BRITISH home secretary Sajid Javid wants leaders to moderate their language in a bid to fight against extremism.
In a speech in London on Friday (19), Javid is expected to say he “knows what it’s like to be told to go back to where I came from”.
The home secretary’s comments come just days after US president Donald Trump told four Democratic Party congresswoman to “go back” to the countries they “originally came from.”
In his speech, he will say extremists use immigration as a proxy for race and exaggerate migrant figures to stoke fear. He will also argue that everyone has a part to play to stop extremism.
“If we are to stop extremism in its tracks we must have the courage to confront it, the strength to take decisive action and the foresight to tackle the root causes,” he will say.
“Public discourse is hardening and becoming less constructive. Everyone has a part to play: broadcasters who must not give a platform to extremists, police who must swoop on the worst offenders, public figures who must moderate their language.”
Referring to Trump’s tweets, Javid will add that he is from an immigrant family, and he knows what it’s like to be told to go back to where he came from.
“We must confront the myths about immigration that extremists use to drive divisions. We know the scale is exaggerated to stoke up fear and that they use immigration as a proxy for race,” he said.
British politicians have slammed Trump for his “racist” tweets aimed at Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
A spokesman for Theresa May said Trump’s tweets were “completely unacceptable”, and he has also been criticised by Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt.
However, they both stopped short of calling Trump “racist”.
