Kurdistan Solidarity Ireland was initially established as Kurdistan Information Network in 1993. It was established by a small group of Irish & Kurdish voluntary activists. KIN's aim was to increase members' own awareness and that of the public of the denial of civil, political, cultural and linguistic rights to Kurdish people in Turkey. In 1994 a delegation of five representatives of HADEP & KIC (London) was facilitated in meeting the Department of Foreign Affairs and political parties in an attempt to put Kurdistan on their agenda at international fora. A small delegation of Irish people, including RTE's Foreign Editor Margaret Ward (then a student of journalism), travelled to Kurdistan on a fact-finding mission. KIN subsequently (1995) produced a background report entitled A Secret War (out of print) which drew significant media attention to the abuses in the Kurdish region of Turkey. In 1996, Anne McCluskey, KIN's founder, travelled to Diyarbakir to work for a short period with the local Human Rights Association. Her studies into the evacuation of up to 3,000 Kurdish villages in the Southeast of Turkey were published in a short report - The East is Being Emptied (out of print) which was launched in December 1997. The abuses of Kurdish human and civil rights were kept on the agenda of the Department of Foreign Affairs through the visits of numerous delegations from KIC in London and the Kurdish Parliament in Exile. KSI have warm and positive memories of all the delegates who visited and always wished that a more comprehensive network existed to more thoroughly follow up the issues raised. Particular mention must be made of Mizgin Sen & Serhat Buldan, tireless workers for the Kurdish people and whose determination and wonderful humour energised all those they came into contact with in Ireland. In 1998 we decided that an information network did not accurately describe our work and we became known as Kurdistan Solidarity Ireland. KSI launched its report 1988-98; The Kurds in Iraq and Turkey, Ireland's role and responsibilities. Though small, KSI has been and continues to be a thorn in the side of the spin doctors for Turkey's militarists. We hope to continue to remind our public representatives that human and civil rights must be at the core of Ireland's foreign policy and of trade and diplomatic relations. The Kurdish one is the largest stateless nation in the world and the current appalling war against Afghanistan must refocus our attention on the continuing disastrous scenario for Kurds throughout the Middle East.