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WEEKS 31-32 : 24.07.-07.08.2004 |
30.07.04
Campaign against illegal plundering of hydrocarbons in Western
Sahara
At the end of June the International Coalition for the protection of
resources in Western Sahara, which is conducting a campaign in the
name of the solidarity movement launched a new campaign against
illegal plunder of natural resources in Western Sahara. A Dutch
company was targeted: FUGRO N.V. with a world-wide reputation
specialising in reconnaissance work and advice to the oil and gas
industry which has just finished a seismic survey for the oil company
Kerr McGee, itself holding a exploration contract granted by the
Moroccan authorities in 2001. >> Fugro
Campaign
On 30 July a
delegation of 4 members of solidarity NGOs from the Netherlands,
Norway, Great Britain and France was received at the headquarters of
Fugro in Holland. Talks took place with Mr Kramer, Chairman and CEO
of Fugro NV and Mr Jonkman Chief Financial Officer. The delegates
were able to express their deep concern about the recent activities
of the Dutch corporation, stressing the negative implications for the
Saharawi people and its right to self-determination, because
providing seismic data to oil companies like Kerr-McGee represents a
further step toward the illegal exploration and exploitation by the
Moroccan occupying power. At the end of this exchange of views the
President of Fugro expressed his readiness to pursue a constructive
and open dialogue with the Coalition, and let it be known that he has
ordered his subsidiaries to consult Fugro headquarters in the event
of any offer for further contracts covering Western Sahara.
>> Press
release POLISARIO Office
UK&Ireland,
05.08.04
>> Press
release International Coalition for the protection of resources in
Western Sahara,
06.08.04
>> Fugro
fuss over Western Sahara,
Barry Morgan, Upstream Online, August 6, 2004
22.07.04
Appointments
- Hammoudi Bouhnana, governor of the province of Ausserd replaces
Bouchaïb Mekkaoui.
- Mohamed Ennajem Abhai, governor of the province replaces Noureddine
Lahbil.
- Amine Lahcen Demnati, governor of the region of Guelmim-Essemara
and governor of the province of Guelmim (replaces Ali Kabiri. We
recall that the latter proposed that unemployed Saharawis should join
the army, and that a group of young Saharawis demonstrated last
November outside the Ministry of the Interior in Rabat. They accused
him of corruption, financial manipulation and election rigging in
favour of non-Saharawis.) [Arso 24.12.03, week
01/04]
31.07.04
Saharawi victims
The body, Equity and Reconciliation, set up by the king of Morocco to
shed light on the "years of lead" and to give compensation to the
victims, three months ago appointed a committee of three members
which met Saharawi victims and their representatives, without being
able to follow up their appeals. Equity and Reconciliation is
submerged with requests and it does not know which way to turn as its
room for manoeuvre is so limited. The Saharawi victims from the
"leaden years" are for the most part former detainees from the secret
prisons of Kelaât M'gouna and Agdz. According to Moroccan
sources they are believed to number 374. [TelQuel
No 137]
24.07.04
Spain
"The role of Spain is to facilitate dialogue between the parties",
Interview with Leon Bernadino, Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, Nadia Hachimi Alaoui, Le
Journal Hebdomadaire, Maroc (24-30/07/04
26.07.04
Spain-Russia
The Spanish minister of Foreign Affairs and his Russian counterpart
noted their agreement "on such key international issues as Iraq, the
Middle East, Cyprus and Western Sahara"[ITAR-TASS]
27.07.04
UN
The senior United Nations envoy for Western Sahara, Alvaro de Soto,
has arrived in the region to try to initiate fresh talks with Morocco
and the Frente POLISARIO, the UN mission to the disputed territory
announced today. In a statement released in Laayoune, MINURSO said
Mr. de Soto has already held in-depth consultations in Washington,
Paris and Madrid, and was hoping to hold talks with the main parties
before the seasonal lull in August. [UN
envoy aiming for talks with both sides of Western Sahara
dispute,
UN News, 27.07.04]
27.07.04
Italy
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the parliament unanimously adopted a
motion asking the Italian government to take steps to make the
parties accept the UN Security Council's resolutions to resolve the
conflict in Western Sahara and to contribute aid to the European
humanitarian program ECHO, to the UNHCR and to the World Food Program
for the refugees. [documento
italiano]
28.07.04
Australia Western Sahara Association (AWSA), in a letter to UN SG
Kofi Annan: «We urge you to appoint a new Special Envoy with the
same prestige and stature as Mr. Baker for Western Sahara. The UN
must take its responsibility towards the Saharawi people seriously
and implement its Peace Plan as soon as possible.»
[Word
file]
DIPLOMATIC BALLET - continued
SADR
Léon: renovate the Baker plan
02.08.04
The Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Bernardino
Léon Gross, paid a second working visit to SADR, following one
on 3 June last. The Spanish Secretary of State was received in the
Wilaya of Smara. In a press statement after his talks with President
Mohamed Abdelaziz, Léon stressed that the conflict in Western
Sahara is an "urgent problem which requires the international
community, and above all the UN, to assume their duties beside the
principle actors in the conflict". He underlined that his country is
becoming active as a "facilitator" to "contribute" to finding a
solution to the problem as soon as can be, while respecting the
"essence" of the Baker plan. Léon emphasised "the necessity
both Morocco and the Polisario Front" should show "flexibility" in
their positions, expressing his conviction that it is possible to
reach a "consensual" solution to the dispute which respects the right
to self-determination of the Saharawis." (SPS)
Morocco
02.08.04
Moratinos: widen the mandate of the special representative for the
Sahara 02.08.04
The Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Miguel Angel Moratinos,
invited by the Moroccan Minister for Foreign Affairs to a festival in
Asilah, expressed the wish that the Security Council next October
should give an "extended and general" mandate to the new personal
envoy of the United Nations Secretary General for Western Sahara, the
Peruvian Alvaro de Soto. According to Moratinos, such a widening of
the mandate of de Soto would permit him to "explore further and make
progress in the search for a political solution which, at the same
time, is within the terms of the Baker plan". It should be noted that
the Algerian Minister for Foreign Affairs, likewise invited by his
Moroccan counterpart to the same festival, decided not to go at the
last minute.
Algeria
Bouteflika: Dotting the "i"s
03.08.04
In a letter sent to the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, the
Algerian Abdelaziz Bouteflika firmly rejected the possibility of
seeing Algeria play an active role in the settlement of the conflict
in Western Sahara. President Bouteflika called it a "purely
time-wasting procedure to try to treat the problem of Western Sahara
as an Algerian-Moroccan problem". (AP)
SADR
Abdelaziz: respect the Peace Plan
03.08.04
In an interview with the Algiers daily, Liberté, the Saharawi
President, Mohamed Abdelaziz, considered that France and Spain are
"blurring the issue completely around the question of Western Sahara
with their positions going contrary to international law, claiming
that these two countries are aiming to "distance the international
community from the peace plan". [Liberté,
04.08.04,
in Sahara-Info]
SADR
Khaddad: Baker - take it or leave it
04.08.04
In a statement, Mohamed Khaddad, Saharawi coordinator with MINURSO,
welcomed the visit of the Spanish Secretary of State, as "a positive
act of great usefulness for the two parties in terms of accelerating
the process of decolonisation of Western Sahara, interrupted by the
tripartite Madrid Accords." Khaddad emphasised that the "solution of
the conflict and the road leading to it have been clearly formulated
several times by the United Nations, and approved by the Security
Council, unanimously by its members, including Spain, namely in the
Peace Plan for self-determination for the people of Western Sahara,
known as Baker plan II", "a whole which should be implemented
completely". It is a complete plan to be taken or left.
[Statement Spanish
, english see SPS]
Spain - Demonstrations - Position taking
24.07.04
About 1,500 people took part in a demonstration at Paiporta
(Valencia) in favour of a fair solution for the Saharawi people.
[Panorama-Actual,
24/07/2004]
26.07.04
A delegation from Eusko Alkartasuna took part in a united
demonstration in Lekeitio (Biscay) for the Saharawi people's right to
self-determination. [Europa
Press]
26.07.04
Over 190 Spanish writers and dozens of celebrities from the arts
called on the President of the Spanish Government, José Luis
Rodríguez Zapatero, to use his voice and his prestige to
commit himself to supporting the just cause of the Saharawi people.
(SPS) [full
text Spanish]
04.08.04
The spokesman of the National Basque Party (PNV) within the Foreign
Affairs Committee of the Spanish Senate, Iñaki Anasagasti,
pointed out on Wednesday 4 August in Madrid, that the Zapatero
Government "is backing Morocco", saying "this is horrible". For his
part, the leader of the United Left (IU), Gaspar Llamazares, held
forth in front of Zapatero in a meeting which brought them together
on Tuesday 3 August in Moncloa, about the right of the Saharawi
people to self-determination, calling for "the defence of the right
of the Saharawi people to decide their own future through a
referendum". (SPS)
07.08.04
A march for the referendum of self-determination took place in
Algesiras (Cádiz).
06-09.09.04
Coming up
La Plataforma de Mujeres Artistas contra la Violencia de
Género (women artists against gender violence) is organising a
trip to Algiers with about 60 celebrities from the arts and media in
Spain. They will be joined by delegations of Algerian and Saharawi
women, to meet the Algerian President Bouteflika, to offer to back up
his support for the Baker plan. This event will culminate in a big
concert for peace with Spanish, Algerian and Saharawi artists.
A week of
brotherhood with the Saharawi people in Algiers
In the context of celebrations of a cultural month in Algers,
«Estivales d'Alger-Centre», a week of fraternity and
solidarity with the Saharawi people is being held from 3-10 August,
organised by the APC of Central Algiers in collabo ration with the
National Algerian Committee of Solidarity with the Saharawi People
and the Club of Friends of Tifariti. The opening took place in the
presence of the SADR Prime Minister and a large Saharawi delegation.
On 5 August the Algerian Red Crescent handed over a symbolic gift of
food and clothes to the President of the Saharawi Red Crescent. For 7
days official meetings with elected members followed audiences,
cultural events and others. On Monday 9 August the President of SADR
will place a wreath on the Place de l'Emir Abdelkader, then take part
in the naming of the Mohamed Sid Ibrahim Bassiri School, named after
a Saharawi nationalist hero, then he will plant a tree in the
recently named Place Tifariti, and finally will open the Chahid Fadel
Ismail Centre of Saharawi Documentation rue Didouche Mourad. In a
Saharawi khaima (tent) erected on the Esplanade de la Grande Poste
the SADR President and his delegation will welcome dignitaries from
the city of Algiers to a soirée. On the last day a new
cooperation agreement will be signed between the twin towns of El
Ayoun and Central Algiers. [See programme,
media coverage
etc and SPS]
22.07.04
Morocco-USA
The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved H.R. 4842,
the United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act by
a 323-99 vote.
30.07.04
Enthronement Speech of the King
"The first of Morocco's priorities will remain reaching a lasting and
mutually acceptable political solution to the artificial conflict
created around the question of our Sahara. To this end, we will spare
no effort, together with the United Nations, the neighbouring
countries and Morocco's other partners, to arrive at this objective,
by entrusting our Saharan provinces with wide prerogatives for
democratic management of their regional affairs, while respecting the
sovereignty of the Kingdom, its national unity, its territorial
integrity, and its founding and constant values."
Let us recall that in an interview granted by Mohamed VI to the
French daily, Le Figaro, on 4 September 2001, the Moroccan sovereign
claimed: "I have settled the question of the Sahara which was
poisoning us for twenty-five years"... (week
36/2001)
FAR (Royal
Armed Forces)
General Abdelaziz Bennani, Commander of the Southern Army (occupied
Western Sahara), has just been promoted to the position of General
Inspector of FAR. His promotion takes him away, in fact, from the
Sahara where he directed troops for several years. A replacement
should be found for him in the coming months. At the General
Inspectorate of FAR, Bennani replaces Abdelhak Kadiri, decorated, but
pushed indirectly into retirement. (Tel Quel
138/139)
56th
session of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of
Human Rights,
26 July to 13 August 2004, Geneva.28.07.04
Press
document 28.07.04:
SUB-COMMISSION EXPERTS AND NGOS DEBATE VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS
AROUND THE WORLD: Statement M'Hamed Mohamed Cheikh , of International
Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations
"The Spanish government will devote 3.1 million euros in 2004 to subsidise the needs and improve the living conditions of the Saharawi refugees in the different camps in Algeria", the Socialist Government affirmed which emphasises that this figure represents an increase of 44% over the amount in 2003 when Spain was led by the Popular Party. 1.7 million will be spent on humanitarian aid, 1.39 on social programs set up by NGOs on the ground and 91,000 euros for educational scholarships.
The statement recalls that in parallel with the aid from the State, the Spanish regions also send aid to the Saharawi people: in 2002 this totalled 8 million euros in humanitarian aid. (AFP, 29.07.04)
The government of the Balearic Islands allocates 503,000 euros to development and cooperation projects for the Saharawi people.(EFE, 05.08.04)
Pajina sobre la destruccion del Fuerte de Villa Cisneros, ICOMOS, Comité Español del Consejo Internacional de Monumentos y Sitios
29-31.07.04
A large delegation from the National Union of Saharawi Women, led by
its Secretary General Fatma Mehdi took part in the Forum of Barcelona
which was held in the Catalan capital over two months.
(SPS)
CONGRATULATIONS
"Al Awda" Association, Catania, Italy, communicates that on July 29th 2004, Miss Suad Lagdaf, a Saharawi student, graduated in Political Sciences with full marks and honours, at the University of Catania, Italy. She defended a thesis entitled "Western Sahara: history and present time of a right denied".
Del 6 al 15 de agosto: El Port de Sagunt - II Campamento Estatal de la Juventud Antifascista, Antiimperialista y Republicana : Martes 10: 18:00 Charla: "El conflicto saharaui". Película "Cuentos del Sahara". Lugar: Cines Alucine.
19.08.04
The Institute of Postcolonial Studies, Melbourne, Australia.
Resources and Independence: Parallels between Western Sahara and East
Timor
Kamel Fadel (Polisario Representative in Australia)
Alex Tilman (Fretilin)
Helen Hill (Victoria University and chair of Australia-East Timor
Association)
Kwame Mfodwo (Monash University Law School)
The Australia-East Timor Association in discussion with the
Australia-Western Sahara Association will explore the many parallels
and some of the differences between the situations of the world's
newest nation and Africa's last colony with special reference to the
issue of control over natural resources.
LAS PRIMERAS JORNADAS INTERNACIONALES SOBRE DERECHOS HUMANOS DEL PUEBLO SAHARAUI se celebraron en la Ciudad de Olivenza (Badajoz) los días 1 y 2 de octubre de 2004. Contactos: Asociación Regional de Amigos y Amigas del Pueblo Saharaui de Extremadura, <saharaex2@badajoz.dip-badajoz.es>
EUCOCO
Saragosse 26, 27 et 28 Novembre 2004: 30 Conférence Européenne de Coordination du Soutien au Peuple Sahraoui,
Zaragoza (España) 26,27 y 28 de noviembre 2004. 30 Conferencia Europea de Coordinación del Apoyo al Pueblo Saharaui
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