Dozens protest at Schiphol against Trump's Muslim ban

By Janene Pieters on January 30, 2017 - 08:21
Dozens protest at Schiphol against Donald Trump banning people from 7 Muslim countries from the U.S., 29 Jan 2017
Dozens protest at Schiphol against Donald Trump banning people from 7 Muslim countries from the U.S., 29 Jan 2017Photo: @blauwsteen / Twitter

Dozens of people gathered at Schiphol airport on Sunday to protest against a ban on asylum seekers and people from seven Muslim countries Donald Trump implemented in the United States. They carried signs reading "No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here", "Trump psychopath", "Human rights for ALL" and "Muslim ban is racist, xenophobic, not normal. Rise up". One protester was arrested, RTL Nieuws reports.

The demonstration was organized at Schiphol's entrance by members of the International Socialists group. The police intervened when the protesters entered the airport and directed them outside again. There was a bit of a commotion when this happened, and one man was arrested.

According to the demonstration's organizers, Trump's ban means that some 200 people are stuck in airports across the world because they're no longer allowed to enter the United States. The ban was implemented on Friday. It states that people with passports from Libya, Sudan, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Somalia and Syria are not allowed to enter the United States of America. Even if they do have a valid visa, residency permit or work permit. The ban led to numerous protests around the world.

On Saturday and Sunday KLM stopped a number of passengers from the affected countries from getting on planes to the United States. The D66 and GroenLinks want the airline to stop enforcing the discriminatory ban. Party leaders Alexander Pechtold and Jesse Klaver called for a hearing with the airline.

But according to KLM, the airline is only following instructions. "We are erroneously made responsible", a spokesperson said to the Telegraaf. "We only carry out passport checks, for which we receive instructions from the American security services." A good relationship with the United States is essential for the Dutch airline - about a quarter of KLM's revenue comes from the U.S., according to the newspaper.

Not cooperating with the ban could cost KLM and Schiphol millions of euros, Steven Verhagen of pilots union VNV said to the newspaper. "Five digit fines are handed to airlines that deliver travelers who fall under the ban." he said. "Will the government pay those fines? No, because that is State Aid and therefore not allowed."

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