In the US Trump continues to attack immigrants, this time it is the South American caravans. Meanwhile, the UK has decided to stop being a haven for Russian oligarchs, and Trump could run over Korean unity.
The Caravans
Opening another ugly chapter in his anti-immigration crusade, President Donald Trump has made the lives of people seeking asylum in the United States infinitely more difficult, writes the New York Times.
The ‘caravans’ are a group of people who have come together while fleeing from persecution in South America, in order to ensure their safety and to attract attention to their plight.
In a barrage of tweets that began early April, President Trump said “getting more dangerous. “Caravans” coming. He reiterated the same in a raucous rally in Michigan saying, “Are you watching that mess that’s going on right now with the caravan coming up?”
Adding fuel to the fire, his supporters began sending out warning signals of an impending invasion of illegal immigrants.
However, “the caravan is hardly an anarchic and lawless endeavour. It is a group of desperate people fleeing, in accordance with internationally accepted rules, the very real horrors of the “northern triangle” of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, one of the most violent regions in the world,” the New York Times writes.
What is more, the United States is obligated to allow foreigners inside the country or at its ports of entry to apply for asylum. However, American officials have come up with various tactics to discourage asylum seekers, like separating families or claiming that the port of entry is at capacity—A lie fed to the most recent caravan.
“The vetting of the caravan, in fact, shows that the immigration laws are quite strict, and that they work. That Mr Trump says otherwise shows he sees not a group of fearful people fleeing from terror to freedom, but an opportunity to fan the flames of bigotry.”
Russia: the largest exporter of corruption
“It’s said that the largest export from Vladimir Putin’s Russia is not oil but corruption. There is much truth in that. But export is not a one-sided proposition. For someone to be able to export corruption, someone else must be willing to import it,” writes Vladimir Kara-Murza for The Washington Post.
For decades, people who have been complicit in violating the most basic of democratic norms in Russia have found safe haven in the West, especially in the United Kingdom. While this is unethical on their part, the West has not exactly taken measures to stop enabling them.
In fact, UK has gone as far as to lay out a red carpet welcome to the perpetrators of human rights abuse and corruption. “According to a recent report by Global Witness, an anti-corruption watchdog NGO, British overseas territories alone hold some $46 billion in assets from Russian oligarchs, with billions more stowed on the UK mainland.”
These individuals flock to the UK primarily because of its top-class education system, attractive real estate market and strong legal protections.
While the United States had begun to reverse this trend by prohibiting the issuance of visas to these individuals, the UK had held back due to entrenched interests of the powerful.
However, a wave of change seems to be sweeping the UK today due to a coalition of committed parliamentarians. The House of Commons on Tuesday– amended the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill to include personal sanctions that will “provide accountability for or be a deterrent to gross violations of human rights.”
“If properly implemented, the new measures could be much more: a momentous step in turning the tide against money launderers and human rights abusers in a country many of them have been treating as a sanctuary,” Kara-Murza writes.
Could Trump derail Korean Unity?
The North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, grinning from ear to ear as they greeted each other was truly a sight to behold. When Moon said he had never been to North Korea, Kim took him by the hand and led him briefly over the dividing line between the two Koreas, writes Kevin Rafferty for South China Morning Post.
“It was tremendous theatre, but also heralded something which could change the face of Asia and the world. The two immediate questions are whether Kim can be trusted, and whether US President Donald Trump can live up to his responsibilities when he meets the North Korean dictator.”
North and South Korea have been at war for the past 65 years, losing over a million soldiers and 2.5 million civilians in just three years.
When the two leaders met and ushered in a new era of peace with the signing of the Panmunjom Declaration, President Trump was quick to issue a full throttled tweet: “KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!”
Is everybody believing what is going on. James Comey can’t define what a leak is. He illegally leaked CLASSIFIED INFORMATION but doesn’t understand what he did or how serious it is. He lied all over the place to cover it up. He’s either very sick or very dumb. Remember sailor!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018
His supporters were also quick to declare that President Trump deserved a Nobel Peace Prize because the pressure he exerted on North Korea is what finally brought Kim to his knees.
If only it were that easy. The Koreans will need real help to formally end the war and USA and China must constructively help.
A peaceful, unified, denuclearised Korean peninsula would be wonderful, writes Kevin Rafferty, but Trump cannot tramp into North Korea like he did in Iran and demand to be shown it’s hidden nuclear facilities