WEEKLY NEWS

WEEK 05

25.-31.01.1998

22.01.98
Support to the peace plan
The President of the Italian government, Mr Romano Prodi, declared in a letter addressed to the Italian NGO CISP that Italy contributed to the successfull mission of J. Baker and wishes to continue its support to the U.N. peace plan. Italy will participate to the financing of the MINURSO. In addition to about 300,000 USD still paid, it will respond positively to the call up UNHCR will make soon.
This is the response to 9 NGOs of the «South Group» * which adressed last November a Resolution for a fair and transparent Referendum in Western Sahara to the governments of Italy, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Greece and Belgium, as well as to the European Parliament, European Commission and European Council.
( * Comitato internazionale per lo sviluppo dei popoli, CISP, Italy; Movimondo, Italy; ACSUR, Spain; Cooperació, Spain; Paz y Solidaridad, Spain; Paz y Tercer Mundo, Spain; OXFAM Belgium; International Democratic Committee of Greece, EEDDA; Terre des Hommes France)

23.01.98
Danish soldiers for MINURSO
The Danish government prepares its participation to the military component of the MINURSO with a staff of about 100 soldiers.

24-27.01.98
Official visit
The Saharawi President Mohamed Abdelaziz received in Bilbao the international award «Mirror of the World» of the Sabino Arana Foundation which was confered this year to the POLISARIO Front. Later he met with the Basque Government and Parliament, as well as with the authorities of the three Basque provinces.

26.01.98
Security Council Resolution 1148, 1998
The Security Council adopted unanimously a resolution in which it approves the deployment of the engineering unit required for demining activities and of the additional administrative staff required to support the deployment of military personnel as proposed in the report of the Secretary-General of 13 November 1997.
It expresses its intention to consider positively the request for the remaining additional military and civilian police assets for MINURSO, as soon as the Secretary-General reports that the identification process has reached a stage which makes the deployment of these assets essential.
It calls upon both parties to cooperate with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and to cooperate further with the Identification Commission established pursuant to the Settlement Plan in order that the identification process can be completed in a timely fashion in accordance with the Settlement Plan and the agreements reached between the parties for its implementation.
It must be noticed that the Security Council did not introduce the problem of the identification of a great number of non-convoked applicants (12,000 individuals according to the S.G.s report) despite the Moroccan attempt, supported by France, to make accept these persons as not sponsored applicants.

26.01.98
Political assassination
On January 14 1998 the body of Mohamed Arbi Sid Ahmed has been found near the city of Tan Tan (South Morocco). The deceased was seen the night before in company of his Moroccan employee who disappeared since then. The AFAPREDESA speaks of one more assassination committed by the Moroccan authorities in order to terrorize the Saharawi population.

01.02.98
Dunbar is coming
Mr Charles Dunbar, the new Special representative of the Secretary-General for W.S, is on the way to Western Sahara. He has to face a more and more tense situation. The attempts of Morocco to manipulate the electorate fail because of the U.N. accuracy. The Moroccan annoyance expresses itself by the way of an extreme press campaign, or even political assassinations.
Mr Dunbar takes presently intense diplomatic contacts, meeting US and UK diplomats who are particularly attentives to the peace process. On the other hand the European Union Working Group on the Maghreb meets next week in order to discuss proposal of a regular presence in W.S. of the E.U. diplomacy

NEW PUBLICATIONS

• Risoluzione delle ONG europee del «Gruppo Sud» di appoggio a un referendum libero e trasparente nel Sahara Occidentale, Bilbao, 18.11.1997.
• Reanudado sin incidentes el proceso de identificación de votantes en el Sahara Occidental, Carra Alejandro, ABC, 18.01.98.
• Resolution of the Security Council, S 1148, 1998, 26.01.98
• El Polisario, Caritas, el Orfeon Donostiarra y el Athletic reciben los premios Sabino Arana, Sanchez Juncal, El Correo, 26.01.98.
• "Marruecos intenta todo tipo de fraude en la consulta del Sahara", Munoz Juan Miquel, El Pais, Madrid, 26.01.98.
• El Frente Polisario gana el premio Espejo en el Mundo de la Fundacion Sabino Arana, El Pais, 26.01.98.
• La ovacion mas emotiva, para el Frente Polisario, Deia, 26.01.98.
• "El hermanamiento de Vitoria con La Güera ha abierto nuevos caminos de cooperacion", Burutxaga Dulce, Alava, 26.01.98.
• El abrazo saharaui, Cancho Rosa, El Correo, 27.01.98
• Mohamed Abdelaziz: "Vitoria ha conquistado un lugar en la memoria de los Saharauis", Arroyo Nuria, Alava, 27.01.98.
• Importantes cambios en la cúpula del Frente Polisario, Canales Pedro, El Pais, Madrid, 29.01.98.

AGENDA

«Alternance et transition au Maroc», réunion organisée au CERI, le Centre d'Etudes et de recherches internationales de la Fondation nationale des sciences politiques. Exposés de Mohamed Tozy «Islam politique et monarchie» et de Khadija Mohsen-Finan «Les enjeux du conflit saharien». Vendredi 6 février 1998, 16 h 30, 4, rue de Chevreuse, 75006 Paris (métro Vavin). Contact +1 44 10 84 95.

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