WASHINGTON: Ivanka Trump, President Donald Trump’s daughter and a White House adviser, explicitly condemned “white supremacy, racism and neo-nazism” late Saturday in a manner her father seems reluctant to do.
The tweets come on the anniversary of deadly unrest triggered by a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. A similar far-right rally is scheduled for Sunday outside the White House.
“One year ago in Charlottesville, we witnessed an ugly display of hatred, racism, bigotry & violence,” Ivanka Trump tweeted.
“While Americans are blessed to live in a nation that protects liberty, freedom of speech and diversity of opinion, there is no place for white supremacy, racism and neo-nazism in our great country,” she said.
“Rather than tearing each other down with hatred, racism & violence, we can lift one another up, strengthen our communities and strive to help every American achieve his or her full potential!“
The tweets are notable because her father drew scorn after the Charlottesville bloodshed for initially avoiding any condemnation of the torch-bearing white supremacists who took part in that rally.
President Trump was roundly condemned for saying that there were “very fine people, on both sides” among the racists and the counter-protesters.
Two days later, after a firestorm of criticism, the president said: “Racism is evil and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups.”
On Saturday the president issued a generic condemnation of racism in one of seven tweets of the day.
“The riots in Charlottesville a year ago resulted in senseless death and division,” he wrote.
“We must come together as a nation. I condemn all types of racism and acts of violence. Peace to ALL Americans!“
No room in US for ‘neo-nazism’: Ivanka Trump
No room in US for ‘neo-nazism’: Ivanka Trump
- The tweets are notable because her father drew scorn after the Charlottesville bloodshed for initially avoiding any condemnation
- On Saturday the president issued a generic condemnation of racism in one of seven tweets of the day
UN arrives in east DR Congo town to prepare ceasefire mission
- Eastern DRC has been ravaged by three decades of conflict and faces renewed violence
KINSHASA: A team of UN peacekeepers arrived in the flashpoint eastern Democratic Republic of Congo town of Uvira to prepare the deployment of a ceasefire?monitoring mission, the force said Tuesday.
Eastern DRC has been ravaged by three decades of conflict and faces renewed violence following the 2021 resurgence of the M23 armed group, backed by Rwanda and its army.
The M23 seized large swathes of territory in the east and launched an offensive in December on Uvira, a strategic town in South Kivu province near the border with Burundi.
The assault drew condemnation from the United States, which has mediated a fragile peace deal between the DRC and Rwanda.
That agreement provided for the UN’s DRC peacekeeping mission MONUSCO to carry out a field-monitoring operation with a view to implementing a permanent ceasefire.
On Tuesday, MONUSCO and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, a grouping of surrounding countries, said in a statement they had deployed a joint exploratory and preliminary assessment mission to Uvira.
Scheduled to run until Friday, the mission focuses on assessing access, security, logistics and engagement needs, MONUSCO said.
The statement called the mission “an essential step toward deploying the future joint ceasefire?monitoring mechanism.”
In January, the M23 withdrew its last troops from Uvira, claiming it was responding to a US request. The Congolese army said it had retaken control of the town.
