‘Stay AWAY’
THAT WAS THE MESSAGE AS PROTESTERS GATHERED IN CITY LAST NIGHT IN BID TO STOP PRESIDENT VISITING UK
THOUSANDS of people in Coventry and Warwickshire have signed a petition calling for new US President Donald Trump to be stopped from visiting the UK.
There has been widespread condemnation of the Republican’s move to ban migrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries - leading to the petition which now has well over one million signatures.
The petition cites that allowing the controversial politician into the country would “cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen”.
Parliament will consider the petition for debate as it has reached more than 100,000 signatures.
Yesterday over 12,000 people in Coventry, Warwickshire and Soli- hull had signed up. In Coventry nearly 4,000 people had added their signatures while in Warwick and Leamington 2,053 had joined the protests.
Kenilworth and Southam had 1,323 signatures while the figure was 1,352 for Stratford.
Protesters gathered in Coventry last night to voice their disgust with President Trump’s policies.
Organisers wrote on their Facebook page: “Theresa May has betrayed her own people.
“That doesn’t mean we have to. Let’s stand in solidarity with those targeted by Donald Trump’s hateful government, including the people of this country, outside Downing Street and all over Britain. “Other governments – like Canada, like France, like Germany – have spoken out. Our weak, cowardly government has refused to. “Let’s not have the same cowardice and betrayal as our own government.” Joe Connor, who heads up Stand Up to Racism Coventry, told the Telegraph: “It’s about standing up with Muslims across the globe and women. We want our government to decide to stop President Trump coming to the country until he stops coming out with abusive and racist laws.” Stratford MP Nadhim Zahawi has already spoken out after learning he could be banned from the US. Yesterday he took to Twitter to say that he and Ed Miliband were calling for an emergency debate on the “divisive ban by the United States on Nationals from predominantly Muslim countries.”
The Conservative politician, who was born in Baghdad, was told by lawyers that he could be stopped from entering the country due to being from one of the seven nations under named by Trump.
The government has since clarified that Britons with dual citizenship flying from the UK would be exempt from the ban – presumably meaning Mr Zahawi wouldn’t be stopped from entering the US.
He told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show: “For the first time in my life last night I felt discriminated against, it’s demeaning, it’s sad.”
The ban could have prevent Mr Zahawi from visiting his sons who are studying at Princeton University in the state of New Jersey.
Let’s stand in solidarity with those targeted by Donald Trump’s hateful government... Protesters’ Facebook page