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WEEKLY NEWS |
original french
24.02.- 02.03.2002
TITLES- Prisoners of war
- Sahara marathon
- Peace plan - Algeria
- Security Council
- 27 February: celebrations and visit of Bouteflika
- News in brief
21.02.02
Prisoners of war
A delegation from the ICRC was in Morocco from 3 to 14 February
visiting the families of 396 Moroccan prisoners of war in the hands
of the Polisario Front. On this occasion the ICRC reiterated its
appeal for all the prisoners still in captivity to be liberated.
(Press
release
)
25.02.02
Second Sahara Marathon
The start at the wilaya of Smara was given by the Prime Minister
accompanied by the Minister of Culture and Sport and regional
authorities. Over 500 athletes of 12 nationalities started the race.
"We want through sport to uphold the legitimate rights of the
Saharawi people to self-determination and independence and ensure the
complete success of this race which will happen every year", declared
the German, Fingernagel, international coordinator of the Marathon.
The main race was won by the Italian Vicenzo Castellano, 42 in 3
hours and 13 minutes, while his wife, Rosa Maria Manari, came first
among the women. A student from the University of St Jacques de
Compostella, Miguel Abel Sauto, 32 won the half-marathon in 1 hour 30
minutes. His compatriot from the same University, Angeles Dopazo
Martinez won the women's half-marathon in 1 hour 48 minutes. The
winners of the 10 km were an Algerian student, Tergui Mohamed and the
Italian Anna Maria Coreggiari. (SPS)
25.02.02
Peace Plan - Algeria
The Algerian government, responding the the Moroccan government's
statement which rejected categorically any proposal for partition in
the Sahara, notes "with regret" Morocco's accusations towards it. It
describes the Moroccan position as a "new attempt to deceive public
opinion in the Maghreb, in Africa and internationally on the real
basis of the conflict". For Algeria, Morocco is trying to change it,
as it has done for the past 20 years, from a problem of
decolonisation into a difference of opinion between Algeria and
Morocco. Morocco is responsible for blocking the referendum of
self-determination, it refuses even to discuss the implementation of
the Houston Agreements, it lacks the political will necessary to
accept the referendum and its results, or to negotiate a political
solution which would be acceptable to both parties, Morocco and the
Polisario Front. Algeria for its part, defends the right of peoples
to self-determination and it is convinced that this right will
triumph in Western Sahara. (communiqué engl)
26-27.02.02
Security Council- Resolution S
1394 (2002)
- PDF
The Security Council devoted two sessions to the examination of the
Secretary General's report. In a press statement on 26.02.02, the
President declared that the Council was concerned about the
humanitarian aspects of the conflict, in particular the prisoners of
war, and asked the Polisario Front to liberate them. He exhorted the
two parties to avoid any action which could poison the situation as
well as allowing MINURSO the greatest freedom of movement. During the
speech of the Personal Envoy, James Baker, important questions were
raised such as the viability of the Saharawi state, the repercussions
of its creation on regional stability, the imposition of a solution
without the consent of the parties, the risks engendered by the
status quo for peace in the region and the credibility of the
Council, as well as the viability of the options proposed by the
SG.
The Security Council finally adopted unanimously, resolution 1394
(2002) in which it decided to "extend the mandate of MINURSO until 30
April 2002, to study actively the different options described in the
Secretary General's report and to examine this question in the
context of its program of work", which will begin by a meeting of
experts from 15 member countries of the Council starting next
week.
According to the Madrid daily ABC of the 28th, the Council set
aside option 4 (withdrawal of MINURSO) and rather took account of the
voices in favour of the referendum (the majority), of autonomy
(the preferred option for France) or the partition of the territory,
a new proposal in a totally blocked situation.
27 February 2002 - 26th anniversary of SADR
Festivities
and visit of Bouteflika to the camps
The celebrations of the 26th anniversary of SADR took place in the
wilaya of Smara. They were marked by the surprise presence of the
Algerian President, accompanied by a delegation comprising the
Minister of the Moudjahidines and two presidential counselors. Mr
Bouteflika, warmly welcomed by the population, was received by
President Mohamed Abdelaziz at the entrance to the wilaya. The two
heads of state reviewed a detachment of the Saharawi Army of
Liberation and had one-to-one talks. The Algerian President also met
Saharawi civil and military authorities, and afterwards visited the
centre of the Saharawi Red Crescent, the family of the martyr Abdi
Ould Mohamed, before inspecting a specialised centre for
rehabilitation of handicapped children. The Algerian head of state
then went to the MINURSO office near Tindouf.
27.02.02
Interview of the Saharawi president in the Madrid daily ABC,
see English
version.
28.02.02
Algeria-SADR
After his visit, the Algerian President gave another speech to the
civil and military authorities of SADR, to thank them for their
welcome and to recall that, "as in the past we have been confident
about the results of our war of liberation and of the inevitable
triumph of just causes throughout the world, so we are confident
today that the struggle of our brothers, the Saharawi people will
lead to victory." (...). "Also Algeria, the president, the
government, and the people, reiterates its support for your just
cause and assures you of its total support for a just and lasting
solution which will guarantee the right of the Saharawi people to
self-determination, free of any political, military or administrative
constraint." (SPS) (APS
engl.)
NEWS IN BRIEF
25.02.02: United Kingdom, Parliament: Several MPs put questions to the minister responsible for the issue of Western Sahara, who reaffirmed the British position of support for James Baker in order to find a just and lasting solution to the conflict.
25.02.02: Morocco: Calpers, the largest investment fund in the world, announced that in virtue of the introduction of new criteria for investing in emerging markets, such as respect for human rights, political risk, transparency, justice etc, Morocco had been excluded from the list of countries eligible under the new criteria.
25.02.02: Morocco: The Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs announced the participation of his country in the Euromed Conference in Valencia.
25.02.02: Spain: The parliament of the autonomous region of Navarre approves a new declaration in favour of a referendum in Western Sahara.
26.02.02: Austria: The United Nations should find "a peaceful solution" to the problem in Western Sahara which has lasted too long, the Austrian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mrs Ferrero-Waldner, said on a visit to Algiers. She indicated that the Union of the Arab Maghreb could also pay more attention to this question. (SPS)
In an interview during her visit to Morocco, the Minister declared that the Framework-Agreement "should be studied more closely" and that after 11 years of trying to organise the referendum, "it would be good to move on to another stage". (agencies)
27.02.02: Occupied Territories: Mohamed Daddach went to Smara last week with some friends . The group was checked by the police on the way and followed by several police cars. As before in Goulimine and Boujdour, the authorities forbad the Saharawi population to meet him. Several people having braved this ban were the subject of reprisals (redundancy, non-payment of their salary, etc) or are believed to have been arrested.
27.02.02: Morocco: According to a news dispatch from the Reuters correspondent in Rabat, quoting a Western diplomatic source, the King of Morocco will visit the towns of El Ayoun and Dakhla in the course of the coming week, in order to reaffirm Moroccan sovereignty on Western Sahara and the refusal of any partition.
27.02.02, India, The Association of Indian Africanists organised in New Delhi a Seminar on "UN peace plan in Western Sahara: Problems and Prospects" followed by a dinner. More than 200 very important people of India and abroad participated in the conference. On this occasion a book entitled "Western Sahara: an affirmation of Solidarity" by Dr. Uma Shankar Jha President Association of Indian Africanist, was released.(Press Release and Resolution of the Seminar)
28.02.02, Saragossa, Aragon: the municipality unanimously approved a motion in favour of the right to self-determination for the Saharawi people and decided on a close collaboration with the refugee camps.
SOLIDARITY
Several actions in favour of the referendum, organised by the European movement of solidarity: on 26 in Gothenburg (Sweden), demonstration outside the Moroccan consulate, on 27 in London and Brussels, demonstrations in front of Spanish embassies, and on 2 March in Paris, a demonstration at the Trocodero. A delegation of the European Coordination of support for the Saharawi people was received at the French Embassy in Brussels.
On the occasion of the 26th anniversary of SADR, many commemorations took place, among them:
The European Parliamentary Intergroup "Peace for the Saharawi People" sent a message in which Margot Kessler congratulates the Saharawi people and their president and reaffirms to them "the loyal and steadfast support of our intergroup".
Geneva: reception in the presence of several ambassadors and of the Executive of the African Union, and several officers from international bodies and NGOs.
Valencia, autonomous community: Reception and showing of a documentary.
Saragossa, Aragon: 6th cultural week at the Maison des Cultures (exhibition, showing of a film, talk by Ali Mokhtar, PF representative for the region, on the current state of play).
Alicante, Andalousia: evening of solidarity on 3 March with videos, exhibitions, concert, debate on human rights abuses in Western Sahara.
COMING UP
28.02.02, Madrid: La exposición de las imágenes en blanco/negro y color que conforman el libro «Mañana en el Sáhara» será presentada en la PhotoGalería de La Fabrica en Madrid. (Mañana en el Sáhara, Editorial Mortirolo, S.L.Colección Claroscuro, Fotografías Holok / Juanma Gil Señorón, Simoes, Textos Juan Andrés Gómez de Agüero, Versión inglesa Robert Strange). mortirolo@mortirolo.com / http://www.mortirolo.com
19.03.02, Le Mans France : 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)
29,
30 et 31.03.02, Congress of the NUSW
Saharawi women for peace, progress and freedom.
29, 30 and 31 March 2002, the IVth Congress of the National Union of
Saharawi Women will take place in the camps.
As well as evaluating the program of work since the last congress and
the outlook for the future, the IVth Congress will discuss, among
others, the following points:
- Learning from experience in elections, and developing the role of
the women's organisation in these important areas for initiating and
consolidating democracy.
- Defining an economic strategy in which women could play a key role,
especially in self-sufficiency. Cooperatives provide a good model.
Info: Polisario.Swiss@bluewin.ch
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