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| Aquino: Slim woman in yellow |
Manila, Aug. 1 (Reuters): Corazon Aquino of the Philippines, who ousted one of the 20th century’s most corrupt dictators to become a global icon of democracy, died today after a 16-month battle against colon cancer. She was 76.
Her family announced she died in the early hours of today, shortly after a private mass was held in her hospital room. All five children were at her bedside. “Our mother peacefully passed away at 1918GMT yesterday of cardio-respiratory arrest,” her son, Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., said.
“She would have wanted us to thank each and every one of you for all the prayers and your continuous love and support. It was her wish for all of us to pray for one another and for our country.”
Aquino, affectionately known as Cory, was Asia’s first female President from 1986 to 1992. But she is best remembered, more than two decades after the fact, as the slim woman in yellow who led the “People Power” revolution that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
President Barack Obama said: “Her courage, determination, and moral leadership are an inspiration to us all and exemplify the best in the Filipino nation.”
In events that gripped the world in 1986, up to 1 million people waving rosaries and flowers stopped Marcos’s tanks advancing towards Aquino-backed army rebels.
When a bewildered Marcos and his wife Imelda fled the nation, it set a stirring precedent for dissidents everywhere, from South Africa to South America to Pakistan.
Imelda Marcos, who returned to the Philippines after her husband died in exile, said: “Now that Cory is with the Lord, let us all unite and pray for her and for the Filipino people.”
As news of Aquino’s death spread, hundreds of people ignored the rain to visit her home and the shrine that commemorates that place where her revolution culminated, leaving flowers and candles.
Aquino was a reluctant leader at the start, entering politics only after Benigno was killed at Manila airport on his return from political exile in the United States.
Accusing Marcos of ordering the murder, Aquino led protest marches, but was hesitant when elections were called in 1986.
“What on earth do I know about being President?,” she said before taking up the challenge to run against Marcos. Both candidates claimed victory in the election, but Marcos fled into exile when the army turned against him.