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Rights groups slam Trump's 'warm rapport' with Duterte

Audrey Morallo - Philstar.com
Rights groups slam Trump's 'warm rapport' with Duterte

International human rights groups have criticized the "warm rapport" between US President Donald Trump and his Philippine counterpart, Rodrigo Duterte, who has been slammed for the mounting number of drug-related killings and abuses in his campaign to eradicate illegal drugs. AP/File

MANILA, Philippines — Human rights groups condemned the White House after it said that US President Donald Trump enjoyed "warm rapport" with President Rodrigo Duterte who had been criticized both locally and domestically for alleged human rights violations in the government's war on drugs.

Phelim Kine, the deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said that this announcement suggested a "stunning apathy" toward the "human rights calamity" that Duterte had been inflicting on the Philippines since he assumed the presidency last year.

"Trump’s explicit eagerness to meet with the architect of a killing campaign that has resulted in the deaths of more than 12,000 men, women and children over the past 16 months is more than a grievous insult to injury for family members of victims," Kine was quoted by the UK newspaper The Guardian as saying.

READ:  HRW: Japan should call out Duterte over drug war killings, abuses

Amnesty International, another human rights watchdog critical of Duterte, also blasted the White House pronouncement, saying that the relationship between the two leaders is not an excuse to turn a blind eye to the "devastation" that the government's drug war has wrought in the country.

A senior adviser of AI said that it was crucial that Trump raised the issue of human rights violation during his meeting with Duterte in November.

He added that having a positive relationship between the two leaders would allow Trump to raise "hard truths" about what's happening in the anti-narcotics campaign of the government.

"There’s been some indication in reports that there are plans for President Trump to raise human rights issues in the meeting, and that’s critical," AI's senior crisis adviser was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

"But it’s crucial that he sends a clear message that these killings must end," the adviser, who was named by the newspaper, added.

READ:  Philippines faces more international scrutiny, says HRW

In a telephone briefing, White House officials, who declined to be named, said that Trump would "expand on the warm rapport" that he and Duterte had already built when they meet later this month for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit and Related Meetings.

The officials said that the American leader was looking forward to seeing and congratulating his Philippine counterpart for the country's hosting of the ASEAN Summit.

When asked by The STAR if the US would raise concerns over human rights violations in the conduct of the country's war on drugs, one official said, “The US is always forthright with our friends and allies about human rights issues and the importance of rule of law, but I think the thrust of their meeting is to expand on the very warm rapport that the two leaders have already built.”

READ:  Drug war deaths dragging Philippines into disrepute, HRW warns

Trump will travel to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines later this month. He will participate in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders' Summit in Vietnam while he will attend the ASEAN-US Summit in Manila.

He however would skip the East Asian Summit also in Manila on November 14 due to what the American envoy in the country termed as scheduling problems.

The "warm rapport" between Trump and Duterte contrasted with the tense relationship of the Philippine leader with former President Barack Obama.

The foul-mouthed Philippine leader, who is very sensitive to denunciations of his policies especially the war on drugs, called Obama a "son of a bitch" for his criticism of the Philippine campaign to eradicate narcotics which had been accused of killing thousands in its wake. He later blamed the international media for the row, claiming that they had "misquoted" him.

READ: A year of colorful insults

Duterte has also touted his so-called independent foreign policy which has seen Manila cozying up to non-traditional allies such as China and Russia.

READ: Obama cancels meeting with Duterte

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