SAHARA PRESSE SERVICE

Chahid El hafed, 24/09/2005 (SPS) The President of the Republic, Mohamed Abdelaziz, met, on Friday at the Presidency, a Venezuelan delegation headed by the representative of Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Alberto Rodon.

In a visit of work to SADR since the 16^th of September, the delegation of Caracas has emphasised on the local needs in health field and in the specialists training, within the framework of the accords of cooperation between SADR and Venezuela, the two Countries signed in October 2004.

“I came with a message of support and solidarity of The President, Hugo Chavez and of all the people of Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, to Saharawi People and their heroic struggle for self-determination and independence” said Mr. Randon addressing the President of the Republic during a reception made on the honour of he Venezuelan delegation.

A mixed committee, co-chaired by Rafael Ramirez, Venezuelan minister, and Salek Baba, Saharawi minister, composed of 4 sub-committees to study the social aspects of cooperation between he two countries an care for t hollow up of projects, it should berecalled. (SPS)

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OCCUPIED TERRITORIES/CARCEL NEGRA/MOROCCAN MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

Visit of a Moroccan official to Carcel Negra: 3 prisoners submitted to torture and 72 to forced transfer into Morocco

El Aaiun (occupied capital of SADR), 24/09/2005 (SPS) 75 prisoners, in the Carcel Negra (Black Jail) in El Aaiun, were victim to new abuses and violations of their rights after a visit undertaken by the Secretary General of the Moroccan Ministry of Justice, who was supposedly about to investigate on the prisoners' detention’s situation ion this prison, reported concordant and reliable sources from the occupied territories of Western Sahara.

3 Saharawi prisoners, mainly Mr. Boulmàaize Mohamed, Mr. Tanjaoui Yahdih and Mr. Sbàai Mohamed lamine, were submitted to torture, last Thursday evening, straight after the visit of the Secretary General of the Moroccan Ministry of Justice, while 72 other prisoners were forcibly transferred to the local prison of Ait Melloul, the same sources indicated.

The SG of the Moroccan Ministry of Justice "came, accompanied with the cameras of the Moroccan television, to shoot a new piece of propaganda and to collect some declarations from the prisoners of common order. Guess what: the Carcel negra is a 'paradise' on earth for the prisoners and the terrifying photos recently diffused by the international press are mere 'montage' … etc", indicated a specialist on the prisoners’ situation in El Aaiun, requiring secrecy for security reasons.

"The 3 prisoners were even targeted officially by the Moroccan attorney in El Aaiun, who declared to the Moroccan propaganda agency, MAP, having launched an investigation to 'catch' all the persons 'implicated' in the shooting and spreading of the terrible photos, largely diffused in Internet, of Saharawi prisoners gathered one on an other in the prison. What mister attorney did not say then is that the 3 victims were submitted to the worst specialities of Moroccan torturers while his Excellency was smiling to the cameras", the same source added.

On another hand, the 72 prisoners were "transferred in the worst inhumane conditions, starting from Thursday night, to the local prison of Ait Melloul inside Moroccan territory. That is to say that the Moroccan colonial authorities decided to overpopulate the local prison of Ait Melloul so as to remedy to the overpopulation of the Carcel negra, taking new prisoners far from their families and causing new tragedies and difficulties for these families: Isn’t it a real piece of genius the Makhzen (Moroccan Feudal system of governance) had here!!", energetically said the same observer.

The Attorney of El Aaiun, the occupied capital of the Saharawi Arab Democratic republic, has "ordered" a criminal investigation about some terrible photos of Saharawi prisoners gathered one on an other in the prison of the city and publicised by many international websites, indicated Moroccan agency of propaganda, MAP, on Friday..

"The investigation is running so as to discover all those implicated in this abject act that undermines the dignity of the prisoners and the reputation of the penitentiary establishment", he dared to say while his services of repression were about to torture the 3 poor victims.(SPS)

060/090/ALG 241657 sept 05 SPS

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SADR/EUROPE/SOLIDARITY

The 31st European Conference of Support to Saharawi People starts its works in Brussels

Brussels, 23/09/05 (SPS) The General Assembly of the 31st European Conference of Support to Saharawi People (EUCOCO) started its works on Friday in Mol (Belgium), with the presence of delegations of the Committees of support to Saharawi people from different European Countries, besides important delegation from Algeria and a Saharawi delegation chaired by Saharawi Prime Minister, M. Abdelkader Taleb Omar.

Chaired by the Belgian Senator and President of the European Coordination of solidarity with the Saharawi people (Task Force), Pierre Galand, the Assembly, which will be held for 3 days, is dedicated to the preparation of important actions that will be organised in Europe in 2005/2006, especially in Spain and Belgium, and to discuss the realisations and the reports of the follow up of the decisions adopted in the 30^th conference of the EUCOCO, held last year in Saragossa (Spain).

In his intervention, Mr. Galand underlined the need for redoubling efforts so as to include the Saharawi question in the agendas of the distinct European activities and in Communities activities. He also exposed to the participants a briefing on the works of the different committees in Europe and world wide.

On another and he denounced the blockage of the peace process because of Moroccan intransigence, the human rights violations in the occupied territories of Western Sahara and the illegal exploitation of the Saharawi natural resources, deploring the deficiency in the humanitarian aid to the Saharawi refugees.

Mr. Taleb Omar, on his part, thanked the audience, dedicating his speech to the courageous and peaceful resistance waged by the Saharawi population in the occupied territories of Western Sahara.

"Thanks to all of you and to all the friends of the Saharawi people world wide", he declared to the representatives of the committees of support, Saharawi people was able to continue their legitimate struggle for freedom and independence, "and now here is the Intifada proving that the struggle will continue until the definitive victory of peace and legality.

After the opening session, the works of the conference were pursued through 5 workshops, mainly political workshop, Youth’s, Women’s, human rights' and finally humanitarian aid workshop.

The Saharawi delegation is composed of Mr. Mohamed Sidati, Minister Counsellor at the Presidency delegated to Europe, Mr. Salek Bab Hassana, Minister of Cooperation, Mr. Mohamed Cheikh, S.G of the Saharawi Workers’ union (UGTSARIO), Mohamed Mouloud, S.G of Youth Union (UJTSARIO), Abdeslam Omar, President of the Association of the families of Saharawi Prisoners and Disappeareds (AFAPREDESA) and Mrs. Fatma El Mehdi, SG of Saharawi Women union (UNMS). (SPS)

060/090/ALG 242217 sept 05 SPS

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OCCUPIED TERRITORIES/PRISONERS/MOROCCO

Tamek denounces the lies of the Moroccan Minister of justice

Ait Melloul (Morocco), 24/09/2005 (SPS) The Spokesperson of the 37 Saharawi political prisoners, in hunger strike since last August the 8 in the different Moroccan prisons, Ali Salem Tamek, denounced the lies advanced by the Moroccan Minister of justice and his assistants, who affirmed that Saharawi prisoners were transferred on their own desire, reported a press release publicised Saturday by Mr. Tamek.

"PRESS STATEMENT

Saharawi prisoner of opinion Ali Salem Tamek
Spokesman of the Saharawi political detainees on unlimited hunger strike.

Ait Melloul prison, Agadir, Morocco

Saturday 24 September 2005

At the moment when the denunciations are intensifying, and more and more increasingly urgent appeals for the immediate and unconditional release of the Saharawi political detainees are being made, the Moroccan government persists in its policy of distortion and playing games to avert public opinion from the barbarous methods and the crimes committed in the occupied territories of Western Sahara.

The Moroccan Minister for Justice, the real king pin in this policy, serves as its main expression seeking to create erroneous views in the international community concerning the Saharawi political detainees who started an unlimited hunger strike 45 days ago.

Untruthful words and fallacious statements have been made by the Moroccan Minister for Justice in the columns of the paper "Aujourd'hui le Maroc" (Morocco Today), where he declared quite shamelessly that the Saharawi political detainees, Ali Salem Tamek, Brahim Noumria, Mohamed Moutawakil, Lidri Houcine and Arbi Messaoud, who in his words are not "political detainees or prisoners of opinion", were transferred according to their own wishes to be closer to their families, but who are in fact a thousand kilometres away from the place they were transferred to.

The Moroccan Minister for Justice, who remains deaf to the legitimate demands formulated by the Saharawi political detainees, has just devised yet another scenario which consists in the sending of a Moroccan delegation presided over by the Secretary General of the said Ministry, accompanied for the occasion by official television. The Moroccan delegation made its bizarre entry to the Black Prison of El Aaiun only a few days after publication of humiliating photos of Saharawi political detainees which one would say were from a black horror prison, and which looked exactly like Nazi gaols.

These photos, which seem to belong to another era, were reported in the Moroccan and international media, demonstrate in great detail the inhumane and cruel prison conditions in which the Saharawi political detainees live, subjected to torture, to summary trials, to daily violations of human rights and constant humiliation of their families who are not allowed to visit them.

These political detainees have taken recourse to an unlimited hunger strike as the only way to have their rights recognised and this despite the deterioration of their state of health and chronic ailments from which the majority suffer, to protest against the trials
and tribulations of prison.

The decision taken by the instructing magistrate in El Aaiun court to attribute the crime of taking the photos and their publication to a Saharawi political detainee, Boulemiz Mohamed is just an completely fabricated argument to put this detainee into a special prison, and thereby to isolate him from the other detainees so as to subject him to more torture. After the publication of the photos, a real folly has gripped the Moroccan authorities who fear that it will create an oil slick with unforeseeable consequences.

The Public Prosecutor (procureur général du Roi) should open, first an inquiry to determine the grotesque overreactions and attribute responsibilities to persons who have committed innumerable abuses towards Saharawi political detainees.

The Moroccan authorities persist in turning a deaf ear and to keep in prison arbitrarily political detainees whose life is in real danger from the state of the inhuman conditions experienced in the prisons, and from the unlimited hunger strike observed for over 40 days and the chronic illnesses from which nearly all of them suffer. These Saharawi political detainees are suffering on a daily basis and their life is hanging by a thread.

The non-recognition by the Moroccan authorities of the most elementary rights of Saharawi political detainees and the refusal to satisfy their legitimate demands demonstrates once again the contempt of these same authorities towards Saharawi political detainees.

The Saharawi political detainees pay well-deserved tribute to the international community for its support and solidarity with their struggle and salute on this occasion the Moroccan Association of Human Rights (AMDH) as well as all the international organisations who are fighting for the promotion of human rights.

-       The Saharawi political detainees demand that the Moroccan government puts an end to the systematic abuse of human rights of which they are the target on a daily basis and to respect the treaties and international conventions concerning political detainees.

-      The Saharawi political detainees vigorously denounce the inhumane practices aimed at Saharawi political detainees Tanjaoui, Sbai Mohamed and Boulemiz Mohamed following the publication of images which show the boundless cruelty undergone by all the Saharawi political detainees in Moroccan prisons.

-       The Saharawi political detainees demand an end to the isolation of the Saharawi political detainee Boulemiz Mohamed and the opening of an inquiry following the torture directed at him.

-       The transfer by the Moroccan authorities of 72 Saharawi political detainees from the Black Prison in El Aaiun on "Supratour" buses and dispersing them into various Moroccan prisons and of the 40 political detainees from the prison of Aït Melloul to the civil prison of Tiznit, including several Saharawis, arises directly from the international disapproval following the publication of the horror images taken inside the infamous Black Prison of El Aaiun.

-      Finally, the Saharawi political detainees launch an urgent appeal to all good consciences across the world to save their lives in danger following arbitrary imprisonment and their extremely precarious prison conditions. (SPS)

010/090/100 241937 sept 05 SPS