Clenched fist photo of Rody, Aussie intel chief draws flak

A photograph showing Nicholas Peter Warner, director general of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, doing a clenched fist pose with President Duterte drew flak from some of Australia’s officials and rights groups.

But presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella shrugged off the criticisms, saying the fist-bump photo simply showed a “warming of relations” between the two countries.

Warner on Tuesday paid Duterte a courtesy call at Malacañang where they discussed regional security issues and mutual support.

“It was done in a lighthearted manner. It wasn’t meant to be in any way political. It was simply a show of… a warming of relationships,” said Abella, who was present during the courtesy call.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop also defended Warner, saying the latter was only complying with a request from Duterte and that the image did not weaken Canberra’s criticism of Duterte’s war on drugs.

“On both occasions that I’ve met with President Duterte I’ve raised the issue of human rights and the extrajudicial killings,” Bishop told reporters in Perth.

Australian Labor MP Anthony Byrne, according to a report in The Guardian, tweeted that the image was a “completely inappropriate photo for the head of one (of) our most important intelligent services to be in.”

The photo also caused a stir in the human rights community with Elaine Pearson, director of Human Rights Watch in Australia, saying it was “sickening to see (the) head of Australia’s spy agency fist-pumping a man who has instigated the killing of thousands.”

Amnesty International said Australia must do more to try to curtail the firebrand Philippine leader.

“Australia is sending mixed messages amid an incredible spike in killings of the Philippines’ poorest people,” said Michael Hayworth, a human rights campaigner at Amnesty International.

“Australia must condemn in the strongest terms the killings by Philippines police of people without trial.”

Since Duterte took office, more than 3,500 people have been killed in what the Philippine National Police (PNP) says were gunfights with drug suspects who had resisted arrests.

Abella said it could just be a difference in perspectives.

“But as far as the way the situation went, it was basically… warm. It was very relational,” Abella said.

Warner regularly meets with regional leaders to discuss cooperation, information sharing and counterterrorism, among other topics.

His visit came after Australian Ambassador Amanda Gorely also patched up differences with Duterte brought about by a rape joke he said in one of last year’s presidential campaign sorties.