In this piece, OMONU YAX-NELSON, examines the actions of the current US president, Donald Trump in the midst of reactions that have trailed his decisions less than thirty days after assuming power.When Donald John Trump hit the 270 Electoral College mark, a requirement for a candidate to emerge as president-elect United States on the 9 November, 2016, political analysts opined that, Trump only relied on his explosive campaign rhetoric to win the presidency. And that, he would tune-down by the time he takes office.However, the event of the last 16 days has shown that the billionaire estate mogul meant every letter and spirit of his campaign promises. Analysts say Trumps position on the proposed border wall between US and Mexico has set the stage for an unpredictable Presidency and by extension, the world.Most disturbing, according to analysts, is the executive order from President Donald Trump temporarily banning refugees and travellers to the US from seven Muslim-majority countriesSyria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemenhas faced widespread condemnation.Following this order, protests sprung up at US airports where passengers from the countries have been detained, and even UK Prime Minister Theresa May, said that she does not agree with Trumps actions. Angry reaction has trailed the latest development in the US, especially, the countries involved:IranThe response from Iran, one of the antagonists of US, was swift and sharp. Foreign minister Javad Zarif, writing on Twitter, went as far to say that the ban was a great gift to extremists, adding that the collective discrimination aids terrorist recruitment by deepening fault lines exploited by extremist demagogues to swell their ranks. An official statement from the government repeated this sentiment, and said that the restrictions were an insult to the Muslim world. They warned that they would be taking reciprocal measures on US passport holders, which is likely to mean that US travel to Iran will also be restricted, and said that they believed aspects of Trumps order to be illegal. The US and Iran have had frosty relations for years, after President Jimmy Carter cut ties with the country in 1980 during the Iran hostage crisis.SudanThe east African country has called Trumps decision very unfortunate considering the historic steps taken weeks earlier under the Obama administration that lifted sanctions for cooperation on combating terrorism. It is particularly unfortunate that this decision coincides with the two countries historic move to lift economic and trade sanctionsand just as economic and financial institutions as well as businessmen in the country were set to continue developing their investment projects, the statement said. There had been a 20-year-old trade embargo against Sudan due to its role as a host and backer of terrorist groups including Osama bin Ladens al-Qaida, but the recent steps, which have now been delayed by 180 days, should unfreeze assets and remove financial sanctions as a response to the countrys cooperation in fighting Isis.IraqThe Iraqi government said it understood the security motives behind Trumps decision to ban citizens of seven predominantly Muslim nations, including Iraq, from entering the US, but underlined that the countrys special relationship should be taken into consideration.Government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi says Iraqis were hoping the new orders would not affect the efforts of strengthening and developing the bilateral relations between Iraq and the United States. Two members of the Iraqi parliament said they planned to lobby against the restrictions by arguing that the countries needed to maintain their alliance against Isis.Iraq is in the frontline of the war on terrorismand it is unfair that the Iraqis are treated in this way, the parliaments foreign affairs committee said after a meeting on Sunday in Baghdad. We ask the Iraqi government to reciprocate to the decision taken by the US administration.A strongly worded statement also came from a spokesperson for Popular Mobilisation, an Iraqi coalition of paramilitary groups fighting Isis, who called on the Iraqi government to ban US nationals from entering the country and to expel those currently on Iraqi soil. Thousands of US troops remain in Iraq following the 2003 invasion.Iraqi refugees who have been accepted into the US in the past decade have all been subjected to extensive vetting, involving interviews and background checks. Many have worked for the US military or government.SyriaWith the continuing humanitarian crisis in Syria reaching critical levels, its unsurprising that President Bashar al-Assads government hasnt yet released a statement on travel restrictions applied to his citizens. Almost 5 million people have been displaced from Syria since the civil war began, and in 2016, 12,587 of them ended up in the US as refugees. Trumps actions have led to the suspension of Americas Syrian refugee resettlement programme, which has been called one of the most important in the world by the United Nations refugee agency and the International Organisation for Migration. They urged him to reconsider his four-month hold on allowing refugees from the seven states into the country. It was expected that Trumps order would include the provision of safe zones in Syria to protect those especially vulnerable in the country, but this did not feature.YemenThe Yemen embassy in Washington posted a warning on Facebook to citizens regarding the travel restrictions, and advising them not to travel to or from America. Yemen is in the midst of a civil war, which the US has a hand inthey have launched drone strikes on al-Qaida targets in the country which have killed both civilians and US citizens. On Sunday, the first US combat loss under President Trump was suffered in Yemen when a US soldier died during an assault on al-Qaida.Trumps decision has been hit by heavy backlash. Analysts say, he did not extend the ban to Muslim majority countries where he has business interests.He needs to sell his businesses outside his family and place the assets in a blind trust, otherwise every decision he makes people are going to question if hes making the decision in the interests of the American people or his own bottom line, said Jordan Libowitz, the spokesman for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal watchdog group. The group has filed a lawsuit arguing that Trump is already in violation of a constitutional provision barring federal officials from accepting payments from foreign officials.But Trump has said he has handed management of his real estate, licensing and merchandising business over to his adult sons to avoid the perception that he is making presidential decisions to boost his own business. But he has retained ownership of the company, meaning that if it thrives during his presidency, he will personally profit.Trumps order makes no mention of Turkey, which has faced several terrorist attacks in recent months. The State Department last week updated a travel warning for Americans visiting Turkey, noting that an increase in anti-American rhetoric has the potential to inspire independent actors to carry out acts of violence against US citizens.Trump has licensed his name to two luxury towers in Istanbul. A Turkish company also manufactures a line of Trump-branded home furnishings. Trumps most recent financial disclosure, filed in May when he was a presidential candidate, showed that he had earned as much as $6 million in the previous year from the deals.Also untouched by last weeks Fridays executive order is the United Arab Emirates, a powerful Muslim ally with whom the United States nevertheless has complicated relations. Trump has licensed his name to a Dubai golf resort, as well as a luxury home development and spa.Trump has seemed particularly disinclined to divorce himself of interests in the project. Its developer, Hussain Sajwani, attended a New Years Eve party at Trumps Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, where a video showed Trump singling him out for praise, calling him and his family the most beautiful people.
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