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SPS The Saharawi Red Crescent calls for an "urgent" humanitarian aid for the refugees 05.02.06
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Chahid El Hafed, 05/02/2006 (SPS) The Saharawi Red Crescent (SRC) launched an "urgent" call addressed to all the international humanitarian organisations to bring help to thousands Saharawi children, women and old men, who are refugees in the south of Algeria, considering the UN’s bodies, especially HC rand WFP, as responsible of "what may result of this critical situation".
In a press release publicised on Saturday, the Saharawi NGO denounced "the silence exercised by these two UN’s bodies", drawing the attention of the international community on "the difficult situation the Saharawi refugees are facing".
In front of this situation, the Saharawi NGO launched an "urgent" appeal addressed to Governments, international organisations, NGOs and the social society through the world, "for an urgent assistance", in particular by providing basic food, especially that "the stocks of emergencies of this products will be used by this March", SRC warned.
The Saharawi NGO also indicated that it already "started using the stock of security of the basic food, since January 2006, so as to provide for the minimum of the urgent needs of 158.000 Saharawi refugees".
SRC recalled that the stocks of drugs for the Saharawi refugees provided these last years by the European Bureau for Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) "are completely finished". The Saharawi organisation warned against a serious deterioration of the already precarious state of health of the Saharawi refugees.
In this respect SRC informed that the budget consecrated by ECHO to the medical assistance "represents only 25 per cent of the first degree needs of the Saharawi refugees", underlining that the European organisation "did not supply this aid though it was supposed to do that last November", the same source said.
SRC finally stressed that because "of the delays registered in the humanitarian aid, in addition to its insufficiency, more than 66% of mature women and 68% children under 15 years old suffer from anaemia, in addition to malnutrition for 7,7% of the children".
158.000 Saharawis, in particular children, women and old men depend completely on humanitarian aid they receive from international bodies, it should be recalled. (SPS)
020/090/000/TRD 051200 Feb 06 SPS
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SPS Human rights are violated by Morocco and the justice is still iniquitous in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, according to HRW
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Chahid El Hafed, 05/02/2006 (SPS) Human rights are still violated in Morocco and in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, while the Moroccan forces of security use excessive violence to oppress demonstrations of protest, while the justice is still "iniquitous", indicates the American Human Rights Watch, reported by the Algerian Press Agency, APS.
Concerning the situation that prevails in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, HRW underlined in its report of 2006 that the Moroccan forces of security repress, with a rare violence, the demonstrations of protest organised by the Saharawi citizens in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, denouncing the continuous deterioration of the human rights in this occupied zones.
Quoting a report by Amnesty International on the situation of human rights in the Western Sahara, HRW underlined that the Saharawi demonstrators were submitted to a rare kind of police violence in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, some of whom were tortured after they were arrested during demonstrations advocating the independence of Western Sahara since last May 2005.
HRW denounced the iniquitous trials against Saharawi human rights activists, who were condemned to heavy sentences of imprisonment last December 2005 and in January 2006. It specified that human rights continue to be violated in Western Sahara.
"These arrests and iniquitous trials show that the repression is still the rule in Western Sahara", commented Mrs. Sarah Leah Whitson, Director of the Human Rights Watch Department of Middle East and North Africa.
The Moroccan forces of occupation arrested more than "100 persons in many cities of Western Sahara", according to HRW report. It further stressed that "21 persons, at least, were condemned to sentences going between 6 months to 6 years imprisonment".
On another hand, HRW report 2006 called the Moroccan authorities to put an end to the impunity enjoyed by the persons accountable for the flagrant human rights violations, and to deprive them from any "amnesty".
HRW, which mentioned dozens cases of forced disappearance, especially in the 60ies, 70ies and 8ies, called the Moroccan authorities to publicly recognise that the human rights violations were committed by the highest Moroccan officials. (SPS)
060/090/700 051700 Feb 06 SPS
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SPS Seven Saharawi activists wounded and another person arrested during confrontations in the occupied city of Dakhla
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Dakhla (occupied territories), 05/02/2006 (SPS) One persona at least was arrested and seven Saharawi human rights activists wounded during confrontations, Friday night and Saturday morning, between Moroccan forces of repression and Saharawi citizens who were calling for their people’s right to self-determination and independence, reported the correspondent of SPS on the ground.
The Moroccan forces of occupation intervened using excessive violence against the peaceful demonstrators wounding seven (7) human rights activists, mainly El Mamy Amar Salem, Oulad Cheikh El Mahjoub, Miské Ahmed Zein, Hamadi Ahmed Menhanoun, Mohamed Brahim Machnan, Ahmed Bahya, Wanna Beida, the later being in a "critical state" now, the same source added.
According to the first report 14 other persons were harshly tortured by the Moroccan agents. The victims are Bouaila Salama Hamdi, Bouaila Mohamed Yahdih, Bouaila Mohamed Mahmoud, Bouaila Gouha, Bouaila Melah, Bouaila Chreifa, Youcef Mrabih, Hamdi Ali Bouna, Laroussi El Meki, Sidi El hafed, Allah Chegaf, Khadou Amar Salem, Nguiya Bouaila, Bela Cheikhatou Ali Salem.
During these demonstrations the Moroccan forces of repression arrested the Saharawi citizen, Bela Bouaila, and ransacked the houses of many Saharawi families, including the residences of the families of Adou Ahmed Zein, Dala Bouaila, and Othman Bouaila, who remains under closesurveillance, it was stressed.
In the same context, the Saharawi citizens and students of the occupied city of Smara, orgnised a sit-in of solidarity with the population of Dakhla, denouncing the Moroccan repression against Saharawi people in the occupied territories of Western Sahara and south of Morocco.
The sit-i was lo an opportunity or the demonstrators to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, which will be officially celebrated in Tifariti (liberated territories) this February the 27th.
In the occupied city of El Aaiun three Saharawi students of the secondary school 'Lemsala', mainly Chtouki Moulaye Ahmed, Dah Hassan and El Ghali Lechgar were arrested on Saturday and led by the Moroccan secret services to the criminal police’s station in the city.
The victims were submitted to an interrogatory and to torture for six hours before been released in a "critical state", according to the correspondent of SPS. (SPS)
020/090/000/TRD 051645 Feb 06 SPS
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SAHARA
PRESS SERVICE