LONDON—King Charles III’s visit with Donald Trump was branded a “national embarrassment” in London Monday after activists slammed Britain as “complicit” in U.S. attacks on international law and human rights.
Campaigners were joined by Amnesty International UK and political leaders in demanding the government stop its support for the U.S. president and “resist and push back” against his war of aggression in Iran and attacks on immigrants in the U.S.
The Stop Trump Coalition held a mock state visit in front of Buckingham Palace with activists wearing masks portraying the two heads of state and holding a prop missile.
They said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer sending the King for a U.S. state visit was a “slap in the face” to those struggling to afford basic necessities following price shocks caused by the U.S.-Israeli war in the Middle East.
Activists also highlighted the government’s decision to allow U.S. warplanes to use Royal Air Force bases for so-called “specific and limited operations,” further implicating British forces in Trump’s violations of human rights and international norms.
Stop Trump Coalition spokesperson Jake Atkinson said: “Keir Starmer sending the King to wine and dine with the warmonger-in-chief signals we are happy to green-light Trump’s illegal actions around the world, no matter how much chaos they cause.
“Ordinary people across the UK are struggling more and more with the cost of living while Trump’s war on Iran has driven up prices.
“Honoring Trump like this is a slap in the face to so many who are struggling, and suggests to the president he can continue violating international law and be rewarded with more pageantry.”
Amnesty UK chief executive Kerry Moscogiuri warned Starmer against enabling Trump in his project to “tear up 80 years of international human rights protections.”
She said it was thanks to allies like Britain that the U.S. leader had been allowed to proceed with “looking the other way when its ally Israel commits genocide, carrying out extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean Sea, or sanctioning ICC staff and human rights organizations.”
Moscogiuri said the government has failed to “challenge the attacks on the international justice system the U.S. and [Britain] once helped create.
“King Charles and President Donald Trump will banquet in the White House while children continue to starve in Gaza and the Middle East spirals into chaos following the unlawful U.S.-Israeli attacks in violation of the UN Charter.
“They will have ‘private tea’ while immigrant families continue to be detained across the country. They will enjoy a ‘diplomatic garden party’ while migrants continue to be tortured in Alligator Alcatraz.”
She added that Britain and “anyone representing it must stop appeasing Trump and recognize that further cowardice will only make matters worse.
“It is only by resisting, denouncing, and pushing back against U.S. attacks that we can defend international law, standards, and everyone’s human rights.”
The Scottish Green Party’s external affairs spokesperson and former co-leader, Patrick Harvie, said Trump “is no friend of Scotland, [Britain], or the wider world.
“This visit should not be going ahead. It sends the completely wrong message at the wrong time.”
Harvie further explained: “He is unquestionably a war criminal, as well as a climate denier, a racist, and a man with an increasingly weak grasp on reality.
“Trump has aided Israel in its genocide in Gaza, has had the U.S. military carry out brutal bombing attacks in Iran killing dozens of girls during their school day, bombed oil depots exposing thousands, if not millions of Iranian civilians to toxic fumes while also endangering their lives, homes, and our climate.
“The continued deference being shown by Keir Starmer’s government to this profoundly dangerous man is worse than a national embarrassment.
“A royal visit to the White House only further embeds the idea that the UK is willing to align itself with this dangerous U.S. administration. It is time to stop pretending that Trump is an ally and start recognizing him as the threat that he is.”
King Charles’s trip to the U.S. is the first official state visit since that of Queen Elizabeth II in 2007. He and Queen Camilla arrived in Washington Monday and will continue on to New York and Virginia before leaving the country on Thursday.
Morning Star
People’s World is in the midst of its annual fund drive, trying to raise $140,000 by May Day. To support working-class journalism, please consider make a donation or become a monthly sustainer. Thank you.
CONTRIBUTOR
