President Trump’s Muslim Ban Excludes Countries Linked to His Sprawling Business Empire
MNC Group CEO Hary Tanoesoedibjo and wife with President Trump
Washington, 02 Jumadil Awwal 1438/30 January 2017 (MINA) – President Trump’s most recent executive order effectively bans citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for at least 90 days — but some Muslim countries were spared from the order’s blacklist, even though they have deep-seated ties to terrorism.
Conspicuously, Trump doesn’t hold any business interests in any of the countries on the list, but holds major stakes in several of those excluded from it, records show.
Friday’s executive order, signed at the Pentagon, suspends the issuing of U.S. visas or travel permits to people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
Not a single American was killed on U.S. soil by citizens from any of those countries between 1975 and 2015, according to statistics tallied by the conservative-leaning Cato Institute.
However, the same set of statistics show that nearly 3,000 Americans were killed by citizens from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt in the same time period — with the bulk of those killed being victims of the 9/11 attacks. Yet, people from those three countries are still welcome to apply for U.S. visas and travel permits.
Trump’s business empire also exists in Indonesia
In a striking parallel, Trump’s sprawling business empire — which he has refused to rescind ownership of — holds multi-million dollar licensing and development deals in all of those countries, raising potential conflict of interest concerns and alarming questions over what actually went into the decision process behind Friday’s executive order.
Trump also currently licenses his name to two luxury towers in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul.
Turkey is a hotbed for terrorist activities, with the State Department issuing a travel alert advising U.S. citizens not to travel to the country because of “increased threats from terrorist groups” just this Wednesday.
“An increase in anti-American rhetoric has the potential to inspire independent actors to carry out acts of violence against U.S. citizens,” the alert states.
In addition to Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, President Trump holds extensive business interests in the Muslim majority nations of Indonesia and Azerbaijan.
Both have documented ties to Islamic terrorism — yet neither is included on the executive order’s blacklist.
MNC Land, the property arm of Indonesia’s MNC Group, has confirmed it will build two new resorts in Lido, West Java, and Tanah Lot, Bali, in partnership with real estate mogul and US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s The Trump Organization — with construction to start in early 2017, its senior official said in a statement on Tuesday (02/08).
The $500 million resort and theme park in Lido will be the country’s first integrated lifestyle resort, which included two hotels, a golf field and a high-end residential complex.
The 3,000-hectare project is expected to boost the company’s earnings in the next few years.
White House press aides did not immediately return a request for comment from The News. (T/RS05/RS01)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
