SAHARA PRESS SERVICE

United Nations, 14/02/2004 (SPS) UN's Secretary General, Kofi Annan, considered that ''colonialism is anachronism in the XXIst century'' and that it should be fought against, hoping that the administrative powers work with UN's Special Committee on the Decolonisation of 16 non-self-governing territories, listed by the organisation, including Western Sahara.

Addressing the inaugural sitting of the 2004?s session of the Special Committee in charge of the study of the situation regarding the implementation of the declaration on granting independence to colonised countries and people, Mr. Annan considered that his organisation had realised some success in the decolonisation, "but it is still an unachieved task", he deplored.

In this respect, he followed, '' we must keep in mind that we are at the fourth year of the Second international Decade for the elimination of colonialism''. 

The Committee '' must accelerate its work and in particular, look for the implication of administrating powers and the peoples of the territories'', he concluded.

Recalling that '' Sixteen non-self-governing territories are still listed on the list of the special Committee'', the general Secretary stressed that '' the ultimate goal must be to promote the political, economical and social development of the (non-self-governing) territories and to determine their future statute within the framework of the three options decided by the resolution 1541, to know the free association, the integration to another State or independence''.

From his point of view, the President of this session, Robert Guba Aisi, Papua-New-Guinea, considered that ''colonialism is, in fact, a relic of the past''.

The special Committee planed to hold 23 public meetings that should be divided up between February and June, and a week of solidarity with the people of the non-self-governing territories, next May the 21st.
 
The special Committee was charged of studying the implementation of the Declaration on the independence in the following non-self-governing territories: Anguilla, Bermudas, Guam, islands Caymans, Turkish islands and Caïques, American Virgin islands, Virgin British islands, Montserrat, Pitcairn, Holy
Helene, Samoa, New Caledonia, Tokélaou, western Sahara,Falkland islands (Malvinas) and Gibraltar. (SPS)

010/090/000/TRD 141916 Feb 04 SPS

SPS
SADR/GERMANY
The President of the Republic receives the MEP Mrs. Margot Kessler and a German delegation

Chahid El Hafed, 14/02/2004 (SPS) The President of the Republic, Mohamed Abdelaziz, received on Saturday the Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Mrs. Margot Kessler, President of EP's intergroup ''Peace for Saharawi People'', who is accompanied with an important German delegation, composed of local politicians and figures of civil society of Bundeslander, who had announced the creation of a German association of support to Saharawis, Salma, recently founded in Thueringuen state (Germany).

During a lunch offered at the honour of the German delegation, the President of the Republic hailed this new impulse of German solidarity with Saharawi people and the unconditional commitment of the MEP, Mrs. Kessler, and the delegation accompanying her.

Mrs. Kessler showed her ''satisfaction'' of the visit her delegation had paid to liberated territories of the Saharawi republic and in the refugees' camps.

A visit that ''allowed (them) to better organise the holidays' colonies for Saharawi children next summer in Germany''.

The MEP felicitated Polisario Front for the release, on Friday, of 100 Moroccan POWs on request of Qatar, expressing their hope that Morocco ''follows the steps of Polisario by releasing those he is still holding, Saharawi military and civil disappeared''.

The reception was attended by the president of Parliament, Mahfoud Ali Beiba and Saharawi Women's Secretary General, Mrs. Fatma Mehdi.

In a resolution unanimously adopted last 29th January, the German Bundestag (Parliament) had announced to be '' unreservedly supporting the efforts of UN's Secretary General and his Personal Envoy, James Baker, in the search of fair and final solution and asks all the parties to the conflict to accept the preposition contained in the UN Security Council's resolution 1495''.
 
To the Bundestag, ''this proposition offers the possibility to find a satisfying solution to all the parties to the Western Sahara's conflict'', considering that the guarantees to the referendum as proposed by Mr. Baker are ''of the kind to create a state of confidence, necessary for the progress of the transitional period without conflict'', it should be recalled. (SPS)

10/090/100/TRD 141732 Feb 04 SPS

SPS
SADR/MOROCCO/UN/PRISONNERS OF WAR
MINURSO satisfied with Polisario release of 100 Moroccan POWs

El Aaiun (occupied territories), 14/02/2004 (SPS) The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) expressed its satisfaction with the release, on Friday by Polisario, of 100 Moroccan prisoners of war to the request of Qatar, indicated a communiqué published by the mission
that SPS received.

''The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) welcomes this announcement'' (the release of the POWs), underlined the communiqué published from the Minurso head-office in occupied capital of the Saharawi republic.

Minurso expressed its hope to also witness the release of ''all remaining prisoners of war in full compliance with international humanitarian law'', inviting ''the parties'' to continue to cooperate with the ICRC ''to resolve
the fate of all those unaccounted for since the beginning of the conflict''.

It should be recalled that Polisario Front reports of 150 soldiers still detained by Morocco while the Association of the Families of Saharawi prisoners and detainees (AFAPREDESA) reports of more than 500 Saharawi person reported missed, since the Moroccan military invasion of Western Sahara in 1975.
(SPS)

010/090/250/TRD 141325 Feb 04 SPS