|
WEEKLY NEWS |
original french
06.-19.07.2003
- SADR
- OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
- REFERENDUM
- MOROCCO
- ALGERIA
- HUMANITARIAN AID
- SOLIDARITY
- COMING UP
- INTERNET
- NEW PUBLICATIONS
SADR
10-12.07.03
Ordinary session Summit of the African Union
A Saharawi delegation, led by the SADR President, took part in the
summit at Maputo. (SPS)
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
09.07.03
Tamek
The political prisoner, Ali Salem Tamek started an unlimited hunger
strike on 9 July in protest at his transfer from Salé prison
to Aït Melloul prison where he is deprived of the advantages
granted to him as a political prisoner, as a result of previous
strikes. On the same day Tamek refused to receive the first deputy of
the King's Public Prosecutor at the Appeal Court of Agadir who has
never kept his promises. The latest news is that Tamek, suffering
from fainting attacks, has been taken as an emergency case to
Inzegane hospital. (Statement
from the Action Committee for the release of Tamek Ali Salem and all
the Saharawi political detainees)
Write to him:
ALI-SALEM
TAMEK
n° d'écrou 1519
Prison locale de Aït Melloul
Aït Melloul Maroc
tamekalisalem@hotmail.com
REFERENDUM
Extension of MINURSO's mandate
08.07.03
In the Security Council the Spanish government is preparing a
resolution in favour of the Baker plan, asking Morocco and the
Polisario Front to negotiate on the basis of the plan. (El
Periodico)
09.07.03
In reaction, Brahim Ghali, Polisario Front representative in Spain,
makes clear that the Saharawis "will not accept to live under the
sovereignty of Morocco for a single day". He asks the Spanish
government to abandon its intention of supporting the Baker plan. The
interim period, under international control, could end in genocide,
he believes. (El Periodico)
10.07.03
The representative of the Polisario Front at the United Nations,
Ahmed Boukhari, announces that "the Polisario Front, without
abandoning the 1991 Settlement Plan, will be disposed to contribute
to the examination of the way forward proposed by Mr Baker in order
to achieve the inevitable objective of the self-determination of the
Saharawi people. This position is not only the reflection of our
attachment to a just and lasting peace in the context of respect for
international law, but also responds to wishes emphatically expressed
by various countries, within the Security Council and outside,
including Algeria and Spain."
Security Council
11.07.03
Initial deliberations
The current president of the Council, the Spanish Ambassador, Arias,
indicates that the draft resolution put down by the United States
gives support to the Baker plan and insists that the parties accept
it. The Polisario Front and Algeria indicated to the Council their
agreement in principle, unlike Morocco. This proposal is submitted to
experts on 16 July. The Council is due to pronounce on it before 31
July, the expiry date of MINURSO's mandate.(UN
News)
Reactions
Morocco
The first reaction of the Ambassador of Morocco at the United Nations
is to call the proposal "counter-productive", and to express doubt
that it will find a majority in the Council. The Minister of Foreign
Affairs then announces the categorical rejection of his government:
"The position of Morocco is clear, we refuse to have any decision
whatsoever imposed on us relating to the sovereignty of the Kingdom".
He added that "Morocco is willing to take part in a sincere, frank
and democratic dialogue to reach a political solution which respects
the integrity and sovereignty of our country over the Sahara."
The king talks on the subject by telephone with George Bush,
José Maria Aznar, Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair.
Headlines in the Moroccan press: "Urgent need for national mobilisation". "Morocco finds itself in a difficult position..." "Morocco affirms that the new Baker plan is anti-democratic" "Spanish-American Masquerade in the UN", "Dangerous and deviant turn taken by the special envoy of Kofi Annan. Morocco cannot pay the price of the incompetence of the international community". "Sahara: No to the "Diktat"!
France
The French Ambassador in the United Nations declares that "this plan
cannot be imposed if it is not accepted by both the parties" and
French diplomacy rushes to the help of Morocco. It appears they have
proposed amendments to the draft resolution. Chirac himself is
thought to have contacted members of the Council. Experts from
Security Council member countries are due to meet again on Monday
21.
Spain
The Spanish government says that it will make sure that Morocco and
the Polisario Front can reach an agreement based on the Baker plan,
which will be a step forward, and avoid a simple extension of
MINURSO. (18.07.03)
Polisario
Front - clarifications
In an interview with the Algerian daily
Le Matin*
on 14.07.03, Mohamed Sidati, Counselor minister to the SADR
presidency, considers it necessary to "favour a way out of the
conflict between the two states, and in some way promote
reconciliation between the Moroccan and Saharawi peoples and thus to
seek a way forward which is likely to end up with a solution which
will both grant and guarantee to the Saharawi people the full
exercise of their inalienable right to self-determination, through
the organisation of a free and fair referendum. In declaring
ourselves ready to examine the Mr Baker's proposals as a basis for
discussion, this in no way says that we are denying the foundation of
our struggle which consists in recovering independence and
sovereignty over our country. The Saharawis will not go to the
meeting without demanding from the international community to take
charge through the competent bodies in the UN, of the administrative
management of the territories of Western Sahara during the different
stages of this process which will finish with the organisation of the
free and fair referendum. (* trad en castellano)
Visit of
President Mohamed Abdelaziz to the USA
The SADR president arrived on 14 July 2003 in Washington for a
working visit of several days. On 15.07.03 he had several meetings
and talked with Congress members among whom were George Radanovich,
Joseph Pitts and Senator James Inhofe. The president also had a
meeting with the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate and had
talks with Congressmen Donald Payne and Mark Green from the
Sub-Committee of the House of Representatives. During a reception
offered in the Congress in his honour by NGOs active in solidarity
work with the Saharawi people, the President emphasised the
importance of the moment for the Saharawi cause and added: "our
commitment in favour of peace is only equal to our determination to
accept some concession concerning our inalienable right to
self-determination and independence. The international community and
the United States in particular are called to assume their
responsibility by supporting resolutely the efforts aiming to bring a
just and definitive solution of the conflict. The attitude of France
in the bargaining going on in the Security Council proves that this
country unfortunately is still the major obstacle to the efforts of
the United Nations towards reaching a fair and lasting solution to
the conflict. It is time to put an end to the injustice imposed on
the Saharawi people for nearly three decades. The Settlement Plan and
the Houston Agreement constitute the framework of preference for an
authentic decolonisation of Western Sahara.
The European
parliamentary intergroup
Margot Kessler, MEP, in a letter to Ambassador Arias, President of
the Security Council, on 15.07.03 expresses the support of the
intergroup Peace for the Saharawi people for the efforts which are
contributing towards resolving the conflict, in a democratic manner
and with international guarantees. Any future solution to the problem
should be in accordance with the clear principles and adequate
machinery contained in the United Nations Charter, she added, asking
for a mechanism to be put in place which would oblige Morocco to
respect international law established by the Charter. (full text
spanish)
17.07.03
Manifesto of 130 Spanish professors of international law and
international relations on the exercise of the right to free
determination of the people of Western Sahara.
In ten points these specialists recall that the Western Sahara
conflict is a question of unfinished decolonisation, and point out
the particular historical, legal and moral responsibility of Spain.
They conclude that the UN should apply international norms, the only
solution which conforms to international law is still the settlement
plan of 1990. The illegal Moroccan occupation could, the manifesto
concludes, justify the application of chapter 7 of the United Nations
Charter which defines actions "in cases of threat to peace, of
breaking the peace and acts of agression". (full text
spanish)
MOROCCO
Following a protest campaign, the "North Africa to Iran" office of Reporters without borders (RSF - Reporters sans frontières) decided to withdraw a map of Morocco which included Western Sahara. This map which did not conform to international law figured in RSF publications relating to the campaign for Ali Lmrabet. The President of the Spanish office, said that she realised the map used expressed the expansionist claims of Morocco, but wanted to make clear that RSF did not campaign politically about it, as they were trying to save the life of the Moroccan journalist !!!
ALGERIA
10.07.03
Belgian-Algerian Committee of support for the Saharawi people
Margot Kessler, MEP, president of the intergroup, "Peace for the
Saharawi people", five Spanish members of parliament, one British
member of parliament, Pierre Galand, Senator and coordinator of
EUCOCO (Coordination of European Committees of support for the
Saharawi people), the personal representative of Mr Daniel Ducarme,
Minister president of Brussels-Capital, Mohamed Sidati,
representative of the Polisario Front in Europe, the Ambassador of
Algeria for Belgium and Luxembourg and many journalists met in
Brussels to celebrate the birth of the Belgian-Algerian Committee of
Solidarity with the Saharawi people. A provisional executive was
chosen to be responsible for arranging an inaugural meeting next
September. (Le Soir d'Algérie)
HUMANITARIAN AID
14.07.03
Spain will contribute 240,000 euros to the UNHCR program of
humanitarian aid for the Saharawi refugees. (EFE)
SOLIDARITY
The XIth international conference of the Association of women of the Mediterranean region AWMT, devoted to "Strategies of Women for Peace in the Mediterranean", which was held in Bologna from 10-13.07.03, adopted a resolution on Western Sahara supporting self-determination.
16.07.03
The Pope gave an audience to a group of Saharawi children on holiday
in Italy at the invitation of the association "JAIMA saharawi" from
the province of Reggio Emilia.
COMING UP
Festa d'infants sahrauís a Catalunya, diumenge 20 de juliol de 2003, Parc de La Pegaso, Sant Andreu Barcelona, 10:00 hores. Hi haurà activitats i diferents espais al Parc per poder gaudir d'una estada agradable. Info: joaquimcarreras@terra.es
Italia, Fiano
Romano, Terrazza del 1 piano del Castello ducale, domenica 27 luglio
2003, ore 18:30:
Seminario di studi geopolitici "Il conflitto del Sahara Occidentale:
breve excursus sulle origini della questione e prospettive di pace"
Relatore: Francesco Correale, Cultore della Materia in Storia e
Istituzioni dell'Africa Mediterranea e del Vicino Oriente,
Facoltà di Scienze Politiche dell'Università degli
Studi "L'Orientale" di Napoli Dottore dell'Université de
Provence Aix-Marseille I Maison Mediterranéenne de Sciences de
l'Homme &endash; di Aix en Provence. Org.: L'associazione sport e
cultura senza frontiere con il Patrocinio del Comune di Fiano
Romano.
INTERNET
Présentation
du livre :"Un
droit dans la guerre ?"
Cas, documents et supports d'enseignement relatifs à la
pratique contemporaine du droit international humanitaire by Marco
Sassòli et Antoine A. Bouvier.
Extraits:
COMING UP...
NEW PUBLICATIONS
[External
links to newspapers may not be valid after some days because the
servers are restarted]
Français
Les dépêches, articles, etc, sont accessibles aux non-abonnés sur Sahara-Info, liste de courrier (français et espagnol): http://es.groups.yahoo.com/group/sahara-info/messages
English
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Castellano
Todos los despachos, articulos de prensa, etc, son acessible por no-abonados en Sahara-Info, lista de correo (castellano y francés): http://es.groups.yahoo.com/group/sahara-info/messages
Sobre las deliberaciones del Consejo de seguridad:
- prensa española selección del 11.07.03
- prensa española selección del 12.07.03
- prensa española selección del 13.07.03
- prensa española selección del 14.07.03
- prensa española selección del 15.07.03
- prensa española selección del 15/16.07.03
- prensa española selección del 17.07.03
- prensa española selección del 18.07.03
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