This Just In (5/27/08)

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
Hunger strikers delivered a letter to the Indian Embassy Monday asking Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Indian Congress Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to lobby the US government to allow the workers to stay in the US to testify against their employer Signal International. "We are not asking for favors,” said hunger striker Paul Konar, who has kept his fast unbroken since May 14. “We are asking Prime Minister Singh and Ms. Gandhi to fulfill the obligations of their offices.” The workers have requested continued presence status from the US, which would allow them to stay in the US while their allegations of human trafficking against Signal are investigated. "The law empowers the Indian government to take care of its own citizens – even if they face danger in a powerful country like the United States," said Sabulal Vijayan, a former Signal worker and organizer with the Alliance of Guestworkers for Dignity. "Without continued presence in the United States, we cannot participate in the investigation against the traffickers.” Monday’s action followed the hospitalizations of three more of the original hunger strikers – Sony Sulekha, Kachuru Dananjaya, and Murugan Kandhasmy – on Thursday. Hunger Striker Christopher Glory was also hospitalized last Wednesday with low blood pressure, but has been stabilized and released from George Washington Unversity Hospital. On Thursday, workers and supporters met with over a dozen US Congressmembers and received full support from Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH). The hunger strikers protested outside the Indian Embassy throughout the weekend and moved to Dupont Circle on Monday. Click here to support the workers’ struggle.