SAHARA PRESSE SERVICE

Bir Lehlou (Occupied territories of RASD), 27/09/2005 (SPS) The President of the Republic, Mohamed Abdelaziz, called the UN’s Security Council (S.C) to impose sanctions on Morocco so as to compel it conform to the international legality, indicated a letter he addressed to the President of the UN’s S.C, M. Lauro L. Baja, of which SPS received a copy.

Polisario Front instantly demands from the S.C "to fully assume its responsibilities by exercising its authorities and impose, on the Moroccan Government, the needed sanctions in order to compel it conform to the resolutions that would enable the Saharawi people exercise their inalienable right to self-determination", said the Head of the State in this letter that was handed over to the President of the S.C by Polisario Front’s Representative to the UN, Mr. Ahmed Boukhari.

The Moroccan Government also must "honour its international engagements and enforce, without more delays, the accords concluded with the other party to the conflict, POLISARIO Front", Mr. Abdelaziz emphasised, condemning the different Moroccan dilatory manoeuvres that aim at obstructing the decolonisation of the Western Sahara.

On another hand, Mr. Abdelaziz called the "specialised institutions to undertake legal procedures against Moroccan officials, who are accountable for crimes against humanity in relation to the conflict of Western Sahara, perpetrated since the occupation of the territory, in October the 31st 1975". He demanded the "immediate and unconditional release of the 37 Saharawi political prisoners, who are undertaking an unlimited hunger strike for the 46 day so far, the release of th 151 Saharawi prisoners of war and to account for more than 500 Saharawi civil 'disappears’ ".

He also exhorted the S.C to "demand the end of the security siege imposed on the territory so as to give free access of the independent international observers to the territory and to restart the UNHCR’s programme regarding the Saharawi families’ visits exchange".

He demanded on another hand, "the immediate stopping of the abusive and illegal plundering and exploitation of the natural resources of the Western Sahara", the letter adds. (SPS)

SPS
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES/FRANCE/PRISONRES

The Socialist Youth Movement calls on Paris to intervene vis-à-vis Morocco to release the 37 Saharawi hunger strikers

Paris, 27/09/2005 (SPS) The Socialist Youth Movement (SYM) called on the French Government to intervene vis-à-vis Morocco to "release the 37 Saharawi political prisoners in hunger strike for more than 40 days in Moroccan prisons", reported a press release by the organisation publicised Monday in Paris, of which SPS received a copy.

"The French authorities must adopt a clear position regarding the respect of human rights in the region and Morocco should be exhorted to release all the political prisoners", the SYM underlined addressing the French Prime Minister on the occasion of his visit to Morocco.

To the SYM, also the European Union "must be firmer", taking into consideration that it will have to evaluate, this November, "the process of Barcelona", which plans for partnership with 10 countries of the Mediterranean zone, including Morocco.

"Human rights constitutes one of the three pillars of this cooperation, besides the economical and political aspects", he said, adding that his organisation would like to see the EU "getting out of its current indifference regarding this situation". He further stressed that it is "unacceptable that the EU cares only for its economical advantage in this partnership and closes the eyes on the violations of human rights".

The SYM also recalled that "37 prisoners started a hunger strike in Morocco so as to protest against their conditions of detention. Some of them were transferred to hospitals to receive medical cares". The ONG denounced, on another hand, "Ill-treatments inflicted by the Moroccan authorities to demonstrators who were arrested after actions of protest in Western Sahara and in Morocco".

The organisation recalled that the "annexation of the Western Sahara by Morocco in 1975 was undertaken in opposition with the verdict of the International Court of Justice which recommended a decolonisation process in which Saharawi people’s right to self-determination was central".

"We ask for a peaceful settlement to the conflict through the enforcement of the UN’s peace plan hat should be culminated within a reasonable period of time by a referendum in Western Sahara enabling Saharawi people to freely and democratically decide on their future", the ONG said.

"Like the Belgian ANIMO and the, who exercise pressures together on the Belgian Government so as to push it change its policy on the Western Sahara’s question, we demand from our French authorities to be firmer concerning the question of the respect of human rights in Morocco and in Western Sahara", the text concluded. (SPS)

010/090/666/TRD 271051 sept 05 SPS

SPS
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES/SPAIN/PRISONERS/SOLIDARITY

Spanish associations to undertake a 24 hours hunger strike in front of the Spanish Ministry of F.A

Madrid, 27/09/2005 (SPS) The State’s Coordination of the Associations of solidarity with the Western Sahara, (CEAS-Sahara), called its members to undertake a 24 hours hunger strike, this September the 28 starting from 12.00 GMT, in front of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ seat in Madrid, as an action of solidarity with the Saharawi political prisoners in hunger strike in Moroccan prisons for more than 46 days so far.

"Before the seriousness of the health of Saharawi political prisoners in hunger strike for more than 40 days, in the Carcel Negra (Black Jail) in El Aaiun and in other Moroccan prisons, we invite all the friends of the Saharawi people (...) from all the Spanish autonomous regions, NGOs; Political Parties and trade Unions (...) to a 24 hours hunger strike and sit-in before the Spanish Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ seat", indicated the call publicised by the CEAS-Sahara.

The same source indicates that this demonstration also aims at "protesting against the brutal repression and human rights’ violations Moroccan forces of police are exercising on the Saharawi civil population in the occupied zones of Western Sahara, which resulted in dozens persons arrested, imprisoned and tortured".

"Saharawi political prisoners in hunger strike are about to die and the 'democratic' and 'friendly' Government of Morocco does nothing to stop this from happening", the Coordination denounced.

"The hunger strike is ongoing for more than 40 days so far and begins to have negative impact on the health of the political prisoners. Thus, there is a real concern about their lives and physical integrity. The Government of Morocco is the sole accountable of this tragic situation", the text underlined.

"Now more than ever, the call underlines, the presence of international observers, human rights defenders and international press is needed in Western Sahara so as to denounce and avoid the impunity with which the Moroccan Government is exercising its actions of violence and terror over the Saharawi population".

The Spanish Government and the UN must "urgently intervene" vis-à-vis Morocco to demand "the stopping of the strategy of terror, human rights violations and torture to which innocents are submitted who did only claim peacefully for justice, freedom and the effective recognition of their rights to live free and to decide over their future", the Coordination concluded. (SPS)

010/090/700/TRD 271241 sept 05 SPS

SPS
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES/MOROCCO/PRISONERS

Four Moroccan associations warn about the seriousness of the states of health of many Saharawi political detainees

Rabat, 27/09/2005 (SPS) Four Moroccan human rights associations recently launched an appeal addressed to the Moroccan Prime minister, to warn him about the "gravity" of the states of health of many Saharawi political prisoners in hunger strike for more than 40 days in Moroccan prisons, reported a joint press release publicised in September the 21st in Rabat.

Giving a briefing about the "extremely serious" situation of the hunger-striking political detainees, the "constant rejection" by the Minister of Justice to answer their solicitations or to meet with them, as well as the "categorical refusal of giving them permission to visit the hunger-strikers", the Moroccan Association for Human rights (AMDH), the Moroccan Organisation for Human rights (OMDH), the Forum Truth and Justice (FJV) and the Moroccan Prisons' Watch (OMP) "consider the Moroccan Minister of Justice and the General Director of Prisons accountable for the hunger-striking prisoners’ abused rights and of the serious consequences that put their lives in serious danger".

In this respect, they solicited "the urgent intervention" of the Moroccan Prime Minister so as to "undertake the needed steps to save the lives of the detainees and to start a relevant dialogue that can put an end to their hunger strike".

The associations stressed that many hunger-strikers "had fallen in coma that necessitated their urgent transfer to hospital", as it was the case of Ameidane Louali last September the 13th in El Aaiun, or the case of the political detainee, Zreignate Lahcene, who is now in the hospital of el Aaiun in a "very serious state of health", beside the case of Ali Salem Tamek, who "vomits blood".

These particular case which "draw aside all doubts about the seriousness of the situation in which the hunger-striking prisoners are", the ONG warned, in a joint letter, of which the Moroccan Consultative Council for Human Rights (official) received a copy.

"Thus, they said, it is possible that their situation would lead to a real tragedy and to permanent handicaps as it was the case in the past for 6 Moroccan prisoners who were for ever marked by the hunger strike". (SPS)

010/090/110/TRD 271532 sept 05 SPS

SPS
SOUTH MOROCCO/POLITICAL PRISONERS/DEMONSTRATIONS

The Saharawi population in Assa demonstrates against Rabat’s indifference in the face of the tragedy of hunger-strikers

Assa (south Morocco), 27/09/2005 (SPS) Hundreds Saharawi citizens in Assa organised a demonstrations, Monday at 18.00 GMT in the Mohamed El Moutawakil’s Street, to express their solidarity with Saharawi political prisoners in hunger strike for the 50th day so far. They called to their immediate release condemning the indifference of Rabat in the face of their tragedy.

"Mohamed VI is about to kill our children, torture demonstrators, sentence innocent victims for having said no to the colonisation of their country, for having rejected humiliation and claimed for their rights to freedom and independence, but we will continue condemning these repressive practices by the Moroccan services and claim for our rights. They will have to arrest us all or exterminate us", declared Mrs. M.A.F, a relative of one of the Saharawi political prisoners, addressing SPS’s correspondent on the ground.

Demonstrators chanted slogans against the Moroccan colonial occupation of Western Sahara, asking for the independence of the territory and to the immediate release of all the Saharawi prisoners in hunger strike.

On another hand, the merchants of the town of Assa closed their shops, or stopped working during the demonstration, "as a signal of solidarity and support to this peaceful demonstration and to the Saharawi prisoners who are giving an important lesson of sacrifice and civilisation to the colonial authorities who thinks they can shut us up", declared an young merchant when contacted by SPS’s correspondent. (SPS)

060/090/000 272210 sept 05 SPS

SPS
ALGERIA/MOROCCO/UN/WESTERN SAHARA

Algeria vigorously denounces the content of the letter addressed by Morocco to the UN

New York, 27/09/2005 (SPS) Algeria vigorously denounced the letter of Morocco’s Representative addressed to the UN, and in which Algeria is "directly or allusively blamed about some aspects of the Western Sahara’s conflict", reported Algerian Press Service, APS.

"The kingdom of Morocco was caught in flagrant crime of repression against the Saharawi civil population. International NGOs and media accused Rabat of serious crimes and acts of torture against Saharawi political prisoners. Morocco reacted the same way an occupying or colonial power by closing the territory it illegally occupies since 1975, denying entry to the territory to international media, NGOs and Parliamentarians if not expulsion them manu militari", the Algerian Permanent Representative to the UN, Mr. Abdallah Baali, in a letter he sent to the President of the UN’s Security Council.

He also denounced the attitude of Morocco who pretends that the photos that were largely diffused by the international media showing the shameful situation of the Saharawi prisoners -who were tortured by "well known torturer"-, "are only falsified, saying that the political prisoners are only vulgar drugs’ dealers ".

Mr. Baali underlines that like "all occupying or colonial powers, who were isolated on the international scene because of the policy of oppression and repression", Morocco "instead of recognising its guilt for the crimes", it committed against Saharawi people since three decades, "it rather resume to insults against its Algerian neighbour accusing it of all its problems".

Mr. Baali underlined that Morocco, who is dramatising about the fate of its ex-prisoners, "now completely released", "tries to make forget that, during years and under the pretext of the closed file, Rabat chose to denied even their (the prisoners) existence". He recalled that the release of the Moroccan POWs took a long time to be achieved exactly because of "these continuous delay and volt-faces".

These delays, he emphasised, are related to the referendum on self-determination, which holding must be preceded by the release of all prisoners, conforming to the very terms of the UN’s Settlement Plan that was negotiated and accepted by Morocco and Polisario Front, and approved by the UN’s Security Council, besides the Peace Plan for the self-determination for the people of Western Sahara, which was unanimously supported by the UN’s Security Council.

The Algerian Ambassador stressed, on another hand, that the "thousands Moroccan still in the camps" Morocco seems to be preoccupied about today are, in fact, Saharawi refugees "pertinently identified by the UNHCR".

These refugees, he recalled, "did not have other choice than to flee from their country that was invaded and occupied by Morocco. They were generously offered exile by Algeria, as it did with other exiled from Africa, Europe, Asia end Latino America. They (the refugees) confidently wait for the day when they can go back home with freedom and dignity".

To M.r Baali, "the mediocrity" of the Moroccan discourse and its "failure to explain to the international community why it is maintaining a whole people under occupation (...) and why it continue denying these people their right to freely decide over their future, and why it is rejecting, after having accepted, the different UN’s peace plans".

In this respect, he affirmed that Algeria "remains serene and convinced of being in the side of the law and justice and confident that sooner or later the people of Western Sahara will exercise its inalienable right to self-determination".

The Algerian Ambassador also called the UN’s Security Council to urgently ask explanation from Morocco about the fate of the Saharawi prisoners of war, civil ‘disappeareds’ as well as on the "intolerable experience of the 37 Saharawi political whose lives are in danger now ".

Mr. Baali, who recalled the UN’s Security Council resolution 1495 that invites Morocco to conform to the international legality, underlined that the Council "can not let Morocco, indefinitely, manage the impasse, paralyse the actions of our organisation and deceive all the aspirations of the international community at a moment when the latter is settled for the celebration of these principles, goals and ideals of the UN, the Algerian Press Agency concluded. (SPS)

060/090/700 272311 sept 05 SPS