Shahid El Hafed, 20/12/2008 (SPS) The NGO American based Defence of Human Rights, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has welcomed the role of the Polisario Front for the respect of human rights, stressing "The improved situation of human rights in the Saharawi refugee camps."
"In the Saharawi refugee camps, the Polisario Front allows refugees to criticize its management of daily affairs,” HRW said in its report.
“Residents are able to leave the camps if they wish to, including to resettle in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara. The fact that most take the main road to Mauritania rather than a clandestine route shows their confidence in being allowed to travel,” added the same source.
"The refugees in Tindouf have, for more than 30 years, lived in exile from their homeland, governed by a liberation movement in an environment that is physically harsh and isolated," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
"But wherever they live, authorities must allow them peacefully to express and act on behalf of those views. Any proposed solution for the Western Sahara that does not guarantee these rights is no solution at all." (SPS)
062/090/000 201800 Dec 08 SPS
