Thirty three hunger-striking Afghan asylum seekers have appeared in court charged in connection with their occupation of St Patrick's Cathedral after being removed by gardaí last night.
Gardaí removed the estimated 41Afghan hunger-strikers without incident from Dublin's St Patrick's Cathedral last night.
The protesters had spent a week at the cathedral demanding asylum and warning they would kill themselves if any attempt was made to remove them.
Officers entered the cathedral at in the early hours of this morning and, without a struggle, removed some 40 protesters from the 13th century Dublin landmark. No injuries were reported.
The men appeared in an overnight court session and were remanded on bail on charges in connection with the occupation.
Justice Minister Michael McDowell defended his government's refusal to negotiate with the Afghans, calling their threats to kill themselves blackmail that no democracy could tolerate.
"No favors or exceptions will be done for anyone who seeks to thwart the system by actions of this kind," Mr McDowell said.
He said the adults in the group had been arrested, while eight youths were taken into state care. The adults were arraigned in an overnight court session to face a range of criminal charges.
Police surrounded St. Patrick's Cathedral on Friday, after McDowell authorised them to end the protest using whatever tactics they deemed necessary.
The asylum seekers all males aged 17 to 45 went on hunger strike in the cathedral on May 15 and demanded immediate asylum, insisting they would rather starve to death than be deported to Afghanistan.
The move by garda units brought an end to a crisis which had deepened when Church of Ireland negotiators pulled out of mediation attempts after a potential settlement was rejected by the authorities.
Leaders of the Church of Ireland which owns the cathedral, said in a statement they were overjoyed that the Afghans "calmly and quietly left the cathedral." They praised gardaí "for their skill and determination in bringing this to a successful and peaceful conclusion."
"Our concern for the welfare of these asylum seekers has not ended today and we urge people to pray for them, to listen to their concerns on an individual basis and seek ways of addressing them," said the statement from Archbishops Robin Eames and John Neill and the cathedral dean, Robert McCarthy
The Archbishop of Dublin, the Rev John Neill revealed the asylum seekers were prepared to accept the initiative. But the Department of Justice ordered clergymen to end the negotiations as gardaí took control.
The Archbishop said: "We had arrived at a set of proposals which were acceptable to the asylum seekers which offered a fair and equitable way forward for all parties.
"Unfortunately this view was not shared by the Department of Justice." Forty-one Afghans had originally set up camp in the cathedral last Sunday and refused food. They were demanding political asylum and claimed they would be tortured or killed if forced to return to their native country.
As his representatives withdrew from the process, Archbishop Neill had added: "We fully accept the department's position on due process, but a mechanism must be found to enable the return of the asylum seekers to this process.
"We have now been instructed by the Department of Justice to withdraw from all negotiations as it has placed this matter in the control of An Garda Siochana, whose responsibility it is now to deal with this matter."