How Philippines” Duterte earned international infamy, praise at home
Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte earned international infamy for the deadly narcotics crackdown that led to his arrest Tuesday on charges of crimes against humanity, despite enjoying huge popularity at home..A tough-talking populist and self-professed killer, Duterte”s anti-crime campaign resulted in the deaths of thousands of alleged dealers and addicts..Yet while drawing condemnation abroad, tens of millions of Filipinos backed his swift brand of justice — even as he joked about rape in his rambling speeches, locked up his critics and failed to root out entrenched corruption..That trust was dented by the coronavirus pandemic which plunged the country into its worst economic crisis in decades, leaving thousands dead and millions jobless with a slow-paced vaccine rollout..Duterte”s woes deepened in 2021, when the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) sought an investigation into crimes against humanity during his drugs crackdown..Duterte, now 79, repeatedly said there was no official campaign to illegally kill addicts and dealers, but his speeches included incitements to violence and he told police to kill drug suspects if their lives were in danger..”Kill them”.”If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful,” Duterte said, hours after being sworn in as president in June 2016..Months later, he would liken the deadly crackdown to Hitler”s efforts to exterminate Jews, although vastly underestimating the number of people killed in the Holocaust..”Hitler massacred three million Jews. Now there are three million drug addicts (in the Philippines). I”d be happy to slaughter them.” .His unfiltered comments are part of his self-styled image as a maverick, which found traction in a nation where corruption, bureaucracy and dysfunction impact people”s lives at every level. .While unable to run for president again after serving a six-year term that ended in 2022, Duterte remains a major figure in politics..He has been seeking a return to his old job as mayor of his southern stronghold of Davao mid-term elections in May..A one-time ally of the Marcos family, Duterte even allowed Ferdinand Marcos Sr, whose brutal regime silenced the legislature and killed opponents, to be buried in the capital”s Heroes” Cemetery..But the alliance of dynasties has long since collapsed, and Duterte is engaged in a feud with current President Ferdinand Marcos..His daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, faces an impeachment trial in the Senate..”I simply love Xi”.The former lawyer and prosecutor was born in 1945 into a political family..His father served for three years as a cabinet secretary before the nation plunged into dictatorship in 1972. .During his long tenure as mayor of the southern city of Davao, Duterte was accused of links to vigilante death squads that rights groups say killed more than 1,000 people there — accusations he has both accepted and denied. .His tenure as president was also marked by a swing away from the nation”s former colonial master, the United States, in favour of China..”I simply love (Chinese president) Xi Jinping… he understands my problem and is willing to help, so I would say thank you China,” he said in April 2018..As part of that rapprochement, he set aside rivalry with Beijing over the resource-rich South China Sea, opting to court Chinese business instead..He claimed this friendship helped secure millions of doses of a Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccine, but supplies still fell far short..Billions of dollars of promised trade and investment from its superpower neighbour also failed to materialise..President Marcos has made both Duterte”s perceived coziness with Beijing and his bloody drug war a centrepiece of his campaigning ahead of the May mid-terms..Duterte was arrested at Manila”s international airport after returning from a brief trip to Hong Kong..The former president had previously said he was ready to go to jail for his anti-narcotics crackdown, but vowed never to allow himself to come under ICC jurisdiction.
Source: AFP
Greenland votes under shadow of Trump demands
Greenland, the Danish self-governing territory coveted by US President Donald Trump, votes Tuesday in legislative elections that could yield a timeline for independence, which is supported by a majority of the population..Trump, determined to get his hands on the vast Arctic island “one way or the other”, tried until the last minute to influence the election, sparking astonishment, rejection, and, to a small degree, enthusiasm among the 57,000 Greenlanders. .”He puts the focus of Greenland back in international relations, like everyone”s focusing on it. So in that way, it”s good,” said Hans Kaali Davidsen, a resident of Nuuk, the capital, under a glacial rainfall..But, he stressed, “Trump himself, the way he”s been handling his own politics and his own country and how everything”s shaping up in the US — no, we don”t want him.”.The lead-up of the election to choose the 31-seat parliament, called the Inatsisartut, was mostly marked by a debate on issues such as healthcare, education, and future ties with Denmark, which still controls foreign, defence and monetary policy..Greenland”s inhabitants — almost 90 percent of whom are Inuits — say they are tired of being treated like second-class citizens by their former colonial power..All the main political parties favour independence, but they disagree on the timeframe..Balance of power.The election result will define the balance of power between those who want to independence quickly — such as the nationalist Naleraq party, the main opposition faction — and those who prefer to wait until the island is financially independent, such as the two parties who make up the outgoing coalition, the left-green Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) and social democratic Siumut..The island, covered 80 percent by ice, depends on its fisheries sector, which accounts for almost all of its exports, and annual Danish subsidies of more than $565 million, equivalent to a fifth of its GDP..The most impatient independence backers believe Greenland will soon be able to stand on its own thanks to untapped mineral reserves, including rare earths crucial to the green transition. .But the mining sector is still in its embryonic stages, hampered by high costs due to Greenland”s harsh climate and lack of infrastructure..Trump floated the idea of buying Greenland during his first mandate, in a bid swiftly rejected by Danish and Greenlandic authorities..Back in the White House, he has circled back on the ambition with greater fervour, refusing to rule out the use of force and invoking US national security..Late Sunday, Trump invited Greenlanders “to be a part of the Greatest Nation anywhere in the World, the United States of America”. He promised in a post on his social network Truth Social to make them “rich”..The most recent polling on the issue, published in January, shows 85 percent of Greenlanders are opposed to Trump”s idea..”We don”t want to be American. He is so arrogant,” 58-year-old Rene Olsen, a ship repairman, told AFP on Monday..Yet Trump”s statements — described as “unpredictable” by outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede — have sent a jolt through election campaigns..Naleraq”s nationalists say his remarks give them leverage ahead of independence negotiations with Denmark..”Trump”s message is indeed a positive one, since it provides a safer and more stable ground for Greenland”s move to independence,” party member Juno Berthelsen told AFP..”We need the United States for national security and vice versa.”.More polarisation.But Trump”s remarks have also chilled some independence supporters, making continued ties with Copenhagen more attractive to them. .A municipal employee in the southern town of Qaqortoq, Kornelia Ane Rungholm, said she did not want “independence today, because Trump will take us as soon as possible”..Ahead of the election, Denmark”s intelligence agency PET expressed concerns about “possible influence” from a foreign power, notably Russia..Greenland”s parliament also adopted a law banning foreign and anonymous donations to political parties..Political analysts say Trump”s meddling in the election contributed to a more polarised debate, by reinforcing each side”s convictions, but overall it was not expected to influence the result..His last message “demonstrates the way the Trump administration insists on interfering in other countries” elections,” Danish political scientist Ulrik Pram Gad told AFP..”But already, after Germany (where Trump”s close supporter Elon Musk is backing the far-right AfD party) they should have learned that it”s not serving them well,” he said..”The sender of the message is not appealing to the one for whom the message is intended.”
Source: AFP