(Shara Updates ) Maroc: la presse indépendante victime d'un "terrorisme judiciaire"
Boris Ryser
Photo
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RABAT (AFP) - Le directeur du Journal Hebdomadaire (indépendant), condamné
en première instance à une lourde amende pour diffamation, a dénoncé mardi
un "terrorisme judiciaire" contre la presse marocaine indépendante, lors
d'une conférence de presse à Rabat.
Aboubakr Jamaï, directeur de la publication et Fahd Iraki, journaliste, ont
été poursuivis en diffamation par un centre de recherche européen, et
condamnés le 16 février à verser un montant global équivalent à 280.000
euros comme amendes et dommages et intérêts.
"Il y a un terrorisme judiciaire qui fait que n'importe qui peut vous
torpiller", a déclaré Aboubakr Jamaï lors d'une conférence de presse tenue
au siège du Syndicat national de la presse marocaine (SNPM).
"Nous allons interjeter appel", a-t-il ajouté, en affirmant toutefois "ne
pas avoir un gramme de confiance dans la justice". "Il ne s'agissait
nullement d'un procès équitable, mais d'un procès politique", a-t-il dit.
Le Journal Hebdomadaire avait mis en doute la probité d'une étude de l'ESISC
(Centre européen de recherche, d'analyse et de conseil en matière
stratégique (ESISC)", basé à Bruxelles, sur le Front Polisario - qui dispute
au Maroc la souveraineté sur le Sahara occidental.
L'ESISC avait notamment affirmé dans son rapport, très critique, que les
cadres du Polisario pourraient se tourner vers le terrorisme ou la
criminalité internationale.
"Les mauvais arguments d'un rapport téléguidé par Rabat", avait notamment
rétorqué Le Journal Hebdomadaire au contenu du rapport, assurant qu'il y
avait des arguments plus puissants pour défendre la position marocaine sur
le conflit du Sahara.
"Il ne faudrait pas que ce droit (de recourir à la justice contre la presse)
se transforme en vengeance, en règlements de compte et en rétrécissement de
la liberté de la presse", a déclaré le SNPM dans un communiqué distribué
mardi aux journalistes.
Aboubakr Jamaï a également dénoncé l'organisation, le 14 février, d'une
manifestation devant le siège de son journal au sujet des caricatures du
prophète Mahomet. "Elle a été encadrée par des agents du ministère de
l'Intérieur à Casablanca", a-t-il affirmé.
Le porte-parole du gouvernement, Nabil Benabdellah, avait affirmé que "le
gouvernement n'a rien à voir avec tout cela".
Le Journal Hebdomadaire avait publié la photo d'un journal étranger
reproduisant les caricatures de Mahomet, mais les avait barrées de noir, les
rendant quasi-invisibles.
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Boris Ryser
Norwegian Church Aid, Oslo
23 February 2006
Refugees from Western Sahara in Algeria have been seriously affected by
flooding and 50,000 people have lost their homes. Norwegian Church Aid is
sending an airlift of tents to the affected areas.
"The situation has become desperate for these refugees that have, to all
intents and purposes, been forgotten by the world," says Norwegian Church
Aid's Eirik Kirkerud.
165,000 Western Saharans are living as refugees in the desert - as they
have done for the last 30 years. Heavy rainfall has caused the region to
flood, creating widespread destruction in the camps located in Tindouf,
Algeria. More than 50,000 people have lost their homes and epidemics are
feared if these people do not receive the help they so desperately need.
"Norwegian Church Aid has received NOK 2.5 million from the Norwegian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is putting up NOK 300,000 of its own
money in an initial response to the emergency. We have been working in
these camps since 1999 and this gives us the unique capacity to respond
effectively," says Kirkerud.
The UNHCR and the Red Crescent Society of Western Sahara have reported
that around 12,000 tents are required in addition to plastic sheeting for
12,000 families. Norwegian Church Aid is responding by sending an initial
600 family tents immediately.
Assistance with distribution
"We will also contribute to the aid effort by distributing and setting up
the tents. The refugees in Western Sahara are entirely dependent upon
external aid, but less and less food aid is reaching them because
donations are shrinking. This flooding has resulted in great destruction
and the situation for the refugees has gone from bad to worse," says
project leader and consultant Eirik Kirkerud.
Christian Meisterlin, a member of Norwegian Church Aid's emergency
preparedness roster, is responsible for the tent airlift to Western
Sahara.
Western Sahara was occupied by Morocco in 1976 after its previous colonial
ruler, Spain, withdrew. Morocco's occupation and attempt to annex the
country goes against international law and no countries have officially
recognised its actions.
"In many ways these people are living in a vacuum. They will not be able
to go home for many years. The international community is not taking
adequate responsibility for their most difficult situation," says
Kirkerud.
The occupation led to a war between the liberation movement Polisario and
Moroccan troops. In 1991 the UN orchestrated a ceasefire between the two
parties on the grounds that a referendum be held the following year. The
UNs "MINURSO" operation was given the task of observing the ceasefire and
preparing the ground for a referendum. The referendum was to decide to
what extent Western Sahara should become independent, or be incorporated
into Morocco.
"The referendum has been postponed a number of times now, and no date has
been set. This is mainly because Morocco has slowed up the proceedings
considerably. In the last 12 months, Morocco has decided not to accept any
other solution to the problem than the inclusion of Western Sahara into
Morocco," says Kirkerud.
For more information, contact:
Eirik Kirkerud, Programme Officer, Algeria/West Sahara and Chad
Tel.: (+47) 932 42 481
E-mail: e...@nca.no
/ends
----
Source: http://english.nca.no/article/articleview/5814/1/449/
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Boris Ryser
Reuters
26 February 2006
By Marc Delteil
ON THE ROAD TO TIFARITI, Western Sahara, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The
Polisario Front marks 30 years of struggle for an independent Western
Sahara on Monday with little hope in sight of a solution to Africa's
longest-running territorial dispute.
Tens of thousands of refugees have lived in sprawling desert refugee
camps in one of Africa's remotest corners since Morocco's 1975 seizure
of most of the mineral-rich desert territory, which may also have
offshore oil deposits.
Polisario proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) on
February 27, 1976, but years of war followed by more years of
U.N.-backed diplomacy involving Washington, Morocco and Algeria have
failed to bring the state-in-waiting into being.
Western Sahara, a vast former Spanish colony rich in phosphates and a
short flight from the Canary Islands, was annexed in 1975 by Morocco
after Spain withdrew.
After 16 years of intermittent guerrilla war from 1976 to 1991, years of
U.N.-sponsored diplomatic efforts to hold a referendum on
self-determination have led only to standoff.
A U.N.-mediated truce came with the pledge of a referendum on Western
Sahara, but Morocco has refused to allow a vote on self-determination.
Polisario's principal backer is Algeria.
Heavy rains earlier this month washed away the homes of about 50,000 of
the 158,000 refugees who have lived near the Algerian town of Tindouf
for 30 years since fleeing their homes.
"This catastrophe shows once again that the Sahrawi issue must be solved
as soon as possible," Polisario Front President Mohamed Abdelaziz told
Reuters.
"The time has come to pressure Morocco to accept the referendum solution
as the only and unique solution," he said.
Algeria's backing of the Polisario has been a constant cause of friction
with neighbouring Morocco and a major obstacle to ambitious plans for
regional trade and political integration.
Tension remains high along a 2,000-km (1,300-mile) wall of sand and
stone which snakes through the rocky wilderness to the Atlantic coast,
separating Moroccan and Polisario forces.
The Sahrawi refugees live in five camps in the desert near the border,
almost totally dependent on outside assistance.
For the first time celebrations will take place on the "Polisario" side
of the wall in the village of Tifariti, a move Morocco has said is an
infringement of the 1991 ceasefire. Normally Polisasrio's celebrations
are held in Algeria.
Moroccan government spokesman and Communications Minister Nabil
Benaballah said: "Morocco will find the right way to counter the
Polisario move."
Journalists and officials were on their way to Tifariti from Tindouf on
Sunday for Monday's festivities.
Morocco has insisted that independence cannot be an option, even as the
Polisario Front insists that it has to be.
King Mohammed sounded a defiant note in 2002.
"We...categorically reject any project aiming to harm the territorial
integrity of Morocco and sovereignty over its southern provinces
(Western Sahara)," said the king.
"Morocco will not abandon a single inch of its southern provinces."
Moroccan officials have said that in April Rabat will put forward a
formal plan for autonomy for the area. Polisario rejected the plan in
advance, saying a referendum was the only way forward.
----
Source:
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L2682197.htm
For Reuters factbox see:
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L26764647.htm
_________________________________
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__________________________________
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*** Referendum now! ***
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sahara-update
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Boris Ryser
Le chef du Front polisario veut croire aux Nations unies
MOHAMED ABDELAZIZ VEUT UN RÉFÉRENDUM D'AUTODÉTERMINATION AU SAHARA
OCCIDENTAL
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TIFARITI, Sahara occidental (Reuters) - Le chef du Front polisario, Mohamed
Abdelaziz, a déclaré avoir confiance dans les Nations unies pour imposer
finalement au Maroc un référendum d'autodétermination au Sahara occidental,
l'ancienne colonie espagnole qu'il a annexée en 1975.
Le dirigeant du mouvement indépendantiste est aussi le président de la
République arabe sahraouie démocratique (RASD) dont il célèbre le 30e
anniversaire dans la petite localité de Tifariti, hors du contrôle marocain,
à 300 km au sud-ouest de la ville algérienne de Tindouf.
Les efforts des Nations unies pour organiser un référendum
d'autodétermination se sont avérés stériles et Mohamed VI est même revenu
sur l'acceptation par son défunt père d'un référendum portant sur
l'indépendance ou le rattachement au royaume chérifien du territoire,
désertique mais au riche sous-sol.
Le Conseil de sécurité, qui entretient depuis 1991 sur le terrain une
coûteuse Mission des Nations unies pour un référendum au Sahara occidental
(Minurso), doit dresser fin avril un bilan de ce dossier.
"Nous avons espoir qu'à la fin du mois d'avril, au moment où le Conseil aura
à traiter de la question du Sahara occidental, il y aura une nouvelle
impulsion de la part du Conseil de sécurité afin d'amener le Maroc à
accepter l'organisation d'un référendum au Sahara occidental", a déclaré
Abdelaziz à Reuters.
"OPTION PACIFIQUE"
"Certes, il y a des tentatives du Maroc pour sortir de cette voie - on parle
même de l'autonomie - mais nous disons clairement que nous rejetons une
telle approche et nous sommes convaincus que le Conseil de sécurité de l'Onu
ne tombera pas dans ce piège", a-t-il précisé dans cette interview accordée
quelques minutes avant de présider aux cérémonies.
"Que ce soit en avril, où que ce soit plus tard, peu importe! Ce qui est
certain, c'est que, au bout du compte, les Nations unies n'ont d'autre choix
que de respecter le droit du peuple sahraoui au travers d'un référendum
d'autodétermination."
"Car aucune autre solution ne peut être valable en l'espèce", a ajouté le
président de la RASD.
Un grand défilé militaire était prévu ce lundi à Tifariti pour rappeler que
la capacité de frappe des combattants du Front polisario - estimés à plus de
10.000 au moment des grandes batailles des années 1975-85 - reste intacte et
mobilisable.
Mais Mohamed Abdelaziz a souligné qu'il ne s'agissait pas là d'une
"démonstration de force". "L'option pacifique, c'est plutôt l'option que
nous voulons privilégier, et loin de nous toute idée que nous voulons faire
une démonstration de force aujourd'hui."
Interrogé sur une éventuelle reprise de la guérilla du Polisario en cas
d'impasse, Abdelaziz a reconnu l'ampleur de la déception provoquée dans les
camps de réfugiés de Tindouf, mais aussi parmi les combattants du Polisario,
par l'absence d'avancée diplomatique depuis la trêve intervenue en 1991.
"Cela a entraîné, pour parler franchement, une frustration chez les
Sahraouis, ce non-accomplissement des Nations unies et de l'organisation du
référendum. Nous subissons, en tant que dirigeants, des pressions énormes de
la part des Sahraouis, que ce soit dans les camps, dans les territoires
libérés ou dans les zones occupées."
"La question qui revient le plus souvent, c'est: 'qu'est-ce que vous
attendez? Quand est-ce que l'on doit reprendre la guerre? Quand est-ce que
nous devrons arracher nos droits par nos propres moyens?' C'est vrai, c'est
un fait, il y a cet état d'esprit qui existe", a expliqué le chef du
Polisario.
Le cessez-le-feu de 1991, qui tient encore aujourd'hui malgré l'impasse
diplomatique, n'est qu'une "trêve" qui supposait un référendum quelques mois
plus tard, a-t-il rappelé. "Il ne s'agit pas d'un cessez-le-feu définitif,
cela fait partie d'un tout."
Pressé de confirmer que l'option militaire n'était pas à l'ordre du jour,
Abdelaziz a répondu: "Nous continuons de croire qu'il y a une possibilité de
paix et nous donnerons sa chance à la paix, mais je souligne aussi que, si
nous y sommes obligés, si la seule option qui nous reste c'est de rependre
les armes, nous reprendrons les armes les armes pour défendre nos droits."
Sans revendiquer la "paternité" de l'agitation nationaliste sahraouie qui
secoue depuis mai 2005 le "Sahara utile" annexé par le Maroc et protégé par
un "mur" de protection de 1.500 km, Abdelaziz a déclaré "attendre beaucoup
de cette intifada sahraouie".
Pour lui, cette "intifada" s'inscrit "intrinsèquement" dans le cadre de la
cause nationaliste sahraouie entamée en 1973 avec la création du Front
polisario."C'est la poursuite de notre guerre de libération nationale par
des moyens pacifiques."
http://fr.news.yahoo.com/27022006/290/le-chef-du-front-polisario-veut-croire-aux-nations-unies.html
Boris Ryser
Parades militaires du Polisario qui plaide pour la paix
PARADES MILITAIRES DU POLISARIO
http://fr.news.yahoo.com/27022006/290/parades-militaires-du-polisario-qui-plaide-pour-la-paix.html
TIFARITI, Sahara occidental (Reuters) - A l'occasion du 30e anniversaire de
la proclamation de sa République arabe sahraouie démocratique (RASD), le
Front polisario a organisé des parades militaires dans la localité de
Tifariti, hors de contrôle du Maroc.
Celui-ci avait envahi en 1975 l'ancienne colonie espagnole et en administre
aujourd'hui la majeure partie en dépit de la guérilla du Polisario et du
cessez-le-feu intervenu en 1991 sous l'égide de l'Onu en vue d'organiser un
référendum d'autodétermination que Rabat désormais refuse.
Le chef du Polisario et président de la RASD, Mohamed Abdelaziz, a déclaré
lundi à Reuters qu'il continuait à faire confiance aux Nations unies pour
tenter de trouver une solution permettant aux populations sahraouies de
décider librement de leur indépendance ou de leur rattachement au Maroc.
Abdelaziz a passé en revue lundi au coucher du soleil, dans une cuvette
proche de Tifariti, un détachement des forces du Polisario, dont une
centaine de blindés, auto-mitrailleuses et autre 4x4 armée, sous les yeux de
milliers de Sahraouis des "territoires libérés" rassemblés dans ce petit
bourg situé à 300 km au sud-ouest des camps de réfugiés du Polisario
implantés depuis 30 ans dans la région ouest-algérienne de Tindouf.
"Loin de nous l'idée de faire une démonstration de force aujourd'hui",
s'est-il défendu avant de présider les festivités du 30e anniversaire de la
RASD, reconnue par plus de la moitié des Etats africains. "Nous continuons à
privilégier aujourd'hui l'option pacifique."
Témoignage de cette priorité affichée à une solution pacifique d'un des
conflits africains les plus anciens et les plus inextricables, le Polisario
a détruit son stock de mines anti-personnels pour l'occasion, mettant ainsi
la RASD en conformité avec la convention d'Ottawa.
"INTIFADA SAHRAOUIE"
Diplomatiquement, le dossier du Sahara occidental est dans l'impasse et le
Conseil de sécurité de l'Onu en fera le point fin avril pour voir s'il y a
lieu de proroger le coûteux mandat de la Mission des Nations unies pour un
référendum au Sahara occidental (Minurso) dont les 230 observateurs
policiers et soldats attendent toujours de superviser un référendum de plus
en plus improbable.
Dans la matinée, devant des milliers de délégués étrangers, de militants de
la cause sahraouie et des habitants de la région, Mohamed Abdelaziz avait
rendu un hommage appuyé à ce qu'il est désormais convenu d'appeler
l'"intifada sahraouie" - l'agitation nationaliste grandissante parmi les
populations vivant dans la partie du Sahara occidental sous administration
marocaine.
"Non loin d'ici, dans les territoires sahraouis encore sous le joug de
l'occupation coloniale marocaine, les populations ont opté pour le
soulèvement pacifique, civilisé et démocratique pour faire valoir leurs
droits (...) à savoir l'organisation d'un référendum d'autodétermination du
peuple sahraoui."
"Cette résistance bénie a démontré le génie du peuple sahraoui qui a, de
tout temps, réussi à renouveler ses moyens de combat et à réduire les
calculs du colonisateur marocain", a poursuivi Abdelaziz en ajoutant:
"Depuis cette terre sahraouie libérée, nous réitérons à nos valeureuses
populations le serment de rester fidèles aux martyrs et à poursuivre le
combat jusqu'à la victoire finale."
Boris Ryser
27 Feb 2006 20:04:07 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Marc Delteil
TIFARITI, Western Sahara, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Western Sahara's liberation
movement said on Monday it was confident Africa's longest-running
territorial row would end with a ballot on independence despite Morocco's
refusal to concede sovereignty.
In a Reuters interview Polisario chief Mohamed Abdelaziz reiterated a
longstanding position that the movement would renew its armed struggle with
Morocco if there was no other way of gaining control of the mineral-rich
northwest African territory.
But he added one day a ballot would eventually be held.
"Whether it's in April, or later, no matter. What's certain is that in the
end the United Nations has no other choice but to respect the right of the
Sahrawi people to a referendum on self-determination," he said.
"There is no other solution," he added, speaking at 30th anniversary
celebrations of Polisario's proclamation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic
Republic (SADR), which he also heads.
At sunset, Abdelaziz took the salute as Polisario forces including 100
armoured cars paraded in front of thousands of supporters through this small
town 300 km (190 miles) southwest of the Algerian town of Tindouf, where
Polisario is normally based.
"It's not our idea to make a show of strength today," he said of the parade,
adding that Sahrawis were engaged in what he called a peaceful "intifada" or
uprising. "We continue to give precedence to the idea of a peaceful option."
Tens of thousands of refugees have lived in sprawling desert refugee camps
in one of Africa's remotest corners since Morocco's 1975 seizure of most of
the mineral-rich desert territory, which may also have offshore oil
deposits.
After 16 years of intermittent guerrilla war from 1976, a U.N. ceasefire was
brokered in 1991 with the promise of holding a ballot to decide the area's
fate. But disputes about who is eligible to vote have prevented it from
taking place.
SECURITY COUNCIL
In recent years, Morocco has steered clear of the independence option and
stated its readiness to grant the area only semi-autonomy while remaining
under its sovereignty.
Moroccan officials recently said Rabat would put forward a formal plan for
autonomy in April, which the U.N. Security Council is expected to consider.
Polisario rejected the plan in advance, saying a referendum was the only way
forward.
"We hope that at the end of April, when the Council deals with the Western
Sahara question, there will be new momentum on the part of the Security
Council to prevail upon Morocco to accept the holding of a referendum,"
Abdelaziz said.
Algeria's backing of Polisario has been a constant cause of friction with
neighbouring Morocco and a major obstacle to ambitious plans for regional
trade and political integration.
Tension remains high along a 2,000-km (1,300-mile) wall of sand and stone
which snakes through the rocky wilderness to the Atlantic coast, separating
Moroccan and Polisario forces. Monday's celebrations were held on the
"Polisario" side of the wall.
Abdelaziz said Sahrawis frustrated by the stalemate had put enormous
pressure on Sahrawi leaders to find a solution.
"The questions which keep coming up most often are 'What are you waiting
for? When should we restart the war? When must we seize our rights by our
own means? It's true that there's this feeling that exists," he said.
CRISIS PROFILE: Western Sahara dispute
FACTBOX-Chronology of Western Sahara dispute
FACTBOX-Five facts about Western Sahara crisis
________________________________________________________
Source: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24716482.htm
________________________________________________________
Forwarded by:
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*** Humanitarian aid to the Saharawi refugees NOW! ***
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Boris Ryser
Washington DC 20515
The Honorable Joe Borg
Commissioner
Fisheries Directorate
European Commission
B-1049 Brussels
Belgium
February 28, 2006
Dear Commissioner Borg
We are writing to express our concern regarding the upcoming vote on the
Fisheries Agreement signed by the government of Morocco and the European
Community. Our concern stems from the fact that the conflict over Western
Sahara has not yet been resolved and therefore any exploration and/or
exploitation of resources in that territory would be inappropriate and in
violation of UN legal opinions and international norms regarding
territories in dispute.
As you may know, despite the 1975 International Court of Justice ruling
stating that Morocco has no legitimate claims to the land of Western
Sahara, and numerous UN Security Council actions to resolve the conflict,
the Moroccan government maintains that Western Sahara is part of Morocco.
In addition, on February 12, 2002, Mr. Hans Corell, Legal Counsel, sent
the following legal opinion to the UN Security Council on the exploration
of mineral resources of Western Sahara, stating that if "exploration
activities were to proceed in disregard of the interests and wishes of the
people of Western Sahara, they would be in violation of the international
law principles applicable to mineral resource activities in
Non-Self-Governing Territories".
Our understanding is that the European Fisheries Agreement does not
include a provision that would prohibit EU fishing vessels from fishing in
the waters linked to Western Sahara as there is nothing that specifies the
boundaries of Morocco, particularly in the South. As a result, any fishing
licenses granted could cover the waters of the disputed territory. In
addition, approval of the Fisheries Agreement could also lead to EU
funding development projects for Moroccan settlers residing in the
disputed territory.
In 2004, the United States signed a Free Trade Agreement with the Kingdom
of Morocco; however, this Agreement clearly stipulated that the area
included only the land within the internationally recognized boundaries of
Morocco. Without a clear definition of the territorial boundaries covered
by the EU Fisheries Agreement, the Kingdom of Morocco could issue fishing
licenses for Western Sahara waters and resources from those waters could
be exported to ports around the world. Should fish from those waters be
exported to the United States, such an importation would be a violation of
our Free Trade Agreement with Morocco. Such is the seriousness attached to
this issue by the United States.
While trade and cooperation between nations is an important policy, we
strongly believe that trade should not be in violation of international
agreements and norms and in the case of the European Fisheries Agreement
it should exclude the territory of Western Sahara. We respectfully urge
that a section be added to the Fisheries Agreement clearly delineating the
territory covered by this new Agreement.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to
hearing from you on this issue, preferably before the Agreement is
submitted to the European Parliament for approval.
Sincerely
Joseph Pitts
Member of Congress
Donald M. Payne
Member of Congress
Boris Ryser
The Polisario Front starts to destroy its landmine stockpile
Geneva/Tifariti, 1 March 2006 - On 27 February 2006, the Polisario Front, in
compliance with the Geneva Call Deed of Commitment, began the destruction of
its stockpile of anti-personnel mines. The event took place in Tifariti,
Western Sahara, during the celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the
Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (as recognized by the African Union and
many States).
Polisario top officials attended the destruction ceremony, including Mohamed
Abdelaziz, Polisario Front's Secretary General and President of the
Republic, as well as the Minister of Defence, Mohamed Lamine Bouhali, in
charge of the operation. During the ceremony, the Minister of Defence
underlined that "this initiative reflects the choice of the Saharawi people
for a peaceful settlement of the conflict". He added that the Polisario
Front will complete the destruction of its remaining stockpile and called on
Morocco to reciprocate.
The Geneva Call President Elisabeth Reusse-Decrey congratulated the
Polisario Front for starting to destroy its stockpile only four months after
signing the Deed of Commitment. "This demonstrates the Polisario attachment
to international humanitarian law and, despite the current political
deadlock, its will to respect and implement quickly its commitment" she
said.
A number of foreign governments and international organisations witnessed
the event; among them representatives from MINURSO, UNMAS, Landmine Monitor,
the Saharawi Campaign to Ban Landmines, Landmine Action UK and Geneva Call.
In total, more than one thousand people attended. The President of the
Association of Mine Survivors, a Polisario commander and the President of
the Saharawi Campaign to Ban Landmines also took the floor.
After the speeches, engineers from the Ministry of Defence proceeded to
destroy 3'321 anti-personnel mines. Prior to the operation, Geneva Call and
the Saharawi Campaign to Ban Landmines had facilitated a mission with
Norwegian People's Aid to assist the Polisario Front in the preparations and
to discuss the relevant international mine action standards.
Geneva Call and the Saharawi Campaign to Ban Landmines congratulate the
Polisario Front for having successfully conducted this first stockpile
destruction. Such an operation demonstrates the importance of engaging
non-State actors in the mine ban and the role that they can play towards a
mine free world. It is hoped that Morocco will take shortly concrete
measures towards accession to the Ottawa Convention.
[Photos: Stockpile destruction]
For further information, please contact
Geneva Call: Pascal Bongard, +41765881968 in...@genevacall.org
Saharawi Campaign to Ban Landmines: Boybat Cheikh Abdelhay, +21362993169
scab...@yahoo.es
[PDF Version]
________________________________________________________
Source:
http://www.genevacall.org/news/testi-press-releases/gc-02mar06-sahara.htm
________________________________________________________
Forwarded by:
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*** Humanitarian aid to the Saharawi refugees NOW! ***
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Boris Ryser
Governments answer UN appeal for Sahrawi refugees affected by Algeria
floods
United Nations News Centre
3 March 2006
Governments have answered an urgent appeal by the United Nations refugee
agency to help fly about 150 tonnes of relief supplies to some 60,000
Sahrawi refugees left homeless by severe flooding in three camps in
western Algeria, the agency said today.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) made its appeal last week,
after heavy rains and flooding in early February severely damaged three
of five Sahrawi refugee sites around Tindouf.
"The French Government offered us two C-130 sorties, which over the
weekend transported some 20 tonnes of relief items to Oran, west of
Algiers. Today, a Turkish C-130 loaded with 5,100 blankets is expected
to take off from Amman to Oran airport," UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond
told a press briefing in Geneva.
"In addition, the United States confirmed to us yesterday that it will
provide two An-124 sorties on 6 and 8 March which will carry the
remaining 110 tonnes of tents, mattresses, plastic sheets and blankets
to the flood-stricken refugee camps."
Mr. Redmond also said that there had been assistance from Italy,
Portugal, Spain, Algeria and that last weekend 600 tents provided by
Norwegian Church Aid had been flown in by the Russian military.
The relief items have been flown from UNHCR stockpiles in Jordan and Mr.
Redmond said that the international assistance had now helped deliver
almost 700 family tents, 500 large plastic sheets, 600 mattresses and
close to 10,000 jerry cans to the affected refugees, who began arriving
in Algeria in 1976 after Spain withdrew from the Western Sahara and
fighting broke out over its control.
Most of the Sahrawi refugees have been living for more than 30 years in
the desert regions of western Algeria, totally dependent on outside
assistance, and UNHCR is currently supporting 90,000 of the most
vulnerable.
---
Source: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?
NewsID=17687&Cr=western&Cr1=sahara#
_________________________________
Forwarded by:
__________________________________
Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara
*** Referendum now! ***
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sahara-update
_________________________________
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Boris Ryser
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Le mouvement raëlien, pour ceux qui n'ont pas peur du futur
http://www.rael.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
le maroc d'accord pour decoloniser le sahara occidental
http://www.bladi.net/forum/51186-maroc-daccord-decoloniser-sahara.html
La quatrième commission de l'Assemblée générale de l'Onu a adopté, hier,
par consensus une résolution sur le Sahara occidental, réaffirmant que
"le conflit du Sahara occidental est une question de décolonisation
relevant, du comité de décolonisation de l'Onu", a-t-on appris de
sources diplomatiques.
Contrairement à l'an dernier, le Maroc a, accepté, cette année, de se
joindre au consensus qui a prévalu depuis une dizaine d'années aux
Nations unies sur cette question, a-t-on indiqué.
Cette résolution rend "pleinement justice" au peuple du Sahara
occidental en réaffirmant que "le conflit du Sahara occidental est une
question de décolonisation relevant du comité de décolonisation des
Nations unies et de la résolution 1514 portant déclaration sur l'octroi
de l'indépendance aux pays et peuples colonisés, et qu'elle doit donc
trouver sa solution, à travers l'exercice par le peuple du Sahara
occidental de son droit à l'autodétermination", soulignent les mêmes
sources. Après cette adoption, l'Assemblée général confirme une fois de
plus que le règlement de la question doit intervenir dans "le seul cadre
de l'Organisation des Nations unies", réaffirmant la responsabilité de
l'ONU à l'égard du peuple du Sahara occidental, L'adoption de cette
résolution par la quatrième commission réitère, souligne-t-on, "la
pleine validité du plan de règlement négocié et accepté par les parties
et approuvé par le Conseil de sécurité en 1991", ainsi que "la pleine
validité du plan de paix pour l'autodétermination du peuple du Sahara
occidental, élaboré par M. James Baker, en sa qualité d'envoyé personnel
du secrétaire général, et endossé par le Conseil de sécurité par sa
résolution 1495 (2003), en tant que solution politique optimale pour le
règlement du conflit".
Les mêmes sources diplomatiques ont, par ailleurs, affirmé que le Front
Polisario vient donc d'"enregistrer un nouveau succès diplomatique aux
Nations unies à travers l'appui unanime apporté par la Communauté
internationale au plan de règlement et au plan de paix et à l'exercice
par le peuple du Sahara occidental, et à son droit inaliénable à
l'autodétermination conformément à la résolution 1514 et à la doctrine
et à la pratique de l'ONU en matière de décolonisation.
Baâli : "La communauté internationale attend le retour du Maroc à la
légalité internationale"
L'ambassadeur représentant permanent de l'Algérie auprès de l'Onu, M.
Abdellah Baâli, a exprimé sa satisfaction après l'adoption, hier, par la
quatrième commission de l'Assemblée générale de l'Onu, d'une résolution
sur le Sahara occidental, réitérant le fait que le conflit "constitue
une question de décolonisation".
Dans une déclaration après l'adoption de cette résolution, M. Baâli a
indiqué que "ma délégation se réjouit, d'abord, de ce que la communauté
internationale ait solennellement réitéré le fait que le conflit du
Sahara occidental constitue une question de décolonisation". Soulignant
que le règlement du conflit doit, par conséquent, "intervenir à travers
l'exercice par le peuple du Sahara occidental de son droit inaliénable à
l'autodétermination", M. Baâli a mis en exergue l'"appui unanime que la
communauté internationale continue d'apporter aussi bien au plan de
règlement des Nations unies, dont elle a réaffirmé la pleine validité,
qu'au plan de paix pour l'autodétermination du peuple du Sahara
occidental endossé par le Conseil de sécurité, à l'unanimité de ses
membres...".
"En relevant que les parties ont réagi différemment au plan de paix, la
communauté internationale prend ainsi acte du fait que le Front
Polisario a officiellement accepté ce plan alors que le Royaume du Maroc
l'a formellement rejeté, assumant ainsi toute la responsabilité de
l'impasse dans laquelle se trouve le processus de paix au Sahara
occidental", a ajouté le diplomate algérien. M. Baâli a également
souligné que l'Assemblée générale a réaffirmé la responsabilité des
Nations unies à l'égard du peuple du Sahara occidental et qu'elle a, à
travers l'appel lancé aux parties de libérer sans délai les personnes
détenues depuis le début du conflit, exhorté ainsi le Royaume du Maroc à
libérer les centaines de personnes de guerre et de détenus politiques
sahraouis qui se trouvent encore dans les prisons marocaines et dont les
familles sont sans nouvelles depuis des années. Il a, dans cet ordre
d'idées, rappelé la libération par le Front Polisario de tous les
prisonniers de guerre qu'il détenait jusque-là, précisant que la
communauté internationale attend du Royaume du Maroc qu'"il s'acquitte
de ses obligations en vertu du droit international humanitaire, qu'il
mette un terme aux mauvais traitements infligés aux détenus politiques,
en particulier, ceux arrêtés, lors des manifestations nationalistes de
ces derniers mois". M. Baâli a, par ailleurs, indiqué que la communauté
internationale attend le retour du Maroc à la légalité internationale,
en acceptant et en mettant en ouvre le plan de paix pour
l'autodétermination du peuple du Sahara occidental.
Le diplomate algérien a, enfin, annoncé que la visite, dans la région,
cette semaine, de l'envoyé personnel du secrétaire général de l'Onu pour
le Sahara occidental, offre l'opportunité au Maroc de "revenir à la
légalité internationale en acceptant la tenue du référendum
d'autodétermination qui constitue le moyen le plus juste et le plus
démocratique de parvenir au règlement d'une question de décolonisation".
:-o
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
L'éthique est une manifestation des conservateurs déistes et
des religieux orthodoxes cherchant à garder l'Humanité dans
l'obscurantisme et l'ignorance en lui faisant craindre la science
et les nouvelles technologies.
Que penser de nos ancêtres pour ce qu'ils appellent "l'Histoire"
et qui n'est qu'un ramassis de stupidité, d'intolérances et de
violences ?
Disons oui aux nouvelles technologies et à la Science 100 % libres
qui vont libérer l'homme du mythe de dieu, des peurs, des maladies,
de la mort et du travail !
Raël
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Boris Ryser
afrol News, 7 March
- This week, the legal experts of the European Union (EU) are to
present their conclusion on the legality of the fisheries deal between
Morocco and the EU last year, which includes the waters of occupied
Western Sahara. Protests by the exiled Sahrawi government, activists
and Sweden, Denmark, Britain and Ireland had cast doubt on the
legality. Moroccan ally France and Spain, which gains most on the
deal, favour the treaty as it is.
In July last year, negotiators from the European Commission (EC) and
Morocco finally agreed on the terms for a new four-year fisheries
treaty, allowing EU vessels to resume fishing in the rich Atlantic
waters of Morocco for the first time after 1999. The deal was smaller
than the previous 1995-1999 treaty and excluded Morocco's
Mediterranean waters. But nevertheless, 119 EU vessels - 95 of them
Spanish - were allowed to return to Moroccan waters as of March 2006,
promising relief for the troubled European fisheries industry.
Meanwhile, the March 2006 deadline has been reached but EU vessels
still are unable to trawl Moroccan waters. The fisheries agreement has
yet to be ratified in the European Parliament and in the EC, where it
meets resistance from a growing number of members of the EU parliament
(MEPs) and national governments.
When announced, the deal immediately caused protests from the exiled
Polisario government of Western Sahara, whose territory has been
occupied by Moroccan troops and settlers since 1975. The EU's chief
negotiator had made it clear that Western Sahara's rich waters were
considered part of the deal as they were "under Moroccan
administration." This view runs against a legal ruling by the UN in
2002, which concludes that Morocco is not the administrative power of
Western Sahara.
Polisario and pro-Sahrawi activists soon gained the support of the
Swedish government, which publicly opposed the deal as contradicting
international law because it opens for exploitation of the natural
resources in an occupied territory. The Stockholm Foreign Ministry for
the last half year has been lobbying in other EU capitals to gather
enough votes against the deal in the EU parliament and in the EC to
block ratification. A minority of sufficient countries or sufficiently
big countries is enough to block the deal.
The Swedes have managed to rally for support in several leading EU
countries. At recent meetings in the EU's fisheries commission, the
representatives of Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland and the United
Kingdom have voiced concern over "the legality" of the inclusion of
Western Sahara in the deal. The Italian and Austrian governments are
reported to be drifting towards opposition. Further, the anti-deal
campaign finds support from individual politicians and MEPS from
almost all EU member states, including Spanish MEP Raúl Romeva
(Catalan Green Party).
But also the pro-agreement block has gained ground since the issue
surfaced. France has vehemently defended the deal, not surprisingly,
as Paris is Rabat's main political ally in the Western Sahara
conflict. Spain, the ex-colonial power and often seen as the
territory's legal administrative power, supports the deal but Madrid
keeps a lower profile. After all, the government of José Luis Zapatero
is seeking friendly ties with Morocco and is the main beneficiary of
the fisheries deal.
Most EU parliamentarians and national governments silently support
them for economic or strategic reasons - favours from Madrid and Paris
will be expected in change when these countries see their economic
interests threatened. Keeping record of favours given each other is
the order of the day among the divided nations of the EU.
The pro-Moroccan block argues that both EC-Moroccan fisheries
agreements in the 1990s had included Western Sahara. The negotiators
from the EC still claim that the deal is within international law, as
"the people of Western Sahara" also will have economic benefits from
the treaty. Parts of the euro 144 million the EU is to pay Morocco is
to be spent locally on the development of "the Moroccan fishery
sector", thus favouring local fisheries communities along the coast,
including in occupied Western Sahara.
The Swedish government does not accept this argument. Fisheries
Minister Ann-Christin Nykvist told the national press that the EU
funds to be spent locally would probably not benefit Sahrawis, who are
mostly exiled or marginalised within the new Moroccan settler economy
in the occupied territory. The fisheries sector in the Western Sahara
towns of El Aiun and Dakhla is in the hands of Moroccan investors and
labour is recruited among the many thousand settlers Rabat sent into
the territory after 1975 to change its ethnic composition.
While Sweden leads the resistance to the EU-Moroccan fisheries
agreement, neighbouring Denmark has led the diplomatic efforts to find
a solution to the dispute splitting the EU. Danish Fisheries Minister
Hans Christian Schmidt, while opposing the deal, avoided an uncertain
vote in the EU parliament and the EC by contributing to have the
agreement analysed again by the juridical services of the EC. Denmark
had "demanded assurances from the EC on the ... legality of the
accords with regard to international law," Minister Schmidt told the
Copenhagen parliament last month.
The EC's legal offices are expected to hand down their judgement on
the legality of the treaty on Thursday this week. Most European
observers expect the legal experts to approve of the deal, on
condition that funds are directed to the territory's population. Given
the differences over who is the legal population of the territory,
however, the opposition to the treaty may continue its efforts to
block the deal at the EU parliament or the EC.
If the legal experts deem the treaty illegal, it will not be ratified
as it is, but an amendment must be negotiated. The EU thus will have
to look to Washington on how to define its economic ties with Rabat.
The US, which is also a major ally of Morocco, in 2004 signed a free
trade agreement with the Kingdom that clearly stipulated that the
territory of Western Sahara was not included in the treaty. According
to US Congress members Joseph Pitts and Donald Payne, the EU should
not find it difficult to define equal limits.
By staff writers
(c) afrol News
________________________________________________________
Source: http://www.afrol.com/articles/18349
________________________________________________________
Forwarded by:
The Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara
*** Humanitarian aid to the Saharawi refugees NOW! ***
wsa...@online.no
________________________________________________________
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Boris Ryser
SADR/MOROCCO/EUROPEAN UNION/FISHING
The Saharawi Government calls on the EU to drop the Saharawi
territorial waters from its fishing accords with Rabat
Chahid El Hafed, 07/03/2006 (SPS) The Saharawi Government called on
the European Union (EU) to drop the Saharawi territorial waters from
its fishing accords with Rabat, considering that the natural resources
of the Western Sahara belong to the Saharawi people still under
Moroccan colonial domination, and whose goods can not be exploited by
the occupier according to the international law.
"The Saharawi Government launches an appeal to the European Union's
Governments to prevent their peoples from been implicated in an
illicit and dishonourable deed, which encourages the Moroccan illegal
colonial presence in the Western Sahara and participates to the
deepening of instability in the region", indicated a press release
publicised on Tuesday by the Ministry of Information.
The EU is in disagreement about the legal status of the territorial
waters of the Western Sahara, which is militarily occupied by Morocco,
and the EU's fishers should wait until the legal services of the
European Council declare, this Thursday, n the legality of the accords
of fishing signed with Morocco.
The Saharawi Government recalled the UN's under-Secretary General for
Legal Affairs, Hans Corell, legal opinion of 2002, which stipulates
that any exploitation of the natural resources of the Western Sahara
is "a violation of the international legality", as long as the
decolonisation of the non-self-governing territory is not completed
through a democratic and transparent self-determination referendum.
To the Saharawi executive the territory "remains under the
responsibility of the UN" and "no country recognises the sovereignty
of Morocco on Western Sahara". It recalled that the USA had "clearly
extracted the territory from the exchange accords with Rabat".
Spain, as the administrating power of the territory according to the
international law, intervene during the debate recognising that this
"subject is so sensitive". It recalled that since its withdrawal from
the Western Sahara in 1976 "there were no legal dispositions
undertaken on the territorial waters of the territory", the same
source added.
A coalition of activists from 19 European countries had launched last
February the 14th an international campaign to stop the EU to ratify
this fishing accords with Morocco, estimating that in the current act
i twill violate the international law and allow the European ships in
complete violation of the waters of the last African colony, Western
Sahara.
The campaign "Fish elsewhere!" calls on the European officials and the
member States of the EU "to completely forbid fishing in Western
Sahara by European ships".
Mr. Nick Dearden, Director of the campaign launched by the British
Association War on Want, had noted that "the same years when the
Saharawi people commemorate 30 years spent in refugee camps, the EU
signs a fishing accord that would enable some European countries to
profit of Saharawi sufferings. We call on the EU to reject this accord
which is in complete contradiction with the principles of the EU and
its member States".
All information on the campaign, on the fishing issue can be found on
the campaign's web site: www.fishelsewhere.org. (SPS)
010/090/100/TRD 071755 06 SPS
________________________________________________________
Source: http://www.spsrasd.info/sps-e070306.html
________________________________________________________
Forwarded by:
The Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara
*** Humanitarian aid to the Saharawi refugees NOW! ***
wsa...@online.no
________________________________________________________
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Boris Ryser
Commission under fire over Morocco fisheries agreement
09.03.2006 - 17:38 CET
By Aleander Balzan
A proposed fishing agreement between the EU and Morocco is causing
controversy, with opponents to the agreement claiming that it will be
both illegal as well as damaging to UN peace efforts in Western
Sahara.
The Fish Elsewhere organisation, which includes various trade unions
and NGOs from 19 different countries, insist that the agreement must
be amended because it fails to specify the southern limit of Morocco.
This means that the agreement allows Morocco to issue fishing licenses
to European vessels in water which it illegally holds, which is
against international law.
Morocco and Mauritania invaded Western Sahara in 1975, driving the
local Saharawi people from their homes by force. While Mauritania
withdrew its claim to Western Sahara four years later, Morocco
remained.
Fish Elsewhere said the agreement would "set back the 15-year peace
process" managed by the UN.
Nick Dearden, from War on Want, a UK affiliate to Fish Elsewhere
campaign insists "that the EU won't be able to claim at a later date
that it didn't suspect the obvious consequence of this agreement. They
have the evidence and they must amend the agreement"
But EU fisheries commissioner Joe Borg has defended the agreement.
"Morocco is the de facto administrator of Western Sahara. So, the
Commission proposal is in conformity with the legal opinion of the
United Nations issued in January 2002," he said.
Mr Borg also pointed out that, on this issue, the new agreement is the
same as the previous EU-Morocco deal.
The campaigners insist that the Saharawi people have a right to
self-determination.
However, they are facing strong opposition from fishermen, who
consider the proposed agreement a good opportunity.
"This agreement should be ratified without excluding Western Sahara as
with such an agreement both the Saharawi people and the EU fishermen
will benefit," said Henrik Svenberg from the Swedish fishermen's
association.
He added that his association has received requests from Saharawi
producers to increase their vessels in the area as this will improve
the Western Sahara economy.
In the coming weeks both the European Parliament and member states
fisheries ministers are expected to vote on this agreement.
________________________________________________________
Source: http://euobserver.com/9/21092
________________________________________________________
For further background, see also:
- SPS: The Saharawi Government calls on the EU to drop the Saharawi
territorial waters from its fishing accords with Rabat, Thu Mar 9,
2006: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sahara-Update/message/1705
- afrol News: Fight over legality of EU fisheries in Western Sahara,
Thu Mar 9, 2006:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sahara-Update/message/1704
- Letter from US Congress members: EU fisheries in Western Sahara is a
violation of international law, Wed Mar 1, 2006:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sahara-Update/message/1700
________________________________________________________
Forwarded by:
The Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara
*** Humanitarian aid to the Saharawi refugees NOW! ***
wsa...@online.no
________________________________________________________
Boris Ryser
occupation of the Western Sahara?
By Carlos Ruiz Miguel
Strategic Studies Group
Analysis n. 97, 7 March 2006
Is Morocco the Western Sahara 'administering power' according to United
Nations or is it instead an occupying power? The answer, far from being
purely theoretical, has serious practical, political and economic
consequences. The most immediate would affect nothing less than the
possibility of brokering a fishing agreement on Sahrawi waters. The
ratification of the fishing agreement signed on July 2005 by European
Commission and Morocco is still on process and might result seriously
affected by this answer.
I. The government of Spain misleads the EU regarding the Moroccan status in
the Western Sahara.
Rodríguez Zapatero's government has radically changed Spanish position on
the matter of the Western Sahara. After Franco's death no Spanish government
had qualified Morocco as Western Sahara 'administering power'. However, high
representative officials of the Spanish government have repeatedly insisted
that Morocco is the colony's 'administering power'. Spanish foreign affairs
minister Miguel Ängel Moratinos uttered as many as four times on June 2005
that the Madrid Agreement (the very last act of the Francoist government)
"gave Morocco its quality as administering power recognised by United
Nations". These were on 22 June in the Senate, on 27 June in the Tele 5
channel program 'La Mirada Crítica', on 29 June in the Spanish Congress and
on 7 August in the city of Asilah (Morocco). In turn, Agustín Santos,
Executive Assessor for Parliamentary Matters at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs alluded to the "Moroccan authorities, as the Western Sahara
administering power". He addressed a letter to the spokespersons of the
Asturias pro-Western Sahara parliamentary group as regards their visit to
Laayoun.
These statements have been made by a government that confessed to have
propelled a new fishing agreement between EU and Morocco. This fishing
agreement, in which the European Commission admits the inclusion of Western
Sahara waters, was signed a few weeks after Minister Moratinos' statements.
Obviously, the European Commission has signed this agreement after having
been induced to believe that Morocco definitively is the territory's
administering power.
Is this really so? In my opinion it clearly is not and I would personally be
glad to invite Spanish foreign affairs Minister or any one of his assessor
to a public debate on the issue. Hence, after clarifying the notion of
'administering power' I would like to put forward the following issues:
firstly, that the quality of 'administering power' for the Western Sahara
has only been recognised to Spain; secondly, that the 1975 Madrid Agreement
did not transfer this quality to Morocco; thirdly, that the UN has not
recognised this quality to Morocco but, in contrast, it has been qualified
as occupying power; and fourthly, that precisely because of this, the EU
cannot sign any fishing agreements with Morocco that includes the Western
Sahara waters.
II. The notion of 'administering Power' in International Law.
The United Nations Charter refers, in several articles, to the colonial
powers that hold colonies. In the English version, colonial powers under the
especial regime of the Trusteeship Council are called 'administering
authority', in the French version 'autorité chargé de l'administration'
(articles 84, 87 and 88 of the United Nations Chart). There is no any other
specific denomination for colonial powers apart from the previous ones.
Nonetheless, in the UN resolutions a concept has been introduced to refer to
that type of colonial power, that of 'administering Power' or 'puissance
administrante' in its French version. Thus, in the case of the Western
Sahara, the resolutions that alluded to Spain as 'administering power' (from
resolution 2072 onwards allude to the 'administering Power' or 'puissance
administrante').
The status of 'administering power' entails important juridical
consequences. On the one hand, an administering Power is enabled to rule
over the colonial territory ( i.e. on economic matters). On the other hand,
however, this 'administering power' status also entails 'responsibilities'
and 'obligations'. The article 73 of the United Nations Charter gives
details on these obligations. In any case, the most important obligation is
that of decolonising the territory.
III. Spain, Western Sahara administering Power.
Spain began its last continuous presence in the Western Sahara in 1884. A
few years after its admission in the UN Spain begun to consider officially
the Western Sahara as a 'Non-Self-Governing- Territory', that is, as a
colony. Therefore, it was accountable for a decolonisation process in
accordance with the United Nations Charter. UN specifically recognised Spain
as the Western Sahara 'administering Power'. The first UN general Assembly
resolution that qualified Spain as Western Sahara 'administering Power'
(puissance administrante) was resolution 2072, on 17 December 1965. This
resolution, in its dispositive section, paragraph 2, literally states that
"[The General Assembly] Urgently requests the Government of Spain, as the
administering Power, to take immediately all necessary measures for the
liberation of the Territories of Ifni and Spanish Sahara from colonial
domination"
This quality of Spain as Western Sahara 'administering Power' was reiterated
by several General Assembly subsequent resolutions: resolutions 2229 (20
December 1966), 2354 (19 December 1967), 2428 (27 December 1968), 2591 (16
December 1969), 2711 (14 December 1970), 2983 (14 December 1972) and 3162
(14 December 1973).
First conclusion: Spain was the administering Power when Western Sahara
decolonisation process was initiated.
IV. The Madrid accord did not transfer the quality of 'administering Power'
to Morocco.
On 14 November 1975, six days after Franco's death, Spain signed an
agreement with Morocco and Mauritania. This agreement consisted of a
'political declaration' transmitted to the UN and some secret annexes. The
'Declaration of principles between Spain, Morocco and Mauritania on the
Western Sahara' (official name of what was to be commonly known as the
'Madrid Agreement') says in its two first paragraphs:
"1. Spain confirms its resolve, repeatedly stated in the United Nations, to
decolonize the Territory of Western Sahara by terminating the
responsibilities and powers which it possesses over that Territory as
administering Power.
2. In conformity with the aforementioned determination and in accordance
with the negotiations advocated by the United Nations with the affected
parties, Spain will proceed forthwith to institute a temporary
administration in the Territory, in which Morocco and Mauritania will
participate in collaboration with the Djemaa and to which will be
transferred all the responsibilities and powers referred to in the preceding
paragraph. It is accordingly agreed that two Deputy Governors nominated by
Morocco and Mauritania shall be appointed to assist the Governor-General of
the Territory in the performance of his functions. The termination of the
Spanish presence in the Territory will be completed by February 28, 1976 at
the latest.
It could be inferred from the previous paragraphs that Spain wanted to
abandon its quality of 'administering Power'. Nevertheless, as we shall see,
in Law, not everything that one want is legally possible.
The 'Madrid Agreement' is usually invoked by Morocco as the 'entitlement' of
its presence in the Western Sahara. It was last mentioned in a letter (1)
addressed to the UN General Secretary by the Moroccan Foreign Affairs
Minister (Benaissa). However, a careful analysis of the 'Madrid Agreement'
would reveal that it is highly questionable for different reasons.
Firstly, Spain 'responsibilities and powers' as 'administering Power' were
not transferred to Morocco in that agreement, but to a tripartite entity "in
which Morocco and Mauritania will participate" alongside Spain.
Consequently, it is totally untrue to state that the Madrid Agreement gave
Morocco any quality as 'administering power'. That quality was not given to
Morocco but to a tripartite entity composed by Spain, Morocco and
Mauritania.
Secondly, the tripartite administration assumed 'responsibilities' that
corresponded to Spain. The most important of these responsibilities was to
decolonise the territory through a self-determination referendum as demanded
by UN General Assembly resolutions. Resolution 3458 B, 10 December 1975
reminded it. Since the 'tripartite administration' did not hold the
self-determination referendum the Madrid Agreement failed its main target.
Once the main target stated by its text is not fulfilled, the agreement can
be regarded as invalid.
Thirdly, it would be appropriate to recollect that this 'tripartite
administration' was temporary. Hence, by definition it was to finish at the
very moment in which Spain would abandon the territory, that is, before 28
February 1976. Spain abandoned the territory two days before, on 26 February
1976. This only means that after 26 February 1976 the tripartite
administration came to an end since one of the parties was absent. Moreover,
the agreement did not preview to subrogate the two remaining parts the
rights of the tripartite administration. The delegation of powers that Spain
conceded to the tripartite Administration did not contemplate
sub-delegations. Consequently, after 26 February 1976 the tripartite
Administration ceased to exist and since administration was not
sub-delegable, Morocco and Mauritania ceased as co-administrators of the
territory. Morocco, after 26 February 1976 is neither "administering Power
", nor could even be considered "co-administrator".
The juridical validity of the Madrid accord has been unanimously questioned
by the juridical doctrine. Not only academics advocate its nullity, the UN
under-Secretary General and Legal Counsel Hans Corell has also declared it.
In its transcendental opinion of 29 January 2002 the UN legal advisor
stated:
"The Madrid Agreement did not transfer sovereignty over the territory, nor
did it confer upon any of the signatories the status of an administering
Power - a status which Spain alone could not have unilaterally transferred"
(section 6).
Furthermore, this opinion reminds that
"Morocco however, is not listed as the administering Power of the territory
in the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, and has,
therefore, not transmitted information on the territory in accordance with
Articles 73 (e) of the United Nations Charter" (section 7).
The article 73 compels the administering Power of a colony to transmit
technical and statistical information to the UN.
Second conclusion: the 1975 Madrid Agreement has not transferred the quality
of administering Power 'to Morocco'.
Third conclusion: the transference of the quality of 'administering power'
to the tripartite entity was made for it to assume its 'powers' as well as
its 'responsibilities'. The main responsibility of the tripartite entity
composed by Morocco, Mauritania and Spain was to hold a self-determination
referendum. It is a fact that the tripartite temporary administration did
not carried out this responsibility.
V. United Nations have not considered Morocco as an 'administering Power'
but as an 'occupying Power'.
UN General Assembly resolutions confirmed all former conclusions. Once the
Agreement was signed the resolutions continued considering Spain as the
'administering Power' and Morocco as the 'occupying Power' after checking
that the temporary tripartite administration had not fulfilled its
'responsibilities' on the decolonisation of the territory.
UN General Assembly resolution 3458 B of 10 December 1975 'takes note' of
the Madrid Agreement, but reminds the three parties (interim
administration/administration intérimaire) that they should hold a
referendum, as the unique way to justify that act.
Resolution 3458B admitted the Madrid Agreement only if it led to the
self-determination of the territory. UN General Assembly also adopted
resolution 3458A on the same date, previewing that this might not be the
case. This resolution refers to "Spain, as the administering Power"
(puissance administrante) on two occasions, in section 7 and 8 of its
dispositive section.
Nonetheless, in case this is not enough, after the Madrid Agreement, UN
General Assembly has never used the expression 'administering Power'
referring to Morocco. In addition, it has identified its presence as an
'occupation', as a presence that lacks any juridical entitlement. The
dispositive part of resolution 34/37 of 21 November 1979 gives Moroccan
presence in the territory on three occasions the quality of 'occupation'.
Resolution 35/19 of 11 December 1980 (paragraph 3 and 9 of its dispositive
part) expresses in the same sense.
Fourth conclusion: the unique denomination of the Moroccan presence in the
territory contained in the UN resolutions is that of 'occupying Power'.
VI. UN General Secretary reports do not consider either morocco as the
territory 'administering Power'.
This juridical denomination apparently so clear appears questioned as a
result of General Secretary report S/2000/1029 of 25 October 2000. For first
time the GS referring to Morocco introduces the expression of
'administrative Power' (paragraph 30). Nevertheless, a careful analysis
reveals that nothing has changed. This report does not alter the status that
the General Assembly has given to Morocco. Furthermore, GS reports are
neither a source of International Law nor a juridical instrument able to
modify a resolution disposed by the General Assembly.
The only original version of the report is the English one and the
expression used to refer to Morocco is that of 'administrative Power'
(paragraph 30). That is to say, by mentioning 'administrative' instead of
'administering' care is being taken so as not to alter the denomination made
by the General Assembly. Morocco is therefore not identified as
'administering Power' which is the term used in English to designate the
legally considered entity on charge of administration, but as
'administrative Power'.
This denomination of 'administrative Power' is repeated in report S/2001/148
of 20 February 2001 (paragraph 2 and 22). The only original version of this
report is also the English one. The same happens in the report S/2001/398 of
24 April 2001 (paragraph 19).
From report S/2001/613 of 20 June 2001 onwards, the report on which Plan
Baker I is presented, (paragraph 2 and 42) a small variation appears. On
this occasion the two versions, English and French, are considered original.
While in the English version nothing changes and morocco is still identified
as 'administrative Power' in the French version it is identified as
'puissance administrante'. This means that while in the English version a
different expression is being used to designate 'administering Powers'
('administrative Power' instead of 'administering Power'), in the French
version the same expression is used to refer to 'administrative powers'
('puissance administrante').
This discordance means something. Although in French the same expression is
used, that is not the case in English. This means that, at least, it is not
clear that morocco is the 'administering Power' of territory. Also, the fact
that there is discordance between the English and French versions suggests
that the identification of Morocco as 'administering Power' cannot be
concluded since there is no concordance between the two original versions
(French and English).
In case this is not enough, the Security Council resolution (S/RES/1359, of
29 June 2001) that studies this report does neither adopt nor welcome it and
simply says "having considered the report" ("ayant examiné le rapport"). As
a result, the Security Council has not endorsed the assertions contained in
the report ( i.e. identification of Morocco as the 'administering
Power'/'puissance administrative').
But if there were any doubts, soon they were cleared and there was a return
to the starting point established by the report of 25 October 2000. The next
report in which the Moroccan "administration" is alluded to is report
S/2002/178, of 19 February 2002. But an essential change is produced here:
the only original version of the report is the English one... and the
expression used to refer to Morocco is again that of "administrative Power"
(paragraphs 37 and 38). That is to say, Morocco is not described as
"administering Power" which is the term used in English to designate the
legally considered "administrator" of a Non-Self-Governing Territory.
The use of the expression ("administrative Power") to designate Morocco
instead of "administering power" has necessarily a meaning. Which one? On
the one hand, it alludes to the fact that Morocco has established a de facto
power in the Western Sahara territory by means of an administration.... but,
on the other hand, to suggest that that de facto power of administration has
not been internationally endorsed. Thus, Morocco cannot technically be
considered the Western Sahara 'administering Power'.
Fifth conclusion: Morocco cannot be designated Western Sahara 'administering
power' by virtue of the UN General Secretary reports.
VII. Morocco cannot negotiate over Western Sahara waters.
The fishing agreement signed with Morocco on behalf of the EU by the
European Commission on 28th July 2005 includes the waters of the Western
Sahara. This is confirmed by the own words of the European chief negotiator:
"For his part, the European chief negotiator, César Deben, confirmed that
the agreement includes the Western Sahara waters, not because the Commission
considers them to be Moroccan, but because 'they are under Moroccan
administration', according to the 1975 agreement between Spain and Morocco."
(2)
As we can infer from the chief negotiator words, the Commission has
proceeded with the signing of the agreement under a premise which, according
to previous conclusions, is completely false. This premise states that the
waters of the Western Sahara "are under Moroccan administration", according
to the 1975 agreement between Spain and Morocco. As it has already been
said, neither the agreement of 1975 is "between Spain and Morocco" since it
was also signed with Mauritania, nor did that agreement transferred the
"administration" to Morocco.
If this is true, Morocco cannot, under any circumstances, negotiate over the
waters of the Western Sahara since its presence in this territory lacks any
juridical entitlement. But if Morocco cannot negotiate on the Western Sahara
because it is not the territory administering Power, neither can the EU do
it by virtue of its constituent Treaty. In fact, on the one hand, one of the
principles of the EU is the "Rule of Law" (Preamble and article 6 of the
Treaty on European Union) that forces the EU to not disregard the juridical
status that the UN attributes to Morocco in the Western Sahara. But, also,
on the other hand, the EU in its foreign policy takes on the duty "to
safeguard the common values, fundamental interests, independence and
integrity of the Union in conformity with the principle of the United
Nations Charter (art. 11.1 of the Treaty). One of these principles, as
everyone knows, is that of self-determination.
Taking this premise into account, it does not make sense to speak about the
contingency of including a clause that forces Morocco to foresee "a
compensation to the Sahrawi people" for the use of their territorial waters.
Indeed, the possibility of compensating the Sahrawi people for the use of
their territorial waters is only possible in so far as this compensation
presupposes an agreement signed by the "administering Power" of the
territory.
This kind of compensation seems to be based in article 73 of the United
Nations Charter which states that:
"Members of the United Nations which have or assume responsibilities for the
administration of territories whose peoples have not yet attained a full
measure of self-government recognize the principle that the interests of the
inhabitants of these territories are paramount, and accept as a sacred trust
the obligation to promote to the utmost, within the system of international
peace and security established by the present Charter, the well-being of the
inhabitants of these territories."
However, article 73 talks about the 'administering Powers' of the
non-self-governing territories. But, Morocco happens to not to be the
administering Power of the Western Sahara, and in fact, it never fulfilled
the obligation that article 73.e. assigns to the administering Power:
"To transmit regularly to the Secretary-General for information purposes,
subject to such limitation as security and constitutional considerations may
require, statistical and other information of a technical nature relating to
economic, social, and educational conditions in the territories for which
they are respectively responsible other than those territories to which
Chapters XII and XIII apply".
In case all this is not enough, it would be important to recollect that the
fishing agreement is signed and pretended to be ratified in a moment (years
2005-2006) in which Morocco refuses to hold the self-determination
referendum that all UN resolutions (Commission of Human rights, General
Assembly and Security Council) demand for the colony. It stuns as
contradictory that while the supposed Moroccan "administering Power" status
of the Western Sahara is being put forward to obtain profits from the
territory natural wealth; Morocco refuses to fulfil its international
obligations, especially, the holding of a self-determination referendum.
In this context, the celebration of the fishing agreement with Morocco is
not only a violation of International Law by attributing Morocco a legal
status (that of 'administering Power') that it does not have, but it could
also be understood as an endorsement of Morocco's refusal to fulfil its
international obligations.
Sixth conclusion: since Morocco is not the 'administering Power' it cannot
agree international treaties that affect the Western Sahara.
Seventh conclusion: the European Union, obliged to honour the United Nations
Charter, cannot act contrarily to the principle of free determination of
peoples.
Eighth conclusion: in the current political moment, marked by Morocco's
refusal to fulfil its obligation to hold a self-determination referendum,
the ratification of a fishing agreement with Morocco that includes Western
Sahara waters can only be interpreted as a support to the Moroccan
disobedience policy towards its international obligations.
VIII. Conclusion.
The overall conclusion is evident: Morocco is an 'occupying' power and not
an 'administering' power. Its presence in the Western Sahara is not endorsed
by any juridical entitlement and the 1975 'Madrid Agreement' did not
transfer the status of 'administering Power' to Morocco. In addition,
Morocco displays pretentiously its refusal to fulfil its obligation to hold
a self-determination referendum in the Western Sahara.
The signing of any fishing agreement with Morocco that includes the Western
Sahara propelled by Zapatero's government is an attempt to indirectly bestow
Morocco with something that the UN has not yet granted to it: the Western
Sahara 'administering Power' status. If this is so, the European Union would
have the dubious honour of trying to complete late Francoist government
policy on the Western Sahara. The handing over of the Western Sahara by the
Madrid Agreement was its very last act. That a democratic government wants
to conclude what last Franco's government has left unfinished is something
that should worry everyone.
Carlos Ruiz Miguel is a GEES (Strategic Studies Group) Analyst for the
Maghreb and Constitucional Law.
Notes
(1) A passage of this letter has been distributed by the Morroccan Press
Agency (MAP): http://www.lematin.ma/journal/article.asp?id==natio&ida=W241
(2) Dispatch by the Agency Europa Press on 28 July 2005:
http://www.europapress.es/europa2003/noticia.aspx?cod=
050728190110&tabID==1&ch=i
________________________________________________________
Full report in PDF format: http://www.gees.org/english/pdf/2232
For further background, see also:
- EU Observer: Commission under fire over Morocco fisheries agreement, Fri
Mar 10, 2006: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sahara-Update/message/1706
- afrol News: Fight over legality of EU fisheries in Western Sahara,
Thu Mar 9, 2006: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sahara-Update/message/1704
- Letter from US Congress members: EU fisheries in Western Sahara is a
violation of international law, Wed Mar 1, 2006:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sahara-Update/message/1700
________________________________________________________
Forwarded by:
The Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara
*** Humanitarian aid to the Saharawi refugees NOW! ***
wsa...@online.no
________________________________________________________
Tip: search the message archive by key words, poster or date at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sahara-Update/messages
SPONSORED LINKS Humanitarian organizations Sahara
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Boris Ryser
Saeed Taji Farouky
6 - 3 - 2006
Thirty years since the declaration of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
the people of this "non-country" are still waiting for peaceful independence
and expecting war. Saeed Taji Farouky joins a grim anniversary celebration.
"From children to adults," says Mohammad Ali, "everyone will tell you they
want war."
We are in Tifariti, a collection of municipal buildings in the western
extreme of the Sahara desert, hundreds of kilometres from the nearest city.
We are supposed to be celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the
declaration of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), for which the
Polisario Front, which runs the SADR, has brought more than five hundred
foreign journalists, aid workers, artists and others here to mark the
occasion. But the mood is not festive.
Three decades on, SADR is still a non-country in most senses. The guerrilla
war against Morocco may have ended in ceasefire in 1991, but the diplomatic
effort to settle its status is stalled. Morocco has made little progress
towards the referendum demanded by the United Nations and now the
frustration is palpable.
Mohammad Ali is a Sahrawi serving in the Polisario's armed forces. He was
careful to say that his quarrel was not with the people of Morocco but their
government, but he was clear that he would rather die than live under
Moroccan rule.
The same note of gloomy resolution could be heard in the background through
all the celebrations and the solidarity speeches here around the key date of
27 February. The Sahrawi people are dismayed by what they see as the
international community's flagging efforts to address their claims, and they
feel time is running out.
The state they live in is a curious entity. Along its eastern borders lie
Algeria and Mauritania, while to the west is an immense 2,500 km wall of
sand built by the Moroccans during the war. Not acknowledged as a country by
the United Nations, it is nevertheless recognised by more than seventy
countries worldwide, and by the African Union.
It has an elected president, prime minister and local representatives, but
their legitimacy extends only as far as the Security Council allows it. On
the ground, it is still little more than a collection of refugee camps,
reliant on UN food aid and at the mercy of the harsh Saharan climate.
In his address at the anniversary celebrations, President Mohammad Abdelaziz
expressed the mood of the camps. "Following fifteen years of peace efforts,
it has become evident that Morocco's refusal to fulfil its own commitment .
is the main cause for the current stalemate facing the settlement process,"
he said. "We would like to warn that the situation is becoming more
difficult and dangerous."
There is no doubt that Morocco has continually stalled on the question of a
referendum, but there is more to this than tensions between the Polisario
and Morocco.
Mohammad Uthman is married to an Algerian national and so is entitled to
live in Algeria, but instead he and his wife live here as refugees and are
determined to continue doing so until they have an independent Sahrawi
state. To Uthman the idea of autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is
unacceptable.
This is not, however, the official line of the Polisario, which three years
ago accepted the so-called Baker Plan, envisaging autonomy under Morocco,
albeit with a referendum on full independence after five years. Uthman has
no truck with that. "Either full independence, or martyrdom for our people,"
he says.
The official line of the Polisario - accustomed to being branded terrorists
by Moroccan authorities - stresses the commitment, thus far, to the
diplomatic path. "The choice of the Sahrawi to follow the path of peace
stems from their peaceful nature and their political conviction that
underpins their state," the president declared in his address.
Polisario representatives have even gone so far as to accept the idea that
Moroccan settlers could vote in an independence referendum. "We are sure the
Moroccan settlers are going to support an independent Sahrawi state,"
explains Mohammad Liman, a Polisario representative in the UK. "These
Moroccans can compare the difference between a democratic state and a
dictatorial state."
This is not as unlikely as it seems. Toby Shelley, author of End Game in the
Western Sahara, believes there is considerable frustration even amongst
Moroccan settlers in the Western Sahara. Moroccan fisherman, initially
invited by their government to settle with the offer of lucrative fishing
rights, have since been abandoned by that very same government.
"Having completely over-fished their own waters," he explained, "the
Moroccans are now proceeding to do so in Sahrawi waters, to the extent that
they are actually chucking out tens of thousands of their own settlers who
were brought in to fish Sahrawi reserves."
Then there is the possibility of offshore oil, in waters claimed by Morocco
but recognised as a non-self-governing territory by the UN. In the past, a
number of European and American companies signed oil exploration licences
with Morocco, but following international pressure only one remains.
Kerr-McGee, a company based in Oklahoma City, and its partners Pioneer and
Kosmos, cite in their defence the findings of UN Under-Secretary-General for
Legal Affairs Hans Corell, that "the specific contracts are not, in
themselves, illegal". Corell went on to say, however, that any further
exploration or exploitation "would be in violation of the principles of
international law".
It is a fine line, and one that Kerr-McGee continues to tread despite
mounting pressure from Sahrawi advocacy groups. A company spokesman said
they were continuing to evaluate data and could not speculate on future
activity. ONHYM, Morocco's state oil and gas company, continues to allow
exploration in what they refer to as their Southern Provinces, saying the
SADR representatives "have no legal authority as far as the political
solution is still pending".
The Polisario's view, in contrast, is that both exploration and drilling are
violations of international law, and they have begun issuing licences of
their own, the validity of which depends on settling the political conflict.
On the question of active drilling under Moroccan licences, the Polisario
can only hint at the possible consequences. "We are not terrorists, but we
prefer to advise them that we cannot guarantee their safety," explains
Mohammad Liman.
Lately the Polisario has implied a willingness to resume hostilities if a
diplomatic solution is not reached soon. It is clear that both the
government and people are prepared for this, but what is not so clear is
whether Algeria would tolerate a return to violence, and there is doubt as
to whether the Polisario has the capacity to sustain another full-scale war.
Their demands, consequently, have shifted ever so slightly from Morocco to
the United Nations, and more recently to an international network of
activists and NGOs. Citing "renewed Moroccan intransigence which,
unfortunately, remains unpunished by the international community", the
Polisario continues to push the moral case for independence, hoping that
international pressure will eventually break the deadlock.
In 2004 they received an unexpected boost when the United States broke its
silence on the issue when drafting a free trade agreement with Morocco. In
the agreement, US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick stated, "the United
States and many other countries do not recognise Moroccan sovereignty over
Western Sahara and have consistently urged the parties to work with the
United Nations to resolve the conflict by peaceful means. The Free Trade
Agreement will not include Western Sahara."
Even if the Polisario continues to adhere to this glacial-paced diplomacy
and to the principles of the Baker Plan, there is no guarantee that the
Sahrawi people will follow suit. The fear is that a radical section of the
Polisario will emerge to challenge the diplomatic efforts, and this will be
enough to tip the region once again into war.
The longer the stalemate continues, the more volatile the situation becomes.
As Liman puts it: "The youngest Sahrawi people are frustrated. Enough is
enough. From 1991 until now, from the cease-fire until now, we respect it
and we cooperate with the United Nations . day after day after day. What are
we waiting for?"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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openDemocracy.net under a Creative Commons Licence. If you enjoyed this
article, visit openDemocracy.net for more.
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Source:
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PDF version: http://www.opendemocracy.net/content/articles/PDF/3327.pdf
Boris Ryser
Press Release, 17 March 2006
Successful Conclusion of the 2005 Western Sahara Licensing Oil and Gas
Initiative
Following a competitive bidding round and subsequent discussions with
successful applicants, the Government of the Saharawi Arab Democratic
Republic ('SADR') is pleased to formally announce that it has entered into
separate agreements with international oil and gas companies to participate
in the exploration of its sovereign territory.
The agreements entered into conform to oil industry standards, are
comparable with those utilised in adjacent territories and importantly
follow accepted International legal principles and UN guidelines with
respect to non-self governing territories.
The SADR is a full member of the African Union and is recognised as the
sovereign authority for the territory referred to as Western Sahara. Western
Sahara is, similar to East Timor's previous status, classed as a non self
governing territory by the UN, reflecting the fact that a referendum on
self-determination following decolonisation has not occurred.
The following license awards have been made:
License Area Company Interest (%)
Daora Ophir Energy Company Ltd 50.0%
Premier Oil (SADR) Limited 50.0%
Haouza Ophir Energy Company Ltd 50.0%
Premier Oil (SADR) Limited 50.0%
Mahbes Ophir Energy Company Ltd 50.0%
Premier Oil (SADR) Limited 50.0%
Bir Lehlou Europa Oil & Gas plc 100.0%
Hagounia Europa Oil & Gas plc 100.0%
Mijek Ophir Energy Company Ltd 50.0%
Premier Oil (SADR) Limited 50.0%
Bojador Maghreb Exploration Limited 33 1/3%
Osceola Hydrocarbon Limited 33 1/3%
Nighthawk Energy Limited 33 1/3%
Laguera Encore Oil Plc 100.0%
Guelta Comet Petroleum (SADR) Ltd 100.0%
The locations of the respective licenses are available on:
www.sadroilandgas.com
The SADR Petroleum Authority has in addition invited applications for
exploration licenses as part of an onshore licensing initiative. Details of
the acreage available and the licensing process are available from our
website ( www.sadroilandgas.com).
Emhamed Khadad, advisor to the SADR President, comments
"This licensing initiative has been undertaken in preparation for full
independence and the assertion of control by the Saharawi people over the
resources of our country.
The licensing and contractual framework under which these agreements have
been awarded has been carefully designed to ensure competitiveness with
surrounding regimes and includes industry standard principles. This approach
demonstrates the progressive aims of the SADR Government to engage with
international partners in the development of our country.
The SADR Government is delighted by the response from the international
companies to its first license offering. We are particularly encouraged by
the long term interest declared by many other companies and welcome their
involvement in the fullness of time"
Contact:
KAMAL FADEL
SADR Petroleum Authority
+44 7796553789
in...@sadroilandgas.com
Boris Ryser
SADR/MOROCCO/OCCUPIED TERRITORIES/VISIT
The visit of Mohamed VI to the Western Sahara "aggravates the tension"
in the region, the Saharawi Government warns
Bir Lehlu, 19/03/2006 (SPS)
The visit planed to the Western Sahara by the Moroccan king, Mohamed
VI, "aggravates the tension and seriously threatens the regional
security", the Saharawi Government warned in a press release
publicised Sunday by the Ministry of the Occupied Territories and
Communities.
"The Saharawi Government, which saved no effort to preserve the
cease-fire and establish a climate of serenity that can help to the
decolonisation of its country, consider the Moroccan Government as
accountable for the consequences that may result from this act", the
press release warned.
The visit of Mohamed VI to the occupied zones of the Western Sahara,
the 4th of the kind since his succession to the throne in 1999, was
officially announced this Sunday by Rabat, while the Medias talked
about the visit for a week.
The Saharawi executive estimated that this visit proves that the
Moroccan Government "persists in its intransigence and its rebellion
against the international community to opt for a dangerous escalade"
the press release underlined.
It compared the plan of the king of Morocco to "a violation to the
cease-fire", which "threats of a possible resuming to war, in addition
to the fact that Morocco is despising the international legality,
multiplying the provocations instead of respecting the UN's Security
Council's resolutions".
Concerning the preparative preceding the visit, which "suspended the
process of the family visits exchange between the Saharawis separated
for the last 30 years by the Moroccan military wall".
The Saharawi Government indicated that Morocco moved "its repressive
machine towards the occupied cities of the Western Sahara, so as to
reinforce the security and Medias blockage not only on Saharawis but
also in front of the international independent observers".
The Government finally called on the UN's Security Council to "condemn
this provocation", to "denounce this new aggression", to "protect the
Saharawi citizens" and to "guarantee their fundamental freedoms",
knowing that they are "submitted to a state of siege and exposed to a
campaign of arrests, abductions and judicial persecutions, within the
framework of the visit of the King to his colony". (SPS)
10/090/100/TRD 191855 Mars 06 SPS
________________________________________________________
Source: http://www.spsrasd.info/sps-e190306.html#7
________________________________________________________
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Boris Ryser
March 20, 2006
By Andnetwork .com
Morocco's King Mohammed VI was Monday to begin a five-day visit to
Western Sahara, his third trip to the contested desert region claimed
by rebels as a separatist state.
The visit, highlights of which include the inauguration of several
infrastructure aid projects, comes a month before Morocco presents a
proposal on Western Sahara's status at the United Nations.
The United Nations has sought to settle the dispute over Western
Sahara, a resource-rich former Spanish colony on Africa's northwestern
coast, which was annexed by Morocco in 1976. Rabat's claim is
contested by the Polisario Front, an Algerian-backed
independence movement.
Morocco dismissed the last UN proposal, in 2003, for a five-year
period of autonomy followed by a self-determination referendum in
Western Sahara the so-called Baker Plan named after US former
secretary of state James Baker, who threw in the towel in June 2004
expressing his frustration over lack of progress.
During his last visit there in 2002, Mohammed VI announced that
Morocco would "not give up one inch of its Saharan territory, which is
inalienable and indivisible".
However he has said that Morocco supports a "negotiated political
solution" giving the region a large degree of autonomy but keeping it
under Moroccan flag.
Earlier in March all Moroccan political parties represented in
parliament were invited to submit their views to the king on the
regional autonomy plan for the "southern provinces".
The king is due to visit Western Sahara's main city, El Ayoun, then
make a first-ever stop in Boujdour, a coastal city some 180 kilometers
(110 miles) to the south where a major port is under construction,
official sources told AFP.
Source : Sapa
________________________________________________________
Source:
http://www.andnetwork.com/app?service=direct/1/Home/$StorySummary$0.$DirectLink$1&sp=l25202
________________________________________________________
For further background, see also:
- Mon March 20, 2006, SPS: The visit of Mohamed VI to the Western
Sahara "aggravates the tension" in the region, the Saharawi Government
warns: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sahara-Update/message/1711
- March 20, 2006, Africatime: Le roi Mohammed VI du Maroc au Sahara
occidental cinq jours ["King Mohammed VI of Morocco on a five- day
visit to the Sahara"]:
http://www.africatime.com/afrique/nouvelle.asp?no_nouvelle=245841
- March 20, Cadena SER: Mohamed VI viaja al Sáhara para reivindicar la
soberanía marroquí. El monarca llega a El Aaiún el martes. ["Mohammed
VI travels to the Sahara to assert Moroccan sovereignty. The monarch
arrives in El Aaiun on Tuesday"]:
http://www.cadenaser.com/articulo/internacional/Mohamed/VI/viaja/Sahara/reivindicar/soberania/marroqui/csrcsrpor/20060320csrcsrint_2/Tes/
________________________________________________________
Forwarded by:
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*** Humanitarian aid to the Saharawi refugees NOW! ***
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________________________________________________________
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Boris Ryser
The Irish Times
March 21, 2006 Tuesday
SECTION: WORLD; Other World Stories; Pg. 9
European Diary/Jamie Smyth: A political storm that has been brewing in the
waters off the north coast of Africa for almost a year is set to engulf
Brussels sometime over the next few weeks. At stake is a controversial EUR
144 million fisheries deal agreed by the EU and Morocco last year.
The deal provides Europe's hard up fishermen with a new annual quota of
60,000 tonnes of fish from Moroccan waters for a period of four years. Irish
fishermen would benefit from an extra 6,000 tonnes quota of pelagics, which
are fish species such as mackerel and sardines.
But in several EU states there is a growing opposition to the deal, which
campaigners allege tramples over the rights of the Saharawi people of
Western Sahara - a former Spanish colony in north Africa that was illegally
annexed by Morocco in 1976.
"I am extremely critical of the proposed agreement, which - in my opinion
and that of my political group, the Greens - is illegal because of its
inclusion of the Western Sahara," says British MEP Caroline Lucas. "It is
putting profit before principle."
Western Sahara is a mainly desert area in northwest Africa sandwiched
between Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania. Its coastal waters are abundant
with fish and may also contain lucrative offshore oil deposits.
When its former colonial ruler Spain withdrew in 1976 both Morocco and
Mauritania invaded the territory claiming it as their own against the wishes
of the indigenous nomadic Saharans, known as the Saharawi people.
The invasion occurred despite a declaration by the International Court of
Justice in 1975 that the people of Western Sahara have the right to
self-determination.
The Saharawi, who had formed their own political organisation called the
Polisario in 1973, later fought a guerrilla war against the Moroccans
(Mauritania withdrew in 1978) until 1991 when a UN brokered ceasefire was
announced.
The UN peace plan involved setting up a referendum in the territory to
decide if Western Sahara should integrate with Morocco or become an
independent state.
The referendum has never taken place due to disputes with Morocco over
whether its settlers in the territory are entitled to vote, leaving 150,000
Saharawi people languishing in limbo in refugee camps in neighbouring
Algeria for the past 30 years.
"These are the hottest refugee camps in the world, places where people are
living in tents and mud buildings," says Nick Dearden, senior campaigns
officer at the British charity War on Want, who believes the EU-Morocco deal
is a misappropriation of Saharawi resources.
"All we are asking for is the insertion of a specific clause in the
agreement that states this it does not include Western Sahara waters," says
Dearden, who published details of a leaked opinion by the European
Parliament legal service on the deal yesterday.
This concludes that the EU fisheries agreement - which does not even mention
Western Sahara - will enable EU fishermen to fish in its territorial waters.
However, it says this does not necessarily mean the deal is illegal because
Morocco may use the money generated from the fisheries deal to benefit the
people of Western Sahara.
"It depends upon how the agreement will be implemented," concludes the
parliament's legal opinion.
The commission strongly defends its deal, which fisheries commissioner Dr
Joe Borg says is in conformity with international law and with the legal
opinion of the UN.
"Considering that Morocco is a de facto administrative authority of Western
Sahara, it is the obligation of the Moroccan side to take all the
appropriate measures to ensure the full application of the Fisheries
Partnership Agreement in accordance with its obligations under international
law," says Dr Borg's official spokeswoman.
But campaigners believe that Morocco has no plans to honour a verbal
commitment to use a portion of the cash generated from the deal to improve
the conditions of the Saharawi people.
"It is extremely unlikely that this deal would benefit the Saharawi people
because it will go to support the fishing industry in Morocco, which is
mainly controlled by Moroccan generals and in Western Sahara by Moroccan
settlers," says Nick Dearden.
"At most it would benefit a handful of Western Saharan fishermen and not the
Saharawi people in exile."
Diplomats from Sweden and Britain are increasingly concerned about the
proposed deal as it comes closer to implementation. "We are asking our own
legal services to review this deal to see if this deal is to the benefit of
the Western Sahara people," says Robin Rosenkranz, a Swedish diplomat in
Brussels. "We haven't decided to vote against it yet, but we are going to
make sure the agreement conforms to international law . . . I wouldn't erase
the risk of this deal attracting a blocking minority when it is voted on by
the council."
Surprisingly, the Irish Government - which has for years promoted the rights
of the Saharawi people - is taking a back seat in this controversial
fisheries debate at the EU.
"Ireland's basic approach to the issue of the EU-Morocco fishing agreement
has been that the deal should not infringe the position held by Ireland and
the EU on the status of the Western Sahara," said an Irish diplomat, who
stressed that this decision had nothing to do with the additional quota for
Irish fishermen.
"The Government will be examining the draft agreement for its conformity
with international law."
Negotiations on the deal will continue next week and a vote is expected at
the council of fisheries ministers meeting next month. The Saharawi people
will no doubt watch with interest.
________________________________________________________
Source (subscription):
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/world/2006/0321/1203613558FR21EUDIARY.html
________________________________________________________
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*** Humanitarian aid to the Saharawi refugees NOW! ***
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Boris Ryser
Assistant secretary affirms support for U.N. resolutions on Western Sahara
20 March 2006
(U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR NEAR EASTERN AFFAIRS AND NORTH AFRICA
C. DAVID WELCH'S PRESS CONFERENCE ON MARCH 14)
[...]
Welch also reaffirmed the United States' support for U.N. resolutions aimed
at resolving the Western Sahara dispute between Algeria and Morocco.
Algeria supports the exiled Polisario Front in opposition to Moroccan
administration of the territory. The U.N. Security Council has called for a
referendum on self-determination among the residents of Western Sahara.
[...]
Following is the transcript of Welch's remarks:
[...]
Journalist (as translated): You just mentioned that you have dealt with the
Western Sahara question when you met the Algerian leaders. I would like to
know if the United States [is] still supporting the Baker plan to settle the
Western Sahara issue.
Assistant Secretary Welch: This subject was discussed in all my meetings. I
believe it's important to listen to the Algerian viewpoint on this issue.
As you know, this matter has been discussed in the United Nations. Last
year, I visited Morocco and I had the chance to listen to their views. I've
also met with the Special Representative of the Secretary General,
Ambassador Van Walsum; and of course, as a permanent member of the Security
Council, the United States is constantly attentive to this issue. We tried
in the past to support all international efforts to resolve this matter in
the context of the UN resolutions. We believe that it is important for the
security and the stability of the area to reach a solution.
[...]
________________________________________________________
Source:
http://usinfo.state.gov/mena/Archive/2006/Mar/20-368529.html?chanlid=mena
________________________________________________________
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*** Humanitarian aid to the Saharawi refugees NOW! ***
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________________________________________________________
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Boris Ryser
Depressing lessons in realpolitik from the Western Sahara.
By Carne Ross
Posted Tuesday, March 21, 2006, at 6:59 AM ET
TINDOUF, Algeria-If any part of you wants to believe that the world is
fundamentally just, that wrongs are eventually righted, and that those of us
in the West are fair and righteous in the way we treat other countries and
cultures, consider the story of the people of Western Sahara. Their history
proves that you can have right wholly on your side, international law
emphatically in support of your cause, be on the agenda of the U.N. Security
Council for decades, and still be ignored.
In 1975, Morocco invaded the former Spanish colony of the Western Sahara. A
long and inconclusive guerrilla war followed. The Polisario Front, which
represents the people of the Western Sahara known as the Sahrawis, was
supported by Algeria. Morocco was supported by France, the United States,
and other major powers.
At the cease-fire in 1991, Morocco declared that it would accept a
U.N.-supervised referendum on the status of the territory, as an earlier
ruling of the International Court of Justice required. At last, the Sahrawis
would decide their own future. The United Nations set up a commission to run
the referendum. The U.N. Security Council passed scores of resolutions over
the years that followed supporting a referendum. But thanks to perpetual
obstruction by Morocco, the vote never took place. The United Nations'
commission to run the referendum-called MINURSO-still exists, at a cost of
nearly $50 million a year. Today, there seems less chance than ever that
there will be a vote.
When Morocco first invaded, hundreds of thousands of Sahrawis were driven
from the territory. The Polisario Front set up refugee camps in the far
southwestern corner of Algeria near the town of Tindouf. Home to some
150,000 refugees, the camps' orderliness and the industry of the inhabitants
is striking. The rows of huts and tents are tidy; women and children attend
classes. But visitors cannot escape the deep sense of despair and
frustration. There are middle-aged people who were born here but have never
seen their homeland. Recently the camps, which lie deep in the western
reaches of the Sahara desert, were devastated by floods ( see this map). To
the rest of the world, out of sight is out of mind.
Geography is one reason the Western Sahara is ignored. The suffering of the
Sahrawis lies a long, awkward, and expensive journey away, in a
country-Algeria-that most Western countries have long warned against
visiting because of its own bloody civil war. Reaching the occupied
territory itself is even more difficult, thanks to restrictions placed by
the Moroccan authorities, who are no doubt reluctant to publicize the recent
wave of Sahrawi demonstrations and consequent arrests (described in a recent
Amnesty International report). They have also blocked access to Web
sites-such as www.arso.org-that cover events in the territory.
"Where's the story?" editors demand of journalists seeking the expensive
plane fare to visit Tindouf. And where indeed is the story, except in the
tedious, endless denial of justice to an entire population. With no bombs,
only occasional killings (a Sahrawi demonstrator was recently beaten to
death by the Moroccan police), and an appalling lack of diplomatic action,
the story, though rich in tragedy, lacks the immediate drama required to
propel it to the front pages.
The attention we give to blood and destruction also helps keep the story off
the news agenda. Since the 1991 cease-fire, the Polisario have forsworn
violence as a means to further their cause. The Polisario's leaders know
that if they were to resume guerrilla action, the Moroccans would be quick
to cry terrorism in order to turn their powerful allies against them. Eager
for the simplicity of "us" against the "terrorists," the world's press would
almost certainly play along. But the paradox of an ugly world is here very
evident: Without bloodshed, no one pays any attention to the Polisario. For
all the celebration of the nonviolence of Mandela or Gandhi or King, in the
real world pacifism has brought the Polisario virtually nothing.
If you talk to diplomats covering Western Sahara, almost all will admit that
right is on the Sahrawis' side. The U.N. special envoy recently told the
Security Council that the law clearly favors the Sahrawis. But this means
nothing, when, in terms of realpolitik, Morocco has all the countries that
matter in its camp. Morocco is a loyal U.S. ally in the war against
terrorism (including, allegedly, torturing suspects at Washington's behest).
It is equally staunch in fighting illegal immigration into Europe. Morocco
is the jumping-off point for many African would-be emigrants, who
desperately try to cross the Mediterranean or battle their way into the
Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. To demonstrate its helpfulness,
Morocco has begun to dump the migrants it captures into the minefields
beyond the fortified sand barrier known as " the berm" that protects its
occupation in the Western Sahara. Some have died.
At the United Nations, there is much hand-wringing about finding a "mutually
acceptable" solution to the "dispute," which is, in reality, an occupation.
But nothing is done. Morocco has sat tight, watched U.N. envoys come and go,
and successfully fooled the world into thinking it a "reforming" Arab
government. Meanwhile, it suppresses democracy at home and remains in
illegal occupation of someone else's land. It has exploited the mineral
wealth of the territory and is now in the process of selling-
illegally-rights to fish the Western Sahara's waters to the European Union,
which is happy to preach about justice and international law in places where
it costs nothing to do so.
This is the ultimate and depressing lesson of the Western Sahara. Whatever
anyone tells you about "values" such as democracy or rights being the
organizing principles of Western diplomacy, the world is still run according
to the dismal calculus of "interests" and realpolitik. Morocco is with us,
so the Sahrawis can go to hell. And, frankly, hell is a pretty accurate
description of those refugee camps in the Sahara.
Carne Ross is a former British diplomat and director of Independent
Diplomat, a nonprofit group that is advising the Sahrawi Arab Democratic
Republic, the government-in-exile of the Sahrawi people.
Copyright 2006 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC
________________________________________________________
Source: http://www.slate.com/id/2137825/
________________________________________________________
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Boris Ryser
CPJ calls on Moroccan king to probe government-organized protests against
magazine
New York, March 17, 2006 - In a letter today CPJ called on Morocco's King
Muhammad VI to investigate claims that the authorities played a role in
organizing demonstrations against the magazine Le Journal Hebdomadaire for
publishing a photograph of a French newspaper showing some of the Danish
cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
March 17, 2006
His Majesty King Muhammad VI
The Royal Palace Rabat
The Kingdom of Morocco
By facsimile: 011-212-37 76 85 15
Your Majesty:
The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by evidence that
Moroccan authorities played a role in organizing demonstrations against the
magazine Le Journal Hebdomadaire for publishing a photograph of a French
newspaper showing some of the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. These
state-orchestrated protests placed the lives of the entire staff of the
Casablanca-based weekly at risk, yet the government has failed to launch a
credible investigation or call those responsible to account.
Le Journal suffered this harassment after the February 11 publication of an
Agence France-Presse photograph showing a reader holding the edition of the
Paris daily France Soir which reproduced the cartoons. The drawings were
barely visible but to avoid controversy Le Journal inked out the cartoon. Le
Journal published the photograph as part of a 10-page chronology of events
that followed the publication of the drawings in the Danish daily
Jyllands-Posten.
Le Journal publisher Aboubakr Jamai told CPJ that on February 15, police set
up an area for protesters outside Le Journal's offices. Le Journal reported
that several minibuses with "J" license plates, which signify they belong to
the Casablanca city government, brought about a hundred people to
demonstrate. Reporters and photographers at the scene witnessed people they
identified as municipal employees giving the crowd placards and Moroccan
flags. Photographs of the vehicles and municipal employees were taken by Le
Journal and several other independent publications, including the
Arabic-language dailies Ahdath Al-Maghribiya and As-Sabah. Le Journal
accused the Interior Ministry, which oversees the Casablanca local
government, of organizing the protests.
Municipal employees used loudspeakers to shout slogans against the
publications, according to the witnesses. Several people in the crowd told
journalists that they were brought by the municipal authorities. One woman
told Le Journal reporters that she had come because she had been informed
that the municipality would reward her but she had no idea what the protest
was about.
The following day, demonstrators appeared in front of the premises of the
magazine's printer in Casablanca. They were again organized by local
authorities and brought to the printer in municipal vehicles, according to
Le Journal's published report. The magazine identified several civil
servants openly participating in the demonstrations. Protesters interviewed
by the magazine and other newspapers said that they had been brought there
by the ministry of interior.
State-run television stations 2M and TVM broadcast footage of hundreds of
demonstrators shouting slogans against the magazine on both occasions. 2M
accused the magazine of "running against public opinion by taking up
positions against the sacred values of our country."
Nabil Benabdellah, Minister of Communication, denied the government played
any part in the demonstrations against Le Journal. But we believe that the
evidence suggests otherwise.
Over the years Le Journal Hebdomadaire and its sister publication, Assahifa
al-Ousbouiya, have been harassed by the government for their reporting on
corruption, corporate impropriety, and sensitive political matters. In 2000,
Moroccan authorities banned editions of both publications when Le Journal
Hebdomadaire published an interview with Muhammad Abdelaziz, leader of the
Polisario Front rebel movement, which has been fighting Morocco for the
independence of Western Sahara since the 1970s. Recently a Moroccan court
awarded record damages against the magazine in a libel suit that could put
it out of business.
We are alarmed by the government's failure to explain why municipal vehicles
were used to bring protesters to the magazine and why municipal employees
and other civil servants organized the demonstrations. We are concerned that
the government has used popular indignation at the publication in Europe of
these cartoons as a pretext to harass these publications because of their
critical reporting.
As an independent organization of journalists dedicated to defending press
freedom worldwide, CPJ calls on Your Majesty to demonstrate your commitment
to the ideals of a free press and immediately launch a full and open
investigation into this apparent state attack on an independent magazine.
The failure to hold those responsible to account would suggest your
government's tolerance of threats and intimidation against the media.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to
your reply.
Ann Cooper
Executive Director
---------------------------------------------------------
CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit
http://www.cpj.org.
---------------------------------------------------------
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Send similar appeals to King Muhammad VI:
- requesting that he demonstrate his commitment to the ideals of a free
press by immediately launching a full and open investigation into this
apparent state attack on an independent magazine
APPEALS TO:
His Majesty King Muhammad VI
The Royal Palace , Rabat
The Kingdom of Morocco
Fax: +212 37 76 85 15
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit
http://www.cpj.org.
MORE INFORMATION:
For further information, contact Joel Campagna (x103) or Ivan Karakashian
(x104) at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465
1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail: mid...@cpj.org, jcam...@cpj.org,
iv...@cpj.org; Internet: http://www.cpj.org
**Updates IFEX alerts of 20, 17 and 15 February 2006**
---------------------------------------------------------
PREVIOUS ALERT(S):
- Unfair trial proceedings against weekly fuel CPJ's suspicion that record
damages awarded are "politically-motivated"
- Fines deal potentially fatal blow to "Le Journal Hebdomadaire"
- RSF appeals for calm as angry demonstrators mob "Le Journal Hebdomadaire"
over controversial cartoons
- Moroccan newspaper says it is a victim of state-organized protests, Syrian
journalist arrested over cartoons
________________________________________________________
Source: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/73033/
Boris Ryser
please find below and attached the first Sahara Analysis of 2006. My
apologies for the 2 month gap! normal service will now be resumed. May I
draw your attention to the website www.fishelsewhere.org, which is the place
to keep up to date on the fisheries campaign. This is coming to a head in
the next few weeks and there is a real chance of a positive outcome for
Western Sahara - please take action!
yours
Tim
March 2006 SAHARA ANALYSIS Number 51
Fisheries coming to the crunch
"Fish Elsewhere"
A confrontation over fishing rights is imminent as Morocco's ability to
profit from its occupation of Western Sahara is put to the test in the
European Parliament. As covered in Sahara Analysis 47, the European
Commission signed a Fisheries Partnership Agreement (FPA) with Morocco last
year which contains inadequate safeguards against illegal EU fishing in
Western Sahara's waters. The Agreement could also see the EU funding
development projects for illegal Moroccan settlers in the territory.
Previous agreements, the last of which expired in 1999, saw illegal
exploitation of the fisheries off the coast of Western Sahara by EU boats.
The FPA will soon be voted on by the European Parliament. On Friday 17th
March, the UK parliament debated the FPA, following work by MPs Jeremy
Corbyn and David Drew: Ben Bradshaw, Fisheries Minister, represented the
government. He said that the government would not support the agreement if
it felt it prejudiced the peace process, and echoed Jack Straw's comment on
his visit to Morocco in February that "The search for a solution (to the
conflict in Western Sahara) must be done within the framework of the
resolutions of the UN Security Council". This is better than leaving the
issue to France and Spain to cook up a deal, but says nothing about wringing
some real action out of the Council... But he added that he was concerned
that Saharawis still living in Western Sahara would not benefit and that he
had "asked the Commission to study and respond to War on Want's evidence as
a matter of urgency" .
Meanwhile, campaigners from 19 European countries have come together under
the banner of "Fish Elsewhere" to call on Members of the European Parliament
and the EU's member states to specifically prohibit EU vessels from fishing
in the waters of the Western Sahara. Nick Dearden, Campaigns Officer from
War on Want, said: "In the very year in which the Saharawi people
commemorate 30 years spent in refugee camps, the EU is signing an Agreement
which will allow European countries to profit from their misery. We are
calling on the EU to amend this Agreement, which in its current state
violates the policy of EU member states and the EU itself." Carlos Wilson
from Western Sahara Resources Watch said: "If the United States can preclude
Western Sahara from its Free Trade Agreement, there is no excuse for the EU
failing to make a similar preclusion . It's about time the EU put its
resources into solving this conflict, not inflaming it." See
www.fishelsewhere.org for more info.
European Parliament - Legal Opinion
The European Parliament's Legal Opinion has now been published. It notes
that Spain is still legally the administering power in Western Sahara,
confirming that Moroccan rule over any part of the territory has no basis in
law. It then echoes campaigners' fears that "the text of the Agreement is
not sufficiently clear as to the territorial area of its application"
(parag. 34). It would therefore seem logical to amend the text to be
clearer - which is what the "Fish Elsewhere" campaign calls for. However,
it holds back from this, calling only for the implementation of the
agreement to be closely monitored and suspended if necessary. This inaction
is justified with the statement that "it cannot be prejudged that Morocco
will not comply with its obligations in international law vis-à-vis the
people of Western Sahara" (parag 45b, page 9).. Such a statement is hard to
take seriously given Morocco's consistent and flagrant disregard for these
obligations over the last 30 years of illegal occupation.
Oil: 8 companies sign agreement with SADR
Eight oil companies, including Premier Oil, Ophir Energy and Europa Oil &
Gas, have signed agreements on the future exploitation of Western Sahara's
oil with the SADR government. This is the conclusion of the oil licensing
round began on 17th May 2005 in London. An SADR statement notes that the
agreements "importantly follow accepted International legal principles and
UN guidelines with respect to non-self governing territories." For more
info: www.sadroilandgas.com.
SADR 30th Anniversary
The 30th anniversary of the proclamation of the Saharawi Arab Democratic
Republic was celebrated at Tifariti in the liberated territories of Western
Sahara, on February 27th, in the presence of international observers from
scores of countries. Messages of support from the African Union and member
states were received, including the ANC in South Africa. The SADR was
admitted into the African Union (then the Organisation of African Unity) in
1984, prompting Morocco to quit the organisation. Morocco remains outside
the AU today, while the SADR is one of its vice-presidents.
The SADR's independence was declared on 27th February 1976 in Bir Lehlou,
near Tifariti. The original statement refers to "an African state with deep
roots in the history of our people", and calls "to the brother peoples of
Morocco and Mauritania, to ask them to support our liberation struggle and
understand that the future belongs to peoples. We call on them to spare
innocent blood by demanding that this war, imposed on us by their regimes to
serve foreign interests and personal ambitions, be brought to an end". It
ends with a statement of resolve: "We are determined to continue the
struggle until final victory, whatever the sacrifices may be".
Polisario Front begins destroying landmines (Geneva Call)
The SADR celebrations were also marked by the destruction of over 3000
landmines, the beginning of the end of the Saharawis' stocks, following the
Polisario Front's signing of the Geneva Call in October (see Sahara Analysis
49). This was witnessed by over 1000 people, including representatives from
MINURSO, UNMAS, Landmine Monitor, the Saharawi Campaign to Ban Landmines,
the Association of Landmine Survivors, Landmine Action UK and Geneva Call.
The Geneva Call President Elisabeth Reusse-Decrey congratulated the
Polisario Front on this demonstration of "its will to respect and implement
quickly its commitment". Mohamed Abdelaziz, President of the SADR, called
on Morocco to reciprocate and remove its minefields from Western Sahara.
For more information see www.genevacall.org.
Floods in the Desert - Refugee Camps Hit (UNHCR reports)
Some 60,000 Saharawi refugees left homeless by heavy rains and flooding 9-11
February. More than half of the houses in Awserd, Smara and El Ayoun camps
were destroyed by the floodwaters. Many others suffered severe damage.
Clinics, schools and other camp facilities were also destroyed.
This disaster has at least been met with a creditable international
response. Working with French, Italian and Portuguese planes (and with US
support promised), by 3rd March the UNHCR had delivered 693 family tents;
500 large plastic sheets; 600 mattresses and 9,750 jerry cans, and was
planning to have an additional 707 tents, 43,000 blankets, 2,500 plastic
sheets, 9,400 mattresses, and several tonnes of soap and sanitary napkin
kits on the ground by now. Substantial assistance has also been provided by
the Algerian government, Spanish and Norwegian NGOs (including Norwegian
Church Aid), and the European Commission.
Flash floods are a hazard in the desert, although the last damage on such a
major scale in the camps was a decade ago, in the 1990s.
Protest and repression (even of children) continues in occupied Western
Sahara
Regular pro-independence demonstrations continue in all the major towns of
occupied Western Sahara - and just as regular are beatings of demonstrators
from the Moroccan security forces and detention and torture of activists, in
response to "offences" such as waving a Saharawi flag. More information can
be found at http://www.arso.org/intifada2005e.htm (scroll down) and
www.sahara-libre.blogspot.com.
There are two interesting developments in particular:
§ demonstrations (in Smara) on the arrival of Saharawi families from
the refugee camps under the UNHCR family exchange visit program;
§ Increasing political consciousness and activity among Saharawi high
school students. This is however met by Moroccan forces' reprisals,
including within schools... The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT,
www.omct.org) has taken this up ("Excessive use of police force/Arbitrary
detention/Presumed disappearance": Case MAR 150206).
Sahara Marathon
The Sixth Sahara Marathon was run between El Ayoun and Smara refugee camps
on 28th February, and was won by the Spanish athlete Ramon Alvare Sainz in
3h 16mins. The half-marathon was won by Irish runner Michael Collins in 1h
23 minutes. Mr Collins, who works for The Times, said that taking part had
enabled him "to know the Saharawi people, a generous and peaceful people".
Sahara Film Festival in London
Four film evenings were held at the School of Oriental and African Studies
(University of London). Featured films included the UK premier of
Saharamarathon, and speakers included Richard Dowden of the Royal African
Society. More information at www.sandblast-arts.org .
cheers
Tim
Boris Ryser
Le Maroc "ne cédera pas un seul pouce, ni un grain de sable de son cher
Sahara", lance Mohammed VI
LAAYOUNE, Sahara-Occidental (AP) - Dans un discours prononcé samedi en fin
de matinée à Laâyoune (1.200 km au sud de Rabat), chef-lieu de ce territoire
contesté et administré par le Maroc depuis 1975, le roi Mohammed VI a
affirmé que le Maroc "ne cédera pas un seul pouce, ni un grain de sable de
(son) cher Sahara".
Intervenant à l'issue d'un déplacement de cinq jours au Sahara-Occidental,
le souverain marocain a d'autre part invité les "fils des provinces du Sud à
engager une réflexion sereine et approfondie" sur le projet d'autonomie de
la région, que la diplomatie marocaine pourrait présenter dans les
prochaines semaines devant le Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies.
Les consultations en cours avec les partis politiques marocains et les
représentants des habitants du Sahara-Occidental doivent aboutir à "une
conception nationale cohérente et réaliste d'une autonomie garantissant à
tous les habitants du Sahara la possibilité de gérer leurs affaires
régionales", a ajouté le roi Mohammed VI.
Le roi du Maroc a invité le Conseil royal consultatif pour les affaires
sahariennes (CORCAS) à "défendre aux côtés des pouvoirs publics et des
institutions élues la marocanité du Sahara".
Le CORCAS, qui dispose désormais d'un nouveau président et d'un nouveau
secrétaire général, est constitué des chioukh (sages) des tribus, d'élus, de
représentants de la société civile et des "forces vives de la nation".
"Les populations du Sahara marocain ont voté pour l'union et contre les
thèses séparatistes", écrivait vendredi le quotidien indépendant
"Aujourd'hui le Maroc". "Tout est négociable sauf le timbre et le drapeau",
titrait en début de semaine l'hebdomadaire "La Gazette du Maroc", reprenant
une formule devenue célèbre prononcée au milieu des années 1980 par le roi
Hassan II, le père de l'actuel souverain.
La question du Sahara-Occidental est dans l'impasse depuis le cessez-le-feu
conclu en 1991 et l'accord trouvé entre le Maroc et le Front Polisario afin
d'aboutir à un règlement politique du conflit, chaque camp se rejetant la
responsabilité du blocage, tandis que le Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU
continue d'adopter, tous les six mois, des résolutions de quasi "statu quo".
L'ancien secrétaire d'Etat américain, James Baker, désigné en 1997 comme
envoyé personnel du secrétaire général des Nations unies Kofi Annan,
démissionnera de son poste en juin 2004, après avoir constaté l'échec des
différents plans de paix élaborés par ses soins.
Le plan "Baker II" présenté au printemps 2003 prévoyait une période
d'autonomie de trois à cinq ans au Sahara-Occidental, à l'issue de laquelle
un référendum d'autodétermination devait être organisé sur la base du
recensement effectué par la Mission des Nations unies pour l'organisation
d'un référendum au Sahara-Occidental (MINURSO). Le Maroc avait déclaré le
projet de référendum "caduque" et "inapplicable".
En novembre dernier, à l'occasion du 30e anniversaire de la "Marche verte",
le roi Mohammed VI avait invité les partis politiques à réfléchir à un futur
plan d'autonomie.
"Les consultations se poursuivent", a affirmé samedi à l'Associated Press un
haut responsable de la diplomatie marocaine. "Nous travaillons au rythme
nécessaire, il faut de la maturation", a-t-il ajouté, laissant entendre que
le plan d'autonomie ne serait probablement pas présenté devant le Conseil de
sécurité de l'ONU au cours du mois d'avril, comme cela avait été évoqué. AP
http://fr.news.yahoo.com/25032006/5/le-maroc-ne-cedera-pas-un-seul-pouce-ni-un.html
miz/mw
Boris Ryser
Le gouvernement de la RASD rejette le projet d'autonomie proposé par le roi
Mohammed VI
ALGER (AP) - Le gouvernement de la République arabe sahraouie démocratique
(RASD, autoproclamée) a rejeté samedi le projet d'autonomie pour le Sahara
occidental proposé par le roi Mohammed VI au terme de sa visite de cinq
jours dans les territoires sahraouis.
"Le gouvernement marocain ne peut décider en lieu et place des Sahraouis et
la présentation d'une autonomie ou toute autre option ne peut avoir lieu
avant que le statut du territoire ne soit clairement défini", a averti
l'exécutif sahraoui dans un communiqué, en référence aux propos du souverain
marocain relatifs à l'élaboration d'un projet d'autonomie du territoire du
Sahara occidental.
Qualifiant par ailleurs de "coloniale" la visite du roi, le gouvernement de
la RASD considère que la démarche des autorités marocaines n'est rien
d'autre qu'une "annonce officielle d'une escalade dangereuse" qui intervient
dans "le sillage de l'intransigeance et du mépris de la légalité
internationale".
Dans son communiqué, il estime que la solution au conflit réside dans le
respect du droit du peuple sahraoui à choisir librement son avenir à travers
"un référendum d'autodétermination libre, régulier et transparent sous les
auspices de l'ONU et conformément à sa doctrine en la matière". AP
http://fr.news.yahoo.com/25032006/5/le-gouvernement-de-la-rasd-rejette-le-projet-d-autonomie.html
Boris Ryser
Sat Mar 25, 2006 5:24 PM GMT
By Lamine Ghanmi
RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco's King Mohammed vowed on Saturday that the
disputed Western Sahara would remain part of Morocco, but offered autonomy
for the territory.
Morocco, claiming centuries-old rights over the territory rich in
phosphates, fisheries and possibly offshore oil deposits, annexed it after
former colonial power Spain withdrew in 1975. Rabat's move triggered a
low-level guerrilla war with the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which is
seeking an independent state.
"We reaffirm that we will not give up a single inch or a single grain of the
sand of our beloved Sahara," King Mohammed said in a speech ending a
week-long trip to Western Sahara.
The king named members of a Royal Consultative Council for Sahara Affairs
which includes tribal chiefs, women's representatives, youth groups and
civic associations officials.
The Council was set up in the 1990s but remained dormant amid U.N-brokered
efforts to hold a referendum on self-determination in the Western Sahara.
The revival of the 141-member Council underlined Rabat's eagerness to win
the hearts and minds of the local population ahead of its diplomatic
offensive next month to rally support in the United Nations for its autonomy
plan, officials said.
LOCAL SUPPORT
During his tour, King Mohammed inaugurated development projects and met the
local population as part of Rabat's drive to forge local support and reduce
any backing Polisario might enjoy among Sahrawis, officials in Rabat said.
The officials pointed out that the king twice visited the Maatallah
neighbourhood, widely seen as Polisario's stronghold in Laayoune, the main
city in Western Sahara.
Official sources told Reuters the king instructed the government to release
more than 200 prisoners in Western Sahara, including leading Polisario
supporters jailed for staging pro-independence street protests last year.
Rabat plans to invest 7 billion Moroccan Dirhams in 226 development projects
in the territory over the coming years.
A United Nations ceasefire was brokered in 1991 with the promise of holding
a referendum on whether the Western Sahara remains under Rabat's control or
becomes an independent state. But disputes about who is eligible to vote
have stalled the referendum.
Officials in Rabat said Morocco will unveil its autonomy plan to the U.N.
Security Council next month. They said King Mohammed wanted the newly-named
members of the Sahara Affairs Council to contribute with ideas on the
autonomy plan.
Earlier on Saturday, the leaders of South Africa and Algeria called on the
international community to press ahead with the referendum on
self-determination for Western Sahara.
The dispute over the desert territory's future is "the last question of
decolonisation on the African continent," said a statement issued after
talks between South African President Thabo Mbeki and his Algerian
counterpart Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
________________________________________________________
Source:
http://za.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-03-25T152527Z_01_ALL555452_RTRIDST_0_OZATP-SAHARA-MOROCCO-20060325.XML
________________________________________________________
Forwarded by:
The Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara
*** Humanitarian aid to the Saharawi refugees NOW! ***
wsa...@online.no
________________________________________________________
Tip: search the message archive by key words, poster or date at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sahara-Update/messages
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boris Ryser
25 Mar 2006 13:03:07 GMT
Source: Reuters
ALGIERS, March 25 (Reuters) - The leaders of South Africa and Algeria have
called on the international community to press ahead with the promised but
long-delayed referendum on self-determination for the people of Western
Sahara.
The dispute over the desert territory's future is "the last question of
decolonisation on the African continent," said a statement issued after
talks between South African President Thabo Mbeki and his Algerian
counterpart Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Mbeki met Bouteflika during a brief visit to Algiers on Thursday, two days
after Morocco's King Mohammed began a tour of Western Sahara in a bid to win
support for an autonomy plan for the territory -- already rejected by the
Polisario Front independence movement.
Rabat annexed the territory, rich in phosphates and fish, after the
withdrawal of former colonial power Spain 30 years ago, but the
Algeria-backed Polisario waged a long guerrilla war in a drive for
independence.
South Africa recently recognised the Democratic Sahrawi Arab Republic, also
backed by Algeria.
"The two presidents affirmed that the satisfaction of the right to
self-determination of the Sahraoui people is the key element of any solution
to the conflict of decolonization in the Western Sahara," the statement
added.
The United Nations brokered a ceasefire between Morocco and Polisario in
1991 with the promise of holding a referendum on whether the territory
should remain under Rabat's control or become an independent state.
Disputes about who is eligible to vote have prevented the referendum from
taking place.
"The two presidents called for a quick settlement of the conflict in the
Western Sahara, within the framework of international legality... said the
statement, which appeared in Algerian media on Saturday.
King Mohammmed is expected to reveal details of his autonomy plan in a
speech on Saturday in Laayoun, the main town in Western Sahara.
________________________________________________________
Source http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/AHM540952.htm
________________________________________________________
Forwarded by:
The Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara
*** Humanitarian aid to the Saharawi refugees NOW! ***
wsa...@online.no
________________________________________________________
Tip: search the message archive by key words, poster or date at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sahara-Update/messages
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boris Ryser
oao/com/cr
Boris Ryser
Moroccan State against Saharawi populations in the occupied zones of the
Western Sahara and inside Morocco*
S.G Saharawi Journalists' and Writers' Union (UPES)
27. March 2006
Saharawi Refugee Camps
By: Malainin Lakhal
Following information was received from sources in the occupied
territories, from some Saharawi human rights activists and from other
sources in the occupied territories of the Western Sahara, south of
Morocco and in Moroccan universities.
1. Saharawi political prisoners lately released*
26-03-2006
The Moroccan colonial authorities released 30 Saharawi political
prisoners, while another 35 Saharawi political prisoners are still under
detention to which new human rights activists were added, because lately
arrested and still maintained under detention (cases of Mrs. *Djimi El
Ghalia, and her husband, Mr. Dah Moustapha Dafa*, both ex-victims of
forced disappearance and active human rights defenders).*
- This is the list of the Saharawi political prisoners released by the
Moroccan authorities in he 25th and 26th of March in the El Aaiun and in
other Moroccan prisons:
01. NUMRIA BRAHIM (Black prison in El Aaiún)-Human rights activist
02. MUTAWAKIL MOHAMED-- Human rights activist
03. HOSSEIN LIDRI-- Human rights activist
04. LARBI MESUD-- Human rights activist
05. HMAD HAMMAD-- Human rights activist
06. BUGARFA ABDERRAHMAN-- Human rights activist
07. HAMMADI ELKARCHA
08. ALWAT SIDI MOHAMED
09. BACHIR YAYA
10. NDUR HOSSEIN
11. NAFAA BUCHAMA
12. LAMIN BADDA
13. MAHMUD MUSTAFA HADAD
14. MUSAUI SIDAHMED
15. CHTEIUI MAHYUB
16. YENHI LEJLIFA
17. LEHUEIDI MAHMUD
18. ELWALI AMAIDAN
19. ISMAILI HAMMADA
20. MOHAMED BAHIYA RACHIDI
21. OTMANI EL-LUD EMMAN
22. BAL-LA SIDI MOHAMED
23. BOUGREIN MOHAMED EL MEHDI (Local prison in Smara)
24. LEKHFAUNI ABDALAHI (Central prison in Kenitra)
25. AGDADI ALI (local prison in Marrakech)
26. DAAGUI MOHAMED (local prison in Kalaat Sraghna)
27. BABA ELARABI (local prison in Ait Mellul)
28. ELHAFED TAUBALI
29. MOHAMED MAHMUD ELFAK
30. ABDELAZIZ DAY
2. Reactions in the different Saharawi occupied cities
The Saharawi populations in the different Saharawi occupied cities
received the prisoners with demonstrations, raising Saharawi flags and
asking for the immediate release of the other 35 still imprisoned
political prisoners, and asking for their right to self-determination and
independence.
Moroccan police intervened, using excessive force against the demonstrators.
Reports so far talks about more than 100 persons arrested, most of them
were tortured. A woman aborted.
2.1. Smara
26-03-2006
(Smara- Occupied zones of the Western Sahara)
Saharawi political prisoner, Othmani El-loud Emman, was received by a
demonstration, in which the flags of the Saharawi Republic were raised by
the Saharawi citizens.
Moroccan forces violently intervened to disperse demonstrators. The
released detainee and his mother were tortured by police agents and their
house was ransacked.
Confrontations broke in Smara since yesterday (26-03-2006) at 20.00 GMT
until today afternoon.
-List of Saharawi citizens arrested and for the most cases tortured in the
occupied city of Smara:
01 -FATMA ZAHRA BRAHIM BRAIKA
02 -BAINAN ABDOU OULD BACHIR
03 -SALKA ABDOU OULD BACHIR
04- NAOUCHA ALI BRAHIM -
05 -MONNINA SIDI EMANN
06 -WADNOUNI FATMA
07 -AFIF ALI (seriously injured and transferred to El Aaiún)
08 -NAZIHA ANDALA TANJI (seriously injured and aborted according to
eyewitnesses, transferred to El Aaiún)
09 -AFIFI AL-LAL
10 - LAILA MOUSTAFA FAL -
11 -KALTHOUM LEHSEN AADI
12 -YAKOUTA LEHSEN AADI
13 -THAOURIA OMAR TAHER
14 -MARIAYAM IYICH
15 -TAHANI SALAMA BOUJEMAA
16 -NAJAH SALAMA BOUJEMAA
17 -INTISAR SALAMA BOUJEMAA
18 -MAHMOUD MOHAMED LEKHRIF
19 -LEAJELA HASSAN BAHIYA
20 -MOUNINA SAID BOY
21 -AMINETOU LIMAM KHATRI BABOUZEID
22 -AGHAILA LEHSEN OMAR
23 -MOHAMED FADEL MOHAMED SALEM HADI
24 -FADEILI SALAMA HAIMEDAHA
25 -MLEWIHA BREIKA
26 -AHMED MOUSAOUI
27 -ZOUGHAM GHALI
28 -ZOUGHAM ELWALI
29 -GHLANA MOULAY AHMED MOHAMED SALEM
30 -MOHAMED LAMIN MOULAY AHMED MOHAMED SALEM
31 -METOU ALI MAATI
32 -MOUSAOUI KHATRI
33 -FATIMETOU ABEID MOULANA
34 -MARIYAM ABEID MOULANA
35 -HOURIYA ABEID MOULANA
36 -NTEITICHY YOUSEF
37 -NAFAA NAOUCHA
38 -SAIFOU ZERGUI
39 -WALI ZAZ BOUHALI
40 -MOUHIN BRAHIM
41 -BIYADILAH BRAHIM
42 -AMIN NAFAA
43 -HAYAT HAJ MOULAY AHMED
44 -HAIMOUDA ELBAREK
45 -NAHA SALKI
46 -KAROUM TEKBER
47 -SALKA BOICHER
48 -TWEIKH BACHIR ELHOSSEIN
49 -TWEIKH MOHAMED SALEM ELHOSSEIN
50 -BRAHIM ABDI BACHIR
51 -WAFA KHALIL
52 -DAOUDI BABOUZAID
53 -MOUJAHID SIDI MOHAMED
54 -CHERIF MAHAYOUB BACHIR FADLI
55 -SALKA ELWAFI
56 -HLEISA MERZOUG
57 -BAIBA ALI MAATI
58 -ISMAILI AZIZA KHATRI BACHIR
59 -WAHMANI SALKA
60 -FATIMETOU SAIDI
61 -NADIR MARIYAM
62 -BOUKHERS ENGUIA
63 -BASIR RAGUEB
64 -ISMAILI MAHMOUD
65 -LALTOU DAHA
66 -ISMAILI NAJAH
67 -NAINNA SAIDI
68 -KHADIJETOU DAGHCH
69- MTEITOU ALI
70 -ABDELAHI MOULAY AHMED MOHAMED SALEM
71 -SOUKEINA MOULAY AHMED MOHAMED SALEM
72 -AZIZ MOHAMED SALEM
73 -SOUADOU BAIBA
74 -TANJI BRAHIM HAMOUDI
75 -GHALI ESSAD BAHAHA
76 -NAOUCHA ALI LATRACH
77 -LABEIDI HMEIM
78 -LEBSIR SALLAHA
79 -ELKHALIL ZREIBIA
80 -MOKHTAR AHMEDOU KOWRI
81 -MALAININ MOKHTAR
82 -GHALI SALAMA JAMEAA
83 -MOHAMED LAMIN ALIAT LATRACH
84 -SID BRAHIM LEBRAS
85 -MOHAMED SALEM MOHAMED YESLEM
86 -BACHIR MOHAMED LAMIN SID ELARBI
87 -GHALI ALI ELWALI
88 -OTHMAN ALIYAT LATRACH
89 -CHEIKH DADAH BOUMRAH
90 -SOUADOU MOHAMED ALI
91 -GABBAL BANAHI DAHA
92 -AZIZA KHARTI BACHIR
93 -MARYAM MOHAMED HMEDNAH
94 -FAKA MOHAMED LEBDADI
95 -KHADIJETOU MOHAMD ELAABD
96 -LAILA MOUSTAFA FAL
97 -MARIYAM BACHIR AABEID
98 -AMINETOU BACHIR AABEID
99 -SALOUKA SIDAHMED IAAICH
100 -ELAAZA MOHAMED
101 -TARBA OMAR TAHER
102 -AZEIZA SALLAMI HAMDI
103 -SOUKEINA MOULAY AHMED HAMDI
104 -FAITAM MNEISIR
105 -NEAMA TAHER LANSAR
106 -TESLEM TANJI
107 -TAOUFA ABEIRI
108 -FATAM NAJEM
109 -FAITAM IYICH
110 -AZEIZA IYICH
111 -HAFED BAHIYA
112 -TENWAKA DAOUDI
113 -ALOUMRI MOHAMED
114 -MANKOUR HAMADI
115 -BALAH MOHAMED YESLEM
116 -MOHAMED SALEM MOHAMED YESLEM
117 -ALBAHAN LAABEIDI
118 -MAKKAOUI ABDELHADI
120 -ZAIDAN AMAYER
121 -FALI MOHAMED
122 -NAFAA OTHMAN
123 -ALHAMDI AMIN
124 -ALMOUKHTAR LEHMAMI
125 -BARAKAT AAHDI
126- FADLI KARROUM (seriously injured and arrested)
127 -OUMESSAAD MAHMOUD KAROUM (seriously injured and arrested)
128 -ERRAGUEB MOUSTAPHA BRAHIM (seriously injured and arrested)
129 -MOINA SAID BABA (seriously injured and arrested)
130 -MAOUGAF SAID BABA (seriously injured and arrested)
131 -ZOUENA MARHBA (seriously injured and arrested)
132 -MONINA MHAMED (seriously injured and arrested)
133- LALLA MOHAMED SALEM
134- SUELMA MOHAMED SALEM
135- LAAJAILA KHLAILI LBACHIR
136- CHBEIKA CHARRAMHA
137- SID BRAHIM AABDI
138- NAFAAI BREIKA ZERGOU
Ransacked houses:
- Family of the released political prisoner Othman El-loud
- Family of Ahmed Ould Mohamed Salem
- Family of Fadli ould Karoum
- Family of Ahmed Ould Mohamed Salem Ould Hamma.
- Family of Boulah Said Baiba
- Family of Dahmi Abeid Moulana
- Family of Labbat Mousa
- Family of Mohamed Hmednah
- Family of Bachir Abeid
- Garage of the Saharawi citizen Hosein Lehbib Mneisir
20/03/2006
10 persons at least were wounded and 11 houses ransacked by the Moroccan
police on Monday, in the occupied city of Smara, after demonstrations
organised by the Saharawi population to express their rejection of the
visit of Mohamed VI to the Western Sahara.
Many Saharawi women were wounded during these confrontations, including:
01- Khadijetou Hnini,
02- Mariem Seylouk Breika,
03- Leila Moustapha,
04- Mounina Mohamed,
05- Mariem Aloua,
06- Khadijetou Mohamed Al Abd,
07- Zeinabou Oumar,
08- Benina Bachiri
09- Khirou.
The Moroccan colonial forces also arrested the Saharawi citizen, Mrs.
Aziza Tanji, who was savagely tortured before she was abandoned few hours
later in the middle of a street to be rescued by some Saharawis.
Since last week the more than 8 Saharawi families in the occupied city of
Smara were put under pressures, by the Moroccan colonial authorities, who
deprived them of some facilities to get basic food and needs, as a
reprisal against them for having participated to demonstrations against
the Moroccan occupation of the Western Sahara.
The families are:
01- The family of Biri Taofa,
02- The family of Inguia Bujers,
03- The family of Igleila Mint Hasni,
04- The family of AlHamdi Abdel-la,
05- The family of Mohamed Meilad Sluk,
06- The family of Amru BalYazid,
07- The family of AlMadi Tfarah,
08- The family of Gaa Fatimetu.
2.2. In the occupied city of Dakhla
In the occupied city of Dakhla, the Saharawi citizens organised many
demonstrations in protest against the visit of the Moroccan king to the
occupied cities of the Western Sahara. Demonstrations are usually followed
by violent interventions of police and military forces and demonstrators
are usually wounded. Most of the times, names of the victims are not
available, partly because they prefer to keep anonymity but sometimes
because the Saharawi human rights activists are themselves in trouble and
can not achieve their duty appropriately.
26-03-2006
A demonstration violently oppressed in Dakhla and the following *citizens
were arrested:*
01- Ahjebouha Sidi Heiba
02- Mr. Bombari Salek
2.3. In the occupied city of El Aaiun
25/03/2006
Nine Saharawi citizens, including the vice-President of the Saharawi
Association of the victims of the Flagrant human rights violations
committed by Morocco (ASVDHEM), and ex-political disappeared, Mrs. Djimi
el Ghalia, were arrested on Friday the 24th of March in El Aaiun, after
demonstrations rejecting the visit of the Moroccan king to the occupied
territories of the Western Sahara, indicated a press release publicised by
the Association the same day.
01- Mrs. Djimi El Ghalia, also a member of the Committee of the Families
of the "Disappeareds", was arrested in company of her husband,
02- Mr. Dah Moustapha Dafa, ex-political prisoner,
7 other Saharawi citizens were arrested during these demonstrations, it
was indicated, namely
03 Jamal Al housseini,
04- Jenhaoui Habibou Allah,
05- Tounsi Cheikh,
06- Mansour Darif,
07- Oumar Bailal,
08- Abdelaghani Kabdana,
09- Blal Saghri.
20/03/2006
5 persons, at least, were arrested on Monday in the occupied city of El
Aaiun, after demonstrations rejecting the visit of Mohamed VI to the
Western Sahara and advocating the immediate withdrawal of the Moroccan
occupation and the Saharawi people's right to self-determination and
independence.
The Moroccan forces of occupation, which intervened violently to disperse
the demonstrators, arrested 5 Saharawi citizens:
01- Vaissal Mohamed Laroussi,
02- Maalainin Lekhliphi,
03- Sleima El Jarah,
04- Mohamed Bouzeid
05- Haiba Mohamed Mahmoud (ex-political detainee) who was conducted to an
unknown destination, the same source stressed.
2.4. In the occupied city of Bokhador
25/03/2006
Two Saharawi citizens, (01)- Mohamed Mohamedou and (02)- Mariem Salek were
arrested on Friday the 24th of March by the Moroccan forces, who proceeded
to the ransacking of the house of the first in reaction to demonstrations
rejecting the visit of Mohamed VI in the occupied territories of the
Western Sahara.
3 other Saharawi houses, especially of: Mariem Khaya, Moulimnine Khaya,
and Sultana Khaya, which are still put under close surveillance of the
different Moroccan colonial corpses of repression, were ransacked by
police agents.
Reliable sources from different Moroccan universities reported
demonstrations and confrontations between Saharawi students and Moroccan
authorities. Students were protesting against the visit undertaken by the
Moroccan king to their country, against the will of the Saharawi people.
3. University of Agadir
15/03/2006
In the University of Agadir, the confrontations were very serious, because
the Moroccan secret services with the complicity of the director of the
university campus enrolled some Moroccan civilians (pretending to be
students, and maybe there are some Moroccan students among them) and
attacked the Saharawi students demonstrations, and rooms.
6 Saharawi students, at least, were wounded and 8 others arrested in
Agadir during confrontations on Wednesday the 15th of March, evening
between the Saharawi students and militias composed of Moroccan students
under the orders of the Moroccan secret services and police
The list of the wounded students:
01- Fita Hassana,
02- Hababa Mahfud,
03- Brahim Libsir,
04- Lemzudi Azman,
05- Ramdan Alezri
06- Bufarion Saleh,
8 students were arrested:
01- El Filali Mahmud,
02- El Kenti Sidi Amar,
03- Anzula Mahid,
04- Emheimar Hamadi,
05- El Geilani AbdelWahab,
06- Maumed Mohamed,
07- Alhudeibi Ahmed
08- Sidi Buia Latif.
4. Conclusions:
1- A new campaign of repression started immediately after the departure of
the king Mohamed VI. The demonstrations organised by the Saharawi
populations in the different occupied cities of the Western Sahara and by
the Saharawi students in the different Universities were the direct
motives of real Moroccan authorities' acts of vendetta.
2- Details are very difficult to collect, because, a- Saharawi human
rights activists are put under direct and indirect pressures, and so they
are sometimes incapable of gathering information, b- most victims do not
want to have their names registered in reports, from fear of the Moroccan
forces.
3- Most of the time it is nearly impossible to have a full and detailed
report of all the victims of demonstrations.
4- The people arrested are in the majority of the cases, beaten, tortured,
and some sources talk about acts of rape in Smara, but no names were
reported, maybe following the desire of the victims themselves (who refuse
sometimes to be included in reports)
The situation is really critical, and all the occupied cities are put
under unbelievable state of military siege.
5- This is an update of the list of the Saharawi Political Prisoners still
detained in the Moroccan prisons:
01. ALI SALEM TAMEK ----------------------------------------10 months
02. BRAHIM DAHAN-------------------------------------------- "
03. SAYELI SIDI ABDAL-LA MEKI-------------------------- "
04. HASSANNA ELHAIRACH---------------------------------6 years
05. BOUAMOUD MOHAMED SALEM----------------------3 years
06. DAOUD OMAR----------------------------------------------3 "
07. AHMED MAHMUD HADI ELKAINNA---------------- (arrested in 5/5/2003-12
years)
08. HADI CHEIF AHMED FAL -------------------------------(/05-07-2003 : 3
years and 6 months)
09. HASSANNA ELMEK---------------------------------------20 years
10. TAHLIL MOHAMED---------------------------------------3 years
11. BOUDDA MHAMED BOUDD----------------------------3 "
12. LABRAS MUSTAFA HOSSEIN EMBAREK-----------3"
13. LABRAS BRAHIM MOHAMED MAHYUB------------3"
14. LUCHAA LEHSSEN BAHIYA-----------------------------3"
15. ATHMAN DAH ATNAKHA--------------------------------3 "
16. MACHKOUR BACHIR--------------------------------------3"
17. TARGUI MAELAININ AHMED MOHAMED----------3 "
18. ECHAIN MOHAMED HASSAN EMBOIRIK -----------3"
19. AIT ABEILOU BRAHIM HOSSEIN EMBAREK -------3"
20. INYURNI BAHA MOHAMED SAILAMOU -------------3"
21. LEGHZAL TAHER MOHAMED HAMOU ---------------3"
22. AMAIDAN CHEIJ BACHIR MAULUD -------------------3"
23. HADDI MAULUD ALIYEN LEHBIB----------------------3 "
24. LANSARI MOHAMED SALEM AHMED ELABD ------3"
25. ISMAILI MOHAMED EMBAREK --------------------------3"
26. LEBOIHI SALEH------------------------------------------------3"
27. ALAMIN SAHEL------------------------------------------------3"
28. RGUIBI KHLIFA------------------------------------------------3"
29. DREIWICH BACHIR ------------------------------------------3"
30. CHEGRAOUI BACHIR ---------------------------------------3"
31. HAMDI LABIAD------------------------------------------------3"
32. MOUSTAFA LEKRIMI----------------------------------------3 "
33. HAFIDI ABDELMOULA HAFED---------------------------3 "
34. BEN JALOUN MOKHTAR ----------------------------------1 year
35. HASSAN ABDELAHI------------------------------------------1 "
______________
Forwarded by:
__________________________________
Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara
*** Referendum now! ***
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Boris Ryser
afrol News,
27 March 2006
- Following a visit to occupied Western Sahara by Moroccan King Mohammed VI
this weekend, 30 Sahrawi prisoners were released by royal pardon. The
pro-independence freed Sahrawis were given a heroes' welcome in the towns of
El Aaiun and Smara, which turned into popular riots demanding the release of
other 37 activists. During the clashes with Moroccan police, where several
persons were injured, more Sahrawis were arrested. Activists speak of almost
100 detentions, while Morocco recognises four.
Sahrawis had pinned some hope to the Moroccan King's visit to the occupied
territory, as this is usually accompanied with a gesture such as an amnesty.
A large number of Sahrawis are currently in Moroccan detention, allegedly
being tortured, due to their participation in a popular uprising last year.
Many hoped the five-day visit of the little-loved monarch at least would
lead to the release of their family member.
The limited amnesty therefore provoked disappointment. "Only 30 Sahrawi
prisoners were released by the Moroccan government," while "37 others are
still sequestrated in the Moroccan prisons," added to "more than 500
disappeared and 151 prisoners of war, whose fate remains unknown," yesterday
said Khalil Sidi Emhamed, a Minister in the exiled Sahrawi government, based
in Algerian refugee camps.
As the Sahrawi prisoners were released from the infamous Black Jail of El
Aaiun, the capital of Western Sahara, they were given a warm and joyful
welcome by demonstrators and family members, many waving the outlawed flag
of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Celebrations broke out in front of
the Black Jail and in other Western Sahara towns - including Dakhla, Smara
and Boujdour - as the released prisoners found their way home.
In El Aaiun, however, the joyful crowd yesterday was met by officers of
Morocco's secret police, hindering them from receiving the released
prisoners. There were clashes between the protesters and police agents,
which according to Sahrawi activists not wanting their names published,
resulting in two injured civilians, including one Sahrawi woman.
The celebrations later turned into anti-Moroccan protests and riots in both
El Aaiun and Smara, where the flag-waving Sahrawis were met by armed
Moroccan police troops. Activists started throwing stones at the police,
which needed several hours to get the situation under control.
According to the unnamed Sahrawi activist based in El Aaiun, the celebrating
protesters were met with violence by the police. During and after
yesterday's clashes, more than 90 persons had been arrested and more than 40
persons, including Moroccan policemen, had been injured.
During the evening, calm returned to El Aaiun, but only for a few hours.
During the night, as electricity was cut for unknown reasons during 25
minutes, activists were again animated to take to the streets. Hundreds
walked through the dark centre of El Aaiun, shouting "no to autonomy, yes to
independence," in reference to the current Moroccan diplomatic initiative to
have the UN accept an autonomy plan. As lights were turned on, activists
peacefully returned home.
Moroccan authorities have not commented on the riots in Western Sahara, but
the kingdom's official news agency MAP, claims that the clashes were of a
much lesser scale than alleged by several Sahrawi sources. According to MAP,
there had only been one incident in the north-eastern town of Smara, where
"agitators" had destroyed the celebrations of a family receiving its
released son, Othmani El-loud Emman.
"Six persons, including policemen, were injured by the assailants, four of
whom were arrested," MAP reports, holding this was the only incident in
Western Sahara during Sunday. The official Moroccan news agency further
claims that residents of Smara generally had opposed "these provocations"
and urged the police to arrest the activists. Sahrawi sources instead claim
the "brutal police intervention" in Smara even went against the family of
the released prisoner, whose mother had been injured, causing popular
uproar.
By staff writer
© afrol News
________________________________________________________
Source: http://www.afrol.com/articles/18566
Boris Ryser
by Nick Dearden
March 28, 2006
ZNet
A decades-old, impoverished refugee population, tens of thousands of
settlers, a 1000-mile wall, a stalled peace process and now an intifada in
an occupied territory. This is not a description of Palestine, but a
territory known as Western Sahara, a few hundred miles from the Canary
Islands, which was occupied by Morocco in 1975. In 2006, Saharawi refugees
will commemorate 30 years - a lifetime to many of them - in the Algerian
desert waiting for the international community to live up to its promises to
give them a referendum on self-determination over their homeland.
A world away, in Brussels, the European Union is putting the finishing
touches to an agreement which will hinder that process still further. The
EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement is similar to a host of deals
being signed down the West African coast, allowing European fishing access
to African waters to make up for the over-fishing of European waters in
recent decades. But this deal has one exception: it will allow EU boats to
fish in the illegally occupied water of a country which the West has done
its best to forget.
International law has been clear on Western Sahara since 1975 when the
International Court of Justice ruled that Morocco had no claim to the
Spanish colony. Two weeks later the Moroccan Army marched in regardless, and
refugees fled for their lives into the Algerian desert. Although the United
Nations General Assembly "deeply deplore[d]" the Moroccan Occupation, and
the Security Council called for immediate withdrawal, no action followed.
Then, as now, the great powers of the world preferred to accommodate the
expansionist dreams of the Moroccan monarchy than implement justice for a
few thousand refugees.
Liberation was left to the Polisario Front, representatives of the Saharawi
in exile, who fought and recaptured some of their land. In the last three
decades they have built a society in the desert, with 95% literacy and a
democratic government in which women play a leading role, and which has
ruled out forever the use of terrorism as a means of obtaining justice.
Former UN Envoy to the territory (and Secretary of State under Bush senior),
James Baker, said that it was a society the West should be championing "from
a strictly human-rights standpoint", if only it wasn't so important to
"maintain close relationships with Morocco".
When Polisario agreed to lay down its weapons in 1991, it was on the promise
that the UN would organise a referendum. Even when the Polisario made its
'historic compromise' - that illegal Moroccan settlers too would be allowed
to vote in their referendum - in a proposal that obtained unanimous support
from the UN Security Council, Morocco blocked it. The proposal's designer,
Baker later resigned, saying recently: "I'm sure the Saharawi are going to
say, wait a minute, what do we have to do here to get a shot at
self-determination?" The lack of will by the West to go any further than
sticking their hand in the air once a year, is played out in Minurso, the UN
mission to Western Sahara, which was aptly described by former deputy chair
Frank Ruddy as "a mission that is doing so little that if all of its members
went on strike no one would notice".
Now EU countries plan to compound their failure by stealing the wealth of
those it has deserted from under their noses. Commissioner Borg, responsible
for European fisheries, protests that the Agreement doesn't even mention
Western Sahara. But that's exactly the point. By failing to define Morocco's
southern border, it allows Morocco to decide where to apply the Agreement,
knowing full well that they will apply it to Saharawi waters. El Ayun,
Western Sahara's capital, alone accounts for 40% of Morocco's total fish
catch, by far the largest proportion from any port.
The Saharawi will see almost no benefit from the Agreement. Unsurprisingly,
it's the corporations that control fishing in Western Sahara, mostly
Moroccan or Spanish, that will gain most. Even through the employment that
filters down to ordinary workers, the majority are likely to be Moroccan
settlers, and not Saharawi.
Previous agreements with Morocco have also allowed fishing in Saharawi
waters. But this is different in that trade unions, NGOs and politicians
from across Europe have come together to try and stop the inclusion of
Western Sahara in the new Agreement. This renewed interest may be due to the
thirty-year anniversary of the occupation, or because even the US, when
signing its Free Trade Agreement with Morocco in 2004, specifically ruled
out application to Western Sahara.
It probably helped that last year Morocco embarked on new round of human
rights abuses in the occupied territory itself. The occupied territory is
still home to tens of thousands of Saharawi who didn't leave in 1975 and now
live alongside Moroccan settlers in a police state, unable to advocate
independence or display their flag. This blanket of silence was broken last
summer as a small 'intifada' broke out after peaceful demonstrations were
fiercely repressed by Moroccan security forces. One young demonstrator,
Hamdi Lambarki, was beaten to death. Many other human rights activists were
arrested and incarcerated in El Ayun's infamous 'Black Prison', where
prisoners have been on hunger strike against ill-treatment and torture.
It isn't too late to stop the EU plunder. A coalition is rapidly building
across Europe to ensure that human rights and international law come - for
once - before Western profit. It's time to bring an end to the longest
running conflict in Africa, and end the Occupation of Africa's last colony.
The Agreement will come before the European Parliament in the next two
months. To contact your MEP go to: www.fishelsewhere.org or email
ndea...@waronwant.org.
________________________________________________________
Source: http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=2&ItemID=10005
Boris Ryser
Assemblée parlementaire
Résolution 1408 (2004)1
Situation au Sahara occidental
1. En ce qui concerne le conflit relatif au Sahara occidental, l'Assemblée
parlementaire reste préoccupée par l'absence de progrès notables dans la
recherche d'une solution politique juste et durable qui puisse être acceptée
par les différentes parties en présence.
2. Le conflit au Sahara occidental est une source d'épreuves et de
souffrances inacceptables pour des populations innocentes, et a conduit à
une situation humanitaire insupportable, qui ne saurait être tolérée plus
longtemps.
3. Les Nations Unies s'efforcent de parvenir à un règlement au Sahara
occidental depuis le retrait de l'Espagne en 1976. En 1988, le Secrétaire
général a présenté un «plan de règlement» appelant à une solution définitive
de la question du Sahara occidental grâce à un cessez-le-feu et à l'
organisation d'un référendum d'autodétermination pour la population du
territoire.
4. L'Assemblée appuie sans réserve les Nations Unies, y compris la Mission
des Nations Unies pour l'organisation d'un référendum au Sahara occidental
(Minurso), créée en 1991, et l'envoyé personnel du Secrétaire général, dans
les efforts qu'ils déploient sans relâche pour aider les parties concernées
à trouver une solution au conflit. Elle rend particulièrement hommage à l'
envoyé personnel qui a rencontré à plusieurs reprises ces derniers mois les
dirigeants marocains et le Front populaire de libération de la Saguia
el-Hamra et du Rio de Oro (Front Polisario) afin d'amener les parties à
accepter et mettre en ouvre le Plan de paix pour l'autodétermination du
peuple du Sahara occidental.
5. L'Assemblée appuie pleinement la Résolution 1541 du Conseil de Sécurité
des Nations Unies du 29 avril 2004, par laquelle le conseil a réaffirmé son
soutien au plan de paix comme solution politique optimale, ainsi que son
soutien énergique en faveur des efforts du Secrétaire général des Nations
Unies et de son envoyé personnel pour parvenir à un règlement politique
mutuellement acceptable du conflit du Sahara occidental.
6. Alors que le Front Polisario a officiellement accepté, le 6 juillet 2003,
le plan de paix, le Maroc, dans sa réponse définitive du 15 avril 2004, n'en
accepte pas les éléments essentiels. Le Maroc n'est pas d'accord avec la
période transitoire d'autonomie proposée, qui vise à donner aux personnes
qui résident de bonne foi au Sahara occidental la possibilité de déterminer
elles-mêmes leur avenir. Le Maroc considère que cette période serait une
source d'incertitude quant au statut définitif du territoire, ce qui
risquerait d'inaugurer une ère d'insécurité et d'instabilité pour l'ensemble
du Maghreb; il estime aussi que le caractère définitif de l'autonomie n'est
pas négociable.
7. L'Assemblée invite instamment les autorités du Maroc à saisir cette
occasion pour se montrer conciliantes en acceptant le plan de paix, ce qui
permettrait de mettre un terme au conflit relatif au Sahara occidental.
8. L'Assemblée invite les Etats voisins à coopérer avec les Nations Unies
pour un règlement juste et définitif de ce conflit.
9. L'Assemblée appelle aussi ses Etats membres à encourager par des moyens
appropriés les parties concernées à ouvrer de concert avec les Nations Unies
pour que le plan de paix soit rapidement accepté et mis en ouvre.
10. Tout en reconnaissant qu'il importe de concentrer les efforts sur l'
acceptation du plan de paix, l'Assemblée souligne la nécessité de ne pas
oublier les aspects humanitaires du conflit, parmi lesquels la situation
alimentaire dans les camps de réfugiés de la zone de Tindouf. A cet égard, l
'Assemblée observe avec satisfaction que, depuis février 2003, 843
prisonniers de guerre marocains ont été libérés par le Front Polisario et
rapatriés au Maroc sous l'égide du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge
(CICR). L'Assemblée appelle le Front Polisario à accélérer la libération des
412 prisonniers restants.
11. L'Assemblée apporte son soutien au CICR, qui continue à visiter
régulièrement les prisonniers et à leur prodiguer des soins médicaux. Elle
appelle à la fois le Maroc et le Front Polisario à continuer de coopérer
avec le CICR pour retrouver les personnes qui sont toujours portées
disparues dans le cadre du conflit.
12. En ce qui concerne les mesures de confiance, l'Assemblée constate avec
satisfaction que, depuis mars 2004, les visites des familles ont commencé et
se déroulent de manière satisfaisante; elle invite les deux parties à
continuer de coopérer avec le Haut-Commissariat des Nations Unies pour les
réfugiés (HCR) et la Minurso pour le bon déroulement et le développement de
ces visites des familles. Elle demande également aux deux parties de
coopérer avec le HCR dans la mise en ouvre des services postaux entre le
Sahara occidental et les camps de réfugiés situés dans la zone de Tindouf,
selon les modalités arrêtées par ledit HCR.
13. En ce qui concerne l'aspect financier, l'Assemblée constate avec regret
que le montant des contributions impayées au compte spécial de la Minurso s'
élevait à 45 millions de dollars des Etats-Unis à la fin du mois de mars
2004. L'Assemblée prie instamment les gouvernements des Etats membres dont
la contribution n'a pas été payée à respecter leurs engagements et à la
verser sans délai afin de permettre à la Minurso de continuer ses activités
comme cela a été prévu.
1. Texte adopté par la Commission permanente, agissant au nom de l'
Assemblée, le 23 novembre 2004 voir Doc. 10346, rapport de la commission des
questions politiques, rapporteur: M. Puche).
http://assembly.coe.int/mainf.asp?Link=/documents/adoptedtext/ta04/fres1408.htm
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Boris Ryser
Behind the Sandwall
Jeremy Harding
London Review of Books (LRB)
[See also debate on LRB's letter page between Zakaria Fatih [23 March 2006
issue] and the author Toby Shelley [ 6 April 2006 issue]
Endgame in the Western Sahara: What Future for Africa's Last Colony? by Toby
Shelley [ Buy from the London Review Bookshop ] · Zed,
215 pp, £16.95
Some of the words we use about Africa die hard. No African civilians on the
run from injustice, war or hunger can bide their time in mere 'camps'. They
have to be 'makeshift camps'. And there is no hearing about the armed
conflicts from which many of them have fled without reference sooner or
later to 'Africa's forgotten war'. The conflict in Western Sahara, the
subject of Toby Shelley's book, was often referred to as a forgotten war. It
also displaced a large number of the territory's inhabitants, whose camps
are in no sense makeshift: the Sahrawi refugees from former Spanish Sahara
have been stranded across the border in Algeria for thirty years now.
Western Sahara is interesting chiefly because the territory, which belonged
to Spain, passed directly from European domination to occupation by its
neighbours, when it was ceded by Madrid in 1975 to Morocco and Mauritania.
Morocco took a good and profitable slice of the north - phosphates were the
main economic enticement - and Mauritania, the poorer neighbour abutting the
south, took the rest. Spanish Sahara, in other words, was never properly
decolonised.
The difficulty for the new owner-occupiers was twofold: first, their
presence contravened international law; second, a liberation movement was
already in existence. The Polisario Front, which evolved from a
pro-independence organisation formed in 1969, had fired the first shot
against the Spanish in 1973. There was now no reason for it to end the armed
struggle, any more than there had been for Fretilin in East Timor, when
Indonesia seized the former Portuguese colony after the collapse of the
Caetano dictatorship. Polisario was backed by Algeria, a formidable ally
with ample weapons stocks, which nursed a long-standing animosity,
reciprocated by King Hassan II and his government, towards the largely
pro-Western monarchy on its western border.
East Timor and Western Sahara are post-colonial narratives in the proper
sense; and how badly they read. General Franco's death followed within a
year and a half of the April revolution in Lisbon, but dancing on the graves
of Iberian Fascism was not the objective for Fretilin or Polisario, so much
as a brisk ceremonial walk through the cemetery, ending with a formal
handover at the gates. Both movements saw their hopes dashed. East Timor had
to survive more than twenty years of Indonesian occupation before the
referendum in 1999 that gave it independence. It is thirty years since
Western Sahara was overrun by a new set of masters and, despite prolonged
attention from the UN, there is no resolution in sight.
The key to the difficulty lies in the suggestion that Western Sahara and
therefore the Sahrawis are 'really' Moroccan by virtue of a history that
predates the settling of formal colonial boundaries - a hollow claim in
terms of modern international jurisprudence, but one on which Rabat has
always insisted. The Sahrawis themselves are a people of mixed descent -
Berber and Arab - whose ancestors, the Beni Hassan, left Yemen and drifted
west about eight hundred years ago. Sahrawis speak an Arabic dialect known
as Hassaniya. They also speak Spanish, the language of the former colonial
power. Traditionally, the main Sahrawi tribes have lived as pastoralists and
traders, working vast stretches of desert including parts of Morocco,
Algeria, Mauritania and beyond; all this in addition to Western Sahara
itself.
In the distant past, some tribes, or parts of tribes, pledged allegiance to
the sultan of Morocco. More recently - in 1904 - the pledge was given by a
famous leader known as Ma al-Ainen ('Water in the Eyes'), who sought the
sultan's support for an anti-French insurrection in the south. Ma al-Ainen
was not from Western Sahara, though he founded the Saharan town of Smara at
the end of the 19th century. He kept the French busy until he was crushed in
1910, a few years after the sultan himself had signed most of modern-day
Morocco into colonial control.
The Spanish acquisition of Western Sahara as it looks today took place in
1924, at which point the lineaments of a Sahrawi national identity begin to
appear. Parts of the picture remain frayed, however, since many Sahrawis
were to be found outside this slab of territory when it was demarcated.
Thirty years later, during another uprising, the Sahrawis were supported by
contingents of fighters from Morocco (by now independent) and eventually
crushed by a joint French-Spanish operation; at the end of the uprising,
many found themselves in southern Morocco, where they were disarmed and
eventually integrated into the Moroccan army. Perhaps the alliance of the
Sahrawis and Moroccans against the French and Spanish at this time lends
force to the Moroccan thesis, even if it carries no weight in law. One of
the main notions of the day among Moroccan nationalist intellectuals was
that the end of colonialism would allow Moroccan hegemony over an enormous
tract of north-west Africa - including parts of Mali - which they referred
to as 'Greater Morocco'. That was not possible, but twenty years after
Moroccan independence (and after twenty years of Spanish rule in Western
Sahara which served to put the finishing touches to Sahrawi national
consciousness), there was still a formidable consensus among Moroccan
political parties that the territory was theirs by rights. It is a tribute
to Moroccan tenacity, and to the power of Morocco's friends, that this
vision, mostly derived from pre-colonial Islamic concepts of fealty, has
been able to prevail for three decades in the face of a modern, secular
international order that has now begun to weaken.
Toby Shelley focuses on the situation in the territory since the ceasefire
of 1991, though he also provides a synopsis of the war and the political
forces that gave rise to it. The ceasefire itself was the result of a
military stalemate, although for a time Polisario had enjoyed the advantage
of a small, mobile guerrilla army with a better knowledge of the terrain
than either of its adversaries could claim. In 1979, three years after
partition, the Mauritanians were humiliated: Nouakchott recognised
Polisario's non-existent state-in-the-offing, the 'Sahrawi Arab Democratic
Republic', and watched from the sidelines as the Moroccans moved into the
areas it had relinquished. What followed was a tough and costly struggle
between the remaining two protagonists.
Well, not quite two. There was always Algeria, with its 'unstinting' support
for the Front, including a good quantity of matériel - supplemented by
equipment Polisario had taken from the Moroccans and Mauritanians - and its
provision for the tens of thousands of Sahrawi refugees who'd fled the
Moroccan incursion in 1976, a little after the handover by Madrid. These
people required food, water, tents and - as time wore on - more sturdy
facilities built in cement and breeze block, in the windswept rubble desert
of south-west Algeria to which they'd been confined.
Polisario made life hard for the Moroccan army. The Front's units were
sometimes able to raid beyond the Moroccan/ Western Saharan border, in
Morocco proper, and at the time of the Mauritanian withdrawal, settling in
for a full-scale siege looked unappealing to Rabat, which was racking up its
external debt with every day the war drew on. France had supported the king,
diplomatically and militarily, during the first phase of the takeover and
would remain the most obstinate of Morocco's allies. The US, too, was an
important patron and when the Moroccans eventually hit on the idea of a long
militarised sandwall to protect their demoralised troops, and the productive
parts of the territory, from Polisario raids - a vast and expensive project
entailing far larger commitments than it had made thus far - Washington rose
to the occasion with a sixfold increase in the value of defence equipment
supplied to the kingdom. The wall, which eventually stretched for 1200 miles
north-east to south-west across the territory, swung the military situation
against Polisario. The valuable phosphate mines and the main towns were now
enclosed. So were most of the inhabitants who'd remained in the territory
after 1976: there could be no fraternisation between Polisario - with its
bases in the refugee camps in Algeria - and resident Sahrawis, now under
foreign rule, who appeared by and large to support the Front. The so-called
'liberated' areas beyond Moroccan control were of little value. Polisario
was free to operate in them and from time to time it launched attacks on the
wall. Morocco, meanwhile, was filling the cloistered parts of the territory
with settlers. This was full-on annexation, hard to undo by negotiation if
the time ever came, and impossible to disrupt by military pressure.
The United States remained Morocco's superpower supplier for the duration of
the Cold War and Morocco was a trustworthy ally. In the late 1970s, it had
helped to put down anti-Mobutu movements in Zaire (in Shaba province in 1977
France and the US co-ordinated an airlift of 1500 Moroccan troops). King
Hassan's entourage was on cordial terms with Jonas Savimbi, the Angolan
contra, and was said to do business with Renamo, the opaque insurgency in
Mozambique. At home, dissent and inappropriate political sympathies were
discouraged - Driss Basri, the king's minister of the interior, was
alarmingly good at this - and when Reagan was in the White House, his Rapid
Deployment Force got stopover facilities in Morocco. In 1986, Shimon Peres
made an official visit to the palace at Ifrane: some of Hassan's admirers in
the Arab world were secretly relieved; others worried that the king was
loyal to a fault.
With the completion of the sandwall, Hassan felt he was in a strong position
to dictate terms. Both belligerents appeared ready to talk and it was agreed
in principle that there should be a ceasefire followed by a referendum in
the territory. Sahrawis would be asked whether they wished to accept the
fait accompli of 'integration' with Morocco or become citizens of a new and
independent state, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, as Polisario
proposed.
Where Shelley takes up the story in earnest, he tells it very well, and his
is the only full-length, readily available account in English that covers
the years of failed diplomacy. Even so, you can't help feeling it requires
the talents of a comic genius - perhaps a Mark Twain, whose satire on King
Leopold's Congo was so astute - to lay the thing bare in all its painful
absurdity. A modern-day Twain might have received the following outline from
his researchers and gone on to embellish it with more wit than they (or I)
could contrive.
The ceasefire was possible only because of the intervention of other
parties, notably the UN. It insisted, as did the Organisation of African
Unity, that the fate of the disputed territory should be resolved by a vote.
The result would either confirm the annexation or return the Western Sahara
to the Sahrawis. When the parties agreed to this, many hands were shaken and
solemn pledges given. The territory would shortly see the sublime principles
of the UN unfold in practice: commitment to the rule of international law
and the right of self-determination; also to the right of large numbers of
people - above all, to the UN's way of thinking, people in Africa - to place
marked and folded papers in sealed boxes. The UN announced the creation of a
mission to the territory (Minurso) and began dispatching staff. The
referendum was scheduled for 1992.
But who was entitled to take part? The Sahrawis felt that the only fair way
to determine this was to look at the census drawn up by Spain before it
left. According to their calculations, there would be about 75,000 people
who could vote, some in the territory itself, others in exile; most of them,
if not all, would favour independence.
King Hassan did not see eye to eye with the Sahrawis. There were many more,
in the royal view, who lived within the legal borders of his kingdom but who
had originated in the annexed slab of desert: these, he was sure, would
favour 'integration'. The vote was duly delayed, and Minurso personnel
kicked their heels for a year or two, at some cost to the UN's 179
member-states.
Two years after the referendum should have taken place, a possible solution
was still being framed in terms of the highest UN ideals, self-determination
and democracy; the king now agreed with everybody else, including the
Sahrawis, the UN and many seasoned observers, that the old Spanish census
was, subject to reasonable debate, a basis for establishing who could vote.
(Impartial estimates for the number of voters were close to the figure
suggested by the Sahrawis: between 80,000 and 85,000.)
The long process of 'voter identification' at last got underway, again at
some cost to UN member-states, of which there were now 185, though the
Sahrawis, whose burning desire was to have a state of their own, and accede
to the great organisation itself, were if anything a little further from
their goals. That this was the case became clear within a year of the
voter-identification process starting up, when King Hassan made a modest
amendment to the voter-base by proposing an additional 100,000 voters from
outside Western Sahara. Minurso staff, exasperated but cornered, duly made
arrangements for about forty new identification facilities. The process was
now sure to be held up for a very long time as the new loyalist applicants
were considered.
A few weeks later came a second royal petition to include tens of thousands
of additional applications from the so-called 'contested tribes' - a vexed
category of three tribal groupings (out of 88) which had puzzled the Spanish
at the time of the census and which the Sahrawis thought, correctly as it
turned out, would give the king another eligibility gap through which to
feed thousands of debatable applications.
The royal stratagem was quite clearly to bog down the identification process
to such an extent that the UN lost patience and the Sahrawis lost hope. But
the long and costly business of establishing the right to vote continued and
by 1996, the mission had identified 60,000 eligible voters, although thanks
to Hassan, there were still 164,000 files to be processed.
The following year, James Baker, Bush Senior's former secretary of state,
was appointed as special envoy to Kofi Annan and matters began to proceed
with more vigour, even though the referendum was now six years behind
schedule. Hassan had got his way with some, at least, of the initial 100,000
voters he wished to add to the list. Minurso, meanwhile, was working
ceaselessly on voter identification. Under Baker's stern eye, Phase One was
completed, with some 85,000 eligible voters identified. As the process
entered Phase Two, the king began lodging appeals: 79,000 in the first
instance, most requiring the lengthy procedure of a hearing with witnesses.
Even Baker reeled at the prospect. And now an additional set of petitions
was launched - about 65,000 - pertaining to the contested tribes. The
mission, hurried along by Baker, upheld roughly 2000. Mohamed VI - King
Hassan having died the year before - expressed 'dismay' and lodged a further
sheaf of appeals, in the order of 54,000.
The success of the royal stratagem was by this time beyond doubt. The UN
could not keep a mission in the area for very much longer without passing on
the costs to its grumbling member-states, whose number had increased to 189,
though the Sahrawis were still no closer to having a state of their own.
And now the UN began to reconsider its steadfast commitment to the
self-determination of colonised peoples everywhere, but especially to the
Sahrawis. Might it not be acceptable, under the circumstances, to abandon
this hallowed precept in favour of something called 'autonomy', or even
'enhanced autonomy' within the monarch's sway? After all, another noble and
inviolable principle would still be in place: somebody would still mark and
fold pieces of paper and place them in a box, which was impressive surely,
even if the decision the Sahrawis had wanted to make was, on the face of it,
unavailable to them; and even if quite a lot of people beside the Sahrawis
would now be stuffing papers into boxes?
The timing and figures in this gloomy narrative are Shelley's, although the
cynicism might be anyone's. Minurso, the UN mission to the territory,
receives shorter shrift than its personnel deserve. Many of them were
distressed about the failure of the process. Some resigned. What does a
bunch of oppressed tribespeople matter in the greater scheme of things? Yet
it is fair to think of the Sahrawis as an identifiable group of people over
and above the constituent tribes, homogeneous inasmuch as they are stateless
and persecuted, just as it was fair to think of the East Timorese or the
Eritreans along the same lines. And the Polisario leadership, secular,
fluent diplomats, realists despite the ugly reality that confronts them, are
no less sophisticated than the members of a British political party in
opposition or an African liberation movement swept to power by favourable
circumstances.
As for the way events turned out, the referendum set for 1992 seemed finally
to have been laid to rest ten years later, when the Settlement Plan, as the
original UN/OAU-brokered scheme was known, was superseded by something known
as the Framework Agreement. Yet, as Shelley explains, it is not a
straightforward matter of burying the referendum without honours.
Morocco did indeed force Baker and Annan to abandon the Settlement Plan, but
the Framework Agreement includes the deferred possibility of independence,
on paper at least. According to the plan, the occupation of Western Sahara
would be made legal - horror of horrors for Polisario and the Sahrawis, who
had clung to UN principles, if not UN deeds, for 27 years: the territory
would become a Moroccan province, and the Sahrawi refugees in Algeria - by
now about 160,000 - would return home. Those Sahrawis that the UN mission
had found eligible to vote in the referendum would then elect a provincial
authority, with power over the local legal system, policing and natural
resources, among other things. Morocco, as the new lawful sovereign, would
remain in charge of external relations and defence. Its army would remain in
the territory. Within 'four to five years' of the authority being voted in,
there would be a referendum in Western Sahara. Its inhabitants would be
asked whether they wished to remain members of an autonomous province within
Morocco, opt for full integration or become properly independent.
When they heard the plan outlined four years ago, it struck the Polisario
leadership like a blow to the head. The Moroccans must have been delighted
with the first draft they saw: indeed, there's a story that they suggested
most of it to Baker in a fax, on which he then went to work. The referendum
was being pushed back another five years and in the unlikely event that it
ever came to a vote, there were now three options rather than two, which
could, with a little judicious campaigning, enable the nationalists to be
split. Finally, gloriously, there was the crucial term 'inhabitants'. This
meant that the indigenous Sahrawi population, refugees included, would no
longer be the only voters: the tens of thousands of settlers who had been
poured into the territory from the late 1970s would surely help to swing the
result Rabat's way. Polisario reckoned that 65 per cent of the voters would
be Moroccan, and so Sahrawi self-determination was no longer on offer in any
intelligible sense.
Years of cleverness and prevarication had been so amply rewarded that,
between the first and final drafts of the Framework Agreement, Rabat decided
to dig the ditch it had prepared for Polisario a little deeper. Why, it now
asked, with its nose in the air, should this new and commendable framework
be cluttered with the debris of the dreary Settlement Plan? Why bother, in
other words, with a referendum at all? And suddenly Baker and Annan looked
like witnesses waiting outside a rainswept register office for a couple that
would never show. The surprise came when Polisario, pushed by Algeria for
reasons of its own, swung around and agreed to discuss a new draft. The
Front's situation had become so dismal, in Shelley's view, that its best
option was to leave Morocco looking isolated and unco-operative. As of now,
there is no move to implement the Framework Agreement, because Rabat has
refused to countenance it. Supporters of the Sahrawis are pleased to see
Morocco isolated, but as Shelley says, Polisario's victory was 'tactical
rather than strategic' and anyhow it's a desolate sort of pleasure: delay
has always been Morocco's strongest suit. It is doubtful, too, how real this
'isolation' is.
Morocco was a little out on a limb between the end of the Cold War and the
start of the 'war on terror'. It was one of several pro-Western Cold War
allies which imprisoned people, including pro-independence Sahrawis, in
extreme conditions: 'whole "sentences"', Shelley writes of 17 or 18-year
detentions in solitary confinement, were passed with the prisoner 'unable to
get up from the floor'. Crouching in darkness by royal decree for a third of
one's life was not the worst of it: according to Amnesty International,
other, more refined forms of torment were inflicted; the record as a whole
was briefly frowned on by the Clinton administration. But the war on terror
has given dungeon-culture a new lease of life, as our own tinpot
administration can attest: see the story of Binyam Mohammed, an Ethiopian
student in Notting Hill flown to Morocco to have his genitals cut with a
scalpel during interrogation ( Sunday Times, 11 December 2005). A friend who
tortures US and US-surrogate referrals under rendition is a friend indeed.
Shelley hints that Polisario is even more isolated than Morocco; certainly
it has less to offer Bush and Blair. But he also points up the movement's
isolation in the refugee camps, from where it can have little power over
events in the occupied territory. He has visited Western Sahara and wrung a
lot of interesting detail from towns where media access is strictly
controlled and troublemakers - pro-independence activists or the families of
detainees - are kept away from visitors. His sense is that much now hangs on
what Sahrawis in Western Sahara can do to challenge the occupation.
Building an independence movement under the noses of Moroccan security and
military is not at all straightforward, however. At the end of the Cold War,
human rights pressures led to a generous release of political prisoners,
including about 320 Sahrawis; 59 others, it transpired, had died in
detention. Sahrawi activists told Shelley that there are still about five
hundred people whose fate is unknown. The figures don't seem especially high
until one recalls how very small the adult Sahrawi population of Western
Sahara is: in percentage terms, this is not so far from the levels of
repression in which men like Elliott Abrams (now Deputy NSA and special
assistant to Bush) and John Negroponte (now National Intelligence director)
connived during the 1980s in Central America.
The brazen persecution of Sahrawis is once again common, after a three-year
interval of relative calm, following Hassan II's death. In 2001, Mohamed
Daddach, a staunch Polisario activist and a powerfully symbolic figure for
Sahrawis, was released after 22 years in jail. Crowds in the capital,
Laayoune, turned out to greet him chanting: 'East Timor, Western Sahara'.
Four days later, in the smaller town of Smara, a demonstration against
unemployment was violently broken up by police. It marked the beginning of
the end of the new king's patchy desert spring down in the occupied
territory.
Shelley's sense that there are growing signs of 'civil society' under
occupation - expressed forms of resistance - comes down, in the end, to a
handful of publicised activities, including demonstrations, hunger strikes
by prisoners, visible campaigning by the families of the disappeared and a
range of gestures including 'graffiti, distributing nationalist leaflets,
hanging out flags at night'. What levels of organisation, if any, underlie
these actions is hard to say: the territory is stuffed with security police
and it may be that Sahrawis themselves must, for their own safety, operate
strictly on a need-to-know basis.
The culture of intimidation is long-standing. Minurso was powerless or
unwilling to do much about it, even at the height of UN activities in the
territory, and Sahrawis wishing to register to vote were forced to go
through Moroccan rather than UN procedures. Anyone trying to make direct
contact with mission staff in UN compounds surrounded by spooks,
plainclothes men and informers, was denounced, when they weren't actually
filmed at the gates, and reprisals followed in short order. More generally,
with numbers of Sahrawi adults and numbers of army and security personnel
fairly similar, the situation might - statistically - be described as
one-on-one surveillance. Meanwhile the Sahrawis themselves are now
outnumbered by Moroccan settlers. The annexation has cost Rabat a fortune,
but it has been cleverly managed.
Recouping the costs is impossible, although there are benefits to be had
from the plunder of the territory, just as there were for South Africa when
it ran Namibia - and for any fleet that got to fish Namibian territorial
waters. The illegal use of Western Saharan ports, in which Brussels connives
by purchasing licences worth millions of dollars from Morocco, has been 'a
major employer and provider of revenues', according to Shelley. Much of the
money is reinvested in Moroccan fleets that now fetch in a high proportion
of the total catch - 40 per cent and rising, for as long as the depleted
fish stocks last.
Phosphate deposits, purchased by fertiliser and detergent companies mostly
in Australasia, the US and Latin America, are also a major source of wealth
for Morocco. The combined output of its own mines and those of Western
Sahara, modernised by Spain in the early 1970s, makes Morocco one of the
biggest phosphate exporters in the world.
The novel dimension to the geography of this dispute is offshore oil.
Shelley, once the energy desk editor for Dow Jones Newswires, has the story
at his fingertips. In 2000 Morocco was the second largest oil importer in
Africa ('the Ottomans stopped at Algiers,' Moroccans like to say, 'and so
did the oil'). Over the years, various surveys on and offshore have come to
nothing, but the discovery of viable deposits off the coast of Mauritania in
2001 suggested a promising future in Western Saharan territorial waters -
more promising than anything further north in Morocco proper. Towards the
end of the year, Rabat 'parcelled out the entirety of the Western Sahara's
waters' to the French multinational TotalFinalElf and the Texan Kerr-McGee.
With the scent of smoke still lingering in the air from the Ogoni affair,
Polisario and Sahrawi support committees in the US and Europe responded
aggressively. Since Shelley published his book, Total has pulled out,
claiming to have 'found no oil or other hydrocarbons that can be exploited',
but the company may also have been concerned about the legal status of the
venture. Kerr-McGee, a Republican Party donor and a favourite of UK fund
managers (notably Legal and General), has not been dissuaded from
'reconnaissance' - a new, Moroccan approach to awarding licences which
allows companies to explore on a semi-speculative basis with a much reduced
outlay, though new agreements must be drawn up for drilling to begin.
The UN's legal counsel has given an opinion on the controversy that appears
to favour the Sahrawi cause: no drilling without the consent of the people
who may or may not get to vote on the fate of their own territory. But the
same legal advice goes on to conclude that the reconnaissance contracts
awarded by Morocco were within the law inasmuch as they did not extend to
the drilling phase. It also suggested that resource exploitation in
'non-self-governing territories' carried out 'for the benefit of the peoples
of these territories, on their behalf or in consultation with their
representatives' was 'compatible with UN Charter obligations'. Shelley
remarks: 'Who has the right to declare oil operations to be beneficial to
Sahrawis? Is it Polisario or the government in Rabat or the local government
installed by Rabat, or could it be a tier of government introduced under an
autonomy arrangement put in place either by the international community or
by Morocco acting unilaterally?' The legal advice, in other words, goes to
the heart of the question and smatters it with fudge. In the meantime, a
smaller oil company, Fusion, has decided to throw in its lot with Polisario
and accept a promissory licence issued by the Front, with exploration
starting once the SADR has come into existence. Last December Polisario
awarded a further batch of licences to six British oil companies that would
sooner gamble on the likelihood of independence than paddle around in
semi-legality, on or off Saharan shores.
Morocco's ingenuity and flair, throughout this story, have been remarkable.
The tone was set by the famous Green March of 1975, after the International
Court of Justice advised against Morocco's claim on Spanish Sahara. Hassan
responded by bussing 350,000 loyal subjects down to the territory in a show
of irredentist longing for lands detached from the sultanate during the
regrettable interval of European colonialism. At the same time, the Moroccan
army deployed to the east and within a month or so the air force was bombing
Sahrawi refugee columns headed for Algeria.
That combination of old and modern - pre-national claims, on the one hand;
well choreographed, media-sensitive stunts and the use of mass-destructive
technologies, on the other - has been the hallmark of the kingdom's success.
The huge defensive wall embodied the same creative balance: a primitive
rubble bulwark, bristling with sophisticated detection systems acquired from
companies in the West such as Racal. (Polisario was forced into a similar
position. Their tried-and-tested method of combat, the ghazzi, or desert
raid, was used in the name of a modern aspiration: not tribal, but civil
identity, couched in terms of the UN Charter and the fashionable idiom of
decolonisation.)
In this context, Morocco's readiness to hold everything up is not simply a
tactic but the attitude of a deeply conservative political culture confident
that it will prevail, once the sands have buried the last traces of an
inconvenient idea: that of the independent sovereign nation defined by the
boundaries its colonial masters gave it. In managing to violate these
'inviolable' boundaries for more than thirty years, Rabat has let it be
known that it sees 'national liberation' as a blip in the longue durée.
Meanwhile, as Baker told Polisario in 2000, Western Sahara is 'not Kuwait':
there is no question of a military intervention to uphold the rule of
international law.
Asked to bet on the outcome in north-west Africa, you might not put your
money where the more cautious oil companies have put theirs. Yet one way or
another, the fact that oil is perceived as scarce only increases its
influence on events: it's as though this miraculous sediment that has shaped
so much recent history now has the power to saturate it - and it is sure to
have a bearing on the future of Western Sahara. One of the main issues here
is America's need for a spread of petroleum sources and it is this, as
Shelley observes, that could give renewed impetus to the search for a
settlement in Western Sahara, even if Kuwait isn't the model.
There is, too, the endless search for markets, which assumed a new
ideological force after the Cold War. In the Maghreb the EU competes
directly with the US, but for both of them the inward investors' dream of a
single market is impossible while tensions between Morocco and Algeria
preclude anything resembling an open border. Europe and the US need
stability for market penetration to succeed and in addition the US needs
Morocco as an ally in the war on terror. Markets, then, are another reason
that Western Sahara may remain in focus, but not one that Sahrawis should
necessarily welcome. For the time being it is to the Europeans' advantage,
but even more to Washington's, to appear even-handed in all dealings with
Algeria and Morocco. 'If the aim is to create a stable single market safe
for US investors,' Shelley writes, 'alienating one or other of the key
partners is not the path to follow' - which, in turn, may mean that the US
becomes increasingly cautious about initiatives for Western Sahara. For as
long as caution means inertia, it tends to favour Morocco.
Twenty years ago it was thought that Morocco could collapse under the
pressure of the occupation, a huge cost burdening a ramshackle economy, in a
repressive state with high levels of poverty. Only the levels of repression
appear to have diminished. A reparations scheme, now run by a body called
the Equity and Reconciliation Commission, was introduced after Hassan's
death to compensate the victims of his dungeons, the idea being to 'close
the file on past human rights violations'. There are also efforts to protect
the rights of women. In 2004 there were 33 'royal pardons' for prisoners,
some of them political. But the war on terror is a big proviso and it's
clear that after the Islamist bomb in Casablanca in 2003, it was back to
business in the interrogation centres, with more than two hundred sentences
handed down the following year. And of course there's work to do for the US
and Britain. The lesser proviso is that very little of this tenuous
liberalisation applies to the Sahrawis. None, Shelley says, referring to an
Amnesty International report, had received compensation for detention at the
time he was researching the book and many were at risk of being seized
again.
Polisario must hope, as it always has, that the Moroccan economy continues
to groan and the conversation among Moroccans turns increasingly to open
disaffection with the way they are governed. These were, approximately, the
preconditions in Indonesia for East Timor's long-awaited independence. From
the rest of the world there is not much the Sahrawis should expect - or that
is Shelley's view.
Jeremy Harding is a contributing editor at the London Review. Mother
Country, a memoir, will appear from Faber in April. He lives near Bordeaux.
________________________________________________________
Source: http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n04/hard01_.html
See also: The Economist book review: Just deserts?
________________________________________________________
Forwarded by:
The Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara
*** Humanitarian aid to the Saharawi refugees NOW! ***
wsa...@online.no
________________________________________________________
Tip: search the message archive by key words, poster or date at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sahara-Update/messages
SPONSORED LINKS Humanitarian organizations Sahara
Boris Ryser
by Saeed Taji Farouky
Monday 03 April 2006 10:56 PM GMT
Tense relations between the separatist Polisario Front movement and the
Moroccan government have worsened after recent licensing of oil exploration
rights in the Western Sahara .
In 1975, Morocco annexed the former Spanish territory of Western Sahara
during a rapid and ill-planned decolonisation process.
A lengthy guerrilla war followed between Moroccan troops and the Polisario
Front, which says it fights for the rights of the Sahrawi peoples.
Sahrawi refugees fled the fighting and settled in camps in southern Algeria
from where the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), a republic-in-exile,
was declared on February 27, 1976.
The war ended with a UN-sponsored ceasefire in 1991.
Morocco remains firm in its position that the "southern provinces" -
Rabat's official name for the territory - are an "inalienable and
indivisible" part of the Kingdom.
In early March, King Mohammad VI toured the region for the first time in
four years. During his 2002 visit, he announced " Morocco will not abandon a
single inch of its southern provinces".
But more recently he has indicated a willingness to explore possible
autonomy.
Licensing war?
But the war could flare again over lucrative oil exploration deals claimed
by both sides.
Last week, the Polisario Front released details of oil exploration licences
negotiated with eight UK-based oil companies for operations in the disputed
Western Sahara.
In a direct challenge to similar licences previously issued by Moroccan
state oil company Office National de Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM), the
move threatens to further complicate Morocco-Polisario relations at a time
when tensions are already high following the Polisario Front's commemoration
of 30 years in exile.
The licences issued by the Polisario Front correspond to an area under their
control - around one-third of the total Western Sahara - which they refer
to as the "liberated zone", the no-man's-land between the Mauritanian border
and the 1,500km long defensive wall of sand built by the Moroccan military
during the period of open hostilities.
But the licences also include the 110,400sq km Bujdor zone, in
Moroccan-controlled Atlantic waters on Africa's western coast.
ONHYM previously sold a Bujdor zone reconnaissance licence to Oklahoma-based
independent oil giant Kerr-McGee in 2002.
Since 2001, a number of US and European oil companies have negotiated
licences with ONHYM.
Now, only Kerr-McGee and its partners Kosmos and Pioneer Natural Resources
remain - the others have either pulled out under pressure from campaigns
urging shareholder divestment, or have simply allowed their initial licences
to expire.
The licenses are up for renewal on an annual basis.
Atlantic waters
How much oil lies along Atlantic waters or onshore is still a matter of
speculation.
Peter Dolan, non-executive director of Ophir Energy, one of the eight
UK-based oil companies granted licences by the Polisario Front, says there
has been no recent off-shore drilling with modern technology.
He said: "The area was only very lightly explored many years ago. So it is
very much a case of an exploration hunch at the moment that the area has,
theoretically, the potential to have similar geology to that which is
further to the south, off-shore Mauritania.
"It's more a qualitative judgment at the moment rather than anything
quantitative."
For its part, the Polisario Front says that the Western Sahara's Atlantic
waters are being illegally exploited by Moroccan-issued exploration permits.
Kerr-McGee maintains that their presence in the Western Sahara does not
affect in any way political negotiations.
John Christiensen, spokesman for Kerr-McGee, told Al Jazeera.net: "We
support the ongoing efforts of the United Nations to find a permanent and an
amicable solution to the Western Sahara issue." However, he added that he
could not speculate on the company's future plans in the area.
Abdelmalek Achargui, economic counsellor in Morocco's UK embassy, says his
government's position has always been that the Western Sahara is part of
Morocco.
He said: "Even if it's still a disputed territory, exploration is
permitted."
He was referring to the UN's 2002 ruling on Moroccan licences in which Hans
Corell, the UN undersecretary-general for legal affairs, concluded: "The
specific contracts are not, in themselves, illegal."
Wider strategy
The Polisario Front's licenses will only be valid if the SADR ever achieves
full independence and is admitted into the UN General Assembly, an outcome
that Morocco has so far resolutely refused. But in the meantime, the
Polisario Front licences are more than just symbolic.
Jacob Mundy, an independent consultant on the Western Sahara, believes
issuing licences may be part of the Polisario Front's wider strategy of
keeping attention focused on the dispute and international law.
He said: "I think what their strategy might be, is to have these companies
actually go head to head. I think the companies might be proxies for this
conflict, and the Polisario would want to force this into a legal arena
where they have a much better position."
No international body recognises Morocco's sovereignty over the territory,
and the UN has called the area disputed territory and does not recognise
Moroccan sovereignty.
However, the facts on the ground are still very much in Morocco's favour.
ONHYM does not recognise the Polisario Front, and director Amina Benkhadra
explained via email that Morocco would continue to maintain the legality of
their contracts because "the SADR representatives have no legal authority as
far as the political solution is still pending".
Political motivations
The issuing of licenses may boil over if oil companies are seen as
inadvertent parties to the conflict.
Mohammad Khaddad, chief oil and gas negotiator for the Polisario, says of
Kerr-McGee: "They are just accepting the Moroccan position. That means that
they are a part of the conflict, and it will become very dangerous if they
declare themselves as part of the conflict."
The question remains as to what will happen if Morocco proceeds to allow oil
drilling off-shore of the Western Sahara.
Mohammad Liman, a Polisario Front representative to the UK, warned: "We are
not terrorists, but we prefer to advise them (foreign oil companies) that we
cannot guarantee their safety."
Despite the ceasefire, there is once again talk of violence as the refugees
grow increasingly frustrated with the pace of UN negotiations.
Rabat recently reiterated its plans for greater autonomy for the territory,
but Mohammad Abdelaziz, the president of SADR, has rejected any offer short
of full independence by referendum.
In his address marking the 30th anniversary of the declaration of the SADR,
he said that "the situation is becoming more difficult and dangerous".
One soldier serving in the Polisario armed forces struck a darker note:
"From children to adults," he told Al Jazeera.net, "everyone will tell you
they want war."
Aljazeera
By Saeed Taji Farouky
________________________________________________________
Source:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/601BEA52-C014-4263-AAFB-657505002CA6.htm
See also:
- Press Release: SADR Offshore Oil & Gas License Awards, Mar 16, 2006:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sahara-Update/message/1709
________________________________________________________
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Boris Ryser
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Public Statement
AI Index: MDE 29/007/2006 (Public)
News Service No: 083
3 April 2006
Embargo Date: 3 April 2006 00:01 GMT
Morocco/Western Sahara: Sahrawi human rights defender on trial
On the eve of the opening of the trial in Laayoune of Sahrawi human rights
defender Brahim Dahane and 16 other detainees, Amnesty International calls
on the Moroccan authorities to ensure that the proceedings meet
international standards for fair trial. The organization's appeal is
prompted by serious concerns about the fairness of trials of similar cases
in recent months.
Brahim Dahane, who has been in detention since his arrest on 30 October
2005, is to be tried, along with his 16 co-accused, on various charges
mainly related to participating in or inciting violent protest activities
against the Moroccan administration of Western Sahara last year. Brahim
Dahane is, in addition, charged with belonging to an unauthorized
association, namely the Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Human Rights
Violations Committed by the Moroccan State, of which he is the president. He
and a number of activists have been seeking to register the association in
recent months, but have been unable to complete the process due to a series
of what appear to be politically motivated administrative obstacles.
Like other Sahrawi human rights defenders who have been detained in recent
months, Brahim Dahane appears to have been targeted because of his leading
role as a human rights defender and his exposure of abuses by Moroccan
security forces during and after demonstrations which began in May 2005, as
well as his public advocacy of self-determination for the people of Western
Sahara. Amnesty International considers that Brahim Dahane is probably a
prisoner of conscience.
Tomorrow's trial comes in the wake of the recent release of five Sahrawi
human rights defenders, a positive development which has, however, been
marred by further harassment of human rights defenders in Western Sahara.
The release of the five Sahrawi human rights defenders - H'mad Hammad,
Houssein Lidri, Larbi Messaoud, Mohamed El-Moutaouakil and Brahim Noumria -
followed a royal pardon on 25 March 2006 on the occasion of a visit by King
Mohamed VI to Western Sahara. They belonged to a group of seven human rights
defenders who had been convicted and sentenced in December 2005 and January
2006 to up to two years' imprisonment on various charges mainly related to
participating in and inciting violent protest activities against the
Moroccan administration of Western Sahara last year.
Of the remaining two human rights defenders, one, Aminatou Haidar, was
released in January 2006 after serving a seven-month prison sentence. The
other, Ali-Salem Tamek, was excluded from the pardon and remains imprisoned,
reportedly because he is considered the leading spokesperson within
Moroccan-administered territory of those advocating independence for Western
Sahara. Amnesty International expressed serious concerns about the fairness
of the trials of the seven defenders, who are well known to the organization
as long-term human rights activists, and considered that they were probably
prisoners of conscience.
While welcoming the releases, Amnesty International is, by contrast,
concerned that several Sahrawi human rights defenders were allegedly
subjected to harassment or intimidation around the time of King Mohamed VI's
visit to Western Sahara at the end of March 2006. Ghalia Djimi,
vice-president of the Sahrawi Association for Victims of Gross Human Rights
Violations Committed by the Moroccan State, and her husband Mustapha Dah, a
member of the same association, were arrested in Laayoune at about 8pm on 24
March 2006 and held overnight in a police station, before being released
without charge at around 3pm the following day. Ghalia Djimi said they were
questioned about their attitude towards the King's visit, as well as their
political beliefs and the activities of their association.
In a separate incident, Hamoud Iguilid, President of the Laayoune Section of
the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, was arrested in Laayoune on 18
March 2006 and taken to a nearby police station. He told Amnesty
International that he was beaten with batons on arrest and during the
journey in the back of a police van. He was then detained for several hours,
during which time he says he was threatened with imprisonment if he
continued to spread "false information" about human rights abuses. He was
released without charge.
During 2005, Amnesty International expressed its concern about the cases of
several other human rights defenders in Western Sahara who were arrested,
held for questioning and released. In some cases this was apparently a
response to public criticism they had made of the conduct of the Moroccan
security forces.
The vulnerability of the human rights community in Western Sahara is
increased by the fact that neither the Sahrawi Association of Victims of
Grave Human Rights Violations Committed by the Moroccan State, nor another
association to which many defenders belong, the Forum for Truth and
Justice - Sahara Branch, is authorized by the Moroccan authorities. The
latter was dissolved by court order in June 2003 on the grounds that the
organization had undertaken illegal activities likely to disturb public
order and undermine the territorial integrity of Morocco. However, the
activities described as illegal appeared to relate solely to members of the
organization exercising their right to express their opinions on
self-determination for the people of Western Sahara, and disseminating views
on human rights issues to bodies such as international human rights
organizations, including Amnesty International.
In the light of its ongoing concerns, Amnesty International calls on the
Moroccan authorities to take concrete measures to ensure that human rights
defenders in Western Sahara are not subject to harassment or intimidation
and enjoy all the rights enshrined in international law, notably the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Declaration
on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society
to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms (the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders), adopted by the UN
General Assembly on 9 December 1998. In particular, the Moroccan authorities
should comply fully with Articles 5 and 6 of the Declaration, which state:
"Article 5
For the purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental
freedoms, everyone has the right, individually and in association with
others, at the national and international levels: [.]
(b) To form, join and participate in non-governmental organizations,
associations or groups; [.]
"Article 6
Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others: [.]
(b) As provided for in human rights and other applicable international
instruments, freely to publish, impart or disseminate to others views,
information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms [.]".
Background
According to official statements, a total of 216 prisoners were pardoned by
King Mohamed VI on 25 March 2006. Apart from the five human rights
defenders, some 25 others who had been arrested during or after
demonstrations in Laayoune and Smara last year and charged with offences
such as criminal conspiracy, disturbing the public order, damage to public
property, participation in an armed gathering and violence against security
force officers were released. They had been convicted and sentenced to up to
five years in prison in various trials conducted between June 2005 and
January 2006.
The five Sahrawi human rights defenders who were pardoned had been detained
in Laayoune Civil Prison for up to eight months. They, along with Aminatou
Haidar and Ali-Salem Tamek, were arrested between June and August 2005 and
then convicted and jailed by the Laayoune Court of Appeal on 14 December
2005. Aminatou Haidar was sentenced to seven months in prison, Ali-Salem
Tamek to eight months, Houssein Lidri, Larbi Messaoud, Mohamed
El-Moutaouakil and Brahim Noumria to 10 months each, and H'mad Hammad to two
years. Aminatou Haidar was released at the end of her sentence on 16 January
2006. The other six had their cases reviewed by the appeal chamber of the
Laayoune Court of Appeal on 24 January 2006. The sentence against Ali-Salem
Tamek was increased from eight to 10 months in prison. The sentences
pronounced at first instance against H'mad Hammad, Houssein Lidri, Larbi
Messaoud, Mohamed El-Moutaouakil and Brahim Noumria were confirmed.
Amnesty International has campaigned on the cases of the human rights
defenders since their arrests last year, raising its concerns with the
Moroccan authorities and at the international level on a number of
occasions. The organization also sent Tunisian human rights lawyer Samir Ben
Amor to observe the first main session of the trial of seven of them in
November 2005.
In response to its concerns, Amnesty International received two detailed
letters, in July 2005 and February 2006, from the Moroccan Ministry of
Justice. The Ministry stated that the human rights defenders had not been
arrested and prosecuted on the basis of their views, but rather because of
their involvement in criminal acts. It stressed that they had benefited from
all the safeguards under Moroccan law during their arrest, detention and
trial, and gave details regarding ongoing investigations into allegations of
torture against Houssein Lidri and Brahim Noumria. It also refuted specific
allegations of harassment and intimidation of other human rights defenders
in Western Sahara.
Amnesty International welcomed these responses, as a sign of the Moroccan
authorities' willingness to engage on human rights issues. It notes,
however, that the authorities have not yet addressed its key concerns
related to the fairness of the trials of the human rights defenders, such as
the fact that the evidence was tainted with unexamined claims of torture or
ill-treatment and that the defendants were not permitted to call defence
witnesses.
For more information on the targeting of Sahrawi human rights defenders by
the Moroccan authorities, please see the following documents, all available
on Amnesty International's website at the addresses marked:
- Morocco/Western Sahara: Sahrawi human rights defenders under attack (AI
Index: MDE 29/008/2005), a 13-page report released on 24 November 2005;
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE290082005
- Morocco/Western Sahara: Human rights defenders on trial (AI Index: MDE
29/009/2005), a public statement issued on 28 November 2005;
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE290092005
- Morocco/Western Sahara: Human rights defenders jailed after questionable
trial (AI Index: MDE 29/010/2005), a public statement issued on 15 December
2005;
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE290102005
________________________________________________________
Source: http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGMDE290072006
________________________________________________________
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boris Ryser
Sahara Presse Service (SPS)
3. april 2006
El Aaiun (occupied territories
The Human Rights Rafto Price winner for the year 2002, Sidi Mohamed
Dadach, denounced his deprivation of the opportunity to profit from the
UN's supervised family exchange visits, Mr. Dadach declared in a letter he
addressed to the UNHCR responsible in El Aaiun.
"Having all needed criterion to take profit from the families visit
exchange These visits supervised by the UN's High Commissioner for Human
Rights for the Saharawi families separated since 30 years. And despite the
fact that I as one of the first to register for these visits, I was
deprived of this opportunity", the ex-prisoner, who has spent more than 20
years in the Moroccan prisons wrote in his letter.
Mr. Dadach, who was not allowed, by the Moroccan authorities, to visit his
very old mother, said that "the Moroccan justice has presented a judicial
dossier against him".
In 2003, the Moroccan colonial authorities confiscated the Saharawi human
rights activist passport, who was accompanied by 13 compatriots going to
Geneva, it should be recalled. (SPS)
070/090/110/TRD 031450 Avr 06 SPS
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Boris Ryser
afrol News
Oslo, Norway
4. April 2006
President Mohamed Abdelaziz of the exiled Western Sahara government during
a meeting with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in New York today demanded
concrete action from the UN peacekeepers (MINURSO) in the territory,
occupied by Morocco. MINURSO staff had not assisted Sahrawi civilians
during the clampdown of a recent riot. Mr Abdelaziz told Mr Annan the UN
troops should start protecting civilians or get out of Western Sahara.
MINURSO was established as a UN peacekeeping mission in 1991 following a
ceasefire between Morocco and the pro-independence movement Polisario. Its
primary mandate was to organise a referendum amongst the Sahrawi people on
independence in the former Spanish colony. Morocco has since that backed
down on the agreement to organise a referendum, leaving MINURSO basically
jobless for the last five years. The UN peacekeepers now mostly issue
reports on minor ceasefire violations.
Polisario leader and President of the exiled Sahrawi government,
Abdelaziz, is currently on an official visit at UN headquarters in New
York, where he is meeting with Mr Annan, ambassadors of all UN Security
Council members and African states. He is delivering the Sahrawis official
opinions on the stalled peace process and MINURSO's future, which the
Security Council debates regularly.
Mr Abdelaziz' message to the UN Secretary-General today was unusually
clear. "We clearly told him that if the MINURSO can neither fulfil its
mandate and supervise the organisation of a referendum nor protect the
Sahrawi population's human rights, its existence in the territory is
absolutely nonsense. It should rather withdraw," the Sahrawi leader told
the press, resuming his meeting with Mr Annan.
President Abdelaziz specially referred to the riot against Moroccan
presence in occupied Western Sahara, which has flared up from time to time
since May last year. The rioters have been met by armed Moroccan police
and troops, causing many injuries among civilians. Hundreds of Sahrawi
human rights activists and protesters have been jailed for shorter or
longer periods and there is proof that at least some of them have been
heavily tortured during detention.
The riots were sparked off again in several Sahrawi towns last week,
following the release of some human rights activists. According to reports
from Sahrawi activists, only in the north-eastern town of Smara, "more
than 130 persons were wounded or arrested." This is denied by Moroccan
authorities, which spoke about only a handful of injured, including police
officers.
According to Mr Abdelaziz, MINURSO was obliged to react to the "flagrant
human rights violations committed by the Moroccan colonial forces" as part
of their mandate. The violations were only possible due to "the lack of
intervention from MINURSO regarding the protection of the Sahrawi
population," he told the UN Secretary-General. "The forces of occupation
commit all sorts of human rights violations while MINURSO is on the ground
doing nothing to defend and protect the population," he complained.
The Sahrawi leader further complained about the "silence and lack of
response from the UN's Commissioner for Human Rights to a demand presented
October 2005 by Sahrawi authorities, asking for the dispatch of a
delegation to the Western Sahara." According to Mr Abdelaziz, a UN human
rights delegation had been denied entry to the territory by Morocco three
times.
After his meeting with Mr Annan, the Sahrawi President is to meet
ambassadors of the UN Security Council's member states, where he is
believed to repeat his message. Moroccan authorities within short are to
present their new plan of autonomy for Western Sahara to Mr Annan and the
Council - a concept that has been rejected by Polisario. The UN Security
Council is scheduled to discuss the Western Sahara issue on 10 April, when
it also will decide whether to renew MINURSO's mandate as it usually does
as a routine.
By staff writer
© afrol News
------
Source: http://www.afrol.com/articles/18711
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Boris Ryser
Friday April 07, 2006 11:22 - (SA)
MADRID - United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan has said
that he would present a new plan on the disputed Western Sahara to the
Security Council by the end of this month.
He said the proposal would be cautious, seek to be mutually acceptable
by those involved and capable of being put into practice without being
imposed on any of the parties.
Morocco claims the territory, which it annexed after the withdrawal of
Spain and Mauritania in the 1970s.
A guerrilla war with the Algerian-backed Polisario Front contesting
Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire.
A UN-proposed referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed.
Emerging from a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis
Rodriguez Zapatero, Annan declined to go into details of his plan and
said he had not been informed about another project for autonomy of
the region that Morocco intends to present to the UN.
The Polisario Front has rejected past Moroccan autonomy proposals, and
calls for a referendum on self-determination with the support of
Algeria.
Morocco has rejected a plan devised by former US Secretary of State
James Baker for autonomy followed within five years by a referendum on
self-determination.
Zapatero said that Spain, as the former colonial power in the Western
Sahara, would co-operate with the UN in the search for an agreement.
Sapa-AFP
________________________________________________________
Source:http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/zones/sundaytimesNEW/basket6st/basket6st
1144401746.aspx
________________________________________________________
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________________________________________________________
Boris Ryser
MADRID - Les autorités marocaines ont refusé mardi de laisser entrer une
délégation de députés espagnols à El Ayoun, chef-lieu du Sahara occidental,
a annoncé une responsable socialiste.
Rosa Penalve, avocate du Parti socialiste ouvrier espagnol (PSOE), a assuré
à l'agence Europa Press que la délégation de députés du gouvernement
régional de Murcie (sud de l'Espagne), qu'elle accompagnait, avait été
brièvement retenue par les autorités marocaines qui l'avaient ensuite
conduite à Agadir.
Le groupe souhaitait "visiter les territoires occupés par le Maroc au Sahara
occidental afin de déterminer si les droits de l'Homme y étaient respectés",
a dit Mme Penalve, selon laquelle son refoulement "démontre que le Maroc
entretient sur place une situation de non respect des droits et ne veut pas
que cela se sache à l'étranger".
Une source policière marocaine à El Ayoun a confirmé que la délégation était
arrivée lundi en avion venant de Las Palmas et n'a pas été autorisée à
rester dans le chef-lieu du Sahara occidental. Ses membres ont été conduits
à Agadir et ont regagné mardi l'Espagne.
Au moins sept délégations espagnoles ont été refoulées d'El Ayoun au cours
de l'année écoulée, malgré une promesse de Rabat d'y laisser entrer un
groupe de députés espagnols.
Les visites de parlementaires, de journalistes et de diverses ONG se sont
multipliées à El Ayoun depuis une vague de soulèvements violents de
Sahraouis en mai 2005.
Le Sahara occidental, ancienne colonie espagnole, a été annexé par le Maroc
en 1975. Le Front Polisario, soutenu par l'Algérie, réclame son
indépendance.
L'ancien représentant spécial de l'Onu, James Baker, a proposé en 2003 un
plan de règlement du conflit basé sur une période d'autonomie de cinq ans
suivie d'un référendum d'autodétermination.
Rabat a rejeté ce plan et le principe du référendum.
http://www.romandie.com/infos/news/060411193321.q4s2mtpr.asp
(©AFP / 11 avril 2006 21h33
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Boris Ryser
Typicallyspanish.com
11. Apr 2006
By m.p.
A delegation of regional MPs and journalists from Murcia has been refused
entry into the Western Sahara.
Their plane landed at El Aaiún airport on Monday night, but Moroccan
police refused to give the delegation permission to disembark. They were
questioned about the reason for their visit, about their professions, and
asked if any of them belonged to any political party or association.
Rosa Peñalver, Socialist MP in the regional government, was one of the
delegates. She says the objective of the trip was to visit the territory
'occupied by Morocco in the Western Sahara, and to ascertain if the human
rights of the Western Saharan people who live in the area are being
respected.'
The delegates were sent onto to Agadir, where the Spanish Consul, Carlos
Medina, organised overnight accommodation and return air tickets to the
Canary Islands the following morning.
----
Source: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_3677.shtml
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L'AFFAIRE BEN BARKA RELANCÉE
agrandir la photo
PARIS (Reuters) - La police française savait qu'une équipe préparait le rapt
de l'opposant marocain Mehdi ben Barka, enlevé en plein coeur de Paris le 29
octobre 1965, affirme l'ex-commissaire Lucien Aimé-Blanc.
Dans un livre intitulé "l'indic et le commissaire", l'ex-chef de la
répression du banditisme estime que les services français ne sont pas
intervenus pour empêcher cet enlèvement, "soit par négligence coupable, soit
sur ordre".
A l'époque, les autorités françaises avaient démenti que le
contre-espionnage ou la police aient été au courant de l'opération, menée
par une équipe de truands français et de personnages troubles.
Lucien Aimé-Blanc, qui a pris sa retraite il y a quelques années, explique
avoir retrouvé des transcriptions d'écoutes téléphoniques qui ne laissent
aucun doute sur les intentions des personnes surveillées.
"A la lecture de ces 40 feuillets, j'ai été stupéfait de constater que
c'était le point de ralliement de toute la bande identifiée comme étant les
ravisseurs de Ben Barka", raconte-t-il dans Libération daté du 20 avril.
"Ils apparaissent tous sur ces écoutes, le chef d'escale d'Air France à Orly
et indic du SDECE (ancienne DGSE, les services secrets, ndlr) Antoine Lopez,
comme les truands Bouchesseiche, Figon, Palisse", ajoute l'ex-commissaire.
Pour Lucien Aimé-Blanc, il transparaît de ces conversations, enregistrées
tout le mois précédant la disparition de Ben Barka, "que ces individus liés
à un général marocain projettent l'enlèvement d'un homme qui doit arriver à
Orly".
CONDAMNE PAR CONTUMACE
Le général évoqué s'est avéré être Mohamed Oufkir, qui était alors ministre
de l'Intérieur du roi Hassan II.
"Il est donc clair que la brigade centrale de recherche criminelle", qui
surveillait un hôtel de passe "sans avoir de compétence sur Paris, était au
courant de ce projet", ajoute-t-il.
Ces rapports d'écoutes remontaient généralement jusqu'à la Sûreté nationale
française, qui les avait autorisés, puis au cabinet du ministre de
l'Intérieur, alors Roger Frey, ainsi qu'à Matignon, selon Lucien Aimé-Blanc.
Les extraits publiés cette semaine par le magazine L'Express rapportent,
jour pour jour, les manoeuvres des assassins pour entraîner le fondateur de
l'Union nationale des forces populaires (UNFP) à la célèbre brasserie Lipp,
boulevard Saint-Germain à Paris.
Cette affaire, symbolique de la répression des opposants au régime d'Hassan
II, a longtemps terni les relations franco-marocaines. Le corps de Medhi ben
Barka n'a jamais été retrouvé.
L'enquête judiciaire avait mené rapidement à des hommes politiques français,
des policiers et des truands et fait apparaître que le général Oufkir, Ahmed
Dlimi, directeur de la sûreté nationale marocaine, et un certain Chtouki,
chef des brigades spéciales marocaines, se trouvaient à Paris au moment du
rapt.
Lors du second procès tenu en France en 1967, Ahmed Dlimi et les
protagonistes français ont été acquittés, à l'exception de deux comparses,
condamnés à huit et six ans de prison.
De son côté, le général Oufkir a été condamné par contumace à la réclusion à
perpétuité, ce qui provoquera le gel des relations franco-marocaines pendant
deux ans.
La justice française enquête toujours, le dossier ayant connu, selon les
parties civiles, une évolution favorable depuis la mort de Hassan II en
juillet 1999.
http://fr.news.yahoo.com/20042006/290/un-ancien-policier-relance-l-affaire-ben-barka.html
Boris Ryser
Fiskaren, Norway.
18 April 2006
By
Helge Arild Bolstad
Selfa Artic, a company specializing in coastal fishing boats, stopped
their work after three years in Western Sahara. - The fact that we felt
insecure was one contributing factor, tells Director Erik Ianssen to the
magazine Fiskaren. Owner of Sjøvik AS Odd Kjetil Sjøvik currently faces
severe criticism with regard to the fishing by his ship "Midøy Viking",
outside the Moroccan occupied area.
Turmoil in the streets
Boat constructor Erik Ianssen established his business over four years
ago, and is familiar with the situation. -We had already been
informed by
the Norwegian Foreign Ministry about the conflict. But, we had no
idea of
how bad it really was; no idea about the ongoing street fights
between the
liberation movement Polisario and Moroccan armed forces. We were
constantly monitored by Moroccan authorities who tried to tone down the
situation as far as they could. But naturally, repeated street riots
cannot be hidden. I admit that, from time to time, I would fear for the
safety of the ten employees at the shipbuilding yard, says Ianssen. Yet
there were other reasons why they decided to leave, notes the director.
Actually, it is more correct to say they have put the business on
hold. He
further reports that: if the contending parts reach a peace agreement it
might be relevant to take up the business.
Foreign Ministry out of touch with the real situation
Western Sahara has been in a state of war since 1976 as it became
occupied
even before it had the time to gain independence from the Spanish
colonial
power. This was early noted by Ianssen and the others. Beforehand, they
had been told by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry that Norway advices
against entering the area if the purpose is extraction of natural
resources, such as fish and oil. On the other hand, the Foreign Ministry
said that since people could benefit from a ship yard, the establishment
of a boat-building's yard was in order.
Erik Ianssen believes the Foreign Ministry didn't grasp the gravity
of the
conflict four years ago, nor to which extent the situation was inflamed.
The change in the Foreign Ministry came about after a television
broadcast
by the NRK*-series "Brennpunkt", which put the conflict in the
limelight,
as well as the Norwegian ambassador's attitude in regard to the latter.
Until then, the Foreign Ministry had closed its eyes to Western Sahara,
according to Ianssen.
Since Erik Ianssen has been involved in the issue of Western Sahara, the
fishing by the EU has constituted a major source of irritation, as have
Western oil interests. As today, the Foreign Ministry and a majority of
the Norwegian population should recognize that Western Sahara is a war
zone, and not only a disputed land, opines Ianssen. Therefore he was
astonished that Sjøvik AS is now starting to fish in the area. - Any
Norwegian company wishing to fish in Western Sahara, must be rather
blind
if he doesn't see the mine field ahead, asserts Erik Ianssen.
*Norwegian National Broadcasting
(Translation by The Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara)
---
Source: http://www.fiskaren.no/incoming/article104235.ece
_________________________________
Boris Ryser
The Scotsman
19. April 2006
By
RACHEL O'BRIEN
AN Edinburgh student has spoken of her long-running battle to secure her
brother's release from an African prison.
Aisha Dahane, a 31-year-old Napier University student, had to flee her
homeland of Western Sahara after protesting about the occupation of her
country by neighbouring Morocco, claiming political asylum in Britain.
But her elder brother Brahim, 41, a human rights activist and internet
cafe owner in Laayoune, was not so lucky and is now awaiting trial on
charges related to protest activities against the Moroccan regime.
For three years, Aisha has campaigned from her flat in Pirrie Street for
human rights in Western Sahara, but with her brother's arrest and
impending trial, she says she fears for her brother's life, and that of
the rest of her family.
She said: "His trial was supposed to start last week, but it has been
postponed because he and the other prisoners were beaten on the way to
the court."
Choking back tears, she added: "He is my closest friend as well as my
brother. I'm here because of what has happened to him."
Morocco first occupied part of the region in 1975 - despite the
International Court of Justice recognising earlier that year that the
Saharan people (Saharawi) had a right to self-rule. Since then, a
vicious dispute has persisted between the Moroccans and the Saharawi.
Under Moroccan rule, Aisha and her brother campaigned to defend the
human rights of the Saharawi.
"People disappeared under the Moroccan regime," Aisha explains. "When I
was younger, the situation was terrible. It was such an isolated place
and There was no press freedom."
The first low point came in 1987 when Brahim was first arrested. He was
held for four years in secret detention centres without charge or trial.
The reasons for his arrest were never made clear, but it is believed
that he was targeted for peacefully demanding the right of people of
Western Sahara to self-determination.
When he was eventually released in 1991, he weighed less than half his
normal weight and recounted to his sister stories of his torture in
jail.
Brahim continued to campaign for independence and human rights,
establishing the Saharawi Association of Victims of Grave Human Rights
Violations Committed by the Moroccan State.
Morocco deems the organisation illegal and Brahim has been in jail since
last October. On November 1, he appeared before the Crown Public
Prosecutor of Laayoune and was charged on various counts related to
violent protests and belonging to an unauthorised association. He was
then remanded in custody in Laayoune Civil Prison.
Amnesty has stated that Brahim is "probably a prisoner of conscience"
who has been targeted for his leading role in exposing abuses by
Moroccan security forces. His trial has been postponed until April 25,
and Amnesty is pressuring Moroccan authorities to ensure he receives a
fair one.
In Edinburgh, Aisha continues to raise awareness of Western Sahara's
plight, in between her studies towards her second degree, this time in
computing.
Aisha said: "I think the Scottish people don't realise how very, very
lucky there are to have their own flag and parliament," she said.
"People here don't appreciate how they are really, really free compared
to the Third World."
She added: "I miss my family. Sometimes I just wish I could do more for
them. My brother is the best person in my life and I don't know what
will happen to him."
. For more information on Amnesty International's work in Western Sahara
visit www.amnesty.org or call 0207-413 5500.
History of a land ravaged by conflict
PREVIOUSLY a Spanish colony, in 1975, on the eve of independence,
Western Sahara was handed over to Morocco and Mauritania, in defiance of
a UN demand that the Saharawis be given a referendum.
. Thousands fled in terror and settled in refugee camps in the desert in
Algeria, where today a new generation is growing up in exile.
. From then until 1991, the Saharawi Polisario fought a war against both
countries. The Mauritanians were driven out by 1979 but the Moroccans
proved more formidable.
. In 1981 the Moroccans began building the Sahara's answer to the Great
Wall of China. The ramparts snake across the desert for 2000km,
splitting Western Sahara in two.
. The UN brokered a ceasefire in 1991 on the condition that they would
hold a referendum of self-determination for the Saharawi people. It
never happened and there are now suggestions that Western Sahara will
become a permanent part of Morocco.
---
Source: http://living.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=591282006
_________________________________
Lehrir
tyrans de toutes les especes, je trouve que le nouveau livre "L'indic et
le commissaire" est le resultat d'une imagination fertile ( a la maniere
des romans de crimes fictifs interpetes par des acteurs du cinema) est une
autre source d'affabulations a l'instar de tout ce qui a ete publie`jusqu'a
present sur la disparition de feu Ben Barka.
Dans cette affaire non resolue, une chose est absolument su^re : si le
crime etait parfait c'est parce qu'il etait prepare` et commis dans le plus
grand secret contrairement a ce que l'auteur du livre indique` ci-dessus
aux "faits" arranges' dans ce passage amusant : <<" > Ces rapports
> généralement jusqu'à la Sûreté nationale française, qui les avait
> autorisés,
> puis au cabinet du ministre de l'Intérieur, alors Roger Frey, ainsi qu'à
Une autre chose est incontestable : quand le ou les auteurs d' un crime
ne sont pas identifie`s dans les 48 heures de sa commission, ils ne le
seront
peut-etre jamais.
Trop d'encre de tous les coins du monde a ete versee depuis pres d'un
siecle
sur cette affaire sans que la moindre lueur n'eu^t apparue au bout de ce
tunnel.
Il parait que ni l'ex commissaire L.A-Blanc ni rien ne changeront les
resultats
negatifs de la premiere enquete effectuee sur ce crime qui a tous les points
de vue
semble "parfait" .
Tout ce qu'on a dit , ce qu'on dit encore actuellement et ce qu'on dira
aussi dans l'avenir
sur ce mystere ne sont que des chimeres, des affabulations et de la
fantaisie pures.
C'est trop tard maintenant d'esperer de retrouver les coupables car la
plupart des
suspects sont decedes.Mais rien n'empeche les ex-agents , ex-commissaires
de police
auteurs de tabloids a sensation....d'imaginer les circonstances de la
commission du crime
et d'arranger "les faits" dans un roman pour le mettre en venteC'est ce
qu'appelle du
bu$ine$$ .....$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
====================
"Boris Ryser" <fdcc...@netPIEGEplus.ch> wrote in message
news:4448a73b$5...@news.vsnet.ch...
Boris Ryser
Boris Ryser
Saturday April 22, 2006 4:01 AM
By NICK WADHAMS
Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The deadlock over Western Sahara has become so
intractable that the only way out is for Morocco to negotiate directly
with the region's rebels, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a
report Friday.
The report acknowledged that after 15 years and more than $600
million, the U.N. has been unable to resolve the standoff between the
Moroccan government and Frente Polisaro rebels in the phosphate-rich
West African territory.
Annan told the Security Council that it must recognize that efforts to
revive a peace plan put forward by former Secretary of State James
Baker III have no chance.
Any new plan would be ``doomed from the outset,'' Annan wrote, because
Morocco refuses to allow any proposal that would give Western Sahara's
estimated 273,000 people the option to choose full independence. Yet
the rebels refuse to agree to any autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty.
``All that therefore remained was recourse to direct negotiations,''
the report said.
Morocco and Mauritania split Western Sahara after its Spanish
colonizers left the territory in 1975. Full-scale war broke out the
following year, and Morocco took over the whole of Western Sahara
after Mauritania pulled out in 1979.
The fighting, which pitted 15,000 Polisario guerrillas against
Morocco's U.S.-equipped army, ended in 1991 with a U.N.-negotiated
cease-fire that called for a referendum on the region's future. But
the vote has never happened.
Despite the standoff, Annan urged the council not to give up on
Western Sahara, saying it must now focus on pushing the two sides to
negotiate.
He said Western Sahara is low on their political agenda of most
nations, which are reluctant to take sides because they don't want to
upset either Algeria, where most of the rebels are based, or Morocco.
``These two factors combined constitute a powerful temptation to
acquiesce in the continuation of the impasse, at least for another
number of years,'' the report said.
Many of the report's recommendations were put forward by Annan's envoy
for Western Sahara, Peter van Walsum. He took the post after Baker
resigned in frustration about the lack of progress.
________________________________________________________
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,,-5772374,00.html
________________________________________________________
Forwarded by:
The Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara
*** Humanitarian aid to the Saharawi refugees NOW! ***
wsa...@online.no
________________________________________________________
Boris Ryser
AFP
April 22, 2006
RABAT -- Morocco's King Mohammed VI has decided to free all prisoners
from the disputed territory of Western Sahara currently being held in
jails in the kingdom, an official source said on Saturday.
"The sovereign has pardoned all the Sahrawi prisoners and they are
already being freed," the source said, adding that there were 48
prisoners in all, in jail for political or criminal offenses.
The pardon followed a request from the royal consultative council on
Sahrawi affairs (CORCAS), set up by the king. It was made during his
visit in late March to the capital of Western Sahara, Laayoune.
Mohammed VI had asked the council, made up prominent figures, local
politicians and Sahrawi non-governmental organisations, to make
suggestions about a plan for self-government for Western Sahara which
Morocco is to submit in the near future to the United Nations.
The head of the prison in Laayoune said at least 27 detainees there
were due to be released.
Rabat annexed phosphate-rich Western Sahara after colonial ruler Spain
pulled out in 1975. It has proposed autonomy for the territory, while
rejecting United Nations demands for it to be allowed a referendum on
self-determination.
A UN-sponsored ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario Front,
which wants independence for Western Sahara, came into effect in 1991.
The truce was supposed to have been followed by a referendum on
self-determination in Western Sahara but Rabat failed to comply,
initially raising objections over who was entitled to vote.
It has since dismissed UN proposals that the referendum follow a
five-year period of autonomy for the 266,000 square kilometers (90,000
square miles) of desert flatlands on Africa's northwestern coast.
Morocco has refused to join the pan-continental African Union because
the latter recognises the Polisario-declared Sahrawi Arab Democratic
Republic, as do around 70 governments across the world.
________________________________________________________
Source: http://metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20060422-104504-3609r
Lehrir
une autre fois le meme copie`-colle`comme un perroquet ?
Quelqu'un a-t-il un cracker?
Qu'essaies-tu exactement de communiquer sans faire connaitre
ce que tu penses ? Ca alors! Ce que tu peux etre idiot !!!
Si t'as rien la-dedans,va chercher dans une poubelle une vieille
cervelle pour la recycler.Pffffft!!!!!!!
"Boris Ryser" <fdcc...@netPIEGEplus.ch> wrote in message
news:4449e00c$1...@news.vsnet.ch...
Boris Ryser
Moroccan appeals court upholds biggest defamation fine ever for
independent weekly
By SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press.
(AP) - RABAT, Morocco-An appeals court on Tuesday upheld record
damages imposed on a weekly news magazine in a defamation suit that
some rights groups say the government is using to intimidate
independent media.
A lower court ruled in February that Le Journal Hebdomadaire must pay
damages of 3 million dirhams, or about US$327,000 (about â,¬267), to
the head of the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center, a
think tank in Brussels, Belgium. The court also fined the magazine
US$10,900 (â,¬8,896.51).
The head of the think tank, Claude Moniquet, argued the magazine
defamed him and the institute by running an article that he said
questioned the integrity of a study done by the center.
Its study said the United Nations should drop efforts to hold an
independence referendum for Western Sahara, a mineral-rich former
Spanish territory seized by Morocco in 1974. The rebel Polisario Front
waged a long desert war seeking to end the annexation and gain
independence.
The magazine said in December that the findings were so similar to
official Morocco's views that it raised questions about whether the
study was "guided by" and possibly paid for by the Moroccan
government.
The punitive damages against the weekly's publisher, Aboubakr Jamai,
and writer Fahd Iraqi were the biggest ever given journalists in
Morocco, leading rights groups to question whether the courts were
trying to curb media from taking independent stances on important
matters.
"With this disproportionate sentence ... the judges are clearly trying
to silence the journal," Reporters Without Borders said in a
statement.
The group said the magazine wasn't allowed to mount a proper defense.
During the trial, the judge barred Le Journal Hebdomadaire from
introducing an expert witness, prompting the magazine to withdraw from
the proceedings in protest.
The case was the latest example of often prickly relations between
Morocco's journalists and officialdom that have arisen as the press
has grown more vibrant since the ascent of King Mohammed VI to the
throne in 1999.
At least a half dozen media outlets have reputations for their
independence and many devote extensive coverage to corruption and
other hot political topics.
Moroccan authorities have responded with criminal prosecutions,
censorship and harassment to try to rein in the media. Officials also
have the power to suspend or revoke licenses for publications deemed a
threat to public order.
"I don't think they're happy with us existing at all," Jamai, the
fined publisher, told The Associated Press.
2006-04-19T12:21:41Z
________________________________________________________
Source: http://news.findlaw.com/ap/o/51/04-19-2006/b91d0010bfcd1fae.html
Boris Ryser
Published by The Jamestown Foundation
Volume 4, Issue 8 (April 20, 2006)
The Importance of the Western Sahara to Maghrebi Security
By Andrew Black
On March 11, 2004, as the world focused on the Madrid commuter bombings,
there were reports that armed forces from Chad, Niger, and Mali had engaged
a large group of operatives from the Algerian Salafist Group for Call and
Combat (GSPC), and had inflicted significant casualties on this notorious
organization (El Watan, March 11, 2004; Le Matin, March 9, 2004). Details of
the operation were at first nebulous and most greeted this development with
skepticism or disinterest. On March 15, however, U.S. European Command
released a statement corroborating these reports (Press Release
http://www.eucom.mil, March 15, 2004).
After being chased out of Mali, the GSPC was engaged by Nigerian security
forces in the north of the country. Realizing they were soon to be overrun,
the GSPC cadres crossed into Chad for refuge. Unbeknownst to them, Chadian
and Nigerian forces were in collusion and enjoyed the ongoing logistical and
intelligence support of U.S. personnel. As a result, Chad's defenses were
prepared and were able to overpower the Salafis with only minimal
casualties. Ultimately, Saifi Ammari (known as Abderrazak El Para), a
regional kingpin and the reputed mastermind of the summer 2003 hostage saga,
was apprehended at first by the Movement for Chadian Democracy and Justice
and later by Libyan security forces (The Village Voice, Spring 2005).
This operation could not have been nearly as successful had it not been for
the high level of cooperation and integration among the security services of
Chad, Niger and Mali. This case study demonstrates how regional unity and
integration can have a significant impact on the North African
Salafi-Jihadist threat.
The Western Sahara
On March 21, when King Mohammed of Morocco was visiting Laayoune in the
disputed territory of the Western Sahara, rumors began to circulate that he
was there to announce a breakthrough in the political stalemate between
Rabat and the Polisario Front, representing the Sahrawi people of the
Western Sahara. The following day, the press reports carried a statement
from the Moroccan communications minister, Nabil Benabdellah, stating that
Morocco will consult the people of the Western Sahara on the plan to give
the territory greater autonomy, which it is to submit to the United Nations
soon (Maghreb Arabe Presse, March 22). On the surface, this appeared to be
another Rabat stunt to dangle the prospect of a referendum in front of the
Sahrawi people. As will be elaborated upon later, however, this is the most
recent-and earnest-development in ongoing negotiations.
In terms of the Salafi-Jihadists residing in the Maghreb and Sahel region,
the prospects for peace in the Western Sahara are viewed as anathema to
their desires and goals. As long as Algiers and Rabat are at odds and
Morocco is not a member of the African Union, these groups are able to
traverse the region with near impunity. This point of regional unity has
been noted by officials from both Washington and London, and it was also
recently reiterated by Chad's Minister of Foreign Affairs and African
Integration Ahmat Allami (Maghreb Arabe Presse, March 18 and 22). For the
region to form a united front against the Salafi threat, the Western Sahara
issue must be immediately resolved so that Moroccan relations with Algeria
and the AU can thaw.
Why Salafis Thrive on the Status Quo
In October 2004, the African Union established its African Center for the
Study and Research on Terrorism in Algiers. In essence, this center is
intended to serve as a medium for cooperation among all member states in the
continent's fight against its endemic terrorist threat. Since its formation,
however, the center has been plagued by a number of deficiencies, not the
least of which is its inability to secure an individual to assume the
directorship. Aside from the usual troubles the AU has in establishing such
centers, the fundamental obstacle is membership. As Kurt Shillinger states,
the center's effectiveness is contingent on its ability to build "strong
cooperative ties between the center in Algiers and the key states where
concerns about terrorism and capacity to respond converge.[This] requires
resolving the conflict over Western Sahara in order to integrate Morocco-the
only African state not in the AU-into continental counter-terrorism
strategies" (Business Day (Johannesburg), October 7, 2005).
The non-involvement of Morocco is excellent news to the Salafi insurgents
operating in the Sahel. Not only is intelligence not being circulated among
key interlocutors, such as Algeria and Morocco, but these same countries
would remain unlikely collaborators in counter-terrorism operations. This
point was underlined by U.S. Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism Henry Crumpton
when he made a number of very poignant remarks toward the end of his
February 2006 speech in Algiers, noting Morocco's absence from the AU and
the crucial role the kingdom can play in helping resolve regional security
issues.
Prospects for Change
Despite the ongoing 31-year impasse in negotiations, there is reason to
believe that a resolution is on the horizon. In late April, Rabat will be
submitting its latest proposal to the UN. The details are yet to be
determined; however, it is expected to call for Western Saharan autonomy
within the borders of Morocco and will not offer a referendum to the Sahrawi
people. Despite this, it is rumored to be the most generous offer made thus
far by Rabat to the Polisario Front, and it may mark a considerable
climb-down in the king's hard-line stance. In fact, recent developments have
been so encouraging that Hammati Rabbanim, the former Polisario executive
who has recently returned to Morocco, noted that "things are changing and
that realism prevails" (Maghreb Arabe Press, March 21).
The Madrid commuter bombings may prove to be the single event that brings
about the resolution to the Western Sahara issue. The attacks, perpetrated
by North Africans residing in Spain, brought considerable scrutiny and shame
to the Moroccan monarchy. More importantly, the 11-M attacks raised
awareness-both in Spain and Morocco-of the threat posed to Spain by North
African Salafi-Jihadists. In response to this and the almost daily news
reports of illegal North Africans migrating to Spain from the Western
Sahara, Madrid will likely advocate a just and widely acceptable solution to
help stabilize its southern border.
If there is to be a settlement over the Western Sahara, however, the U.S.
must remain actively involved in the negotiations. In the past year, U.S.
interests in the region have increased dramatically, even from their
post-September 11 high. Not only has the U.S. invested heavily in the
Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Initiative to combat the local
Salafi-Jihadist threat, but the U.S. has also found in North Africa an
alternative fuel source.
Washington's need to identify and exploit new fuel resources will translate
into direct U.S. intervention in the negotiations over the Western Sahara to
help ensure a stable supply of fuel into Western markets. With individuals
knowledgeable about this conflict now firmly entrenched in the UN, such as
Ambassador John Bolton, the U.S. has the motivation, the political tools,
and the necessary personnel in place to break the deadlock between Rabat and
Polisario. Recent statements, events, and the worsening oil situation
indicate that a resolution may in fact come sooner than expected.
Conclusion
Although close cooperation between Algiers and Rabat cannot be assumed
initially, a widely acceptable Western Sahara resolution will significantly
contribute to a thawing of relations between these two capitals. In any
case, Maghrebi security is certain to be the primary beneficiary; with
Morocco integrated into regional counter-terrorism operations and
intelligence-sharing, Salafi-Jihadist groups will be faced with a united
front. No longer will they be able to operate across the region's borders
with impunity, or access weapons, finances and auxiliary personnel with the
same level of ease. Their connections to related terrorist networks and
cells in Europe may also be affected. This best-case scenario, however, must
be approached with more than a touch of realism: balanced against it are the
difficulties inherent to a 31-year-old stalemate, plagued by inertia and
stubbornness on all sides.
________________________________________________________
Source:
http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2369969
________________________________________________________
Forwarded by:
The Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara
*** Humanitarian aid to the Saharawi refugees NOW! ***
wsa...@online.no
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Boris Ryser
Distr.: GENERAL
S/2006 /
12 April 2006
Original: English
Report of the Secretary-General on
the Situation Concerning Western Sahara
(for the period 14 October 2005 to 11 April 2006)
I. Introduction
1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution
1634 (2005) of 28 October 2005, by which the Council extended the mandate of
the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO)
until 30 April 2006. The report covers developments since the issuance of my
report dated 13 October 2005 (S/2005/648).
II. Recent developments in Western Sahara
2. On 6 November 2005, a ceremony was held in Laayoune to mark the 30th
anniversary of Morocco's "Green March" into Western Sahara. From 24 to 28
February 2006, the Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguía el-Hamra y
del Río de Oro (Frente POLISARIO) held celebrations to mark the 30th
anniversary of the "Saharan Arab Democratic Republic" in Tindouf, Algeria,
and Tifariti, about 70 kilometres east of the berm. On 20 March 2006, King
Mohammed VI arrived in Laayoune for a five-day visit to Western Sahara. He
announced the appointment of a new President and other high-level officials
to the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs, in an effort to revive
the body, which comprises traditional leaders (sheikhs), civil society
representatives and elected members.
3. During the period under review, several demonstrations calling for the
self-determination of the people of Western Sahara and respect for their
human rights were organized in Laayoune and other main towns in the
Territory. The demonstrations led to violent confrontations between the
participants and the Moroccan security forces, resulting in arrests and
detentions. Tensions were particularly acute in late October, following the
death of a young Saharan demonstrator as a result of injuries incurred
during a protest held in Laayoune on 29 October 2005. Moroccan authorities
subsequently ordered the arrest and detention of two police officers
involved in the incident, pending the completion of a judicial inquiry into
the circumstances of the demonstrator's death. In response to the
demonstrations, the presence of Moroccan security and police forces
increased in all the main towns in Western Sahara, and in December, army
troops were deployed in the Territory, for the first time since 1999. In
letters addressed to me on 17 November 2005, 14 and 20 December 2005
respectively, the Secretary General of the Frente POLISARIO, Mohammed
Abdelaziz, called upon the United Nations to intervene to protect the
Saharan citizens and guarantee their human rights, condemned the
intervention of the Moroccan police and military in the demonstrations, and
warned that the deployment of Moroccan military officers to Western Sahara
constituted a dangerous development which could lead to more incidents,
including "deadly confrontations" between Moroccan and Saharan civilians.
4. On 25 March 2006, the King granted pardons to 216 prisoners, including 30
Saharan activists. Pro-Saharan demonstrations were organized in Laayoune,
Boujdour, Dakhla and Smara, to welcome the release of the Saharan activists
and demand the release of 37 more Saharan political prisoners. According to
various media reports, Moroccan security forces intervened to disperse the
demonstrators, leading to a number of arrests. On 28 March, Mohammed
Abdelaziz again wrote to me, expressing concern at the human rights abuses
perpetrated by the Moroccan security forces in connection with the recent
demonstrations, particularly in Smara, where several persons were reportedly
detained and some, including women, were injured on 26 March. Subsequently,
Mr. Abdelaziz travelled to New York where he met with me at United Nations
headquarters on 3 April, to express concern about the current situation in
the Territory.
III. Activities of my Personal Envoy
5. Following preliminary discussions with the representatives of the two
parties, the Government of Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO, and the
neighbouring countries, Algeria and Mauritania, in New York, my Personal
Envoy, Ambassador Peter van Walsum, undertook an exploratory mission to the
region from 11 to 17 October. On arrival in Rabat on 11 October, Mr. van
Walsum and his delegation were joined by Mr. Bastagli, my Special
Representative for Western Sahara. In Casablanca, Mr. van Walsum was
received by H.M. Mohammed VI. In Rabat, he met with the Prime Minister, Mr.
Driss Jettou, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Mr.
Mohammed Benaissa, the Minister of the Interior, Mr. Moustafa Sahel, the
Minister Delegate for Foreign Affairs and Co-operation, Mr. Tayeib Fassi
Fihri, the Moroccan Coordinator with MINURSO, Mr. Hamid Chambar, and other
senior government officials. In the Tindouf area, where he arrived on 14
October, my Personal Envoy met with Mr. Mohamed Abdelaziz, as well as with
the Frente POLISARIO Coordinator with MINURSO, Mr. M'Hamed Khadad, other
senior Frente POLISARIO officials, and traditional leaders (sheikhs). In
Algiers, where he arrived on 15 October, my Personal Envoy was received by
the President of Algeria, H.E. Mr. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and met with the
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Mohammed Bedjaoui, the Minister of State
for African Affairs, Mr. Abdelkader Messahel, and other senior government
officials. In Nouakchott, on 17 October, Mr. van Walsum was received by the
President of the Military Council for Justice and Democracy, Head of State,
Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, and met with the Prime Minister, Mr. Sidi
Mohamed Ould Boubacar, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ahmed Ould
Sid'Ahmed, and other senior government officials.
6. Subsequent to his exploratory visit to the region, my Personal Envoy
informed me that the question was still in an impasse, and there continued
to be a total lack of agreement on how to enable the people of Western
Sahara to exercise their right to self-determination. Morocco had reiterated
that it would not accept a referendum that would include the option of
independence. It strongly advocated negotiations with a view to achieving a
just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution but made it clear
that these would have to be about the autonomy status of Western Sahara. The
position of the Frente POLISARIO, with the general support of Algeria, was
that the only way forward was the implementation of either the Peace plan
for self-determination of the people of Western Sahara or the Settlement
plan. Both had been approved or supported by the Security Council and both
provided for self-determination through a referendum with independence as
one of the options. Any other course would not be acceptable to the Frente
POLISARIO. Mauritania had reiterated its strict neutrality.
7. During meetings in Rabat, Tindouf, Algiers and Nouakchott, all officials
confirmed to my Personal Envoy their commitment to cooperate with the United
Nations in order to reach a solution to the Western Sahara issue as soon as
possible, as a prerequisite for the stability and development of the region.
On his return from the region, my Personal Envoy undertook consultations
with the Spanish, French, and United States authorities in Madrid, Paris and
Washington D.C. on 18, 19, and 25 October, respectively.
8. In accordance with paragraph 4 of Security Council resolution 1634 (2005)
of 28 October 2005, on 18 January 2006, my Personal Envoy briefed the
Security Council on the progress of his efforts. (The chapter on
Observations and recommendations in the present report provides elements of
the briefing of my Personal Envoy and reactions to it as expressed during
the meetings he had with the parties and neighbouring countries following
his briefing).
9. During the month of February 2006 my Personal Envoy held a series of
consultations with the Spanish, French, United Kingdom, and United States
authorities in Madrid, Paris, London, and Washington D.C., as well as with
Mr. Alpha Oumar Konare, Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union
in Addis Ababa, and senior authorities of the European Union in Brussels. He
perceived a consensus within the international community on the need to
reach a solution to the Western Sahara issue as soon as possible in order to
enable the people of Western Sahara to exercise their right to
self-determination.
IV. Activities on the ground
A. Military
10. As at 15 March, the military component of MINURSO stood at 223
personnel, including administrative clerks and a medical unit, against the
authorised strength of 231. The military component continued to actively
monitor the ceasefire, which has been in effect since 6 September 1991.
11. During the reporting period, MINURSO performed 3,729 ground patrols and
157 air patrols to visit and inspect units of the Royal Moroccan Army and
the military forces of the Frente Polisario, in accordance with military
agreement No. 1 concluded between the Royal Moroccan Army and MINURSO on the
one hand, and the Frente Polisario military forces and MINURSO on the other.
As anticipated in my last report to the Security Council (S/2005/648, para.
20), night operations were introduced in October, in accordance with the new
concept of operations which came into effect on 1 October. At the same time,
MINURSO has proposed to the parties the establishment of a joint military
verification commission, including representatives from both sides and
MINURSO, to allow for the exchange of information and transparency in the
implementation of the ceasefire. The revised focus of operations has
resulted in a 25 percent increase in the number of ground patrols compared
to the previous reporting period.
12. Violations by both parties have decreased since the last reporting
period (S/2005/648, para. 8). Furthermore, the Frente Polisario lifted
restrictions on the movement of United Nations military observers which had
been in place for several years, allowing access to its military units for
inspection purposes. From 14 October to 15 March, MINURSO observed eight new
violations by the Royal Moroccan Army and four new violations by the
military forces of the Frente Polisario, reflecting a decrease of almost
fifty percent in the overall number of violations compared to the last
reporting period. These included continued incursions into the buffer strip
by armed elements from both sides, construction of new physical structures,
and movement of weapons and military units without prior notification or
approval by MINURSO. Further, MINURSO reported that the concentration of
military forces of the Frente Polisario during the military parade held in
Tifariti on 27 February (see para 2. above) included about 2,600 troops, 150
camels and 40 armored personnel carriers, and hence constituted a violation
of military agreement No.1.
13. However, MINURSO continued to observe long-standing violations by both
parties. These included the presence of radar equipment and improvement of
defence infrastructure, including expansions of the berm, by the Royal
Moroccan Army, and the continued deployment of military personnel and
infrastructure improvements by the Frente Polisario in the area known as the
"Spanish Fort", as described in my report to the Security Council of 27
January 2005 (S/2005/49, para 6). Close liaison with the parties led to
defused tensions on the eve of the Frente Polisario's celebrations of the
30th anniversary of the "Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic" and planned
civilian demonstrations at the berm did not take place.
14. With regard to military agreements No. 2 and No. 3, the parties
continued to extend cooperation to MINURSO in the marking and disposal of
mines and unexploded ordnance. During the period under review, MINURSO
discovered and marked 29 mines and pieces of unexploded ordnance and
monitored the destruction of 3,381 such devices. In cooperation with the
United Nations Mine Action Service, the parties and nongovernmental
organizations, the Mission also organized activities to clear mines and
unexploded ordnance and to raise awareness of the issue amongst the
population in the Territory, where weather conditions often cause mines and
tracks to shift, making previously safe areas dangerous. On 3 November, the
Frente Polisario signed the Geneva Call's "Deed of Commitment" for non-State
actors, banning the use of anti-personnel mines and committing to the
destruction of current stockpiles. On 27 February, the Frente Polisario
proceeded to destroy 3,100 antipersonnel mines and an antitank mine near
Tifariti; MINURSO monitored the operation.
B. Prisoners of war, other detainees and persons unaccounted for
15. The International Committee of the Red Cross continues to work with the
parties in accounting for those who are still missing in relation to the
conflict.
C. Assistance to Western Sahara refugees
16. Following a joint decision by the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP) to
reduce the number of assisted beneficiaries from 158,000 to 90,000 (see
S/2005/648, para. 11), representatives of UNHCR and WFP met with senior
officials of the Government of Algeria and the Frente Polisario from 14 to
19 February, to review the issue of the number of refugees requiring
assistance. Discussions on these issues are ongoing. Subsequently, UNHCR and
WFP jointly led a donor mission to the Tindouf area on 18-19 March, to
enable donors to become acquainted with relief activities in the refugee
camps. The Mission contributed to raising donor awareness of the precarious
humanitarian situation in the Tindouf area refugee camps, where supplies of
wheat flour and sugar are expected to be exhausted by the end of April.
17. From 9 until 11 February, four refugee settlements in the Tindouf area
were affected by heavy rainfall followed by flash floods, which caused
severe damage to the camps' already fragile infrastructure. Between 50,000
and 60,000 refugees were left homeless after their shelters, made of mud
bricks, failed to withstand the flooding. Schools and dispensaries were also
severely damaged. UNHCR, WFP and the Algerian Red Crescent immediately put
in place an emergency response mechanism to address the crisis, while
Algeria dispatched a humanitarian convoy to bring relief to Saharan
refugees. In the early stages of the emergency response, MINURSO assisted
through the provision of water tanks, as well as in the distribution and
overall coordination of assistance. I commend the rapid and effective
response by the Algerian Government and the refugee community itself to deal
with the short-term effects of the crisis. I am also grateful for the
generous support provided by various donor countries to fund the delivery of
emergency assistance to the affected population. However, while access to
basic services has now been restored, assessment of the damage caused and
rehabilitation required is still ongoing. It is currently estimated that in
addition to a critical shortage of adequate shelter, the food situation in
the camps has also been adversely affected. I therefore call upon donors to
continue to contribute generously to assistance programmes targeting Saharan
refugees affected by the recent crisis.
D. Confidence building measures
18. I am pleased to report that on 25 November, UNHCR and MINURSO were able
to resume the programme of exchange of family visits between the Territory
and the refugee camps in the Tindouf area, after an eleven-month hiatus. In
accordance with the plan of action, MINURSO provides assistance and
logistical support to UNHCR, which retains overall responsibility for the
implementation of the programme and the protection of beneficiaries. As at
15 March, some 610 persons had taken the weekly United Nations flights to
and from the Territory and the Tindouf area refugee camps, bringing the
total number of beneficiaries since the start of the programme to 2,086.
Over 17,000 candidates (about 6,000 in the Territory and some 11,000 in the
camps) are presently wait-listed to participate in the programme, while
Saharans on both sides of the berm have requested that the lists be reopened
to enable additional candidates to register, reflecting their high level of
interest in the programme. UNHCR and my Special Representative for Western
Sahara, Francesco Bastagli, are exploring with the parties the possibility
of expanding the programme, to increase the number of beneficiaries.
However, any expansion of the programme to increase the number of family
visits or register additional candidates would require more than the
estimated $3.6 million requested for the 2006 programme. I urge donors to
contribute generously to this important humanitarian initiative, which is
highly valued by its beneficiaries, as well as fostering solidarity and
mutual understanding amongst Saharans.
19. It will be recalled that the Mission's support for the exchange of
family visits programme includes the deployment of civilian police officers
who escort the participants in the programme on United Nations flights
across the berm and monitor and facilitate the airport procedures at the
arrival and departure points.
20. The telephone service between the Tindouf area camps and the Territory
continued to operate successfully during the reporting period. Since its
establishment, over 43,700 calls have been made from the camps, enabling
refugees to communicate with their relatives in the Territory. As previously
reported, UNHCR remains ready to implement the postal service in accordance
with the modalities initially proposed or under any terms that would meet
with the approval of all concerned.
E. Illegal migrants
21. During the reporting period, MINURSO was again called upon to assist in
responding to the humanitarian plight of migrants stranded in the Western
Saharan desert. From 12 to 16 October 2005, following reports from UNHCR and
several NGOs operating in the Territory that a number of Sub-Saharan
migrants were stranded in the desert, MINURSO organized ground and air
patrols to help locate them. As of 17 October, a total of 115 migrants had
been found; all were in poor physical condition due to lack of food and
water for several days and some were injured. The migrants alleged that they
had been stranded in the desert after being forced across the berm into the
buffer strip. Acting on a purely humanitarian basis, MINURSO assisted them
through the provision of water, food and emergency medical aid, before
transferring them under the care of the Frente Polisario. By the end of
November, 154 illegal migrants, primarily from sub-Saharan Africa, had
arrived at Bir Lahlou, Mehaires and Agwanit, where they were provided with
shelter under the care of the Frente Polisario. In December, ninety-three of
these migrants voluntarily left Frente Polisario premises by their own
means, leaving a total of 61 migrants in the Territory. On 23 February,
MINURSO facilitated the transfer of 26 of them from Bir Lahlou through Mijek
to Zouérate, Mauritania, where they were received by UNHCR, following the
Mauritanian Government's agreement to grant them temporary asylum, pending a
solution to their situation. As at 12 April, 35 migrants, mainly from
Cameroon and Ghana, continued to be provided with shelter in Bir Lahlou
under the care of the Frente POLISARIO.
22. Moreover, on 31 December 2005, a group of 17 West African migrants
arrived at the MINURSO team site at Agwanit, seeking the Mission's
assistance. MINURSO facilitated their transport to the Mauritanian border,
from where they were repatriated. The group of 46 illegal migrants from
Bangladesh referred to in my last report (S/2005/648, para. 17) increased to
48 during the reporting period with the arrival of two additional migrants
of the same nationality. On 14 January, this group, who had been in the care
of the Frente POLISARIO in the Tifariti area, were transported, with
MINURSO's logistical assistance, to the border with Mauritania, where they
were handed over to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for
voluntary repatriation.
23. While MINURSO continued to provide emergency assistance to stranded
migrants and to contribute to repatriation operations, its capacity to
assist stranded migrants remains limited. The increased presence of stranded
migrants in the Territory placed heavier demands on MINURSO's available
resources, and increasingly impacted on the discharge of its core mandate.
Since MINURSO is not able to assume ongoing responsibility to respond to the
immediate requirements of stranded migrants, it has pursued contacts with
humanitarian partners with the necessary mandate, expertise and resources,
in an effort to develop a coordinated inter-agency response to the problem.
Important progress was made in this regard at various meetings with UNHCR,
IOM and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs held in Geneva, at the initiative of MINURSO, on 23-24 February.
F. Restructuring of the Mission
24. Further to the recommendations developed following the review of the
Mission's civilian and military components (see S/2005/648, paras. 19-21),
significant progress was achieved during the reporting period towards the
restructuring of MINURSO. The establishment of a joint operations centre and
a joint mission analysis cell have enhanced integration of the Mission's
civilian and military activities, as well as improved data collection and
information management. The joint operations centre has also led to improved
operational management, to ensure full compliance with the Mission's
military objectives. Through its subsidiary units &endash; the information
collection cell and the information analysis cell &endash;, the joint
mission analysis cell manages the collection, storage and analysis of data
on issues of relevance to the implementation of the mandate of MINURSO. The
joint mission analysis cell has thus gradually developed into an effective
instrument for the strategic management and decision-making of MINURSO. From
20 to 22 December, a MINURSO delegation travelled to Abidjan to share
experiences and lessons learned from the joint mission analysis cell with
staff of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire.
25. As anticipated in my last report (S/2005/648, para 20), measures were
implemented to strengthen, from within existing resources, the capacity of
the Mission's military component to monitor the ceasefire and the military
agreements. In this context, the closure of the two sector headquarters on
31 October and the subsequent redeployment of their military personnel to
nine observer team sites have enabled MINURSO to expand its cease-fire
monitoring activities through a strengthened presence on the ground.
Meanwhile, the introduction of night operations in October has allowed for
more comprehensive monitoring of the parties' military activities, which is
proving an effective deterrent to violations of military agreement No.1. A
hierarchical contact system between MINURSO and the parties' command
structures was also introduced, to facilitate relations with the parties at
all levels, particularly when tensions might arise.
26. In order to bring MINURSO in line with current peacekeeping practices, a
geographical information system (GIS) cell was established. When the
necessary equipment is purchased from within the Mission's current budget,
MINURSO will have the capacity to produce its own topographical maps, which
will replace the outdated aerial maps that are presently relied on for
operational and planning purposes. This initiative will also support the
Mission's ongoing efforts to reduce the danger of mines and unexploded
ordnance, since a GIS system and accurate maps are required to ensure the
safety of military observers in the mine and UXO-infested parts of the
Territory, as well as serve as a valuable management tool for the
realization of other objectives of the Mission.
27. In accordance with current practice, the security adviser now reports
directly to my Special Representative, while the functions of air operations
and air safety have been separated, to ensure compliance with air safety
standards. In December, a team from the Department of Safety and Security
undertook a security management review of MINURSO, which resulted in a
number of recommendations to improve the physical security of the Mission
and its security management systems. In line with these recommendations,
measures have been implemented to improve the safety and security of MINURSO
staff and premises, such as the introduction of an integrated warden system
to facilitate expeditious evacuation, as needed. In order to ensure
compliance with minimum operating security standards, resources have been
allocated for infrastructure improvements to the Mission's headquarters and
team sites, including the installation of bomb blast film to all windows,
security lighting, boom gates and the construction of security fencing.
MINURSO is also contemplating the construction of wells in selected team
sites, particularly on the east side of the berm, in an effort to improve
staff comfort and security. Some security improvements require prior
approval from local authorities.
28. Within the framework of the restructuring of the civilian and
administrative components, selected support and maintenance functions are
being outsourced, which, together with the staff reductions indicated in my
last report (s/2005/648, para. 21) and other cost-cutting measures, will
bring about overall savings for the Mission. In the area of training, a
Mission-wide integrated induction programme was launched in February to give
all military, civilian and locally-recruited personnel, a comprehensive
introduction to MINURSO and the United Nations. The programme is
complemented by specific induction briefings tailored to the function of
each recruit.
V. African Union
29. During the reporting period, the observer delegation of the African
Union to MINURSO, led by its Senior Representative, Ambassador Yilma Tadesse
(Ethiopia), continued to provide support and cooperation to the Mission. I
wish to reiterate my appreciation for the African Union's contribution.
VI. Financial aspects
30. The General Assembly, by its resolution 59/308 of 22 June 2005,
appropriated the amount of $47,948,400, equivalent to $3,995,700 per month,
for MINURSO for the period from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006. Should the
Security Council decide to extend the mandate of MINURSO beyond 30 April
2006, the cost of maintaining the Mission until 30 June 2006 would be
limited to the amounts approved by the General Assembly. As at 31 December
2005, unpaid assessed contributions to the Special Account for MINURSO
amounted to $62.8 million. As a consequence of this, the organization has
not been in a position to reimburse the government providing troops for any
costs incurred since April 2002. The total outstanding assessed
contributions for all peacekeeping operations as at 31 December 2005
amounted to $2, 918.8 million.
VII. Observations and recommendations
31. In his briefing of 18 January 2006 to the Security Council, my Personal
Envoy pointed out that after April 2004, when Morocco rejected the Peace
plan because it could not accept a referendum with independence as an
option, the plan had never been mentioned again in a Security Council
resolution. Nor had any country with close ties to Morocco apparently used
its influence to try to persuade it to reconsider its position. From this my
Personal Envoy concluded that the Security Council firmly held to its
opinion that it could only contemplate a consensual solution to the question
of Western Sahara. Against that background he did not see how he could draft
a new plan that would replace the Peace plan. A new plan would be doomed
from the outset because Morocco would reject it again, unless it did not
provide for a referendum with independence as an option. Such a plan he
could not envisage: the United Nations could not endorse a plan that
excluded a genuine referendum while claiming to provide for the
self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.
32. My Personal Envoy considered, however, that what was unthinkable in a
plan endorsed or approved by the Security Council, might not be beyond the
reach of direct negotiations. Once the Security Council recognized the
political reality that nobody was going to force Morocco to give up its
claim of sovereignty over Western Sahara, it would realize that there were
only two options left: indefinite prolongation of the current deadlock in
anticipation of a different political reality, or direct negotiations
between the parties.
33. The first option was dismissed by my Personal Envoy, who called a
persistent impasse a recipe for violence. Violence would not lead to an
independent Western Sahara but was more likely to condemn another generation
of Western Saharans to growing up in the camps of Tindouf.
34. All that therefore remained was recourse to direct negotiations, which
should be held without preconditions. Their objective should be something no
"plan" could accomplish, namely to work out a compromise between
international legality and political reality that would produce a just,
lasting and mutually acceptable political solution which would provide for
the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.
35. After years of reliance on UN-sponsored plans, it should be made clear
to the parties that the United Nations was taking a step back and that the
responsibility now rested on them. This did not mean that the parties would
henceforth be on their own. My Personal Envoy believed that there was a
consensus in the Council that any solution to the problem of Western Sahara
had to be found in the framework, or under the auspices, of the United
Nations.
36. My Personal Envoy urged the Council to invite Algeria to participate in
the negotiations. He also called on those members of the Council who have
been supporting the position of Morocco, to do all in their power to make
the negotiations succeed.
37. In the bilateral consultations my Personal Envoy held after his
briefing, the Frente POLISARIO reiterated that it would under no
circumstances negotiate about any kind of autonomy under Moroccan
sovereignty. My Personal Envoy clarified that in his briefing he had spoken
of "negotiations without preconditions with a view to achieving a just,
lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that will provide for the
self-determination of the people of Western Sahara". The Security Council
would not even be able to invite parties to negotiate about Western Saharan
autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty, for such wording would imply
recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, which was out of
the question as long as no member of the United Nations had recognized that
sovereignty. Negotiating without preconditions meant, as my Personal Envoy
had pointed out in his briefing, that there would not be a precondition that
the Frente POLISARIO first recognize Morocco's sovereignty over Western
Sahara and then discuss the autonomy to be "granted" by Morocco.
38. My Personal Envoy recalled, as he had done in his briefing, the advisory
opinion of the International Court of Justice of 16 October 1975, which
concluded that there were no valid reasons why the rules for decolonization
and self-determination as contained in General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV)
should not apply to Western Sahara. In this context he observed that the
advisory opinion had been handed down more than thirty years ago, and that
General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) had still not been implemented. This
inordinate lapse of time caused my Personal Envoy to observe that a solution
for the question of Western Sahara can only be achieved if the parties work
to seek a mutually acceptable compromise with each other based upon relevant
principles of international law as well as current political realities. In
the view of my Personal Envoy, the parties could work out such a compromise,
if they engaged in a constructive dialogue with each other on that basis.
39. However, the main obstacle may not exist only in the positions adopted
by the parties. Since his briefing of 18 January 2006, my Personal Envoy has
become even more conscious of the forces outside the region that militate
against a choice for negotiations. It goes without saying that no country
will state, or admit, that it favours a continuation of the impasse. But
there seem to be two factors in play in most capitals: (a) Western Sahara is
not high on the local political agenda, and (b) great store is set by
continuing good relations with both Morocco and Algeria. These two factors
combined constitute a powerful temptation to acquiesce in the continuation
of the impasse, at least for another number of years. As long as Western
Sahara does not move upwards on their political agendas, many countries will
find the status quo less painful than any of the possible solutions.
40. I concur with my Personal Envoy's view that the Security Council cannot
afford to adopt this attitude. It cannot wait for the question of Western
Sahara to deteriorate from a source of potential instability in the region
to a threat to international peace and security. Instead, both the Council
and its individual member States should now rise to the occasion and do all
in their power to help negotiations get off the ground. The objective of
those negotiations between Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO as parties, and
Algeria and Mauritania as neighbouring countries, must be a just, lasting
and mutually acceptable political solution that will provide for the
self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.
41. It is my view that a prolongation of the current deadlock, if not
reversed, might lead to a deterioration of the situation in Western Sahara,
as signalled by continued demonstrations and allegations of human rights
abuses. I am concerned, in particular, at reports of heavy-handed response
to the recent demonstrations in the Territory, including the arrest and
detention of several individuals. International and local observers as well
as defence counsel were allowed to attend trials; however, concerns
regarding respect for fair trial standards were raised. In this respect, I
would like to reiterate that although MINURSO does not have the mandate or
resources to address this issue, the United Nations remains committed to
upholding international human rights standards. It is in this context that
the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights proposed last year to
the parties to deploy a mission to Western Sahara and the Tindouf camps, as
well as Algeria, as the country of asylum. The mission would gather
information on the human rights situation concerning the question of Western
Sahara and propose measures through which the United Nations might be able
to better assist in addressing human rights concerns. All concerned have now
accepted the proposal, and following further consultations on the dates,
Morocco has indicated it would be prepared to receive the mission around 15
May 2006.
42. I welcome the reduction in the number of violations by the parties to
military agreement No. 1. However, while the introduction of the new concept
of operations has considerably enhanced the Mission's capability to monitor
compliance with the agreement, with a consequent impact on the overall
number of violations by the parties, it remains the responsibility of the
parties to ensure that violations are not committed by their
military/security forces. In this regard, I would encourage the parties to
cooperate with MINURSO on a review of existing military agreements, in order
to better respond to evolving realities on the ground and clarify any issues
that may be subject to different interpretations. As previously noted
(S/2005/648, para. 25), any amendments to the agreements would have to be
consistent with the principle that military and security forces should
maintain the status quo during the ceasefire and should extend full freedom
of movement to MINURSO military observers, in accordance with basic
peacekeeping principles. The latter should include the freedom to inspect
the parties' military units, headquarters and installations in the
Territory.
43. I remain concerned by the potential dangers for civilian demonstrators
coming close to or within the buffer strip and restricted areas around the
berm. Sufficient advance notification of such demonstrations should be given
to MINURSO, to enable the Mission to assist in averting the possibility of
potentially serious injuries, as well as to make sure that United Nations
observers reach the location of the demonstrations in a timely manner to
verify allegations of violations of military agreement no. 1 by either side.
Meanwhile, I commend the Frente POLISARIO's initiative to destroy a large
portion of its stockpile of anti-personnel mines, and call on both parties
to undertake similar efforts, with the assistance of MINURSO.
44. The human dimension of the conflict, including the plight of the Western
Saharan refugees, is a growing concern. In this context, I welcome the
resumption of the exchange of family visits between the Territory and the
refugee camps in the Tindouf area. Building on the success of these visits,
I would encourage all parties concerned to explore the possibility of
increasing the number of beneficiaries of this humanitarian programme. I
also look forward to the implementation of other confidence-building
measures, particularly the organization of seminars on non-political topics
involving members of civil society in both the Territory and the refugee
camps in the Tindouf area. Further, I would like to commend the Mission's
involvement in the provision of short-term humanitarian assistance to
stranded migrants on the east side of the berm. While such activities lie
beyond the mandate of MINURSO, the Mission cannot ignore the urgent
humanitarian needs of these migrants, particularly in the absence of any
humanitarian actors who are able to provide emergency relief. Meanwhile, I
welcome the Mission's efforts to engage with humanitarian partners who have
the competence and capabilities to provide more sustained support. I believe
that the understanding reached in Geneva between MINURSO, UNHCR and IOM,
will not only facilitate a coordinated response to this problem, but may
also set a positive precedent for inter-agency cooperation in addressing the
challenges posed by migration flows elsewhere in the world.
45. In view of the prevailing situation on the ground and my Personal
Envoy's ongoing efforts, I believe that MINURSO continues to play a key
stabilizing and cease-fire monitoring role. I would therefore like to
recommend that the mandate of MINURSO be extended for a further period of
six months, until 31 October 2006. I sincerely hope that during this time
the parties will reflect on the prolonged period that has elapsed since the
start of this conflict and the need for both to take actions that may lead
to a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution.
46. In conclusion, I would like to express appreciation to my Personal
Envoy, Peter van Walsum for his efforts in search of a solution to the
question of Western Sahara, as well as my Special Representative, Francesco
Bastagli, and the men and women of MINURSO, who continue to work tirelessly
under difficult conditions in the discharge of the Mission's mandate.
________________________________________________________
Source:
HTML version PDF version
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Boris Ryser
Has the UN betrayed the Saharawis?
Kamal Fadel
Polisario Representative to Australia.
26.04.06
It seems to be a tradition that at the end of his mandate every UN Secretary
General reneges on the commitment to resolve the issue of Western Sahara in
a just manner. But is it a coincidence that after his retirement, Perez de
Cuellar was offered a position in a Moroccan holding company called Omnium
Nord Africain and that Boutros Ghali was given the job of Secretary-General
of the Francophonie organisation (l'Organisation Internationale de la
Francophonie)? France, of course, is Morocco's closest ally.
The fact that Annan's mandate is nearing its end should be a source of
concern and alarm to the Saharawi people. But hopefully Mr. Annan will break
the tradition and save what remains of UN credibility.
Nevertheless, the latest UN Secretary General report on Western Sahara
raises many questions.
The report stipulates that the UN is giving up its efforts to resolve the
issue of Western Sahara through the implementation of its resolutions and
the several plans it had outlined during 15 years of presence in the
Non-Self-governing Territory. The reason, according to Kofi Annan, is that
"nobody was going to force Morocco to give up its claim of sovereignty over
Western Sahara" a claim that he acknowledges "no member of the United
Nations had recognized." The message of Kofi Annan is that the UN is "taking
a step back" and that it is up to the parties to find a solution.
Mr. Annan and his Personal Envoy, Mr. Peter Van Walsum, are encouraging
direct negotiations between the parties to achieve a "compromise between
international legality and political reality"! This is because, according to
them, the UN is not able to present any Peace Plan as "any new plan would be
doomed from the outset because Morocco would reject it again, unless it did
not provide for a referendum with independence as an option."
It is important to remind the UN Secretary General and his Personal Envoy of
the purpose and role of the United Nations.
Chapter I of the UN Charter states that the purpose of the UN is "1. To
maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take
effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to
the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches
of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with
the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of
international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the
peace; 2.To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for
the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take
other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace." Articles 73 and
74, outline the principles that continue to guide United Nations
decolonization efforts, including respect for self-determination of all
peoples.
Furthermore, the UN Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial
countries and peoples, Resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960 states that:
"1. The subjection of peoples to alien subjugation, domination and
exploitation constitutes a denial of fundamental human rights, is contrary
to the Charter of the United Nations and is an impediment to the promotion
of world peace and co-operation. 2. All peoples have the right to
self-determination; by virtue of that right they freely determine their
political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural
development."
Western Sahara was included in the list of the non-self-governing
territories in 1965, and since then the UN has passed resolutions calling
for the decolonisation of the territory. For example the UN resolution
A/RES/45/21, of 20 November 1990, "Reaffirms that the question of Western
Sahara is a question of decolonization which remains to be completed on the
basis of the exercise by the people of Western Sahara of their inalienable
right to self-determination and independence" and the latest UN General
Assembly Resolution A/RES/60/114 of 18 January 2006 "reaffirms the
responsibility of the United Nations towards the people of Western Sahara".
In his latest report of 19 April 2006, Kofi Annan recalled "the advisory
opinion of the International Court of Justice of 16 October 1975, which
concluded that there were no valid reasons why the rules for decolonization
and self-determination as contained in General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV)
should not apply to Western Sahara." This is another testament of the
responsibility of the UN towards the Saharawi people and their inalienable
rights.
The legal, moral and political responsibility of the UN is clear. The
mandate of the UN and its mission is to help achieve the decolonization
process of the last colony in Africa, which remains on the UN list of 16
Non-Self-Governing Territories. Such a mandate is included in the UN
Security Council resolutions 658(1990), 690(1991) and 1495 (2003) which call
for a referendum of self-determination in Western Sahara.
The UN mandate is not to reward the aggressor that violates international
legality and refuses to abide by UN resolutions. To attempt to do so, is to
betray not only the Saharawi people, but also the international community
at large.
It is evidently clear to the UN and the international community that
Morocco's presence in Western Sahara is illegal. Such a presence is the
result of aggression and occupation. Morocco's presence in Western Sahara is
not a "political reality" that should be accepted by the UN.
It is rather surprising to read in Annan's latest report the call for
"negotiations" to find a "compromise between international legality and
political reality". Is this the purpose of the UN? Is this included in its
mandate?
It is indeed an affront to ask the Saharawi people who have suffered
immensely from Morocco's occupation of their homeland and been denied basic
human rights, to accept an imposed "political reality" and negotiate a
compromise on international legality. It is as if the French people were
asked to negotiate a compromise with Nazi Germany and the Kuwaitis to do the
same with the regime of Saddam Hussein.
However, the UN knows that the Saharawis are not intransigent. It is the
Saharawi side that accepted the principle of a referendum that includes the
option to vote for integration with Morocco in 1988. We accepted the Houston
Agreements of 1997 that enlarged the criteria of the voters in the
referendum and we even accepted the Baker Plan of 2003, which not only gave
Moroccan settlers the right to vote in a referendum supposed to be only for
the Saharawi people but also accepted a transitional period under Moroccan
sovereignty for a period of 5 years.
It is hard to fathom why the Saharawis who are the victims are constantly
asked to compromise while Morocco seems to be able to get away with its
wrongdoings.
Kofi Annan and his Personal Envoy are asking the Saharawis to negotiate with
Morocco but the objective of such negotiations is not clear and the purpose
of such negotiations is questionable? The latest UN report states that
"Morocco would reject (any plan), unless it did not provide for a referendum
with independence as an option." Why did Mr. Annan ask the Saharawis to
negotiate with Morocco when it is well known that the only solution
acceptable to Morocco is that of integration?
It is necessary to remind Mr. Annan that Morocco and Polisario have
undertaken negotiations both bilaterally and under the UN auspices on many
occasions since the beginning of the conflict. Both Morocco and Polisario
negotiated and agreed to the UN Settlement Plan of 1990 and the Houston
Agreements of 1997. But the lack of goodwill and the weakness of the UN
allowed Morocco to violate and obstruct such agreements.
The negotiations process has been exhausted. Any new negotiations will
destroy 15 years of UN efforts and bring the peace process to square
one.That must be avoided because it could lead to raising the tensions and
the resumption of hostilities.
There is a limit to compromise as there is a limit to patience. There is a
line in the sand that the Saharawis can not cross unless they decide to
surrender to the Moroccan regime and accept to be Moroccans. The Saharawis'
goodwill has been overly exploited. The Saharawi side can not make any more
compromises because that will mean political suicide.
The only just, lasting and democratic solution to the conflict in Western
Sahara is through the strict implementation of international legality, which
calls for the exercise by the Saharawi people of its inalienable right to
self-determination and independence, through the organization of a free,
fair and transparent referendum under the auspices of the United Nations and
the African Union.
Should the UN want to see a speedy resolution to the issue of Western
Sahara, it needs to exercise adequate pressure on Morocco to abide by UN
resolutions and the Peace Plan.
The UN can not wash its hand of the Western Sahara conflict and abandon its
responsibility. Why? Because the core purpose and mandate of the UN is to
maintain peace, to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights and to ensure
the respect of the right to self-determination.
If there is a genuine and sincere commitment to a just resolution to the
conflict, the Saharawi side is always willing to cooperate with the United
Nations in order to facilitate its task in achieving the decolonization
process.
It is important that the UN Security Council avoid the attempts to derail
the UN peace process and put an end to the apparent departure from
international legality in Western Sahara. Otherwise UN's credibility will
suffer and its integrity will be buried in the Sahara sands.
The latest Secretary General report does not augur well for a speedy and
peaceful resolution to the conflict in Western Sahara. The writing on the
wall is clear to the Saharawi people and their leadership that the UN is not
able to resolve the conflict and basically that it is up to them to do
whatever in their power to put pressure on Morocco to abide by international
legality.
The Saharawis feel let down by the UN and realize that the UN took advantage
of their sincere will to cooperate and compromise. The Saharawis regret the
waste of 15 years of efforts and hope and pray that it will not be repeated
again.
________________________________________________________
Source: http://www.arso.org/opinions/KamalFadel2006.htm
________________________________________________________
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Boris Ryser
Another UN failure
An Phoblacht, Ireland
27 April, 2006
The Sahrawi National Liberation Front (Frente Polisario) has denounced UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan's proposal to end the UN' s mediation role
between the Moroccan government and the Sahrawi people, calling it a "plot
against Sahrawi self determination". Annan suggested that the two parties
resolve their near 40-year-old conflict. This proposal is seen to benefit
the Moroccan government as it is impossible for the Sahrawi people to
negotiate with a government that denies their claim to independence.
The leader of the Frente Polisario, Mohamad Abdelaziz, has pointed out that
if Annan's plan, with its proposed withdrawal of the UN peace mission, is
implemented, they will be forced to return to war. The Polisario Front had
carried out a low-level guerrilla war against Morocco's armed forces in
order to back its claim for an independent state and the two sides have been
observing a UN-sponsored ceasefire since 1991.
The government of Rabat maintains that the territory of Western Sahara,
which it invaded in the 1970s, is part of Morocco. The Spanish government
abandoned the former colony prior to the invasion and recognised its right
to self-determination. The Sahrawis recognise and seek to reclaim the
self-determination referendum that the UN committed to 30 years ago.
Morocco, however has refused to accept UN proposals to recognise the rights
of the Sahrawi people. To make matters worse the UN has failed to pressurise
Morocco into respecting the rights of those living in the occupied
territory.
Morocco has placed many obstacles in the way of a negotiated solution to the
conflict. When the UN insisted on a referendum around the issue
self-determination, Morocco flooded Western Sahara with migrants and
insisted that all of them should be included in the census for the
referendum. Many international observer delegations travelling to Western
Sahara have been refused entry to the territory. A delegation from Spain was
refused entry on 11 April. One delegate, Rosa Peñalver, Socialist MP, says
the objective of the trip was to visit the territory "occupied by Morocco in
the Western Sahara, and to ascertain if the human rights of the Western
Saharan people who live in the area are being respected".
Annan has justified his decision to abandon the Sahrawis to Moroccan forces
on the grounds that the negotiating process is blocked.
In the document published by the UN, Annan recommended the involvement of
Algeria where Sahrawi refugees have been based for nearly 40 years, and
Mauritania, a country which also invaded West Saharan territory and
subsequently withdrew its occupation.
"The perspective behind this idea is incoherent and Kafka-like", said Ahmed
Bujari the Polisario representative at the UN, who explained that el Frente
wants the mediation of the UN to continue through the application of
previous plans that include a self-determination referendum that would allow
the population to choose between independence or autonomy.
Annan's report also recommends maintaining the presence of the special UN
mission in Western Sahara for another six months, until 31 October, when the
Sahrawis will be left to fend by themselves.
Pandering to the UN decision, Morocco's King Mohammed announced he had
pardoned 48 Sahrawi political prisoners jailed late last year for between 10
months and five years for anti-Moroccan riots in El Aaiún, the main town in
Western Sahara. They were sentenced for offences including sabotage of
public property and using weapons against public officials. Clearly, the
north African country is set to keep their control over a territory rich in
phosphates, fisheries and possibly offshore oil.
At the moment, even while the territory is still in dispute, Morocco's
administration has established treaties with European countries to exploit
the wealth of the territory. Morocco is allowing the Spanish fishing float
to enjoy the use of the rich fish banks out Western Saharan coast.
Early this month, in an attempt to reassert its sovereignty on the
territory, the Polisario Front released details of oil exploration licences
negotiated with eight UK-based oil companies for operations in the disputed
Western Sahara. The licences issued by the Polisario Front pertain to an
area of around one third of the Western Sahara. This area remains under
their control and is referred to as the "liberated zone". This is a
no-man's-land situated between the Mauritanian border and the 1,500km long
defensive wall of sand built by the Moroccan military during the period of
open hostilities.
The Polisario Front's licenses will only be valid if the SADR ever achieves
full independence and is admitted into the UN General Assembly, an outcome
that Morocco has so far resolutely resisted. In the meantime, the Polisario
Front licences are more than just symbolic. They are a direct challenge to
similar licences previously issued by Moroccan state oil company, Office
National de Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM). Since 2001, a number of U.S.
and European oil companies have negotiated licences with ONHYM.
________________________________________________________
Source: http://www.anphoblacht.com/news/detail/13997
________________________________________________________
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Boris Ryser
UNREPORTED WORLD 3/10: Western Sahara: Storm in the Sahara
This week's Unreported World travels to a country that officially doesn't
exist, where families are divided from their homeland by a vast wall running
through the desert and where there are allegations of torture and other
human rights abuses: the Western Sahara. Reporter Khalid Khazziha begins his
journey at the western edge of the Sahara Desert, walking through a
minefield towards one of the most dangerous borders in the world. The border
is marked by the Berm, a vast wall 2,500 kilometres long and built by
Morocco, which divides this disputed area of the Western Sahara into a
Moroccan zone and the so-called Liberated Zone. Morocco took control of the
Western Sahara in 1975 following the end of the Spanish occupation. Many of
the local Sawahari inhabitants, who had been fighting for independence, fled
into an area they c! alled the liberated zone and which is now home to
hundreds of thousands of refugees. They call the zone an independent
republic, but it is not recognised by the UN. Unreported World talks to some
refugees who have been living here for more than 30 years. Prod/ Dir: Phil
Cox; Exec Prod: Ed Braman; Prod Co: Mentorn Oxford
Source:
http://www.channel4sales.com/programming-and-schedules/channel4-schedules.aspx?date=05-05-2006
--------------------------------------
Reporter risks life to reveal Western Sahara abuse
Online Press Gazette, UK
Thursday, 27 April 2006
A Channel 4 reporter braved landmines and hostile government troops in his
journey to reveal allegations of torture and human rights abuses in Western
Sahara.
As part of the Unreported World series, Khalid Khazziha, a former APTN
cameraman, reports on the plight of nomadic people stranded for 30 years in
the desert after fighting for independence from Morocco.
"With daily news, if it bleeds it leads as they say. So if there's nobody
bleeding there on a daily basis, like in Iraq or Afghanistan, Western Sahara
remains unreported even though there are more than 150,000 refugees living
in camps in the middle of the Sahara."
Morocco took control of Western Sahara in 1975 and constructed a wall, which
at 2,500km is longer than the Great Wall of China, separating the occupied
Moroccan area of the Sahara and the so-called Liberated Zone.
The area to the north of the border is littered with landmines. Khazziha,
who has worked extensively in Afghanistan and Iraq, had a close encounter
while walking through one of the most heavily mined areas in the world.
"As I was getting ready to do my piece to camera in front of the wall, I
looked to my right and I was standing centimetres away from an
anti-personnel mine."
Khazziha then travelled to the Moroccan side of the border where he
discovered evidence of secret prisons, torture and abuse.
________________________________________________________
Source:
http://uk.pressgazette.co.uk/article/270406/reporter_risks_life_to_reveal_sahara_abuse
________________________________________________________
Forwarded by:
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*** Referendum NOW! ***
Lehrir
"Boris Ryser" <fdcc...@netPIEGEplus.ch> wrote in message news:4451...@news.vsnet.ch...
boris ryser
RABAT - L'attitude de l'Algérie sur le conflit du Sahara occidental comporte
un aspect positif sur lequel on peut "parier" et le chef du Front Polisario,
Mohamed Abdelaziz, est "notre frère à nous tous", affirme le président du
conseil des notables sahraouis.
Khelli Henna Ould Errachid se démarque ainsi de l'attitude de la quasi
totalité des hommes politiques et de la presse au Maroc vis-à-vis de
l'Algérie et du chef du Front Polisario concernant le conflit du Sahara
occidental.
"Je parie sur la partie positive du discours algérien, je ne parie jamais
sur le côté négatif", et "c'est pour cela que je les (responsables
algériens) appelle à nous aider à nous entendre entre nous", a déclaré M.
Ould Errachid, président du Conseil royal consultatif des Affaires
sahariennes (CORCAS), dans un entretien que publie vendredi l'hebdomadaire
marocain La Vérité.
"Les responsables algériens déclarent qu'ils n'ont pas de revendications sur
le Sahara, mais qu'ils ont abrité les Sahraouis parce qu'ils sont venus chez
eux, dès lors je les crois", a ajouté M. Ould Errachid.
L'Algérie, "pays voisin, ami et non moins frère", n'est plus celle du parti
unique, affirme M. Ould Errachid, assurant qu'elle est devenue "pluraliste,
démocratique, où évolue une presse libre, et dont le peuple s'exprime".
Le CORCAS, présidé par M. Ould Errachid, est constitué de notables. Il a été
mis en place par le roi Mohammed VI, lors de sa récente visite à El Ayoun,
chef-lieu du Sahara occidental, fin mars. Le roi avait demandé à ce conseil
de lui fournir des propositions concernant le projet d'autonomie que Rabat
compte présenter prochainement à l'Onu.
Ce projet d'autonomie sous la souveraineté du Maroc a été rejeté par le
Front Polisario qui réclame, avec le soutien de l'Algérie, l'indépendance de
cette ancienne colonie espagnole annexée par Rabat en 1975.
M. Ould Errachid a par ailleurs qualifié le président du Front Polisario,
Mohamed Abdelaziz, de "Marocain comme tous les autres". "Mais c'est mon
frère, c'est notre frère à tous", a-t-il dit, ajoutant qu'il ne voyait
"aucun inconvénient" à ce que le chef du Polisario, "s'il change de cap",
devienne le président d'un gouvernement local autonome dans le cadre du
projet marocain d'autonomie.
(©AFP / 28 avril 2006 14h32)
Boris Ryser
La mission de l'ONU prolongée au Sahara-Occidental
NATIONS UNIES/ALGER (AP) - Le Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies a adopté
vendredi soir une résolution prorogeant de six mois le mandat de la mission
de l'ONU au Sahara-Occidental (Minurso) et appelant le Maroc et le front
Polisario à ouvrir des négociations afin de trouver une solution politique.
Le texte adopté à l'unanimité étant une résolution technique destinée à
renouveler le mandat de la Minurso sans aborder le fond, le rapport présenté
par le secrétaire général de l'ONU Kofi Annan la semaine dernière est
toujours sur la table.
Alger, qui soutient l'indépendance de la région revendiquée par Rabat, s'est
félicité de ce vote, estimant, dans un communiqué du ministère des Affaires
étrangères cité par l'agence de presse officielle APS, qu'il désavouait Kofi
Annan.
Le rapport de ce dernier, estime-t-on à Alger, ouvrait la voie à "une
dangereuse dérive des Nations unies". Mais "l'Algérie s'est, avec célérité
et efficacité, déployée pour mettre en échec cette stratégie visant à faire
prévaloir la "realpolitik" -c'est-à-dire consacrer le fait accompli- sur la
légalité internationale" et "la détermination et la forte mobilisation de la
diplomatie algérienne auront ainsi payé".
Dans sa résolution 1675, le Conseil de sécurité "demande à nouveau aux
parties et aux Etats de la région de continuer à coopérer pleinement avec
l'ONU pour mettre fin à l'impasse actuelle et progresser vers une solution
politique". On souligne que pour Kofi Annan, "la seule solution est de
recourir à des négociations directes, sans conditions préalables, avant que
la situation ne se transforme en une menace à la paix et à la sécurité dans
la région".
Kofi Annan notait dans son rapport que l'ONU avait consacré en vain 15 ans
et plus de 600 millions de dollars (480 millions d'euros) à la recherche
d'une solution au conflit et à l'organisation d'un référendum sur le statut
du Sahara-Occidental.
Nombre de ceux qui se sont exprimés vendredi ont affirmé qu'ils escomptaient
des progrès avant la fin du nouveau mandat de la Minurso, qui compte 225
membres, le 31 octobre.
Le Maroc a présenté un projet d'autonomie pour le Sahara-Occidental mais les
sécessionnistes sahraouis l'ont rejeté. Colonie espagnole depuis 1884, le
Sahara-Occidental a été annexé par le Maroc en 1975 au nom du "parachèvement
de son intégrité territoriale" post-coloniale. Soutenus par l'Algérie, les
indépendantistes du Polisario réclament depuis l'autodétermination du
territoire contesté. Un cessez-le-feu sous l'égide de l'ONU a mis fin aux
combats en 1991 mais le référendum prévu n'a jamais eu lieu. AP
http://fr.news.yahoo.com/28042006/5/la-mission-de-l-onu-prolongee-au-sahara-occidental.html
oao1-st-v-com
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Boris Ryser
afrol News, 28 April
- The UN Security Council today again extended its peacekeeping mandate in
Western Sahara through October, without presenting any new ideas on how a
peaceful solution for the Moroccan-occupied territory can be found. The
extension without peace plan cements the stalemate over Western Sahara at
the risk of radicalising the estimated 150,000 Sahrawi refugees living in
camps in the Algerian desert since 1976. - The UN Security Council today
again extended its peacekeeping mandate in Western Sahara through October,
without presenting any new ideas on how a peaceful solution for the
Moroccan-occupied territory can be found. The extension without peace plan
cements the stalemate over Western Sahara at the risk of radicalising the
estimated 150,000 Sahrawi refugees living in camps in the Algerian desert
since 1976.
In recommending the mandate extension in his latest report on the matter, UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan says the UN peacekeeping mission (MINURSO)
continues to play "a key stabilising and monitoring role in the ceasefire"
between Morocco, which claims the former Spanish colony, and the Polisario
independence movement. He however made no mention of MINURSO's original
mandate, which is to organise a referendum over independence for Western
Sahara.
Mr Annan voiced hope that during the next half year, "the parties will
reflect on the prolonged period that has elapsed since the start of this
conflict and on the need for both to take actions that may lead to a just,
lasting and mutually acceptable solution." Besides urging Polisario and
Morocco to negotiate, the UN however made no mention of effective pressure
to achieve a peace solution.
MINURSO was established in 1991 to organise a self-determination referendum
in the territory, which is treated as Africa's last colony by the UN. The
establishment came after a negotiated ceasefire between Morocco and
Polisario, which was based on the promise of a referendum. But in April
2004, Morocco said it could not accept a referendum that included
independence as an option.
This led the UN Secretary-General's personal envoy tp Western Sahara, Peter
van Walsum, to warn that any new plan "would be doomed from the outset to be
rejected by Morocco unless it excluded the provision for a referendum with
independence as an option," Mr Annan's report to the UN Security Council
notes. Polisario has however also ruled out "new plans" that are not based
on the many UN resolutions on a vote over independence.
Also Mr Annan voiced scepticism at these comments. For its part, the UN
"could not endorse a plan that excluded a genuine referendum while claiming
to provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara," Mr
Annan said earlier this week.
Given those strictures, two options remain, the UN leader said: indefinite
prolongation of the current deadlock in anticipation of a different
political reality; or direct negotiations between the parties. Without UN
incentives to find a solution, the first option currently seems the most
likely. Analysts however warn that this would lead to a radicalisation of
Sahrawi refugees in Algeria, where a growing part is calling for renewed
warfare.
After today's vote, the UN Security Council members urged the parties to
take heed of Mr Annan's report and use the next six months to reach a
negotiated settlement of the impasse. Few however expect this to happen, in
particular as Morocco is quite happy with the current stalemate that gives
Rabat the opportunity to change realities on the ground in Western Sahara.
By staff writer
© afrol News
________________________________________________________
Source: http://www.afrol.com/articles/18994
________________________________________________________
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Boris Ryser
Sahara-Occidental: le président sahraoui satisfait de la résolution de l'ONU
http://fr.news.yahoo.com/29042006/5/sahara-occidental-le-president-sahraoui-satisfait-de-la-resolution-de.html
ALGER (AP) - Le secrétaire général du Front Polisario et président de la
République arabe sahraouie démocratique (RASD, autoproclamée), Mohamed
Abdelaziz, a exprimé samedi sa "satisfaction" au lendemain du vote par le
Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU d'une résolution réaffirmant, selon lui, le
droit du peuple sahraoui à l'autodétermination.
"Nous avons reçu avec satisfaction la résolution du Conseil de sécurité, du
fait qu'elle ait rejeté la proposition du secrétaire général de l'ONU faite
la semaine dernière ", a-t-il affirmé dans une déclaration à l'agence de
presse officielle algérienne APS.
Car, pour Mohamed Abdelaziz, la proposition de M. Annan "avait pour but de
faire sortir le problème du Sahara-Occidental de son cadre naturel, à savoir
la décolonisation et l'autodétermination".
Par ailleurs, le président de la RASD plaide pour le plan Baker qui reste,
selon lui, la solution optimale au problème sahraoui, vieux de 31 ans.
"Le plan Baker, de notre point de vue, reste toujours la solution optimale.
Nous sommes prêts à négocier avec le Maroc mais uniquement sur des questions
techniques pour appliquer intégralement le plan Baker ou le plan de
règlement de l'ONU de 1991 ", a-t-il souligné.
Tout en saluant la position de l'Algérie, le chef du Polisario a regretté
que "la France des droits de l'homme ait refusé de mentionner dans le texte
de la résolution adoptée vendredi de respecter les droits de l'homme dans
les territoires occupés du Sahara-Occidental".
Vendredi, le Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies a adopté une résolution
prorogeant de six mois le mandat de la mission de l'ONU au Sahara-Occidental
(Minurso) et appelant le Maroc et le Front Polisario à ouvrir des
négociations afin de trouver une solution politique.
Ainsi, dans sa résolution 1675, le Conseil de sécurité "demande à nouveau
aux parties et aux Etats de la région de continuer à coopérer pleinement
avec l'ONU pour mettre fin à l'impasse actuelle et progresser vers une
solution politique".
Devenu une colonie espagnole en 1884, le Sahara-Occidental a été annexé par
le Maroc en 1975 au nom du "parachèvement de son intégrité territoriale"
post-coloniale. Soutenus par l'Algérie, les indépendantistes du Front
Polisario réclament, depuis, l'autodétermination du territoire contesté. Un
cessez-le-feu sous l'égide de l'ONU a mis fin aux combats en 1991 mais le
référendum prévu n'a jamais eu lieu. AP
oao/sop
Boris Ryser
By Barry Morgan
Upstream Online, 2. May 2006
Kerr-McGee is pulling out of Western Sahara following pressure from
activists pushing for Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR)
independence from Morocco.
Kerr-McGee said the company was shifting its focus towards proven oil
plays, such as China, Brazil and Trinidad & Tobago, and that Western
Sahara did not fit in with the new strategy as it "was not a proven
hydrocarbons basin".
Morocco, along with the Kerr-McGee literature, describes the offshore
Boujdour play as Rabat's southern province, but local people have long
sought self-determination for what the United Nations calls a non
self-governing territory, having just renewed its peace-keeping
mandate for six months.
The reconnaissance permit for Boujdour expired at the end of April,
with the US explorer attracting criticism from activists, operating
under the umbrella organisation Western Sahara Resource Watch, all of
whom have assisted the SADR to promote its case on the international
stage.
Two other US explorers participate in Boujdour - Pioneer Natural
Resources (20%) and Kosmos Energy (30%) - alongside Kerr-McGee, which
has a 50% stake.
Addressing a Global Pacific conference in London last week, Kosmos
vice president for exploration Brian Maxted insisted his company was
"taking a position at the table". "We think the political situation
will soon be resolved in the interests of all parties," he said.
It remains unclear whether Kosmos and Pioneer will be legally able to
move the licence towards production sharing status on their own
initiative.
________________________________________________________
Source (subscription): http://www.upstreamonline.com/
________________________________________________________
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Boris Ryser
Energy Compass
(Copyright Š 2006 Energy Intelligence Group, Inc.)
Friday, April 28, 2006
The tissue-thin peace in the disputed territory of Western Sahara looks ever
more fragile as the ceasefire between the Moroccan government and the
indigenous Polisario Front, monitored by the UN Mission for the Referendum
in Western Sahara (Minurso) since 1991, comes under increasing strain. UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan this week urged the Security Council to extend
the UN mission's mandate for another six months when its term expires on
Apr. 30. Previous attempts at reconciliation have collapsed amid Morocco's
refusal to allow an independence referendum, with the stakes raised
considerably by talk that the disputed territory holds significant volumes
of oil and gas. As Morocco produces less than 1,000 barrels per day of oil,
an ever-rising oil import bill may make its desire to keep hold of the land
irresistible.
The territory was a Spanish colony until 1975, when Spain gave it to
Mauritania and Morocco. Mauritania has since pulled out, but Morocco
maintains claims to the 266,000 square kilometer territory, two-thirds of
which it currently controls, including the putative Western Sahara capital
of La'youne. It awarded a reconnaissance license to US-based Kerr-McGee in
2001 that has since been renewed annually (EC Nov.9'01,p9). A similar
license granted to Total met with such a public backlash in France that
Total allowed it to expire, citing "business reasons." After the UN declared
all such licenses illegal, Kerr-McGee's seismic subcontractor, TGS-Nopec,
pulled out in 2003 following shareholder divestment. Although the US firm
undertook a drop core survey in 2004, Polisario has warned it off further
activity.
Complicating matters, the Western Saharan government-in-exile, the Saharawi
Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), granted "virtual exploration licenses" for
nine blocks in March to British and African firms. Some overlap with
Kerr-McGee's acreage, although none will come into effect until Morocco
withdraws from the territory. The possibility that the blocks contain
hydrocarbons is backed up by a US Geological Survey report in 2000 that
reckoned oil reserves at 14 million barrels and gas at 77 billion cubic
feet, as well as the fact that Mauritania, which lies to the south, is a
hotbed of exploration and started producing oil in February.
Companies that won licenses include Premier Oil, EnCore and Europa Oil and
Gas from the UK, as well as South Africa's Ophir Energy, owned by former
anti-Apartheid activist Tokyo Sexwale. Europa's director of operations,
Erika Syba, told Energy Compass that "the blocks are incredibly big ... they
would inevitably contain something. But [the situation] is a difficult one.
Will the UN put enough pressure on Morocco to help the indigenous people?
The UN has recognized the [SADR] state and the [Saharawi] people want to
live in their own country. From our point we are hoping this will resolve
itself sooner, rather than later."
The Saharawi people have repeatedly protested over what they regard as
Morocco's occupation. At the heart of the impasse is the independence
referendum, originally laid out in a 1991 UN settlement plan and restated in
2003 under the "Baker Plan" by special envoy James Baker, the former US
secretary of state. But Morocco's King Mohammad VI preempted Baker by
tearing up the agreement at about the same time oil prices started to climb
past $40 per barrel and refusing to allow any referendum that included an
independence option (EC Nov.4,p9).
In place of the planned democratic vote has come what appears to be a
systematic crackdown by Moroccan security forces. Critics say the aim is to
eliminate the Saharawi independence movement by crushing protests, jailing
civil rights activists and restricting local and international press
coverage. Reports from Saharawi refugee camps in Algeria -- where over
170,000 people fled after the Moroccan invasion in 1976 -- are not hopeful.
A new generation of younger Saharawis has seen the failure of the peace
process and is said to be ready to fight. Polisario and SADR both say that,
without a referendum, the ceasefire will end. And if Polisario does resume
its guerrilla war, Morocco might find it easier to conquer the whole
territory, aided by seeming indifference from former colonial masters Spain
and France. The virtual licenses could thus be seen as a tactical
masterstroke by SADR to bring the conflict into the international legal
arena, or as a last throw of the dice before fighting resumes. If it's the
latter, the licenses could be as worthless as the sand under which a
possible hydrocarbons bonanza sits awaiting discovery.
By Adam Porter, London
________________________________________________________
Source (subscription):
http://www.energyintel.com/DocumentDetail.asp?document_id=174264
Boris Ryser
Condamné par la justice, l'hebdo refuse que le prince Moulay Hichem paie son
amende.
Par José GARÇON
mercredi 03 mai 2006
les ennuis du Journal hebdomadaire (indépendant) avec la justice auront été
l'occasion d'un beau duo entre cette publication marocaine et le prince
Moulay Hichem, dont les rapports avec son cousin le roi Mohammed VI sont
assez tendus en raison de ses prises de position en faveur d'une réforme de
la monarchie.
Premier acte mardi dernier : la cour d'appel de Rabat confirme une
condamnation contre l'hebdomadaire à 3 millions de dirhams (270 000 euros)
pour «diffamation» à l'encontre de l'ESISC, un centre de recherche européen.
Aboubakr Jamaï, le directeur du Journal, et un journaliste devront en outre
verser chacun à la justice 50 000 dirhams (4 500 euros). Le Journal avait
mis en cause le 3 décembre la probité d'une étude de l'ESISC très sévère
contre le Front Polisario qui dispute le Sahara occidental au Maroc.
Deuxième acte samedi : Moulay Hichem, surnommé par la presse le Prince
Rouge, propose de régler cette amende qui est de nature à entraîner la
fermeture du Journal.
Troisième acte : Aboubakr Jamaï se dit «reconnaissant envers ce geste
d'amitié» mais décline l'offre. «Accepter, explique-t-il, ce serait éliminer
le symptôme sans tenter de traiter la maladie. Ce serait faciliter la tâche
aux censeurs [...]. Il est temps d'ouvrir un débat franc sur la relation
entre le régime et la presse indépendante.»
La tendance de la justice marocaine à avoir la main lourde contre les
journaux jugés trop critiques à l'égard des ratés de la démocratisation est
patente. Trois d'entre eux Al-Ahdath al-Maghribia (socialiste), Al-Ayam
(indépendant) et Al-Michaâl ont ainsi été condamnés la semaine dernière à
verser au total plus de 300 000 euros dans des affaires de diffamation. En
février, l'hebdomadaire Tel quel (indépendant) avait été condamné à 45 000
euros pour la même raison. Si l'importance de ces amendes suggère une
volonté de faire pression sur les publications concernées, une autre
impression prévaut concernant le Journal : celle d'un bras de fer entre le
pouvoir et cette publication qui prône une monarchie constitutionnelle. Le
Journal songerait à une autre «aventure journalistique».
http://www.liberation.fr/page.php?Article=379113
Boris Ryser
afrol News, 2 May 2006
The exiled government of Western Sahara and pro-Sahrawi activist today are
celebrating that the last foreign oil company has announced its withdrawal
from the waters off the Moroccan-occupied territory. The US company
Kerr-McGee said it would not renew its contract with Morocco regarding
offshore oil explorations in Western Sahara, which ended on 30 April.
Kerr-McGee thus is the last in a row of international oil companies pulling
out of the disputed Western Sahara territory, following pressure from the
exiled Sahrawi government and numerous pro-Sahrawi groups around the world.
Along with other companies engaged in Sahrawi waters by the Moroccan
government, Kerr-McGee was subject to successful divestment campaigns by the
activists, causing large international funds to sell out their shares on
ethical grounds.
The US company has yet to make a public statement about its withdrawal from
the Moroccan-occupied territory, but the well-informed petroleum industry
magazine 'Upstream' today quoted the company as saying that "Western Sahara
did not fit in with the new strategy as it 'was not a proven hydrocarbons
basin'." Kerr-McGee would therefore invest in countries such as China,
Brazil and Trinidad & Tobago, while leaving behind its engagement in Western
Sahara - or "southern Morocco", as the company still says.
Kerr-McGee is the operator on a reconnaissance permit at the Boujdour block,
located outside central Western Sahara. Here, the US company has been
drilling for possible oil and gas reservoirs in geological formations that
earlier have been described as very promising. The drilling locations were
also based on unfinished data provided by seismic explorations companies
that were pressured to give up their Western Sahara contracts at an earlier
stage.
The Boujdour permit has so far been operated by Kerr-McGee, holding a 50
percent stake, with two other US exploring companies - Pioneer Natural
Resources and Kosmos Energy - holding minority stakes. Pioneer and Kosmos
have yet to decide on how to proceed as the block's operator has quit the
permit.
Pro-Sahrawi activist have seen the oil exploration off the coast of Western
Sahara as one of the main obstacles to make Morocco give up its occupation
of the territory. Potential oil exploration, according to a UN legal
opinion, would be contrary to international law as Western Sahara remains a
colonised country. International oil companies however have shown a great
interest in Sahrawi waters despite the UN verdict, creating a fear that the
Moroccan occupation would be cemented over time.
Last year, activists united in the world-wide Western Sahara Resource Watch
(WSRW) to fight the remaining oil companies active in the territory, and
other foreign companies exploiting phosphate and fisheries resources. WSRW
leader Carlos Wilson, based in California, holds that the campaign against
Kerr-McGee (KMG) has been the company's main reason for pulling out of
Western Sahara, despite its own claims.
"The facts speak for themselves," Mr Wilson told afrol News. "First, they
lost all their subcontractors due to us. Later, WSRW contacted their
shareholders in 25 countries worldwide. The result is that KMG lost European
investors for some US$ 60 million, and they have even been blacklisted by
ethical share analysts. KMG has without doubt been seriously affected by
this."
During the last few months, the campaign against Kerr-McGee grew stronger in
the company's home the US state Oklahoma. "Over the last couple of months,
WSRW has been in contact with all the Evangelical churches in Oklahoma. We
have had response from hundreds, if not thousands, of concerned individual
Christians, and most of these people actually contacted the company.
Something that has touched the Christian community in Oklahoma a lot, is the
letter that the political prisoners in the Black Prison of El Aaiun sent to
the president of Kerr-McGee earlier this year," Mr Wilson says.
Now, the activists plan to concentrate their work towards the two remaining
sub-contractors on the Boujdour permit, Kosmos and Pioneer, to avoid that
the two try to gain an operator status. Mr Wilson told afrol News that WSRW
had been in contact with the two companies today. "They have not given us
any comment on what they will do, but referred us to Kerr-McGee as the
operator of the block. That is bizarre, because since KMG did not renew the
contract, they are of course not longer operator," Mr Wilson noted.
________________________________________________________
Source: http://www.afrol.com/articles/19029
Boris Ryser
The SADR welcomes Kerr McGee's withdrawal
Bir Lehlou, Western Sahara
3 April 2006.
The SADR government welcomes the news regarding the recent decision by
Kerr McGee to end its involvement in Western Sahara.
The SADR government strongly objected to Kerr McGee's signature of a
Reconnaissance Permit which it signed with Morocco to explore for oil
offshore Western Sahara, and repeatedly called for Kerr McGee to
observe the principles of international law and UN legislation and to
withdraw from its territory.
The SADR government calls on all companies and governments to refrain
from the exploitation of the natural resources of Western Sahara and
for consumers to boycott all materials illegally obtained from the
territory. The European Union should take heed of the decision by Kerr
McGee and many other companies, and exclude Western Sahara from its
forthcoming fishing agreement with Morocco.
According to the UN, Western Sahara is a non-self governing territory
and any exploitation of the resources of the country without the
permission of its indigenous people is illegal. The Saharawi people
will continue to use all available means to protect the resources of
Western Sahara from exploitation by the occupying Moroccan regime.
The SADR government would like to take this opportunity to thank and
express its gratitude to all the friends and supporters worldwide who
have objected to Kerr McGee's presence in our country, and have
tirelessly campaigned to put pressure on it to withdraw.
For further comments or information:
Kamal Fadel
Front Polisario Representative to Australia
+61 2 92 65 82 58
in...@sadroilandgas.com
www.sadroilangas.com
________________________________________________________
Forwarded by:
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*** Referendum NOW! ***
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Boris Ryser
EU parliamentarians vote through 'illegal' fisheries deal
War on Want, London, UK
May 4, 2006
The Fisheries Committee of the European Parliament has today voted through
the EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement, despite a legal opinion that
it violates international law. The Committee has rejected key amendments
designed to prevent fishing in the waters of Western Sahara, currently under
military occupation by Morocco.
The vote comes as leading French lawyers' group Sherpa releases a legal
opinion which confirms that the Agreement would be open to legal challenge
if signed by the European Commission later this month. Sherpa, famous for
prosecuting oil company Total over forced labour abuses in Burma, has
concluded that the Agreement violates international law by failing to
respect the legal status of Western Sahara. William Bourdon, President of
Sherpa, declared: "The status and the population of Western Sahara have
clearly and simply been forgotten."
A Europe-wide coalition (www.fishelsewhere.org) is now calling for EU
parliamentarians to vote against the Agreement in the European Parliament's
plenary session on 15 May, unless an amendment is passed specifically
excluding Western Saharan waters from its jurisdiction. The coalition has
gained the support of member states such as Sweden and Ireland, as well as
several political groups in the European Parliament, who fear that European
boats will soon be fishing in Occupied Territorial waters.
Nick Dearden, Campaigns Officer at British anti-poverty group War on Want,
said: "This legal opinion sends the EU a clear message that the Agreement as
currently constituted violates international law and the EU's responsibility
to ensure a just settlement for the people of Western Sahara.
Parliamentarians only need to make a simple amendment to bring this
Agreement into line with international law, and we call upon them to do so."
In a separate development, American oil company Kerr-McGee has announced
that it is ending its explorations in Western Sahara, in the face of
international protest. The Norwegian government, which used to be a
shareholder in the company, found Kerr-McGee's contract with the Moroccan
authorities to be a "serious violation of fundamental ethical norms" and to
"undermine the UN efforts" to bring a peaceful resolution to the Occupation.
________________________________
Notes to Editors:
1)For media information and interviews call War on Want's John Coventry on
+44 20 7549 0584 or +44 7905 397084, or Nick Dearden on +44 7932 335464.
2)Sherpa is a French non-governmental organisation founded in 2001 by
William Bourdon, a Paris-based attorney and former Secretary-General of the
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).
3)In 1975, Morocco invaded Western Sahara against the rulings of the UN and
International Court of Justice. Tens of thousands of Saharawi fled for their
lives into the Algerian desert, where 165,000 refugees still live today.
Although the UN promised a referendum in Western Sahara in 1991, the peace
process has been stalled. Since last summer Morocco has harshly repressed
Saharawi demonstrations in the Occupied Territory, where tens of thousands
of Saharawi still live in a police state.
________________________________________________________
Source: http://www.waronwant.org/?lid=12069
________________________________________________________
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Boris Ryser
A l'initiative du Club des investisseurs marocains de l'étranger (CIME), une
importante délégation composée d'une cinquantaine d'hommes d'affaires
marocains est, depuis le 2 mai, en visite à Laâyoune pour explorer les
différentes opportunités d'investissement dans la région Sud du Royaume.
Ils sont venus des Emirats Arabes Unis, d'Arabie Saoudite, de France, d'
Espagne, de Belgique, de Hollande, d'Italie, d'Allemagne, de Suisse, du
Canada et des Etats-Unis d'Amérique.
Lors de cette rencontre qui se prolonge jusqu'au 5 mai, il sera question d'
étudier les possibilités d'investir dans les domaines de la pêche, la
transformation de ses produits, l'emballage et le conditionnement, le
transport frigorifique, l'agroalimentaire et le transport.
Lors de ces étapes, la prospection sera orientée vers les secteurs du
bâtiment, l'immobilier, l'hôtellerie, les services du tourisme, l'artisanat
et l'agriculture, notamment l'élevage.
« Il s'agit d'un partenariat tripartite qui intéresse les Marocains d'
origine sahraouie, les Marocains du centre du pays et des investisseurs
étrangers, en vue de participer à l'Initiative nationale du développement
humain », explique Bouchaib Rami, président du CIME.
A noter que le Club est une association à but non lucratif, dont le
principal objectif est d'assister les investisseurs marocains résidant à l'
étranger et leurs éventuels partenaires étrangers dans leurs démarches, en
vue d'investir au Maroc.
http://www.bladi.net/8713-mre-investissement-sahara.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Publié le : 3 mai 2006
Boris Ryser
please find attached and below the latest Sahara Analysis. If you are in
the UK you may recently have seen Western Sahara on the Channel 4
international documentary series "Unreported World" (Friday 5th May
7.35-8.00 pm). This featured a first showing on UK television of footage
from occupied Western Sahara. Read more on
http://www.channel4.com/news/microsites/U/unreportedworld2006/westernsahara.html
yours
Tim
p.s. www.fishelsewhere.org - the European Parliament vote on the EU-Morocco
fishing accord is due on Monday 15th May. Check this site for latest news
and easy ways to get involved if you wish to.
May 2006
SAHARA ANALYSIS
No. 52
Oil - Kerr-McGee leaves Western Sahara (Reuters, Afrol News, Upstream
Online)
Saharawis and campaigners were jubilant at news that US oil company is
ending its controversial association with Morocco's occupation of Western
Sahara and not renewing its reconaissance licence for territory's offshore
waters (the "Boujdour block"). "We have decided not to renew our recon
permit" a spokesman told Reuters' Ben Berkowitz, "the block does not fit
with our strategy".
A SADR statement welcomed the decision, thanking "all the friends and
supporters worldwide who have objected to Kerr McGee's presence in our
country, and have tirelessly campaigned to put pressure on it to withdraw".
It reiterated that "any exploitation of the resources of the country without
the permission of its indigenous people is illegal", and promised that "the
Saharawi people will continue to use all available means to protect the
resources of Western Sahara from exploitation by the occupying Moroccan
regime". The SADR awarded oil exploration licences earlier this year to a
number of companies, conditional on the conflict being resolved and Western
Sahara gaining independence.
Speaking to Afrol news (www.afrol.com), Carlos Wilson, activist with the
international coalition Western Sahara Resource Watch, said that he believed
that pressure, from international activists and Saharawis, had in fact
played a key role. He recalled the withdrawal of KMG subcontractors and the
Norwegian government's sale of its shares in the company for ethical
reasons. He also pointed to the impact of a letter to KMG from Saharawi
political prisoners, in which they appealed to the company as professed
Christians to take the ethical course of action. Mr Wilson said that the
response from the Christian community of Oklahoma, where KMG are based, has
been massive: "hundreds, if not thousands, of concerned individual
Christians . actually contacted the company" he told Afrol.
It was in 2001 that Morocco granted one year reconaissance licences to
Kerr-McGee and Total of France. Prospects for the companies had looked
uncertain from February 2002, when a UN legal opinion ruled that a move from
reconaissance to oil exploitation would be illegal without the consent of
the people of Western Sahara. The licences were renewed annually until Total
withdrew in 2004. Kerr-McGee continued but soon switched to 6 monthly
renewals, timed to coincide with UN Security Council discussions of the
conflict. Along the way a number of subcontractors had withdrawn after
meeting with campaigners, and investors had sold $60m of KMG shares to avoid
association with the companies' activities.
Meanwhile, EU moves closer to fishing in Western Sahara.
While oil companies were backing off activity in Western Sahara, the EU is
pressing ahead. The Fisheries Committee recently voted against amendments
to the new EU-Morocco Fisheries Accord that would specifically rule out
fishing in Western Saharan waters. The European Commission, which drew up
the Accord with Morocco last year, produced a legal opinion which said that
the Accord did not need amending as Morocco could be relied on to see that
Western Saharan waters would not be exploited (see Sahara Analysis 51).
This implausible argument appears to have carried the day in the Committee -
or maybe the combined weight of the Spanish fishing and French pro-Moroccan
lobbies did the trick. 80% of the fishing licences awarded under the Accord
would go to Spain (www.arso.org).
May 15th is the date of the European Parliament debate on the Accord, which
offers another chance to amend it before it enters into force. French-based
international legal NGO SHERPA has now examined the Accord and concluded
that it does not respect international law, and ignores the rights of the
Saharawi people. The next two weeks will see which viewpoint prevails.
For more information see www.fishelsewhere.org.
UN: Direct Negotiations Proposed; Human Rights concerns rise up the agenda
(www.un.org/docs/sc, http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8711.doc.htm)
The UN Security Council, in a new resolution, has placed the focus for
resolving the conflict on direct negotiations between the Polisario Front
and Morocco, in an effort to inject life into the process.
Kofi Annan's report to the Security Council appeared to bear the marks of
change in the UN approach, perhaps brought by Peter van Walsum, his new
Personal Envoy. Human rights abuses by Morocco in occupied Western Sahara
are at last dealt with in some detail - albeit the ongoing Saharawi uprising
must also have contributed to increased UN attention to this area. A UN
High Commission for Human Rights mission to the territory, long called for
by Saharawi activists there, is now set for 15th May (the same date as the
European Parliament vote on the EU-Morocco Fisheries Accord.).
There is also a welcome air of straight talking about the drift in the
handling of the affair by the international "community". He notes that
§ "after. Morocco had rejected the Peace Plan [because it rejected
independence]. the Plan had never been mentioned again in a Security Council
resolution. Nor had any country with close ties to Morocco apparently used
its influence to try to persuade Morocco to reconsider." (parag. 31);
§ "the main obstacle, however, may not exist only in the positions
adopted by the parties. in most capitals: a) Western Sahara is not high on
the local political agenda; and b) great store is set by continuing good
relations with both Morocco and Algeria" (parag 39);
He spells out the obvious, but sometimes neglected fact, that "the United
Nations could not endorse a plan that excluded a genuine referendum while
claiming to provide for the self-determination of the people of Western
Sahara" (parag 31). This is linked to the emphasis on direct negotiations -
these are proposed as Annan/van Walsum state that any plan the UN could
propose would have to include a genuine referendum, and Morocco would thus
not agree to it without international pressure.
The call for negotiations "without preconditions" is explicitly cast as a
search for a compromise between international law and "political reality".
Is this an admission that the UN cannot fulfil its mission and secure a
chance for self-determination for the territory of Western Sahara? The
report does make it clear that there "without preconditions" means that
Moroccan sovereignty must not be a precondition. Nevertheless, this is a
risky moment for the Saharawis, while offering at least a whiff of change.
But of course, it is not likely that direct negotiations will produce a
breakthrough - unless, as van Walsum notes, "those. who had been supporting
the position of Morocco to do all in their power to make the negotiations
succeed" (parag 36). With France (and to an extent the US) still backing
Morocco, it will be down to the Saharawis to try to make change.
Human Rights: giving with one hand, taking with another
Ahead of the UN discussion - and perhaps guessing that human rights concerns
might be rising up the UN agenda - Morocco released most Saharawi political
prisoners in two waves, 25th March and 22nd April. This welcome move was
soured, however, by the security forces' beatings of people who had gathered
to welcome them back, and of some prisoners after their release. Photos of
Ali Salem Tamek's journey back to his home in Assa can be seen at
http://www.arso.org/Assa270406/
In a further indication that these releases not signal any major change of
policy, it appears that veteran Saharawi activist Sidi Mohamed Daddach
(featured in the recent Channel 4 "Unreported World" special on Westen
Sahara) is being refused permission by the Moroccan authorities to
participate in the UN "family exchange" programme and visit the Saharawi
refugee camps in Algeria to see his ageing mother. Daddach spent over 20
years in Moroccan prisons after attempting to flee occupied Western Sahara
for the refugee camps in 1979. He became a living symbol of Saharawi
resistance and was only freed in 2001 after a prolonged international
campaign. The following year he received the presitigious Rafto Prize for
Human Rights.
Boris Ryser
EU Observer
15.05.2006 - 09:56 CET | By Helena Spongenberg
A controversial fisheries agreement between the EU and Morocco is set to go
ahead next month, despite Finland and Sweden saying the deal is not in
accordance with UN resolutions over the Western Sahara territory.
Under the agreement, Brussels will pay Morocco ?144 million a year for four
years in return for allowing European vessels to fish in Morocco's Atlantic
coastal waters, including the disputed territory of Western Sahara invaded
by Moroccan forces in 1975.
This means that the agreement allows Morocco to issue fishing licenses to
European vessels in water which it does not legally hold, which is against
international law, EU member states opposing the deal have said.
The fisheries agreement has divided member states with some of them keen to
profit from fishing in the area, such as Spain and Portugal, while Finland
and Sweden are against the agreement.
"How can the EU on the one hand support the United Nations resolution and
not recognise the annexation of the Western Sahara and on the other hand
have a fisheries agreement with Morocco that covers the occupied areas? We
want to be a neutral part in solving this conflict," said Robin Rosenkranz,
Swedish agricultural councillor in Brussels, according to the Financial
Times.
The two Nordic countries have said they will table a joint declaration this
month, pointing out that "the fisheries agreement cannot prejudge any future
political decision in relation to the Western Sahara issue."
They also want guarantees that Sahrawi fishermen from the Western Sahara
gain directly from the EU-Moroccan deal.
Despite the opposition, EU officials meeting behind closed doors last week
said EU fisheries ministers are likely to adopt the deal on 22 May, while
the European Parliament is expected to vote in favour of the agreement this
week.
Exclude Western Sahara
A Europe-wide NGO coalition, Fish Elsewhere, is calling for EU
parliamentarians to vote against the deal in the parliament's plenary
session on 15 May, unless an amendment is passed specifically excluding
Western Saharan waters from its jurisdiction.
Nick Dearden, from War on Want, a UK affiliate to Fish Elsewhere campaign
insists "that the EU won't be able to claim at a later date that it didn't
suspect the obvious consequence of this agreement. They have the evidence
and they must amend the agreement."
But EU fisheries commissioner Joe Borg defended the agreement in March.
"Morocco is the de facto administrator of Western Sahara. So, the Commission
proposal is in conformity with the legal opinion of the United Nations
issued in January 2002," he said.
Mr Borg also pointed out that, on this issue, the new agreement is the same
as the previous EU-Morocco deal.
________________________________________________________
Source: http://euobserver.com/9/21591
________________________________________________________
Forwarded by:
The Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara
*** Referendum NOW! ***
wsa...@online.no
________________________________________________________
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Boris Ryser
El Aaiun, Western Sahara
Dear friends,
We, the Sahrawi human rights activists and prisoners of conscience who were
just released on March 25th, 2006 and April 22nd, 2006 from the Black Prison
in El Aaiun, the capital of Western Sahara, and other prisons in Morocco,
would like to express our sincere thanks to all of you for the great effort
you have done and you are still doing to lessen the Sahrawi people's
suffering and help them seize their right to self-determination via a free
and fair referendum under the auspices of the UN.
Special thanks should go to the international solidarity movement for
Western Sahara, for the wonderful work they are doing, and especially the
Christian communities in Oklahoma and to the US people, for their constant
support and incessant help to make the Sahrawis' voice heard in the USA and
all over the world.
As members of this small population under the Moroccan occupation, we and
the whole Sahrawi people,
- are opposing foreign companies plundering the Western Sahara on
behalf of Morocco.
- Sincerely thank the oil company Kerr-McGee for taking the right
decision of the withdrawal from exploring in the Western Sahara offshores.
- Appeal to Kerr-McGee to hand over the geological data from its
activities to the people of the Western Sahara or to the United Nations.
- Pray that Kerr-McGee's withdrawal will have an effect on
Morocco-European Union fisheries agreement that is soon to be ratified by
the European Union. Just as the UN is clear that it would be illegal for
American oil companies to steal our oil, the UN is clear that such fishing
agreements is illegal.
Please, friends of the Sahrawi people, tell the EU that they first help
solve the Western Sahara conflict, then they can exploit our fish. The way
they do it now will only make problems for us and for the UN peace process.
We, the Sahrawi human rights activists and ex-political prisoners of
conscience as well as Sahrawis enduring the Moroccan repression and
occupation, renew our deep thanks to the friends of the Sahrawi people
wherever they are.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours sincerely,
The Sahrawi ex-political prisoners of conscience and the human rights
activists signing underneath:
1. Mohamed Elmoutaoikil, an ex-political prisoner and human rights
activist.
2. Larbi Massaoud, an ex-political prisoner and HR activist.
3. Ali Salem Tamek, an ex-political prisoner and HR activist.
4. Brahim Noumria, an ex-political prisoner and HR activist.
5. Elhoucine Lidri, an ex-political prisoner and HR activist.
6. Lamine Sahel, an ex-political prisoner and HR activist.
7. Sidi Sayelli, an ex-political prisoner and HR activist.
8. Fatma Aayache, an ex-political prisoner and HR activist.
9. Mohamed Fadel Gaoudi,an ex-political prisoner and HR activist.
10. Mohamed Abdedaim, an ex-political prisoner and HR activist.
11. Iguilid Hammoud, a Trade Union and HR activist.
12. Lhamed Mahmoud, a Trade Union and HR activist.
13. Elouali Amidan, an ex-political prisoner.
14. Mohamed Salem Lakhal, a Trade Union and HR activist.
15. Latif Allal, a HR activist.
16. Baj Elhoucine, a HR activist.
17. Tarouzi Yahdih, a HR activist.
18. Mohamed Jaiim, a Trade Union activist.
________________________________________________________
Forwarded by:
The Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara
*** Referendum NOW! ***
wsa...@online.no
________________________________________________________
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Boris Ryser
by Nick Dearden, War on Want
The justifications put forward by European powers for their failure to reign
in Israel's defiance of international law usually centres around Israeli
security or the corruption of the Palestinian leadership. A vote in the
European Parliament, over a little known conflict in North Africa, shows
these reasons up for the flimsy excuses they are.
Western Sahara has been occupied for 30 years by Morocco, after the latter
signed a secret and illegal deal with the territory's colonial master Spain,
in the very final act of the Francoist government. Every year the UN
reaffirms the right of Western Sahara to self-determination and they have
had a Mission on the ground for nearly 15 years to organise a referendum.
165,000 Saharawi refugees have created a democratic and educated society in
exile in the Algerian desert, laying down their arms, denouncing forever the
use of terrorism, simply asking the international community to help them
return to their homeland. Yet instead of championing this seemingly
exemplary resistance movement, the European Union has continued to arm the
Occupier while building ever closer economic and political ties.
As if this were not bad enough, the European Parliament today voted to steal
the resources of the Saharawi people from under their noses. The vote
concerned the signing of a Fisheries Agreement with Morocco. Such Agreements
are not uncommon, but this one has a difference - it fails to specify the
Southern limit of its operation, thereby allowing Morocco to define the
extent of its territory and effectively allow European boats to fish in the
very rich but also very occupied territorial waters of Western Sahara. On 16
May Parliamentarians had the opportunity to vote on a Green/ GUE (left)
amendment which would have made the issue clear - and excluded Western
Sahara from the operation of the Agreement. Despite resistance from close to
200 MEPs; pressure from Member States like Sweden, Finland and Ireland;
rebels from both Socialist and Conservative groups; and despite a campaign
coalition drawn from 19 EU countries, the Parliament rejected the Amendment.
At the end of the day the profits of the European fishing industry were
simply too important to jeopardise for the sake of international law and
165,000 refugees.
The matter will now go to the Council of Ministers on Monday, but no great
hope is being placed there. The UK Government has already said that despite
clear opposition from the Polisario Front, the representatives of the
Saharawi people, they are unlikely to amend the Agreement, or even to
include a statement on the rights of the Saharawi people and the need to end
the Occupation. Other argue that the Saharawi people still living in the
Occupied Territories of Western Sahara will benefit from the Agreement. The
truth is that European fishing corporations will be the real beneficiaries
of this Agreement, together with the Moroccan Generals who control the
industry in Western Sahara.
The refugees, far from seeing any benefit, realise that the EU has given
Morocco just one more reason to flout international law. Only one month ago
Moroccan King Mohamed VI made a controversial visit to the Occupied
Territories of Western Sahara, which sparked demonstrations and mass
detentions by the Moroccan security forces. Mohamed made clear that while he
supported some degree of autonomy, Morocco would not "give up one inch of
soil" in the Western Sahara.
It seems that neither the existence nor absence of terrorism, corruption or
any other charge which can be levelled against a resistance movement, makes
any difference to the European Commission in its desire to uphold
international law. The issue boils down very simply to the question of
self-interest.
Boris Ryser
Strasbourg, 16 May 2006
The Greens - European Free Alliance in the European Parliament
EU-Morocco fisheries agreement
Parliament supports the plundering of Western Saharan fish
Green MEPs today condemned the vote in the European Parliament, approving
the EU-Morocco fisheries agreement, which would enable fishing by EU vessels
in the waters of occupied Western Sahara. Speaking after the vote, Swedish
Green MEP Carl Schlyter and Spanish Green MEP Raul Romeva said:
"By approving the fisheries agreement with Morocco, which includes Western
Saharan waters, the European Parliament has supported what is clearly an
illegal agreement. Morocco has no right to grant access to waters that do
not belong to it. By approving this agreement, the Parliament is guilty of
supporting the neo-colonial occupation of Western Sahara.
"The UN previously ruled that further exploitation of the natural resources
of the Saharawi people would violate the principles of international law and
the internationally-recognised representatives of the Saharawi, the
Polisario Front, have condemned the agreement, yet the EU has chosen to
ignore them. The EU-Morocco agreement amounts to de facto recognition of
the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara in exchange for rights to catch a
few fish - a paltry trade-off.
"As recently as last October, the Parliament adopted a resolution that
called for support for the rights of the Saharawi people and the
preservation of the natural resources of Western Sahara. It has today
endorsed an agreement, which is directly in conflict with this resolution.
The Council is now set to approve this agreement next week despite the
opposition of certain Member States. A proposed declaration - that the
agreement should not prejudge a political solution in Western Sahara - to be
adopted in conjunction with the agreement will be of limited solace to the
Sarahawi people but we call on all Member States to support this
initiative."
***ENDS***
Richard More O' Ferrall,
Press Officer,
The Greens/EFA in the European Parliament
Tel: Brussels +32 2 2841667 / Strasburg +33 3 88174375
Mobile: +32-477-44-38-42
Fax: 0032 2 2844944
rmoreo...@europarl.europa.eu
Boris Ryser
EU Votes to Steal Saharan Fish
Fish Elsewhere! Coalition
MEPs today voted in favour of a Fisheries Agreement that will allow European
ships to fish off the coast of illegally occupied Western Sahara, despite
claims that this violates international law. Amendments by Green and
left-wing GUE groups achieved close to 200 votes, but were voted down,
despite support from campaigners and members states like Sweden, Finland and
Ireland, and rebellions from within the Socialist (PES) and Conservative
(EPP) groups.
The Agreement, between the EU and Morocco, which has occupied Western Sahara
for 30 years, will now go into effect after being ratified by the Council of
Ministers. A European-wide coalition ( www.fishelsewhere.org) is mounting
pressure on EU member states to make a last ditch effort to exclude Western
Sahara from the Agreement on Monday. If the Agreement proceeds unamended the
fishelsewhere coalition has warned the European Commission that they could
face a legal challenge in the European courts.
Nick Dearden of British anti-poverty campaign group War on Want, said
earlier "The European Parliament have voted today to flout international law
simply because it suits European commercial interests to do so. We have to
look to members states to place the human rights of the Saharawi people
above profits."
Carlos Wilson from Western Sahara Resources Watch, said: "For 30 years
165,000 refugees have lived in camps in the Algerian desert because the
international community has failed to act. Today the EU has compounded this
failure, by happily stealing the resources of those refugees from under
their noses."
The Fishelsewhere campaign asks all supporters to write, before Monday, to
their own Fisheries Minister to amend the EU-Moroccan Fisheries Agreement to
exclude Western Sahara.
Notes to Editors:
1) For UK-based media information, call Nick Dearden on +44 207
549 0582 or +44 7932 335 464.
2) The campaign website, plus European press contacts, can be
found at: www.fishelsewhere.org
3) In 1975, Morocco invaded the Western Sahara against the
express wishes of the United Nations and International Court of Justice.
Tens of thousands of Saharawi fled for their lives into the Algerian Desert,
where 165,000 refugees still live today, in some of the harshest conditions
on earth. Although the United Nations promised a referendum in Western
Sahara in 1991, the peace process has been stalled. Since last summer,
Morocco has harshly repressed Saharawi demonstrations in the Occupied
Territory, where tens of thousands of Saharawi still live in a police state.
________________________________________________________
Forwarded by:
The Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara
*** Referendum NOW! ***
wsa...@online.no
________________________________________________________
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Boris Ryser
Wednesday, 17 May 2006, 10:37 am
Press Release: United Nations
After 12 Years, Korean Medical Unit Departs UN Mission in Western Sahara
New York, May 15 2006 8:00PM
A military medical contingent from the Republic of Korea that has been
supporting the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara
(MINURSO) for the past 12 years has departed, passing the baton to its
counterpart from the Malaysian Armed forces.
The Korean Medical Unit (KMU) has provided health advice as well as primary
and preventative medical care to the military and civilian staff of MINURSO
since 1994, expanding its services in March 2004 to include assistance to
the Sahrawi people travelling to meet their family members under the
exchange programme organized by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).
When required and feasible, the KMU has also provided humanitarian medical
aid to civilians in remote locations, including helping persons involved in
mine incidents.
Nearly 550 Korean doctors, nurses, paramedics and support staff have served
with MINURSO. The KMU has held over 48,000 medical consultations during this
twelve-year deployment, at locations throughout the Territory and in the
Tindouf area in Algeria.
The Republic of Korea has participated in peacekeeping missions in Somalia,
Angola, East Timor, Georgia, Kashmir, Burundi, Sudan, Afghanistan, Liberia
and Cyprus. In East Timor and Georgia, a total of five Korean military
personnel lost their lives in the cause of peace.
During a change of command ceremony held Saturday at the MINURSO
headquarters in Laayoune, the Commander of the KMU formally handed over
responsibility to the Commander of the Malaysian Medical Unit.
"The Korean Medical Unit has been key to the work of MINURSO for the last
twelve years," Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative,
Francesco Bastagli, told those present. "It was also an important expression
of the partnership between the Republic of Korea and the United Nations in
support of world peace and security."
Also attending the ceremony were the Mission's Force Commander, Maj. Gen.
Kurt Mosgaard, as well as military and diplomatic officials from the
Republic of Korea and Malaysia, and the senior representative of the African
Union for Western Sahara.
MINURSO was established in 1991 to organize a self-determination referendum
in the Territory. Last month, the Security Council extended its mandate
through October and called once again on the parties and States in the
region to end the impasse prevailing in Western Sahara.
________________________________________________________
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0605/S00276.htm
boris ryser
Sahara-Occidental
AP | 20.05.06 | 23:10
http://permanent.nouvelobs.com/etranger/20060520.FAP7816.html?2116
ALGER (AP) -- Le chef du Polisario Mohamed Abdelaziz a demandé samedi à Kofi
Annan de "clore définitivement" le dossier du conflit au Sahara-Occidental
avant la fin de son mandat à la tête de l'ONU, fin 2006.
"Nous demandons à M. Annan de clore définitivement la question de la
dernière colonie en Afrique avant la fin de son second mandat", a-t-il
déclaré dans un entretien accordé à l'APS à l'occasion du 33e anniversaire
de la création du Front Polisario.
Le secrétaire général des Nations unies "doit demander à la communauté
internationale de l'aider pour faire pression sur le Maroc et l'amener à
respecter les accords qu'il a signés", a estimé Mohamed Abdelaziz. Selon
lui, les Sahraouis ne demandent "rien d'extraordinaire, seulement que l'ONU
applique ses propres résolutions".
Il a réaffirmé l'attachement du Polisario au plan Baker.
"Les instruments adéquats pour régler le conflit du Sahara-Occidental
existent. Il s'agit du Plan de règlement de 1991, enrichi par les accords de
Houston de 1997 et le Plan Baker. Pour nous, il ne peut exister
d'alternative en dehors de ces plans pour régler le problème sahraoui", a
insisté Mohamed Abdelaziz.
Il est revenu sur le dernier rapport sur le Sahara-Occidental du secrétaire
général de l'ONU, plus favorable à l'approche marocaine. Ce document
présenté fin avril a constitue une "dangereuse tentative de dévier la
question sahraouie de son cadre naturel, qui est la décolonisation", a-t-il
dit.
S'agissant du plan d'autonomie, dans le cadre de la souveraineté marocaine,
Mohamed Abdelaziz a jugé que c'était un plan "mort-né". Il en veut pour
preuves "les manifestations pacifiques continues depuis un an", à El-Ayoun,
Smara, Dakhla et les autres villes sahraouies.
Par ailleurs, le chef du Polisario a appelé à la création d'un "mécanisme
onusien" chargé de protéger les droits de l'homme dans les territoires
occupés, compte tenu de la situation qui ne cesse, selon lui, de "se
détériorer, notamment depuis le déclenchement de l'intifada d'El-Ayoun, le
21 mai 2005".
"Nous souhaitons que la mission menée actuellement au Sahara-Occidental par
une délégation du Haut commissariat de l'ONU pour les droits de l'homme
aboutisse à la création d'un mécanisme onusien chargé de protéger les droits
de l'homme et les libertés fondamentales" dans ce territoire, a-t-il
souligné. AP
boris ryser
AP | 20.05.06 | 23:10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boris Ryser
Une délégation des droits de l'homme onusienne se rend dans les camps de
réfugiés sahraouis
ALGER (AP) - Une délégation du Haut commissariat de l'Organisation des
Nations unies pour les droits de l'homme est arrivée dans la nuit de samedi
à dimanche aux camps de réfugiés sahraouis, à Tindouf, dans le sud-ouest
algérien, a rapporté l'agence algérienne APS.
Composée de cinq membres, cette délégation, présidée par le Suisse
Christophe Girod, ancien délégué du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge
(CICR), a eu des entretiens avec Khaddad Mohamed, coordinateur du Front
Polisario avec la mission des Nations unies au Sahara occidental (Minurso),
a précisé l'agence.
Le but de cette mission, demandée par le secrétaire général de l'Onu, Kofi
Annan, est de s'enquérir de la situation des droits de l'Homme dans les
territoires sahraouis occupés qui sont le théâtre depuis le 21 mai 2005 de
manifestations ayant pour objectif la tenue d'un référendum
d'autodétermination.
Le président de la République arabe sahraouie démocratique (RASD,
autoproclamée), Mohamed Abdelaziz, qui a demandé samedi au secrétaire
général de l'ONU, de "clore définitivement" le dossier du conflit au Sahara
occidental avant la fin de son mandat fin 2006, a également souhaité la mise
en place d'un "mécanisme onusien" chargé de faire respecter les droits de
l'Homme et les libertés fondamentales dans les territoires du Sahara
occidental.
Le Sahara occidental, ancienne colonie espagnole annexée par le Maroc en
1975, est revendiquée par le Polisario qui demande son indépendance à
travers un référendum d'autodétermination. AP
oao/cov/cr
http://fr.news.yahoo.com/21052006/5/une-delegation-des-droits-de-l-homme-onusienne-se-rend.html
Boris Ryser
Saharans condemn EU fisheries deal
Jamie Smyth in Brussels
The Irish Times
EU: The exiled political leaders of Western Sahara have warned that a
?144-million fisheries deal agreed by the EU and Morocco could spark civil
unrest in the territory.
The Polisario Front has also urged Ireland - a key supporter of Western
Sahara's right to self-determination at the UN - to oppose the deal in a
vote by EU fisheries ministers today.
The Polisario Front is opposing the deal because Morocco has included access
to the territorial waters of Western Sahara for EU fishermen.
This was agreed despite a ruling by the International Court of Justice in
1975 that the indigenous nomadic Saharans, known as the Saharawi people,
have the right to self-determination.
"What we are asking all states, including Ireland, is to vote against this
illegal agreement," said Mohamed Sidati, a member of the national
secretariat of the Polisario Front.
"The Western Sahara people will not benefit from this deal, which amounts to
exploitation of our resources.
"There is a possibility of a new armed uprising if the situation worsens, if
human rights continue to be violated, if the resources of Western Sahara are
stolen," he said.
Western Sahara is a mainly desert area in northwest Africa sandwiched
between Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania. Its coastal waters are abundant in
fish and have long been a target for Spanish fishermen.
When its former colonial ruler, Spain, withdrew in 1976, both Morocco and
Mauritania invaded the territory, claiming it as their own against the
wishes of the indigenous nomadic Saharans. The invasion occurred despite the
International Court of Justice ruling.
The Saharawi, who had formed their own political organisation, called
Polisario, in 1973, later fought a guerrilla war against the Moroccans
(Mauritania withdrew in 1978) until 1991 when a UN-brokered ceasefire was
announced.
About 150,000 Saharawi people still live in atrocious conditions in refugee
camps in Algeria. Several attempts by the UN to organise a referendum in the
territory have been rebuffed by Morocco.
Despite recent concerns raised by Sweden and Finland about the deal,
ministers are expected to vote in favour of it today.
Under the terms of the agreement, EU fishermen will benefit from a new
annual quota of 60,000 tonnes of fish from Moroccan waters for four years.
Irish fishermen will get an extra 7,500 tonnes quota of pelagics - fish
species such as mackerel and sardines - from the deal.
The biggest beneficiaries from the EU-Morocco pact are Spain, France and
Portugal, which will have the right to send 119 vessels to fish in Western
Saharan waters. Spain, which has the biggest fishing fleet in Europe,
lobbied strongly for the deal.
A spokesman for the Government said Ireland would vote in favour of the deal
today but also issue a statement supporting Western Sahara's right to
self-determination.
Mr Sidati said he hoped Ireland would change its mind.
"Ireland has been a good friend and adopted a very honourable position at
the UN to support Western Sahara. It is a case of freedom and
self-determination, which I think Ireland is quite sensitive to."
© The Irish Times
________________________________________________________
Source:
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/world/2006/0522/4078397861FR22EUFISH.html
(subscription)
________________________________________________________
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Boris Ryser
PARIS - L'ex-ministre de l'Intérieur marocain Driss Basri a été entendu
lundi à Paris, durant deux heures, par le juge chargé de l'enquête sur la
disparition en 1965 en France de l'opposant marocain Mehdi Ben Barka.
"Je lui ai dit tout ce que je savais, c'est-à-dire pas grand-chose", a
affirmé M. Basri, qui était entendu comme témoin pour sa connaissance a
posteriori de l'affaire, puisqu'il n'était pas ministre à l'époque.
"Mes fonctions ont toujours été en rapport avec les activités militantes et
politiques", a assuré M. Basri, expliquant qu'à son entrée en fonction au
ministère de l'Intérieur, il n'avait trouvé aucune archive. "Vous savez bien
que dans ces affaires de ce genre, on ne laisse pas de traces", a-t-il dit.
M. Basri, qui dit ne connaître les noms "d'aucun policier" marocain qui
serait impliqué dans l'affaire, a assuré ne pas savoir non plus où avait été
inhumé Ben Barka. "Si je le savais, cela aurait été merveilleux pour la
famille" de l'ancien opposant, a-t-il lancé.
Driss Basri, 67 ans, a été nommé ministre de l'Intérieur par Hassan II en
1979. Il a eu la haute main, pendant près de 20 ans, sur la sécurité et
l'information, pratiquement jusqu'à son limogeage en 1999 par Mohammed VI.
Avec l'audition en France de cet ancien haut responsable marocain, le juge
français Patrick Ramaël montre sa volonté de ne pas relâcher la pression sur
ce dossier au moment où il semble rencontrer des difficultés pour retourner
au Maroc enquêter.
Le juge d'instruction s'était rendu au Maroc du 27 novembre au 4 décembre
2005.
Sa commission rogatoire internationale (CRI) portait alors sur
l'interrogatoire d'une vingtaine de fonctionnaires et militaires marocains,
en activité ou à la retraite, et sur la visite d'un ancien centre de
détention secret à Rabat, appelé le PF3 (point fixe), où pourraient se
trouver les restes de Mehdi Ben Barka.
Il n'avait pu alors exécuter aucun des actes prévus dans la CRI.
Mehdi Ben Barka, célèbre opposant au roi Hassan II, avait été enlevé en
octobre 1965 à Paris et probablement assassiné ensuite en banlieue
parisienne. Son corps n'a jamais été retrouvé.
Depuis, selon une source proche du dossier, le juge qui a formulé une
nouvelle CRI pour poursuivre son instruction au Maroc, n'a pas reçu de
réponse des autorités de Rabat qui lui demandent des éléments
supplémentaires.
C'est dans ce contexte que le ministre français de l'Intérieur, Nicolas
Sarkozy, a effectué la semaine dernière une visite à Marrakech où il a
rencontré son homologue Chakib Benmoussa.
(©AFP / 22 mai 2006 19h17)
http://www.romandie.com/infos/news/060522171746.aowrl5fj.asp
Boris Ryser
Mohamed Sidati,
Minister Delegate for Europe,
Member of the National Secretariat of the Frente POLISARIO
Brussels, 22 May 2006
Following a series of previous agreements that involved the Saharawi waters,
which were vehemently denounced at the time by the Frente POLISARIO, the
European Union has just committed a very grave blunder by ratifying a
fisheries agreement with Morocco that would include the maritime zone of
Western Sahara, the last colony in Africa.
Giving in to their colonialist leanings, and aiming at perpetuating the
colonial fait accompli in Western Sahara, Spain and France have drawn the
rest of the Member States of the European Union into their reckless
adventure that consists in drawing up and signing an agreement that is
nothing but an act of international banditry and plundering, which will
undoubtedly represent a dark page in the history of the European Union.
Bowing to the wishes of Spain and France, Europe knows very well that,
thirty years after the start of the conflict, the whole international
community still does not recognise Moroccan sovereignty over Western
Sahara. Acting in this way, the European Union has disregarded the legal
status of Western Sahara as established by the United Nations.
In this context, the opinion of the UN Under-Secretary for Legal Affairs,
dated 29 January 2002, has appropriately stressed the fact of Western Sahara
being a Non-Self-Governing Territory that has been included in the UN list
of Non-Self-Governing Territories since 1963. Resolutions 1514 and 1514
approved by the UN General Assembly in December 1960 and article 73 of the
UN Charter demonstrate very clearly that the United Nations has developed
certain rules that govern the protection of natural resources of a
Non-Self-Governing Territory, rules that the European Union has readily
chosen to contravene in the case of Western Sahara.
The Frente POLISARIO considers that the ratification by the European Union
of the fisheries agreement concluded with Morocco constitutes a massive
enterprise of plundering and amassing of natural wealth of Western Sahara
and a flagrant violation of international law.
The Frente POLISARIO, which will use every means to defend its legitimate
rights, would like to pay a well-deserved tribute to countries, such as
Sweden, that have actively opposed the plundering and depletion of the
resources of the Saharawi people.
/end/
Boris Ryser
Interview with the UN's former legal chief, Hans Corell
Swedish Radio, Ekot
22 May 2006
On Monday afternoon, the EU Ministers of agriculture voted through with a
clear majority a fisheries agreement with Morocco. That permits EU fishing
vessels to fish offshore the occupied Western Sahara, something which is
very controversial. Sweden was the only country to vote against, and was
also alone in its protest.
Sweden fought very hard until the end when the EU's agricultural ministers
gathered in Brussels for a final decision.
The agreement entails that the EU is to buy fishing quotas from Morocco. It
is first and foremost Spanish and Portuguese vessels that will get the right
to fish in Western Sahara waters, areas that are occupied by Morocco.
All except Sweden voted yes.
All countries except Sweden voted for the agreement. Sweden did not get any
other countries to join the protest. Finland, Ireland and Holland, however,
made their own declarations with reservations.
The Swedish government writes in its protest that the agreement does not
fully take into account that Western Sahara is not a part of Morocco's
territory. In addition, Sweden is of the view that there are no guarantees
that the Western Saharan people will benefit from the fishing agreement.
The UN's former legal chief, the Swede Hans Corell, has previously
investigated the question of the right to natural resources in Western
Sahara, and he understands the Swedish protests:
- Yes, very much so. It is actually consistent with the opinion that I
expressed in a statement that I made to the Security Council when I was the
legal chief at the UN. Then, it wasn't about fishing, but about oil
exploration. But the problem remains the same, says Hans Corell.
Controversial territory
Foreign oil companies have previously pulled out of the area, since it is
deemed so controversial to exploit the natural resources there.
Hans Corell also believes that one can question the influence of the Western
Saharan people at this point.
The UN has for long tried to solve the question of the occupied Western
Sahara. The intention is to hold a referendum there, on what the future
should be.
"Does not contribute to a solution"
- Great efforts have been made by the UN to solve this question on the
status of Western Sahara. And I can hardly believe that such an agreement
will contribute to finding a good solution of that question, says Hans
Corell.
It is not clear whether it will have any effect that single EU states such
as Sweden makes its own political statements.
Beatrice Janzon
beatric...@sr.se
Translation by Sahara Update/The Norwegian Support Committee for Western
Sahara ________________________________________________________
Source (Swedish):
http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/ekot/arkiv.asp?DagensDatum=2006-05-22&Artikel=863032
________________________________________________________
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*** Referendum NOW! ***
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Boris Ryser
By Blanche Petrich, La Jornada, Mexico, May 21st 2006
Purchased raw materials that Morocco had looted from the Saharawi Arab
Democratic Republic (SADR)
Reported in 2002 for not complying with payment regulations regarding the
extraction and use of water
The company Innophos de México purchased two shipments of phosphates of
Western Saharan origin, illegally extracted by Morocco, which has militarily
occupied the country since 1976. The purchase took place in spite of the
United Nations having declared any trade in raw materials looted from SADR -
with which Mexico maintains diplomatic relations - to be illegal.
According to research done by the Western Saharan Resource Watch (WSRW), a
non-governmental organisation operating from Norway, this is the first
occasion in which it has been established that such illegal shipments are
destined for Mexico.
The opening of Mexican-Moroccan trade in raw materials belonging to the
Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic occurs at a time when the last
transnational to operate in the region, the US petroleum company Kerr-McGee,
has cancelled (May 1st) all exploration contracts that had previously been
signed with Rabat.
On the occasion of Kerr-McGee's withdrawal, SADR urged "all governments and
international corporations to abstain from all participation, exploration
and consumption of the natural resources originating from our territory".
The appeal makes reference to the UN resolution determining all utilisation
of natural resources originating in non-autonomous territories - as is the
case with Western Sahara - to be illegal, unless approved of by the
autonomous population.
SADR warns that it will make use of "the appropriate political and legal
resources" to pursue those who, "in complicity with Morocco's colonial
occupation forces", violates their rights by contributing to " the looting
and exploitation of our natural resources".
Business without ethics
The first shipment of Sahrawi phosphates arrived at the port of
Coatzacoalcos in March this year on board the British freighter Moorgate. It
measured approximately 30.000 tons of phosphate rock exported by the
Moroccan parastatal Office Cherifien de Phosphates (OCP), extracted from the
Sahrawi deposits at Brucraa, near the capital Laayoune. The second shipment,
with 38.000 tons of phosphates of same origin, arrived in April on board the
Panamian flagged Shikra. Both vessels had set out from the port of Laayoune.
WSRW, who monitors the illegal extraction of Sahrawi natural resources,
notes that "this trade in stolen goods, involving a Mexican company, is
politically controversial and void of ethics". Moreover, Innophos de México
is warned of potential legal action on grounds of purchasing illegally
extracted phosphates.
"We urge the Mexican government" - WSRW note in a statement - "to take
action so as to avoid any further illegal imports."
WSRW draws on participation from more than 30 countries. Last year it
successfully pressured Yara, a Norwegian producer of phosphate derivatives,
through an intense international denouncement campaign, into ceasing its
business with Western Sahara. Also, this year it achieved the withdrawal of
US oil company Kerr McGee, which had been contracted by the Kingdom of
Morocco to explore Sahrawi territorial waters.
This was the only remaining transnational company in the Maghreb willing to
engage in the business of illegally extracted natural resources. Previously,
international opposition had seen the withdrawal of the French oil company
Total and the Swedish investors of the company Skagenfondene.
The Moroccan parastatal OCP has signed a long term contract with Innophos
for the supply of phosphate rock until 2010. The Mexican government did not
intervene in order to stop the agreement, in spite of having recognised the
Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, as have 80 other countries, and with whom
it maintains diplomatic relations. No country recognises Morocco's pretended
sovereignty over Western Sahara, 80% of whose territory is occupied by the
Moroccan Army.
Possible strategy to open Latin American markets
The exports of phosphates to Mexico appear to form part of a commercial
strategy to open up Latin American markets. The organisation WSRW has also
detected a shipment of phosphate rock of Sahrawi origin reaching
Barranquilla, Colombia, in February this year flying the Maltese flag.
Moreover, another four vessels had been contracted by the government of
Venezuela from the German shipowner Wilhelm Hansen LTD, destined for Puerto
Cabello in this South American country.
The Mexican company in question is a subsidiary of Innophos International,
North America's biggest producer of chemical phosphate derivatives. It owns
a phosphates plant in the Pajaritos industrial zone, Coatzacoalcos, and
another one in San José de Iturbide, Guanajuato. The company produces input
factors for the use in water, paper, metal, textile, food and pharmaceutical
industries.
This is not Innophos' first infringement. In 2002, it was reported to the
National Water Committee for failure to serve its USD 36 million debts
attributable to its extraction and use of water in its Coatzacoalcos plant
since 1998. Total debts adjusted for compound interest and penalties
amounted to USD 96 million.
Translated from the Spanish original by the Norwegian Support Committee for
Western Sahara
________________________________________________________
Source (Spanish: http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2006/05/21/041n1soc.php
Read also:
http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2006/05/23/059n1soc.php
boris ryser
SAHARA PRESS SERVICE
27.05.03
Mme Mitterrand soutient l'autodétermination du peuple sahraoui
Chahid el Hafed, 27/O5/2003 (SPS) - La Présidente de la fondation ''France
Libertés'', Mme Danielle Mitterrand, a adressé une lettre de voux au
Président de la République à l'occasion du 30ème anniversaire de la
naissance du Front Polisario célébré le 20 mai dernier dans la wilaya
d'Aousserd, exprimant son souhait de voir le peuple sahraoui exercer son
droit à l'autodétermination.
Mme Mitterrand a mis l'accent sur la légitimité de la lutte de libération
menée par le Front Polisario estimant que le peuple sahraoui, ''éprouvé par
les années de guerre, les années d'exil, les violations de ses droits
fondamentaux, a toujours été fort de la légitimité que confère le droit
international''. (SPS)
050/090/100 271205 mai 03 SPS
Boris Ryser
Report 2006
Morocco / Western Sahara
KINGDOM OF MOROCCO
Head of state: King Mohamed VI
Head of government: Driss Jettou
Death penalty: abolitionist in practice
International Criminal Court: signed
UN Women's Convention: ratified with reservations
Optional Protocol to UN Women's Convention: not signed
Overview - Covering events from January - December 2005
The Equity and Reconciliation Commission completed its work and submitted
its report to King Mohamed VI. It recommended that compensation be paid to
more than 9,000 people who had suffered human rights abuses between 1956 and
1999, but it was not permitted to name perpetrators. New allegations
surfaced about Morocco's role in the US-led "war on terror". Eight Sahrawi
human rights defenders were imprisoned after protests which originated in
Western Sahara and to which police responded with excessive force. At least
13 migrants were shot dead at the border between Morocco and the Spanish
enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. The Polisario Front released the last of the
Moroccans it had held as prisoners of war; some had been held for almost 20
years.
Background
From May until December, the territory of Western Sahara, particularly the
town of Laayoune, was rocked by a series of demonstrations. In many of them,
demonstrators expressed their support for the Polisario Front, which calls
for an independent state in the territory and had set up a self-proclaimed
government-in-exile in refugee camps in south-western Algeria, or called for
independence from Morocco. The continuing deadlock in attempts to resolve
the dispute between Morocco and the Polisario Front over Western Sahara
appeared to have been a major factor behind the protests.
Equity and Reconciliation Commission
The groundbreaking Commission, the first truth commission in the Middle East
and North Africa region, completed its work in November and reported its
findings to King Mohamed VI. Since it was inaugurated in January 2004 with a
remit to inquire into grave human rights violations committed between 1956
and 1999, the Commission had received information from more than 16,000
people. Many had appeared in person before the Commission. Several dozen had
spoken about their experiences at seven televised hearings held in six
regions of Morocco. A planned hearing in Laayoune, Western Sahara, was
cancelled without official explanation. AI co-operated with the Commission,
providing it with hundreds of documents from its archives, including details
of several hundred cases of "disappearance" and arbitrary detention.
The Commission placed particular emphasis on finding ways of providing
reparations. It ruled that over 9,000 individuals should receive financial
compensation, and recommended assistance for those in need of medical
attention or rehabilitation as a result of the violations they had suffered.
The Commission also made a series of proposals for institutional and
legislative reform.
The Commission's final report announced that it had resolved 742
"disappearance" cases and that 66 outstanding cases would be investigated
further by a follow-up committee. The Commission indicated, however, that it
had often not obtained the testimonies and documents it had requested from
state officials, who were under no compulsion to co-operate with it. Many
families of the "disappeared" were consequently disappointed.
Under its statute, the Commission was precluded from assigning
responsibility to individuals for violations and, in its final report, made
no proposals for suspected perpetrators to be brought to account. Impunity
for past crimes remained a serious concern, particularly since some alleged
perpetrators continued to be members, or even high-ranking officials, of the
security forces. The independent Moroccan Human Rights Association, one of
the Commission's main critics on this issue, organized its own public
hearings, in which some victims named individuals they held responsible for
violations against them.
Abuses in the context of the 'war on terror'
New allegations surfaced about Morocco's role in the US-led "war on terror".
In December a Council of Europe investigator said that he believed some
prisoners previously held by the USA in Europe had been moved to North
Africa, possibly Morocco, a month earlier. Morocco denied the claim.
However, the allegation echoed previous reports that the USA had sent
detainees to Morocco for interrogation.
Information emerged about the case of Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi, an
Ethiopian national. He was arrested and detained in April 2002 by Pakistani
officials in Pakistan, and said that he was handed over to US officials in
July 2002 and then flown to Morocco. He alleged that he was held
incommunicado there for the next 18 months and systematically tortured at
the behest of US authorities, before being taken to Afghanistan and then to
the US naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where he remained held at the end
of the year.
Dozens of suspected Islamist activists were arrested and prosecuted in
Morocco during the year. This brought the total number of those arrested
since bomb attacks in Casablanca in May 2003 to over 3,000 and the total of
those prosecuted to over 1,500, according to official statements. Many of
those prosecuted were sentenced to prison terms on charges based on a broad
and unspecific definition of terrorism. At least four were sentenced to
death.
Protests in Western Sahara
Popular protests which rocked Western Sahara, particularly Laayoune, from
May until December were met with a police response that included excessive
use of force. Scores of people, mostly demonstrators but also including
police, were injured. Hundreds of people were arrested. Two men died
allegedly after being beaten by police on arrest.
Hamdi Lembarki, aged in his thirties, died on 30 October as a result of a
head injury, according to an autopsy. Witnesses said that several Moroccan
police officers had arrested him during a demonstration in Laayoune, taken
him to a nearby wall, surrounded him and repeatedly beat him with batons on
the head and other parts of his body. An investigation was launched by the
authorities into his death.
Dozens of those held in custody alleged that they were tortured or
ill-treated, either to force them to sign confessions, to intimidate them
from protesting further or to punish them for their pro-independence stance.
In July the Justice Ministry told AI that all complaints it received were
treated seriously and that, on the basis of three complaints, investigations
had been opened into allegations of torture and ill-treatment.
Dozens of people were charged with inciting or participating in violence in
the demonstrations. Over 20 were later convicted and some were sentenced to
several years in prison. Among those sentenced were seven long-standing
human rights defenders who were monitoring and disseminating information on
the crackdown by the security forces. Two alleged that they had been
tortured during questioning. An eighth human rights defender was detained
awaiting trial at the end of the year. All eight were possible prisoners of
conscience.
Freedom of expression
Continuing restrictions on freedom of expression were reported, particularly
on issues related to the monarchy and the Western Sahara dispute. Several
journalists from independent newspapers and magazines, such as Tel Quel,
were sentenced to suspended prison terms or heavy fines in this regard. In
an unprecedented move, the Moroccan authorities blocked access to the
Internet sites of several international associations advocating independence
for Western Sahara.
Ali Lmrabet, a journalist and former prisoner of conscience, was banned from
working as a journalist for 10 years in April and given a heavy fine after
he was convicted of violating both the Penal Code and Press Code. The case
arose from a report he wrote after becoming the first Moroccan journalist to
visit the refugee camps run by the Polisario Front in south-western Algeria.
He stated that the Sahrawis there were refugees, not held as captives as the
Moroccan authorities had long contended. This led to his being accused of
defaming the spokesperson of a Moroccan organization that campaigns for the
"release" of the Sahrawis in the camps.
Legal reform
Torture
Legal safeguards against torture were strengthened. A law defining torture
as a criminal offence, punishable by long prison terms, was approved by
parliament in October. At the international level, Morocco recognized the
competence of the UN Committee against Torture to investigate complaints
submitted
by individuals.
Women's rights
Women continued to face discrimination despite the introduction of the
reformed Family Code in 2004. In July, however, King Mohamed VI announced
that one more element of discrimination was to be removed, declaring that
the 1958 Citizenship Act would be reformed to allow children of Moroccan
mothers and foreign spouses to be eligible for Moroccan citizenship on the
same basis as children of Moroccan fathers with foreign spouses.
Refugees and migrants
Thousands of migrants, many of them from countries in west and central
Africa and including an unknown number of refugees and asylum-seekers,
sought to gain access to countries of the European Union from Morocco. Many
congregated close to the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla and made
efforts to gain entry to the enclaves by various means, including by
climbing over border fences. This came to a crisis point between late August
and early October when both Spanish and Moroccan security forces resorted to
excessive and, in some cases, lethal force against the migrants. At least 13
were killed as a result, some being shot dead while they were reportedly
scaling fences but posing no risk to the lives of security force personnel
or others. Moroccan officials told AI in October that judicial authorities
were investigating the deaths of people whose bodies were found on the
Moroccan side of the border.
From September Moroccan authorities forcibly removed hundreds of migrants
from their informal camps close to the enclaves. They arrested some and
transported others to remote desert areas close to Morocco's border with
Algeria, where they were dumped without adequate water, food or shelter,
reportedly resulting in further deaths. Hundreds of migrants and dozens of
asylum-seekers were subsequently held in military bases without access to
legal counsel and other rights guaranteed to them under Moroccan law, such
as the right to appeal against their custody. Many of the migrants were then
repatriated, while the asylum-seekers had their claims assessed by
representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees after being denied
access to them for several weeks.
Polisario camps
In August, the Polisario Front released the last prisoners of war that it
was holding in its camps in south-western Algeria. Some 404 prisoners were
handed into the care of the International Committee of the Red Cross and
repatriated to Morocco; some had been held for almost 20 years.
In November the Polisario Front committed to a total ban on the use of
anti-personnel mines by signing the Deed of Commitment of Geneva Call, an
international humanitarian organization dedicated to engaging armed
non-state actors to respect humanitarian norms.
Those responsible for human rights abuses in the camps in previous years
continued to enjoy impunity. The Polisario Front took no steps to address
this legacy.
AI country visits
AI delegates visited Morocco in January for meetings with the Equity and
Reconciliation Commission, government authorities and local associations,
and in October to investigate abuses against migrants and asylum-seekers
seeking access to the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. An AI observer
visited Western Sahara in November to attend a trial of Sahrawi human rights
defenders.
________________________________________________________
Source: http://web.amnesty.org/report2006/mar-summary-eng
Boris Ryser
afrol News, 5 June
- The government of Australia has urged national companies to stay away from
investments in Western Sahara or importing goods from the Moroccan-occupied
territory unless the legality of such transactions has been assured.
Canberra thus is in line with the US government, which has excluded Western
Sahara from its free trade agreement with Morocco, in contrast to the
European Union (EU).
According to reports from the Algerian state press agency APS, the
Australian Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade on Saturday recommended
national companies to "request a legal opinion" before any importation of
products from what it called the "non-self-governing" territory of Western
Sahara.
"The Australian Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade consider that the
non-self-governing status of the Western Sahara, and the international law
must be considered when it is a question of exporting the natural resources"
from this territory, the official website of the Ministry indicated,
according to APS. "We recommend to the companies to ask the legal council
before importing such products", the Australian Ministry had added.
The insistence of a "legal opinion" has its background in an earlier
conflict over potential oil production in the territory. The UN Security
Council's legal Bureau had issued an opinion in January 2002, which referred
to the "non-self-governing" status of Western Sahara. The territory has been
registered this way by the UN 1963 in the list of the UN, awaiting
decolonisation - first from Spain, and since 1976 from Morocco.
The Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara is not recognised by any state,
and the exiled Sahrawi government is a founding member of the African Union
(AU). The occupied status of the territory, according to the UN, makes
natural resource exploitation here illegal if it not directly benefits its
original inhabitants.
Moroccan resource exploitation in Western Sahara nevertheless remains ample,
with the main beneficiaries being Moroccan authorities, companies and
settlers. Western Sahara is rich on phosphates and fish and might have large
offshore oil and gas resources, some seismic studies indicate. Oil
explorations off the Sahrawi coast by international companies with a
Moroccan licence cause massive international protests, causing these
companies to withdraw.
The "non-self-governing" status of Western Sahara has also been effectively
recognised by the United States. As Washington in July 2004 signed its Free
Trade Agreement with Morocco - the first ever with an African country - the
territory of Western Sahara was expressively excluded.
This contrasts the European Union (EU), which has had a series of four-year
fisheries agreements with Morocco; the latest being approved of last month.
Despite the strong protests from the exiled Sahrawi government and
pro-Sahrawi activists worldwide, the waters off Western Sahara were included
in the fisheries agreement.
Some European countries however do not accept this policy. The government of
Sweden strongly objected to the inclusion of Western Sahara in the
EU-Morocco fisheries deal, but economic interests in Spain and France
triumphed over Swedish principles.
Also the government of Norway during the last few years has had a similar
approach as Australia, at least officially. Oslo authorities "discourage"
national companies to engage in Western Sahara, but in practical terms,
Norwegian companies are getting more an more deeply engaged in the
territory, especially when it comes to supply the booming Moroccan fisheries
sector here.
By staff writers
© afrol News
________________________________________________________
Source: http://www.afrol.com/articles/19690
________________________________________________________
Forwarded by:
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*** Referendum NOW! ***
wsa...@online.no
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Boris Ryser
Eduardo Galeano: COMMENT
Mail & Guardian, South Africa
05 June 2006
The Berlin Wall made the news every day. From dawn to dusk we read about it,
heard about it and saw it: the Wall of Shame, the Wall of Infamy, the Iron
Curtain.
Eventually, this wall, which deserved to fall, fell. But other walls have
sprung up, and continue to spring up, and though they are far larger than
the Berlin Wall, little or nothing is said about them.
Little is said about the wall the United States is erecting along its border
with Mexico, or the double razor wire fences around Ceuta and Melilla, the
Spanish enclaves on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco. And next to nothing
was said about the West Bank Wall, which perpetuates the Israeli occupation
of Palestinian lands and will soon be 15 times longer than the Berlin Wall.
And the Moroccan Wall, which for 20 years has perpetuated Morocco's
occupation of Western Sahara, goes unmentioned altogether. This wall,
continuously mined and surveilled by thousands of soldiers, is 60 times
longer than the Berlin Wall.
Why is it that some walls are so vocal and others are so mute? Would it be
because of the walls of uncommunication that the major media erect each day?
***
In July 2004 the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that the
West Bank Wall violated international law and ordered it torn down. Thus
far, Israel hasn't found out about it.
In October 1975 the same court found that there was no "tie of territorial
sovereignty between the territory of Western Sahara and the Kingdom of
Morocco''. To say that Morocco was deaf to the court's finding is an
understatement. It was far worse: the day after the decision was issued,
Morocco began the invasion, the so-called "Green March", and before long it
had seized vast areas and expelled the majority of the population in a wave
of blood and fire.
And so it goes.
***
A thousand-and-one United Nations resolutions have confirmed the Saharawi
people's right to self-determination.
What good were they? A plebiscite was to be held so the population could
decide on its fate. To insure victory, the Moroccan monarch filled the
invaded territory with Moroccans. But before long not even the Moroccans
were deemed trustworthy. And the king, who had said Yes to the plebiscite,
said Who knows? And later he said No, and now his son, who inherited the
throne, also says No. The denial is the same as a confession. By denying the
right to vote, Morocco confesses that it stole a country.
Will we continue to accept such developments? To accept that in a universal
democracy we subjects have a right only to obedience?
What was the effect of the thousand-and-one UN resolutions against Israel's
occupation of Palestinian territory? And the thousand-and-one resolutions
against the blockade against Cuba?
As the old saying goes: "Hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue."
***
These days patriotism is a privilege of dominant countries. When the
dominated countries try it, patriotism smells suspiciously like populism or
terrorism or simply deserves no attention.
The Saharawi patriots, who have fought for 30 years to regain their place in
the world, have won diplomatic recognition from 82 countries, including my
country, Uruguay, which recently added its name to the large majority of the
countries of Latin America and Africa.
But not Europe. No European country has recognised the Saharawi Republic.
Including Spain. This is an instance of serious irresponsibility, or perhaps
amnesia, or at least disaffection. Thirty years ago the Sahara was a colony
of Spain, and Spain had a legal and moral duty to protect its independence.
What did the imperial rule leave behind? After a century, how many
professionals did it train? Three: a doctor, a lawyer and a trade expert.
That is what it left behind. That and a betrayal. It served up this land and
its people on a platter to be devoured by the Kingdom of Morocco.
***
Why is it that eyes refuse to see that which breaks them?
Is it because the Saharawi were merely a medium of exchange offered for
businesses and countries that bought from Morocco what Morocco sold, though
it wasn't its own?
A few years ago, Javier Corcuera interviewed a bomb victim in a Baghdad
hospital. A bomb had destroyed her arm. Just eight years old, after 11
operations, the girl said: "If only we didn't have oil."
Maybe the people of the Sahara are guilty because off their long coastline
lies the greatest treasure of fishes in the Atlantic Ocean, and because
beneath the immensity of its seemingly empty sands lie the world's largest
phosphate reserves and perhaps oil, natural gas and uranium.
***
The refugee camps in the south of Algeria are in the most desertic of all
deserts. It is a vast void, surrounded by nothingness, where only rocks
grow. And yet in this place, and in the liberated areas, which are not much
better, the Saharawis have been able to construct the most open and the
least machista society in the entire Muslim world.
This miracle of the Saharawis, who are very poor and very few, cannot be
explained solely by their tenacious will to be free, which is abundant in
these places where everything is lacking. It is also largely a factor of
international solidarity.
And the majority of assistance comes from the people of Spain. Their vital
solidarity, memory and dignity are far more powerful than the waffling of
governments and the cynical calculations of business.
Note: solidarity, not charity. Charity humiliates. Do not forget the African
proverb: "The hand that receives is always lower than the hand that gives."
***
The Saharawis wait. They are condemned to perpetual anguish and perpetual
nostalgia. The refugee camps carry the names of their kidnapped cities,
their lost meeting places, their haunts: El Aaiun, Smara.
They are called children of the clouds because they have always chased the
rain.
For more than 30 years they have also pursued justice, which in our world
seems rarer even than water in the desert. - © IPS
Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan writer and journalist, is author of The Open
Veins of Latin America and Memories of Fire
________________________________________________________
Source:
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=273635&area=/insight/insight__comment_and_analysis/
Boris Ryser
Significant Offshore Strike Continues To Elude It
Oilbarrel, 02.06.2006
By Helen Campbell
______________________________________________________________
Morocco possibly feels a bit peeved at the moment, and perhaps rightly so.
As an increasing number of its fellow African nations find and produce oil
and gas, in very significant quantities in some cases, that tricky first
offshore discovery continues to elude Rabat.
There has been a handful of companies, mostly medium-sized with a few majors
thrown in, striking deals with Rabat, but with delayed wells and withdrawals
from licences offshore Morocco proper - and from Western Sahara, a disputed
territory to the south occupied by Morocco - Rabat must be wondering where
that find is going to come from, if at all. The hope for Morocco has hung on
the discoveries off Mauritania to the south where, it now increasingly
seems, the hydrocarbon belt on that side of the African continent just might
not stretch.
Deposits have been discovered onshore and Morocco does produce small volumes
of oil and natural gas, but not in serious quantities. Subsidised imports
might make fuel more affordable for industry and ordinary Moroccans, but
this support eats into the national budget to the tune of US$1.5 billion a
year.
Last year Amina Benkhadra, general director of Onhym, the energy ministry
department for oil, called for an increase in the number of wells, saying
that despite attracting more than 20 foreign companies to explore for oil
and gas under 70 search permits, Morocco was still under-explored and its
drilling density rate among the world's lowest. "Morocco's drilling density
stands at 0.04 drilled well per 100 square km versus an average of eight
wells per 100 square km worldwide," the ministry boss said.
None of the four exploration wells drilled offshore between 2000 and 2004
came up with a discovery and, although further offshore wells were expected
this year, this now seems increasingly unlikely.
Malaysian giant Petronas operates the Rabat-Salé Haut Mer permit off
northern Morocco, and planned to spud a well there around about now. But
industry sources say that, owing to the contracted rig being soon on its way
from Brazil to Egypt to drill for Shell, Petronas will be hard pressed to
drill the Moroccan prospect this year.
"Petronas had scheduled to start this May using the Transocean Deepwater
Expedition," says North Africa analyst Ross Millan at Wood Mackenzie.
"However, the rig is not due in Egypt for the Shell programme until August
2006 now, and it is contracted until January 2007. I would not expect
Petronas to start drilling until March 2007 at the very earliest." Petronas'
general manager in Casablanca did not return calls for comment.
Recent months have also brought relinquishments, with January's news that
Shell was withdrawing from the Moroccan upstream surely a particular blow to
Rabat. The major drilled a dry well on the Cap Draa prospect in 2004, and
also drilled a dud on its Rimella licence, signed in April 2000 and heralded
as Morocco's first deepwater permit.
A Shell spokesperson confirmed the relinquishment of both licences but was
unable to give details of any payments made by Shell as a result of the
relinquishment. Partner Tullow Oil, which acquired an operating stake in the
offshore Tiznit permit through its 2004 takeover of Energy Africa, also
handed back that licence without drilling. Its partners there were Petronas
and Sweden's Taurus Petroleum.
One chink of light this year might have been the Paprika prospect on the
Safi Haute Mer permit licensed to Vanco Energy. But the company is seeking
partners to participate before it will send the drillbit down, and tight rig
availability means the well will not be drilled in the 4Q this year, says
the company's vice president for new ventures, Jeff Mitchell.
"The prospect is located in very deep waters and we cannot drill without
partners," Mitchell told oilbarrel.com . "We are talking to various parties
and have some expressions of interest but the tough rig environment means we
cannot point to a rig we can use in the foreseeable future. We are looking
hard at drive-bys, where we meet half the mobilisation costs for a rig en
route elsewhere, but we will not be drilling Safi Haute Mer in 2006."
Vanco suffered a dry well with Shark B - Morocco's first deepwater well - on
its Ras Tafelny prospect, adjacent to Safi Haute Mer, in May 2004. Other
companies' recent pullouts aren't helping with the marketing either, but the
company is not pulling out.
"A lot of companies appear to have given up on Morocco and the withdrawals
by others have had a negative effect, certainly," Mitchell says. "But Vanco
is not going to give up. We have spent a lot of money on Safi Haute Mer, we
are on good terms with Onhym, and we are committed to Morocco."
The depressing news over the past 18 months or so does not bode well for
companies such as Repsol, Norsk Hydro and Dana Petroleum, who reportedly
have plans to drill on their licenses in 2007.
As the bigger companies struggle offshore, hopeful onshore are US-based
Heyco Maroc, US Enercorp and Canada's Stratic Energy, the latter of which
employs several senior figures formerly at Enterprise Oil, a familiar early
name in Morocco before its takeover by Shell. The partners hold two permits
along the north-western coast north of Rabat.
While shallow reserves on the Ain Hamra field of Moulay Bousselham produced
oil intermittently until the 1950s, further exploration has been minimal,
resulting in seven gas finds that, at the time, were non-commercial, says a
company source. Plans are to test deeper horizons in 3Q this year, and
analysts say the prospect could show up to 50 million barrels of oil
equivalent. Small fry maybe, but Morocco could certainly do with another
find, and one that is real after the controversy surrounding the now
notorious 'discovery' in 2000 of up to 20 billion barrels at Talsinnt by the
US company Lonestar Energy.
If anyone does strike hydrocarbons, the finders can look forward to
benevolent terms. In order to compete, says Wood Mackenzie's Millan, Morocco
has introduced some of the most attractive fiscal terms in Africa.
"The country has adopted a tax/royalty system, in which royalty never
exceeds 10 per cent and corporate income tax is capped at 35 per cent" says
Millan in a report. "Further sweeteners have been added such as royalty
exemptions for the first three and a half million barrels of oil equivalent
produced offshore and a ten year corporate tax holiday from first
production. These favourable terms are required to stimulate exploration
drilling in an unproven frontier zone, where wells can cost between US$15
million and US$30 million."
Vanco's Mitchell agrees, saying that the fiscal regime is one the reasons
the company is in Morocco. It remains to be seen whether anyone gets to
benefit from the terms though.
Morocco's desire to strike oil is, of course, against the backdrop of its
continued occupation of Western Sahara, known in Morocco as its Southern
Provinces. US company Kerr McGee (KMG) held a controversial reconnaissance
permit for virtually the entire offshore acreage of the disputed territory
and has faced heavy international criticism for signing a deal with Rabat,
whose jurisdiction is not internationally recognised.
KMG's quiet end-April revelation that it had not renewed the permit - due to
it no longer fitting with its strategy to be a 'pure-play exploration and
production company' - was seen as a victory by the campaigners who had
accused the company of unethical behaviour. Whether it was the pressure that
made KMG cave in, or whether its reconnaissance work actually suggested the
area was a dud, may be years off from an answer, but KMG's exit was
certainly another blow to Morocco.
To add to its woes, the kingdom was no doubt piqued, albeit tight-lipped, in
March this year by the award of contracts for offshore acreage to a number
of foreign exploration companies, including Premier Oil, Ophir Energy,
Europa Oil and Gas, Encore Oil and Comet Petroleum, by the Western Sahara
government-in-exile, Frente Polisario.
Those companies will only get to drill in the event of independence, and
that is not a near-term prospect. Rabat's displeasure was evidenced by its
(unsuccessful) efforts to have the Polisario banned from April's AAPG event
in Houston, at which the Moroccan government, Polisario, and Kerr McGee were
all exhibitors. Australia's Baraka Petroleum also backtracked last February
on a much newer deal with Rabat to explore the Cap Juby prospect, some of
which fell into disputed waters, and for which it was criticised.
With the successes of producers Mauritania and Algeria, Morocco has
ambitions and a clear economic need to mirror its neighbours' successes, but
a lot of companies seem to be of the opinion that the reserves might not be
there, and the risk of paying good money to find out is just to too great.
________________________________________________________
Source:
http://www.oilbarrel.com/feature/article.html?body=1&key=oilbarrel_features_en:1149262987&feed=oilbarrel_en
Boris Ryser
Boris Ryser
Boris Ryser
Third World Report (Africa) by Sidi Omar, June 2006
Last month the European Union (EU) voted through an agreement which allows
European ships to fish off the coast of Western Sahara, illegally occupied
by Morocco for the past 30 years.
This vote highlights once more the plight of the people of Western Sahara,
the Saharawis, who find that the leaders of world's democracies are largely
uninterested in the theft of their right to sovereignty. Christian Hogsbjerg
spoke to Sidi Omar, the London based representative of the Saharawi Arab
Democratic Republic.
In a few years time many countries will be celebrating 50 years without
foreign colonial presence in their country. Yet Western Sahara remains the
last colony in Africa, despite the fact that there were many resolutions
passed by the United Nations before the occupation. It is ironic that the
international community cannot tolerate some forms of colonialism, for
example Iraq occupying Kuwait. The only difference between us is that Kuwait
had economic interests for the major players of the international system. So
they mobilised the UN and got Saddam out of Kuwait.
Morocco has occupied Western Sahara for 30 years. But instead of trying to
convince Morocco to end the occupation, the world's powers have actually
helped the occupiers. The Moroccans will not have any major economic gain
out of this fishing agreement. It is all about political gain. Morocco will
use it to legitimise its presence in Western Sahara, and so gain the right
to plunder the resources with impunity.
The bulk of those who are involved in fishing off the coast of Western
Sahara are Moroccans. The few Saharawis who engage in fishing are
outnumbered by the Moroccans. This new deal is about exploiting the
resources of a non self-governing territory, and there is no doubt that this
is incompatible with the principles of international law.
Despite the arguments of many within the EU that their main aim is to
benefit the population of Western Sahara, it does not mean that the deal is
not illegal. And which population are they talking about benefiting? Is it
the population living within Western Sahara, or is it the refugee
population? Nobody is explicit about this. The refugees in south west
Algeria are also Saharawis, and they are entitled to the revenues of this
agreement. But I doubt that the European leaders are even aware of these
people-they simply do not exist.
Illegal invasion
The refugees have no chance to go back to their homes, and they depend on
international aid just to exist. They are not refugees as the result of some
natural disaster. They are refugees because they were forced to leave their
country when a foreign power invaded illegally. They are living in their own
makeshift tents, not because they haven't been treated hospitably by the
Algerian government, but because they don't want to be permanently settled.
One day they want to go back to their home, a free Western Sahara.
Their problem is less a humanitarian problem than a political one. Since the
1980s Morocco has been building a "defensive" sand wall which divides
Western Sahara in half. It is not only a sand wall - it has been fortified
by seven million landmines, and is one of the longest walls in the world.
Its purpose is to be a de facto demarcation of the territory and it has
divided families for decades. We know about the Berlin Wall and the wall
Israel has constructed in Palestine, but this wall has been totally absent
from the international media. It is there, and it weighs very heavily on the
Saharawis on both sides of it.
I don't know how long the fish from Western Sahara will last, but I know
Morocco has been plundering all of our resources since 1976. It is not just
fish, but other natural resources too, like oil and gas. Even our sand is
now being transferred to Portugal and Spain for their beaches. For the last
two years there has been a campaign against international oil companies. We
want them to recognise that, despite the fact that they explore under a
contract with the Moroccan government, they are prospecting resources that
belong to the Saharawis.
Sidi M. Omar, PhD
Representative of Frente Polisario (Western Sahara) to the UK & Ireland
________________________________________________________
Source: http://www.socialistreview.org.uk/article.php?articlenumber=9770
________________________________________________________
Forwarded by:
The Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara
*** Referendum NOW! ***
wsa...@online.no
________________________________________________________
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__,_._,___ Western Sahara: Caught in the European Union's Net
Third World Report (Africa) by Sidi Omar, June 2006
Last month the European Union (EU) voted through an agreement which allows
European ships to fish off the coast of Western Sahara, illegally occupied
by Morocco for the past 30 years.
This vote highlights once more the plight of the people of Western Sahara,
the Saharawis, who find that the leaders of world's democracies are largely
uninterested in the theft of their right to sovereignty. Christian Hogsbjerg
spoke to Sidi Omar, the London based representative of the Saharawi Arab
Democratic Republic.
In a few years time many countries will be celebrating 50 years without
foreign colonial presence in their country. Yet Western Sahara remains the
last colony in Africa, despite the fact that there were many resolutions
passed by the United Nations before the occupation. It is ironic that the
international community cannot tolerate some forms of colonialism, for
example Iraq occupying Kuwait. The only difference between us is that Kuwait
had economic interests for the major players of the international system. So
they mobilised the UN and got Saddam out of Kuwait.
Morocco has occupied Western Sahara for 30 years. But instead of trying to
convince Morocco to end the occupation, the world's powers have actually
helped the occupiers. The Moroccans will not have any major economic gain
out of this fishing agreement. It is all about political gain. Morocco will
use it to legitimise its presence in Western Sahara, and so gain the right
to plunder the resources with impunity.
The bulk of those who are involved in fishing off the coast of Western
Sahara are Moroccans. The few Saharawis who engage in fishing are
outnumbered by the Moroccans. This new deal is about exploiting the
resources of a non self-governing territory, and there is no doubt that this
is incompatible with the principles of international law.
Despite the arguments of many within the EU that their main aim is to
benefit the population of Western Sahara, it does not mean that the deal is
not illegal. And which population are they talking about benefiting? Is it
the population living within Western Sahara, or is it the refugee
population? Nobody is explicit about this. The refugees in south west
Algeria are also Saharawis, and they are entitled to the revenues of this
agreement. But I doubt that the European leaders are even aware of these
people-they simply do not exist.
Illegal invasion
The refugees have no chance to go back to their homes, and they depend on
international aid just to exist. They are not refugees as the result of some
natural disaster. They are refugees because they were forced to leave their
country when a foreign power invaded illegally. They are living in their own
makeshift tents, not because they haven't been treated hospitably by the
Algerian government, but because they don't want to be permanently settled.
One day they want to go back to their home, a free Western Sahara.
Their problem is less a humanitarian problem than a political one. Since the
1980s Morocco has been building a "defensive" sand wall which divides
Western Sahara in half. It is not only a sand wall - it has been fortified
by seven million landmines, and is one of the longest walls in the world.
Its purpose is to be a de facto demarcation of the territory and it has
divided families for decades. We know about the Berlin Wall and the wall
Israel has constructed in Palestine, but this wall has been totally absent
from the international media. It is there, and it weighs very heavily on the
Saharawis on both sides of it.
I don't know how long the fish from Western Sahara will last, but I know
Morocco has been plundering all of our resources since 1976. It is not just
fish, but other natural resources too, like oil and gas. Even our sand is
now being transferred to Portugal and Spain for their beaches. For the last
two years there has been a campaign against international oil companies. We
want them to recognise that, despite the fact that they explore under a
contract with the Moroccan government, they are prospecting resources that
belong to the Saharawis.
Sidi M. Omar, PhD
Representative of Frente Polisario (Western Sahara) to the UK & Ireland
________________________________________________________
Source: http://www.socialistreview.org.uk/article.php?articlenumber=9770
Boris Ryser
Press Release
Monday 12 June 2006
For Immediate Release
Desert Convoy Leads The Way For A New Humanitarian Project
In July 2006, a volunteer-driven convoy of specially armoured vehicles and
unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance equipment will begin a journey covering
2,000 kilometres across the West African desert, marking the start of a new
humanitarian initiative to address the problem of UXO contamination in the
Western Sahara and its impact on the civilian population.
The Western Sahara, a territory the size of France on the Atlantic coast of
North Africa, was the focus of intense conflict between Morocco and
Polisario, the Saharawi resistance movement.
The most heavily mined areas of the country are alongside the berm, a
2,400km long earthwork fortification that runs the length of the Western
Sahara dividing the Moroccan and Polisario controlled zones. However, the
fighting has also left the wider region littered with explosive debris,
including cluster munitions, and has made travelling in the territory a
lethal proposition.
Although 160,000 displaced Saharawis occupy refugee camps in the south of
Algeria awaiting an opportunity to return home, many people have maintained
their traditional nomadic lifestyles which place them at risk from the
unexploded ordnance. An eventual repatriation of refugees in such conditions
would increase the humanitarian problem.
Landmine Action's survey and clearance initiative is the first such project
in the Western Sahara and, working with Polisario and the UN Mission for the
Referendum in the Western Sahara (MINURSO), aims to build local capacity for
swift response and clearance into the future. Results of this project will
include:
· Building confidence amongst the civilian population, in particular
nomadic pastoralists.
· Ensuring peacekeeping forces and NGOs have free access to all
areas.
· Demonstrating serious planning for movement towards a settlement of
the sovereignty issue in the Western Sahara.
During the initial stages of the project, two teams of six demobilised
Polisario army engineers will be trained by Bosnian, British and Russian
experts to map minefields and destroy cluster munitions.
The long term plan will see the formation of a local non-governmental
organisation (NGO) to take responsibility for the continuation of the
project.
A spokesperson for Landmine Action said,
"Landmine Action is committed to protecting vulnerable civilians from the
effects of conflict.
The people of the Western Sahara are taking a proactive approach to post
conflict issues as well as addressing the present humanitarian impact of the
ongoing dispute on the people of the region. Landmine Action will do what it
can to support such endeavours to protect civilians from the impact of
conflict."
Notes for Editors:
· The vehicles and specialist equipment will be shipped from the UK
to the Algerian port of Oran from where they will be driven over three days,
through Algeria before arriving in Tifariti, Western Sahara.
· Initial funding for this project has been provided by the United
Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and The Diana, Princess of Wales
Memorial Fund.
· In November 2005, the Polisario Front, signed a Deed of Commitment
to the Ottawa Treaty, agreeing to abide by a complete ban on the use of anti
personnel mines. They subsequently met their obligation to destroy all
stockpiles of the weapons in February 2006, assisted by Landmine Action and
witnessed by a number of foreign government officials and international
organisations.
· Landmine Action works to protect non-combatants from
weapon-specific threats both during and after conflict. Protection is
developed both through practical action and through development of improved
international law to cover the use, manufacture, stockpiling and transfer of
weapons.
· Landmine Action is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee
· As the UK arm of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines
(ICBL), Landmine Action was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997.
For more information on the Western Sahara project or the work of Landmine
Action, contact Therese Lyras on 020 7820 0222 or email
tly...@landmineaction.org.
For out-of-hours enquiries, please call 07843 387 149.
Boris Ryser
dangerous turn
By Dr. Pablo San Martin
Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos (GEES)
Colaboraciones nº 1013
13 June 2006
After six years of negotiations, the Fisheries Committee of the European
Parliament voted, on Monday 15 of May, in favour of a largely criticised
Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Kingdom
of Morocco. One week later, on Monday 22 May, the Agreement was endorsed by
the Fisheries Ministers of the EU.
The vote has been preceded by months of debate in the mass-media over the
legality of such Agreement and by the launch of an international campaign
opposing the Agreement (Fish Elsewhere!, see:
www.fishelsewhere.org). It has also generated divisions among the members of
the EU. Sweden opposed vehemently the Agreement, while Finland, Ireland and
The Netherlands expressed their concerns and asked for a close scrutiny of
the implementation of the Agreement in order to ensure that it benefits the
local population of the Western Sahara territory. The legal bases upon which
the Agreement is founded have also been strongly criticised by several
European leading lawyers such as Spanish Law Professor and expert in the
Western Sahara dispute Carlos Ruiz Miguel (see: " Is the EU-Morocco fishing
agreement an attempt by Spain to legalise Moroccan Occupation of the Western
Sahara?") and leading French lawyers group SHERPA (see: " ANALYSE JURIDIQUE
Fisheries Partnership Agreement"), well-known for prosecuting oil company
Total over forced labour abuses in Burma.
The Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the
Kingdom of Morocco is considered as highly problematic, if not openly
illegal, by several state and non-state actors, since it includes the waters
of the disputed Western Sahara. The Territory of the Western Sahara,
included since 1963 in the list of non self-governing territories of the
United Nations according to Chapter XI of the Charter (A/5514, Annex III),
remains nowadays a territory de facto divided and contested. In addition,
since 1966, the UN clearly established that the future of the Western Sahara
territory should be decided through a self-determination referendum.
In February 1976, Spain withdrawn from the Territory, after signing an
accord (known as the Madrid Accord) and transferring unilaterally (that is,
without the knowledge and sanction of the UN and without consulting the
population of the Territory, following the procedures established by the UN
for the non self-governing territories) the interim administration of the
Territory to Spain, Morocco and Mauritania. Such unilateral transfer of the
administration has never been recognised by the UN, and has never been
mentioned in any UN's Assembly General document or Security Council
resolution regarding the Western Sahara dispute. As the
Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affaires, Hans Correll, has clearly stated
in his Legal Opinion regarding the exploitation of natural resources in the
Western Sahara addressed to the Security Council in January 2002
(S/2002/161):
The Madrid Agreement did not transfer sovereignty over the territory, nor
did it confer upon any of the signatories the status of an administering
Power - a status which Spain alone could not have unilaterally transferred.
The transfer of administrative authority over the territory to Morocco and
Mauritania in 1975, did not affect the international status of Western
Sahara as Non-Self-Governing Territory.
In fact, as the recent EU Legal Opinion about the EU-Morocco Fisheries
Agreement, signed by EU legal advisors Ricardo Passos, Gabrielle Mazzini and
Gregorio Garzon Clariana, acknowledged "Spain is still reported on the list
of the de iure administering powers" (SJ-0085/06, D (2006)7352, 10, page 3)
and "[i]n addition, despite the de facto control exercised over the largest
part of the territory, Morocco has never formally acquired the status of
administering power" ( Ibid., 11, p.3, emphasis added).
But, if on the one hand, this transfer of administration was never legally
sanctioned, on the other, as the EU Legal Opinion suggests rightly (see
previous quote), this transfer of administration has never been de facto
effective either, since neither Mauritania (until 1979, when it renounced to
its claims and abandoned the Territory after signing an agreement with the
Frente Polisario and recognising the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic) nor
Morocco had effective control over the entire Territory at any single moment
during the last three decades. Since Spain left the Territory, large
portions of the disputed Western Sahara have remained under the de facto
military control of the Frente Polisario and the de facto civil
administration of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (RASD), founded in
1976 and admitted as a full member of the African Union (then OAU) in 1984.
Morocco's control of the Territory, as the Legal Opinion of the EU rightly
and clearly points out in point 11, has only been effective in "the largest
part" of the disputed Territory, but never over the whole Territory.
This fact introduces a new and very dangerous element that the EU should
have considered with extreme caution before ratifying the Agreement on
Monday 22 May, since nowadays, the Territory of the Western Sahara remains
divided in two separated areas, separated by a 2,600 kilometre long military
wall constructed by Morocco during the 1980s, and known in the UN's
terminology as "the berm" (see MINURSO Map of the Western Sahara, annex 1).
The area west of the berm is under the de facto administration of Morocco
and the area east of the berm is under the de facto administration of the
Polisario Front / Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic.
Morocco and the Frente Polisario are recognised by the UN as the two parties
of the conflict. The UN has never recognised the sovereignty of neither the
Saharawi Republic nor Morocco over the entire Western Sahara Territory.
However, the UN's peacekeeping mission in the Western Sahara (MINURSO) has
always recognised on the ground the de facto division of the Territory into
two sectors and has worked since 1991 with both the Moroccan authorities and
the Polisario authorities in the monitoring of the ceasefire in the areas
that remain under the control and administration of each party. As a
symbolic element that exemplifies such de facto acceptance of the division
of the territory, it can be mentioned that, if on the one hand, MINURSO's
peacekeeping offices in El Aaiun (west of the berm) have both the flags of
the UN and Morocco, on the other hand, in Tifariti or Bir Lehlu (east of the
berm) the flags hanging from MINURSO's offices are those of the UN and the
Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic / Frente Polisario. If in some areas of
the Territory MINURSO has to coordinate its actions with the Moroccan
administration, in others it has to do the same with the Polisario /SARD
authorities. Obviously, this does not imply that the sovereignty of the
Morocco or Polisario /SADR over the Territory under their de facto control
is endorsed by the UN, but simply the fact that Morocco and the Polisario /
SADR are the actors de facto administering different parts of the disputed
Territory.
The previously mentioned Legal Opinion of the EU provided the foundation for
the signature of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European
Union and the Kingdom of Morocco based on the following elements:
- 1. The acknowledgment of Morocco as the de facto administering
power of the Western Sahara (37.a, page 7).
- 2. The understanding, based on Hans Correll Legan Opinion, that
"the exploitation activities in Non Self-Governing Territories violate the
principles of international law if they disregard the interest and wishes of
the people of the Non Self-Governing Territory" (40, page 8).
- 3. The assertion that "the de facto administration of Morocco in
Western Sahara is therefore under the obligation to comply with the rights
of the people of the Western Sahara" (37b, page 7).
- 4. The interpretation that this "does not mean that the agreement
is, as such, contrary to the principles of international law. At this stage
it cannot be prejudiced that Morocco will not comply with its obligations
under international law vis-à-vis the people of Western Sahara. It depends
in how the agreement will be implemented". (42, page8).
The first point is very problematic since it attempts to introduce in the
policy practice of the EU the highly dangerous concept of "de facto
administering power", as opposed to both the concepts of sovereign power and
de iure administering power. In terms of international law, those powers
administering a territory de facto but not de iure are defined as occupying
powers and therefore have no rights over the occupied territories. As the UN
Secretary General has recently and clearly formulated, "no member of the
United Nations had recognized [the Moroccan] sovereignty" over the Western
Sahara (S/2006/249), and as the EU Legal Opinion recalls "Western Sahara has
the status of a non self-governing territory under article 73 of the UN
Charter" (37a, page 7). As Morocco is neither sovereign nor de iure
administering power, the only ground on which the EU can negotiate and sign
an agreement with Morocco that includes the Western Sahara waters is as the
actor which exercises the de facto control of such portion of a disputed
Territory. But this European Union attitude raises many questions that
should have been considered very carefully before the final endorsement of
such a problematic agreement by the Council of Ministers:
- Does this practice mean that the EU will recognise all non-sovereign and
non-de iure actors (either state actors or non-state actors) as legitimate
parties with which to negotiate and sign agreements for the exploitation of
natural resources in the areas that fall under the control of such non
sovereign and non de iure but de facto administrative actors?
- If the EU does not intend to recognise the legitimacy of other de facto
administrators to negotiate and sign agreements for the exploitation of
natural resources in areas under the de facto control of such state or
non-state actors, then the grounds on which the case of Morocco is different
should be explained in detail. Why, as neither sovereign nor de iure
administrator of the Western Sahara, is the case of Morocco different from
other possible cases in Africa or elsewhere where the parties involved are
also the de facto administrative actors of a portion of disputed land?
- If the EU recognises that Morocco is the de facto administrator of the
"largest" portion of the Western Sahara Territory, situated on the western
part of the berm that divides the territory (approximately 2/3 of the
Western Sahara), this would imply - if no further clarification is given,
and by now no clarification has been provided - that the EU is also
recognising either the Frente Polisario as a non-state actor (recognised by
the UN as a party in the Western Sahara dispute) or the Saharawi Arab
Democratic Republic as a state actor (recognised by the African Union and
several states worldwide) as the de facto administering powers of the
"smaller" portion of the Western Sahara Territory situated on the eastern
part of the berm (approximately 1/3 of the Territory). Does the EU intend to
recognise the Polisario / SARD as de facto administrator of a part of the
non self-governing Territory of the Western Sahara? Does the present
Partnership Agreement mean that the state or non-state actors that control
the Territory to the east of the wall will be legitimised to negotiate with
the EU in the future over the exploitation of the natural resources in these
areas? On the other hand, if the EU does not intend to recognise the
Polisario / SARD as de facto administering powers of a part of the Western
Sahara, on what legal grounds can it justify this position at the light of
the present Agreement with Morocco?
- If the only obligations under international law of a de facto
administering power is to benefit in some way the people of the administered
Territory, does it mean that, for example, any de facto administering power
that invest part of its gains in the exploited territory (building roads,
for instance) is acting according to international law? Does it mean that
the exploitation of the natural resources of the areas of the Western Sahara
under de facto control of the Polisario / SADR comply with international law
as long as the benefits will be spent developing, for example, the
infrastructures of that part of the Territory?
The aforementioned questions and issues should have been carefully evaluated
and answered by the EU before committing itself to the ratification of an
agreement that might have unforeseen consequences for the future of the
Western Sahara dispute and for the stability of the African continent, since
the Fisheries Agreement with Morocco seems to legitimise the signature of
agreements for the exploitation of natural resources between the EU and
powers which although de facto administrators are not recognised by
international law to have neither sovereign nor de iure right over the
Territories they control or will control in the future.
Pablo San Martin is Lecturer in Spanish Studies at the University of Leeds,
where he teaches on terrorism, conflict and political violence in the
Spanish-speaking world and nationalism in Spain. He has published widely on
nationalism and identity politics in the Spanish context and is currently
working on a book about the Western Sahara conflict, provisionally entitled
The Refugee Nation. Identity, Culture and Society in the Western Sahara.
Download PDF
________________________________________________________
Source: http://www.gees.org/articulo/2601
Boris Ryser
Journalists and Writers Union, on the 16th of June in Durban, South Africa.
He spoke to an audience of more than 50.000 South African youth, who were
attending a Rally organised by the African National Congress (ANC) Youth
League, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Soweto massacre and the
national youth day.
--------------------------------
Comrades and brothers South Africans,
Let me first of all pass you the best wishes and sentiments of brotherhood
from your brothers, Africans, the people of the Western Sahara, and comrades
in Polisario Front.
We are here today to share with you, like brothers and comrades usually do,
the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the world-famous uprising of
Soweto, the legend and the turning point in the South African struggle for
freedom and dignity. We are here to pay tribute, with you, to all those who
made the history of this beautiful African land, to all those who left us
sacrificing their lives for the sake of the one thing that count most for
all Africans an for all human being, FREEDOM.
Dear South Africans, your brothers Africans in my Country, Western Sahara,
had always been by your side since the early 70. We have always believed in
your rights, in your power, in your faith and in your determination. For
that we supported your movement from the beginning, using all moments of
contacts and all meetings with international actors to raise the claims and
struggle of the African National Congress, to condemn the Apartheid, and to
inform our interlocutors about the sufferings of our brothers Africans in
South Africa.
Now, in 2006, let me tell you that we are proud of saying: Yes we
participated as we could in our brothers' South Africans struggle against
racism, against oppression, and dictatorship. Yes we are proud that our
brothers are giving the proof to the entire world that when the people get
power, when they get their freedom and dignity back, they can build real
democracies. More than that you proved to the entire world that when the
people get power, even after bitter struggle and sacrifices, they can
forgive, they can build a society on tolerance, coexistence, and on equality
of opportunities, rights and duties, Yes, Your brothers Saharawis, my
people, are proud of you and will always be.
Going back to the event that is gathering us here and now, let me tell you
that there is a tremendous and striking similarity between the struggle you
once waged for freedom, and the struggle for self-determination and
independence my people are still undertaking, now in 2006.
My country, Western Sahara is still colonised by the Moroccan kingdom.
Moroccan colonial authorities are daily oppressing demonstrators, arresting
innocent Saharawis, including kids and old persons, torturing people in the
middle of streets, deporting hundreds Saharawis outside their land. The
Moroccan colonial authorities killed hundreds Saharawis, buried people alive
in common graves, imprisoned babies and their mothers for years in secret
detention camps, used internationally banned bombs such as Napalm and other
weapons against civilians. All these atrocities are practiced by the
Moroccan oppressive forces in front of a deaf and dumb international
community, I have to say.
Like you, brothers, the Saharawi people refused this injustice and decided
to struggle for their legitimate rights with all means and in all places and
locations. We waged an armed struggle since 1973 against Spain then against
Morocco which is backed by France. After 16 years of war we forced Morocco
to negotiate and accept a UN-African Unity Organisation supervised peace
process in 1991. The UN is planning to organise and monitor a democratic and
transparent self-determination referendum for the Saharawi people. BUT Now
after 15 years of obstacles erected by Morocco and France, the territory is
still under occupation, Morocco is still rejecting all peaceful solutions,
refusing to respect international law and is rejecting all UN Security
Council resolutions.
Now, your brothers in the occupied territories of the Western Sahara are
waging since the 21st of May 2005 the biggest popular uprising the region
ever witnessed, it is since then called the Intifada of independence. The
coincidence is that, like you, we have our own Soweto, a Saharawi
neighbourhood called Maatallah, in the occupied capital of the Western
Sahara, which is the field of daily demonstrations for freedom and daily
confrontations with Moroccan colonial police and Army. And like you we have
now our Saharawi Hector Robertson, a Saharawi Youngman, Hamdi Lembarki, who
was beaten to death, by the criminal Moroccan police last October the 30,
2005, in the middle of the street in Maatallah. Like your experience, this
uprising in the Saharawi occupied cities is making the deference and is
shaping the turning point of the Saharawi struggle for freedom. Moreover,
the Saharawi people in the occupied territories unilaterally decide! d to
nickname their neighbourhood, Soweto.
Dear Brothers and comrades,
Your struggle for freedom inspired us for years and inspired all the
oppressed people around the world, and now your struggle for development,
prosperity and democracy is giving us the faith that with the determination,
faith, hard and serious work and strong will, Africans can build real
democracies and can be an example to the world on tolerance, and on success.
Thank you very much for having allowed us to share with you this great
moment and long live South Africa, long live South Africans. Long live
African Brotherhood.
Boris Ryser
Please find attached and below the latest issue of Sahara Analysis.
There is a wealth of reports, photos, video coming in regularly from the
occupied zones of Western Sahara - too much to fit into these briefings, but
you can find it on www.arso.org: - particularly on the
http://sahara-libre.blogspot.com/, http://saharaoccidental.blogspot.com/,
and http://www.arso.org/intifada2005e.htm pages.
yours
Tim
June 2006 SAHARA ANALYSIS
No. 53
European Union goes ahead with dodgy fisheries deal
On May 16th, it was announced that the European Parliament had voted 2 to 1
against an amendment to clearly remove Western Sahara from the scope of the
new EU-Morocco Fisheries Accord. Instead provisions for careful monitoring
were included, but the amendment specifying the southern limit beyond which
no EU fishing would be allowed was not. The following week, the Accord
passed its final hurdle at the European Council of Ministers, with the UK's
Ben Bradshaw voting in favour.
Many UK MEPs voted in favour of the amendment that clearly protected Western
Sahara. It was proposed by the Euro Parliament group of which the Greens,
SNP and Plaid Cymru are members, so all their MEPs supported it. The entire
European Parliamentary Labour Party also supported the amendment, and some
Liberal Democrats and Conservatives voted for it. But it was not enough.
Mohamed Sidati, Polisario Minister for Europe, commented that "the European
Union has disregarded the legal status of Western Sahara as established by
the United Nations. Spain and France have drawn the rest of the Member
States of the European Union into their reckless adventure that consists in
drawing up and signing an agreement that is nothing but an act of
international banditry
However, he noted that the EU was divided: "The Frente POLISARIO . would
like to pay a well-deserved tribute to countries, such as Sweden, that have
actively opposed the plundering and depletion of the resources of the
Saharawi people."
In a "Fish Elsewhere" coalition statement, Nick Dearden of War on Want said
"The British Government has shown exactly what it thinks of international
law. A few thousand tons of fish is worth more to our Government than the
rights of 165,000 refugees and the self determination of a people who
currently live in the last colony in Africa."
What next? The EU is challenged with living up to its promises and
monitoring every detail of the implementation of the agreement to ensure its
boats don't steal from Western Sahara. but the loophole remains. The Fish
Elsewhere coalition, meanwhile, is considering legal action in the European
courts.
Australia warns companies off Western Sahara
While Europe has avoided asking difficult questions of Morocco over Western
Sahara, the Australian government has come out with a clear statement
advising any Australian companies considering doing business in the
territory to seek legal advice first. It may seem a long way away, but
Australia imports phosphates mined in Boucraa, Western Sahara. In fact just
a few days ago, on June 16th, a shipment of phosphates from Western Sahara
to Australia was "welcomed" at the docks in Geelong by members of the
Australian Western Sahara Association (AWSA).
AWSA: www.awsa.org.au
Australian government statement:
http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/morocco/index.html
UN human rights delegation visits Western Sahara
A delegation from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
visited Western Sahara, Morocco and the Saharawi refugee camps in Algeria
between May 16th and 23rd. The delegation consisted of Christophe Girod
(leader and former delegate of the Red Cross/Red Crescent), Mrs Karin Lucke,
UNHCHR coordinator for the Arab world, and Roueida El Hage, responsible for
North Africa.
They first visited Morocco and then spent 3 days in occupied Western Sahara,
during which time they met a number of Saharawi human rights organisations -
a welcome first. Moroccan security forces outside the hotel where the
delegation were staying had tried to prevent some getting in, but Mr Girod
said that they had intervened to ensure that the Saharawis were admitted.
However, activists from these organisations were later disappointed when the
delegation remained in their hotel after being alerted to the fact that a
pro-independence demonstration taking place a few streets away was being
broken up with force. From Western Sahara they flew to the Saharawi refugee
camps, where they met Saharawi associations and a number of Saharawi refugee
criminal law prisoners.
The delegation's tour is now over. Human rights abuses by the Moroccan
forces have been a feature of life in Western Sahara since the first days of
occupation in 1975-6. This interest of the UN is welcome but long overdue.
Some Saharawis in the occupied territories were dismayed that the delegation
was not tougher or more pro-active in seeking out evidence of the human
rights situation on the ground. But whatever the reason for its actions and
any controversies that were aroused, the proof will be in the product - the
report.
Amnesty International's annual report documents repression in Western Sahara
Amnesty International has released its annual report for 2006, documenting
the state of human rights around the world for the previous year. On
Western Sahara, the report describes the Moroccan response to Saharawi
protests as "excessive use of force", noting that "scores" were injured and
"hundreds of people were arrested". The report highlights the case of Hamdi
Lembarki, who died from a head injury on 30th October 2005 that witnesses
say was inflicted by Moroccan police officers beating him with batons.
The report also looks at the insidious campaign against freedom of
expression regarding Western Sahara, and how it has affected Moroccan
journalists. The magazine "Tel Quel" (Like It Is) and the journalist Ali
Lmrabet are highlighted. Lmrabet was the first Moroccan journalist to visit
the Saharawi refugee camps (although plenty have written about them from a
position of ignorance.) Then "he stated that the Sahrawis there were
refugees, not held as captives as the Moroccan authorities had long
contended. This led to his being accused of defaming the spokesperson of a
Moroccan organization that campaigns for the "release" of the Sahrawis in
the camps" and "banned from working as a journalist for 10 years in April
and given a heavy fine after he was convicted of violating both the Penal
Code and Press Code".
The report also covers the Polisario Front. It notes that the Front
"released the last prisoners of war that it was holding", and committed to a
total ban on the use of anti-personnel mines, although there was no progress
regarding calling those responsible for abuses in the camps in the past to
account. (While many of these people fled to Morocco in the 1980s, some are
alleged to be still in the camps.)
Is the UN considering pulling out of Western Sahara?
Independent "think tank" and UN observatory the Security Council Report has
looked ahead to the October renewal of MINURSO and suggested that the UN
Security Council may be ready to consider a step back from Western Sahara in
the autumn. This is based on an analysis of SC members' statements
suggesting that they are impatient with the impasse and might be prepared to
"discuss the future of MINURSO in October".
Writing in the latest New Internationalist magazine, Polisario
representative to Australia Kamal Fadel expresses his anger that the UN can
talk about compromising "international legality" to get a solution: "has the
UN then been reduced to this?... is this the purpose of the UN? Is this
included in its mandate?" He lists the compromises made by the Saharawis
and says their limit has been reached - any more compromise "would mean
political suicide". "Should the UN want to see a speedy resolution" he adds,
".it simply needs to exercise adequate pressure on Morocco to abide by UN
resolutions".
Security Council report website - Update Report No. 4, 17th May 2006:
http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/{65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9}/Update%20Report%2017%20May%202006_Western%20Sahara.pdf
New Internationalist website (nb latest issue not yet available online):
www.newint.org