AFGHANI HUNGER STRIKE IN IRELAND ENDS WITHOUT

UNCLAS DUBLIN 000582 SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (CAPTION ADDED) SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL AF CVIS PHUM PREF PTER UNHCR PINS EI SUBJECT: AFGHANI HUNGER STRIKE IN IRELAND ENDS WITHOUT MAJOR INCIDENT REF: DUBLIN 00562 Hunger Strike Over -------------- ¶1. (U) On May 20, a seven-day hunger/thirst strike instigated by 41 Afghani asylum seekers ended peacefully and without major incident. Per reftel, this group of men sought refuge in Dublin's historic St. Patrick's Cathedral in a bid to strengthen their asylum cases. (None actually faced immediate deportation). During the course of the protest, eight of the demonstrators were admitted to a hospital and later released. To the dismay of Labor Party, Green Party, and Sinn Fein leaders, as well as members of the NGO community and anti-war protesters, the Justice Minister refused to negotiate with the hunger strikers. Justice Department officials, with support from the Dublin representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees convinced the demonstrators that they had not yet exhausted the appeals system and did not face immediate deportation. After one of the leaders of the group took ill, and after consultation with the heads of the cathedral, the group finally surrendered to the police. All but the eight minors in the group were charged under the Forcible Entry Act and released on euro 250 bail. Sinn Fein Withdrew Support for Demonstrators -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Per reftel para 4, we reported that Sinn Fein, along with the Labor and Green party leaders supported the protest and urged the Irish Justice Minister to take action to address the issue. In a May 22 conversation between emboffs and senior Justice Department officials, Justice Minister McDowell noted that Sinn Fein MP Aengus O'Snodaigh had attempted to enlist Phil Flynn, a former confidante of Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and now a suspect in an IRA money laundering case, as a negotiator for the Afghanis. He said that Sinn Fein leaders withdrew support for the demonstrators prior to the end of the protest when they realized that their support had put them at odds with their constituency of poor youths in inner-city Dublin. As a counter to the hunger strikers and their NGO and anti-war supporters, many of these youths were at the cathedral protesting perceived government acquiescence to the demands of the asylum seekers. In reference to the Afghani asylum-seekers, some of these youths carried placards that said "Get them out. Let them die." Minister McDowell referred to Sinn Fein's rapid withdrawal from the cathedral scene as a "political bloody nose." GOI Victory -------------- ¶3. (U) The successful outcome was a key victory for the government and law enforcement. Towards the end of the strike, the Church of Ireland had negotiated terms of surrender with the demonstrators. The DOJ rejected these terms and refused to negotiate the matter out of concern that any win for the Afghanis would encourage similar actions by other groups. According to Minister McDowell, the 0.16 percent success rate of Afghani asylum applications is over twice that of other nationalities vying for asylum in Ireland; there is no need for additional concessions. The Church's anger over the outcome was evident in its statement that it had been ordered to desist from involvement in negotiations. Taliban Ties -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Justice Department Principle Officer in Charge of Repatriations Maura Hynes told emboff in a follow-up conversation that between eight and ten of the men are suspected of having links to the former Taliban regime. Due to privacy issues, however, she was unable to provide more details. The names of the 33 men charged under the Forcible Entry Act were listed in press reports. These names will be submitted through Visas Viper channels. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit Dublin's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/dublin/index. cfm Kenny