Parliament May Block Trump’s State Visit to UK

The petition to the Parliament has been initiated to oppose Trump’s anti-Muslim stance and extreme hate for immigrants.

By Rakesh Raman

The UK Parliament is all set to discuss whether or not the country should allow the new U.S. President Donald Trump to make a state visit to UK.

A petition on the dedicated government platform argues that “Donald Trump should be allowed to enter the UK in his capacity as head of the U.S. Government, but he should not be invited to make an official state visit because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen.”

More than 1 million people have already signed the petition which is supposed to be discussed today in the Parliament which considers all petitions that get more than 100,000 signatures for a debate.

Trump and the First Lady, Melania Trump, had planned to visit UK later this year. But it is possible that the UK Members of Parliament (MPs) may block their visit.

The petition to the Parliament has been initiated to oppose Trump’s anti-Muslim stance and extreme hate for immigrants.

[ UN Agencies Express Concern over Trump’s Muslim Ban Order ]

Last week, Trump had signed an executive order to suspend resettlement of Syrian refugees indefinitely and all other refugee resettlement for 120 days.

The order also banned the entry of nationals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen for 90 days. All seven countries are predominately Muslim countries.

There are widespread protests against Trump’s Muslim ban order. After a long hibernation, Hillary Clinton – who was defeated by Trump in the November election – spoke against Trump’s decision.

“I stand with the people gathered across the country tonight defending our values and our Constitution. This is not who we are,” Clinton said Sunday in her tweet.

I stand with the people gathered across the country tonight defending our values & our Constitution. This is not who we are.

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 29, 2017

Meanwhile, a Federal District Court Judge Ann M. Donnelly issued a stay Saturday, blocking Trump’s discriminatory policy from taking effect and preventing refugees and immigrants from being deported.

Defending his executive order Trump said Sunday, “This order is not about religion – this is about terror and keeping our country safe.”

Statement Regarding Recent Executive Order Concerning Extreme Vetting: https://t.co/f6JO60I0Ul

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017

In response to Trump’s suggestion in his political speeches to put a temporary ban on Muslims’ entry into USA, a similar online community petition had urged the UK government that he should not be allowed to enter UK for his hate speeches.

At that time, the Prime Minister David Cameron had made it clear that he completely disagrees with Trump’s remarks. Also, the Home Secretary had said that Trump’s remarks in relation to Muslims are divisive, unhelpful, and wrong.

By Rakesh Raman, who is a government award-winning journalist and runs free school for deserving children under his NGO – RMN Foundation.