Risking pariah status

By

THERE’S a reason they’re called the family, fraternity, or community of nations. It’s because there’s only one world and they either learn to live together or perish separately.

It’s because all the cliches about interdependence, a global village, and lifting all boats have nuggets of truths in them. And they fail only because some nations choose not to abide with international norms and behavior.

The reality is there’s only one world, one habitable planet, and all nations are neighbors that have interlinked needs and concerns that bind them together.

Against this backdrop, President Duterte is accusing concerned nations of “meddling” or “interfering” with domestic Philippine affairs. The issues at hand are, to start with the major one, the summary killings that have earned a dubious monogram -EJKs, for extrajudicial killings.

The other issue is the jailing of Sen. Leila de Lima. And now lately, they’re going after VP Leni Robredo.

The European Union and concerned nations and groupings of nations are imploring the Philippine government to stop the EJKs and to release De Lima, whom they call a prisoner of conscience.

Mr. Duterte and his allies have expressed disapproval over the statements coming out of Europe on the grounds that the EJKs and the De Lima jailing are domestic affairs and it’s none of outsiders’ business to question the government’s actions.

But is it really meddling or interfering when other nations express concern over what’s happening in another country?

Let’s use a theoretical example like a domestic dispute between a man and his wife. When a man berates his wife in a brutal way and hurts her and their children to the brink of death, would their neighbors be meddling or interfering if they come to the woman’s succor and spare her of further harm or even death?

Wouldn’t it be the neighbors’ duty as neighbors and citizens to come to the defense of the woman and children, or at least get them out of harm’s way? Indeed, wouldn’t the neighbors be neglecting their civic responsibility if they chose to just watch the man harm the woman and the children? If they yelled at the man to stop hurting his wife and children, would that be meddling? If worse came to worst and the man was about to take more drastic action, would the neighbors be interfering if they went into the house to stop the man?

The same with a fire in the man’s house. Would the neighbors be meddling or interfering if they yelled to catch the man’s attention that his house is burning? Would it be meddling if they went to the house to douse water on the fire to stop it from getting out of control and possibly damage other houses?

Or, would the man be right to object to the neighbors’ expression of concern and demand that the neighbors leave him alone as that’s his own fire and the neighbors have no business interfering in his fire?

Common sense will tell us that the neighbors can and are duty-bound to first, express concern and two, take action to minimize or stop the damage that’s bound to happen inside a person’s home.

So, to go back to the big picture, is the international community wrong to express concern over what’s happening in a country that after all belongs to the family of nations in this one and only world? Are other nations in the wrong when they warn another country that what it’s doing is against civilized conduct and possibly even a crime against humanity?

President Duterte’s allies are using the sovereignty card to tell concerned nations it’s none of their business to tell the Philippines to stop EJKs and making life miserable for their critics. But if our government persists in ignoring the concerns of the international community, the Philippines risks becoming a pariah around the world, with countries severing ties with us and treating us like lepers. *** Tantrum Ergo. How could a gathering with 15 attendees plus the host, two waiters, and a kibitzer at the door be called an “intimate” dinner?