The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Philippines’ Duterte likens himself to Hitler, vows to kill 3 million drug users
‘I’D BE HAPPY TO SLAUGHTER THEM’
PHILIPPINES PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte appeared to liken himself to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler on Friday and said he would “be happy” to exterminate three million drug users and peddlers in the country.
His comments triggered shock and anger among Jewish groups in the United States, which could add to pressure on the US government to take a tougher line with the Philippines leader.
Duterte recently insulted US President Barack Obama and in a number of remarks he has undermined the previously close relationship between Manila and Washington.
In a rambling speech on his arrival in Davao City after a visit to Vietnam, Duterte told reporters that he had been “portrayed to be a cousin of Hitler” by critics.
Noting that Hitler had murdered millions of Jews, Duterte said, “There are three million drug addicts (in the Philippines). I’d be happy to slaughter them.”
“If Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have ...,” he said, pausing and pointing to himself.
“You know my victims. I would like (them) to be all criminals to finish the problem of my country and save the next generation from perdition.”
Duterte was voted to power in a May election on the back of a vow to end drugs and corruption in the country of 100 million people. He took office on June 30 and over 3,100 people have been killed since then, mostly alleged drug users and dealers, in police operations and vigilante killings.
Duterte’s comments were quickly condemned by Jewish groups. Rabbi Abraham Cooper, head of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Digital Terrorism and Hate project, called them “outrageous”. “Duterte owes the victims (of the Holocaust) an apology for his disgusting rhetoric,” Cooper said.
United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Friday that any use of “the Holocaust and the suffering of the Holocaust in comparison to anything else, frankly, is inappropriate and needs to be rejected.”
While the Obama administration has criticised Duterte over the extra-judicial killings, US officials offered no immediate condemnation of his latest comments and instead stuck to a strategy of stressing longstanding ties with Manila.
“We continue to focus on our broad relationship with the Philippines and will work together in the many areas of mutual interest,” a White House official said.
Two days before the Philippines election, outgoing President Benigno Aquino had warned that Duterte’s rising popularity was akin to that of Hitler in the 1920s and 1930s.
“I hope we learn the lessons of history,” Aquino had said. “We should remember how Hitler came to power.”
Duterte has been scathing about criticism of his anti-drugs campaign and has insulted the UN and the European Union, as well as Obama, at various times in recent weeks.
On Friday, reacting to critical comments on his war on drugs by US Senators Patrick Leahy and Benjamin Cardin, Duterte said: “Do not pretend to be the moral conscience of the world. Do not be the policeman because you do not have the eligibility to do that in my country.”
He also reiterated there will be no annual war games between the Philippines and the United States until the end of his six-year term, placing the longstanding alliance under a cloud of doubt. It also may make Washington’s strategy of rebalancing its military focus towards Asia in the face of an increasingly assertive China much more difficult to achieve.
Still, US Defence Secretary Ash Carter, speaking before the latest remarks from Duterte, said Washington had an “ironclad” alliance with Manila. A senior US defence official, also speaking earlier, told reporters that the US had a long enduring relationship with the Philippines regardless of who was president. REUTERS