Western Sahara Referendum Support Association (Delemont)
10 December 2007
SADR
06.11.07 Anniversary of the "green" march In his speech, the King of Morocco declares that "whatever formula for a consensual solution should emerge from the serious negotiations, Morocco, its king and its people, will never accept anything other than autonomy, within the framework of a single and unified state".
The Saharawi government firmly condemned the King of Morocco's statement, calling it "the Moroccan state's violation of international law" and a "denial of its commitments".
For his part, the representative of the Polisario Front representative in the UK and Ireland, Sidi M'hamed Omar, in an interview with APS declared that the anniversary of the "black march" recalls "a sinister day in history for the whole region and marks the start of Morocco's expansionist policy in the region.
10.11.07 Transafricain classic "Following talks with the Quai d'Orsay and the Moroccan and Mauritanian authorities, the 2nd Transafrican Classic 2007 running from Paris to Dakar (01-18.11.07) had to modify the stage planned between Ausserd (Occupied Territories) and Chinguetti (Mauritania), because of the 'instability of the border area'. The organiser, Patrick Zaniroli therefore added an additional stage of over 500 kilometres, in order to send the competitors through the control post on the Atlantic coast, the only way through from Morocco to Mauritania tolerated by the Polisario Front and the SADR government." [communiqué officiel] http://www.zaniroli.com/yacs/file-fetch/4844-Changement-d-itineraire.pdf.
15.11.07 Statement The president of the international branch of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the oldest British trades union body, Simon Steyne, underlined in Geneva that "the fairest and most realistic alternative for the question of Western Sahara is the self-determination of the Saharawi people".
22.11.07 Resolution The Norwegian Young Conservatives asked their government to recognise the Saharawi Republic.
[Resolution] http://www.vest-sahara.no/index.php?parse_news=single&cat=49&art=692 [original] http://ungehoyre.no/articles/show/1931
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES AND SOUTH MOROCCO
Questionings, arrests
Cases of questioning and arrest have been increasing in the territories. The Moroccan police, plain clothed or uniformed gather near or even inside educational establishments and in the areas with a majority Saharawi population.
Provocations are common. Young Saharawi cybernauts, suspected of having looked at web pages revealing the abuses committed by the Moroccan police are insulted or heckled. CODESA therefore published on 27.11.07 a list of 40 names of young Saharawis arrested during the month of November.[communiqué] http://www.arso.org/CODESA231107.htm One attack in particular, in El Ayoun, to point out is that made upon El-Houcine Lemlih (40 ans), who was listening to the Saharawi radio while walking in the street. Followed by plain-clothed police, he took refuge in the Smara Hotel, where his torturers caught up with him and threw him out a window. Lemlih was seriously injured and is still in hospital.
The mother of the political prisoner and member of CODESA Elwali Amidane and Rabab Amidane, as well as her two other daughters were called in for questioning on 9 November with a dozen other people coming away from a demonstration in El Ayoun. [Photos] http://www.vest-sahara.no/index.php?parse_news=single&cat=1&art=672 These arrests triggered a demonstration outside the Moroccan Embassy in Oslo with Rabab Amidane, on a visit to Norway.
Norwegian political figures spoke. A delegation was received by the Ambassador, who denied the existence of attacks on human rights in Western Sahara. [report + photos] http://www.vest-sahara.no/index.php?parse_news=single&cat=49&art=668 [Video] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnZyXayfRSY At its Board Meeting in Vilnius, December 2nd 2007, The European Students' Union (ESU), umbrella organisation of 47 national unions of students from 36 countries, unanimously voted through a motion calling for the protection of Saharawi students.[text] http://www.vest-sahara.no/index.php?dl=en
Sentences
01.11.07, El-Ayoun Sadik Boullahi, a member of the executive of ASVDH, was sentenced in the court of first instance to six months in prison and a fine of 5.000 DH for "creating a non-authorised association". [ASVDH] http://asvdh.net/english/?p=272
14.11.07, El-Ayoun Khalihenna Dlimi, Barkou Ahmed and Mouloud, accused of imaginary crimes appeared in court in the presence of two Spanish observers. On 28 November, Dlimi and Mouloud Barkou were sentenced to a year, Hamid to a year and a half of prison in the presence of two other Spanish observers.
[Comunicado] http://derechoshumanos.icaba.es/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=179 [ASVDH] http://asvdh.net/?p=334
03.12.07 The president of the local committee of ASVDH in Boujdour, Mohamed TAHLIL, was given a sentence in the court of first instance of a fine of 120 MDH for the destruction of public property. The sentence was handed down before the barristers and observers arrived and without even the accused in court. Tahlil was sentenced to three years in prison on 19 September 2007 for "setting up a criminal band". He appeared on 4 December to appeal that judgment in the presence of five Spanish observers and one Swiss observer. His punishment was reduced from 3 to 2 years in prison.[ASVDH] http://asvdh.net/?p=337
Enquiries, appeals
31.10.07 During a reception in London of the Saharawi human rights activist and prisoner of conscience, Aminatou Haidar, two British Labor members of parliament, David Drew and Jeremy Corbyn, condemned the human rights abuses perpetrated by the Moroccan authorities in the occupied Saharawi regions and the military blockade and media blackout imposed by Morocco in Western Sahara.
Aminatou Haidar also met officials of the Foreign Office and Amnesty International. [SPS]
01.11.07 The Collective of Saharawi Human Rights defenders (CODESA) called for the opening of an international inquiry into the serious human rights abuses committed by the Moroccan state in the occupied territories of Western Sahara.
03.11.07 A delegation of Human Rights Watch, led by Eric Goldstein, is carrying out a visit to the occupied territories of Western Sahara to inquire into developments in human rights. On this occasion, the Moroccan police were deployed throughout the whole zone and proceeded to a number of arrests, 70 according to the Saharawi minister for the occupied territory, Khalil Sid Mhamed. In Smara the arrival of the delegation gave place to a demonstration, brutally dispersed and followed by the sacking of several houses by the police.
13-14.11.07 Sabah Khoury, official in the department of Human Rights in the American Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stayed for two days in El Ayoun, accompanied by Craig Karp, counselor with the US Embassy in Rabat. The delegation insisted on visiting the Black Prison. [16.11.07, Aujourd'hui le Maroc ]
26.11.07 The British MP David Drew questioned the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the house on the subject of the Saharawi refugees. [Text] http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm071126/text/71126w0054.htm#column_228W
30.11.07 The NGO Law-Solidarity and the International Association of Democrat Lawyers protested about the various sentences in recent weeks.
They denounced the impediments set by the Moroccan authorities to setting up associations to defend human rights in the occupied territories, quoting the example of ASVDH, the victim of an abuse of authority by the pacha of El Ayoun, who refused the registration of this NGO, which was confirmed by the Administrative Tribunal of Agadir on 21 September 2006.
[Droit-solidarité] http://asvdh.net/?p=336 [Déclaration de L'AIJD] [Déclaration de L'AIJD] http://asvdh.net/?p=335
CODESA, which suffered from a similar refusal, postponed its founding meeting, planned for the beginning of October, indefinitely. [details] http://www.arso.org/CODESAprepOct2007.htm
Read comments. Write your own.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
Azul, Salaam, Hellow,
The Sahara issue is an interesting subject to write about to understand the Maghreb.
For a good understanding of the complexity of the Sahara issue it is very important to understand the complete administrative history as well as ethnic origin, language and culture of this people . The polisario says to stand for the interests of Sahroui people. This guerrilla group has a leader who is born and raised in the Moroccan city of Marrakech. The polisario frequently turn off clearly the Moroccan identity, you can wonder why they do this so persistent.
The Maghrebbian people are… [Read Full Text]