IRSP: Condemnation of Justice Minister's Record

international | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis

Sunday April 10, 2005 21:09

by Irish Republican Socialist Party - IRSP

The IRSP joins with others from within the progressive community of Ireland in calling for refugees' affairs to be taken out of the hands of the Justice Minister and turned over to an independent body that demonstrates a genuine concern for the welfare of refugees and a respect for human rights.

IRSP: Condemnation of Justice Minister's Record

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

3 April 2005
Irish Republican Socialist Party
International Department

Condemnation of Justice Minister's Record on Refugees

The Irish Republican Socialist Party's International Department condemns the government of the 26 counties' Justice Minister, Michael McDowell, for his callous handling of the rights of refugees and his recent deportations of vulnerable members of the Nigerian community in Ireland, as well as those from other communities.

The IRSP joins with others from within the progressive community of Ireland in calling for refugees' affairs to be taken out of the hands of the Justice Minister and turned over to an independent body that demonstrates a genuine concern for the welfare of refugees and a respect for human rights.

The IRSP learned from Residents Against Racism about the case of Jasper Mordi, who was taken from his home in Kilkenny and deported to Nigeria, and whose life is now endangered because he had been prominent in opposition to human rights abuses in there, to provide but one example. Jasper Mordi must be returned to Ireland, where his life will not be placed in jeopardy, and there must be no more deportations of the kind represented by his case.

The IRSP recognise that for over two centuries the Irish people have distributed themselves around the globe in a diaspora brought about by the emigration of those seeking to escape political repression, religious persecution, poverty, hunger, and terror. These Irish refugees found asylum, opportunity, and protection in nations around
the world, without which hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, would have faced torture, imprisonment, starvation, and death. The Irish government should be ashamed, given this reality of our national history, by the policies pursued by the Justice Minister today.

Moreover, the people of Ireland must provide a welcome to those seeking to escape political repression, human rights abuses, and poverty, as the Irish have traditionally sought elsewhere for
themselves when confronted with similar ills.

Ends

Irish Republican Socialist Party
http://www.irsm.org/irsm.html