SPS UN/MOROCCO/MEDIA/DENIAL
UNHCR "categorically" denies a new lie of MAP
25.03.05
Geneva,
25/03/2005 (SPS) The
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), "categorically
denies" the lie spread in the 21st of March by the Moroccan press
agency, MAP, in which the latter pretended that "Polisario trade
humanitarian aids for narcotics", quoting a presumed HCR official.
In a letter addressed on Thursday by the UN organisation, M. Ron
Redmond, Chief of the Service of information and Relations with the
Media, affirmed that no "UNHCR employee, in Mauritania or elsewhere,
has been interviewed by your agency about Polisario or on the
humanitarian aid to the refugees camps of Western Sahara", regretting
the "methods" used by the MAP to spread its lies.
The UN responsible also called the MAP to "remedy to this regrettable
situation by publicising this letter". Here is bellow the complete text
of the letter, originally in French, translated by SPS to English.
"UNHCR
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Tel: +41
22 739 7096 Fax: +41 22 739 Email:
verneym@unhcr.ch
24 March 2005
Re: Maghreb Arab
Press
Sir,
The United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) noted the publicising by your
agency in the 21st of March of a dispatch entitled "Polisario
separatists trade humanitarian aids for narcotics, HCR official". This
dispatch pretends to be based on the statement of a UNHCR's official in
Mauritania who, according to you, wanted to be anonymous.
The UNHCR
categorically denies these statements your agency reported and
attributed to a member of our staff. No UNHCR employee, in Mauritania
or elsewhere, has been interviewed by your agency about Polisario or on
the humanitarian aid to the refugees’ camps of Western Sahara. On
another hand, your agency in no moment did contact our official in
Nouakchott to ask for an interview on the subject.
The UNHCR refute
all the statements quoted in this dispatch and strongly regret the
reasons that pushed one of your journalists to adopt such methods. I
would be grateful if you would remedy to this regrettable situation by
publicising this letter.
Please accept,
Sir, my best regards.
Ron Redmond Chief of the
Service of information and Relations with the Media
CC : M. Ekber
Menemencioglu, Director of the UNHCR Bureau for Central Asia,
South-west Asia, North Africa and the Middle East M. Didier Laye,
UNHCR Delegate to Mauritania M. Cengiz Aktar,
UNHCR Delegate to Algeria Mme. Geraldine
Falducci, UNHCR Morocco". (SPS)
SAHARA
PRESS SERVICE