Duterte Arrives in Laos, Set to Meet Obama Today
Vientiane, Laos, 04 Dzulhijjah 1437/06 September 2016 (MINA) – After lambasting Washington for supposedly meddling in the country’s affairs, President Rodrigo Duterte is set to meet with US President Barack Obama here on Tuesday and is expected to defend his administration’s bloody war on drugs and crime, The Star reported.
Duterte and Obama are scheduled to hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet, which also marks the Philippine president’s debut on the international stage.
The Associated Press has reported however that Obama has said he has asked staff to see if meeting with Duterte “would still be ‘productive'”, possibly in response to comments made in Manila before the president left for Laos.
The tough-talking Philippine president will push for a drug-free region and a binding code of conduct for South China Sea claimants, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
Duterte arrived Monday night here at around 8 p.m. (Philippine time) via a chartered Philippine Airlines flight. He and Obama are scheduled to meet Tuesday at around 5 p.m. (Philippine time), a schedule released by Malacañang showed.
The press advisory did not say what topics would be discussed during the meeting. White House and Malacañang officials said during previous interviews that the two heads of state may talk about human rights and the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) dispute.
The US has expressed “deep concern” over the spate of killings in the Philippines, its treaty ally. The killings have been linked to the Duterte administration’s intensified campaign against the narcotics trade, which has claimed the lives of more than 2,000 suspected drug personalities.
The US has asked the Philippines to respect human rights in its law enforcement efforts but the appeal did not sit well with Duterte, who regarded it as an interference by a foreign country. He even pointed out that the US has its own mess to clean up in its own backyard such as the killing of African Americans by policemen and the supposed cocaine addiction in Hollywood.
In a press conference earlier this month, Duterte said he is ready to talk to Obama about any topic but stressed that the US president should understand the extent of the drug problem in the Philippines before he can lecture him about human rights.
The US, however, appeared to be unfazed by Duterte’s tough talk, with White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest saying that Obama would not “pull any punches” when he discusses human rights with his Philippine counterpart.
‘Not a vassal state’
Duterte, however, made it clear Monday that he is not softening his stance against what he believes is the US intervention in the Philippines’ affairs.
“The Philippines is not a vassal state. We have long ceased to be a colony of the United States,” the president said before leaving for Laos Monday.
“I do not respond to anybody but to the people of the Republic of the Philippines. I don’t care about him. Who is he?” Duterte said.
Duterte also tried to dig up old skeletons when he noted that many hundreds of Muslims were killed because of the Americans’ pacification campaigns.
“I do not have any master except the Filipino people. Nobody but nobody. You (Obama) must be respectful. Do not throw away questions and statements. Son of a whore. I will swear at you in that forum,” the president said.
“Who is he to confront me? As a matter of fact, America has one too many to answer for the misdeeds in this country. Until now, I have not heard any apology.”
Duterte said the US is raising human rights issues but “has a terrible record of extrajudicial killing.”
“Look at the human rights of America along that line. The way they treat the migrants there. You admire America too much. It should be the one to explain extrajudicial killings,” he said, citing the killing of Moros in Mindanao and Native Americans.
“Nobody but nobody should interfere. This is an independent country. Nobody has the right to lecture on me. God. Do not do it.”
Duterte clarified that he does not want to pick a quarrel with Obama but is making it clear that he is not beholden to anybody.
“I do not accept that preposition that anybody is superior that me. We are supposed to be equal there. My country might be small, hardly keeping up with the economic problems, but I will not allow myself to be insulted. You are insulting the Filipinos,” he said. (T/R07/R01)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
