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WEEKLY NEWS |
original french
21.-27.07.2002
SADR
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
REFERENDUM
MOROCCO
COMING UP
INTERNET
NEW PUBLICATIONS
SADR
17.07.02
Algeria
The SADR cultural caravan, which is journeying around western
Algeria, is in Tlemcen, after Mostaganem, Sidi Bel Abbes, Mascara and
Relizane. An exhibition has been put together of paintings, drawings
on glass, pottery as well as photographs retracing the struggle of
the Saharawi people for their self-determination. Videocassettes are
shown to inform visitors about the different stages of this struggle.
In the evening, the Saharawi Women's Union's artistic and theatre
group performed. Sayed Hamdi, a writer and member of the Saharawi
committee for self-determination gave a lecture on the Saharawi
question. The next stages of this tour through western Algeria will
take the cultural caravan to the towns of Ain Temouchent and Oran.
(SPS)
25.07.02
Mozambique
Nama Said Joumani presented his credentials as Ambassador
extraordinary and plenipotentiary of SADR in Mozambique to the
Mozambican president, Joaquim Alberto Chissano.
(SPS)
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
24.07.02
Hamadi Mohamed Lamine Jiyed, alias Enasiri Ahmed, arrested on 19 June
in Rabat (see week
25)
and transferred to El Ayoun prison, went before the court in El
Ayoun. The trial was postponed a second time until 18 September. The
tribunal refused bail to the accused, although he fulfilled the
conditions for it. A former political detainee and disappeared, he is
accused of having been the "ring-leader" of the events in Smara in
November 2001. (corr.)
REFERENDUM
22.07.02
MINURSO
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has decided to appoint Major-General
Gyorgy Szaraz of Hungary as the new Force Commander for the UN
Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).
Security Council
18.07.02
In a letter to the president of the Security Council, Algeria
recalled its rejection of the Framework-Agreement proposed by
Morocco, considering that "the territory of Western Sahara is not a
Moroccan province...but a territory illegally occupied since 1975,
registered on the list of non-self-governing territories of the
UN...".
22.07.02
Spain
The Spanish Secretary of State for Europe, Ramon de Miguel, declared
in Brussels (22.07.02) that "Spain is ready to consider all possible
options for Western Sahara, so long as they respect the doctrine
generally agreed by the UN, and are upheld by the EU and the
international community. The position taken by Spain is that of the
majority within the EU and the United Nations, even if one European
country (note of the redaction: France) has a different
position."
26.07.02
After two sessions of deliberations and numerous consultations, the
Council still did not reach agreement on a resolution which would set
the direction to follow for the solution of the conflict. It will
continue its debate in the coming week.
At the end of
April, the Security Council gave itself a period of three months to
study in more detail the four options proposed by the UN secretary
general in his February report S/2002/178:
1. settlement plan (referendum); 2. framework-agreement (autonomy);
3. partition of the territory; 4. withdrawal of MINURSO.
The USA, UK and France presented a draft resolution, similar to their
proposal last April, which would charge James Baker with revising his
draft framework-agreement and abandon the peace plan. This proposal
did not obtain the support of the two other permanent members, Russia
and China, nor the majority of non-permanent members.
The Russian Federation proposed amendments favouring a peaceful
settlement, which would preserve the provisions and principles of the
UN settlement plan. After long discussions, the president of the
Council declared "that the 15 members had arrived at the conclusion
that a complex resolution covering the four options...was probably
not the way to go." He pointed out that he would submit a "clearer"
draft resolution next week and that the Council was unanimously in
favour of self-determination for the people of Western Sahara."
(UN
news)
An extension of four months of MINURSO's mandate is expected,
during which time James Baker will be charged with looking for for a
solution based on the right to self-determination. This would appear
to mean the autonomy project will be buried.
The Polisario
Front, which had considered in its letter
of
22.07.02 that the draft resolution from USA-France-GB ignored its
point of view, by-passed that of the important countries of the
Maghreb and Europe, ignored also that of the OUA/African Union and
the opinion of the majority of Security Council members, regretted
that the draft resolution amended by Russia "giving a mandate to Mr
James Baker to draw up a settlement proposal for the conflict based
on respect for the exercise of the right of the people of Western
Sahara to self-determination" could not have been adopted. It
condemned the "irresponsible" attitude of Morocco, which "supported
by France, opposed this move by the Security Council"
(statement
by Mhamed Khadad).
The ambassador of Morocco, in a letter to the Security Council on 25
July, had categorically rejected any proposal which did not respect
Moroccan sovereignty.
In a large-scale diplomatic campaign, Morocco had sent emissaries to the capital cities of member states of the Security Council. After the Minister of Human Rights' visit to Dublin and Oslo, the Minister of Management of the Territory went to Singapore and Beijing. Hamid Chabar, liaison officer with MINURSO, travelled to Paris, while other members of the government and advisers went to London, Moscow and Washington.
With derisory means, solidarity associations, NGOs, political groups, public and parliamentary bodies from the whole world, etc. in favour of the decolonisation of the Sahara and of respect for the right to self-determination led a vast campaign in their own manner, sending letters, faxes, emails, petitions, motions, statements and manifestos to officials in the UN and in certain governments. (not exhaustive listing )
MOROCCO
22.07.02
According to the Madrid daily, La
Razon,
Morocco has just acquired 12 Apache combat helicopters from
Saudi-Arabia. This purchase, made at the time of the marriage of
Mohamed VI, was justified by the supposed presence of Al Quaeda cells
in the Sahara. It is part of the Moroccan strategy of acquiring
superior air power over its neighbours. The USA, contacted last May
by the Moroccans, would have been opposed to the sale of this
equipment to Morocco.
COMING UP
The 28th
European Conference of support to the Saharawi people, EUCOCO 2002,
Peace and Self-determination for the Saharawi people
Modena (Italy) 25-27 October 2002
Contact: ansps@libero.it
; roversi@arci.tin.it
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