Chahid El Hafed, 18/08/2005 (SPS) The President of the republic, Mohamed Abdelaziz, passed the last Moroccan prisoners of war, who were unilaterally released Thursday by Polisario Front, to the Envoy of the President Push, American Senator, Richard G. Lugar. 

"Honourable Senator, I would like you to convey to President George. W. Bush, and to the great American people our expression of consideration as well as our gratitude and respect for taking part in this event today", declared President Abdelaziz during the official ceremony of the release of the prisoners of war. 

"The event that we are witnessing today constitutes the end of a process to which my country has agreed in heeding the calls made by many partners and friends, but also as a result of strong humanitarian convictions. In this sense, we would like to express our appreciation for the support that we have always received from the international community in order to alleviate the daily sufferings that the Saharawi people have been enduring for many decades", underlined Mr. Abdelaziz . 

The Head of the State estimated that "these initiatives and good will exhibited constantly by the Saharawi Government should be reciprocated ", considering that additional efforts are needed to compel Morocco "comply with international legality and to allow the Saharawi people to exercise their legitimate and inalienable right to self-determination". 

Mr. President said that the release of all the Moroccan prisoners of war "does not mean, in any way, that the humanitarian aspects of the conflict have been definitely settled", recalling that Morocco " continues to detain in its detention centers many Saharawi freedom fighters and civilians in inhuman and degrading conditions", besides the fact that "The question of the Saharawi disappeared is also an issue that gives cause for concern". 

He added that "The acts of repression carried out by the occupying authorities with the futile aim of crashing the demands of freedom of the Saharawi people, also interpellate the conscience of the Community of Nations as well as its capacity to enforce the respect of its decisions by disobedient states". 

To the President of the Republic, the humanitarian approach "should not be selective or derivative of some contingences having more or less something to do with internationally recognised norms ". He estimated that the Saharawi people in its turn has got the right to the attention of the world so as "an end is definitely put to the grave violations of human rights perpetrated by the occupying power ". 

"The cause of the Saharawi people is a just cause that deserves to be unanimously supported. Following the example of other oppressed peoples, the Saharawi people, inspired from President Wilson doctrine about the right of self-determination, join, in the context of the unstoppable march of the demeaning chains of servitude ", he said. 

Here is the complete text of the speech translated from Arabic by SPS: 

" Speech by President Mohamed Abdelaziz on the occasion of the release of the last group of Moroccan POWs 

August 18 , 2005

 Honorable Senator,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

The presence among us of a prestigious and respected political personality as Senator Richard Lugar is an immense honor to the Saharawi people and Government. On this occasion, I would like to extend to him a warm welcome and to tell him that we are very grateful for having him here today.

The participation in this ceremony of a statesman with rich record, full of well known achievements in the crucial domains of peace and security, adds to the significance of the operation of the release of the last Moroccan prisoners of war. 

We are gathered to conclude the process of the release of the Moroccan prisoners of war, initiated voluntarily and in all sovereignty, years ago by the Saharawi Republic which once again bears testimony to our good will. The involvement of the United States of America in this humanitarian enterprise, through your presence, is significant indeed. 

Honorable Senator, I would like you to convey to President George. W. Bush, and to the great American people our expression of consideration as well as our gratitude and respect for taking part in this event today. 

Honorable Senator, you represent a country that decided to gain its right to self-determination and to make of the ideals of liberty, equality and rejection of oppression the underlying principles of the Declaration of Independence of 4 July 1776.  

The American people were able to exercise their right to self-determination thanks to the vision, sacrifices and the determination of men and women who were committed to the triumph of the principles that today underpin the United Nations.  

Honorable Senator,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

The United States of America had fought a pioneering struggle for national independence. They have all right to pride themselves on being the first country to be decolonised and to have the oldest Constitution in the world, a reference document establishing the rule of law, democracy, human rights and fundamental liberties.   

I wanted to dwell on these glorious pages of the American history at the start in order to highlight the symbolism of the presence amongst us of representatives of a great nation, and to point out the similarity of struggles waged for self-determination and independence by the American and Saharawi peoples and, finally, to recall that if the United States was the first country to have attained its independence, Western Sahara remains the last colonial vestige in the African continent.  

The colonial power has denied my people their inalienable right to self-determination and independence for decades. Far from defeating them, the ordeals that they have endured with laudable courage have strengthened their determination and conviction that the calling of all peoples, whether big or small, is to live free and with dignity, and that they will always resist the occupation of their territory. 

Our just struggle for self-determination has been endorsed by the United Nations that has clearly identified the framework for the just and definitive solution to the conflict in Western Sahara. International legality, to whose elaboration your country, the Untied States of America, have considerably contributed in your capacity as a permanent member of the Security Council, has long established the imprescriptible rights of the people of Western Sahara and determined the relevant responsibilities.  

It is in order, to pay tribute to Mr. James Baker III, former Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara, for his commitment and the efforts that he deployed with the view of allowing the Saharawi people to exercise freely their right to self-determination. 

Honorable Senator,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

The event that we are witnessing today constitutes the end of a process to which my country has agreed in heeding the calls made by many partners and friends, but also as a result of strong humanitarian convictions. In this sense, we would like to express our appreciation for the support that we have always received from the international community in order to alleviate the daily sufferings that the Saharawi people have been enduring for many decades.  

These initiatives and good will exhibited constantly by the Saharawi Government should be reciprocated. Additional efforts are in effect needed in order to compel Morocco to comply with international legality and to allow the Saharawi people to exercise their legitimate and inalienable right to self-determination.

In this context, the recent designations of Ambassador Peter Van Walsum as personal envoy of the UN Secretary-General and of Mr. Franceso Bastagli as special representative for Western Sahara are developments that the Saharawi Republic welcomes with satisfaction. We hope that the personalities designated by Mr. Kofi Annan will do the utmost for the implementation of the peace plan for self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. 

Honorable Senator,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

What unites us today is our attachment to the noble and sacred human values. It is therefore the occasion for me to pay a deserved tribute to the whole of friends and partners of the Saharawi Republic. They include fervent militants of our cause, tireless activists and international humanitarian actors, women and men of political conviction and other sympathizers to whom we extend the thanks and most sincere gratitude of the Saharawi people and Government for their valuable and tireless support. 

On this solemn occasion, I would also like to pay tribute to Algeria, a brotherly and neighbor country, and to the President Mr. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who have always rendered their support for the right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination.  

Today, with the handing over of the last Moroccan prisoners, the Saharawi Republic turns over the page of one of the consequences of the conflict in Western Sahara. It is important, however, to bear in mind that the release of these prisoners does not mean, in any way, that the humanitarian aspects of the conflict have been definitely settled. In effect, the Moroccan Kingdom continues to detain in its detention centers many Saharawi freedom fighters and civilians in inhuman and degrading conditions. The question of the Saharawi disappeared is also an issue that gives cause for concern. The acts of repression carried out by the occupying authorities with the futile aim of crashing the demands of freedom of the Saharawi people, also interpellate the conscience of the Community of Nations as well as its capacity to enforce the respect of its decisions by disobedient states. 

As an act of generosity and respect for the human condition, the humanitarian approach should not be selective or derivative of some contingences having more or less something to do with internationally recognised norms. The Saharawi people as a victim have all right to have the attention of the world in order that an end is definitely put to the grave violations of human rights perpetrated by the occupying power. 

The cause of the Saharawi people is a just cause that deserves to be unanimously supported. Following the example of other oppressed peoples, the Saharawi people, inspired from President Wilson doctrine about the right of self-determination, join, in the context of the unstoppable march of the colonial people towards liberty, the freedom from the demeaning chains of servitude,  

I will not conclude without expressing our thanks to the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross who once again have offered their inestimable humanitarian expertise in order that the present operation of releasing the Moroccan prisoners is crowned with success, as was the case in the previous ones.  

Honorable Senator,  

On behalf of the people of Western Sahara and on behalf of the leadership of the Frente POLISARIO, I have the honor to officially hand you the last four hundred and four Moroccan prisoners of war, to whom I wish a safe journey back home. 

Thank you very much!  ". (SPS)

010/090/100/ALG/TRD 18 1520 Aug 05 SPS

 

 

 

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SPS SADR/MOROCCO/USA/PRISONERS Polisario and the ICRC sign the act of the repatriation of  the last 404 Moroccan prisoners of war