Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Photo:
REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco
eptember
is the month New York commuters dread. Their already packed city becomes
even more densely packed with visitors from across the globe. Stretched
limousines trailed by black SUVs appear all over Manhattan. September is
the month when world leaders and their entourages from countries large
and small come a-calling. The United Nations General Assembly is back in
session.
Presidents, premieres, sultans, kings, queens, and prime ministers of
the 190-plus sovereign countries that make up the UN meet to give
speeches, as well as listen to what other leaders have to say.
As
expected, in this year’s gathering, Philippine President Rodrigo Roa
Duterte was no where to be found. During the plenary, when leaders
address the world body to tout their successes in their home countries,
Duterte instead just sent an emissary to say something on his behalf.
Why
the reticence on Duterte’s part? Is he not proud of what he has
accomplished so far? His timetable may have been pushed back “slightly”
(from 3 months to 2-plus years), but there is no denying that he has
“eliminated” or removed thousands of supposed drug addicts from the
streets. According to Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2018, which was
published back in January, 2018, “more than 12,000 drug suspects” have
been killed in Duterte’s “drug war.”
Isn’t
Duterte proud of his accomplishments? By all accounts, he is doing what
he promised to do during his campaign. So why not go before the General
Assembly and tell the world the “great news?” Is Duterte just so
exceedingly humble that he is worried others might think he would be
bragging in front of the global assembly? After all, look what happened
to U.S. President Donald Trump. He was laughed at for his excessive
braggadocio during his speech.
Or
could it be that Duterte is simply scared and embarrassed to face the
world because of what he has done … and continues to do. Imagine if was
announced that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was scheduled to
give a speech at the UN. Would many world leaders attend? Maybe China’s
Xi Jin Ping would, but who else? And supposing many did attend. Would
they be there just to boo him and shout him down? If so, Duterte might
never get to finish his speech—or perhaps even get it started.
And
consider this as well: if Duterte decided to attend the General
Assembly, what extra security precautions would the U.S. and the city of
New York have to put in place just for him? For sure there would be
large numbers of demonstrators everywhere he went—not to mention a few
who would like to get their hands on one they see as a mass-murdering
thug. Security would have to be heightened significantly just to protect
Duterte.
Then
there are all those human rights organizations around the
globe—including the UN’s own United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR);
will these organizations try to have Duterte arrested or detained to
stand trial for his alleged "crimes against humanity?" The United States
will then be placed in the unprecedented as well as embarrassing
position of detaining a visiting head of state.
It
would not be surprising, that given the many complications of Duterte’s
presence on U.S. soil, the State Department may have sent him a letter
discreetly telling the Philippine president to just stay away.
Much
of this is conjecture on our part, but we’d like to hear what you
think—this includes the Duterte trolls who either believe their
idol-in-chief can do no wrong, or are paid to say so all over the
internet.
Published 10/3/2018 |