SAHARA PRESS SERVICE

Barcelona, 19/07/2004 (SPS) A demonstration of about 3000 person was organised in Barcelona Sunday "to demand" the enforcement of the UN's resolutions, calling for a direct involvement of Spain for the organisation of a referendum in Western Sahara, stated Spanish Medias in their Monday's editions.

This demonstration was led by representatives of different Spanish political Parties and civil society organisations, mainly European Parliament's member of the Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds (ICV), Raul Romeva, the spokesperson of the United Left (ICV-EUIA) to the Parliament, Joan Boada, Parliament member of the Popular Party of Catalonia (PP), Rafael Luna, Parliament member of the Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSC), Alex Masllorens, the person in charge of immigration and cooperation, David Minoves and Cristina Navarro, from the Association of International Jurists for Western Sahara (IJS), as well as the vice-president of Catalonia’s Association of the Friends of Saharawi People (ACAPS), Neus Canells.

Representatives of the 214 communities bordering the Catalonian town, and cooperating in the organisation of the programme "holidays in peace" for the Saharawi children, were also present to the event.

Marching behind a placard that wrote "We do not want them refugees! Freedom for Saharawi people", the demonstrators were repeating slogans such as, "Morocco! Out of Western Sahara" and "Listen Zapatero ! Sahara is struggling". They walked all over the main streets of Barcelona's centre town.

The organisers demanded an immediate solution to the conflict, especially that the MINURSO's mandate will expire next October the 31st. They also called for a direct involvement of Spain while it is a member in Security Council.

Spain must "assume its responsibility as the ex-colonising power and must lead the process of the settlement of this conflict, like Portugal did with East Timor", stressed the final communiqué of the demonstration read by the actor, Carles Arquimba, in front of the building of the Government in Barcelona.

Criticising Zapatero's new position, which was considered as a "betrayal to Saharawi people", the demonstrators called Spanish Government to efficiently get involved in the defence of Saharawi people's rights to self-determination and independence. They further asked the executive for the respect of the wills of Spanish people, which is supporting the cause of the Spanish ex-colony, recalling Spanish responsibility of the Saharawi people tragedy, which generated "a situation of repression, lived for more than 29 years either in the refugees' camps or in the territories Morocco occupies", they put. (SPS)

020/090/000/TRD 191232 July 04 SPS