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Title : As Trump dodges questions on human rights, Filipinos ask Trudeau to step into the fray
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As Trump dodges questions on human rights, Filipinos ask Trudeau to step into the fray

A coalition of Filipino and Canadian activists is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to do what U.S. President Donald Trump seems loath to do: raise the "appalling" state of human rights in the southeast Asian country with its populist president, Rodrigo Duterte.

In a letter sent to Trudeau and subsequently shared with CBC News, groups from both the Philippines and Canada urged the prime minister to take the opportunity at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Manila to pressure Duterte to end his bloody crusade against alleged drug dealers and addicts that rights groups say has left at least 7,000 dead.

"This shocking number of killings is accompanied by what seems to be complete impunity for those responsible," the Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines writes in the letter. "We are deeply troubled that the victims of this state-sponsored violence are predominantly from poor, vulnerable and marginalized sectors of Philippine society."

'Incumbent' on Canada to speak out

Duterte's aides say all such killings are legal acts of self-defence by police — or have been carried out by "vigilantes" with no ties to the president — and they vow to continue the anti-drug campaign until the end of his presidential term in 2022.

However, lawmakers from the European Union believe there are "credible reports" that the Philippine police force has been falsifying evidence "to justify extrajudicial killings."

According to the coalition, human rights activists are also the target of a "counter-insurgency war" that has claimed the lives of around 58 such people since Duterte took power in July 2016.

"President Duterte's hostile rhetoric about human rights defenders, combined with his encouragement of extrajudicial killings and guarantees of impunity, has resulted in a serious deterioration in the situation," the group says.

"We believe it is incumbent on the government of Canada to speak out more strongly against this violence."

Liberals say no time for bilateral meeting

During his bilateral meeting with Duterte in Manila, Trump ignored questions from reporters about the state of human rights in the Philippines, and laughed when the Philippine president called journalists "spies."

Duterte maintains tough police action — eliminating crime by eliminating criminals — is necessary to restore order in a country that has seen a surge in drug-related violence.

Before being elected president, Duterte foreshadowed his crime-fighting intentions.

"If by chance that God will place me there, watch out, because 1,000 [people allegedly executed when he was mayor of Davao City] will become 100,000. You will see the fish in Manila Bay getting fat. That is where I will dump you," he said.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland speaks with the media ahead of the summit. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said while Canada has "serious concerns" about alleged human rights violations and the legality of Duterte's actions, it's uncertain whether Trudeau will have the chance to speak to the president one-on-one, as Duterte is busy with his hosting duties.

"This is not a bilateral trip to the Philippines — if we have the time, we'll raise this issue," she said, noting she already met with Filipino journalists and activists in the summer to encourage their work.

"We are supporting Filipino civil society in the questions that it is asking about some of the things that this government is doing," she said Sunday, adding that Canada is funding journalism courses for would-be reporters in the country.

Duterte delivers his opening speech during the summit on Monday. (Aaron Favila/AP Photo)

When asked last year about the high murder rate among journalists in the country, Duterte said that being a reporter doesn't mean you are "exempted from assassination if you're a son of a bitch."

Activists are also calling on Trudeau to suspend "all support for and co-operation with" the armed forces of the Philippines and immediately end the sale of military and defence equipment to the Philippine government because, they say, the military is complicit in the killings. And they would like to see an independent fact-finding mission document and investigate the alleged extrajudicial killings.

Duterte says butt out

It is unlikely Duterte would take kindly to criticism from Trudeau on his handling of the drug war.

When asked by reporters last week, Duterte said he would tell any foreign leader to butt out of domestic matters.

"You want to ask a question, I'll give you an answer: Lay off. That is not your business. That is my business. I take care of my country and I will nurture my country to health," he said.

Canada was invited for the first time to act as an observer at the high-level East Asia summit, a forum for regional and global security discussions, by Duterte's administration. Publicly raising the issue of human rights could scuttle Canada's reliance on the Philippines as a trust interlocutor in Southeast Asia.

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