El Aaiun (occupied capital of the Saharawi Republic), 15/01/2005 (SPS) Saharawi citizens in El Aaiun organised big demonstrations in the different neighbourhoods and streets of El Aaiun, after the burial, on Saturday in the occupied city, of the late Hamdi Lembarki, a young Saharawi killed under torture by Moroccan colonial forces last October 2005, concordant sources reported.

 

"Hundreds citizens participated Saturday morning to the funeral of the late martyr. They were raising the Saharawi Republic’s flags and chanting slogans calling for the decolonisation of the Western Sahara. After the burial of the Martyr, they headed towards the occupied city in cars and by feet protesting against the Moroccan repression, and were received by the Moroccan colonial forces at the entry of the El Aaiun. At that moment violent confrontations broke", the same sources added.

 

The inhabitants of the city, especially of the neighbourhoods of « Maatallah», « the black march », «Inaach » and « Ali Salem Tamek’s Avenue», «Skeikima Avenue», in addition to other paces of the city got out of their houses to help their compatriots. Sporadic demonstrations took place then during all the afternoon, it was stressed.

 

Moroccan forces of repression launched raids against Saharawi citizens, dispersing the demonstrators, arresting many of them and ransacking many Saharawi houses.

 

In this respect, Saharawi citizen Laaseri Saaid was arrested with his friend Hamoudi Ahl Laabeid, in front of the headquarters of the UN’s mission in El Aaiun, MINURSO, and their car was confiscated "for having participated to the funeral and after having tried to seek refuge at the headquarters of the UN’s mission", the same sources indicated.

 

Eye witnesses, on another hand, have named many persons arrested and wounded, mainly Mr. Bouchanna Ahmed, who was arrested and his car confiscated for the same reasons than Laaseri Saaid.

 

Other citizens were arrested during the raids the Moroccan forces undertaken against Saharawi houses. Many Saharawis, the same sources said, were tortured and arrested.

 

"Mr. Hamoudi Mohamed Ali Bouhannan, Mr. Marzoug, and an old woman, 80 years old, Mrs, Mbarka Mbarek Brahim, was savagely tortured and arrested despite of her old age with her two daughters Aziza and Chabab Yahdih Baba, in addition to Mrs. Mahmouda Mahmoud Outhman, who was abducted by the Moroccan colonial forces".

 

The occupied city of El Aaiun is put under state of exception, and the tension risks to blow up the whole situation at any moment, according to concordant sources.

 

Thousands Saharawi citizens, coming from the different occupied cities of Western Sahara and south Morocco, participated on Saturday in El Aaiun to the funeral of the late Hamdi Lembarki, a young Saharawi demonstrator killed under torture by Moroccan forces of repression last October the 30th 2005. They condemned the Moroccan human rights violations in the occupied territories of Western Sahara and called for the quick finishing of the decolonisation of the non-self-governing territory, the correspondent of SPS reported.

 

"They came from Tan Tan, Assa, Goulimine, Boujdour, Dakhla, Smara and from the Moroccan universities to say goodbye to their companion and comrade of the struggle for freedom, the young martyr of the Saharawi Uprising of Independence, the late Mr. Hamdi Lembarki, who was killed by the Moroccan forces of repression, under torture, for the only reason of having dared say No! to the Moroccan repression, No! to the colonisation of Western Sahara and No! to the international silence in the face of the Moroccan violation of the international legality", declared a Saharawi human rights activist to SPS, asking for anonymity.   (SPS)

 

060/090/000 150144 Jan 06 SPS

 

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SPS OCCUPIED TERRITORIES/REPRESSION A Saharawi arrested by the forces of occupation in the occupied city of Smara

 
 

Paris, 15/01/2005 (SPS) The French searcher, Khadija Finan, wrote an analytical article on the Western Sahara, publicised in the « Le Monde Diplomatic » in its January’s edition, estimating that the "Saharawis who survived 30 years of the conflict" will eagerly struggle against any constraints that can be put over their territorial sovereignty on Western Sahara.

 

The "Saharawis who survived 30 years of the conflict" (…) "will eagerly struggle against any constraints that can be put over their territorial sovereignty" on Western Sahara, Mrs. Finan said, underlining that "the violently suppressed ‘secessionist’ demonstrations in El Aaiun and Smara give the impression, locally and abroad, that Morocco is not entirely in control of the situation in Western Sahara", and are a proof on the determination of the Saharawi people to defend its national rights.

 

In her article entitled "Inextricable, the Western Sahara’s conflict move again", the wrier deeply analysed the development of the Moroccan position on the conflict, since its illegal invasion of the territory in 1975 to this day. She considered that the expectations of Rabat were violently shacked by the Saharawi population’s uprising in the occupied territories of Western Sahara. This new movement broke the Status Quo that was caused by the Moroccan refusal to abide by the international legality.

 

"Since May 2005 there have been a series of demonstrations in two major Western Saharan towns, El Aaiun and Smara, calling for secession. The violence with which these were put down, particularly in October has made the situation more explosive", Finan stressed, testifying thus on the Moroccan human rights violations in the occupied cities of Western Sahara, though she omitted to mention other cities such as Dakhla, Boujdour, Assa, Tan An or Guelmine, where the Saharawi populations organised sporadic demonstrators asking for the decolonisation of the non-self-governing territory.

 

Morocco, who is still sticking by its position of rejection of the international legality since 1975 and who is rejecting any peaceful solution to the conflict, has no other choice but to take into consideration the Saharawi people’s determination to defend their right to independence, she estimated.

 

"It is not a question of granting margin of freedom to a Moroccan region, but to Saharawis who survived 30 years of the conflict and who will eagerly struggle against any constraints that can be put over their territorial sovereignty", the writer wrote.

 

In addition, "the organisation of the United Nations consider that the problem of this territory, Morocco annexed in 1975, must be settled through the holding of a self-determination referendum", while Rabat does not stop putting obstacles to the international attempts to peacefully resolve the conflict, what constitutes a real threat to the whole region. (SPS)

 

060/090/000 151849 Jan 06 SPS

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SPS SADR/KUWAIT/CONDOLENCES The President of the Republic sends a message of condolences to His Majesty, Cheikh Saad Al Abdallah Salem Assabah