WEEKLY NEWS


WEEK 15, 08-14.04.1996


Strike in Bou Craa is going on
According to the Moroccan newspaper Al-Ittihad Al-Ishtiraki ( 06.04.96), the miners continue their strike at phosphates mine of Bou Craa in Western Sahara.
According to the Sahrawi trade union U.G.T.SARIO, the Sahrawi miners, about 200, claim not only for better conditions but also for a stop of the looting of the wealth of their own country by the Moroocan occupants.

06-09.04.96
Solidarity Days with the Sahrawi People
More than 630 individuals coming from Canarian Islands, Baleares, Catalonia, Rioja, Switzerland and Italy visited for 4 days the sahrawi refugee camps during Easter.
To manifest their solidarity the participants of those "Charters for Peace" organised a silent walk together with the population of the Wilaya of Auserd in order to protest against the occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco.
The participants adopted then the "Declaration of Auserd".
Mr. Mohamed Abdelaziz in his welcome speach had repeated the disponibility of the Sahrawis to dialogue and negociate with Morocco. He asked the international community to make pressions upon Morocco to stop the illegal occupation of Western Sahara and to respect international law. To the european visitors the President said he hopes that they could be active in their respective countries in order to influence positively the peace process.

08.04.96
Interview of the Sahrawi President
Speaking about the Solidarity Days in the Algerian Radio and TV, the Sahrawi President noticed that the approach of the Western Sahara conflict is changing on the international level. The international community understands the importance of peace and security in the Maghreb region. It understands that this peace and security is linked to a fair solution of the Western Sahara conflict, which is a problem of decolonisation. Many governments are convinced of the necessity of direct negociations between the two parties. But Morocco still refuses. The Moroccan governement has no political will to find a fair and definitive solution to the problem.

09.04.96
Communique (french) of the Swiss Committee of support to the Sahrawi people
About 100 Swiss members of the "Charter for peace" turning back from their 5 days visit in the refugee camps ask the Swiss population to boykott Moroccan goods and to renounce to holidays in this country untill Morocco allows a fair and free referendum in Western Sahara.

09.04.96
52th session of the Human Rights Committee of the U.N.
Item 8: Forced or unvolontary Disappearances
The " Observatoire international des prisons", OIP, presented the situation in Morocco about forced disappearances. It denounced this large and systematic practice. It notices with bitterness that no informations have been given about the destiny of the different groups of disappeared already evoked 2 years ago at the same Committee, especially about several hundred disappeared Sahrawi civilians, men and women, some of them disappeared since 20 years.

German parliamentary delegation tours Morocco and Western Sahara on fact-finding mission
A delegation of the German Parliament (Bundestag) reached Rabat on April 9. Its composition: President E. Brecht, from the Socialist Party, President of the Committee of relations with UN and International Organisations of the German Parliament, and 7 deputies, representing all political parties of the government coalition and of the opposition.
This delegation was set up after the vote, on February 29, in the Parliament, of a motion concerning Western Sahara, which askes the German Government to insist to the two concerned parties to realise without delay the UN peace plan.
The delegation met the Moroccan Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Filali, then it reached El Ayun to contact the heads of MINURSO.
In a press release at El Ayun, Mr. E. Brecht declared that the delegation seeks for some compromise to reach peace. One of those compromises could be, accordind to Mr. Brecht, " to realise possible contacts between Morocco and the Polisario".
The delegation went to the refugee camps near Tindouf on April 10.

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