WASHINGTON, D.C. – With release of a transcript of an April telephone call between President Donald Trump and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte during which President Trump praised his Philippine counterpart for doing an “unbelievable job on the drug problem”, Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today joined a group of Democratic Senators in calling on Trump to denounce Duterte’s murderous anti-drug campaign and delay any visit from the Filipino leader until there are demonstrated improvements in his government’s human rights record. It is reported that during the phone call President Trump invited President Duterte to visit the White House.

During an interview with Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC earlier this afternoon, Booker reiterated his concern over Trump’s effusive praise of the Filipino leader.

“We write to urge you to delay your invitation to the White House to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte until there are major improvements in his government’s human rights record,” the letter states. “…we are concerned that hosting President Duterte at the White House while this campaign of mass atrocities continues would send the wrong message. Instead, we urge you to denounce this reprehensible campaign, demand that it cease, and press Duterte to adopt an evidence-based approach to drug use based on public health.”

President Duterte’s so-called “War on Drugs” appears to be little more than an excuse for a brutal campaign of extrajudicial murders that has resulted in the deaths of at least 8,000 Filipino drug users and low-level drug dealers. In addition to directing police forces to carry out these killings, President Duterte has encouraged vigilantes, many of whom struggle with drug addiction themselves, to execute people found using illegal drugs.

According to news reports on the telephone call transcript, when speaking about substance abuse in the United States, President Trump said, “Many countries have the problem, we have the problem, but what a great job you are doing and I just wanted to call and tell you that.”

Other Senators signing the letter include Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass), Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), and Kirsten Gilibrand (D-N.Y.).

Full text of the letter is below.

May 24, 2017

The Honorable Donald J. Trump

President of the United States

White House

Washington, DC 20006

Dear Mr. President:

            We write to urge you to delay your invitation to the White House to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte until there are major improvements in his government’s human rights record. Under the guise of a “war on drugs,” President Duterte has presided over a brutal campaign of extrajudicial murders that has resulted in the deaths of thousands of drug users and low-level drug dealers. While the Philippines remains a vital U.S. ally, we are concerned that hosting President Duterte at the White House while this campaign of mass atrocities continues would send the wrong message. Instead, we urge you to denounce this reprehensible campaign, demand that it cease, and press Duterte to adopt an evidence-based approach to drug use based on public health.

            Since President Duterte took office on June 30, 2016, Project Tokhang, his violent campaign to eradicate drug use in the Philippines, has resulted in at least 8,000 deaths.[1] In addition to directing police forces to carry out these killing, President Duterte has urged vigilantes, many of whom struggle with addiction themselves, to execute people who use illegal drugs. In September, President Duterte favorably compared his plan for murdering drug users to Hitler’s genocide of the Jews, saying, “Hitler massacred 3 million Jews [sic]. Now there [are] 3 million…drug addicts [in the Philippines]…I’d be happy to slaughter them.”[2]

The United States and the Philippines have been close partners for over one-hundred years, and treaty allies since 1951. Our relationship is based on deep historical connections, shared values, and mutual strategic interests. President Duterte’s campaign of killing threatens the fundamental fabric of our relationship.[3]

            Inviting President Duterte to the White House while this murderous campaign continues could be interpreted as an endorsement of his government’s gross human rights abuses. Such a perception would undermine efforts to restrain Duterte’s violent campaign, which would further call into question the legality and appropriateness of continued U.S. assistance to the Philippines’ law enforcement agencies and security forces.

It would also reinforce the profoundly misguided approach to drug dependence that is embodied in Project Tokhang. Our own nation, and communities in all our states, have struggled with the scourge of drugs as well. Prosecution of drug trafficking, consistent with the rule of law, is a critically important part of responding to illegal drug use, but appropriate access to public health programs for rehabilitation is critical to addressing this problem. Broad medical research concludes that drug addiction is a chronic disease rather than a moral failing. In April 2016, the United Nations identified the need for a balanced approach to drug control that puts the health and well-being of people, families, and communities at the center of all responses.[4] Duterte’s anti-drug campaign does precisely the opposite, and reveals an indifference to the human toll of drug addiction.

We encourage you to delay his visit to the White House until there are demonstrated improvements in his government’s human rights record. In particular, President Duterte must stop this campaign of murder and adopt a comprehensive public health approach to drug addiction that centers on treatment. The United States, for its part, should stand ready to provide assistance and partnership for the development and implementation of these programs. While law enforcement has an important role in dealing with illegal drugs, extrajudicial killings are not a form of justice. We urge you to denounce these violations of basic human rights, and press President Duterte’s government to change course.

           

                                                            Sincerely,