Rody hits US anew, cites North Carolina killing
MANILA, Philippines – President Duterte took another potshot at the United States on Friday, saying the shooting to death by a policeman of an unarmed African-American in North Carolina has shown police killings are not unique to the Philippines.
The killing in North Carolina has sparked unrest in Charlotte town, prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency.
Duterte has taken offense at being asked by the US and the United Nation to observe the principles of human rights in pursuing his campaign against illegal drugs.
He decried what he considered double standards in the way the US and the European Union deal with human rights issues.
The President was voicing his sentiments before police officers and personnel belonging to Regional Police Office 12 in General Santos City. He said the police in Charlotte just shot the unarmed African-American named Keith Lamont Scott without provocation.
Duterte placed the country under a state of emergency following a deadly blast at the Roxas night market in Davao City last Sept. 2.
In North Carolina, the governor deployed the National Guard and highway patrol to assist local enforcers in maintaining peace and order. Scores have been hurt in clashes in Charlotte, including 12 policemen.
Duterte, known for his foul-mouth and sarcasm, said he has directed PNP chief Director General Ronald de la Rosa “to prepare” in case the President decides to send a police team to North Carolina to investigate human rights abuses in the state.
He also said he wanted to know the extent of human rights violations in the US. “We’re interested to know why they shoot black people in America,” he said.
For militant group Karapatan, abrogating all military treaties and agreements with the US would be a big step toward ending US intervention in Philippine affairs.
Philippine-US military arrangements, aside from the US-RP Mutual Defense Treaty, include the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
The group welcomed Duterte’s rants in the last ASEAN Leaders’ Summit, especially his calling Americans’ attention to the past and present atrocities of their government.
The President has also urged the US soldiers in Mindanao to leave, saying they complicate the peace process with Muslim and communist rebels.
The Department of National Defense, in recent congressional budget deliberations, said there are around 107 US military personnel in Mindanao involved in various surveillance operations. They include 50 Marines, 17 Army personnel, 20 Special Forces and US Navy and civilian personnel.
“The US government is indeed a shameless hypocrite,” Karapatan said as it defended Duterte’s rant against the US.
“It is guilty of its war on terror and interventionist proxy wars and coups against peoples in Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Europe, and against its own citizens,” Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general, said.
At the same time, Palabay said the President should call for a halt to drug-related killings and have perpetrators arrested and prosecuted.
“He should call for a stop to the killings, prosecute and hold accountable perpetrators of the extrajudicial killings, including those from the police,” Palabay said.
She said instead of killing drug offenders, the government should institute meaningful reforms to ensure better living conditions for the people, especially the marginalized.
He should also strengthen democratic processes so the people can speak freely and make wide decision for their future, Karapatan added.
“The Duterte government should effect and ensure the provision of secure jobs with living wages, decent housing, free education and health care and land to cultivate. It is through empowering the people and helping them provide for their needs that they will veer away from drugs,” it pointed out.
Palabay also warned against enlisting the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in the anti-drugs campaign, citing the military’s sordid human rights record and its propensity to use the campaign for counter-insurgency purposes. – With Artemio Dumlao
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