Duterte ‘happy to slaughter’ drug suspects; cites Hitler

Duterte ‘happy to slaughter’ drug suspects; cites Hitler 

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine President has compared his bloody anti-drug campaign, which has left more than 3,000 people dead, to how Hitler massacred millions of Jews, saying he would be “happy to slaughter” 3 million addicts.

President Rodrigo Duterte issued his latest threat against drug dealers and users early Friday on arrival in southern Davao city after visiting Vietnam, where he discussed his anti-drug campaign with Vietnamese leaders among other concerns.

Duterte says: “Hitler massacred three million Jews … there’s three million drug addicts. There are. I’d be happy to slaughter them.” Historians say that 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis under Hitler before and during World War II.

Duterte has said that his public death threats against drug suspects are designed to scare them into stop selling illegal drugs and to discourage would-be users. Such scare tactics, he has said, are legal. But his remarks Friday took that crime-busting approach to a different level.

During the presidential election campaign earlier this year and during the three months he had held office, the tough-talking Duterte has threatened to drown drug suspects to fatten the fish in Manila Bay. He also threatened to execute drug traffickers by hanging — because he didn’t want to waste electricity on them — until their heads were severed from their bodies.

While Hitler victims were innocent people, Duterte said his targets are “all criminals” and that getting rid of them would “finish the (drug) problem of my country.”/rga

source : inquirer