Ten relatives of prisoners associated with the Basque revolutionary organisation ETA are currently on a "symbolic" hunger strike at the Franciscan Friary in Merchant's Quay, Dublin, to coincide with Human Rights Week and the forthcoming EC Dublin summit. They will remain there until next Saturday, and similar protests have taken place in seven other European capitals.
Ms Blanca Kalakorta, the daughter of a prisoner, said last night that her association, Senideak, had four basic demands: the Spanish government should enter into dialogue with the prisoners' nominated representatives; the prisoners should be regrouped within the French and Spanish Basque territories - at present they are, in many cases, dispersed in prisons hundreds of miles from their nearest relatives; three prisoners who are seriously ill should be released to hospital; and some 130 prisoners, who have completed three quarters of their sentences, should be released in accordance with a provision of Spanish law.