by Selwyn Manning
Claims are being made that a number of the hunger striking asylum seekers, locked up at Auckland's Mt Eden Prison, are
seriously ill.
But the Department of Corrections denies that the condition of the men is causing concern.
The asylum seekers are 18 men from Pakistan, India and Iran have been refused temporary permits to stay in New Zealand.
They are protesting against, what they call a pathetically slow bureaucracy, and the New Zealand Government's policy of
holding would-be-refugees in prison until their identity and status can be determined.
The protest hunger strike is into its second week. Amnesty International claims one has begun coughing up blood, while
another has suffered a heart attack.
But according to Corrections Deprtment officials, Amnesty's claims are rubbish, and that prison staff are monitoring the
health of the men constantly.
Immigration Minister, Tuariki Delamere, last week said the asylum seekers have been using illness as an excuse to stall
their immigration appeal.
He said if the asylum seekers continued their policy of non-cooperation after having been found well enough to be
interviewed, the Immigration Service would have no option but to decline their refugee status claims as the Service
would not be able to make a decision based on fact or credibility.