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WEEKS 27-28 : 03.07.-16.07.2005 |
06.07.05
The President of the Saharawi Republic sends an open letter to the
King of Morocco, Mohamed VI, in which he asks him to stop the
repression against the Saharawis in Western Sahara and to act wisely
to promote a peaceful solution to the conflict based on respect for
the inalienable right of the Saharawi people to self-determination
and independence.[Open
letter]
[Lettre
ouverte]
[Carta
abierta]
11.07.05
SADR opens an embassy in Zambia. (SPS)
14.07.05,
Declarations of Mohamed Abdelaziz
"We have decided to settle as quickly as possible the problem of the
Moroccan prisoners who we are still holding. We must bring it to an
end and work towards their release. We will inform the ICRC [the
International Committee of the Red Cross] and arrange with them
the technical details of their release", declares Mohamed Abdelaziz
to the French daily, Le Monde. In this interview the leader of the
Polisario also affirms that the protests in the occupied territories
will continue "until the organisation of a referendum of
self-determination". On the subject of the EU-Moroccan fishing
agreement, he warned that if this takes in the coast of Western
Sahara, "we will see it as a declaration of war" and the Saharawis
would refer to international jurisdictions. He finally recalled, with
the EU in mind, the position of the United States who excluded the
Western Sahara from their free trade agreement with Morocco.
[Le
Monde 15.07.05]
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES AND SOUTH MOROCCO
04.07.05,
Letter to Javier Solana
The Minister-delegate for Europe, Mohamed Sidati, asks the European
Union to intervene to make Morocco put an end to the repression
against defenceless Saharawi populations in the occupied territories,
to liberate the detainees and inquire into the recent events.
[[Letter]
Lettre]
[Carta]
04.07.05, El
Ayoun
Arrest of a Saharawi singer, M'Barek Maainiya, whose songs glorified
the actions of last May's rebels. (SPS)
04-05.07.05,
El Ayoun
A Norwegian delegation, led by Arne Lynngård, president of the
Rafto Foundation, made up of Eva Kristin Hansen, member of the
National Executive of the Social Democrat Party of Norway
(Arbeiderpartiet) and a parliamentary candidate, Kristian Tangen,
member of the management of Fagforbundet, the main Norwegian trades
union, Rolf Wermundsen and Ronny Hansen, members of the Norwegian
Support Committee for Western Sahara, arrived in El Ayoun to attend
as observers the trial of 16 Saharawis arrested during the
demonstrations last month, due to take place on 5 July.
A human rights defender, Latif Allal, who had escorted the group in
his personal car, was abducted by the police, interrogated for 10
hours and tortured. He was released at 3.30am the next morning after
refusing to sign the police report. [testimony]
[témoignage]
[testigo]
Simultaneously, the delegation was informed that it was not
welcome and summoned to leave the territory immediately. Following
its refusal to comply, the delegation was obliged by the police to
leave the hotel and taken under escort by car in the middle of the
night to Agadir.
The trial of 15 young Saharawis was adjourned by a week following a protest by the defence lawyers, denouncing irregularities in procedure. A sixteenth detainee, Hammou Rahali, prisoner number 26142, was hospitalised in Marrakech as a result of bad treatment he suffered. Two Spanish lawyers, appointed by the Spanish Bar, and two observers of the Moroccan HR NGO AMDH, attended the trial. [more]
05.07.05
In its annual report the AMDH (Moroccan Association of Human Rights),
considers that after the pardon granted in January 2004 to 33
political prisoners, there are at present again 31 people sentenced
for political or ideological motives in Moroccan prisons, to which
must be added the young Saharawis arrested during the demonstrations
of May-June, which this NGO describes as "political
prisoners".
06.07.05,
Embarkation forbidden
The Spanish airline company Top Fly forbids the embarkation of a
delegation from Aragon, who wished to travel from the Canary Islands
to Western Sahara on an observer mission. The delegation included
parliamentarians and members of the solidarity association Um Draiga.
The Moroccan authorities communicate to the company that they will
not let the plane land. At this point, the company simple cancels the
flight.
11.07.05, El
Ayoun
Hamad Hmad, former political detainee, human rights activist, born in
1960, being hunted by police, takes refuge in the former Spanish
Cultural Centre in El Ayoun, la Casa d'Espana, and asks for the
protection of Spain. He is dislodged two and a half hours later by
about 15 plainclothes policemen, who enter the building despite the
protests of the Spanish person in charge and while the Spanish
authorities were negotiating with the Moroccan authorities. He is set
free provisionally 48 hours later after long
interrogations.
Hamad Hmad
used his spectacular action to make known the following demands: the
release of political prisoners in the Black Prison of El Ayoun, the
protection of Saharawi human rights activists, bringing to justice of
those responsible for violence, the withdrawal of the Moroccan army
from the streets of El Ayoun, an international inquiry.
In 1990 Hammad Hmad requested political asylum from the Spanish
Embassy in Rabat. He was handed over to the Moroccan authorities. In
1997 he was abducted by the secret services, tortured and held in the
prison known as PC-CMI in El Ayoun for 12 days then deprived of his
job and his possessions in 2002. Tortured on 17 June for having
driven injured activists to hospital. [More]
12.07.05,
Judgments &endash; heavy sentences
The Tribunal of El Ayoun pronounces four sentences of 8 years in
prison, two of 6 years, one of 4 years and two of 2 years, as well as
3 suspended sentences of 2 years. Three prisoners are acquitted of
whom one remains in prison... The charges are the same for all,
"violence against officials in the exercise of their duties, use of
firearms and damage to private property".
[more]
13.07.05, 6th
expulsion
A delegation from the Basque Country, consisting of 27 people,
including members of the autonomous government, parliamentarians from
all parties, etc. is not authorised to leave the aircraft which had
brought them from Las Palmas to El Ayoun.
14.07.05,
Arrest
A Saharawi human rights activist, Brahim Sabbar, former political
detainee (survivor of the secret prison of Kalaat M'Gouna), secretary
general of the Saharawi Association of victims of serious human
rights abuses committed by the Moroccan state, founded last May, was
abducted by the police and set free after some hours in detention in
the central police station and in the criminal investigation
department's building.
07.07.05
178 Members of the European Parlament support the International
Campaign for the liberation of AMINATOU HAIDAR and of all Saharawi
political prisoners [list]
Other
declarations of solidarity and support for the Saharawi political
prisoners:
In Spain: Municipality of Avila, Badía
Vallés
(Catalonia), a town twinned with the daira of Boujdour in the refugee
camp of Dakhla, Málaga, Santa Lucía de Tirajana (Gran
Canaria). Declaración
de las Juvetudes socialistas de España,29.06.05.
In Italy: the Party of Democracy and Liberty - La Margherita (D.L. La
Margherita).
In Denmark: the Danish Youth Organisation (Socialistisk
Ungdoms).
14.07.05,
In response to the question of Mr Rune Lund (Red-Green Alliance), the
Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs declares that "the question
[of respect of human rights in the territories occupied by
Morocco] will be treated at the level of the European Union to
examine possible ways of putting pressure on
Morocco".(SPS)
On 9 July, demonstrations in Seville and Santa Cruz de Ténérife bring out several thousand people calling on the Spanish government to put pressure on Morocco to hold a referendum of self-determination and demanding the respect of human rights in Western Sahara.
13.07.05
The Spanish daily ABC reports the remarks of Aminatou Haidar from the
depths of the Black Prison.[Aminatu Haidar: «Me han
sometido a todo tipo de tratos inhumanos», Luis de
Vega,
ABC, 13.07.05]
[translation to english]
Aminatu Haidar : "They exercised on me all sorts of inhuman
ill-treatments"] [traduction
en français:
Aminatu Haidar : "Ils m'ont fait subir toutes sortes de traitements
inhumains" ]
02.07.05,
African Union
The Executive Council of the African Union, meeting in Syrte in
Libya, in its report expresses its concern at the deadlock in the
implementation process of the United Nations peace plan aiming to
allow the people of Western Sahara to exercise its right to
self-determination.
06.07.05,
order of Spanish lawyers
The permanent committee of the General Council of the order of
Spanish Lawyers (CGAE) asks the Spanish government and the United
Nations to guarantee the implementation of international law in the
question of the Sahara as well as the presence of international
observers.
06.07.05,
British parliament
An Early Day Motion, EDM
515 ,
has been laid down in the British Parliament with the following
wording: «That this House notes with concern recent reports of
demonstrations and arrests in the occupied territory of the Western
Sahara, while noting with particular concern credible reports of
disappearances and torture of Saharawi students, activists and human
rights workers by Moroccan security forces; calls on the Government
publicly to condemn these actions by Morocco immediately, to insist
that MINURSO investigate and report on the recent turmoil, and to
reinvigorate its and UN efforts to find a solution to the Western
Sahara dispute; further calls on the Government, under the UK's
responsibility as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to
propose at the UN Security Council a deadline for Morocco to accept
the so-called Baker Plan, which was fully endorsed by the Security
Council in 2003 (resolution number 1495 (2003)) and which has since
been rejected by Morocco, because this plan represents the last best
chance for a diplomatic settlement, and has been accepted by the
Polisario front, representatives of the Sararawi people; and further
calls on the Government to act to implement the plan and not to allow
Morocco to evade its obligations under international law. » At
present 24 MPs have signed.
02.07.05, mock
trial
Rabat: mock trial brought by AMDH and the Forum for Truth and Justice
against those responsible for human rights abuses. Mohamed
Elmoutaouakil, in his deposition confirms that human rights abuses
are being perpetrated in Western Sahara, whose the authors are
congratulated instead of being pursued by justice. Elmoutaouakil
talks in the same vein on Al Jazeera on 04.07.
12.07.05
The French Minister for Foreign Affairs, Philippe Douste-Blazy
carries out his first working visit to Morocco. Concerning the
question of Western Sahara, Mr Douste-Blazy argues for a "mutually
acceptable political solution", through a "direct dialogue between
Rabat and Algiers, under the aegis of the United Nations". "Algeria
in its relations with its brothers has no need for a guardian. We can
talk with them directly. And nothing is stopping us from consulting
each other", replied Abdelaziz Belkhadem, Algerian Minister of State,
personal representative of the President of the Republic.
14.07.05
The Moroccan authorities have put in place a strategy "to inform
international opinion on the situation in our southern provinces".
Visits of representatives of political parties are foreseen from 17
to 28 July to Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela. Other visits
will take place shortly in Europe and certain African countries. A
permanent Commission within the Ministry of the Interior has been put
in place to deal with questions arising from the development of the
region. (Libération, Casablanca)
04.07.05
In a written reply to a question from an MP, the Spanish government
considers that "Since 1975 Morocco has been the de facto
administrative power of the territory of Western Sahara".
05.07.05
The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs declares on the Spanish radio
station "Onda Cero", taken up by Europa Press, that his country
defends the "right of the Saharawi people to self-determination".
(SPS)
06.07.05
The Spanish parliament has "postponed" the visit that a parliamentary
delegation was supposed to conduct in El Ayoun, considering the
guarantees given by the Moroccan authorities to be insufficient
concerning the freedom of movement of the delegation.
[El
Mundo]
09.07.05
In the annual inquiry carried out between 11 and 23 June 2005 by the
Real Instituto Elcano on 1,209 people throughout Spain, 72% of people
questioned say they are in favour of independence for the Saharawi
people, while 16% express themselves in favour of autonomy under
Moroccan control. [Barómetro
del Real Instituto Elcano]
VISIT OF ABDELAZIZ TO SPAIN
11.07.05
Mohamed Abdelaziz had talks in Madrid with the Spanish Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Miguel Angel Moratinos. He is also received by the
former president of the Spanish government, José Maria Aznar,
PP, who accepts an invitation to visit the Saharawi refugee camps in
the near future and probably the liberated territories of SADR. The
Popular Party's secretary for International Relations, Jorge Moragas,
then declares to the media that the territory of the former Spanish
colony should be administered by the United Nations.
In a statement to ABC, the Saharawi president calls on Spain to play
a major role in the conflict in Western Sahara. He adds that "the
silence of the UN faced with Moroccan barbarity and brutality bury
the remnants of credibillity which remained with it in this area".
[see Spanish medias in Sahara-Info]
12.07.05,
Madrid
Invited to the "Forum Europe", organised by Nueva Economía
Fórum, the Saharawi president declares that the revolt going
on at the present time in the occupied territories of Western Sahara
put into relief "the urgency of a just and lasting solution" to a
conflict which has gone on for 30 years, without which the action and
reaction will degenerate into a blood bath". Talking of the role of
Spain, Mohamed Abdelaziz does not hide his dissatisfaction with the
position of the (Spanish) government and the Socialist Party. "Spain
and other countries, following France, have got involved in a
deliberately counter-productive policy on Western Sahara and North
Africa", he underlined, adding that the only "viable" solution for
the conflict in Western Sahara is the referendum of
self-determination. [Full
statement]
[Texte
intégral
de la conférence de Mohamed Abdelaziz au FORUM EUROPE]
[Texto
entero
de la ponencia de Mohamed Abdelaziz en el Forum
Europa]
13.07.05
An "observatory of studies on Western Sahara" is created in the King
Juan Carlos University (Rey Juan Carlos de Madrid), directed by a
professor of constitutional law from the University of Santiago de
Compostella, Carlos Ruiz Miguel. His aim is to study the question of
Western Sahara in the light of international law .
(SPS)
Socialistas
españoles por el Sáhara
Members of the Spanish socialist Party PSOE lpublish a manifesto for
Western Sahara and collect signatures on the web: http://www.socialistasprosahara.galeon.com
06.07.05,
fishing agreement
The EU is shortly going to negotiate a fishing agreement with
Morocco. Karin Scheele, in the name of the parliamentary intergroup,
Peace for the Saharawi people, sends a letter to the commissioner
responsible for fishing, Joseph Borg to draw to his attention the
legal situation of the region, so that the agreement will only apply
to the coastal regions of Morocco and not, as was the case in
previous agreements, to those of Western Sahara.
.[Letter]
Raül Romeva i Rueda had already put a question along these lines
to the Commission on 30 May 2005. In its reply of 5 July, the
Commission declared that the agreement of association to be
negotiated with Morocco would be applicable to the waters "under
Moroccan sovereignty or jurisdiction". [Pregunta
a la Comisión por Raül Romeva i Rueda y Respuesta
del
05.07.05]
07.07.05
The EU Commissioner for External Relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner,
declares that the conflict of Western Sahara should be resolved
"within the framework of the United Nations". She expresses the hope
that the UN will proceed rapidly to the appointment of a new special
representative for the Sahara.
07.07.05,
phosphate exploitation
The principal Norwegian financial paper, Dagens Næringsliv,
announces on 5 July that the Yara International, leading world
supplier of fertilizers, had allegedly illegally exported phosphates
from Western Sahara since 1999 and risks being pursued in the
courts...
Two days later, the company admits the facts and announces the end of
its activities in Western Sahara. [more]
NUEVO LIBRO: "Sahara Occidental: ¿hasta cuando?", AFAPREDESA, Asociación de Familiares de Presos y Desaparecidos Saharauis, 2005.
saharatik.com, una nueva publicacion online informativa sobre el conflicto del Sahara Occidental y sobre todo lo relacionado con la solidaridad vasca con la causa saharaui.
Charla (chat) con Mohamed Abdelaziz, Presidente de la República Árabe Saharaui Democrática, en el diario "El Mundo.es" 15 de Julio de 2005
OPINION
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NUEVO LIBRO: "Sahara Occidental: ¿hasta cuando?", AFAPREDESA, Asociación de Familiares de Presos y Desaparecidos Saharauis, 2005.
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