VZCZCXRO0679
PP RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ
DE RUEHDL #0582 1441202
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 241202Z MAY 06 ZDS
FM AMEMBASSY DUBLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6967
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES PRIORITY
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA PRIORITY
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS PRIORITY 0307
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 0022

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