Duterte apologises

PHILIPPINES – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte specifically apologised to Jews on Sunday for his earlier comments in which he compared his war on drugs with the way Adolf Hitler slaughtered millions of Jews during World War II.

“I apologize profoundly and deeply to the Jewish,” Duterte said live on television.

“I would like to make it clear here and now that there was never intention on my part to derogate the memory of the six million Jews murdered by the Germans.”

The president noted his comments had nothing to do with the Holocaust, but it left a “bad taste in the mouth.”

He originally had brought up the comment because he lamented that some critics called him the “cousin of Hitler.”

“It was never my intention to mention Hitler but the problem was I was criticised, using Hitler comparing to me,” he said.

The Israeli government denounced Duterte’s statement as “unfortunate.”

Worldwide Jewish groups, the United Nations, Germany said it demonstrated lack of respect for human life.

“The Jewish community all over the world reacted,” the president said.

Duterte said he was not apologizing to his “stupid” critics from the West and human rights advocates.

“With regard to the stupid lawyers in EU and Human Rights, screw you,” he said.

On Friday, Duterte said he is willing to kill three million drug addicts to rid the nation of drugs.

“Hitler massacred three million Jews. Now, there are three million drug addicts. I’d be happy to slaughter them,” he said during the start of a two-day official visit to Vietnam.

Duterte said he won’t back down on his war on drugs.

“If you destroy my country, if you destroy my children, I will really kill you. That’s for sure,” he said. - AFP