SAHARA PRESS SERVICE

Chahid El Hafed, 01/08/04 (SPS) Spanish Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Bernardino Leon Gross, will undertake a work visit to SADR, this Monday, in which he will meet with Saharawi Government authorities, according to a Saharawi official source.

Mr. Bernardino, who will undertake his second visit to Saharawis in two months, is accompanied by the Head of his department, the person in charge for North Africa within the ministry of Foreign affairs and the person in charge for cooperation.

Since their regression to power last April, Zapatero's Government increased contacts with the Polisario Front, Morocco, Algeria, USA and Baker and declared in many occasions that his country is interested in contributing to the settlement of the problem of Western Sahara "within the framework of the international legality and United Nations".

Welcoming the next arrival of Mr. Bernardino, a Saharawi diplomatic source reaffirmed to SPS "the absolute attachment" of SADR's Government to "Saharawi people's right to self-determination and independence", estimating that the referendum "remains the only optimal political solution" to settle the problem. (SPS)

010/090/100/TRD 011712 August 04 SPS

Barcelona, 31/07/2004 (SPS) An important delegation of the Saharawi Women National Union (UNFS), chaired by its President, Fatma Mehdi, took part past 29 to the 31st July to the Barcelona Forum 2004, which is taking place along the two past months, reported, to SPS, a close source to the Saharawi delegation.

Under the theme "Saharawi women in struggle", Mme M'Barka Hamoudi, intervened in the workshop "women building peace" before an important audience of this international encounter of cultures.

The Saharawi women, their cause of national liberation and the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and independence "had a big echo despite of the problems and provocation performed by Moroccan DST agents and their assisting renegades", it was indicated.

The contribution of the Saharwi women to the workshop of "Woman politic and civil rights" was also a subject to a debate conference presented by Mrs. Khadija Hamdi, member of UNFS's Executive Bureau, in charge for information, culture and orientation.

Mrs. Khadija widely talked about the established privileges and rights of the Saharawi woman in exile under Polisario Front's leadership and within the SADR. She estimated, however, that these establishes privileges will remain incomplete as long as "our people remains under Moroccan colonial yoke", calling the participants to firmly support "Saharawi people right to self-determination and independence".

The delegation also participated to the different debates in other workshops of: Health, cooperation, economic participation, planning etc.
 
"Our delegation participated to all the discussions at the level of all the workshops and we succeeded to arise the awareness of the present public opinion about the difficulties Saharawi woman face in exile, imposed to our people by Moroccan colonialism, which constitutes a major obstacle in front of the emancipation of the Saharawi woman and her participation in the international movement of women liberation", declared, to SPS, Mrs. M'Barka Boumakhrouta, member of the delegation.

The Spanish regional and national press covered the activities of the Saharawi delegation's activities during the Forum and publicised some interviews with the members of the delegation, it was reported.

Te Saharawi delegation had had meetings and discussions with many Spanish political officials as well as other officials of participating countries to the Forum. (SPS)

010/090/100/TRD 01081127 August 04 SPS