(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday, April 13, issued a public apology to Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi Friday, a week after describing the military crackdown on the country’s Rohingya minority as a “genocide.”
“I will apologize to you, but if you have noticed, my statement was almost a satire,” Duterte told a pre-dawn news conference in Davao on Friday.
He said his original comments were intended as a dig at European countries that have “lived off the fat of the land” of Asian countries.
“Puro daldal lang kasi kayo..The reason why you’re so unpopular..Di niyo alam ang sentimyento ng Orientals. You know why we have this deep wound in our hearts? Because you colonized us, you occupied our country..,” he said.
For instance, he said Britain occupied Malaysia; the Netherlands, Indonesia; and Germany and others the Middle East.
“You were well in advance in development because of the oil you got for free from Africa,” he said.
He said if Europeans were “really worried, attacking Suu Kyi, provide the relief, accept their refugees.”
“If you’re willing to do that, I’m willing to accept my share of responsibility in the name of humanity,” he said. With a report from AFP
