WESTERN SAHARA

WEEKLY NEWS

 

WEEK 26

27.06.-03.07.1999

 

23.06.99
Spain
The Spanish Parliament approved unanimously a resolution asking the government to place the Canary Islands at MINURSO's disposal as logistic base for the referendum.

25.06.99
Humanitarian assistance
The proposed Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO) in favour of Western Sahara refugees in south-western Algeria is for the period 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000.
The main objectives of this World Food Program (WFP) operation (of an amount of around 3.5 million dollars) are: To provide 80,000 vulnerable people among the refugee population in camps near Tindouf with the basic daily food requirements to sustain them while awaiting their repatriation; with WFP ensuring timely delivery of basic food commodities. To assist 11,000 anaemic women and 8,000 severely malnourished children within supplementary feeding schemes to be implemented by NGOs, through the provision of a supplementary ration of CSB. WFP will also promote female participation in food management.

25.06.99
Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara S/1999/721
In the new report on the situation concerning Western Sahara, Secretary-General Kofi Annan summarizes the recent developments, in particular the appointment of his new Special Representative and his recent mission in the region. Voter identification as well as demining activities have been resumed. The UNHCR made a reconnaissance visit to the Territory from 23 to 29 June 1999," to gather relevant information for planning the return of the refugees, including information on the existing infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, housing facilities and transit centres." The pre-registration exercise, to ascertain the refugees' willingness to repatriate and to determine their final destinations in the Territory, resumed in the Tindouf refugee camps on 24 May 1999. According to the report, "the majority of the refugees continued to express reservations about repatriation to the Territory west of the berm, owing to fear for their security and safety." In conclusion the Secretary-General stresses the importance of the parties staying the course leading up to the 15th of July - the date when the first part of the provisional voters' list will be published and the appeals process will begin.

28.06.99
Good friend lost
Lord Christofer Winchilsea died suddenly of a heart attack.He was a great and faithfull friend of the Saharawi people, founder of the Saharawan Aid Trust and the Rainbow Rovers humanitarian carvans to the refugee camps.

29.06.99
Algeria-SADR
Mohamed Cherif Abbas, recently designed special envoy of the Algerian President to the SADR, transmitted to the Saharawi President the invitation to the 35th OAU summit to open in Algiers on July 12.

29.06.99
Security Council
In a statement to the press, the President of the Security Council said members of the Security Council welcomed the resumption of the process to identify voters for a referendum on the future of Western Sahara.

NEWS BRIEFS

Identification balance: 523 applicants untill 20.06.99, 2'328 applicants untill 24.06.99 .

Jordan's King Abdullah arrived at Rabat on July 3 for talks with Hassan II. He is ready to mediate an end to strained relations between Algeria and Morocco

Emergency action in favour of the 7 young Saharawis sentenced in the court of Laayoun on June 24 to years of reeducation, for writing slogans in support of the Polisario (see week 25)

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Julie_Thorpe/action.htm

"Libya is vigorously opposed to the creation of a ghostly entity" in Western Sahara, declared a Libyan official on visit in Morocco. (MAP)

SOLIDARITY

29.06.99 Vittoria Bask country: the municipality participates to the financing of 5 humanitarian aid projects for an amount of 20 millions of pesetas.

Vacaciones en Paz 99
Spain wellcomes about 5 000 Saharawi children of 8 to 12 years which will spend two month in Spanish families.

 

NEW PUBLICATIONS

[External links to newspapers may not be valid after some days because the servers are restarted]

 

[Summary Weekly News,] [Western Sahara Homepage]