For some of us who think that the war against dangerous drugs and mind-bending substances should be the number one item on the agenda of every president of the modern world, the arrest of former Philippines president, Rodrigo Duterte, is very disturbing. Right now, Duterte, the man some of us consider the hero in the war against drug barons and traffickers in his country during his time in office, is in The Hague, Netherlands, standing trial for what the International Criminal Court of Justice, ICC, says are charges of crimes against humanity. The preliminary hearing of his case started two days ago, last Thursday March 14. While he was in office, Duterte came out boldly to use ‘’all means fair and foul’’ to address the havoc drug abuse was wrecking on The Philippines.
We were not in the Philippines to know exactly what he was doing that looked cruel, inhumane, unconscionable, and unjust and a violation of the dignity of man. It is possible that some of the law enforcements agents he mobilized in the war may have become vengeful against their enemies who knew nothing about drug merchandising for profit. Some other forms of abuses may have been committed along the line but for Duterte, he seemed genuinely motivated by the desire to do good for his country. What we heard was that most mornings people will wake up to see streets of Manila and other parts of the Filipino country littered with bodies of victims of the war on drugs, a fact many of us thought was a sad testimony to the enormousness of the drug story in that country and on the other hand, a thump up for the war against the deadly substances.
Whatever were the methods used in that war and the number of ‘’soldiers’’ of that deadly merchandise who fell, the fact remains that the manufacture and distribution/smuggling of dangerous drugs are, to our simple minds, the real crimes against humanity. Mind bending substances of any kind help to dehumanize humanity and turn some people into ‘’living dead people’’. They are people who are not useful to themselves; they are not useful to their countries and they are not useful to God who created them.
They are just pitiable and unfortunate pawns in the hands of Satan to visit sorrows upon their loved ones, nations and humanity. The only persons who love such people are the extremely ruthless nations, powerful and deadly cartels and individuals who want to make money at all costs and by all means at the expense of humanity. For some of us, therefore, any one, such as the most honourable President Duterte, who steps forward to fight the people who create this type of humans should be hailed as a hero and not vilified as a villain.
Truth is, the trouble with genuinely fighting the drug war is that the drug barons and dealers themselves do not use fair and just means in their business. Do they obey the laws of human rights or observe any other modern democratic values? How then do you expect those who war against them to adopt method that is sure to be totally ineffective in winning the war against them?
The action of the ICC on Duterte shows that there are many things in this world that some of us the soft hearted pieces of humanity cannot understand. Why does anyone quarrel with the unusual methods of a man who nevertheless restored peace and health and security to the streets of his country from the wicked hands of those who were spreading fear, violence and insecurity?
The ICC has become controversial in recent times. The international court is considered by many as an instrument created by the powerful nations of the world to deal essentially with Third World leaders some of whose actions the rich and powerful are not comfortable with. While some of us do not resent the ICC’s trial and conviction of some dictatorial, thieving and beastly Third World leaders, we are not in support of the ICC delving into the domestic politics of some nations.
Right now some of the people of The Philippines who suffered the ravages of the drug cartels are out on the streets in large numbers in support of Duterte. I stand with those Filipinos and with Duterte. Allegations are flying about that it is the current regime in power in The Philippines that is after Duterte and that his current travail is politically motivated. This should worry the ICC. If it is to remain relevant until ungodly Third World leaders are done away with, the ICC should not meddle into matters in the domestic political affairs of any country.
It is difficult to understand why in this warped and perverted modern world, real criminals who are ruthlessly dealt with to show society’s abhorrence of their peculiar kind of crimes are the very ones that some members of this warped world will sympathize with and not their victims.
Drug merchants and vendors are special specie of humans released from the kingdom of darkness to put an end to humanity. They do not need to be dealt with according to the rules of fair hearing because they will not allow you to be fair and just in your battle against them. My take on Duterte and the war against the drugs war he prosecuted in The Philippines is that in every war, there are some people who suffer collateral damages; they may become innocent victims of good intentioned moves. If there are any such persons, the state should try and identify them and get them justly compensated and not harass the likes of Duterte.
I think the best people who should decide the fairness or the wrongness of a drug war in any country are the people of that country and not the ICC. If the ICC continues like this it may render itself useless in the affairs of the modern world. Whatever human rights mistakes that Duterte had made, the ICC should have turned a blind eye to them, after all they are some nations that say they will not submit themselves to the ICC jurisdiction, meaning that they are above the law. What has the ICC done about such nations? The latest action against Duterte makes some of us to wonder whether the ICC is sympathetic to drug barons and couriers. Or, even more importantly, is it an institution which Satan has created to deal with humane and determined individuals who are out to do public good? Duterte’s arrest and trial send a very wrong signal to many potential Dutertes to leave drug merchants and vendors alone or risk humiliation and persecution in the hands of the ICC.
