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Chahid El Hafed,
05/04/2007 (SPS) The President of the Republic, Mohamed Abdelaziz,
underlined that "It is a shame for humanity, whilst entering the
21st century, to turn a blind eye to the plight of an oppressed
people", the Saharawi people, who "continue to struggle by lawful
means for legitimate rights, and to lift no finger in the face of
the aggressor, the Moroccan Government, which keeps on violating
human rights and rejecting publicly to abide by the dictates of
international legality".
In
his intervention, on Thursday during the opening of the 5th Congress
of the Saharawi Women’s Union, the President of the republic called
on the international community to "assume its responsibility in the
face of the blatant intransigence exhibited by the Moroccan
Government and its reneging on the agreements that it has concluded
with the other party to the conflict, the Frente POLISARIO".
Here
is the complete text of the President of the republic’s Speech, of
which SPS received a copy:
"
Keynote Speech of Mr Mohamed Abdelaziz, President of the Saharawi
Arab Democratic Republic and Secretary-General of the Frente
POLISARIO at the opening of the 5th Congress of the National Union
of Saharawi Women
27th
February School, 5 April 2007
Ladies and Gentlemen,
First
of all, I would like to warmly welcome all the participants and
particularly our guests who have had to endure long and tiring
journeys to be with us and take part in the 5th Congress of the
National Union of Saharawi Women, Congress of Martyr Meimuna
Abdallah Mohamed Lamine. We are profoundly thankful and appreciative
of your participation, and I would like to wish you all a very
pleasant stay among our hospitable people.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Without a doubt, the involvement of the Saharawi women in our
liberation struggle has always been strong, steady and effective.
From the outset, Saharawi women have assumed historic and very
significant roles that have gained them the highly distinguished
status that they enjoy today. From a strategic viewpoint, both the
Saharawi State and the Frente POLISARIO have set out to promote and
strengthen the involvement of Saharawi women in all stages of the
liberation struggle and institution-building with a view to
empowering them in order to participate actively in the
administration and management of all political, social, cultural and
economic aspects of our life.
It is
no wonder, therefore, that we all are very proud of the achievements
of the Saharawi women whose determination and resilience have set a
good example for all women around the world. One of these great
achievements is the outstanding and civilising enterprise on which
they have embarked with a view to promoting the ideals of democracy,
equality and defence of human rights everywhere and in particular
the rights of the Saharawi people to live with freedom and dignity
in their own homeland.
The
Saharawi women have full access to all bodies and institutions of
the Saharawi State. We would like to call on educated young Saharawi
women to seize and make the best use of all opportunities at hand to
develop the Saharawi State by participating effectively in its
institutions, at all levels, and by modernising all those areas of
priority such as education, heath, public administration and
information, among others. By carrying out such tasks the Saharawi
women will definitely further their unparalleled contribution to the
building of a modern and peaceful Saharawi society that is tolerant,
open to all world cultures and civilisations and attached to its
values and legitimate and sacred rights.
In
the course of our national liberation struggle we have never had a
gender, class or generational conflict because all of us, without
exception, have been confronted by the struggle for existence, a
struggle for freedom, dignity and independence.
Without doubt, the challenges faced by Saharawi women in particular
and Saharawi society in general are becoming greater and more
complex. The very existence of the Saharawi people is under threat
owing to Moroccan occupation policies that aim to empty the
territory of its inhabitants by employing a myriad of practices
including the systematic eradication of all features of Saharawi
distinct identity, assassination, forced disappearance and
deportation and social and moral corruption as well as forcing young
Saharawis to migrate risking their lives across the Atlantic.
In
this context, the Saharawi woman, as mother, wife and sister, cannot
but meet the challenge posed by the decreasing rate of the
demographic growth of our population. The defence of the
achievements attained thus far by our people and our women
necessitates the protection of our own identity and existence, and
this is a great responsibility to be fully shouldered by Saharawi
women and men alike.
We
are confident that the deliberations of the Congress will culminate
in key decisions that will reflect the aspirations of the Saharawi
women and our ambitions to open up new and vast horizons with a view
to building the new Saharawi society and realising the legitimate
objectives of our people for freedom, dignity and independence.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At
the same time as the Congress is being held, the Saharawi people,
including men and women, who live in the occupied territories and
southern Morocco are still engaged in a peaceful resistance that
continues to courageously defy the brutality of the Moroccan
repression and pave the way to victory and liberation. Heroic
resistance is taking place in La Aaiún, Smara, Boujador, Tan Tan,
Assa, Guleimim, Zaq, M’hamied El-Ghezlan as well as in university
campuses in Marrakech, Casa Blanca, and Agadir, among others.
It is
always with profound thanks and deep appreciation that we remember
the great feats and tremendous sacrifices made by the heroes and
heroines of the Intifada for independence.
The
multifarious repressive measures taken by the Moroccan occupying
forces have exceeded everything imaginable. What is worse is the
silence and indifference of the international community in the face
of the military siege and information blackout being imposed on the
occupied territories, and the fact that international observers and
independent media are still barred from entering those territories.
The
great challenge facing all women and men around the world is to lift
the siege imposed on those peaceful demonstrators whose sole goal is
to defend principles and ideals cherished by humanity at large. The
pressing task, therefore, is to address the injustice inflicted on
our people and to ensure the respect for their human rights
including fundamentally their inalienable right to
self-determination and independence.
Whilst we condemn and denounce these practices, we renew our call
for the unconditional release of all Saharawi political detainees
and prisoners of conscience and the accounting for more than 500
disappeared and 151 Saharawi prisoners of war.
I
would like to take this occasion to underline that it has become
imperative and urgent that the mandate of MINURSO should be expanded
to include the protection of the human rights of the Saharawi
population as well as its natural resources.
I
would also like to renew our call on the UN Secretary-General and
the Security Council to take immediate measures to publish and act
upon the recommendations contained in the report of the visiting
mission of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding
Western Sahara, which was released in September 2006. The report
clearly affirmed that human rights in Western Sahara cannot be
genuinely respected without the respect for and implementation of
the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The
Moroccan Government has not only committed gross human rights abuses
but has also been publicly engaged in a series of violations of the
dictates of international legality the last of which is its
currently propagated proposal of the so-called “autonomy” .
What
the Moroccan Government seeks is to futilely convince the entire
world that it is feasible to implement international legality by
violating the same legality.
It is
obvious that there is no legal and ethical basis for such proposal
on account of being not only unilateral but also indicative of the
position of the occupying power that is trying to implicate the
entire world in legitimising an illegal occupation to the detriment
of the two doctrines on which any solution to the conflict will
inevitably have to be based, namely decolonisation and
self-determination.
In
accordance with international law, the UN resolutions and the
advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, Morocco does
not exercise any sovereignty whatsoever over Western Sahara, because
sovereignty over the territory is exclusively vested in the Saharawi
people who are the only one entitled to decide its status in a free,
fair and just referendum.
It is
a shame for humanity, whilst entering the 21st century, to turn a
blind eye to the plight of an aggrieved people that continue to
struggle by lawful means for legitimate rights, and to lift no
finger in the face of the aggressor, the Moroccan Government, which
keeps on violating human rights and rejecting publicly to abide by
the dictates of international legality.
The
international community should assume its responsibility in the face
of the blatant intransigence exhibited by the Moroccan Government
and its reneging on the agreements that it has concluded with the
other party to the conflict, the Frente POLISARIO.
Extending diplomatic recognition to the Saharawi Arab Democratic
Republic and establishing diplomatic relations with it is the
appropriate and practical response to Morocco’s attempt to unjustly
override the will of the Saharawi people.
Morocco’s public disregard for international law and conventions
should be confronted head-on by affirming the unyielding attachment
to the democratic and just solution to the conflict through the
holding of a free, fair and just referendum on self-determination.
The
international community should immediately consider imposing all
necessary sanctions on Morocco to compel it to listen to reason by
putting an end to its illegal occupation of the territory of the
Saharawi Republic and honouring its own commitments in line with the
UN resolutions.
The
international community should also work hard to avoid the
aggravation of the plight of the Saharawi people and that of the
peoples of the region. It should thus reject and denounce the
Moroccan new manoeuvre, the so-called “autonomy”, because it is just
another cover for re-enacting Morocco’s illegal invasion of Western
Sahara that took place in 1975, which has led to devastating
consequences and enduring sufferings.
Whilst we reiterate that the Frente POLISARIO utterly rejects
Morocco’s so-called “autonomy proposal”, we would like to warn
against the possible risks it may involve, since it could put the
region more on the brink of war and destruction than on the path
leading to peace and stability.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Allow
me to conclude by welcoming once again our guests and the
participants in the 5th Congress of the National Union of Saharawi
Women, and to with the Congress much success in its deliberations.
Thank
you very much!
"
010/090/000 051734 SPS 07
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