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"The Frente POLISARIO calls
for an urgent international inquiry into the involvement of the Moroccan
occupying authorities in the death of those young people and the ethnic
cleansing against the Saharawis as well as the policies aimed at draining
Western Sahara of its inhabitants and driving them, under duress, to go
somewhere else", Mr. Abdelaziz wrote in a letter he sent to Mr. Annan on
Monday.
The President of the
Republic recalled of the cases of death or disappearance "in similar
circumstances" of 40 other young Saharawis in two groups, in June and
October 2006.
In this respect, he renewed
the call for an "immediate extension of the mandate of the United Nations
Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara so as to encompass the
protection of the safety of the Saharawi population in the occupied
territories and safeguarding their fundamental rights, whilst working to
enable to the Saharawi people to exercise, without delay, their inalienable
right to self-determination in accordance with the Charter and resolutions
of the United Nations".
On the basis of information
collected from the survivors, the families of the victims as well as human
rights organisations, Mr. Abdelaziz affirmed, the "involvement of the
Moroccan occupying forces in this horrendous operation, which comes within
the context of a systematic policy aiming at eliminating the Saharawis and
draining the occupied Western Sahara of its own inhabitants".
Further, he declared that
"there are active and organised mafias funded by the Moroccan occupying
authorities, which operate in the Saharawi occupied territories and on the
coast in collaboration with Moroccan oppressive apparatus that provide them
with all logistical assistance in order to drive those young people, victims
of the persecution of that apparatus, to migrate clandestinely and risk
their lives in unknown journey across the ocean".
Here is the full text of the
letter translated to English
"Mr. Kofi Annan,
Secretary-General of the
United Nations
New York
Bir Lehlou, 3 December 2006
Mr. Secretary-General,
On Sunday, 25 November 2006,
a new tragedy occurred in the Atlantic coast of the Saharawi territories
under Moroccan occupation where 50 Saharawi citizens were drowned when their
three boats sank while they were trying to reach the Spanish coast.
25 Saharawis youngsters died
in the beginning of October 2006 under similar circumstances, while there
are 15 others who remain missing after they had disappeared under unknown
circumstances to which we referred in our letter addressed to your
Excellency on 25 June 2006.
Mr. Secretary-General,
All the information that we
have received from the survivors and the families of the victims in addition
to reports and testimonies gathered by independent human rights
organisations point to the involvement of the Moroccan occupying forces in
this horrendous operation, which comes within the context of a systematic
policy aiming at eliminating the Saharawis and draining the occupied Western
Sahara of its own inhabitants.
Since the illegal occupation
of Western Sahara on 31 October 1975, the Moroccan colonial authorities have
been engaged in a series of eradicationist policies involving assassination
and forced deportation of Saharawis into Morocco in addition to genocidal
practices, kidnapping and disappearance perpetrated against hundreds of
Saharawi civilians.
Since 21 May 2005, the date
of the beginning of the Saharawi peaceful resistance, the Saharawi cities
have witnessed an overwhelming presence of Moroccan oppressive security
forces including police, gendarmerie and the army that have been deployed
solely to smother the Saharawi civilians and put their neighbourhoods under
permanent siege.
The colonial authorities
have been targeting the active young people and subjecting them to a myriad
of terrorist practices including assassination, burning, killing in
premeditated traffic accidents, kidnapping, unfair detention, severe
torture, and disposing of victims in remote places. These have also been
coupled with policies of starvation, impoverishment, forced unemployment and
repeated intimidation against individuals and communities in order to force
them not only to renounce their convictions but also to depart their country
and families.
These gross violations,
which have resulted from the denial of a fundamental right, namely the right
of the Saharawi people to self-determination, are the same violations to
which we have repeatedly drawn attention and which were reaffirmed by the
Office of the Higher Commissioner for Human Rights following the visit of
its mission to the Territory in May 2006.
Reliable information
indicates that there are active and organised mafias funded by the Moroccan
occupying authorities, which operate in the Saharawi occupied territories
and on the coast in collaboration with Moroccan oppressive apparatus that
provide them with all logistical assistance in order to drive those young
people, victims of the persecution of that apparatus, to migrate
clandestinely and risk their lives in unknown journey across the ocean.
Mr. Secretary-General,
The death of a large number
of innocent Saharawis, particularly young people, within a short time and in
a territory that is under the United Nations responsibility is utterly
unacceptable. For that reason we call on you to intervene urgently to put an
end to this tragedy.
The Frente POLISARIO calls
for an urgent international inquiry into the involvement of the Moroccan
occupying authorities in the death of those young people and the ethnic
cleansing against the Saharawis as well as the policies aimed at draining
Western Sahara of its inhabitants and driving them, under duress, to go
somewhere else.
In view of these actions
that are in contravention of international law and conventions, we renew our
call for an immediate extension of the mandate of the United Nations Mission
for the Referendum in Western Sahara so as to encompass the protection of
the safety of the Saharawi population in the occupied territories and
safeguarding their fundamental rights, whilst working to enable to the
Saharawi people to exercise, without delay, their inalienable right to
self-determination in accordance with the Charter and resolutions of the
United Nations.
Please accept, Mr.
Secretary-General, the assurances of my highest consideration.
Mohamed Abdelaziz,
Secretary-General of the
Frente POLISARIO". (SPS)
010/090/100 031458 DEC 06
SPS |
