SPS USA/OCCUPIED
TERRITORIES/HUMAN RIGHTS/CONGRESS
Congressman denounces Moroccan human rights violations in Western
Sahara before of USA Congress
30.07.05
Washington
D.C, 30/07/2005 (SPS) Representative of Texas, Judge Ted Poe,
denounced Moroccan human rights violations in the occupied territories
of Western Sahara, in a speech before of the USA Congress, Friday,
calling for the immediate release of human rights activists, Aminatou
Haidar, Ali Salem Tamek and other Saharawi human rights activists and
political prisoners.
"Recently, Moroccan police and security forces have arrested and
tortured peaceful protestors" in the occupied territories of Western,
said Mr. Poe, underlining that "the examples of human rights abuses
that Moroccan officials have exhibited against the Saharawi people and
the peaceful protestors is not the type of behaviour we expect from our
friends".
He denounced the abduction by Moroccan police of human rights activists
Ali Salem Tamek, Aminatou Haidar, Mohamed Elmoutaoikil, Noumria Brahim,
Elhoussin Lidri, Laarbi Massaoud, and Gaoudi Fdaili, who "suffered
psychological torture for long hours, humiliation, and threats of rape.
Unfortunately, this was all done due to their opinion concerning the
status of Western Sahara", he confirmed.
Considering that the resolution of the "conflict over Western Sahara is
long overdue", Congressman. Poe estimated that "both sides of the
conflict need to come together and implement the Settlement Plan
elaborated by Secretary James Baker", to resolve the conflict.
He underlined, however, that "a great step towards a peaceful
resolution would be for Morocco to release all their political
prisoners, including Mr. Tamek and Mrs. Haidar, to stop detaining and
torturing peaceful protestors and human rights activists, and to allow
freedom of thought and expression both in Morocco and in occupied
Western Sahara".
Here is the complete text of the speech:
The
following speech was delivered to Congress by Rep. Judge Poe of Texas
and will be official record by the end of today 29 of July 2005:
Recently, Moroccan police and security
forces have arrested and tortured peaceful protestors. For example, as
recently as July 20th, reports indicate that Moroccan security forces
abducted five human rights activists (Mohamed Elmoutaoikil, Noumria
Brahim, Elhoucine Lidri, Larbi Massaoud, and Gaoudi Fdaili). According
to the reports, all five of these people suffered psychological torture
for long hours, humiliation, and threats of rape. Unfortunately, this
was all done due to their opinion concerning the status of Western
Sahara.
After this incident, reports indicate
that both Noumria Brahim and Lhoucine Lidri were subjected to further
torture (including being burned, handcuffed and blindfolded, and being
brutally beaten). The Moroccan officials that perpetrated these
horrendous acts of torture are reported to be the Wali of Security in
El Ayun, Brahim Bensami, and the Urban Security Group Chief Officer,
Ichi Abou Hassan, and Abdelhap Rabii, a security officer. When these
torturers were finished, they locked their victims in the Black Jail in
El Ayun on July 23rd, 2005. Reports indicate they are still being held
captive.
Such acts of violence and abuse
against peaceful protestors and human rights activists have escalated in the last
few weeks in Morocco. Other reports indicate that on, July 21, 2005, a
group of six Saharawi political prisoners who were arrested during a
protest in El Ayun, were presented to the court of appeal in El Ayun.
The report reveals the group was tried in a show trial on June 23,
2005. They were sentenced to up to five years imprisonment-one of the
victims of this injustice is human right activist, Bougarfa
Abderrahmane. Mr. Abderrahmane is 53 years old and a father to ten
children. The others were sentenced to three years in prison ( Hamma
Achrih, Chyahou Brahim )and two years in prison (Mohamed Salem
Essallami, Azlai Abdellah).
Sources say the Court of Appeal in El
Ayun was firmly controlled by the Moroccan security forces while the
trial was taking place. Some Saharawi citizens were forbidden to enter
the court room. In addition, a French journalist, Agata André,
from the newspaper, Charle Hebdo, who came to El Ayun to attend the
trial of these political prisoners was put in a separate room until the
Saharawi political prisoners' trial was over. Furthermore, it is reported that the families of
the five activists arrested were banned from bringing food to their
relatives as well as from seeing them. No telephone contact with them
is possible. Unfortunately, these reports of torture and injustice are
commonplace for the Saharawi people who are denied equal rights under
the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara.
On one of Secretary Condoleezza Rice's
trips overseas, Secretary Rice delivered a strong message to the King
of Morocco, Mohamed VI, concerning the lack of civil liberties in the
kingdom of Morocco. The Spanish newspaper, La Razon, reported on June
30th that Ms. Rice expressed her concerns regarding the Moroccan
regime's continuous violations of freedom of press and of expression.
Amidst recent reports of escalating repression by Morocco's intelligence and security
services against dissenting voices, and the repression perpetrated
against Saharawis, Ms. Rice is reportedly urged the King to bring an
end to the repression and allow progressive voices to be heard.
Other countries have expressed similar
concerns about Morocco's human rights record regarding the Saharawis.
Earlier this month in Spain, Spanish news sources reported that a
Spanish delegation, composed of parliamentarians and representatives of
the civil society of Aragon, was not allowed by Moroccan authorities to
visit the occupied capital of Western Sahara, El Aaiun. The delegation
planned to investigate allegations of human rights abuses by Moroccan
forces. One of the delegates was quoted as saying Morocco's denial of
the visit was absolutely unacceptable.
Morocco has been occupying Western
Sahara for decades. The United Nations Security Council has continued
to uphold the right of Western Sahara to self-determination. On April
29th, 2004, the Security Council adopted Resolution No. 1541 which
reaffirmed support for the Peace Plan for Self-Determination of the
People of Western Sahara devised by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's
Special Envoy, James Baker. Two years prior, the Security Council
upheld the right to self-determination in a meeting to discuss the
conflict over Western Sahara. In this 2002 meeting, the Security
Council rejected other proposed options and clearly stated that the
only viable resolution to this conflict must be based on the Saharawi
people's right to self-determination.
There is a long history of
international consensus that supports Western Sahara's right to
self-determination. The International Court of Justice, issued on
October 16, 1975 the following decision concerning the conflict over
Western Sahara, "The Court's conclusion is that the materials and
information presented to it do not establish any tie of territorial
sovereignty between the territory of Western Sahara and the Kingdom of
Morocco or the Mauritanian entity. Thus the Court has not found legal
ties of such a nature as might affect the application of General
Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) in the decolonization of Western Sahara,
and in particular, of the principle of the self-determination through
the free and genuine expression of the will of the peoples of the
territory."
I agree with many of my colleagues
that Morocco is an important partner to the United States in our War on
Terror and in international trade. However, the examples of human
rights abuses that Moroccan officials have exhibited against the
Saharawi people and the peaceful protestors is not the type of
behaviour we expect from our friends.
A conclusion for the conflict over
Western Sahara is long overdue. Both sides of the conflict need to come
together and implement the Settlement Plan elaborated by Secretary
James Baker. A great step towards a peaceful resolution would be for
Morocco to release all their political prisoners, including Mr. Tamek
and Mrs. Haidar, to stop detaining and torturing peaceful protestors
and human rights activists, and to allow freedom of thought and
expression both in Morocco and in occupied Western Sahara." (SPS)
SAHARA
PRESS SERVICE