Supporters of detained former president Rodrigo Duterte are not all that there are in Europe as various Filipino organizations trooped to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to press for his conviction as a mass murderer.
Members of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Europe, Migrante Europe, Gabriela, and Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle held a rally before the ICC Wednesday afternoon as Duterte was being flown to The Netherlands.
The groups held a similar rally on the day that Duterte made his first appearance before the chamber last Friday afternoon.
In a statement, Migrante Belgium said it welcomes Duterte’s arrest and surrender to the ICC as a testament that tyranny and fascism end.
The group urged that the former president and all his co-conspirators must be convicted of the crime of mass murder.
“Duterte’s long reign of terror—22 years in Davao City and six years as President of the Philippines—resulted in tens of thousands of deaths of alleged petty criminals, drug addicts, dissidents, and human rights activists in his widespread, warlord-like, bloody ‘war on drugs’ campaign, which primarily targeted poor and marginalised communities,” the group said.
The group also belied claims made by Duterte supporters that he was “kidnapped,” saying due process and even special treatment was given to the former president.
This is in stark contrast to the number of victims of Duterte’s rampage that killed between 12,000 to 30,000 mostly poor Filipinos who were “cold-bloodedly denied due process,” Migrante added.
The protesters also said they salute the families of the slain victims for their courage and “celebrate with them this momentous step in seeking justice.” # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
