Gov’t to block foreign activist critical of drug war

THE presidential palace wants to ban a foreign human rights activist for allegedly interfering in President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s deadly war on drugs.

Phelim Kine, former deputy director for Asia of the New York-based Human Rights Watch, should be banned for tweeting that Mr. Duterte and his henchmen should be arrested for “instigating mass murder,” presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said at a briefing yesterday.

“He has already reached a conclusion — this is a murderous country,” he said.

Mr. Kine also wrote he was ready to come to the Philippines to help advise Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo on “how to end this murderous drug war.”

Philippine police have said they have killed about 6,000 people in illegal drug raids, many of them resisting arrest. Some local nongovernmental organizations and the national Commission on Human Rights have placed the death toll at more than 27,000.

Mr. Duterte earlier put the vice president in charge of his anti-illegal drug campaign.

Mr. Panelo said the human rights activist’s entry into the Philippines was an intrusion into the nation’s sovereignty.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. on Monday warned Mr. Kine he would be denied entry.

Mr. Duterte in August ordered all agencies to reject loans and grants from 41 countries that had backed a probe of his deadly war on drugs that has killed thousands.

The United Nations Human Rights Council on July 11 ordered its human rights office to present a comprehensive report as it expressed concerns about human rights violations in the Philippines.

The body adopted a resolution that Iceland proposed and 17 other nations voted for. Twenty-four other nations who co-sponsored the resolution did not vote.

The resolution drew the ire of Mr. Duterte, who writhes at Western condemnation of his drive that is widely supported by Filipinos.

The UN council urged the government to cooperate with UN offices by allowing visits by its officials and by “refraining from all acts of intimidation or retaliation.”

The resolution also called on the Philippines “take all necessary measures to prevent extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, to carry out impartial investigations and to hold perpetrators accountable.”

The government has dismissed the council order, saying states who supported it had been misinformed about the Philippine situation.

In his fourth State of the Nation Address in July, Mr. Duterte said drug traffickers must be put to death, noting that the illegal drug menace persists despite his deadly war on drugs.

Majority of Filipinos remained satisfied with Mr. Duterte’s war on drugs despite worldwide criticism, according to the Social Weather Stations’ June poll.

The polling firm found that 82% of Filipinos were satisfied with the government’s illegal drug campaign, while only 12% were dissatisfied, resulting in an “excellent” +70 net satisfaction rating. — GMC