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| Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte |
By Audrey Morallo
MANILA, Philippines — New York-based Human Rights Watch on Thursday slammed President Rodrigo Duterte for threatening to have human rights activists shot if they get in the way of police operations, saying these remarks could pave the way for prosecution for crimes against humanity.
The chief executive should immediately withdraw his statement or face the specter of an investigation into for possibly instigating the harming of human rights workers, the human rights watchdog said.
“President Duterte’s threats against human rights activists is like painting a target on the backs of courageous people working to protect the rights and upholding the dignity of all Filipinos,” the deputy Asia director of the rights body, Phelim Kine, said.
Kine added: “Duterte should retract his reprehensible remarks immediately before there is more blood on his hands.”
The official said that Duterte’s threats, issued a day after one of the bloodiest days in the president’s brutal and ruthless campaign against illegal narcotics, could serve as a basis for indictment for crimes against humanity.
During a speech before members of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, Duterte vented anew his anger at human rights activists over their investigations into possible rights abuses surrounding his drug war, his flagship security program.
“One of these days, kayong human rights, kayong imbestigahan ko. Conspiracy. If they are obstructing justice, you shoot them,” the hot-tempered Duterte said.
("One of these days, you have human rights, I'll investigate you. Conspiracy. If they are obstructing justice, you shoot them" [Translation: Google Translate]) the hot-tempered Duterte said.
Read the full story at PhilStar