‘We did not see his record’: Indonesian police defend award to Philippine chief leading war on drugs
Ronald dela Rosa was one of five who were presented with the honour, which was touted as being based on good relations and cooperation, not human rights
Indonesian police on Thursday defended bestowing their highest honour on the Philippine police chief, who has been criticised for spearheading the war on drugs that has left thousands of suspects dead.
Ronald dela Rosa was among five neighbouring police chiefs who were presented with the award by Indonesian police chief General Tito Karnavian on Wednesday.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said the Indonesian government debased the rule of law by awarding dela Rosa its highest honour.
“That is a perverse assessment of a Philippine government official implicated in possible crimes against humanity for inciting and instigating killings linked to the government’s ‘war on drugs’,” said Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
He cited data from reliable NGOs and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines that the crackdown on illegal drugs has killed more than 12,000 people since June 2016, with most victims, including a number of children, being urban slum dwellers.
Karnavian reportedly praised dela Rosa for his “rock star-like inspiration to the Indonesian national police and the Indonesian people on how to fight the war on drugs”.