Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 64621 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 06DUBLIN562, AFGHANIS ON HUNGER STRIKE IN IRISH CHURCH

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #06DUBLIN562.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06DUBLIN562 2006-05-19 17:14 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Dublin
VZCZCXRO1092
PP RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ
DE RUEHDL #0562/01 1391714
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 191714Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY DUBLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6945
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES PRIORITY
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA PRIORITY
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS PRIORITY 0304
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 0020
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBLIN 000562 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL AF CVIS PHUM PREF PTER UNHCR PINS EI
SUBJECT: AFGHANIS ON HUNGER STRIKE IN IRISH CHURCH 
 
 
Summary 
--------- 
 
1.  Summary.  According to official sources and press 
reports, 41 Afghani asylum seekers began a hunger/thirst 
strike in Dublin's historic St. Patrick's Cathedral to 
protest perceived pending deportations.  Since the strike 
began on May 12, eight of the all male group have been 
admitted to a hospital, one in critical condition.  The group 
began drinking water after members of the Irish Justice 
Department agreed to meet with them.  There have been 
allegations, one substantiated by a Justice Department 
official, of the demonstrators having affiliations with the 
former Taliban regime. Ironically, according to the Justice 
Department none of the demonstrators faced immediate 
deportation.  The government, the Dean of the cathedral, and 
the Dublin representative of the UN High Commission for 
Refugees have condemned the protest.  The GOI's asylum 
policies have come under criticism in recent years because it 
has tightened controls, but this demonstration has rallied 
only a few members of opposition parties, the anti-war 
movement, and NGOs.  End Summary. 
 
Afghani Hunger Strike 
---------------------- 
 
2.  According to press reports from the Irish Times, the 
paper of record, and the Irish Independent, on May 14 33 
Afghani asylum seekers entered Dublin's historic St. 
Patrick's Cathedral to begin a hunger/thirst strike.  By May 
16 eight more hunger strikers joined the all male group of 
refugees bringing the total to 41.  The newspapers reported 
that the strike began after several of the Afghani 
applications for refugee status were turned down by the 
Office of the Refugee Appeals Commissioner (ORAC) on May 12. 
According to reports, the group of men, aged between 16 and 
45, have been in Ireland from one to five years and arrived 
in Ireland from Afghanistan through Iran, Turkey, Italy, 
Germany and France. 
 
Critical Situation 
------------------ 
 
3.  By May 18, eight of the protesters were taken to the 
hospital, including Sultan Katirchakra, the oldest member of 
the group and a diabetic.  Reports indicate that he is in 
critical condition.  The strikers reportedly refused both 
liquid and solid sustenance until the afternoon of May 16 
when members of the Justice Department agreed to meet with 
them.  Since that meeting, reportedly, the demonstrators 
began consuming water. 
 
Political Support 
----------------- 
 
4.  The Labor Party, Green Party and Sinn Fein, along with 
members of the NGO community and anti-war protesters 
supported the protest and urged Irish Justice Minister 
Michael McDowell to take action to address this issue.  In 
response Minister McDowell has stated that he would not 
negotiate with the refugees.  There are ongoing 
demonstrations at the cathedral in support of these asylum 
seekers and calls for continued pressure on the government to 
resolve the matter. 
 
Former Taliban? 
--------------- 
 
5.  In interviews, spokesman for the group and fellow hunger 
striker Osman Hotak said that the men fear targeting by 
anti-Taliban warlords if they return to Afghanistan.  In a 
radio interview with Hotak, it was alleged that some of the 
hunger strikers were Taliban members or have relatives in 
Afghanistan who were part of the former regime.  Irish 
Department of Justice Principle Officer in Charge of 
Repatriations Maura Hynes confirmed to emboff that Hotak is a 
former Taliban member, but could not confirm associations 
with the former regime of the other demonstrators.  The Irish 
Daily Mail (a local tabloid) charged that demonstrator Wali 
Siddiqui spent time in Afghani prison and was a member of 
Hezb-e Islami.  Hynes was unable to confirm this allegation 
or even that Siddiqui was present at the demonstration. 
 
Dropping Numbers of Refugee Applications 
----------------------------------------- 
 
6.  Over the last few years, the GOI has made a concerted 
effort to eliminate fraud, corruption and bogus claims in the 
asylum seeking progress.  As a result of this endeavor, since 
2002, Ireland witnessed a steady decline in the number of 
 
DUBLIN 00000562  002 OF 002 
 
 
refugee applications.  In 2002, ORAC received over 11,000 
applications for declarations as refugees.  By 2005, the 
number had dropped to 4,323.  As with refugee applications, 
the number of deportations also dropped; there were 370 
deportations in 2005 compared to 599 in 2004.  In 2005 the 
issue of deportations created headlines when public outcry 
led to the overturning of the deportation order of a young 
Nigerian man; he was allowed to stay in Ireland long enough 
to finish high school. 
 
Irish Asylum and Deportation Policy 
----------------------------------- 
 
7.  In June 2005, in response to criticism of Irish asylum 
procedures, the Justice Minister highlighted the following 
principles upon which the GOI asylum strategy is based: 
 
--Meeting international law obligations relating to the 
status of refugees, such as the 1951 Geneva Convention; 
--Dealing fairly but efficiently with the large number of 
unfounded asylum claims (According to the Justice Minister 90 
percent of the claims are unfounded.); 
--Ensuring that persons found not in need of asylum 
protection are returned to countries of origin as soon as 
possible; 
--Ensuring a system that provides protections from 
persecution for legitimate applicants. 
 
According to the Justice Minister, Ireland's recognition rate 
for refugee status at first instance compares favorably to 
other European countries.  In the past, the GOI received 
criticism mainly over the low success rates of Nigerian 
applications; in 2005 41 percent of all asylum applicants 
were Nigerians, and of this group, only 0.6 percent were 
successful at the first instance.  The Justice Minister 
claimed that this percentage was higher than or equal to that 
of other EU Member States.  In terms of numbers, according to 
the Irish Refugee Council only 97 Afghanis (approximately 2 
percent of the total number of applicants) applied for 
refugee status in the first half of 2005 (according to the 
latest figures available). 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
8. Comment:  Post views this hunger strike not as a protest 
against mistreatment by the GOI or against a law enforcement 
crackdown on weak asylum claims, but as ploy to gain sympathy 
and a longer stay in Ireland based on the perceived 
successful hunger strike by numbers of Afghan refugees in 
Belgian churches in 2003.  The strikers may also be trying to 
capitalize on the public opinion sway demonstrated in the 
2005 case of the delayed deportation of the young Nigerian 
mentioned in para 6.  Ironically, according to Hynes, not one 
of the demonstrators is facing imminent deportation.  In a 
remark echoed in a public statement by the Dublin 
representative of the UN High Commission for Refugees Manual 
Jordao (who condemned the protest), Hynes said the strikers 
"jumped the gun" and have not yet completed the asylum 
seeking process.  She also said that one of the strikers was 
granted asylum and another has been granted leave to remain 
as the father of an Irish-born child.  On May 18 the Dean of 
the cathedral joined in the voices of calling for an end to 
the demonstration.  With an ebbing of rationale for the 
protest and official calls to end it, the group is losing its 
leverage, but not its will.  According to Katirchakra, "We 
will die in this church, one by one, if necessary."  End 
Comment. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
Visit Dublin's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/dublin/index. cfm 
Kenny