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WEEKS 07-08 : 13.02.-26.02.2005 |
12.02.05,
Moroccan prisoners of war
Two Moroccan prisoners, Captain Youssef Al Makrazi and a soldier,
Ahmed Al Hamdaoui, escaped and returned to Morocco. There remain 408
prisoners of war in the hands of the Polisario Front.
[MAP]
13.02.05,
Demonstration against the wall
Over 200 people, principally from Italy, including the President of
the town of Pisa, parliamentarians from Tuscany and elected
representatives from Livorno, Florence, Pistoia, as well as
representatives of NGOs working in solidarity with the Saharawi
people, but also from Spain, France, Austria, South America, etc.
gathered near the Moroccan defensive wall in the region of Tifariti,
at Oum Leghta, to demand its destruction. To this end, the
demonstrators addressed their appeal to the UN. Similar
demonstrations were also held last January and April 2004.
[SPS] [Manifestation
pacifique au Sahara-Occcidental,
Karima Benour, La Nouvelle République , 15.02.05]
[Importante
manifestation devant le mur défensif
marocain,
Tarek Hafid, Le Soir d'Algérie, 12.02.05 ]
14.02.05,
African Union, declaration of the President of the Commission
Alpha Omar Konaré reaffirmed the "declared intention" of the
AU to contribute to the efforts being deployed by the international
community towards a "just and lasting" solution to the conflict in
Western Sahara, "in accordance with the legitimate aspirations of the
Saharawi people". In a letter addressed to President Mohamed
Abdelaziz, on the occasion of the anniversary of the proclamation of
the Saharawi Republic Mr Konaré also expressed his good wishes
for the happiness, well-being and prosperity of the "people of SADR".
[SPS]
14.02.05,
Visit to Italy
The Saharawi coordinator with MINURSO, M'Hamed Khaddad, on a visit to
Italy, called on Europe to contribute to the solution to the conflict
in Western Sahara "with strict respect of the law", underlining that
the present impasse is "the consequence of extremism and the lack of
respect for international law created as a state policy of Morocco in
relation to the UN". Mr Khaddad had talks with different Italian
political personalities, officials for foreign policy in the Senate
and the Parliament as well as with the parliamentary intergroup,
Peace for the Saharawi people. [SPS]
14.02.05,
Statement
In an interview
given to "Poemario por un Sahara libre", M'Hamed Khaddad declares
that the position of the Spanish government consolidates and helps
the position of Morocco in its refusal to cooperate with the United
Nations.
19.02.05,
Austria
On a visit to the Saharawi camps leading a parliamentary delegation,
the Vice-President of the Austrian Parliament, Mrs Barbara Prammer,
expressed her support for "the right of the Saharawi people to
self-determination", considering that the European Union holds a
great deal of responsibility for the Saharawi people's tragedy. The
delegation had talks with the President of the Saharawi Parliament,
Mahfoud Ali Beiba, and with several members of the National
Secretariat and Government. Their tour took them to the four wilayas.
During a meal given in honour of the visiting delegations, the
President of the Republic, Mohamed Abdelaziz, called upon the
European Union to put pressure on Morocco.
[SPS]
The Austrian Development Agency (ADA) announces the opening of tendering for the building of a proposed electronic national Saharawi archive. [Aufbau eines elektronischen Nationalarchivs für Saharauris in Algerien - Westsahara]
22.02.05,
Interview
Questioned by the daily, La
Nouvelle République (Algiers),
the Saharawi president denies General Laanigiri's statements, which
he called "lying words" (week 05-06/2005). Laanigri stated that he
had met the Saharawi president "nearly a year ago" with the aim "of
starting direct negotiations". Abdelaziz, on the other hand, says
that "Baker's resignation is a protest at the Moroccan
position". He calls for the nomination of a special envoy of the
Secretary General for Western Sahara, to be "an American
personality...one of the former US presidents, for example Carter,
Bush senior, Clinton or else an important American figure such as a
minister for foreign affairs". [full
text translated by SPS]
23.02.05,
Germany, Czech Republic
M'Hamed Khadad, touring Germany and the Czech Republic from 15-22
February 2005, accuses Morocco of making military use of aid granted
by the European Union to fight poverty and illegal immigration. He
calls on Europe to invest more into bringing a fair and lasting peace
for Western Sahara. In Berlin as in Prague, the Saharawi leader
has talks with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and meets
representatives from all the political parties and parliamentary
groups.(SPS) [communiqué
23.02.05]
23.02.05,
Saharawi Minister for Foreign Affairs
In a press conference in Algiers, Mohamed Salem ould Salek speaks
about the coming meeting of the Arab League and the Union of the Arab
Maghreb, due to take place in parallel at the end of March in
Algiers. He declares that the Saharawi Republic is in favour of the
"democratisation of the Arab world and the Arab League". On the
subject of the Sahara, he considers that "without a fair solution in
accordance with international law, it is not possible to build a
Maghreb or create any other joint project in the region".
24.02.05,
Invitation
The director of cooperation of the autonomous government of the
Balearic Islands, Mrs Maria Magdalena Contesti, sends to the
President of the Saharawi Republic an official invitation from her
government to visit these islands.
25.02.05,
Program
The Parliament adopts the program of Mr. Abdelkader Taleb Oumar's
government for 2005, aiming to strengthen state structures, diversify
bilateral cooperation, manage resources rationally and implement a
policy of austerity and self-sufficiency in food. The
parliamentarians criticised the government's management in the fields
of education and health, the inadequate activities abroad of
grassroots organisations and looked for improvement in the social and
professional integration of young people.
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES AND SOUTH MOROCCO
12.02.05,
Saharawi political prisoners
Saharawi political prisoners in Moroccan prisons are starting hunger
strikes [in
Arabic - Cahiers du Sahara ]
12.02.05,
Police exactions
Sidi Mohamed Deddech and three Saharawi human rights activists were
the victims of police exactions. The four men, who were travelling
from El Ayoun to Dakhla in a car, were arrested several times by the
police and the gendarmerie along the whole length of the 600km
journey between the two towns, sometimes to check identity or simply
to discourage them from continuing their journey.
15.02.05, Agitation
On the eve of the anniversary of the proclamation of SADR, flags,
graffiti and independence leaflets appeared in Smara (occupied
territory) and in Tantan (Southern Morocco). The leaflets demand "the
end to Moroccan colonialism", "self-determination for the Saharawi
people", "respect for human rights" and "the immediate and
unconditional release of [Saharawi] prisoners" in the hands
of the Moroccan colonial authorities.
Dakhla
The "Saharawi Committee Against Torture" (CSCT), set up recently in
Dakhla (Villa Cisnéros), denounces "systematic human rights
abuses" in the occupied territories of Western Sahara. It considers
that the Moroccan Body "Equity and Reconciliation" is attempting to
hide them. Activists in the CSCT organise a sit-in outside the
offices of the colonial administration where the Body is holding its
meetings, chanting slogans and waving placards on which one could
read: "All united in the same trench to rescue our dignity",
"Makhzen, henchmen, we are a people who cannot be exterminated".
[SPS] See also [L'Instance
Equité et Réconciliation (IER), nouvelle utilisation
fallacieuse des droits de l'homme par le Makhzen au
Maroc?
AFAPREDESA & UJS 17/02/05] and [La
Instancia "Equidad y Reconciliación" marroquí
(IER),¿nueva utilización engañosa de los derechos
humanos por el Majzén de
Marruecos?,
AFAPREDESA& UJS, 17.02.05]
14.-15.02.05,
Sit-in in El Ayoun
The inhabitants of Southern Morocco, transferred to Western Sahara in
1991 to take part in the referendum are still living for the most
part under canvas in camps around the towns. Those in El Ayoun
organised a protest to demand accommodation in houses. The forces of
the Moroccan gendarmerie and police intervened brutally in "Shayla"
camp.>> [corr.][Cahiers
du Sahara in Arabic]
20.02.05: Statement/update on the activities of Saharawi students in Marrakech (Morocco). In Arabic in Cahiers du Sahara
24-26.02.05
As part of the celebration of the 29th anniversary of SADR, Saharawi
students from the Dakhla high school "Lissan Eddine ibn al-Khatib" de
Dakhla, organise a festival of hassaniya language culture threatened
by Moroccan colonialism. Exhibitions of artefacts, songs, poetry and
dance are on the program presented in a traditional tent.
[SPS]
12.02.05, AMDH
holds parallel hearings: "Testimony for truth in complete
freedom".
Testimony of Mrs Id Jimmi el Ghalia, Saharawi citizen, abducted in
1987, tortured, released in 1991, who names the principal torturers
to hold sway in Western Sahara and recalls also her mother,
disappeared in 1983, whose fate remains unknown.
[Testimony
French]
[Enquête.
Et les tortionnaires ?,
Karim Boukhari et Driss Ksikes, Tel Quel No 163, 12.02.05]
[Auditions
parallèles,
El Watan, 13.02.05] [Le
Maroc revient sur ses "années de
plomb",
Smahane Bouyahia, afrik.com, 14.02.05] [Sahara.
Cruelles années de plomb,
Tel Quel no 164 du 19.02.05]
14.02.05,
Appointment
The King of Morocco has appointed a civilian, Mohamed Yasine
Mansouri, a former college friend, to the position of being in charge
of the DGED, (General Direction of Studies and Documentation), or
counter-espionage. He replaces General Ahmed Harchi, who openly
criticised the King's policy on the Saharan question. This
appointment caused surprise within the army, which hitherto had
control over the service. It would seem that Mansouri has been
undergoing intensive training recently provided by the CIA. Like the
DST, the DGED depends directly on the King.
Up until now, Mansouri had been Director of the DGAI (General
Direction of the Interior), responsible for the Sahara dossier. For
Tel Quel, the Moroccan weekly, "if one day, Morocco arrives at a
negotiated solution with the Polisario, Mansouri will certainly be of
the party. In the immediate entourage of the King, he embodies the
moderate wing, favouring dialogue and
negotiation."[TelQuel
no 162]
h [Dossier
contre-espionage
dans Le Journal Hebdo, no 196]
20.02.05,
African Tour
The King Mohamed VI of Morocco is conducting an African tour in
Gabon, Burkina-Faso and Senegal.
21-25.02.05
The Queen of Spain visits the Maghreb, she goes to Algeria,
Mauritania and Morocco to inspect Spanish cooperation projects.
The Spanish associations of solidarity with the Saharawis, in an open
letter, ask her to visit the Saharawi refugee camps, where Spain is
also involved in development projects. The General Secretary of the
National Union of Saharawi Women, Fatma Mehdi, issues the same
invitation. [SPS 23.02.05]
The Polisario Front designates the poet Mohamed Ali Ali Salem, coordinator of Saharawi culture in Spain.
15.02.05,
Rabat/Algiers, thaw
The King of Morocco will take part in the Arab summit in Algiers, due
on 22 and 23 March next, Rabat announced officially. This
participation marks the first official visit to Algeria of a Moroccan
sovereign since 1991 although relations between the two countries
remain very tense because of the conflict in Western
Sahara.
17.02.05,
Algiers/Rabat
Mohamed Rochdi Chraïbi, a member of the royal cabinet and
emissary for Mohamed VI with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, is
received by the Algerian head of state.
The same day Abdelaziz Belkhadem, Algerian Minister of Foreign
Affairs, arrives in Rabat to take part in a meeting of foreign
ministers of the Maghreb Arab Union on the occasion of its 16th
anniversary.
24.02.05,
Algeria-Spain
The Algerian President Bouteflika arrives in Madrid for the second
Spanish-Algerian meeting. The problem of the Sahara is raised as well
as the preparation for the Euro-Mediterranean conference in Barcelona
next November. In a joint statement publicised at the end of the
meeting, the two chiefs of State declared to be attached to "a fair
and definitive solution" to the conflict of Western Sahara in
accordance with "international legality and pertinent UN's
resolutions" and referred to UN's Security Council's resolutions 1495
an 1541.
14.02.05
The Arab committee of support for the Saharawi people (CASPS) asks
the ICRC to intervene with Rabat for the release of Saharawi
prisoners in the hands of Morocco. [SPS]
Vth Sahara
Marathon
About 400 athletes are expected for this now traditional race linking
sport with solidarity. The Italian delegation, 150 marathon runners
strong, is accompanied by local elected members and sympathisers of
the Saharawi cause and will present a gift of 10,000 euros for the
purchase of milking camels.
The race which this year takes place on 28 February will be followed
on 1 March by a race for children in which thousands of youngsters
from the camps will participate.
Festival Internacional de Cine del Sahara: 03-06 de marzo de 2005.
1, 2 y 3 de
marzo: JORNADAS SOBRE EL PUEBLO SAHARAUI
OTROS PUEBLOS, OTRAS CULTURAS: SÁHARA, EL SENTIMIENTO DE UN
PUEBLO
La Obra Social y Cultural de Caja Cantabria, c/ Tantín de
Santander, en colaboración con Cantabria por el Sáhara,
ha organizado unas interesantes jornadas sobre el Pueblo
Saharaui.
martes, 1 de marzo a las 20h.: EL CONFLICTO DEL SAHARA OCCIDENTAL:
"PERSPECTIVAS"
Conferencia de Mohamed Sidati, miembro del Secretariado Permanente
del Frente Polisario y representante ante la U.E.
Miércoles, 2 de marzo a las 20h.: CUENTOS DE LA GUERRA
SAHARAUI
Película del director valenciano Pedro Pérez Rosado. Al
finalizar la proyección habrá un coloquio con el
director.
Jueves, 3 de marzo a las 20h.: MARIEM HASSAN.
Cantante saharaui de prestigio internacional. Actuará
acompañada de varios músicos y nos presentará un
amplio repertorio de canciones y bailes saharauis.
Semana de
la mujer en Tres Cantos
Exposición sobre las cooperativas gestionadas por las
mujeres palestinas y de las cooperativas de las mujeres
saharauis.
Casa de la cultura del 4 al 6 de marzo de 2005.
Charla debate
La experiencia de las cooperativas bajo la
ocupación " mujeres palestinas" / las cooperativas en la
situación de refugio : "mujeres saharauis"
Fecha: 6 de marzo de 2005 a las 6 de la tarde Auditorio casa de
la cultura
Participan: Begoña Carazo / Asociacion hispano-palestina
"Jerusalen", Fatma el Mehdi / secretaria general de la Union Nacional
de Mujeres Saharauis
Presenta: Victoria Peralta
Organiza: Concejalia de la mujer del Ayuntamiento de Tres
Cantos
Colaboran: Asociación hispano-palestina "Jerusalen" /
Asociación Amigos del Pueblo Saharaui de Tres Cantos /
Asociación Paz ahora / Grupo Apoyo Union Nacional de Mujeres
Saharauis
Las primeras jornadas internacionales sobre derechos humanos del pueblo saharaui, Ciudad de Olivenza (Badajoz), 11 y 12 de marzo de 2005.
18 March
&endash; Geneva
30 years is enough! The Saharawi People have a right to
self-determination. Referendum now!
Demonstration on the occasion of the 61st session of the UN Human
Rights Commission in Geneva.
10h - 12h : Meeting at the Place des Nations
13h - 15h: Conference: The Moroccan "Wall of Shame" and the problem
of antipersonnel mines. (Speakers: Carlos Ruiz Miguel,
Elisabeth Reusse-Decrey, Oubbi Bouchraya, Jean Lamore) at the
Centre de l'Organisation Météorologique
Mondiale.
Info: Comité Suisse de soutien au peuple sahraoui,
NouvellesSahraouies@arso.org
VUELO DE
SOLIDARIDAD CON EL PUEBLO SAHARAUI
- Salida desde Aeropuerto de Zaragoza: día 21 de Marzo a las
12 h.
- Regreso a Zaragoza: día 27 a las XX.XX horas. (por
concretar)
Info: As.
Um Draiga
Vol "Catalunya amb el Sàhara" setmana santa 2005 Info: sahandreu[at]yahoo.es
Noviembre 2005: Jornadas internacionales de arqueología, Sahara Occidental (Rekeiz, Tifaritti) Info: bcheij[at]hotmail.com - narcis.soler[at]udg.es
New arabophone sites:
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