Joint-Statement for a Western Sahara without violence and racism

-
Since 25 September 2011, the Saharawi civilians in Dakhla, in the south of Western Sahara, are facing brutal and oppressive attacks from Moroccan armed militias. These militias reside in the Alwakala neighbourhood, home to thousands of Moroccan settlers brought into the territory by the Moroccan government in 1991, to participate in the envisioned referendum in Western Sahara.

Saharawis’ lives and physical safety are in danger, their houses raided and private and public property burned. The military has sealed off the road to Dakhla, thereby obstructing the media so as to hide the serious crimes committed with impunity by the Moroccan intelligence services and armed militias. This Moroccan aggression is rooted in racism, and has resulted in dozens of casualties among Saharawi, who try to flee the city to save their lives.

We note that the Moroccan authorities attempt to distort the facts on the events in Dakhla, as they have done many times before when they’ve also supported the armed militias in attacking Saharawi civilians and their properties.

As a result, the Saharawi Human rights NGOs and committees wish to announce the following;

1. Our absolute solidarity with the victims of the vicious attacks perpetrated by the armed militias of the Alwakala neighbourhood and the Moroccan authorities’ agents.
2. Our condolences and solidarity with the family of the Saharawi martyr Maichane Mohamad Lamine Lahbib Echiaa, who has been kidnapped and beaten to death by the militias.
3. We denounce the Moroccan authorities’ attempts to distort the Dakhla reality, and misinform the local and international public opinion.
4. We demand the Moroccan government allow an independent and fair investigation into all the crimes committed by the armed militias and the Moroccan secret services against the Saharawi civilians in Dakhla, Western Sahara.
5. We call on the United Nations and the UN Human Rights Council to send an international commission to investigate the grave violations of human rights committed by armed militias backed by the Moroccan authorities.
6. We ask the international community, NGOs and all the free voices to immediately act on the following:
a. Respect for human rights in Western Sahara, including the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination. The political conflict and the military siege in Western Sahara must end.
b. Work for a UN mechanism to protect the Saharawi civilians and report on the human rights situation in Western Sahara.
c. An immediate response to the Saharawi civilians’ demand to be protected from the armed militias and repression by the Moroccan state.
d. Increase pressure on Morocco to:
i. Clarify the fate of abducted Saharawi;
ii. Release all the Saharawi political prisoners;
iii. Guarantee civil, political, economical, social and cultural rights for the Saharawi people, including their right to benefit from their natural resources.

Western Sahara, 29 September 2011


Signed by:

- Family of the Saharawi martyr Said Dambar
- CODESA (Collective of Saharawi Human Rights Defender)
- ASVDH (Saharawi association for victims of grave human rights violations committed by the Moroccan state)
- CODAPSO (Saharawi Committee to Defend Self-Determination)
- CSPRON (Saharawi committee for UN settlement plan and protection of Natural resources of Western Sahara)
- Gdeim Izik Coordination Committee
- Victims of enforced disappearance and arbitrary arrest in the Sahara
- Committee to Defend the Public Freedom and Human Rights in Western Sahara
- Saharawi Association to Protect Prisoners
- Saharawi Committee for the Defence of Human Rights in Smara, Western Sahara
- Organisation against Torture in Dakhla, Western Sahara
- Committee of families of kidnapped Saharawi
- FAFESA, Forum of Future for the Saharawi Women in Western Sahara
- Committee of Mothers of the 15 disappeared Saharawi
- Saharawi Committee for the Defence of Human Rights in Glaimim, South Morocco
- Freedom Sun for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders in Western Sahara
- Saharawi Centre to Protect the Collective Memory

Popular posts from this blog

Answer given by Vice-President Mogherini on behalf of the Commission

-
Image
 Answer given by Vice-President  Mogherini on behalf of the Commission The EU is closely following the situation of human rights in Morocco and Western Sahara, including through its contacts with civil society organisations, human rights defenders, the National Council of Human Rights (CNDH) and its regional offices. The EU has specifically enquired about the situation of Mohamed Daoudi. The EU has been informed that members of the regional office of Tan Tan-Guelmin payed him a visit on 8 October 2016. According to our information, on the same day Mohamed Daoudi was taken to the hospital where his health situation is being monitored. In the context of its political dialogue with the Moroccan authorities, the EU consistently expresses its concerns about alleged cases of ill-treatment and impunity. Political dialogue goes in parallel with the important support provided by the EU through its financial cooperation to public institutions and civil society to reform ...
Read more

South Sudan should not receive the Blood Money from the Moroccan King

-
Image
January 22, 2017 (SSB ) —- In recent time the King of Morocco has been giving away a lot of money as seen in the following instances— on October 20, 2016, WIKILEAKS leaks that the Moroccan King Promises $12 Million Dollars to meet with Hillary Clinton. The above WIKILEAKS followed the report on Oct 18, 2016 of the visit by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI to African countries, which was said to be the first of its kind since coronation in 1999. The visit followed a lengthy letter to African Union (AU) summit in Rwanda in which King Mohammed VI of Morocco declared his country’s intention to become a member of the union after the long time break with the body. After that letter, the Moroccan monarch planned and started touring some countries in Africa. These countries include: Nigeria, Zambia, Madagascar, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and then now he is expected to visit South Sudan. The first country to be visited by the King of Morocco was Rwanda where he signed 19 agreement...
Read more

EL-MELHFA: A Symbol of Beauty and Resistance

-
Image
El-melhfa is a four-meter long by one-meter wide piece of fabric. It is not any ordinary piece of cloth; it is the symbol of the Saharawi heritage, beauty, and resistance. Many people may view it as a religious, specifically Muslim symbol. But El-melhfa, above all, is cultural and unique to the Saharawi people, used by every ethnic and religious groups within the Saharawi population. It comes in variety of colors, patterns and materials. It can be one color, three or ten. It may be simple or with artistic shapes and patterns or even with the flag of Western Sahara. El-melhfa has different names depending on the colors and the material it is made of. Sometimes, it gets its name from the age group of women. El-melhfa, when you think about, holds a very practical role in the life of people like the Saharawis. A country like Western Sahara is mostly desert with a weather that is dry, hot and characterized with sand-storms. And so, El-melhfa can serve as a means of protection fro...
Read more