Asia

Duterte slams UN for 'interfering' in Philippine drug war

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures as he talks during the 115th Police Service Anniversary at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Manila Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. The brash-talking Philippine president criticized the United Nations Wednesday for condemning the spate of killings of suspected drug criminals in the country, but allegedly remaining silent on bombings in the Middle East that have killed entire villages and communities. (Noel Celis/Pool Photo via AP) (The Associated Press)

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte attends during the 115th Police Service Anniversary at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Manila Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. The brash-talking Philippine president criticized the United Nations Wednesday for condemning the spate of killings of suspected drug criminals in the country, but allegedly remaining silent on bombings in the Middle East that have killed entire villages and communities. (Noel Celis/Pool Photo via AP) (The Associated Press)

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures as he talks during the 115th Police Service Anniversary at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Manila Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. The brash-talking Philippine president criticized the United Nations Wednesday for condemning the spate of killings of suspected drug criminals in the country, but allegedly remaining silent on bombings in the Middle East that have killed entire villages and communities. (Noel Celis/Pool Photo via AP) (The Associated Press)

The Philippine president has criticized the United Nations for condemning killings of suspected drug criminals in his country.

President Rodrigo Duterte chided the U.N. for being "easy to be swayed into interfering into the affairs of the republic" and "coming on a very stupid proposition."

He was apparently referring to condemnations by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in June and by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime earlier this month of his "apparent endorsement of extrajudicial killings."

Critics of his anti-drug campaign said in their last count that about 1,000 people have been killed. Duterte said in his speech Wednesday that some of those were killed by drug criminals.