Philippines’ president urges communists to kill criminals

AFP, MANILA: Philippine Presi­dent Rodrigo Duterte on Friday urged communist rebels to start killing drug traffickers, adding another layer to a controversial war on crime in which he has warned thousands will die.
Duterte won May’s election in a landslide after a campaign dominated by his pledge to end crime within six months, promising to do so by unleashing security forces with shoot-to-kill orders.
In his inauguration speech on Thursday, Duterte insisted his adherence to the rule of law was “uncompromising”, apparently seeking to assuage concerns from human rights groups that he planned to orchestrate mass extrajudicial killings.
But on Friday, Duterte called on communist rebels waging one of Asia’s longest insurgencies to hold their own guerrilla court hearings and then carry out executions.

 

Philippines president urges communists to kill criminals

AFP, MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday urged communist rebels to start killing drug traffickers, adding another layer to a controversial war on crime in which he has warned thousands will die. Duterte won Mays election in a landslide after a campaign dominated by his pledge to end crime within six months, promising to do so by unleashing security forces with shoot-to-kill orders. In his inauguration speech on Thursday, Duterte insisted his adherence to the rule of law was uncompromising, apparently seeking to assuage concerns from human rights groups that he planned to orchestrate mass extrajudicial killings. But on Friday, Duterte called on communist rebels waging one of Asias longest insurgencies to hold their own guerrilla court hearings and then carry out executions.