Kurds begin Dublin hunger strike for Kartal's freedom

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Wednesday June 03, 2009 00:01 by Sparky sparky_dublin at yahoo dot ie

Campaigners press EU over threatened extradition to Turkey

Kurdish protestors have begun a hunger strike and are preparing to camp out in front of the EU's Dublin headquarters tonight to highlight a threatened extradition that they say will lead to the torture of Kurdish leader Remzi Kartal, currently held in Spain, if he is handed over to Turkish authorities.

Karzal is a member of the Brussels-based Kurdish National Congress (KNC) and a leading European voice for the Kurdish people. A former member of parliament in Turkey, he was forced to flee government repression in 1992 and gained refuge in Belgium, where he is now a citizen.

Over the past ten years, Kartal has been working for peaceful reconciliation for the Kurdish people and has enjoyed complete freedom of movement within the EU.

Yet during a visit to Spain in March, Kartal and his compatriot Ayub Doru were detained in a move which came at the behest of the Turkish authorities.

As part of international protests, members of the Kurdish Students Union in Ireland protested at the Spanish embassy last month. They have now switched their focus to European Union House on Dawson Street, where members began refusing food and pitched tents earlier today. They intend to maintain the protest for at least 3 days.