Philippines' Duterte set for drug war backing at summit
Rodrigo Duterte
Manila (AFP) –  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte  will host world leaders in Manila from Sunday  hoping their presence will quieten international criticism over  his  deadly drugs war  which rights groups say may be a crime against humanity.
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Duterte  goes into the event appearing confident that even  his  most outrageous remarks and actions will be ignored  having boasted in the lead-up  he  once stabbed someone to death  while at the same time proposing to host a global human rights summit.
But rights groups have expressed alarm and disappointment that Trump and most others are likely to endorse or stay silent over  Duterte ’s violent rule  which has seen thousands of people killed.
 “Duterte  will enjoy the gift of tacit silence from East Asian leaders on  his  murderous drug war during the upcoming summit ” Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phelim Kine told AFP.
“We can expect East Asian leaders to exercise a diplomatic blind eye to the killings of thousands of Filipinos over the past 16 months as part of  Duterte ’s drug war.”
 Duterte  won last year’s presidential elections after promising to eradicate illegal drugs with an unprecedented crackdown that would see up to 100 000 people killed.
Since  Duterte  took office  police have reported killing 3 967 people in the crackdown.
Many Filipinos back  Duterte   believing he is taking necessary measures to fight crime.
But the ICC has yet to respond and  despite some vocal critics in the West   Duterte  goes into the Manila summits full of confidence that Trump and the others will effectively endorse his rule by not speaking against the killings.
In Vietnam on Thursday on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific economic summit   Duterte  boasted that when  he  was 16  he  stabbed to death someone for looking at him the wrong way.
 He  then offered to host a global summit on human rights  but insisted that the alleged crimes of the United States  France and other nations also be investigated.
But Trump and  Duterte  have expressed mutual admiration for other. Trump told  Duterte  in a telephone call in April that he was doing a “great job” with his campaign against drugs.
They are expected to hold one-on-one talks on Monday and  if Trump does not bring up any human rights concerns   Duterte  is widely expected to trumpet the meeting as an endorsement.
 Duterte  is hosting the two days of summits as the rotating chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
 Duterte  can expect blanket support from  his  ASEAN colleagues  many of whom are also shadowed by human rights controversies.
Manila (AFP) –  [TGT]will host world leaders in Manila from Sunday  hoping their presence will quieten international criticism over  [TGT]  deadly drugs war  which rights groups say may be a crime against humanity.
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Duterte  goes into the event appearing confident that even  his  most outrageous remarks and actions will be ignored  having boasted in the lead-up  he  once stabbed someone to death  while at the same time proposing to host a global human rights summit.
But rights groups have expressed alarm and disappointment that Trump and most others are likely to endorse or stay silent over  Duterte ’s violent rule  which has seen thousands of people killed.
 “Duterte  will enjoy the gift of tacit silence from East Asian leaders on  his  murderous drug war during the upcoming summit ” Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phelim Kine told AFP.
“We can expect East Asian leaders to exercise a diplomatic blind eye to the killings of thousands of Filipinos over the past 16 months as part of  Duterte ’s drug war.”
 Duterte  won last year’s presidential elections after promising to eradicate illegal drugs with an unprecedented crackdown that would see up to 100 000 people killed.
Since  Duterte  took office  police have reported killing 3 967 people in the crackdown.
Many Filipinos back  Duterte   believing he is taking necessary measures to fight crime.
But the ICC has yet to respond and  despite some vocal critics in the West   Duterte  goes into the Manila summits full of confidence that Trump and the others will effectively endorse his rule by not speaking against the killings.
In Vietnam on Thursday on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific economic summit   Duterte  boasted that when  he  was 16  he  stabbed to death someone for looking at him the wrong way.
 He  then offered to host a global summit on human rights  but insisted that the alleged crimes of the United States  France and other nations also be investigated.
But Trump and  Duterte  have expressed mutual admiration for other. Trump told  Duterte  in a telephone call in April that he was doing a “great job” with his campaign against drugs.
They are expected to hold one-on-one talks on Monday and  if Trump does not bring up any human rights concerns   Duterte  is widely expected to trumpet the meeting as an endorsement.
 Duterte  is hosting the two days of summits as the rotating chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
 Duterte  can expect blanket support from  his  ASEAN colleagues  many of whom are also shadowed by human rights controversies.