Striking Afghans now number 16

Luh Putu Trisna Wahyuni and A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Mataram/Jakarta

Entering their seventh day, the number of illegal Afghan immigrants on a hunger strike in a Mataram hostel rose to 16 on Tuesday afternoon. Nine of them have been admitted to the hospital.

The most recently admitted was M. Nabil, who having been on a hunger strike since Friday, collapsed on Tuesday afternoon.

Seven Afghans began their hunger strike last Wednesday, demanding refugee status from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and to be resettled in third countries.

This week the number of hunger strikers rose to 16. The last four people to join the hunger strike on Tuesday were Muhibullah, 23, Reza, 33, Karim, 31 and Haji Rauf, 30.

After days without food, the health of many of the hunger strikers has deteriorated sharply.

Three are at the Mataram General Hospital, five at Siti Hajar Islamic Hospital and another, M. Nabil, at the Kemala Hikmah Police Hospital.

Although they are being treated at the hospitals, the Afghans vowed they would not stop their protest.

UNHCR regional representative Robert P. Ashe urged the immigrants to stop the strike.

He said their protest would have no bearing on the outcome of a review being carried out by the body.

Two and a half years ago the Afghan refugees in Mataram numbered about 200.

Most were interviewed by the UNHCR, accorded refugee status and transported to third countries.

However, the remaining 31 families, a total of 64 immigrants, did not pass the interview held by the UNHCR last year. The immigrants lodged an appeal to the UNHCR, which forced the body to conduct a review of the appeals.

Ashe said the UNHCR would complete the review of its appeals by March 1 this year.

It would not review proposals from those who went on a hunger strike, unless they stopped the action.

"The hunger strike does not provide the right climate to conduct the review," Ashe told The Jakarta Post.

Responding to the UNHCR, Jafar, the spokesman for the immigrants, demanded that the UNHCR send an official to Mataram to meet with the immigrants.

Ashe said the UNHCR would send a protection officer to Mataram on Wednesday.