Protests Hit Countries in Asia to Denounce Trump Travel Ban

Rasa - People in Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia staged rallies outside US embassies to protest against immigration policies of President Donald Trump.

News ID: 427149

Date: 05 February 2017 - 21:17

RNA - Thousands of protesters rallied across Australia on Saturday, condemning an executive order by Trump banning the nationals of seven Muslim countries to America, the Russophile reported.

The protesters also demanded an end to Australia's offshore detention of asylum seekers.

US officials have reportedly pulled planned second-round interviews with detainees in an Australian camp on the Pacific island of Nauru, suggesting the US is already blocking progress on a controversial refugee resettlement deal.

"My message to the Australian government is to be braver. You should be standing against discrimination, you should be nurturing the minds of our world," protester Rogina Parchizadeh told Reuters.

Indonesian students and activists from several rights groups in Jakarta urged their government and the international community to help stop Trump’s executive order.

"We are here to protest Trump's xenophobic and Islamophobia policies," rights activist Veronica Koman who organized the protest told Associated Press.

The protesters carried banners which read, "I'm angry with Trump" and "No ban, no wall" during their peaceful rally. ​

"Actually this is not only for Muslims but this is war against humanity because the immigrants or refugees around the world, not only from Muslim countries, don't have to be treated like this," activist Filza Inanuma said.

A similar protest rally was held outside the seaside US Embassy in the Philippine capital of Manila, where protesters burned a portrait of Trump and carried signs reading: “Dump Trump” and “No Deportations” among others. No violence was reported.

Participants in the protest waved signs which condemned "US imperialism". The demonstration in Manila also marked the anniversary of Filipino-American War that began on February 4, 1899.

The protest rallies came as a federal judge in the US imposed a nationwide hold on Trump's ban on Friday for travelers and immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen, siding with the states that have challenged the executive order.

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