marcos, before Tadiar's intervention allowed the two officers to pledge their loyalty to him. Since then, the majority of a military reformist faction called the Reform the Armed Forces Movement had been won over to the military junta, as the political chaos threatened to ignite the country into another civil war after the recent one was just finished.
(scene changes to the New People's Army soldiers assembling in the jungle, followed by the skirmishes with AFP troops, before moving to the portion of an interview with Teddy Casino)
CASINO: The Reform the Armed Forces movement leadership were frustrated with their perceived inability to finish off the New People's Army that they willingly threw out their principles in order to win the war against the NPA.
(scene changes to Alsa Masa paramilitaries executing captured NPA soldiers)
STONE: Tragedy often comes to all nations, but the Philippines has emerged as a uniquely terrifying example of a frustrated and failed aspiration transforming into a desire for action that results in an even bigger failure. A lost war against a new enemy results in wounded national pride, which can quickly descend into a desire for revenge. Just like how Germany was defeated in WWI and the humiliation that allowed the Nazis to rise to power, the Philippines's defeat at the hands of China in the Spratlys conflict and the humiliation that came after had resulted in a desire to embrace even more toxic ideologies.
(scene changes to members of the Fatherland Freedom Party Oliveshirts holding torch light ralies and giving fascist salutes and Banzai salutes, followed by Nicanor Faeldon giving a speech)
FAELDON: (in Tagalog) America has shown its true colors and betrayed us to the Chinese. China has shown itself to be a ruthless power that wants to control all of Asia. Only Japan was able to help us in our hour of need, and in this matter, we should have relied more on the Japanese to help us. While they may have occupied us during the war, we didn't understand that they truly mean to help free us from the shackles of colonialism.
(scene changes to Japanese nationalist rallies being held in the streets of Tokyo, where both Japanese Rising Sun flags and the Filipino Tadiar estelada flags are seen flying)
STONE: Hatred shapes the relations between nations that were at war with each other and with itself. It's like a poison that never extracts itself until it kills its chosen victim, and the tragic tale of how the Philippines is drowning itself in its own pool of blood is a cautionary tale of what not to do when transitioning from a dictatorship to a democracy.
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gillan1220
Fleet admiral
I've been depressed recently. Slow replies coming in the next few days.
Posts: 12,609
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Post by gillan1220 on Apr 17, 2023 6:04:41 GMT
The crisis within the Philippines had reached a boiling point when the Philippine peso started to lose its value, as they were still pegged to the US dollar. 1 US dollar was now worth 76 pesos and 32 centavos, and it managed to stabilize itself during the first few years of the Tadiar regime. During Tadiar's first few years in power, the Philippine peso stayed at 1 US dollar worth 87 pesos and 15 centavos, Come to think, OTL is getting closer to this amount. At one point, $1 is almost 60 PH pesos. |
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Apr 17, 2023 23:42:53 GMT
The crisis within the Philippines had reached a boiling point when the Philippine peso started to lose its value, as they were still pegged to the US dollar. 1 US dollar was now worth 76 pesos and 32 centavos, and it managed to stabilize itself during the first few years of the Tadiar regime. During Tadiar's first few years in power, the Philippine peso stayed at 1 US dollar worth 87 pesos and 15 centavos, Come to think, OTL is getting closer to this amount. At one point, $1 is almost 60 PH pesos. What we have seen in the original version of this TL and the reboot will be a common theme: inflation and the growing valueless of the Philippine peso that contributes to the growing political turmoil that may or may not be solved, even after Tadiar is gone. It's also a major challenge this time around when Tadiar's Philippines will not have any access to foreign currency for a bit, until the West Philippine Sea piracy thing kicks off. However, in this reboot, there's also a major hint at how Vietnam's communist government will fall apart, and in future updates, we shall see how the suspension of the Doi Moi reforms have a nasty effect on Vietnam's politics overall. Vietnam might be a major joint project between Tadiar and Jack Kemp in this reboot, and given how in the original version, Kemp presided over the violent destruction of Cuba's communist government, you might see something similar happening down the road. |
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on May 14, 2023 21:00:29 GMT
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX: RAMMIFICATIONS
"As we have witnessed in recent times, the peaceful transition of power from one President to another, it has become more than a mere symbolic gesture of conceding defeat on part of our opponents in the recent election. The American people today has witnessed a terrifying slide back into authoritarianism in a country that we once colonized and occupied after a brutal war with Spain. The scars of the recent civil war in the Philippines did not fully heal, and the wounds of that conflict had now been exposed and bled for all its worth. Today, the United States has faced one of the greatest geopolitical and moral disasters ever experienced. We have not only failed the Filipino people in their hour of need, but we have also forgotten to notice that another aspiring dictator has stepped into the open, under the cover of bringing order to the Philippines. Our administration now has to face several great foreign policy challenges that even the outgoing President could not solve. From the Philippines, to the Indian subcontinent, to even the Soviet Union, America's national interest in the global stage will be endangered by the bold actions of our enemies. The cross border conflict in the Punjab region of India has tragically revealed to the world the bloody legacy of the Partition that has scarred a once great nation, with religious and ethnic strife being the terrifying new norm. Unfortunately, the Soviet Union has taken advantage of the conflict in the Punjab to escalate their own aggression against the heroic freedom fighters of Afghanistan, and with the Afghan Arab equivalent of George Washington being mercilessly killed by Soviet bombs, and the Indian military aggression against Pakistan, we are now forced to divert more of our attention to ensuring that peace comes to the Indian subcontinent once again. Yet, at the same time, we have to fear the possibility that the Cold War is about to get a lot hotter, as events inside the communist bloc are influenced by the deposition of Mikhail Gorbachev and the rise of Anatoly Lukyanov as the new strongman that now leads the USSR. Fellow Americans, we will have to come to terms with the fact that our hopes of not only establishing a new kind of relationship with the Soviets are dying, but we may also see the implosion of the communist bloc in a violent manner. The entire communist bloc isn't united as we had feared. A few European communist regimes had maintained their loyalty to former Premier Gorbachev, while several communist regimes outside Europe have mainly supported the coup. A division within the communist bloc may work to our advantage, but it may also find a way to inflict a kind of blowback upon us if we do not handle it in a proper manner." Michael Dukakis on the official speech inside Congress on March 8, 1989.
---
Portions from the Interview with the Former President of the Filipino Government-In-Exile Aquilino Pimentel
Deutsche Welle, released on March 15, 2018
Discussing the Emerging Filipino Refugee Crisis and its Global Ramifications
Interviewer: The newly established military dictatorship of Artemio Tadiar had been the biggest fear that came true on part of the Filipino political establishment, since the end of the Filipino Civil War and the 1986 EDSA Revolution that came before that. Moreover, you've also hinted that the sheer number of Filipino refugees in certain parts of the world had drastically changed the foreign policy of those countries that hosted them. As we recall, while the US had taken in a large number of them, mainly sitting in what was then the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, Yugoslavia had taken in a large number of Filipino refugees that were stranded in the Middle East, before the rest of Europe ever did. How did you react to the news that many Filipinos were scrambling to leave their country once the Tadiar dictatorship started to hunt down their enemies more ferociously?
Pimentel: The news of the refugees that were stranded in the Middle East had broken my heart, because I knew that deep down, the migrant workers over there that came from our country would have no possible way of returning to what is now a military dictatorship. However, they were literally stuck in a war zone that is just as brutal as the civil war back home. It was a surprise at all that Yugoslavia actually offered a lending hand to our people, but what no one knew was that Iran had also taken in a few Filipino refugees as well, mostly the ones that were working in Kuwait and the UAE. With the large amount of Iranians getting killed every day on the battlefield, the Iranian government under first the clerics and then General Ali Shahbazi's rule had taken measures to give the refugees jobs in reconstruction efforts that were taking place, as well as agricultural work, as many Iranian farmers were already being sent to the front lines.
Interviewer: Did the presence of the Filipino refugees in Iran had helped the Iranian state?
Pimentel: To an extent, they did. However, once the war had ended, the Iranian government was at loss as to what to do with the refugees they took in. Not only did they have to put up with the discrimination by the locals there, but their Christian faith had been a source of hostile tensions between the predominantly Shia Muslim majority and the Catholic minority. Luckily, General Shahbazi and the clerics had reached an agreement on what to do with the Filipino refugees that were temporarily staying in Iran. To this end, they would approach neighboring Turkey on taking them in, since they had no way of actually integrating what was essentially Catholic refugees in a country where the clerics held more power than even the general himself.
Interviewer: Turkey's role in the Filipino refugee crisis was hardly known outside the Middle East and the Balkans, but to this day, you would find more Filipinos in Erzurum and Van than in Izmir and Istanbul. In addition, what was left of the Filipino refugee population in Iran were being dispersed into cities with significant Christian minority presence there, such as the Armenian and Chaldean Christians there. It also helped that the Armenian and Chaldean Catholic Churches in Iran had already been established in the 1800s, meaning that there would be some form of support system for the few Filipino refugees staying in Iran. However, Turkey's acceptance of the Filipino refugee population was controversial, since the refugees themselves wanted to continue their journey towards the West, and the Turkish government at that time was dealing with Kurdish rebellions within its territory. The pictures of overflowing refugee camps in both Bazargan in Iran and Gurbulak in Turkey had been an eye opener for the West, as the Anglophone countries slowly began to organize their infrastructure in order to cope with the incoming flow of refugees. Yet, racism and discrimination remained a hot issue that might prove to be hard to overcome. Did you have any comments about those events?
Pimentel: I would probably say that in the 1980s, European society was still suspicious about the presence of foreign minorities that were residing within its borders. You have to remember that these Europeans that still held old fashioned beliefs had survived through two world wars. Some of them were racist enough to actually blurt out that their side had been in the wrong. While that mindset is strongly discouraged, I am afraid that our presence only amplified those dark thoughts.
Interviewer: And what of the refugees that fled from the Philippines during the Filipino Civil War? As I understand it, they fled into Palau and the other parts of the UN Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands. In fact, the presence of so many refugees in those trust territories was the major factor in the United States government's decision to formally incorporate them into the Union as a specially designated, semi-incorporated Territory. What was your opinion on the formation of the American Autonomous Central Pacific Island Territory?
Pimentel: The American Central Pacific Islands Territory was not in the works, but once the Dukakis administration had seen the number of boats carrying the refugees that fled from Artemio Tadiar's regime, it became impossible to proceed with the plans to give the Trust Territories their independence. Furthermore, those very same Trust Territories had actually been a part of the Spanish East Indies, thus technically they could count as part of what Filipino nationalists would call Greater Philippines. Of course, thanks to the Tadiar regime's existence, the US can justify taking in so many refugees that they nicknamed the Central Pacific Islands Territory as the real Philippines, ironically speaking.
Interviewer: The American annexation of the former Trust Territories was something that a lot of countries around the world were asking skeptically, and tragically speaking, that annexation was used as a precedent by the declining Lukyanov regime in the former Soviet Union to call for the annexation of territories that belonged to other former Soviet republics with Russian minorities in them. The Americans have shot down that comparison, but the Soviets were not in the mood to listen. As it stood, the Soviets were paying close attention to what was happening in the Central Pacific region. Did you think that the flow of the refugees into the Trust Territories had any positive effects on the economies of those areas?
Pimentel: Well, for one thing, the refugees that stayed in the Trust Territories were contributing a lot to the local economies of those areas. On the other hand, the jobs that could have gone to the locals within those Trust Territories had gone to the refugees instead, causing tensions that erupted into violence. Unfortunately, the refugees that were at the receiving end of the abuse had formed their own self-defense cells that were able to retaliate. We nearly had a civil war in the Trust Territories, until the Dukakis administration decided to impose on them a military governor that would take temporary control of the Trust Territories. Admiral Stan Arthur took up the post from March of 1988, until its formal annexation by the US in August of the same year.
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DUKAKIS ADMINISTRATION MEETS WITH UN TRUST TERRITORY OFFICIALS ON POSSIBLE CHOICES FOR THEIR ULTIMATE FATE, CITES RECENT REFUGEE FLOW INTO THEIR TERRITORY AS MAIN REASON
Los Angeles Times
March 15, 1988
(Saipan, NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS) - US President Michael Dukakis has traveled to the UN Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands yesterday, as he prepares for a meeting with top UN officials on deciding the fate of the Pacific Islands that had been won from Japan after WWII, when it was renamed from the Japanese South Seas Mandate to the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Although the UN Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands were being prepared for gradual independence from the United States, events in neighboring Philippines as a result of the 1986 EDSA Revolution, the Filipino Civil War that soon followed, and the rise of the Artemio Tadiar dictatorship has resulted in the unexpected flow of Filipino refugees fleeing from their troubled homeland to the Trust Territories. While these refugees were staying at various refugee camps throughout the UN Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands, the international community was paralyzed at the sheer size of the refugees that fled out of the Philippines, including the migrant workers that could not return to their homelands because of the military junta. Moreover, the Dukakis administration has not yet decided on the fate of the Filipino refugees, as they were still adjusting to the increased flow of immigrants that are coming to the United States, as well as other nations as well. While Australia has taken a few hundred refugees since the civil war had started, the legacy of the White Australia Policy has haunted the Australian government. Furthermore, the meeting would also address the immediate needs of the Filipino refugees that are stranded in the Trust Territories.
"The infrastructure that we have in place right now is insufficient to handle a large amount of refugees that have fled from the Philippines. At this rate, the Trust Territories aren't yet ready to achieve full independence, until we can decide on what to do with them," says outgoing US High Commissioner for the UN Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands Janet McCoy. "The fact that there are refugee camps established throughout the entirety of the Trust Territories is an indication that we aren't prepared for such a crisis of this scale."
It is quite unsure whether or not the refugees would be allowed to relocate to various nations of their choice, given their unpreparedness. However, back in February 27th, Yugoslav Foreign Minister Budimir Loncar arrived in the Iranian capital of Tehran to meet with Iranian officials for an emergency tour of not only Iran, but Turkey and Iraq, as the fate of other Filipino refugees trapped in the Middle East is up in the air. While the Yugoslav government is offering to take the Middle Eastern Filipino refugees in on a temporary basis, Mr. Loncar has warned his Iranian counterpart that Yugoslavia too, is unprepared for such a global crisis. Additionally, his meeting with his Turkish counterpart on March 1st was also dominated by the same issue as well, and Yugoslav President Lazar Mojsov has begged President Dukakis to come to Yugoslavia as well to discuss the same issue facing them. In addition, while the US is prepared to admit more refugees into its mainland territory, the Dukakis administration fears that a jump in number of refugees would trigger social unrest within its lands.
"The emerging global crisis is now a problem for the entire world to bear, thanks to our foreign policy failure that allowed Artemio Tadiar to rise to power as a virtual dictator, replacing his former boss," says Dukakis, during a press conference in the city of Saipan, where he and Ms. McCoy also met to discuss the fate of the Trust Territories. "Indeed, with the fate of millions of stranded Filipinos who could no longer return to their countries because of a murderous rogue general, it has fallen to us to safeguard their lives and their welfare. As of right now, we are temporarily suspending talks of independence, until the proper infrastructure of those islands are built to accommodate any large number of refugees."
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THAILAND AND INDONESIA ANNOUNCE RECOGNITION OF NEW TADIAR-LED MILITARY GOVERNMENT, WITH PREM TINSULANONDA AND PRABOWO SUBIANTO OFFERING SUPPORT FOR STABILIZATION OF THE PHILIPPINES
Jakarta Times
March 22, 1988
(Manila, PHILIPPINES) - The new government formed by Artemio Tadiar had gained unexpected allies from within the SE Asia region, as Thailand and Indonesia has quickly recognized the change in the Philippine leadership. Thai Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda has congratulated his Philippine counterpart for his efforts in bringing order to the Philippines after the country has suffered from the 1986 EDSA Revolution and the subsequent civil war that followed, while Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has also given his congratulatory note. It is also worth mentioning that Thailand has provided foreign volunteers to the Filipino Civil War in the form of ultranationalist paramilitary groups that were deployed to fight the communists. While the Thai paramilitary forces often collaborated with the likes of Alsa Masa parammilitary troops during the civil war, it was often said that they had outdone their Alsa Masa colleagues in areas of brutality, as the number of NPA fighters captured by the Thai volunteers had received the most gruesome amount of torture and abuse while under their captivity. Approximately 32% of the NPA POWs that have died in captivity had occurred when a Thai paramilitary member was in charge. However, the return of the Thai ultranationalist paramilitaries to their homeland may in fact make things more complicated for the border regions, which have been used by the exiled Khmer Rouge in their efforts to reconquer their homeland from the invading Vietnamese occupation forces that have invaded in 1979.
"In times of great hardship and tragedy, the Philippines needs a lot of support from its regional neighbors for its national recovery. We're in a unique position to provide such support, as well as Indonesia as well," says Prime Minister Tinsulanonda, during a press conference in Bangkok. "We know too well about political instability, and how it can be detrimental to the national development of the country in question."
Although the Tadiar military dictatorship hasn't fully stabilized the entire nation yet, there were indications that the junta in charge of the Philippines may approach the entire ASEAN for assistance in dealing with the displaced persons and refugees that have fled to neighboring nations. Indonesia right now has a growing number of refugees that are sitting in the region of northern Sulawesi, though many of the refugees are possibly angling to relocate to either the US or Australia. Thailand on the other hand, has decided to respect the Tadiar government's request to not take in any refugee with opposing ideological leanings in exchange for closer ties, something that the Thai government is all too happy to accept, given that the mainly pro-Republican leanings of the Filipino refugees fleeing from their homeland wouldn't sit well with the mainly fanatical monarchist mood of the Thai public. However, Singapore and Malaysia are weary of taking in the refugees, given the tense political situation in the Malaysian region of Sarawak. Moreover, the Tadiar regime's offer to send Alsa Masa paramilitary units to help the Malaysian government combat its own communist insurgency has raised fears that the insurgency wouldn't end if there were escalations of violence on both sides.
"Right now, the main focus of our country right now is to ensure that peace, order, and stability are the top priority," says Brigadier General Tadiar, while addressing local and foreign journalists who have come out to ask him some tough questions during a press conference in Manila. "Our country has been broken beyond repair, largely because of the civil war that has taken place. We have a long reconstruction ahead, and I fear that outside influences will hinder our efforts at rebuilding our nation."
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"The emerging Filipino Refugee Crisis from 1988 to 1992 has been one of the tragic events that have unfolded in the late stages of the Cold War. Although mainstream media has exaggerated the tragic nature of the refugee crisis, in reality it was not as critical as they claimed to be. For one thing, the international community was slow to respond to the emerging crisis that unfolded in the Middle East, with the Filipino migrant workers fearing political persecution back in their homelands. At the same time however, other parts of SE Asia were hesitant to accept the refugees from the Philippines for a different reason. Much of SE Asia's other leaderships had not yet familiarize themselves with Tadiar the Tyrant that he would become as the years had gone by. Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam were eager to court the Tadiar regime if it helped achieve their own national interest goals. The Thai government wanted a reliable ally that could help crush the communist movements that still fermented within SE Asia, and fearing a potential clash with Vietnam over the exiled Khmer Rouge's use of the Thai-Cambodian border to stage cross border raids into Vietnamese-occupied Cambodia, the same Thai ultranationalist paramilitaries would trigger a conflict against the exiled Khmer Rouge, with the brutal raid on the Khmer Rouge base close to the border town of Choam on the Cambodian side, albeit the border town was garrisoned by Vietnamese Army soldiers. Indonesia was also a major ally of Artemio Tadiar, although they functioned more like a lifeline, especially when the sanctions were imposed on the Philippines as a result of its human rights violations. Vietnam however, viewed the Philippines as a potential ally in safeguarding its claims on the Spratly Islands, namely Hoang Sa, until the 1995 Spratly Island Wars that resulted in both Vietnam and the Philippines being bombed by the Chinese PLAAF. However, the overreaction by the Chinese government when it carried out its aerial bombing campaigns against those two nations were marked by the first use of phosphorus bombs, which had struck at agricultural areas, causing a food shortage that led to a famine that killed over 400,000 Vietnamese and 500,000 Filipinos. The bombing campaign had not only displaced several hundreds of thousands of Filipinos, but their plight had been taken advantage of by human traffickers, who had sent the desperate souls towards various criminal gangs throughout SE Asia, as well as in East Asia, Europe, North America, and Australia. Unfortunately, Tadiar would close the entire country down to prevent any more Filipinos from fleeing, and in a curious turn of events, some of those refugees and even a few political exiles had gradually returned to the Philippines, knowing that their hardship overseas was enough to break their resolve and pledged their loyalty to the military junta. Tadiar's call for the international community to repatriate the Filipinos that have fled to other nations may have gone unheard by foreign governments, but radical right-wing groups operating in the West had been too glad to obey the orders of a military dictator to start abusing the Filipino political exiles to the point where they were taking part in acts of ethnic cleansing that stunned the whole world. The idea that white nationalists and other extreme right-wing terrorists were listening to Tadiar's pleas to deport his own people back into the hellhole that was their homeland was nauseating in the minds of the people that ran the Filipino government-in-exile, based in Whistler, Canada." From 'The Filipino Refugee Crisis and its Consequences Beyond the Cold War', released by ABC Australia Documentaries.
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gillan1220
Fleet admiral
I've been depressed recently. Slow replies coming in the next few days.
Posts: 12,609
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Post by gillan1220 on May 15, 2023 7:58:16 GMT
The Trust Territory would probably be known as the State of Micronesia, comprising OTL FSM, Marshall Islands, and Palau. That would mean too Guam and the Marianas might unite to become the State of Mariana.
On the other side of the globe, Puerto Rico would have voted for statehood but that depends if the Republicans in DC would allow it.
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miletus12
Squadron vice admiral
To get yourself lost, just follow the signs.
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Post by miletus12 on May 15, 2023 8:47:09 GMT
On the other side of the globe, Puerto Rico would have voted for statehood but that depends if the Republicans in DC would allow it. That is entirely plausible. The "elephants" never have been too bright, since Eisenhower left this veil, and the last voice of reason departed that party. |
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on May 15, 2023 22:33:44 GMT
I would suspect that the entire Trust Territory would have been admitted into the Union as one whole thing instead of chopping off the Mariana Islands and Palau, for ease of administration. However, in terms of land mass, they’ll be as small as Maine if they were put together. Population wise, they’d be the smallest. At best, they’d join the US as an unincorporated territory and commonwealth.
I’m not sure how the electoral college would be affected by a potential admission of the trust territories as actual states, given that if they did, they’ll only have enough to have 1 electoral vote in the EC.
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