Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'm proud to open today's debate on this motion. It's a matter of double importance to me, partly because I'm spokesperson for international affairs, but also because Imam Sis, who has inspired us to table today's debate, lives in Newport, and that falls within my region. I anticipate that Members on other sides of this Chamber will have differing views about what's got us to this point, and there'll come a time for us to debate those points, but let's begin with the human life that is at stake here, not 15 miles from where we stand at this very minute. 

I'll say his name again, because God knows he hasn't had the attention he should have had to date: Imam Sis. Imam has been on hunger strike for 94 days and he's done that in protest at the Turkish state's treatment of the Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held in on-and-off solitary confinement since 1999, in contravention of international law. Imam is on this indefinite hunger strike alongside 300 of his compatriots, including Leyla Güven, who is a democratically elected Kurdish MP in the Turkish Parliament and who is now nearing death having refused food for 130 consecutive days. I implore Members to not dismiss what we're talking about here—people's lives. For that reason, I point out that our motion today is a straightforward one and we will not be accepting any of the proposed amendments. 

I have written to Leyla and to the secretariat for the European committee for the prevention of torture, and my letter called on them to review their investigation into the treatment of Mr Öcalan. The committee has looked into his case before now. Unfortunately, they do not have the necessary powers to ensure Mr Öcalan's human rights are enforced, which is why those campaigning for him have resorted to extreme measures to try to secure that his legal rights are honoured. 

Plaid Cymru welcomed the Welsh Government's decision to establish an international affairs ministry, and today is an opportunity for Wales to take its place on the international stage by being the first nation, through this Parliament and Government, to show its solidarity with the Kurdish people. Surely, it is incumbent on the National Assembly and Welsh Government to recognise and support the part that a Newport man is currently playing in an international struggle for justice, equality and human rights. I look forward to hearing Members' contributions and, truly, I hope for the support of the Labour benches as well, given that their party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has also given his full support to the hunger strikers' cause. Diolch.