World

Dead men may tell no tales, but they can certainly cause trouble. Last week, as the Philippine government continued to block the return of the body of Ferdinand Marcos, public outrage was growing over its lack of compassion. Critics across the political spectrum have called President Corazon Aquino's ban "un-Filipino." The government claimed that if Imelda Marcos was allowed to bring her husband home, his funeral might touch off disturbances that could threaten the country's economic recovery. Aquino knows the power of a funeral: her political career was ignited when massive crowds turned out for the 1983 burial of her husband Ninoy, assassinated while being escorted by Marcos' soldiers.

Marcos supporters have petitioned the Philippine Supreme Court to reverse its earlier decision denying re-entry to Marcos. In the meantime, Imelda plans to place her husband's body temporarily in an aboveground crypt. Plans for a wake in the auditorium of Manila's Honolulu consulate were dropped, perhaps after it was discovered that the hall was named after Ninoy Aquino.