Western Sahara News

Every revolution has its losers. Libya's new rulers, who swept to power three months ago in a revolt against Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule, have promised the country a brighter future. In the biggest cities, celebratory gunfire and the war-cry "God is great" can still be heard daily. In Bani Walid, long a stronghold for Gaddafi loyalists and one of their last bastions to fall during this year's civil war, the mood is entirely different.

Helicopters of the French army arrived Saturday in Gao, northern Mali to participate in the research of French nationals kidnapped in the south of the country a few days ago, Malian security sources said. In addition to the helicopters that landed Saturday in Gao, French soldiers were also sent to the same region, the sources said, as part of research operations of French nationals kidnapped Thursday in the town of Hombori in southern Mali.

Algiers - According to sources close to officials at the Directorate General of Customs, thirteen former trade unionists of the National Union of Workers of Customs, whose files have been transferred to court, after being deprived of their union immunity, on the billions that they have in banks and the land they have acquired during their working years in the south, would have started a hunger strike. The same sources revealed the scandal following the meeting of the Director General of Customs with the management of southern Algeria,

The Union of Sahrawi for Human Rights expressed on Tuesday its indgnation about the deteriorating state of health of the Sahrawi activist for human rights Sheikh Banga, held in Moroccan prisons and observing an indefinite hunger strike since Sept. 15, said a statement from the union taken over by the Sahrawi news agency SPS.   The Sahrawi prisoner in the prison of Salé El-Zaki suffers from breathing difficulties, acute fatigue and hypothermia, said the Union, stating that his life is in danger. The Sahrawi organization denounced the practices of the prison administration which, together with the general delegation of the prison and the Moroccan secret services, provided “inhuman treatment” Sahrawi activists in the opinion depriving them of contact with the outside world. The Union of Sahrawi for Human Rights has also expressed its solidarity with the family of the martyr Said Dember face practices of the Moroccan authorities, reaffirming its support for all activists, activists a...

MONTREAL – The Quebec filmmaker Catherine Hébert and the director and producer Yanick Létourneau were honored at the 14th annual International Documentary Montreal (RIDM).   Catherine Hébert was awarded the Grand Prize of the national competition feature films with a wide detour Books for” cinematic approach and the mainland within the director that are of great sensitivity. “ The price of the criticism and the Cinémathèque québécoise was awarded to the film The United States of Africa, Yanick Létourneau, which addresses the issue of political commitment, especially through music.

by Yazid Alilat Bbetween Algeria and Morocco, it will always be an old story of misunderstanding, misunderstanding and uncertainty. Sometimes dangerous skids. At the end of the ministerial meeting of Arab Syria, the foreign ministers of Algeria Mourad Medelci and Moroccan Fassi Fihri, have met extensively on bilateral cooperation. This was an opportunity for the two diplomats to see, discuss the issue of cooperation practically idle for almost two decades. So after the discussion of Turkish-Arab Balafredj the room where the fate of Syria was sealed, the two ministers met to pick up the thread of cooperation between Algeria – Morocco.

Cheikh Banga has been on a hunger strike since mid-September. His life is therefore in danger. But he is willing to risk his life for the cause he is fighting for – independence for the population of Africa’s last colony, Western Sahara that has been illegally occupied by Morocco for over 36 years. Banga is also fighting to end Moroccan discrimination against the indigenous population of Western Sahara, the Saharawis, as well as to ensure that he gets a fair trial. Banga, and twenty-three other hunger striking human rights activists, are detained in the infamous Sale Prison outside the Moroccan capital, Rabat, and are awaiting trial in a military court. They were all arrested in October last year during the demolition of the peaceful Gdeim Izik protest camp in occupied Western Sahara by Moroccan security forces.

Rome, Nov 19, 2011 (SPS) - The Saharawi activist, Sultana Jaya, is currently touring Italy to give her testimonies on the human rights abuses in Western Sahara perpetrated by Morocco, Polisario Representation in Rome informed. The activist has met elected and representatives of NGOs supporting the Saharawi people in Torcana and other cities. She was also received by Mr. Andrea Barducci, president of the Florence County. Following the meeting with the Saharawi activist, Mr. Barducci underlined that Sultana Jaya

Lima, Nov 19, 2011 (SPS) - The Vice-President of the Andino Parliament, Mr. Alberto Adrianzén Merino, asserted Friday that he is in favor of the re-establishment of the diplomatic relations between Peru and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), in a meeting with the Minister Delegate of SADR in charge of Latin America, Mr. Hach Ahmed, and Mr. Sidi Alisalem Zein, ambassador in charge of mission to Lime, according to Peruvian news agency (Andina).

Until the two countries beyond the political disagreement, the messages of” good will “to boost relations between Algeria and Morocco are not lacking. Two weeks ago, King Mohammed VI called for effective cooperation between the two countries and now the President Bouteflika reiterated its commitment “to continue to work (…) the strengthening of relations of friendship and cooperation” between countries and peoples the best of our brothers’ mutual interests, “he wrote in his message on the occasion the 56th anniversary of the independence of his country. That’s not all because the meeting has hosted Rabat to discuss the issue of Syria was an opportunity for open discussions on bilateral relations between the foreign ministers of both countries.

” It is unfair that the international community remains indifferent to the practices of the Moroccan government arrests of Saharawi civilians defenseless in an international zone under UN auspices and present them to military courts for campaigning for the values ​​and legitimate rights under the Charter and UN resolutions, “said President SADR. These practices, said Mohammed Abdelaziz, indicate a “flagrant disregard (by the Moroccan authorities) of international law and international humanitarian law”, hence the “need” to impose sanctions and pressures to release all Saharawi political detainees, to shed light on the fate of more than 651 Saharawi disappeared, stop the massive plunder of natural resources and destroy the military wall that divides the Western Sahara by millions of landmines.

Répression - L'obstination du gouvernement marocain qui tente de confisquer au peuple sahraoui le droit à l'autodétermination et à l'indépendance «ne doit pas être encouragée par le silence de la communauté internationale». Le président de la République arabe démocratique sahraouie, Mohamed Abdelaziz a appelé l'Organisation des Nations unies (ONU) à intervenir «en urgence» pour sauver la vie des détenus politiques sahraouis en grève de la faim dans la prison marocaine de Salé. Dans un message urgent cité par l'Agence de presse sahraouie (SPS), adressé au secrétaire général de l'ONU, M. Ban Ki-Moon, le président Abdelaziz a mis en garde contre «la détérioration» de l'état de santé de ces détenus en grève de la faim depuis le 31 octobre dernier imputant «la responsabilité totale» au gouvernement marocain.

Marathon organizers of Western Sahara have decided to organize the 12th edition of this sporting event in the Saharawi refugee camps in solidarity with the Saharawi people and to break the media blockade. It Sahrawi news agency (SPS), he said on Tuesday, citing the newspaper La Voz de Asturias. style=”text-align: Bariltar Rafael Rodriguez and Robbin, two famous athletes in the region of Austrias, have expressed their intention to participate in this event, which will be attended by several athletes from 20 countries, said the source. The funds raised during this sporting event will be used to finance humanitarian projects in the Saharawi refugee camps,

by Stefan Simanowitz and Ken Loach In 1960, the UN adopted resolution 1514 which stated that all people have a rightto self-determination and that colonialism should be brought to a speedy andunconditional end. Half a century later it may come as a surprise to readers tolearn that there are still 16 territories around the world that have yet to achievede- colonisation. Known as “non-self governing territories”, the list of places still ruled by a foreign power contains some familiar names: Gibraltar and FalklandIslands (Malvinas) to name just two.

Paper by The Hon John Dowd AO QC, President International Commission of Jurists, Australia presented on 29 October 2011 at the 2nd International Conference, Peoples’ Right for Resistance: the Case of Sahrawi People, Dar Diaf – Bouchaoui, Algiers Mr Chairman, Mr President, Members of Parliament, distinguished delegates.  In the year since most of us here were in Le Mans, the world has very much changed. It is called the “Arab Spring”, but in fact is much more than just changes within the Arabic speaking countries.  We have a new world of electronically adept free thinking liberated young people who can now communicate and exchange views and attack governments, particularly totalitarian governments if they don‟t provide for human needs and democratic processes. The world of television and the internet now provides young and, indeed, not so young people with higher aspirations to fulfillment of their lives than is available under most military regimes and culturally re...

The Basque regional government has awarded the Rene Cassin of human rights in the Sahrawi activist Aminatou Haidar for his commitment to the promotion of human rights in Western Sahara occupied by Morocco . The award, which recognizes the work of individuals or groups engaged in the promotion and defense of human rights, pays tribute to René Cassin was born in Bayonne in 1887, whose struggle and commitment to human rights were outstanding and exemplary. Vice Chairman of the Committee on Human Rights United Nations, he made a contribution essential to the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.

The Moroccan plot related to the kidnapping of three European aid workers from Saharawi refugee camps on 22 October is now becoming more decipherable. Three news stories, surprisingly published by the French news agency, AFP, and some Arabic media outlets famous for supporting the Moroccan thesis in Western Sahara, were enough to give additional support to the analysis we developed in previous articles, in which we claimed the potential involvement of the Moroccan secret services, and possibly the French, in the ordeal of Aenoa, Enrico and Rosella. The first news story we refer to was exclusively published by AFP on the evening

Following on from my last 2 posts, here are a couple of images that schematically illustrate the division of Western Sahara into different areas under the UN ceasefire agreement of 1991, as enshrined in Military Agreement #1. I think I downloaded them from the MINURSO website some time ago, although did not note the precise origin – presumably as I had no reason to believe that MINURSO would decide to remove this vital and basic information. SAND & DUST, 11/11/2011

The first anniversary of the tragic events of Gdeim Izik near El Ayoune occupied, was commemorated in Italy, for ten NGO friends of the Saharawi people with representatives of the Polisario Front , learned Thursday, APS, with the Saharawi representative in Italy. On this occasion, the Sahrawi human rights, Soltana Khya, invited by the local authorities of Bologna (Emilia Romagna) has condemned the latest kidnapping of European humanitarian including an Italian, in the camps Saharawi refugees near Tindouf, expressing the solidarity of all components of the Saharawi people and their families.

Smara (Refugee Camps) November 10, 2011 (SPS) – The Sahrawi Republic (SADR) commemorated Wednesday in the Wilaya of Smara, Sahrawi refugee camps, the first anniversary of the dismantlement of the Sahrawi protest camp of Gdeim Isik by the Moroccan troops of occupation, in the presence of the President of the Republic, Mohamed Abdelaziz, and members of the government and parliament. In his speech during the commemorative activities of the first anniversary of the massacre committed by Morocco against the protest camp, the President of the Republic,

Smara (Occupied Territories) November 11, 2011 (SPS) - the Moroccan authorities of occupation attacked Tuesday night Sahrawi minor Dihan Belah Bouhali and beaten him up, following the breakup of activities of the Intifada in the occupied city of Smara demanding the right of the Saharawi people to freedom and independence, according to the Ministry of the Occupied Territories and Communities Abroad. Leaflets had been distributed demanding an end to the occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco and rejecting the Moroccan elections in the occupied territories.

Santander (Spain), November 9, 2011 (SPS) – “The only possible solution to the conflict in Western Sahara is the organization of a "referendum on self-determination including the option of independence," reiterated Sunday the Polisario Front Representative to the United Nations, Ahmed Bukhari. Morocco "continues to block this issue, so the UN negotiations have been stalled," and have not yet resumed, "Bukhari indicated in a press briefing on the sidelines of the forum of human rights in Western Sahara, jointly organized by the Sahrawi support Committee,

Shaheed El Hafed (Refugee camps) , November 8, 2011 (SPS) – The President of the Republic, Secretary General of the Frente Polisario, Mr. Mohamed Abdelaziz, received Monday the Chairman of the Maghreb Commission in the European Parliament, Mr. Pier Antonio Panzeri, at the presidential headquarters. During the meeting, the President of the Republic briefed his guest on the latest developments concerning the question of Western Sahara, especially the suffering of the Saharawi people under occupation as well as in exile and the obstacles encountering the UN peace plan.

Les sites internet de l’armée israélienne, du service de renseignements (Mossad) et du service de la sécurité intérieure (Shin Beth) étaient inaccessibles dimanche 6 novembre. Les porte-parole de l’armée et du Shin Beth ont confirmé une ” coupure de plusieurs heures ” et indiqué ” qu’une enquête était en cours pour déterminer l’origine ” de cette panne. Le quotidien israélien ” Haaretz ” a lié cette triple panne au groupe de pirates informatiques Anonymous, qui avait annoncé une riposte

Après l’attaque d’hackers Marocains visant des sites institutionnels Algériens, la riposte ne s’est pas fait attendre. En effet, la contre attaque a été massive et a touché pas moins de 174 sites appartenant pour la plupart au gouvernement et à des entreprises du royaume marocain. Ces représailles ont désarçonné les institutions ” colonisées ” qui ne sont toujours pas arrivés, à l’heure où nous mettons en ligne, à récupérer leurs sites originels. Liste des sites Marocains attaqués:

Le discours du souverain marocain, le roi Mohamed VI, prononcé à l’occasion du 36e anniversaire de l’invasion marocaine du Sahara occidental s’inscrit en droite ligne de “la politique de fuite en avant” et dénote de “l’obstination” de Rabat à contourner les résolutions des Nations unies et le plan de règlement ONU-OUA, a déclaré lundi le gouvernement sahraoui. Dans un communiqué rendu public par le ministère de la Communication, le gouvernement sahraoui a déploré “la fuite en avant et l’obstination de Rabat à contourner les résolutions des Nations unies et le plan de règlement ONU-OUA,

PARIS , France, 9 novembre 2011 / African Press Organization (APO)  Point de presse du 8 novembre 2011 Q - M. Christopher Ross, l'Envoyé personnel du secrétaire général de l'ONU pour le Sahara effectue une tournée dans différents pays. A-t-il été reçu au Quai d'Orsay? R - L'Envoyé personnel du Secrétaire général des Nations unies pour le Sahara occidental, M. Christopher Ross, effectue un déplacement à Paris aujourd'hui dans le cadre d'une tournée des capitales du Groupe des amis du Sahara occidental (Espagne, États-Unis, France, Royaume-Uni, Russie).

Long-distance runner Salah Ameidan dreams of winning gold for his country at the Olympics. There’s just one problem: he’s Sahrawi, from the Western Sahara - a disputed territory that Morocco claims as its own. Listen to an interview with Salah below . Growing up in the city of Al Aaiún, Salah and his friends saw the Moroccans as occupiers; stealing a policeman's hat and running off with it was a badge of honour. And being the fastest runner, Salah was never caught.

EUROPEAN UNION Tuesday, November 08, 2011, 23:10 (GMT + 9) MEPs that integrate the European Parliament (EP) Budget and Development committees were against extending the fisheries agreement between the European Union (EU) and Morocco. On the one hand, they argue that they fear that the new agreement does not respect the rights of the Western Sahara inhabitants, who claim that the waters from this area should not be included in it. Members of the Development Committee also explained that the evaluation of the agreement carried out by an external consultant has been "one of the most negative evaluations ever conducted in regard to bilateral fisheries agreements." They further point out that the agreement "records the lowest level of cost/benefit ratio of all the agreements." "The EU receives EUR 0.65 for every euro invested (compared with an average EUR 1.4 for the other agreements). This includes 780 jobs in the EU, which means that the EU subsidizes each po...

After bombing Libya to rubble, allowing rebel forces to capture and murder its dictator and meddling in the democratic processes that were the aftermath of the Arab Spring, the EU has upped the ante on its intervention in the African continent to a whole new level. It has now been revealed that the Libyan conflict was in fact exploited by Europe for economic enrichment from the fisheries industry which has racked up a stench in European and African newsrooms. It all started in February 2010 when the European Court established that the fisheries agreement concluded between Morocco

The Budget Committee deplored the heavy financial yoke of this particular agreement, consuming no less than 25% of the Union's budget line for fisheries. Of all the EU's ongoing bilateral agreements, the accord with Morocco is the least cost-efficient, placing the heaviest relative burden on EU tax payers. "The Committee on Budgets calls on the Committee of Fisheries, as the committee responsible, to request that Parliament reject the Protocol setting out the fishing opportunities and financial contribution provided for

The shark population in occupied Western Saharan waters is under threat by Moroccan and European fishing. That is one of the many disturbing conclusions of the independent post-evaluation report on the EU's fish deal with Morocco. Through targeting sharks, rays and skates, European vessels fishing in Western Saharan waters have adopted the same exploitation strategy as the Moroccan vessels, says the evaluation report from Océanic Developpement -

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Ibero-American Affairs, Juan Antonio Yáñez-Barnuevo, met with Christopher Ross, the personal envoy for Western Sahara of the United Nations' General Secretary, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. The visit forms part of Christopher Ross' second tour of the capitals of member countries of the Group of Friends of Western Sahara, which he began in Washington on 14 October. After Madrid, Ross will visit Paris, Moscow, London and Geneva.

Chahid El Hafed – Speech from the Moroccan monarch, King Mohammed VI delivered at mark the 36th anniversary of the Moroccan invasion of Western Sahara is in line with the “policy headlong rush” and denotes the “obstinacy” of Rabat to circumvent United Nations resolutions and the plan UN-OAU settlement, said Monday the Saharawi Government. In a statement released by the Ministry of Communication, the Saharawi Government deplored “the leak forward and the obstinacy of Rabat to circumvent United Nations resolutions and the UN settlement plan- OAU,

By Paaras Abbas "We know that somebody is watching us. We don’t know where." How many of us have a full realisation of the torture the people of Western Sahara endure on a daily basis? It’s a story that has simply not been heard. It is this fact that made last night’s screening of El Problema , the first in a series of three films to be screened at Frontline Club as part of the Film Africa 2011 festival, such a gripping experience.

Moroccan King Mohammed VI reiterated shouldering Algeria responsibility of the failure of the decolonization process in the Western Sahara, and accused the neighboring country of subjecting deprivation, repression and humiliation to Sahrawi refugees in the Tindouf camps, south west of Algeria. Mohamed VI speech came to mark the 36th anniversary of the green march, a strategic mass demonstration in November 1975, coordinated by the Moroccan government, to force Spain to hand over the disputed Western Sahara to Morocco.

In my last post I urged people to contact MINURSO and UN Peacekeeping to ask why vital information on the terms of the ceasefire in Western Sahara has been removed from the MINURSO website, and request that this information be reinstated. Here is the text in question, from Military Agreement (MA) #1, copied from the MINURSO website in October 2008 (from this address, which is now defunct: http://www.minurso.unlb.org/monitoring.html ): “MA#1 divides the disputed territory of Western Sahara into five parts: • One 5 km wide Buffer Strip (BS) to the South and East side of the Berm; • Two 30 km wide Restricted Areas (RA) along the Berm. The Buffer Strip is included in the Restricted Area on the POLISARIO side and the Berm is included in the Restricted Area on the RMA side; • Two Areas with Limited Restrictions (ALR), which are the two remaining vast, stretches of land of Western Sahara on both sides respectively.” I quoted this text in a Briefing Note I prepared on the partition o...

Shaheed Al Hafed (refugee camps), Oct 7, 2011 (SPS) - In its communiqué following speech of the Moroccan king addressed Sunday night, the Saharawi government noted that Rabat takes the question of Western Sahara “a hook to dismiss attention of the Moroccan public opinion from the real problems and difficulties of the Country.” The communiqué recalled that the tragedy experienced by the Saharawi refugees since 36 years is exclusively a result of unjust Moroccan military invasion caused their displacement and fled under a hail bombing by the internationally forbidden bombs of napalm and phosphorus.”

Ljubljana (Slovenia), Oct 7, 2011 (SPS) - A Group of Slovenian organizations signed Monday a resolution calling on the Slovenian government to be firmer in defending right of Western Sahara people to self-determination, standing with the Saharawi people and condemning the human rights abuses committed by Morocco, informed Office of the Polisario Front to the Balkan Countries. “Western Sahara is the last example in the world of a process of decolonisation having remained incomplete,

By Michael Riordan The Sahara Desert is known for its size and beauty, but few scholars have recognized the cultural, political and historical impact it has had on the world, Eamonn Gearon, author of “The Sahara: A Cultural History,” said in a lecture marking the beginning of his American book tour. Approximately 40 people attended his talk in Haldeman Hall this Thursday. “The Sahara is equal in size to the United States of America, including Alaska, and yet in that great mass there are just 4 million people,” Gearon said. The Sahara’s dunes can tower over 100 feet in height and many of the desert's mountain peaks remain unexplored, according to Gearon.

Madrid , Nov 5, 2011 (SPS)- The Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General for Western Sahara, Christopher Ross, held meeting Friday in Madrid, with the Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign and Latin American affairs, Juan Antonio Yanez, as part of a tour would lead him to capitals of Group of Friends of Western Sahara (USA, France, Russia, Spain, United Kingdom), to "release" the negotiations process between the Polisario Front and Morocco, the Spanish news agency, EFE reported. Ross and Yanez reviewed the current process of negotiations between the two parties of the conflict,

“Three Human two Spaniards and an Italian-are in West Africa, certainly in Burkina Faso,” said an Algerian security source of high rank. Malian intelligence, too, reached the same conclusion, and based on the traditional Tuareg interim, he thinks that the three aid have not been sent to Mali, “and certainly not to be found.” Give the ground a penchant for delivery “not ordinary” hostages to a country that was previously kept away from turbulence-related kidnappings, Burkina Faso, in this case. A week ago, a mediator of Mali said that the three European Cooperating abducted Oct. 23 “are alive and are held by Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).”

Madrid , Nov 5, 2011 (SPS) - The Minister of Cooperation, Mr. Salek Baba Hasana, concluded Thursday a working visit to the Spanish province of Extremadura, where he meet heads of municipalities and associations supporting the Saharawi people, as reported by the Polisario Front representation in Extremadura. Mr. Salek Baba Hasana visited several government places and met high-level figures, including Mr. José Antonio Monago,

Rome , Nov 5, 2011 (SPS) - Italian NGOs and Municipalities have condemned the kidnapping of three European cooperators in the humanitarian field by a terrorist group in the Saharawi refugee camps, near Tindouf, as reported Thursday in Rome. The Local Coordination of Solidarity with the Saharawi people in the Municipality of Sesto San Giovanni (Milan) expressed its strong condemnation to the terrorist attack which resulted in the abduction of 3 cooperators on the humanitarian field in the Saharawi refugee camps.

Seville (Spain), Nov 5, 2011 (SPS) - “The EU cannot bear the responsibilities on the question of Western Sahara, unless Spain assumes its legal and historic responsibilities towards its old colonies,” stated Member of the European Parliament, Mr. Willy Meyer. “We must put an end the current situation of the EU after it found itself out of the only stuck issue in the African continent, which is about decolonization,” Mr. Meyer told Spain News Agency (EFE) following a ceremony held outside the Moroccan Consulate in Seville.

Addis Ababa, Nov 04, 2011 (SPS)- A Saharawi delegation headed by SADR Ambassador to Republic of South Sudan, Hammadi Bachir, has participated in AU Follow-up Meeting of Government Experts on the Review of the Protocols relating to the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights held from October 31 to November 04, 2011 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The AU government experts adopted the amendments

Algiers, November 3, 2011 (SPS) - Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, declared that his Government and concerned services “will conduct their work “ to free the three European aid workers abducted for more than a week in the Sahrawi refugee camps. In an interview with Algerian newspaper "El Watan”, Ouyahia said that "this issue is of great importance because it is a matter of life or death for the hostages and it should not be taken easy."

Tanger .- Gustavo de Aristegui, a member of the Spanish People’s Party is currently the spokesperson for Foreign Affairs of PP in the Congress of Deputies (lower house ), do not re-enlist. It’s the manager of the PP Mariano Rajoy who has so decided. Leave outside parliament this former diplomat after 12 years of loyal service deserved an explanation. But there is none. At least publicly. As an aside, it’s another history. Gustavo de Aristegui, who married last year with

AWSA together with the Australian Unions for Western Sahara have asked both Tasmanian Customs and the shipping company Inchcape to check the way the country of origin of Allegra’s cargo is designated on the importation documents. If it says “Morocco” this is not right and should be changed to “Western Sahara” where the phosphate comes from. If it says “Western Sahara”, then they must ask the importer to provide evidence that the Saharawi people consent to the sale of this phosphate which rightly belongs to them.

Algiers , November 3, 2011 (SPS) - Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, declared that his Government and concerned services “will conduct their work “ to free the three European aid workers abducted for more than a week in the Sahrawi refugee camps. In an interview with Algerian newspaper "El Watan”, Ouyahia said that "this issue is of great importance because it is a matter of life or death for the hostages and it should not be taken easy."