Daily Archives: July 22, 2017

A Deeper Understanding,the fourth album from Phillys beloved War on Drugs, arrives August 25. The timing is perfect.This is when summer begins its slowdissolve. Youve still got a solid month of beach weather left, but youre already preoccupied with everything you have or havent managed to do in the days that are already used up. You convince yourself that youre actually going tomissthe humidity and grit of the season, and the air takes on a glow thats all the more appealingfor the knowledge that it will expire soon. This kind of nostalgia for the present is the War on Drugs specialty, and on the secondDeeper Understandingsingle Strangest Thing, theyre serving it up in fine form.

The band has spent almost a decade refining its formula, and from the sound of the two singles weve heard, the new album makes no attempt at a total overhaul.Tunnel of Love- and Streets of Philadelphia-era Bruce Springsteen, a little Tom Petty, Harmonia and other bands exploring the softer side of krautrock, the entire production canon of Daniel Lanois. (The hyperreal Americana offered onOh MercyandTime Out of Mind,Lanoiss two albums for Bob Dylan, feels especially prescient here.) On past albums, the War on Drugs had a tendencywhich you may haveloved or hated, depending on your dispositiontoblanket these influences with the sonic equivalent of an Instagram filter, flattening theircontrasts in the service of the aforementioned wistful feeling.

Strangest Thing dropsthe haze and just goes for it. Ive been hiding out so long, Ive gotta find another way, bandleader AdamGranduciel sings at the opening, over a inauspiciousarrangement heavy on reverb and electric piano. Patiently, the songgathers force with every line: a flanged guitar fill here, synth strings there, some choral-sounding backing vocals, then a pair of brief and magnificent guitar solos, arriving with a snare drum like a starter pistol and a whammy bar wiggle that may make certain listeners weak in the knees. In spirit more than sound, the finished product also also evokes the specter of Spector, perhaps the first studio tinkerer to dream that something so base as rocknroll could dare to reach for transcendence. Strangest Thing is nearly seven minutes long. By the time its over, like the summer, it feels like its hardly begun. Fortunately, in this case, you can always rewind and start again.

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The War on Drugs' Strangest Thing Is a Wistful, Excellent Summer Jam - SPIN

Co-Chairmen Representatives McGovern and Hultgren and members of the commission, thank you for the opportunity to testify at todays hearing on the human rights consequences of the war on drugs in the Philippines.

This hearing comes at a critical moment for the people of the Philippines.

Since taking office, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has unleashed a human rights calamity. The governmentsmurderouswar on drugs, drug-relatedovercrowding of jails, and theharassmentandprosecutionof drug war critics has caused a steep decline in respect for basic rights since Dutertes inauguration on June 30, 2016. Duterte justifies his anti-drug campaign as a life-or-death struggle against a drug menace that he claims threatens to transform the Philippines into a narco state. He is untroubled by the fact that the statistics he brandishes to back up this hyperbole are flawed, exaggerated, or fabricated.

In the Philippines, security forces and unidentified gunmen have killed more than 7,000 suspected drug users and dealers since July 1, 2016, including at least 3,116 killings by police, according to government data. That death toll also doesnt include the victims that Duterte calls collateral damage children shot in the crossfire of anti-drug operations. The extraordinary brutality of the Duterte drug war is undeniable. Many of the victims are found in back alleys or street corners wrapped in packing tape, their bodies bullet-ridden or bearing stab wounds and other signs of torture.

Human Rights Watchfield research found that government claims that the deaths of suspected drug users and dealers were lawful were blatant falsehoods. That research paints a chilling portrait of mostly impoverished urban slum dwellers being gunned down in state-sanctioned death squad operations that demolish rule of law protections. Interviews with witnesses and victims relatives and analysis of police records expose a pattern of unlawful police conduct designed to paint a veneer of legality over extrajudicial executions that may amount to crimes against humanity. Our investigations revealed that police routinely kill drug suspects in cold blood and then cover up their crimes by planting drugs and guns at the scene.

While the Philippine National Police have publicly sought todistinguishbetween suspects killed while resisting arrest and killings by unknown gunmen or vigilantes, Human Rights Watchfound no such distinctionin the cases investigated. In several such cases, the police dismissed allegations of involvement when only hours before the suspects had been in police custody. Such cases call into question government assertions that most killings have been carried out by vigilantes or rival drug gangs.

Efforts to seek accountability for drug-war deaths have gone nowhere. Philippine National Police Director-General Ronaldo dela Rosa hasrejectedcalls for a thorough and impartial probe of the killings as legal harassment and said it dampens the morale of police officers. Duterte and some of his key ministers have praised the killings as proof of the success of the anti-drug campaign.DuterteandSecretary of JusticeVitaliano Aguirre III have sought to justify their total disregard for the rule of law and due legal process for drug personalities by questioning the humanity of suspected drug users and drug dealers.Dutertes instigation of unlawful police violence and the incitement of vigilante killings may amount to crimes against humanity in violation of international law.

The Duterte administration has subjected prominent critics of the governments abusive anti-drug campaign to harassment, intimidation, and even arrest. In February 2017, the police detained former secretary of justice Senator Leila de Lima on politically motivated drug charges. Her arrest followed arelentless government campaign against her in evident response to her outspoken criticism of Dutertes war on drugs and her calls for accountability. Other critics of the killings including activists,journalists, international officials, and ordinary Filipinos have been threatened online by pro-Dutertesupporters and trolls.Those targeted includeAgnes Callamard, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, andinternational expertson drug dependency.

The war on drugs has also worsened the alreadydire conditions of Philippine jail facilities, including inadequate food and unsanitary conditions.Government data indicatesthat the countrys jail facilities run by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, which have a maximum capacity of 20,399, currently hold nearly132,000 detainees, an overwhelming majority of them awaiting trial or sentencing. The bureauattributesthe overcrowding to the arrest of tens of thousands of suspected drug users and dealers since the anti-drug campaign began.

The Philippine governments drug war has sparked a surge in demand for drug rehabilitation facilities by those fearful of the governments extrajudicial measures. The December 2016 opening of a China-funded 10,000-bed mega treatment and rehabilitation center within the Fort Magsaysay military base 75 miles north of Manila, however, raises serious concerns. Instead of providing evidence-based drug treatment services, the rehabilitation services may mirror models documented by Human Rights Watch elsewhere in Southeast Asia where the only treatment offered was abuse. The Philippines is in dire need of voluntary, community-based drug dependence treatment services that comport with international best practice standards and human rights principles.Until there is a clear commitment from the Philippine government to support drug rehabilitation services based on these principles, the US government should not provide support for rehabilitation services and Congress should ensure they are not funded.

Despite statements from President Donald Trump that appear supportive of Dutertes abusive policies, the US State Department has taken some important steps to register disapproval of the drug war. These include the November 2016 suspension of the sale of 26,000 military assault rifles to the Philippine National Police. The State Department took this step in large part because of opposition from Senator Ben Cardin, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who opposed the dealdue to concerns about human rights violations in the Philippines.

In addition, the US Embassy in Manila announced on December 14 that the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)would defer a decision on new funding for the Philippine government due to significant concerns around rule of law and civil liberties in the Philippines. The statement justified that decision on the basis that criteria for MCC aid recipients includes not just a passing scorecard but also a demonstrated commitment to the rule of law, due process and respect for human rights.

Human Rights Watch urges the State Department and the MCC to maintain these suspensions of assistance until the killing stops and meaningful steps to accountability are underway. We encourage Congress to play an active oversight role to ensure vigilance going forward.

Congress can also engage more directly to stop the bloodshed in the Philippines. First, it should further restrict assistance to the Philippine security forces by imposing specific human rights benchmarks, including requiring Duterte to end the drug war killings and allow a United Nations-led investigation into the deaths. And Congress can direct the Secretary of State to work with other foreign governments to impose similar restrictions.

Notably, on May 4, 2017Senators Cardin (D-MD), Rubio (R-FL), Schatz (D-HI), and Markey (D-MA) introduced the Philippines Human Rights Accountability and Counternarcotics Act of 2017, a bill that places restrictions on defense aid to the country, provides additional funding for the Philippine human rights community, and supports a public health approach to drug use. We would like to see a similar bill introduced in the House and would encourage prompt passage into law, as doing so may save lives while also reminding Duterte that his government will pay a price for its ongoing murderous campaign.

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Human Rights Consequences of the War on Drugs in the Philippines - Human Rights Watch

WASHINGTON US legislators savaged President Duterte for the explosion of extrajudicial killings in his war on drugs and urged President Donald Trump to rescind an invitation to the Filipino leader to visit the White House.

If he comes I will lead a protest (against it), said Democratic congressman James McGovern at a US House hearing on Thursday on the human rights consequences of the war on drugs in the Philippines.

McGovern, co-chair of the chambers Human Rights Commission, said the EJKs stain bilateral relations with the United States.

There are other alternatives to fighting the spread of drugs consistent with the rule of law rather than killing people in cold blood, he said.

No other country comes to mind where people are assassinated in the name of fighting drugs and leaders brag about it, he said.

Congresswoman Jackie Speier, also a Democrat, said she was disgusted that President Trump invited Duterte to the White House.

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We need to call this (Dutertes) deranged policy out for what it is: state-sanctioned vigilantism that contravenes the rule of law and damages the international standing of the Philippines, she said.

It is critical that both Congress and the President condemn Dutertes unacceptable human rights abuses in the strongest possible terms, and take concrete action to ensure that the United States is not enabling these practices, she added.

Republican congressman Randy Hultgren, the other co-chair of the commission described the EJKs as an appalling epidemic and said 7,000 drug users and dealers have been killed without charges and without trial.

He said it was the obligation of the US Congress to not only advocate for but to defend human rights.

We need to maintain bilateral cooperation with our ally without jeopardizing human rights in the Philippines, he said.

One of the witnesses at the hearing, Ellecer Carlos, spokesperson for In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (iDEFEND) of the Philippines said Duterte has effectively put in place a de facto social cleansing policy with his war on drugs affecting the most vulnerable and impoverished sections of Philippine society.

He has effectively defined a particular section of Philippine society as inhuman and worthy of elimination, Carlos said.

Another witness, Matthew Wells of Amnesty International, said he has been part of an AI team that has investigated the murderous campaign against drugs in the Philippines.

He said local government officials, at the behest of the police, draw up what is known as a drug watch list that purports to identify people who use or sell drugs in that area. The vast majority of victims come from the poorest segments of Philippine society.

Inclusion is at times based on hearsay, community rumors, or personal rivalry, with little or no verification.

These drug watch lists are then often turned into kill lists. Police units usually rely on these lists to identify targets.

Amnesty Internationals investigation found that, in at least some areas of the Philippines, police officers have received significant under-the-table payments for encounters in which alleged drug offenders are killed.

Payments ranged from P8,000 for killing a person who uses drugs to P15,000 for killing a small-scale pusher.

He called Dutertes war on drugs campaign as one of the worst human rights calamities in the world today.

The Philippines is a treaty ally of the US and the largest recipient of American assistance in East Asia and has a unique leverage and influence to help ensure the war on drugs be reoriented towards a model based on the protection of health and human rights, he said.

On the eve of the hearing, presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella in Manila described the Duterte administrations campaign against illegal drugs as a noble effort to protect the security and safety of the Filipino people and the future of the nation.

He said proceedings like the House hearing that allege wrongdoing should provide the opportunity for all sides to be considered. Insinuations and hasty judgments have no place in due process, Dutertes spokesman said on Thursday.

A House spokeswoman said the commission has a policy of not inviting foreign government officials to deliver statements at hearings but pointed out anyone was free to attend the proceedings.

She said a speech by Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano at the UN Human Rights Council in May which was sent by the Philippine embassy, was included as an annex to the official record of the hearing.

The Cayetano speech provides a holistic and composite picture of the number of deaths relative to the fight against illegal drugs, an embassy letter said.

Presidential spokesman Abella said the administration is unfazed by criticism coming from US lawmakers.

As the President would say, the real judge of the actions of the administration would be not so much these opinions, but people actually, Abella told a press briefing.

Abella pointed out that streets are safer now for Filipinos as a result of Dutertes tough approach. With Paolo Romero, Christina Mendez, Helen Flores, Romina Cabrera

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US Congress hits Philippines drug war, wants Rody dis-invited - Philippine Star

MANILA President Rodrigo Duterte has designated a focal person in his war on drugs, as government continues to improve its campaign amid accusations of human rights violations.

Through Presidential Directive No. 5, Duterte named Assistant Secretary Aurora Ignacio of the Office of the President as the focal person who shall receive inquiries or clarifications and provide the necessary intervention on matters pertaining to the governments anti-illegal drugs campaign.

The directive also mandates Ignacio to ensure that those offering assistance to the anti-illegal drugs campaign are immediately accommodated.

As of writing, Malacaang has yet to give additional details on Ignacios tasks, as the government has already established an inter-agency committee to ensure that the anti-drug campaign is carried out effectively.

The Duterte administration has many times defended its drug war against critics, saying reported figures- from 7,000 to 9,000- were overblown.

Latest Philippine National Police (PNP) data show that a total of 3,200 drug personalities were killed in anti-drug operations from July 1, 2016 to June 20, 2017, or 9 killed daily in presumed legitimate anti-drug operations in the first year of the Duterte administration.

The PNP has also determined that out of the 12,833 homicide cases from July 1, 2016 to June 16, 2017, 2,098 deaths were drug-related and 2,535 non-drug related. A total of 8,200 homicide cases were under investigation "with motives to be determined," the PNP said.

The human rights body of the United States House of Representatives is set to begin an investigation into the "the human rights consequences" of Duterte's war on drugs.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano has said the government expects due process in the investigation.

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Duterte designates 'focal person' in war on drugs | ABS-CBN News - ABS-CBN News