From Iceland — Parliamentary Opposition Submits Proposal Condemning Trump

Parliamentary Opposition Submits Proposal Condemning Trump

Published February 9, 2017

Andie Sophia Fontaine
Photo by
Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons

Members of parliament from the Social Democrats, the Left-Greens and the Pirates have submitted a parliamentary proposal calling upon the government to officially condemn Trump’s “seven-country ban”.

The proposal, led by Social Democrat chair Logi Einarsson, has the support of other Social Democrats, as well as MPs for the Left-Greens and the Pirate Party.

“Parliament harshly condemns the executive order of the United States of America which is aimed against Muslims, by denying citizens of seven countries and people with backgrounds from these countries,” the proposal reads in part. “The order is without precedent, expresses contempt, is based on prejudice and undermines human rights and democratic values that are generally acknowledged in western democracies. Furthermore, it incites conflict rather than ensuring security. [Prince] Zeid bin Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein, the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the United Nations, has said that the order is illegal and poorly conceived.”

Amongst those who co-signed the proposal is Pirate Party MP Ásta Guðrún Helgadóttir, who made headlines when she, along with Pirate Party MP Þórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir, called Trump a fascist during a parliamentary discussion last week.

“I am worried because the President of the United States is a fascist, misogynist and racist,” Pirate Party MP Þórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir told parliament, adding that she is also worried that Trump will institute torture and secret prisons again. Another Pirate Party MP, Ásta Guðrún Helgadóttir (seen above), expressed similar concerns, saying, “I feel it is important to call things by the right name. This behaviour that the president has shown – with authoritarianism, by denying information and the common values that the American people have – this is fascist behaviour.”

The proposal has been newly submitted, and no vote has been taken on it at the time of this writing.

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