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WEEKLY NEWS |
original french
10.-16.02.2002
05.02.02.
SADR
The 3rd Conference of Polisario Front political officers finished
with a speech by the Prime Minister Bouchraya Beyoun presenting the
priorities of his government's 2002 programme : strengthening of
social structures, reorganisation of the civil service, the
administration, justice and social policy. He emphasised that the
army would pursue its preparation in order to be able to "take up
arms at any moment, if necessary, to defend our rights to liberty and
independence". (SPS)
10.02.02
Algeria - UN-Oil
The permanent representative of Algeria with the UN, Adbdallah Baali,
asked the Secretary General, Kofi Annan, to follow the advice given
by the Legal Department by refraining in the future from calling
Morocco the "administering power" of Western Sahara.
(SPS)
10.02.02
Algeria - UN - Peace plan
Algeria proposed, in a document given to the United Nations in
mid-January, that the international organisation should take charge
of the administration of Western Sahara, until a solution in keeping
with the interests of the Saharawi population is found.
(agencies)
10.
15.02.02
Delegation of European Parliament - visit
The ad hoc Delegation of the European Parliament for Western Sahara
finally traveled to El Ayoun and Rabat. This visit follows one to the
Saharawi refugee camps in October 2001. (week
44 2001).
Led by Mrs Catherine Lalumière, PS, France, vice-president of
the EP Foreign Affairs Committee, the delegation comprised 18 people
including MEPs Marianne Ericson, Vänsterpartiet, Sweden,
Pasqualina Napoletano, DS, Italy, Vitaliano Gemelli, CDU, Italy,
Charles Marchiani, RPF, France, Jorge Hernandez Mollar, PP, Spain,
and Ramon Obiols Germa, PSOE, Spain.
In El Ayoun the parliamentarians met with local authorities, shioukh,
MINURSO officials, and representatives of civil society. Several
Saharawi delegations, of unemployed, human rights defenders, former
political prisoners, families of disappeared and former workers from
Phos BouCraa, were heard in camera as they had requested. The
subjects raised covered on the one hand, the human rights situation,
and on the other the outlook for a solution to the conflict in
Western Sahara. A detailed report on human rights in the occupied
territories was given to the MEPs as well as a list of 99 documented
cases of disappearance. The Saharawi delegations furthermore made
clear their rejection of the Baker plan and demanded the right to
self-determination through a free and transparent referendum.
In Rabat the MEPs had talks with the Prime Minister and the Ministers
of Foreign Affairs, the Interior, Human Rights, as well as with
Moroccan MPs. Mrs Lalumière announced that her delegation will
meet again on 25 or 26 February to draw up a report and formulate
recommendations to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European
Parliament, with the aim of helping find a solution to a problem
which she called difficult.
12.02.02
Mauritania - SADR
The President of the Mauritanian Republic received Omar Mansour,
Saharawi Minister for Health, bearer of a personal message from
President Abdelaziz concerning the latest developments in the peace
plan and his desire for cooperation and dialogue with Mauritania,
with a view to allowing the Saharawi people to exercise their right
to self-determination.
14.02.01
Recognition
The government of St Vincent and the Grenadines decided to recognise
the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic as an independent and sovereign
state. (Joint
statement
)
14.02.02
El Ayoun
A demonstration of the Association of Saharawi unemployed,
constituted on 7 January last, was dispersed by the police. The
unemployed were protesting at the refusal of the authorities to
legalise their association.
14.02.02
Oil contracts
In an article entitled "The European Union, concerned by dubious
manoeuvres of the United States and France in the Sahara", the
Spanish weekly Tiempo de Hoy reveals that the EU suspects the
USA of having agreed with Morocco in 1996 an investment plan in
Western Sahara, and denounces the alliance between the USA, France
and Morocco on the exploitation of oil resources in the region.
Taking account of the close links of James Baker with the oil sector,
the journalist raises questions on the integrity of the personal
representative of Kofi Annan and on the role of the United States in
the search for a solution to the conflict.
In this context, the Baker plan, supported by France and the USA,
proposing a pseudo-autonomy of the Sahara within Morocco, would give
the green light to American-French multinationals to exploit the
natural resources of the region.
The journalist also leaves us to understand that the Spanish position
in favour of the referendum and against the autonomy plan left the
oil company Repsol, which is also interested in Saharan oil, with no
share of the resources.
According to the Canary Islands daily, La Provincia, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, asked the Moroccan authorities to respect the UN legal opinion concerning oil prospecting in Western Sahara and to suspend permits given to TotalFinaElf and Kerr McGee.
15.02.02
USA
23 members of the American Congress, mixed Republicans and Democrats,
sent a letter in which they urge the President G.W.Bush to press the
UN Security Council to ensure that the UN settlement Plan for the
Western Sahara and the Houston Accords be respected and implemented
without delay and the right of the indigenous people of Western
Sahara to self-determination no longer be violated. The
parliamentarians express their increasing concern over the continued
delay in holding a referendum over Western Sahara. Furthermore, they
say they are very disturbed by reports of the Moroccan Government
signing contracts with foreign companies for exploration of resources
in the territory of Western Sahara, while the UN does not accord
Morocco with any sovereignty over the territory.
QUOTE
OF THE WEEK
«V.U.: American interest in the Maghreb has thus pushed
Washington to get involved in the peace mediation in Western
Sahara?
B.R.: Yes, if Western Sahara is destabilised, that could lead to
repercussions in the whole Sahara. Now, this desert is rich in
phosphates, uranium and oil. A part of this desert has outlets on the
Atlantic. The United States has an interest in having a transport and
supply route which would by-pass Algeria. It is therefore imperative
to put an end to the crisis in Western Sahara by means of a
compromise between Algeria and Morocco of which the United States
would be the guardian, even if this peace agreement is made under the
auspices of the United Nations. James Baker, former Secretary of
State, has been appointed UN special representative in the region;
this choice is very significant : Mr Baker is a Texan and a
formidable expert in the oil
business! »(L'or
noir: un enjeu stratégique, Entretien avec Bernard
Ravenel, Propos recueillis par G. Delaunoy, vivant univers,
nov-déc. 1998 - Black gold : strategic stakes, Talking
with Bernard Ravenel, interviewed by G. Delaunoy, vivant univers,
Nov-Dec 1998)
SOLIDARITY
DEMONSTRATION in LONDON
To support the right to self-determination of the Saharawi people!
To encourage the Spanish government, during its presidency of the European Union (January - June 2002), to take positive steps towards helping the Saharawi people exercise their right to self-determination in a free and fair referendum.
When:
Wednesday 27th February, 12.30 - 1.30
Where: Spanish Embassy, 39 Chesham Place, London SW1
Meet in Belgrave Square 12 noon - 12.15. Nearest tube station : Hyde
Park Corner
Org.: Western Sahara Campaign UK. (wsc@gn.apc.org)
COMING UP
UK, London, Spitz Gallery (109 Commercial Street), 13-28 February, 1200-1700: "Invisible Links" Joint photographic exhibition on Cuba and Western Sahara by Danielle Smith - an exhibition of black and white photographs of family life in the Saharawi refugee camps and Havana, Cuba.
Zaragossa,
Aragon, España: 17 de febrero a las 12 del mediodía
y a petición de la Asociación de vecinos del barrio de
la Almozara, montaremos la mesa en el parque de la Aljaferia.
Con motivo del 26 aniversario de la RASD, el día 27 de febrero
y con el fin de conmemorar esta fecha histórica del pueblo
saharaui, vamos a realizar la VI Semana Cultural:
Día 25 a las 19 horas, en la Casa de las Culturas.
Inauguración de la Exposición Cultural, esta
permanecerá toda la semana a disposición de los
interesados, en este mismo acto se podrá degustar Te.
Día 26 a las 19 horas, en la Casa de las Culturas.
Proyección de la película "Los Baúles del
Retorno", seguidamente haremos un debate sobre la misma.
Día 27 a las 19 horas, en la Casa de las Culturas. Conferencia
"El Estado de la Cuestión" impartida por Ali Mojtar (Delegado
del Frente Polisario para Aragón), también
proyectaremos el corto "Lalia".
Ya fuera de la Semana Cultural y como es costumbre, participaremos en
la Cincomarzada. Um Draiga, Amigos del Pueblo Saharaui
(Aragón), (umdraiga@umdraiga.com)
France, Le Mans: 19.03.02, Grand concert de l'amitié entre les peuples. (Mariem Hassan, Nayim Alal, groupe Leyoad (Sahara Occidental) Thierry Robin (France), Mustafa et Driss, Los Hermanos El Hafer (Maroc), Kadda Cherif Hadria (Algérie), Palais des Congrès et de la Culture. (bur.aarasd@wanadoo.fr)
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