The Saharawi Social Forum Coordination & the European Coordination of Solidarity with the Western Sahara

To the organising Committee of the 7th World Social Festival

Nairobi, 22.01.07

Dear comrades

On behalf of the Saharawi delegation participating to the 7th World Social Forum and the European Coordination of Solidarity with the Western Sahara (Task Force), we would like to protest against provocative actions from a group of Moroccans, working for the Moroccan State and whose main goal, apparently is to disturb and try to hinder the activities the component of the Saharawi civil society actors are planning to hold. So we would like to ask for your assistance to keep the order in case they try to disturb the participants, and we would like to inform you that this Moroccan group assume the entire responsibility of any provocative action in our workshops.

This morning, a group of Moroccans violated the Saharawi workshop, provoking a fight with the moderator, Mr. Fernando Peraita, Member of the Task Force and hindering his attempts to bring order back, pretending to be members of Moroccan association, while in fact they have no single workshop or programmed activity. A fact that we consider as really serious.

The Workshop was attended by many civil society actors from Occidental and African countries, but the Moroccan provokers succeeded in breaking the workshop because we refuse to answer their violence of our right with the same violence and provocation they used against us.

During the March organised in January the 20 in solidarity with Africa, in which the Saharawi delegation participated, the same group of Moroccans tried to provoke some members of the Saharawis, and further asked the animators on the stage not to chant slogans in favour of the decolonisation of the Western Sahara, which is the last colony in Africa.

To your information, another Saharawi delegation that participated last year in Bamako had had serious problems with the same group of Moroccan, who are accompanied by agents of the Moroccan Embassy there (and they are accompanied here in Nairobi by agents of the Moroccan Embassy and a member of the Moroccan intelligence using some Moroccan Associations as a cover).

The same provocative acts were undertaken by Moroccan persons under the sold of the Moroccan kingdom in WSF Porto Alegre 2005.

According to all these factors, we believe that the same Moroccan group will try to hinder our second workshop as they did with the first one in this morning.

Our second workshop will be organised by the Saharawi Social Forum Coordination on Monday 22 January at 17.00 in Venue B4, and will be about Saharawi people’s right to self-determination. We would thus request an official presence of a representative from the Organising Committee of the WSF, so as to prevent any future violation of our rights.

Signed by the following components of the civil organisations:

- European Coordination of Solidarity with the Western Sahara
- Association of Saharawi Families of Disappeareds and Prisoners (AFAPREDESA)
- Saharawi Jurists Union (UJS)
- Union of the Workers of the Saguiat El Hamra and Rio de Oro (UGTSARIO)
- Saharawi Women Union (UNMS)
- Union of the Youth of the Saguiat El Hamra and Rio de Oro (UJSARIO)
- Saharawi Journalists and Writers Union (UPES)
- The Saharawi Campaign against the use of Landmine

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