The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell claimed there was no ‘hunger strike’ by four Cuban detainees who refused to be sent back to Cuba after their plea for political asylum was rejected.

The minister claimed that categorising their actions as a ‘hunger strike’ without knowing the full details behind it was misleading.

Speaking yesterday afternoon at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Mitchell gave his version of what led to the reported hunger strike.

“On Thursday, March 14, 2013, the women at the Detention Centre did not come out to eat during dinner time. I am advised that these women are in the Detention Centre because they were picked up in an immigration check for overstaying in the Bahamas.”

He said two days later, the same women began wearing shirts with reference to political asylum and banners along the fence of the facility that were removed by immigration officers.

“As per normal practice, food was prepared for and served to these individuals. They refused to eat the food prepared by staff at the detention centre,” the minister said.

“However, it was confirmed that the four woman have been consuming food received from visitors, who are allowed to bring food to detainees on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am- noon.

“Therefore, while the women have not been eating the food provided, they are in possession of food and have been eating as food was found in their dorms during routine room checks.

“As a consequence, to categorise their actions as a hunger strike is misleading,” the minister added.

Mitchell also defended the government’s efforts to ensure the guidelines concerning the asylum process are followed.

He said: “In keeping with protocols and technique developed in consultation with the United Nations High Commission For Refugees, persons found to have a well-founded fear of persecution upon their return to their country of origin have been granted refugee status or received assistance with relocation to a third country.

“Individuals who do not meet the criteria of political refugee status are repatriated to their country of origin.

“The women have all been thoroughly interviewed by trained officers by the UNHCR and it has been determined that they do not fit the criteria to qualify for political asylum,” Mr Mitchell said.

The women, following the end of the strike, have been examined by a physician and are said to be in good health, he said.

The ‘strike’ first came to light when a photo of the women, purportedly taken inside the Detention Centre, was posted on a website.

It showed them gagged and wearing signs calling for freedom and political asylum.

This is not the first time a hunger strike has taken place at the Detention Centre.

In 2009, three Cuban men detained there told The Tribune that they had gone hungry for two days to protest the conditions at the centre.
They vowed not to eat until officials rectified the alleged issues.

The men claimed that other detainees wanted to participate in the hunger strike but were afraid of reaction from the centre’s guards.

The men called on then Police Commissioner Reginald Ferguson to pay the facility a “surprise visit” to interview them for the full story.