Trump travel ban denies US history: Turkish deputy PM

ANKARA

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak has said U.S. President Donald Trump’s ruling to bar citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries into the U.S. is a “denial of the country’s own history,” as the U.S. is a nation of immigrants. 

“The United States is a country formed by immigrants and formed by that history. [Trump’s decision] amounts to a denial of that history,” Kaynak told state-run Anadolu Agency on Feb. 1. 

The executive order Trump signed on Jan. 27, suspends the arrival of all refugees for a minimum of 120 days, suspends the arrival of Syrian refugees indefinitely, and bars all citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days.

Kaynak said the ban on particular countries is “out of sync” with the values of the modern world. 

“The modern world is built on the values of democracy, human rights, freedom and the rule of law,” he added. 

“The world suffers badly from radicalism, extremism and terrorism. The causes that lead to radicalism and extremism are people not being able to stand each other, not treating each other with tolerance, and seeing each other’s race as either superior or inferior,” Kaynak said.