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Johannesburg,
02/12/2006 (SPS) The South African Committee for Human Rights
organised on Thursday a seminar under the theme "the human rights
situation in the occupied territories of the Western Sahara" and
declared the "emergency of enlarging the mandate of the MINURSO",
according to a press release issued by the Saharawi Ambassador to
South Africa.
The seminar, which was organised at the seat of the South African
human rights organisation, was attended by representatives of the
diplomatic corps in Pretoria, representatives of South African
political parties, NGOS, searchers and journalists, the press
release indicated.
In
his intervention, Mr. Mtselsio Thipanyane, Executive Director of the
Committee put forward "the serious human rights violations in the
occupied territories of the Western Sahara, perpetrated by Morocco,
which are periodically denounced in international reports and in
concordant testimonies of Saharawi citizens".
"This is a major concern for our organisation and our seminar aims
to put the head lines of a work programme that will be organised in
coordination with our partners to ensure a better defence of
Saharawis, so as to consecrate the Saharawi people’s right to
self-determination and independence", he added.
"In reality, the essence of the problem is no more than the total
denial of the Saharawi people as a people who have the right to
decide over their future and to exist, and out of this denial comes
all these horrors to which they are unjustly subjected since
thirteen years", he said.
"It is thus time for the international community and the UN to
enlarge the mandate of the MINURSO and constitute concrete
mechanisms to enable the surveillance of the human rights situation
to prevent their violation" (...) "and lift the embargo imposed on
the occupied territories to open them to journalists, NGOs and
independent observers", he added.
During the seminar, many personalities intervened, including Mr.
Ebrahim Saley, Director of the Department of North Africa in the
South African FA Ministry, Mr. Eddy Makue, Secretary General of the
South African Council of Churches, Mr. Oubbi Bouchraya Bachir,
Saharawi Ambassador to South Africa, Mr. Timothey Othieno, from the
Institute of Global Dialogue and Mr. Ali Salem Tamek, Member of the
Collective of the Saharawi human rights defenders and ex-political
prisoner.
The South African Committee for Human Rights exposed, on the margin
of the seminar, pictures of the Saharawi victims of the Moroccan
repression showing people injured Saharawis savagely tortured,
burned alive or assassinated. (SPS)
020/090/000/TRD 021255 DEC 06 SPS |
