Philippine president threatens to leave the UN, start a new club with China
Angry at United Nations criticism of his violent drug war prosecution, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday threatened in an expletive-laden rant to remove his country from the organization and launch a new association of nations with China.
"I do not want to insult you. But maybe we'll just have to decide to separate from the United Nations," he said. "You do not just go out and give a s--tting statement against a country," Duterte added, insisting he doesn't "give a s--t" about possible repercussions from his inflammatory remarks.
About 900 suspected drug traffickers have been killed in the Philippines since Duterte entered office in May. Though he denies government responsibility for the deaths, Duterte has publicly encouraged vigilante and extrajudicial police killings of drug suspects. A UN human rights report said his comments are an "incitement to violence and killing, a crime under international law."