UK unites in Trump protests as Stand Up To Racism march in London
by Paavan Mohindru
It was inevitable that the nearer the day approached, there would be more opposition.
The day that billionaire business Donald Trump was to be inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America.
It was as much as a 150/1 shot 18 months ago, but is now reality.
He was heavily criticised in the months leading up to the election in November for his supposed racist, xenophobic and sexist views, and opposers have not stopped there.
Protests have been carried out this week and will continue across America over the weekend.
Famous faces such as Robert De Niro, Cynthia Nixon and Cher were present at a march in New York City on Thursday.
The opposition has also spread across the pond.
A number of marches have been organised in Central London near the U.S Embassy, by groups such as Stand Up To Racism, who are marching on Friday evening.
The group is chaired by Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott and consists of members of Parliament, peers, trade unionists and religious leaders.
Co-Convenor Weyman Bennett explained why the group disagree with Trump’s election.
“We believe that the policies that Donald Trump explained before he was president-elect were racist and xenophobic towards immigrants and refugees, and Islamophobic.
“At the very heart of his government are people that are racist and will continue to push a racist agenda,” he said, citing new attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions’ alleged links with the Ku Klux Klan.
Bennett said there has to be resistance from the public in order to make their views heard.
“Previous people marched for civil rights, marched for women’s rights, marched for LGBT rights in order to achieve them.
“Donald Trump would like to wind the clock back to 1960, and we intend to fight him every inch of the way.
“We owe it to the people, people like Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks. It’s said that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, so that we could stand up, and I think it’s important that we continue that tradition.”
Bennett, who is also part of the Unite Against Fascism party, questioned who exactly the Trump presidency would benefit.
“He says it’s going to be great. But great for whom? For the billionaires, for the racists, for the bigots?
“He can only be stopped if we actively campaign to unite people against him.”
Demonstrations against Trump are only just beginning, and it’s unlikely that, given the 70-year-old was such an unpopular choice for President , they will stop anytime soon.
