Turkey issues travel warning to US amid Trump protests

ANKARA

The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning for the United States Nov. 12 amid ongoing demonstrations to protest the country’s newly elected president, Donald Trump.

In a statement, the ministry called on Turkish nationals to be cautious with regards to the protests against Trump’s victory declared in the early hours of Nov. 9.

Anti-Trump demonstrations have taken root in at least a dozen cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City and Seattle in the past few days. 

The statement said protests were ongoing especially in Portland, Oregon, adding that protesters and riot police were clashing occasionally and some had already been arrested.

“The protest in the city [Portland] has been identified as a riot by the security forces,” the statement said, adding that one person was injured during the protests on Nov. 12. 

“It has been understood from protesters’ social media accounts that the protests will continue for a while,” the statement added.  

The ministry advised Turkish citizens to be calm with regards to possible “xenophobia and racist abuse,” and to contact local security forces in the event of such incidents. 

Tens of thousands of people marched in streets across the United States on Nov. 12, staging the fourth day of protests of Trump’s surprise victory as president.

The protests – held in big cities such as Los Angeles, New York and Chicago as well as smaller ones, such as Worcester, Massachusetts, and Iowa City, Iowa – were largely peaceful Nov. 12, although two police officers were slightly injured during protests in Indianapolis.

In Indianapolis, some protesters began chanting threats including “Kill the Police,” and officers moved in to arrest seven demonstrators. Police briefly fired pepper balls into the crowd during the confrontation.

Protesters rallied at New York’s Union Square before taking their cause up Fifth Avenue toward Trump Tower, where they were held back by police barricades.

The Republican president-elect was holed up inside his tower apartment, working with aides on the transition to the White House.

Among those railing against him was filmmaker Michael Moore, who tweeted a demand that Trump “step aside.”

The demonstrations have become daily affairs following Trump’s upset defeat of rival Hillary Clinton, who blamed FBI director James Comey for her loss during a conference call to campaign donors.

Comey, who in late October re-opened a probe into her emails, had “stopped our momentum,” she told supporters, according to U.S. media.

The move, she said, cleared the way for a victory for Trump, who appears to be making some headway in forming a new administration.

Trump was expected to huddle with advisers at his Manhattan residence later in the day on Nov. 13, plotting his next moves amid the protests