Philippine demonstrators have torched a giant paper statue of US President Donald Trump in protest against “American imperialism” on Monday as demonstrations against the US leader entered their fourth day during the 31st ASEAN summit in the Philippine capital Manila.
The effigy of Trump, which was several meters high, was mounted on a spinning wheel that resembled a Nazi swastika, holding a nuclear missile, a bulldozer, a bag of US dollars and a pistol. The crowd cheered and chanted more slogans directed against the US president as the paper figure was lit.
Renato Reyes, the secretary general of the New Patriotic Alliance that organized the rally, told Sputnik that the group started to march toward the main venue of the summit, the Philippine International Convention Center, at around 9 a.m. local time (01:00 GMT) on Monday but were blocked by police on Taft Avenue and were not allowed to move further.
According to local media reports, police tried to disperse the protesters with water cannons, as they had done the day before, leaving several protesters injured. Reyes estimated about 3,000 people took part in this morning’s rally against Trump.
On Sunday, Kristine Cabardo, leader of the AKLAS, a youth alliance based on the Philippine island of Mindanao, told Sputnik that the anger was not only limited to Trump as the Philippine government was also to blame.
The 31st ASEAN summit and related meetings are being held on November 10-14 in the Philippines. The ASEAN is one of the leading regional organizations. It is aimed at boosting economic growth, social and cultural regional development, as well as ensuring peace and security in the region and smooth cooperation between the Southeast Asian countries.