Category: Politics

{Abdullah bin Zayed says President Trump’s order affecting citizens of Muslim-majority countries is not Islamophobic.}

The United Arab Emirates’ foreign minister has said that US President Donald Trump’s travel ban on citizens of seven mainly Muslim countries, which has triggered global outrage, is not Islamophobic and does not target any one religion.

Trump’s order affecting nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen has sparked protests across the United States and beyond. Four US states have filed legal cases against the travel ban for alleged religious discrimination.

But Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, foreign minister of the UAE – a Muslim country – defended the ban on Wednesday.

He said that most Muslims and Muslim countries were not included in the ban.

The affected countries, he added, faced “challenges” that they needed to address.

“The United States has taken a decision that is within the American sovereign decision,” he said at a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in the capital Abu Dhabi.

“There are attempts to give the impression that this decision is directed against a particular religion, but what proves this talk to be incorrect first is what the US administration itself says … that this decision is not directed at a certain religion.”

Trump on Friday signed the executive order that will curb immigration and the entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, saying it was a necessary measure to improve national security.

He separately said he wanted the US to give priority to Syrian Christians fleeing the conflict there.

The travel ban has disrupted many people’s lives by dividing families and left travellers stranded. Dozens were detained at airports, including green card holders.

Gulf Arab countries have been largely absent from the condemnation of the ban. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain have traditionally been close US allies, and all were left off the travel ban.

Of the five countries, the only one to express mild disapproval in public was Qatar, whose foreign minister was quoted during a visit to Serbia as saying he hoped Washington would reassess the ban.

“When it comes to be addressed in a Muslim framework, I think this is something we will stand against,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said.

Some Gulf officials even backed it openly. Dhahi Khalfan, a senior Dubai police official, tweeted on Monday “complete support” for Trump’s ban. “Every country has the right to protect its security … Trump, what you’re doing is right.”

Meanwhile, European leaders, the United Nations and international groups have condemned Trump’s measures, as passport holders from Arab countries affected by the ban were blocked from passing through customs at US airports and others were prevented from boarding US-bound planes.

The United Nations refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration called on the Trump administration to continue offering asylum to people fleeing war and persecution, saying its resettlement programme was vital.

“The needs of refugees and migrants worldwide have never been greater and the US resettlement programme is one of the most important in the world,” the two Geneva-based agencies said in a joint statement on Saturday.

Amid growing protests, legal challenges to Trump’s anti-immigration moves have spread.

The US states of Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and Washington have filed legal cases, contending that the order violates the US Constitution’s guarantees of religious freedom.

{Members of parliament call on government to reply in kind to President Donald Trump’s ban on Iraqis entering the US.}

Iraqi members of parliament have voted to call on the government to enact a reciprocal travel ban on US citizens, if Washington does not withdraw its decision to prohibit the entry of Iraqis.

The move is a response to US President Donald Trump’s executive order barring citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries – Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen – from entering the United States for at least 90 days.

The vote on Monday is not thought to be binding on the government of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, whose government has made no official comment on the order.

The parliament called on the Baghdad administration to “respond in kind to the American decision in the event that the American side does not to withdraw its decision”, a parliamentary official who was present for the vote told AFP news agency, quoting text of the decision that was read at the session.

“Parliament voted by majority on calling on the Iraqi government and the foreign ministry to respond in kind,” MP Hakim al-Zamili said.

Sadiq al-Laban, another MP, confirmed that “the vote was for a call on the government” to enact reciprocal measures.

“We are against this stance from the new administration,” Laban said, adding: “We hope that the American administration will rethink … this decision.”

Also on Monday, Iraq’s foreign ministry urged the US to review the ban.

“We see it as necessary for the new American administration to review this wrong decision,” the ministry said in a statement.

It was not clear if the reciprocal move demanded by the parliament was intended to apply to US military advisers. Holders of visas for government and diplomatic business are exempt from the US ban.

The Pentagon says its advisers are embedded with Iraqi field commanders in the campaign to recapture Iraq’s second-largest city, Mosul, from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS).

Trump’s decision led to the detention of incoming refugees at US airports, sparking protests, legal challenges and widespread condemnation from international leaders, rights groups and activists.

It has also led to a growing backlash inside Iraq that could undermine relations between Baghdad and the US amid the battle for Mosul.

{{‘Get your nationals out’}}

The parliamentary vote came a day after its foreign affairs committee made a similar call for Iraq to respond in kind to the US measure.

US Senators John McCain and Lindsay Graham said Trump’s ban would affect military cooperation and security in other ways.

“This executive order bans Iraqi pilots from coming to military bases in Arizona to fight our common enemies,” the two US politicians said in a joint statement.

“Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism,” they said.

Trump’s travel restrictions drew condemnation from influential Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr.

“Get your nationals out before removing expatriates,” said Sadr.

{Politicians, rights groups and activists criticise Trump’s crackdown on refugees from Muslim-majority countries.}

European leaders, the United Nations and international groups have condemned US President Donald Trump’s measures against refugees and travellers from several Muslim-majority countries.

The chorus of criticism came as passport holders from Arab countries were blocked on Saturday from passing through customs at US airports and others were prevented from boarding US-bound planes.

Trump on Friday signed an executive order that will curb immigration and the entry of refugees from some Muslim-majority countries. He separately said he wanted the US to give priority to Syrian Christians fleeing the civil war there.

The bans, though temporary, took effect immediately, causing havoc and confusion for would-be travelers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The United Nations refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration called on the Trump administration to continue offering asylum to people fleeing war and persecution, saying its resettlement programme was vital.

“The needs of refugees and migrants worldwide have never been greater and the US resettlement programme is one of the most important in the world,” the two Geneva-based agencies said in a joint statement on Saturday.

{{‘Part of our duties’}}

Germany and France also expressed discontent with Trump’s measures.

“The reception of refugees fleeing the war, fleeing oppression, is part of our duties,” Jean-Marc Ayrault , France’s foreign minister, said during a joint news conference with his German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel .

Germany has taken in more than one million refugees and migrants, mainly from the Middle East, since 2015.

Although traditionally open to asylum seekers, France has taken in far fewer refugees than Germany since the migrant crisis erupted.

Some in the French government, mostly ex-premier Manuel Valls, have criticised Berlin’s open-door policy, as has Trump.

“The United States is a country where Christian traditions have an important meaning. Loving your neighbour is a major Christian value, and that includes helping people,” said Germany’s Gabriel.

“I think that is what unites us in the West, and I think that is what we want to make clear to the Americans.”

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also said the Republican’s sweeping ban on people seeking refuge in the US is no solution to problems.

“Regional issues cannot be solved by closing the doors on people,” Yildirim said during a joint news conference in Ankara with Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May, adding that Western countries should do more to help ease Turkey’s refugee burden.

May, however, refused to condemn Trump’s refugee suspension.

“The United States is responsible for the United States’ policy on refugees.” she said when repeatedly pressed on the issue.

But other European leaders made their concerns clear, with Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn condemning the new measures.

“The decision is .. bad for Europe, because it’s going to strengthen even further the mistrust and hatred towards the West in the heart of the Muslim world,” he told the Sunday edition of German daily Tagesspiegel, excerpts of which were released a day in advance.

{{‘Extreme xenophobia’}}

Inside the US, Democrats were also quick to condemn Trump’s order, saying it would tarnish the reputation of the country.

“Today’s executive order from President Trump is more about extreme xenophobia than extreme vetting,” said Democratic Senator Edward Markey in a statement.

Chuck Schumer , the New York senator, also criticised Trump’s move, saying in a tweet:

Yet some Republicans praised Trump’s move. Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, said the US president “is using the tools granted to him by Congress and the power granted by the Constitution to help keep America safe and ensure we know who is entering the United States”.

“What we have to remember in all of this is that there are millions of Americans who like what Trump is doing when he’s revamping immigration and the visiting to the US,” Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington, DC, said.

“It’s what he promised to do during the campaign trail and in his inauguration speech.”

{{‘Not time for walls’}}

Trump on Wednesday also ordered the construction of a US -Mexican border wall , a major promise during his election campaign, as part of a package of measures to curb undocumented immigration.

Ostensibly referring to Trump’s executive order, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a speech on Saturday: “Today is not the time to erect walls between nations. They have forgotten that the Berlin wall fell years ago.”

He added: “Today is the time for peaceful co-existence, not the time to create distance among nations.”

But Milos Zeman , the president of the Czech Republic, praised the decision. Writing on Twitter, Zeman’s spokesperson said Trump “protects his country” and called for the European Union to take similar measures.

Dutch politician Geert Wilders , known for promoting Islamophobia, tweeted: “Well done @POTUS it’s the only way to stay safe + free. I would do the same. Hope you’ll add more Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia soon,” using an acronym for President of the United States.

{US refugee programme suspended for 120 days and Syrian refugees barred until further notice.}

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order suspending the US refugee programme for 120 days, specifically barring Syrian refugees until further notice.

Trump signed the order at the Pentagon, saying the moves would help protect Americans from “terrorist” attacks.

“I’m establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America. Don’t want them here,” Trump said earlier on Friday.

“We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country and love deeply our people,” he said.

Civil rights groups condemned the measures as discriminatory.

“Trump’s latest executive order is likely to hurt the people most in need: those fleeing violence and terrorism – and on Holocaust Remembrance Day, no less,” said Grace Meng, senior US researcher at Human Rights Watch.

“The decision to drastically curtail the refugee programme will abandon tens of thousands to the risk of persecution or worse and cede American leadership on a vitally important issue,” Meng added.

The order suspends the Syrian refugee programme until further notice, and will eventually give priority to minority religious groups fleeing persecution. Trump said in an interview with a Christian news outlet the exception would help Syrian Christians fleeing the civil war.

His order had been expected to include a directive about setting up “safe zones” for Syrian refugees inside the country, but no such language was included.

The measure limits entry for at least 90 days from Syria and other Muslim-majority countries, but did not list the countries by name.

The state department said the three-month ban in the directive applied to Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen – all Muslim-majority nations.

Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Tehran, said: “[Iranians] are shocked and astonished that this has taken place. There’s more than one million Iranians living in the US. A lot of them have extended family, or their children, or their parents still in Iran.”

Ardeshir Namavar, a US green card holder currently in Tehran, told Al Jazeera: “We feel really terrible about the news. I bought my ticket [to the US] and have a flight in 10 days; now we don’t know what we are going to do. All of my family are in the US including my mother and father. They are American citizens. I had planned to study there, now everything has changed.”

The order said all immigration programmes should include questions to “evaluate the applicant’s likelihood of becoming a positively contributing member of society”.

{{‘Extreme vetting’}}

Jennifer Sime, the senior vice president of US programmes at the International Rescue Committee, an NGO that works with refugees, told Al Jazeera: “I think it’s important to understand that there is already a robust vetting process in place. It was reviewed a few days ago and new things were added to enhance the vetting process.”

She added that refugees were already the “single most vetted population coming into the US”.

On the exception in the order that favours Syrian Christian refugees, Sime said: “The first thing to remember is that this programme [was] based on the principle of non-discrimination, so it’s not about choosing Muslims or Christians. Refugees are selected based on need, urgency and basically their cases, not based on political affiliation and religion.”

Trump’s order cuts the number of refugees the US plans to accept this budget year by more than half, to 50,000 people from around the world.

During the last budget year, the US accepted 84,995 refugees, including 12,587 people from Syria. President Barack Obama had set the current refugee limit at 110,000.

During the Obama administration, vetting for refugees included in-person interviews overseas, where they provided biographical details about themselves, including their families, friendships, social or political activities, employment, phone numbers, email accounts and more.

They also provided biometric information, including fingerprints. Syrians were subject to additional, classified controls that administration officials at the time declined to describe, and processing for that group could routinely take years to complete.

Following Trump’s signing of the order, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a US Muslim advocacy and civil rights group, said it would file a “federal lawsuit on behalf of more than 20 individuals challenging the ‘Muslim ban’”.

{Tens of thousands convene in the US capital, spurred on by Donald Trump who has vowed to end taxpayer-funded abortion.}

Tens of thousands of anti-abortion activists marched in the US capital, Washington, DC, spurred on by the election of Donald Trump who has vowed to end taxpayer-funded abortion.

Vice President Mike Pence, a longtime supporter of the anti-abortion movement, was the most senior government official to speak at Friday’s rally.

“Life is winning again in America,” Pence told the demonstrators who hoisted signs saying “Choose life”, “I am the pro-life generation” and “Equal Rights For Unborn People”.

Pence, who as governor of Indiana signed some of the nation’s strictest abortion laws, praised “the election of pro-life majorities in the Congress of the United States of America”.

On Tuesday, Trump signalled his intention to nominate an anti-abortion justice to the Supreme Court and has already revived an old policy banning funding for groups abroad that pay for abortions or provide information about abortion.

Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi, reporting from the rally in Washington, DC, said many of the protesters were optimistic that they had an ally in the new president.

“Many of the protesters hope that a Trump-nominated justice will help overturn the landmark Roe v Wade ruling in 1973 that a woman has the right to make her own medical decisions without any interference from politicians,” he said.

Trump has said Roe v Wade should be overturned. He has also pledged to defund Planned Parenthood, which draws the ire of many Republicans because it provides abortions, along with other services.

Dana Tilson, the Kenya director for Marie Stopes International, a family-planning clinic, told Al Jazeera that cutting funding to abortion providers could see poor women across the world turn to dangerous methods to end their pregnancies.

“If women and girls are denied safe options, they will seek any method to end a pregnancy,” she said.

“They will go to the streets and will be served by unskilled providers who use chemicals and sticks and other mechanisms that will damage their reproductive organs and some cases result in them bleeding to death.”

The rally comes as the number of US abortions has fallen to a record low. The Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health and rights organisation, said last week that it dropped below 1 million in 2013 for the first time since 1975.

A Quinnipiac University poll released on Friday showed that 64 percent of Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 31 percent said it should be illegal in all or most cases.

{Four leading department officials and country’s border police chief quit posts under Donald Trump’s administration.}

An entire senior management team of the US State Deparment has resigned under the new adminstration of President Donald Trump, local media has reported.

Four leading US officials from the State Department, which advises the US president and leads the country in foreign policy issues, left their posts on Wednesday, but the reason for the walkout has not been confirmed, the Washington Post said .

Patrick Kennedy, the department’s undersecretary for management; Joyce Anne Barr, assistant secretary of state for administration; Michele Bond, the assistant secretary of state for consular affairs; and Gentry Smith, director of the office of foreign missions, resigned unexpectedly, the US newspaper reported on Thursday.

According to the Reuters news agency, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Thomas Countryman will also leave his post by Friday.

Turnover is the rule, rather than the exception, among the top officials in the US government when the White House changes hands from one party to another, in this case from Democrat Barack Obama to Republican Donald Trump.

A week ago, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State, former Exxon Mobil Corp chairman Rex Tillerson, was confirmed by the Senate foreign relations committee. He has yet to be confirmed by the full Senate.

In a separate development, the US Border Patrol Chief Mark Morgan, a former longtime FBI agent, has left the agency, a source familiar with his departure told the Reuters news agency on Thursday. The reason for his departure was not immediately clear.

The resignations came soon after Trump signed an order for a controversial wall on the border with Mexico. He has also in his first week of office signed orders restricting visas and immigration from countries including Somalia, Sudan, Iran, Yemen and Iraq, and the entry of refugees.