Vulgar Duterte slams Obama
I won’t be dictated to, says angry Philippine president
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte called Barack Obama a “son of a whore” yesterday as he vowed not to be lectured by the US leader on human rights when they meet in Laos.
The acid-tongued Duterte bristled at warnings he would face questioning by the US president over a crime war in the Philippines that has claimed more than 2 400lives in just over two months.
“You must be respectful.
Do not just throw away questions and statements.
Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum,”Duterte said shortly before flying to Laos to attend the summit.
“We will be wallowing in the mud like pigs if you do that to me.”
Duterte was due to hold a bilateral meeting with Obama today on the sidelines of a summit of global leaders hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Vientiane, the capital of Laos.
Duterte was elected in May after a promise to wage an unprecedented war on illegal drugs that would see tens of thousands of suspects killed.
Official figures released on Sunday show that, since Duterte took office on June 30, more than2 400 people have been killed in police anti-drug operations and by suspected vigilantes.
Duterte has angrily rejected criticism from the Catholic Church, human rights groups and the United Nations.
He vowed yesterday the blood bath would continue as he pursued his goal of eradicating illegal drugs in the Philippines.
“More people will be killed, plenty will be killed until the last pusher is out of the streets.”
Duterte insisted he would not take orders from the US, a former colonial ruler of the Philippines, and did not care about how he was perceived.
“I don’t give a sh*t about anybody observing my behaviour,”he said.
Duterte is notorious for using offensive language.
Earlier, Obama said: “I have instructed my team to talk to their Philippine counterparts to find out if this is in fact a time where we can have some constructive, productive conversations.”
He was speaking at a news conference at the end of a G20 summit in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou.
“Obviously the Filipino people are some of our closest friends and allies, and the Philippines is a treaty ally of ours,” Obama said.
“But I always want to make sure that if I’m having a meeting that it’s actually productive and we’re getting something done.”
Obama noted that, while the fight against drugs was tough, the US would always assert the need for due process and to carry out the campaign in a way that was consistent with basic international norms.
“And so, undoubtedly, if and when we have a meeting, this is something that’s going to be brought up, and my expectation, my hope is that it can be dealt with constructively,” he said.
“I want to be sure that the setting is right and the timing is right for us to have the best conversation possible.” – AFP, Reuters
