SAHARA PRESS SERVICE

Chahid El Hafed, 05/03/2004 (SPS) The first group of Saharawis, coming from El Aaiun, arrived this afternoon after two hours delay, because of Moroccan formalities at the airport of Western Sahara's capital, SPS noted.

19 persons made this first visit to relatives and families they did not meet with during 28 years, accompanied by children who even do not know their fathers, mothers or grand-fathers, because parted from them by the Moroccan military invasion of their territory and its annexation in 1975.

Asked at the airport, many of them showed a great relief to be, at last, able to meet with their relatives, expressing the hope that this initiative would be profitable to all Saharawis.

The emotion of the reunion is in its climax within the families, most of whom wander about the names of their parents. Friends, neighbours and almost all the neighbourhood, gather around the tents of the hosts to ''salute them and express our solidarity with the heroic struggle they are leading against occupation'', declared Mariem, a neighbour of El Kori's family in Smara, to SPS.

21 persons are among their families, few hours ago, in El Aaiun within the framework of the confidence-building measures between the two parties, UN recommended since 2000 and rejected by Morocco for a long time.

It should be recalled that Western Sahara, former Spanish colony, was invaded in 1975 by Moroccan armed forces, who occupied the main cities. Morocco erected a defensive wall, around these cities, along 2000 Km, protected by more than 120.000 soldiers and as much of heavy weapons, millions of mines and thousands of armoured engines.

Families parted by this wall will benefit now of this UN's humanitarian initiative that should be profitable to over than 165.000 refugees to exchange visits with their families in occupied territories.
 
For the moment, Morocco gave permission only to the inhabitants of El Aaiun to subscribe to the lists of HCR, the latter been in charge of the operation, while Polisario Front has opened all the refugees' camps to the organisation's employees to distribute the forms of the demands of visits. (SPS)

010/090/000/TRD 051836 Mar 04 SPS

Chahid El Hafed, 05/03/2004 (SPS) The first Saharawi group, composed of 21 persons, left the refugees' camps today heading to El Aaiun, occupied Capital of SADR, for a visit to their families, the first of the kind since the Moroccan military invasion of the Saharawi territory and its occupation in 1975.

The flight which will bring another Saharawi group, coming from occupied territory, for a visit to the four refugees camps is expected for at 14.00 (GMT+1), announced UNHCR's official in Tindouf.
 
Parted for three decades from their relatives by a defensive wall of more than 2000 Km, these women and men will meet for five days with their families, thanks to the efforts of UN, the latter having succeeded in convincing Morocco to accept these exchanges of visits for purely humanitarian goal.

''The emotion is great'', declared one of the travellers to SPS, underlining that he feels ''an incomplete joy'' to meet again with his old and sick parents, concluding that ''the joy can only be total by the achievement
of our national independence all over our territory''.

Excited by the thought of the reunion with her mother, a woman accompanied by two kids, succeeded in uttering some words to curse ''Moroccan colonialism and all the sufferings it brought with it to our people and land''.

Asked if he has got the intention to settle in El Aaiun after the visit, an ex-fighter, wounded in his right hand, considered the question as an offence.

''I did not fight for all these years to surrender at last to the coloniser. I am taking part to this flight to see my parents, for the last time maybe, before they pass away, but I will return at the independence day, to settle there'', he stressed.

The HCR, had delivered let-passes to the travellers, the latters having received the needed guarantees to personal security and free movement from UN.
 
Morocco did only allowed the inhabitants of El Aaiun to take profit of this operation, while Polisario Front announced free access to the legal forms of the operation to all the refugees' camps inhabitants, to be directly registered by UNHCR's employees, it was indicated.

The UNHCR distributed a note to explain the necessary conditions any candidate has to have to take profit of the operation. The first degree parents (father, mother, husband, wife, son, daughter, sister, brother) are the only accepted to profit of this occasion. The visitors will be taken and accompanied by UNHCR to their destinations by UN's airplanes and by cars of the organisation in the occupied cities and in the refugees' camps.

The organisation will also put some phone numbers of emergencies under the disposal of these persons, who will fly on Fridays to return back on Wednesdays, it was indicated.

Polisario Front ''favourably receives this UN's initiative'', announced an official source, considering that ''this humanitarian initiative will allow families, parted by the wall of disgrace for more than 25 years, to meet though for a short time''.

''Another important point, these visits will contribute in contradicting Moroccan government's propaganda, based on the so called Saharawi refugees' detention'', stressed the same source, considering that the visits "will unveil the real face of Moroccan occupation, which is maintaining Saharawi territory under its colonial yoke''.

''The real detainees are those who maintained for more than 28 years in cities under permanent siege, forbidden to foreign mass media, observers and independent NGOs'', added the same source.

To Polisario Front these confidence-building measures should be the starting point to the opening of the Saharawi territory to allow international independent observers to see by themselves ''the atmosphere of terror and repression prevailing on Western Sahara's occupied territories, as well as the difficult conditions of the life imposed on our citizens under occupation''.

Polisario Front hopes, nevertheless, that this initiative ''be a step towards the fair, final and lasting settlement to the conflict, which can only be through the organisation of a free, fair and transparent referendum of self-determination under the auspices of UN, able to put and end to the tragedy of Saharawi
people and to establish an atmosphere of peace and stability to the benefit of all the people of the region''.

Morocco, having invaded and annexed Western Sahara, had erected a defensive wall, of more than 2000 Km, filled with mines, armoured tanks and heavy artillery, and protected by more than 120.000 soldiers. (SPS)

010/090/000/TRD 051129 Mar 04 SPS