海角大神

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ain鈥檛 got a friend in James Taylor.

The singer-songwriter has canceled a February concert in Manila in protest of the nearly 6,000 killings, most of them extrajudicial,听during Mr. Duterte鈥檚 national war on drugs.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think of my music as being particularly political, but sometimes one is called upon to make a political stand,鈥� Mr. Taylor, whose hits included 鈥淵ou鈥檝e Got a Friend鈥� and 鈥淔ire and Rain,鈥� wrote on his website Tuesday.听

鈥淔or a sovereign nation to prosecute and punish, under the law, those responsible for the illegal trade in drugs is of, course, understandable, even commendable,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淏ut recent reports from the Philippines of summary executions of suspected offenders without trial or judicial process are deeply concerning and unacceptable to anyone who loves the rule of law.鈥�

Taylor joins a number of voices from government, human rights groups, and United Nations posts that have criticized Mr. Duterte over human rights, particularly since听he admitted to shooting three suspected kidnappers who died during a firefight with police while he was mayor of Davao City, although his staff has since walked back those comments.听But as the international community comes out against the Filipino leader, his support remains high inside his own country.

鈥淚n the name of human rights, it鈥檚 sad,鈥� student Ryan James Villarmia told CNN. 鈥淏ut for the safety of the people, it鈥檚 good.鈥�

As of October,听Duterte鈥檚 public approval was at 64 percent, with only 11 percent of respondents saying they were dissatisfied with the first 90 days of his administration, according to a Reuters report based on polling data from Social Weather Stations.

According to figures the Philippine National Police released Monday, 5,927 people have died in the war on drugs since July 1. More than 2,000 were killed in police operations, with the government insisting that they resisted arrest, and the remainder died in vigilante-style violence or extrajudicial killings. Some critics allege that听some of the vigilantes are assassins听hired by authorities, although Duterte vehemently rejects that claim.

Taylor, who has openly discussed in recent press interviews his recovery from heroin addiction in his teens, apologized to fans for canceling the concert, part of a tour of the region. Renen de Guia, the president and chief executive of Taylor鈥檚 local promoter, Ovation Productions, told The Guardian he believes Taylor was the first foreign performer to cancel a Philippine concert over the killings.

The move听comes just days after the UN high commissioner for human rights urged Philippine courts to launch a murder investigation into Duterte, after he told reporters听he killed three suspected criminals in a firefight while mayor of Davao city.听He later added he was not sure the bullets he fired killed the suspects, and a spokesman denied the president personally killed anyone.

Those deaths would be a violation of international law and Philippine constitutional rights,听UN commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein said in a statement.听

Duterte鈥檚 remarks also drew condemnation from the White House.

"Those comments are deeply troubling, and they certainly are at odds with the Philippine government's stated commitment to due process and rule of law," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters last week,听according to the Associated Press.

Duterte has previously encouraged police and vigilantes to assassinate people they suspect of dealing drugs, part of a hard-line anti-drug campaign that听saw him elected on a wave of popularity.听But they have also led the US to waver on providing aid to the Philippines. The Millennium Challenge Corporation, a US government aid agency, recently deferred a vote on the renewal of aid for the country, which听had been slated for another aid package after its previous five-year, $434 million poverty reduction program was successfully completed in May under Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino III.

The news drew harsh condemnation from an enraged Duterte, who threatened to terminate a pact that allows US troops to visit the Philippines.听

This report contains material from Reuters.听