|TOP|An official from the United Nations was joined by senior figures in the Church of Ireland in calling for an end to a hunger strike being staged by around 40 Afghan asylum seekers.

Teenagers were among the group of asylum seekers who occupied St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin to begin their hunger strike on Sunday, saying they wish to remain in Ireland.

The Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Rev Dr Robin Eames issued a joint statement together with the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Rev Dr John Neill, and the Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, the Very Rev Dr Robert McCarthy in which they said the protest was “a cause of great concern to us”.

|AD|They also expressed regret that the talks on Tuesday between representatives of the asylum seekers and the Department of Justice, and also a Wednesday meeting with a representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees had failed to open a dialogue that could have led to a resolution.

The church leaders expressed sympathy with the asylum seekers, saying, “As Christians, we are deeply moved by the humanitarian plight of this group, who have been on hunger strike since Sunday.

“We fully acknowledge the extensive formal process that exists to facilitate asylum seekers making application to have their status legally approved to remain in Ireland. We also see the deep hurt and sense of lost human dignity among this group of people.”

They added, however, “We must appeal to all of the asylum seekers at this stage to end their hunger strike and protest before matters deteriorate further.”

The church leaders concluded their statement, which was delivered personally to the protestors by Archbishop Neill, with an appeal for prayer “for all involved in this difficult situation”.

Meanwhile, Ireland’s Justice Minister Michael Dowell told parliament earlier in the week that it would not ‘cave in’ to the threats of hunger strikes or the occupation of historical buildings.

“I have in the past been confronted with threats of hunger strikes, suicide, self harm and the like. It has been our invariable policy to refuse to be persuaded by such tactics," sais McDowell.

He added: "No democratic society can do business on this basis. The Irish people would not tolerate this.