Duterte supporters deplore wikipedia entry linking him to death squads and vigilantism.
February 26, 2016 · By Wikipedia for en.wikipedia.org
Duterte, who has been dubbed “The Punisher” by Time magazine, has been criticized by human rights groups and by Amnesty International for tolerating extrajudicial killings of alleged criminals allegedly by the vigilante Davao death squads. Duterte has been heavily criticised by numerous organizations for condoning and even inciting murders to take place during his leadership. In the April 2009 UN General Assembly of the Human Rights Council, the UN report (Eleventh Session Agenda item 3, par 21) said, “The Mayor of Davao City has done nothing to prevent these killings, and his public comments suggest that he is, in fact, supportive.” Human Rights Watch reported that in 2001-2002, Duterte appeared on local television and radio and announced the names of “criminals”, some of whom were later executed. In July 2005 at a crime summit in the Manila Hotel, the politician said, “Summary execution of criminals remains the most effective way to crush kidnapping and illegal drugs”.
Unlike many politicians, Duterte is forthright and plain speaking. In 2009 he said: “If you are doing an illegal activity in my city, if you are a criminal or part of a syndicate that preys on the innocent people of the city, for as long as I am the mayor, you are a legitimate target of assassination.”
Duterte responded to the reported arrest and subsequent release of a notorious drug lord in Manila by saying: “Here in Davao, you can’t go out alive. You can go out, but inside a coffin. Is that what you call extra-judicial killing? Then I will just bring a drug lord to a judge and kill him there, that will no longer be extra-judicial.”
Referring to the arrest of a suspected rice smuggler, Duterte spoke out in the state senate saying, “If this guy would go to Davao and starts to unload (smuggled rice)… I will gladly kill him.” For these comments, Duterte was attacked in an editorial in The Manila Times, which condemned “the mentality of lawlessness and vigilantism.” The newspaper argued that this culture of impunity enabled those in power, including officials, “private warlords and businessmen vigilantes” to take retribution against those they felt had acted against their interests: “They kill journalists exposing corruption and human rights activists exposing abusive police and military men.” Following Duterte’s comments in relation to killing a person suspected of smuggling rice, the office of the President of the Philippines issued a statement saying, “Killing a person is against the law. The President has been firm in the belief that no one is above the law. We must not resort to extralegal methods.”
In 2015, Duterte confirmed his links to extrajudicial killings in Davao, and warned that if elected president he may kill up to 100,000 criminals.
Human Rights Watch have called on him to stop the death squads in the city.
