Bir Lehlou (liberated territories), 26/07/2005 (SPS) The President of the Republic, Mohamed Abdelaziz, launched Today an urgent appeal to the Head of the British State, Tony Blair, in his quality as the current President of the European Union, to "intervene immediately and urgently to protect the Saharawi citizens and human rights activists against the oppression", inflicted on them by the Moroccan authorities.

Addressing his British counterpart in a letter he sent him today, the Head of the State considered that the "European Union cannot remain idle in the face of the grave violations of human rights and fundamental liberties being perpetrated in the occupied Western Sahara nor can it turn its back on the urgent appeals launched on daily basis by the Saharawis who are demonstrating peacefully to demand the respect for some basic and universally recognised rights such as the right to free expression and to free moment and, above all, the right of their people to self-determination".

The European Union and the international community are thus called to "to assume their political and moral responsibilities to ensure the respect for international legality by enabling our people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and independence in a fair, democratic and peaceful manner", Mr. Abdelaziz also added.

Here is the complete text of the letter, SPS received:

H. E. Mr. Tony Blair,
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,
Current President of the Council of the European Union,
10 Downing Street,
London

Bir Lehlou, 25 July 2005

Excellency,

First of all, I would like to transmit to you and to the British people our deep condolences and sympathy as well as our vehement condemnation of the despicable terrorist attacks that hit London on 7 July 2005.

I would also like to congratulate you on assuming the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union and to wish you every success in your new mission.

In addressing this letter, I intend to draw your attention to the increasingly tense and potentially explosive situation in the occupied territories of Western Sahara owing to the Moroccan continuous repression of the peaceful demonstrations that have been going on there since 21 May 2005.

As the entire world has been able to witness, the Saharawi population in those territories has taken to the streets to demonstrate peacefully in order to demand the respect for human rights including fundamentally the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination. The response of the occupying power, as has been well documented by international media, has been one of brutal repression that has resulted in gross abuses of human rights and fundamental liberties.

Many Saharawis, including human rights activists, have thus far been arrested, tortured and brought to court to face unfair trials during which some were unjustly sentenced to many years imprisonment.

There is the case of Ms. Aminatu Haidar, a well-known human rights activist, who was arrested following her participation in a peaceful demonstration during which she was savagely brutalised by Moroccan security agents. Despite her critical situation, she was denied access to medical treatment before she was put in jail where she remains held incommunicado. Another case is that of Ali Salem Tamek, also a well-known human rights activist, who was arrested at La Aaiún’s airport upon his return from Europe. These two and dozens of other Saharawi human rights activists remain jailed in utterly degrading and inhuman conditions and denied any access to the outside world.

The Moroccan authorities to date continue to pursue a wide range of repressive policies against not only the Saharawi human rights activists but also the entire Saharawi population under its occupation, including torture, imprisonment, deportation and forced disappearance, which are in contravention of all international and humanitarian laws.

The Moroccan authorities also continue to reinforce its repressive apparatus by a massive military and security deployment throughout the Saharawi occupied territories. Furthermore, they have put the entire territory under a state of siege and an information blackout. As a consequence, a number of foreign delegations, mainly Spanish and Norwegians, were denied access when they were trying to enter the territory in order to assess the realities on the ground and document the abuses of human rights committed there. Many foreign correspondents and independent media were also denied access to, or expelled from, the territory.

His Excellency,

Indeed, the occupied territories of Western Sahara are witnessing a tense and potentially explosive situation that may lead to dangerous consequences including the eventuality of Moroccan authorities’ engaging in perpetrating atrocious massacres against the innocent and defenceless Saharawi citizens.

I would like, therefore, to call upon you and the European Union, under your leadership, to intervene immediately and urgently to protect the Saharawi citizens and human rights activists against the oppression, persecution and injustice being inflicted on them by the Moroccan authorities.

The European Union cannot remain idle in the face of the grave violations of human rights and fundamental liberties being perpetrated in the occupied Western Sahara nor can it turn its back on the urgent appeals launched on daily basis by the Saharawis who are demonstrating peacefully to demand the respect for some basic and universally recognised rights such as the right to free expression and to free moment and, above all, the right of their people to self-determination.

In this context, we call upon you to intervene urgently in order to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of all Saharawi human rights activists and prisoners of conscience, and to compel the Moroccan authorities to allow access to the occupied territories by international independent observers and media.

The Frente POLISARIO has been cooperating fully and sincerely with the United Nations, and has made enormous concessions for the cause of peace. It has also been acting responsibly in the face of Moroccan repeated breaches of the peace agreements it has concluded under international aegis, as well as the current oppressive practices pursued by the Moroccan occupying authorities against the defenceless Saharawi citizens in the occupied territories.

The least we expect now from the international community, and particularly form the European Union under your leadership, is to assume their political and moral responsibilities to ensure the respect for international legality by enabling our people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and independence in a fair, democratic and peaceful manner.

I should be grateful if your Excellency would have the content of this letter brought to the attention of all Member States of the European Union.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Mohamed Abdelaziz,
Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO,
President of the Saharawi Republic." (SPS)

060/090/100/ALG 261828 Jul 05 SPS