March 17, 2006
An Appeal to the United Nations for the Self Determination for Sahrawis
Self determination is not a de stabilizing concept. Self determination and democracy go hand in hand. If democracy means the rule of the people, by the people, for the people, then the principle of self determination secures that no one people may rule another - and herein lies its enduring appeal. Therefore, sahrawis are no exception to this especially that they are a minority in North Africa.
All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development, Article 1.1, The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966
the principle and fundamental right of self-determination is firmly established in international law..." Barcelona UNESCO Conference 1998.
The belief that each nation has a right to constitute an independent state and determine its own government is an essential and an instrumental element in the world stability. Sahrawis have long dreamt of an independent country where their children can grow freely and build their own country.
What exactly is a nation? A ‘nation’ is a group of people who share a significant number (but by means necessarily all) of the following attributes: history, language, ethnic origin, religion, political belief, fear of the same adversaries. In short, a nation may be defined as ‘a community that is, or wishes to be, a state. Western Sahara is a solid example, and sahrawis believe strongly that they have all the potentials to be a nation state with sovereignty over their own land. Restrictions on self-determination threaten not only democracy itself but the state which seeks its legitimation in democracy.
The appeal of the principle of national self-determination is simple, for it is surely better that nations should determine their own destinies than that someone else should do it for them. The concept of national self-determination appears to express the idea of democracy, according to which the people are presumed to be best qualified to govern themselves. International law also appears to recognize the right to national self-determination unreservedly.
Therefore, all Sahrawis urge the United Nations and the whole world to come to the rescue of the sahrawis and to condemn the illegal occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco. We, the Sahrawis, demand that we should be given the right of self-determination and to be enabled to express ourselves freely and to be given the right to decide our fate within the international legitimacy and according the United Nations chart.
The Sahrawis Community in USA.
Friday, March 17, 2006
Friday, March 10, 2006
A petition to Kofi Annan-Please Sign it and send it !
Mr. Kofi Annan
Secretary General of the United Nations
United Nations
New York, New York 10017
United Sates of America
Ref: Concern for Sahrawi political prisoners
C.C. Moroccan Minister for Justice, Mohamed Bouzoubaa
And U.S Congress. USA.
March 10, 2006
Dear Mr. Secretary General,
We are very concerned about the imprisonment of Sahrawi activists’ leaders, especially for their health as they have all been on hunger strike in various Moroccan prisons in different occasions. We all know that they are in prison illegally and were denied their basic rights and are detained because they dared to speak out the truth.
We have information from Sahrawi communities and from the prisoners themselves. Most Sahrawi prisoners have been judged and sentenced without any consideration to fairness and justice.. This treatment flagrantly contravenes the principle "non bis in idem".
It is no doubt that despite the many appeals to fair trials; Morocco is still way behind when it comes to dealing with Sahrawis as human beings, and the respect for their rights.
Moroccan justice has not allowed the accused to present a legal defense away from any external pressure. Most prisoners have been cruelly interrogated before being brought into the justice system. To accuse and judge Sahrawis as terrorists and separatists has denied them the opportunity of being bailed or having anything other than a custodial sentence. In prison they have been subjected to extremely hard conditions and they bear witness to intimidating and racist treatment by the prison authorities.
Mr. Secretary General, we are extremely alarmed, concerned, and annoyed by these events. We ask you particularly to listen to the requests of those Sahrawi prisoners who are advocates of the Sahrawis cause and the Sahrawi people.Sahrawis have a great and a deep respect for you and for the United Nations as a whole body. Sahrawis have always abided by the international law and always believed in the values and principles expressed in the chart of the United Nations.
The United Nations was founded to protect human rights, to settle conflicts, to help preserve liberties, and to give aid when necessary. It is thus our duty and due to the circumstances, we urge you to act quickly before the fate of these political Sahrawis gets any worse.
Free those political prisoners held in the Moroccan prisons in Western Sahara and inside Morocco. If a trial has to be done, then complete all their trials rapidly in a transparent unbiased and fair way. We all believe in their innocence and thus we ask you personally to intervene and demand the release those who are sick in the prison and of those who are there without any reason but just because they are Sahrawis. Their crime is that they are Sahrawis and don’t want to be somebody else.
Get the Moroccan authorities to put on trial the police officers who killed the two Sahrawi citizens. They both died because of the brutality of the Moroccan police and its use of force and violence against the civilian Sahrawis.
We ask that political prisoners of the Sahrawi nation be given the treatment laid down in international law. In particular we ask that two international conventions be respected: to prevent and punish torture and that which is designed to bring an end to all forms of racial discrimination.
Yours sincerely,
---------------------------
Copy:
Moroccan Minister for Justice, Mohamed Bouzoubaa
U.S Congress.USA
Secretary General of the United Nations
United Nations
New York, New York 10017
United Sates of America
Ref: Concern for Sahrawi political prisoners
C.C. Moroccan Minister for Justice, Mohamed Bouzoubaa
And U.S Congress. USA.
March 10, 2006
Dear Mr. Secretary General,
We are very concerned about the imprisonment of Sahrawi activists’ leaders, especially for their health as they have all been on hunger strike in various Moroccan prisons in different occasions. We all know that they are in prison illegally and were denied their basic rights and are detained because they dared to speak out the truth.
We have information from Sahrawi communities and from the prisoners themselves. Most Sahrawi prisoners have been judged and sentenced without any consideration to fairness and justice.. This treatment flagrantly contravenes the principle "non bis in idem".
It is no doubt that despite the many appeals to fair trials; Morocco is still way behind when it comes to dealing with Sahrawis as human beings, and the respect for their rights.
Moroccan justice has not allowed the accused to present a legal defense away from any external pressure. Most prisoners have been cruelly interrogated before being brought into the justice system. To accuse and judge Sahrawis as terrorists and separatists has denied them the opportunity of being bailed or having anything other than a custodial sentence. In prison they have been subjected to extremely hard conditions and they bear witness to intimidating and racist treatment by the prison authorities.
Mr. Secretary General, we are extremely alarmed, concerned, and annoyed by these events. We ask you particularly to listen to the requests of those Sahrawi prisoners who are advocates of the Sahrawis cause and the Sahrawi people.Sahrawis have a great and a deep respect for you and for the United Nations as a whole body. Sahrawis have always abided by the international law and always believed in the values and principles expressed in the chart of the United Nations.
The United Nations was founded to protect human rights, to settle conflicts, to help preserve liberties, and to give aid when necessary. It is thus our duty and due to the circumstances, we urge you to act quickly before the fate of these political Sahrawis gets any worse.
Free those political prisoners held in the Moroccan prisons in Western Sahara and inside Morocco. If a trial has to be done, then complete all their trials rapidly in a transparent unbiased and fair way. We all believe in their innocence and thus we ask you personally to intervene and demand the release those who are sick in the prison and of those who are there without any reason but just because they are Sahrawis. Their crime is that they are Sahrawis and don’t want to be somebody else.
Get the Moroccan authorities to put on trial the police officers who killed the two Sahrawi citizens. They both died because of the brutality of the Moroccan police and its use of force and violence against the civilian Sahrawis.
We ask that political prisoners of the Sahrawi nation be given the treatment laid down in international law. In particular we ask that two international conventions be respected: to prevent and punish torture and that which is designed to bring an end to all forms of racial discrimination.
Yours sincerely,
---------------------------
Copy:
Moroccan Minister for Justice, Mohamed Bouzoubaa
U.S Congress.USA
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Letter from The U.S. Congress to the EU Fisheries directorate
Congress of the United States
Washington DC 20515
The Honorable Joe Borg
Commissioner
Fisheries Directorate
European Commission
B-1049 Brussels
Belgium
February 28, 2006
Dear Commissioner Borg
We are writing to express our concern regarding the upcoming vote on the
Fisheries Agreement signed by the government of Morocco and the European
Community. Our concern stems from the fact that the conflict over Western
Sahara has not yet been resolved and therefore any exploration and/or
exploitation of resources in that territory would be inappropriate and in
violation of UN legal opinions and international norms regarding
territories in dispute.
As you may know, despite the 1975 International Court of Justice ruling
stating that Morocco has no legitimate claims to the land of Western
Sahara, and numerous UN Security Council actions to resolve the conflict,
the Moroccan government maintains that Western Sahara is part of Morocco.
In addition, on February 12, 2002, Mr. Hans Corell, Legal Counsel, sent
the following legal opinion to the UN Security Council on the exploration
of mineral resources of Western Sahara, stating that if “exploration
activities were to proceed in disregard of the interests and wishes of the
people of Western Sahara, they would be in violation of the international
law principles applicable to mineral resource activities in
Non-Self-Governing Territories”.
Our understanding is that the European Fisheries Agreement does not
include a provision that would prohibit EU fishing vessels from fishing in
the waters linked to Western Sahara as there is nothing that specifies the
boundaries of Morocco, particularly in the South. As a result, any fishing
licenses granted could cover the waters of the disputed territory. In
addition, approval of the Fisheries Agreement could also lead to EU
funding development projects for Moroccan settlers residing in the
disputed territory.
In 2004, the United States signed a Free Trade Agreement with the Kingdom
of Morocco; however, this Agreement clearly stipulated that the area
included only the land within the internationally recognized boundaries of
Morocco. Without a clear definition of the territorial boundaries covered
by the EU Fisheries Agreement, the Kingdom of Morocco could issue fishing
licenses for Western Sahara waters and resources from those waters could
be exported to ports around the world. Should fish from those waters be
exported to the United States, such an importation would be a violation of
our Free Trade Agreement with Morocco. Such is the seriousness attached to
this issue by the United States.
While trade and cooperation between nations is an important policy, we
strongly believe that trade should not be in violation of international
agreements and norms and in the case of the European Fisheries Agreement
it should exclude the territory of Western Sahara. We respectfully urge
that a section be added to the Fisheries Agreement clearly delineating the
territory covered by this new Agreement.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to
hearing from you on this issue, preferably before the Agreement is
submitted to the European Parliament for approval.
Sincerely
Joseph Pitts
Member of Congress
Donald M. Payne
Member of Congress
Washington DC 20515
The Honorable Joe Borg
Commissioner
Fisheries Directorate
European Commission
B-1049 Brussels
Belgium
February 28, 2006
Dear Commissioner Borg
We are writing to express our concern regarding the upcoming vote on the
Fisheries Agreement signed by the government of Morocco and the European
Community. Our concern stems from the fact that the conflict over Western
Sahara has not yet been resolved and therefore any exploration and/or
exploitation of resources in that territory would be inappropriate and in
violation of UN legal opinions and international norms regarding
territories in dispute.
As you may know, despite the 1975 International Court of Justice ruling
stating that Morocco has no legitimate claims to the land of Western
Sahara, and numerous UN Security Council actions to resolve the conflict,
the Moroccan government maintains that Western Sahara is part of Morocco.
In addition, on February 12, 2002, Mr. Hans Corell, Legal Counsel, sent
the following legal opinion to the UN Security Council on the exploration
of mineral resources of Western Sahara, stating that if “exploration
activities were to proceed in disregard of the interests and wishes of the
people of Western Sahara, they would be in violation of the international
law principles applicable to mineral resource activities in
Non-Self-Governing Territories”.
Our understanding is that the European Fisheries Agreement does not
include a provision that would prohibit EU fishing vessels from fishing in
the waters linked to Western Sahara as there is nothing that specifies the
boundaries of Morocco, particularly in the South. As a result, any fishing
licenses granted could cover the waters of the disputed territory. In
addition, approval of the Fisheries Agreement could also lead to EU
funding development projects for Moroccan settlers residing in the
disputed territory.
In 2004, the United States signed a Free Trade Agreement with the Kingdom
of Morocco; however, this Agreement clearly stipulated that the area
included only the land within the internationally recognized boundaries of
Morocco. Without a clear definition of the territorial boundaries covered
by the EU Fisheries Agreement, the Kingdom of Morocco could issue fishing
licenses for Western Sahara waters and resources from those waters could
be exported to ports around the world. Should fish from those waters be
exported to the United States, such an importation would be a violation of
our Free Trade Agreement with Morocco. Such is the seriousness attached to
this issue by the United States.
While trade and cooperation between nations is an important policy, we
strongly believe that trade should not be in violation of international
agreements and norms and in the case of the European Fisheries Agreement
it should exclude the territory of Western Sahara. We respectfully urge
that a section be added to the Fisheries Agreement clearly delineating the
territory covered by this new Agreement.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to
hearing from you on this issue, preferably before the Agreement is
submitted to the European Parliament for approval.
Sincerely
Joseph Pitts
Member of Congress
Donald M. Payne
Member of Congress