De Lima: Duterte telling Suu Kyi to ignore rights activists a ‘throwback to dark ages’
Speaking before Indian and Filipino businessmen, Duterte said he had told Suu Kyi to turn a deaf ear on human rights activists criticizing her for her supposed indifference to the plight of Rohingya Muslims who are experiencing violence and human rights abuses. Presidential Photo/ALBERT ALCAIN
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte’s advice to Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi that she should not be bothered by human rights activists is a “throwback to the dark ages,” Sen. Leila De Lima said Thursday.
In a statement, the detained senator said that it is fundamentally wrong for a leader to suggest to another to ignore human rights.
“It simply does not belong in the 21st century. The world has far advanced since the dark ages in establishing the universality and inalienability to all peoples of the right to life and the right to self-determination,” De Lima said.
The former Commission on Human Rights chair added: “Duterte wants to single-handedly reverse this achievement of humanity by spreading his own philosophy of inhumanity and dehumanization to the whole world, one world leader at a time.”
READ: Duterte tells Aung San Suu Kyi: 'Ignore Human Rights critics'
Speaking before Indian and Filipino businessmen, Duterte said he had told Suu Kyi to turn a deaf ear on human rights activists criticizing her for her supposed indifference to the plight of Rohingya Muslims who are experiencing violence and human rights abuses.
“We were talking about our country, the interest of our country... and I said do not mind the human rights [critics]. They’re just a noisy bunch actually,” Duterte said as he narrated his encounter with the Myanmar leader.
The chief executive added: “I pity her because she seems to be caught in the middle of being a Nobel Prize winner for peace and this is now the ruckus, she is heavily criticized.”
Duterte is also facing strong criticisms both at home and abroad for his brutal war on drugs, which has already claimed over 12,000 lives according to rights watchdogs.
“Of course, Mr. Duterte has time and again minced no words in expressing his disdain for human rights. He simply does not care about them,” De Lima said.
She, moreover, called Duterte’s remark an international embarrassment that Filipinos have to carry.
“We must remind our friends that this is not who we are and that Duterte does not represent us when he urges and encourages other world leaders, such as the Nobel Peace Prize winner no less, to ignore human rights,” De Lima said.
Recently, the president was also criticized for his joke of making virgins as a “come-on” to promote tourism in the country.
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