A PROTEST against Donald Trump’s state visit to the United Kingdom was held in Kirkwall yesterday.
Around two dozen protestors gathered in grey and windy conditions outside St Magnus Cathedral at 5.30pm for a half-hour demonstration.
Kirkwall is over 600 miles from Windsor where the American president was greeted by the King and Queen yesterday.
Of course, the Orkney demonstration wasn’t the only such event in the UK.
While the US president was met with pomp and pageantry in Windsor, up to 5000 people took to the streets of London to oppose his visit.
But, why did the small group of Orcadians feel it was important to let their views be known yesterday?
The convener of the group was Graham Martin from Kirkwall.
He said the demonstration was part of a network of such events.
Collectively, they aim to show that people in every corner of the UK are “sick of” Trump.
“While there’s a state banquet going on, for someone who is so offensive to so many, coming together is really important”, Martin said.
“Being so far away, there wasn’t any way that any of us were going to be taking part in the national event that’s taking place in London today.
“But, I knew there were people in Orkney passionate about many of the issues that come into conflict with Trump,
“I know they would want to have their opinion heard and be part of the upswing in UK demonstrations taking place.
“Trump concerns many people, in terms, of the direction he’s taking the US and the whole of the West.
“Whether that’s his views on Palestine and wanting to turn Gaza into a holiday resort, whether it’s his seeming abandonment of Ukraine or whether it’s his attacks on LGBTQ and black people”.
Martin explained that he knew and had spoken to people involved in the London events.
So, he asked people involved in other local demonstration groups if they was interest in setting up the anti-Trump demonstration.
As such, many of those who gathered were part of the county’s other protest groups.
This included Peace campaigners who meet on the Kirk Green most weekends and members of the local Pride group.
Asked what effect they hope to have, he said they may bolster the morale of Americans opposing their president.
He said: “What we’re doing is an add-on to what’s going on in London.
“It’s about getting the word out that there’s a whole UK-wide feeling that Trump isn’t welcome.
“It’s not just the metropolitan elite down in London that are sick of him, it’s people in every corner of the UK and indeed the world.
“We’ll be sharing images online that will hopefully be seen within groups in the US who no doubt could do with moral support.”
