Duterte baffled by ‘crazies’

NAYPYIDAW: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has described European lawmakers as “crazies” in a salty-tongued rebuttal of criticism of his deadly drug war, while vowing again that all traffickers will be killed.

Duterte fired his broadside in a late-night speech on Sunday in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw after the European Parliament issued a resolution last week condemning “the high number of extrajudicial killings” in his war on drugs.

“I don’t get these crazies. Why are you trying to impose on us? Why don’t you mind your own business,” said Duterte, who frequently uses swear words and other abusive language against his critics.

Since taking office in the middle of last year, Duterte has overseen a ruthless campaign to eradicate illegal drugs which he says are threatening to turn the Philippines into a narco-state.

Police have reported killing more than 2,500 people, while rights groups say there have been more than 5,000 other deaths linked to the drug war.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have said Duterte may be overseeing crimes against humanity, with police allegedly running anonymous death squads.

Duterte has insisted he has not asked his security forces to break the law, although on other occasions he has called for millions of addicts to be killed and vowed to pardon police officers found guilty of murder.

At the speech to a gathering of the Filipino community in Naypyidaw, Duterte warned that many more people would be killed in his drugs crackdown.

“More people will die. I said I will not stop. I will continue until the last drug lord in the Philippines is killed and the pushers (are) out of the streets,” he said.

Reacting to criticism that the operation targeted the poor, Duterte said he must “destroy” small-time street peddlers as well as the big-time drug lords. – AFP