South Africans Go On Hunger Strike in Solidarity with Palestinian Prisoners
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Former Robben Island political prisoners, as well as ordinary South Africans, launched a 24-hour hunger strike at on Tuesday in solidarity with the hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners, which was on day 17 Tuesday.
The Kathrada Foundation called on South Africans to join the 24-hour hunger strike as an act of solidarity with Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails, who are engaged in a hunger strike for better prison conditions, such as food, medical care and family visits, IOL news reported.
The symbolic show of solidarity is part of the Global Day of Action. Ordinary Palestinians will be engaging in a similar hunger strike on May 15 and 16 in solidarity with the political prisoners.
“The Kathrada Foundation is also calling on South Africans to participate in the May 15 hunger strike and pickets are planned to take place outside all of the nine South African provincial legislatures to ask parliamentarians to express their solidarity with the hunger strikers,” said spokesperson of the Kathrada Foundation Zaakirah Vadi.
Students at the University of Manchester in Britain have already been on a hunger strike in solidarity with Palestinian political prisoners since last Thursday.
Over 1,500 prisoners from all Palestinian political factions are taking part in an open-ended hunger strike to denounce harsh prison conditions and restrictions on family visits.
The long-planned mass strike, which is led by a jailed leader of the Fatah Movement, Marwan Barghouti, began on April 17.
Hunger striking as a method for pressuring the Tel Aviv regime has become increasingly prevalent among Palestinian prisoners in recent years. In 2012, approximately 1,500 Palestinian prisoners launched a similar hunger strike for close to a month before managing to obtain their rights.
And, in 2014, 800 prisoners staged a strike against administrative detention for 63 days before a reaching a deal with the Israeli prison authorities and deciding to end their strike.
