‘Trump’s politics are not welcome here. This second state visit is a stain on our collective consciousness.’
Activists from Fossil Free London protested inside Windsor Castle yesterday against Donald Trump’s state visit.
Trump’s second UK state visit will begin tomorrow and last until Thursday 18 September.
In the grounds of the castle, the group of climate activists unveiled a banner with a photo of President Trump which read: ‘Climate criminal. War criminal. The only place he’s welcome is The Hague’.
They also chanted “climate criminal, war criminal, Trump’s not welcome here”, drawing attention to his record on climate change and his complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Academics warn that Trump’s push to expand oil, coal, and gas has set back climate progress by decades in just six months. Studies have shown that unabated climate change will cause 3.4 million deaths per year by the end of the century.
Experts have raised alarm over Trump’s plans for Gaza after he called it a “demolition site” and suggested earlier this year that the territory should be “cleaned out”. As part of the plan, Trump has proposed to move almost two million Palestinians out of Gaza.
These plans would fly in the face of international law, including the 1949 Geneva conventions and the 1998 Rome statute.
This protest forms part of a series of actions against Trump’s visit to the UK, with a large demonstration planned in Central London on Wednesday, organised by the Stop Trump Coalition.
Robin Wells, Director of Fossil Free London said: “‘Genocide is unfolding. Seen on our phones through the faces of thousands of screaming children. Floods and fires across Europe get closer each day to our own front doors. But Trump claps and cheers for more.
“Not only does he refuse to impose sanctions, he cheers on ethnic cleansing and the seizure of Palestinian land. Not only does he fail to take the bold climate action needed he tears up existing climate policy and crows for his billionaire bros to drill for more oil.
“Trump’s politics are not welcome here. This second state visit is a stain on our collective consciousness. We call on people to come out to protest at the Stop Trump Coalition march on Wednesday, 2pm Portland Place.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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