During a meeting on 24/06/2015, between the strikers and the Acting Director of the Civil Registry and Migration Department (CRMD), the hunger strikers were astonished to learn that their applications for citizenship have not been forwarded by the CRMD to the Interior Minister for a decision despite his explicit instructions that the applications be considered immediately. KISA Press Release.
On 22.05.2015, the stateless Kurds have applied for citizenship following the recommendations of the General Director of the Ministry and the Minister of Interior.
In the afternoon, the Minister of Interior, visited the strikers and assured them that the Ministry will examine their citizenship applications during the coming week. After this development, the strikers decided to stop the thirst strike while they are determined to continue the hunger strike until there is a positive outcome to their demands.
οn 22.05.2015, a doctor of the Red Cross, visited and examined the strikers today. According to the medical diagnosis, the health status of the first striker is critical while the health status of the second has shown very serious complications. The doctor assessed that if they continue the hunger and thirst strike for one more day then the damage that will be caused to both refugees will be irreversible.
On 19.05.2015, the stateless Kurds from Syria entered the second day of a thirst strike and the 23rd day of a hunger strike. The condition of their health remains stable despite the obvious consequences of the strike on their health. In view of these developments, today, the General Director of the Interior Ministry visited the strikers and expressed the desire of the Ministry for not causing any further negative effects on the health of the strikers and assured that efforts for finding a solution to their problems are in progress.
A solidarity event with the stateless Kurds from Syria was successfully held on 14/5/2014, outside the House of Representatives. The refugees are asking the authorities to grant them the recognized refugee status instead of the subsidiary protection status. During the event, a delegation of NGOs that support the struggle of the strikers, together with the strikers themselves, met the Director General of the Parliament and delivered a joint statement, whereby they call on the Parliament to support the struggle of the refugees.
NGOs dealing with issues of asylum, in a meeting that took place on 05.05.2015, decided to release a Joint Statement, in which they express solidarity with the Hunger Strikers and call everyone to participate in a demonstration at the parliament on Thursday, 14.05.2015.
Οn 07.05.2015, the stateless Kurds from Syria who have entered the 10th day of a hunger strike, in a meeting with the Head of the Office of the President of the Parliament, they informed him about their request for granting the recognized refugee status. At the same time, they briefed him about all the actions made in order their justified claim to be accepted by the competent authorities.The Head of the Office of the Parliament’s President assured that:
- The President of the Parliament will request a meeting with the President of the Republic to discuss the issue of the stateless Kurds from Syria (Ajanibs).
- The President of the Parliament will arrange a meeting with the Minister of Interior to promote their demands.
- All political parties are expressing solidarity with their struggle.
In an open letter dated 04.05.2015, under the title “In Syria, we knew that we were stateless because we were living in a dictatorship. In Cyprus, a European democratic state, why should we continue to be stateless?”, the hunger strikers thank the UNHCR for its constructive approach to their fight and inform UNHCR that they are determined to continue their strike “until justice is done.”
On the 1st of May 2015, a representative of the UNHCR visited the hunger strikers and delivered to them the UNHCR’s answer to their letter. UNHCR expresses its support to their justified struggle, referring to some of the limitations of the subsidiary protection status and their effort to persuade the Cypriot authorities to grant them the recognised refugee status.
Ιn an open letter to the Minister of Interior sent on 27.04.2015, entitled “Refugees in the Mediterranean die not only at sea, but also on land, with the difference that the latter is a slow and silent death”, the two hunger strikers inform him of their decision to go on hunger strike and that, despite the fact that they are stateless and reside in the territory of the Republic for more than seven (7) years, the state refuses to grant them the recognized refugee status.
Refugees, in a letter sent on the 21st of April 2015, informed the UNHCR about the problems that they face due to the decision of the competent authorities to grant them the subsidiary protection status and for their intention to go on Hunger Strike in the case that the MoI does not re- examine its original decision and to finally grant them the recognized refugee status.
