SAHARA PRESS SERVICE

Chahid El Hafed, 23/02/2004 (SPS) The President of the Republic, Mohamed Abdelaziz received on Sunday a message of best wishes and congratulations in the occasion of the Hegira new year (Islamic year) from his Algerian counterpart, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, of which the complete text was translated bellow from Arabic by SPS :
 
'' While the Islamic Nation celebrates the new year of Hegira 1425, anniversary of the exodus of the lord of the human beings, our prophet, Mohamed, God's blessing be on him, I would like to express you on behalf of the Algerian people, of the government and on my personal name, our congratulations and our best wishes, asking God, the all powerful, to perpetrate for you, happiness and prosperity and to renew this occasion for the our brothers, Saharawi people, under your wise leadership, realizing more progresses and prosperity.

We ask God to support our work and consolidate our determination in the efforts that we deploy to hoist our bilateral our relations to the level expected by our peoples and to help achieve a beneficial progress for the Arab-Muslim nation, imploring God that our two peoples enjoy a radiant future in the favour of security and stability and with more progresses and prosperity.
Your brother,
Abdelaziz Bouteflika ''. (SPS)

030/090/100/TRD 231824 Feb 04 SPS

SPS
SADR/MARATHON
The American, Jones, wins the IVth edition of the Sahara Marathon in Smara

Smara (refugees' camps), 23/02/2004 (SPS) The American, Hugh Jones, Secretary General of the International association of the Marathon (AIMS) won, Monday in the Wilaya of Smara, the IVth edition of the Sahara Marathon, organised in the refugees' camps from the 23rd to the 24th February by an Italian committee in collaboration with the ministry of culture and sports.

The Wali of El Aaiun (governor), Mansour Oumar with the presence of Prime Minister, Abdelkader Taleb Oumar has given the starting signal to this edition of the Sahara Marathon, for more than two hundreds athletes who dispute the 42,159 Km separating the Wilaya of El Aaiun and Smara.

On a sandy and stony trajectory, the participants, mostly coming from Western Europe, took part to this event to indicate their active solidarity and their support to the Saharawi people?s struggle for freedom and independence.
 
In the Wilaya of Aousserd, the start was also given to the semi- marathon, and at the same time, to the races of the 10 and 5 Km expected to reach Smara from their starting points.

The organisers indicated that about twenty Saharawi athletes, of both sexes, participate in this marathon, while others also took part to the other races.
 
The results of this third edition of the Marathon will be communicated in the evening by the organising committee during an artistic ceremony that the Wilaya of Smara will organise for its hosts, who were received within Saharawi families.

The first edition of Sahara Marathon 2001, organised by the American, Jeb Carney, in collaboration with US Western Sahara Foundation, was won by the Algerian, Aouil Rabeh. American congressman, Joseph Pitts, gave the starting sign to this edition.

The second edition, Sahara Marathon 2002, was won by the Italian, Castelleno Villenzo (42 years old), while his wife, Rosa Maria Manari, won the first place of women.

It should be recalled that the third edition of this event, in 2003, was won by the Spanish, Jorge Obeso Matinez, while the first from women was again the Italian, Rosa Maria Manari. (SPS)

010/090/000/TRD 231435 Fe 04 SPS

SPS
SADR/QATAR/MOROCCO/PRISONERS OF WAR
The 100 Moroccan prisoners of war recently released by Polisario will be repatriated on Tuesday (official)
 
Chahid El Hafed, 23/02/2004 (SPS) The 100 Moroccan prisoners of war unilaterally released last February by Polisario Front to a request of Qatar, will be repatriated to their country tomorrow, Tuesday, on board of an airplane provided by Qatar, we learned from official source.

This group of officers and soldiers captured in Western Sahara, during the war that opposed Saharawi Liberation Army to Moroccan occupying forces, will be delivered by Saharawi Red Crescent to a messenger of Qatar and representatives of the CICR, the same source emphasised.

Already on place since Monday, the CICR undertakes with these POWS the relevant procedures of voluntary repatriation, arising the number of the so far unilaterally released Moroccan POWs by Polisario Front to 1743, ''while Morocco still maintain, in total secret, 150 Saharawi fighters and more than 500 civil disappeared'', had deplored the Polisario.

Recalling of ''the sufferings and the pain'' of Saharawi disappeared and prisoners? families, the Polisario had solicited ''the intervention of Qatar, near Morocco, to release Saharawi soldiers and to reveal the truth about the fate of the disappeared".

Considering that it did never stop "granting the biggest sacrifices in favour of the opportunities of peace and choosing the peaceful paths for the decolonisation of Western Sahara, conforming to law and legality", Polisario Front considered that, Morocco "can not continue, with impunity, to oppose international community's efforts rejecting the resolutions unanimously adopted by Security Council, especially resolution 1495 of the 31st July 2003, which calls Morocco to accept and implement, UN Secretary General's Personal Envoy to Western Sahara, James Baker III's « Peace Plan for self-determination of Saharawi People»''. (SPS)

010/090/100/TRD 231613 Feb 04 SPS