MANILA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte dared Thursday foreign governments and international bodies, which have been critical of his administration's drug war, to withdraw their aid in the Philippines.
Duterte was referring to the United Nations, United States and the European Union which have raised concern on the human rights violations in the country amid the government's war against the drug menace, and was apparently reacting to some murmurs of possible withdrawal of foreign assistance.
Duterte said in a speech in Butuan City in the southern Philippines that he does not expect U.S. President Barack Obama and the EU to understand his style of nailing suspected illicit drug pushers and users.
"You will never understand the pain that we are suffering for my countrymen. Go away. Bring your money to somewhere else. We will survive as a nation," Duterte said, lamenting the lack of understanding on the part of US and EU on his anti-drugs campaign that killed more than 3,000 so far.
"I do not expect Obama, I do not expect EU to understand me. Do not understand me, and if you think it is high time for you guys to withdraw your assistance, go ahead. We will not beg for it," Duterte said.
He added, "We have a problem here trying to preserve our society and you mess up by human rights-human rights! And then you threaten to us with your assistance!"
"How do you look at us? Mendicants? That we just do what you say because of your aid? We will survive. We will survive as a nation even if it's the hard way. I'll be the first to go hungry and I'll be the first one to go, die of hunger," Duterte said.
No worries, Duterte said, adding that "we will never, never compromise our dignity as a Filipino."
Duterte told Obama "you can go to hell" in a speech on Wednesday, his strongest tirade against the U.S. leader so far, even threatening to "break up with America."
In the same speech Wednesday, Duterte also lashed out at EU, telling the bloc to "better choose purgatory, hell is filled up."
Duterte have also called his critics, including the United Nations and international human rights groups, as "hypocrites" for accusing him of human rights violations and for resorting to extrajudicial killings to curb the drug menace.
