Duterte is no Hitler, spokesman tells press

MANILA

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has refused to back down over his stated desire to slaughter millions of people, as global condemnation built against him likening his crime war with Hitler’s efforts to exterminate Jews.

Duterte on Friday drew parallels with the Nazi’s mass murder of Jews and his anti-drug crackdown, which has left more than 3,000 people dead and raised concerns about the rule of law crumbling in the chaotic Asian democracy.

Facing a fierce international backlash, Duterte’s spokesman released a statement insisting the president did not want to be compared with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler but confirmed he was prepared to kill three million people in his crime war.

“We do not wish to diminish the profound loss of six million Jews in the Holocaust,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said.

“The president’s reference to the slaughter was an oblique deflection of the way he has been pictured as a mass murderer, a Hitler, a label he rejects.”

Nevertheless, Abella confirmed Duterte intended to say he wanted to kill millions of people in the Philippines to achieve his mission of eradicating illegal drugs.

“Duterte was referring to his willingness to kill three million drug dealers to save the next generation,” Abella said.

Duterte raised the example of Hitler’s campaign as he talked about his efforts to extinguish illegal drug trade in the Philippines.