Statement from the International Department of the IRSP on the Death of TAYAD member Abdulbahri Yusufoglu following a Death Fast of 137 days in the Armutlu area of Istanbul:

Representatives of the Ard Comhairle of the IRSP and the son of the last Irish Hunger Striker to die - INLA Volunteer Michael Devine - today attended the funeral rights of Abdulbahri Yusufoglu, a 21 year old member of the political prisoners family's support group TAYAD. Mr Yusufoglu became the 67th person to die in the dispute over the removal of Turkish political prisoners to the new isolationist F Type prisons. Speaking following attending the removal of Mr Yusufoglu's remains from the Armutlu shanty town in Istanbul for burial in his home town of Izmir on the Aegean coast.

Mr Terry Harkin, of the IRSP's International Department said:

"On Tuesday night of this week Paul Little, Michael Devine and myself sat chatting to Abdulbahri Yusufoglu. He was a quiet, mild mannered young man who was in full control of his destiny and was determined to carry on with his protest. He spoke of his commitment to ending the injustice of the F Type prisons and his hopes for the future. 36 hours later we were at his funeral. It is a poignant footnote to his death that as he was dying with such dignity and pride the Turkish government was preparing to enact a law making it illegal to use Hunger Strikes as a means of legitimate political protest.

"Watching this young man die with such quiet dignity and the dignity of his comrades also on Death Fast exposes the real reason for this law: fear. The Turkish state have nothing to fight this courage with, except ever more Draconian laws and terror. It confirms the belief, recently expressed through referendum, of the Irish people that this pariah state has no place in mainstream Europe. I have no more heart to talk of it at this time," Mr Harkin concluded.

It is with deep regret and profound sorrow that the Comrade Officers, Staff and Volunteers of the Irish National Liberation Army; and the Ard Comhairle, Area Executives and local membership of the Irish Republican Socialist Party have learned of the death of Comrade Abdulbahri Yusufoglu (TAYAD).

"Comrade Yusufoglu (21) gave his life after 137 days of Death Fast, in the struggle against the infamous 'F Type' prisons and for the liberty of the working class in Turkey. Representatives of the Republican Socialist Movement visited Comrade Yusufoglu on Tuesday of this week, along with his other comrades of the Death Fast Resistance. We salute his and his comrades bravery and again call on the Irish Government to live up to its international responsibilities and intervene in this matter.

"Our representatives have asked for an urgent meeting with the Irish Government on Monday of this week. This was already too late for Comrade Yusufoglu. We say to them ACT NOW before it is again too late.

"To our Comrades of the DHKP-C and TAYAD we say, we feel your pain. We share your loss. WE ARE AS ONE WITH YOU. YOU SHALL WIN. THERE IS NO MORE TO BE SAID."

STATEMENT ENDS