Philippines President Duterte slams European Union as ‘stupid’, refuses summit invite after criticism of bloody drug war
Europe has been vocal in its criticism of the president’s hallmark policy, which has left nearly 4,000 suspects dead and seen human rights groups claim he was responsible for a crime against humanity.
President Rodrigo Duterte has angrily turned down an invitation to an Asia-Europe summit in Brussels as he again lashed out at the EU and accused the bloc of insulting him over his deadly war on drugs.
The maverick leader labelled the 28-country European Union – the Philippines’ second most important trading partner – “stupid” and warned he would not stay silent in the face of Western condemnation of his anti-crime crackdown.
Europe has been vocal in its criticism of Duterte’s hallmark policy, which has left nearly 4,000 drug suspects dead and seen human rights groups claim he was responsible for a crime against humanity.
Duterte hit out after saying European Council President Donald Tusk had invited him to the biennial Asia-Europe meeting in October.
“I’ve been invited by the EU, that stupid organisation,” Duterte told government workers late on Tuesday.
“I said, ‘For what? You thought of me as that kind of person then, so why change your assessment?’”