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25.11.96
Disappearance
The AFAPREDESA, Association of Families of Prisoners and Disappared Sahrawis, announces the arrest of a young Sahrawi named Mohamed Hanafi Boutabaa on day 25 of October at El Ayoun. After beeing interrogated and totured in the center of the CMI ( mobile intervention forces of the Moroccan police) his family has no news from him.
26.11.96
Joint Morocco-tunesian Cooperation Committee
The Moroccan and Tunesian prime Ministers opened the meeting of the Committee which takes place at Rabat. The aim is to examine the results of bilateral cooperation and look for the future. In 1995 the Moroccan government was angry because Tunesia did not think that the Western Sahara conflict should hinder a good function of the UAM (Union of Arab Maghreb including: Morocco, Algeria, Tunesia, Libya and Mauritania) and asked for the freezing of all activities of the UAM because of the support of the Polisario Front by Algeria.
26.11.96
Morocco-spanish scientific and technical Cooperation
The joint Morocco-spanish scientific and technical Cooperation Committee studied projects especially for the Morocco's northern region. Spain will attribute about 30 millions of $ a year to cooperation in Morocco, 20 millions for cultural and educational projects and 10 for scientific and technical. This is the first meeting of the Committee since 1991(EFE).
27.11.96
Social claims
The AFAPREDESA informs in a press release that about one hundred Sahrawi families gathered on November 12 in front of the seat of the provincial authority at Smara, in the occupied part of W.S., asking for work and lodging. These demands have been rejected by Moroccan authorities which ordered the people to pitch their tents out of town. A similar action took place at Tan Tan (South Morocco), where police broke up violently the manifestants. The AFAPREDESA appeals to the NGOs to intervene for the respect of international conventions about human rights in Western Sahara.
27.11.96
President of French Senate in Morocco
Mr. Monory visited Rabat for 2 days. He declared at a meeting with a parliamentary delegation: "We are entirely at your side in the Western Sahara affair".
27.11.96
U.N. Security Council resolution S/RES/1084-1996
The Security Council unanimously approved a six-month renewal of the MINURSO. The resolution extending the operation until May 31 asked Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali, in his next report, to propose "alternative steps, in the framework of the U.N. settlement plan, should there be no meaningful progress towards removing the obstacles to the implementation of the plan." Boutros-Ghali was requested to continue his efforts with the parties to break the impasse and to submit an interim report by Feb. 28. The resolution, adopted without any speeches, also welcomed "the steps taken by the parties to demonstrate good will, including the release of prisoners, and the recent indications that the parties are moving forward in their efforts to resolve oustanding questions." The council stressed "the importance and usefulness of the resumption of exploratory talks between the parties, in order to create an atmosphere of mutual confidence conductive to a speed and effective implementation of the Settlement Plan" and reiterated its "commitment to the holding, as soon as possible, of a free, fair and impartial referendum for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara".
United States U.N. ambassador Madeleine Albright said in a
statement she continued to believe a just and equitable solution was
possible "but only if both sides demonstrate greater flexibility in
exploring realistic compromises and developing greater mutual
confidence." "We cannot continue our efforts indefinitely without
more practical results, particularly in light of the mounting cost of
a peacekeeping operation which to date exceeds one-quarter of a
billion dollars," she said. "I want to make clear that, unless there
is significant progress in reaching a political settlement, the
United States could not support a further renewal of MINURSO in its
present form, " Albright added.
The United Nations announced earlier this month that Major-General
Jorge Barrosa de Moura of Portugal would take over command of
MINURSO's military contingent on Dec. 1, succeeeding fellow
countryman Major-General Jose Eduardo Garcia Leandro.
28.11.96
Morocco's official reaction
The Moroccan Ambassador at UN exprimed his "surprise" after adoption of the text of the resolution which "gives to much importance to dialogue" between Rabat and the Polisario Front. The Security Council "should not mention it with this insistance". "Unfortunately , the references to those contacts exceed largely the importance they really have". Ambassador A. Senoussi wrote next day to the Security Council in order to protest against the references to the "parties" in the resolution, because the Polisario Front is not recognized by Rabat as a party but only as "a group of lost sons". (AFP)
29.11.96
Locusts in Western Sahara
The apparition of locusts is signalized in some regions of W.S. like Dakhla, Boujdour and Mahbes.
29.11.96
Reconversion of Moroccan debt
The Spanish Minister of Economy will sign soon an agreement with Rabat in order to reconvert a part of the Moroccan debt as investments. It seems to concern about 40% (500 millions of $) of the total of 1300 millions of $ Morocco is in debt to Spain.
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Disappearance