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Friday, December 18, 2009
حيدر تعود للعيون بعد وساطة أمريكية وفرنسية وإسبانية.. ومن دون الاعتذار للملك
حيدر تعود للعيون بعد وساطة أمريكية وفرنسية وإسبانية.. ومن دون الاعتذار للملك
حسين مجدوبي:
18/12/2009
مدريد ـ 'القدس العربي' عادت الناشطة الصحراوية أميناتو حيدر، ليلة الخميس ـ الجمعة، إلى مدينة العيون في الصحراء الغربية بعدما قبل المغرب برجوعها من دون شروط عكس موقفه المتصلب السابق، وفي المقابل حصل على تعهدات من باريس وواشنطن باستبعاد حقوق الإنسان من القرار المقبل لمجلس الأمن حول نزاع الصحراء الغربية.
وكما كان منتظرا، عادت أميناتو ليلة أمس الأول الخميس إلى مدينة العيون بعد 32 يوما من الإضراب عن الطعام في مطار لانساروتي بجزر الخالدات الإسبانية بدأ إثر طردها يوم 14 تشرين الثاني/نوفمبر الماضي بقرارا من الحكومة المغربية وسحب جواز سفرها ردا على عدم اعترافها بالجنسية المغربية.
ونقلت طائرة طبية مجهزة حيدر (42 سنة) نحو العيون. وقالت صحيفة 'الباييس' الاسبانية ان الطائرة ظلت تحلق فوق أجواء الصحراء لمدة ساعة، مما أوحى بأن السلطات المغربية كانت مترددة بشأن الترخيص لها بالنزول، لكنها وافقت في آخر المطاف. وبذلت مدريد مجهودات كبيرة لإقناع حيدر بالعودة، ذلك أن الأخيرة كانت تتخوف من سيناريو شبيه لما وقع منذ أسبوعين عندما جرى نقلها إلى مطار لانساروتي من أجل التوجه إلى المغرب وتبين أنه لم يكن هناك ترخيص من الرباط بعودتها.
وأكد أفراد عائلة حيدر أن الأخيرة رفضت التوجه إلى منزلها على متن سيارة إسعاف خصصتها لها السلطات المغربية بالعيون، كما رفضت المكوث في مستشفى العيون الذي تديره السلطات الصحية المغربية.
وعكس ما جاء في بيان وزارة الداخلية المغربية عن أن حيدر عادت بعدما قبلت بجميع الشروط ومنها الإدارية، تبين أنها عادت من دون جواز سفر بل برخصة عبور أصدرتها اسبانيا، وفي مطار العيون سلمتها الشرطة المغربية الجواز الذي سحبته منها يوم 13 تشرين الثاني/نوفمبر الماضي، كما لم تلتزم بالشروط الإدارية ـ والسياسية ـ التي كانت الرباط تتمسك بها.
ومن الشروط التي وردت على لسان وزير الإعلام المغربي خالد الناصري، ومسؤولين آخرين، الاعتذار للملك محمد السادس، قالت حيدر للقناة الأولى الإسبانية ان 'على ملك المغرب أن يعتذر لي'، مضيفة بإصرار: لن أطلب الاعتذار لأنني لست مجرمة (..) النظام المغربي هو المسؤول عن الجرائم التي يرتكبها في الصحراء'.
وتابعت في تصريحات من منزلها في العيون بالصحراء الغربية 'عودتي انتصار.. انتصار للقانون الدولي، لحقوق الإنسان والعدالة الدولية والقضية الصحراوية'. وعن المستقبل قالت: سأستمر في الدفاع عن استقلال الصحراء الغربية.
وتعتبر هذه التصريحات تحديا حقيقيا للسلطات المغربية التي تبدو كأنها تقف الآن عاجزة عن محاكمتها بعدما تحولت إلى شخصية دولية.
وتسود مشاعر الحسرة واليأس في نفوس الجالية المغربية في اسبانيا بسبب هذه النهاية التي لم تكن منتظرة. في هذا الصدد قال مغربي تابع عن كثب تطورات هذه القضية: 'منذ البدء كان على المغرب أن يفكر جيدا في هذا الملف ويستبعد ترحيل حيدر حتى يتجنب هذه المهزلة'، معتبرا أن عودتها 'صفعة حقيقية لدبلوماسية الرباط على شاكلة صفعة جزيرة تورة في صيف 2002'.
وتشكل عودة حيدر نهاية حلقة من المسلسل الطويل لنزاع الصحراء الغربية.
وقد بدأت أخبار كثيرة تتسرب حول طريقة معالجة هذا الملف الذي تسبب في حرج حقيقي للمغرب أمام المجتمع الدولي بسبب طابعه الحقوقي، وأمام الرأي العام المغربي لأن السلطات كانت تشترط اعتذار حيدر للملك محمد السادس مقابل عودتها، وهو الأمر الذي لم يحصل.
وكشف وزير الخارجية الإسباني ميغيل آنخيل موراتينوس الجمعة أن مدريد لم تقدم أي تنازلات للرباط في هذه القضية، موضحا أن بلاده تمسكت منذ البدء بموقفها المطالب بعودة حيدر، كما تشبثت بضرورة إجراء استفتاء تقرير المصير كحل لنزاع الصحراء الغربية.
وقال موراتينوس: 'اريد فقط ان اعبر عن ارتياحي لعودتها الى بلادها. نحن مسرورون. لقد ناضلت طويلا من اجل ذلك'.
واكد ان حكومة بلاده 'قامت بما في وسعها لتأمين هذه العودة في أسرع وقت ممكن' غير ان الامر لم يخضع 'لأي مساومة' مع المغرب.
وقال 'لقد عملنا بالتنسيق مع بلدين كبيرين هما الولايات المتحدة وفرنسا'.
واوضح موراتينوس ان الدول الثلاث، اسبانيا وفرنسا والولايات المتحدة، التي فاوضت السلطات المغربية، 'لديها مصالح مهمة في المنطقة ولديها الامكانية لدفع الامور الى الامام'.
والمثير أن موراتينوس كشف أن السلطات المغربية أخبرته بطرد حيدر قبل ترحيلها، مما يبين وجود مخطط مسبق في هذا الشأن من طرف السلطات المغربية.
وأبرزت مصادر سياسية إسبانية أن الولايات المتحدة لعبت دورا رئيسيا في انهاء هذا الملف بالتنسيق مع مدريد وباريس.
وفي بيان نشر مساء الخميس، اعلنت الرئاسة الفرنسية ان الرئيس الفرنسي نيكولا ساركوزي طلب من المغرب تسليم حيدر جواز سفر.
وقام ساركوزي بهذه البادرة في 15 كانون الاول/ديسمبر لدى استقباله في باريس وزير الخارجية المغربي الطيب الفاسي الفهري الذي اعرب له 'عن الامل في ان يتمكن المغرب انطلاقا من تقاليد الانفتاح والكرم، من تسليم حيدر جواز سفرها المغربي لدى وصولها الى اراضي المملكة'.
من جهتها قالت وزيرة الخارجية هيلاري كلينتون في بيان الخميس 'لقد سررت بقرار الحكومة المغربية' مذكرة بان الناشطة الصحراوية حصلت على جائزة روبرت كينيدي لحقوق الانسان.
واشادت كلينتون بـ'البادرة الانسانية' التي 'تعكس الروح الحقيقية وسخاء الحكومة والشعب المغربيين والتي تشير الى الاهمية الملحة لايجاد حل دائم للنزاع في الصحراء الغربية'.
وعلمت 'القدس العربي' أن من ضمن شروط المغرب لقبول عودة حيدر، الحصول على تعهد من واشنطن وباريس برفض أي قرار يصدر عن مجلس الأمن يكلف قوات حفظ السلام في الصحراء الغربية (مينورسو) بمراقبة حقوق الإنسان
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Letter from a Mauritanian Woman to Miatou Haidar
بســـــم الله الرحمـــن الرحيــم
قال تعالى: " يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الآخِرَةِ وَيُضِلُّ اللَّهُ الظَّالِمِينَ وَيَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ مَا يَشَاءُ ".
صدق الله العظيم
أبدأ قولي مستعينة بالله عز وجل، طالبة منه التوفيق للصواب والسداد...
لقد كانت المرأة ولا تزال نصف المجتمع. هي الجزء الذي لا يتجزأ منه، فبغيرها يعرج النصف الآخر على قدم وساق. لا تكاد مكانتها تدنوا عظمتا عن مكانة الرجل، لها دورا أساسيا في جميع ميادين الحياة. هي الأرض الطيبة، تعطي، تبذل، تعلم، تربي وتنشئ، إنها صانعة الأمجاد والشعوب وبانية الحضارات الشامخة.
فالمرأة قديما كانت تذهب مع الرجال إلى الحروب تشجع المقاتلين، تثير في نفوسهم الحمية، تداوي المرضى وتسقي العطاش. وهاهي حفيدتها المرأة الصحراوية صانعة المستحيل تقتدي بها...
لقد أثبتت التجربة النضالية والثورية للشعب الصحراوي، أن المرأة الصحراوية مارست دورها البطولي بجدارة جنبا إلى جنب مع أخيها الرجل، وذلك بدءا من الكفاح المسلح وحتى الانتفاضة الحضارية السلمية مما جعل التاريخ يحفظ لها دورها وإسهامها الفاعل والمشرف كشريك حقيقي للرجل في النضال والاستشهاد والألم .
بدافع أخلاقي وكنوع من الوفاء لهذا الشعب الشقيق والجار، أجد نفسي ملزمتا بالكتابة عنها، هي امرأة صحراوية تستحق أن يكتب عنها الكثير في سياق التأريخ الحقيقي لدور المرأة الصحراوية في النضال...
لقد جعلت من تجربتها نموذجا فذا في العطاء، خرجت من حدود الصمت إلى ساحات الفعل والإرادة المعبرة عن قدرة المرأة الصحراوية....
إنها المناضلة الصامدة الشهمة التي تحاصرها المتاعب من كل جانب... تقاوم من أجل قضيتها ومن أجل عزة وكرامة شعبها تحت رحمة من لا يعرف للرحمة و لا للنضال معنى...
إنها تناضل من أجل أن تعيش كريمة بأرض الكرامة، نضالها مشروع وهي حقيقة دامغة لا يمكن تجاهلها أو النيل منها...
هكذا يبدأ النضال وهاهي " أمينتو حيدار" تقاوم ليس من أجل أن تحقق شيء لذاتها وإنما تريد تحقيق الحرية لهذا الشعب الحبيب وإن كان الطريق من النوع الوعر والإمكانيات محدودة.
نعم إن قطار أمينتو حيدار قد بدأ طريقه ولن تجدي رغبات ولا قوة العدو الظالم في إيقاف مسيرته النضالية السلمية، فبرغم محاولاته المتعددة (أي العدو) لإيقافها ودحرها إلا أنها تأبى الخضوع والتراجع وتعتزم الإصرار والمواصلة ولو كلفها ذلك حياتها، وخير دليل على ذلك اعتصامها مضربة عن الأكل منذ أكثر من عشرين يوما في مطار لانثاروتي من أجل قضيتها وشعبها وأرضها متحدية بذلك جبروت عدو طاغي متغطرس ...
أيتها البطلة مباركةٌ بإذن الله مسيرتكِ. أبشري فالوصول قريبٌ لأن صوتكِ مسموع ومطالبكِ مشروعة...
أخوية الناجم:
Gmail.com@999 khouta
شابة موريتانية تهنأ الشعب الصحراوي على صمود هذه
الــمناضلة وتــتــمنى له الاستــقلال في القــريب العاجل...
قال تعالى: " يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الآخِرَةِ وَيُضِلُّ اللَّهُ الظَّالِمِينَ وَيَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ مَا يَشَاءُ ".
صدق الله العظيم
أبدأ قولي مستعينة بالله عز وجل، طالبة منه التوفيق للصواب والسداد...
لقد كانت المرأة ولا تزال نصف المجتمع. هي الجزء الذي لا يتجزأ منه، فبغيرها يعرج النصف الآخر على قدم وساق. لا تكاد مكانتها تدنوا عظمتا عن مكانة الرجل، لها دورا أساسيا في جميع ميادين الحياة. هي الأرض الطيبة، تعطي، تبذل، تعلم، تربي وتنشئ، إنها صانعة الأمجاد والشعوب وبانية الحضارات الشامخة.
فالمرأة قديما كانت تذهب مع الرجال إلى الحروب تشجع المقاتلين، تثير في نفوسهم الحمية، تداوي المرضى وتسقي العطاش. وهاهي حفيدتها المرأة الصحراوية صانعة المستحيل تقتدي بها...
لقد أثبتت التجربة النضالية والثورية للشعب الصحراوي، أن المرأة الصحراوية مارست دورها البطولي بجدارة جنبا إلى جنب مع أخيها الرجل، وذلك بدءا من الكفاح المسلح وحتى الانتفاضة الحضارية السلمية مما جعل التاريخ يحفظ لها دورها وإسهامها الفاعل والمشرف كشريك حقيقي للرجل في النضال والاستشهاد والألم .
بدافع أخلاقي وكنوع من الوفاء لهذا الشعب الشقيق والجار، أجد نفسي ملزمتا بالكتابة عنها، هي امرأة صحراوية تستحق أن يكتب عنها الكثير في سياق التأريخ الحقيقي لدور المرأة الصحراوية في النضال...
لقد جعلت من تجربتها نموذجا فذا في العطاء، خرجت من حدود الصمت إلى ساحات الفعل والإرادة المعبرة عن قدرة المرأة الصحراوية....
إنها المناضلة الصامدة الشهمة التي تحاصرها المتاعب من كل جانب... تقاوم من أجل قضيتها ومن أجل عزة وكرامة شعبها تحت رحمة من لا يعرف للرحمة و لا للنضال معنى...
إنها تناضل من أجل أن تعيش كريمة بأرض الكرامة، نضالها مشروع وهي حقيقة دامغة لا يمكن تجاهلها أو النيل منها...
هكذا يبدأ النضال وهاهي " أمينتو حيدار" تقاوم ليس من أجل أن تحقق شيء لذاتها وإنما تريد تحقيق الحرية لهذا الشعب الحبيب وإن كان الطريق من النوع الوعر والإمكانيات محدودة.
نعم إن قطار أمينتو حيدار قد بدأ طريقه ولن تجدي رغبات ولا قوة العدو الظالم في إيقاف مسيرته النضالية السلمية، فبرغم محاولاته المتعددة (أي العدو) لإيقافها ودحرها إلا أنها تأبى الخضوع والتراجع وتعتزم الإصرار والمواصلة ولو كلفها ذلك حياتها، وخير دليل على ذلك اعتصامها مضربة عن الأكل منذ أكثر من عشرين يوما في مطار لانثاروتي من أجل قضيتها وشعبها وأرضها متحدية بذلك جبروت عدو طاغي متغطرس ...
أيتها البطلة مباركةٌ بإذن الله مسيرتكِ. أبشري فالوصول قريبٌ لأن صوتكِ مسموع ومطالبكِ مشروعة...
أخوية الناجم:
Gmail.com@999 khouta
شابة موريتانية تهنأ الشعب الصحراوي على صمود هذه
الــمناضلة وتــتــمنى له الاستــقلال في القــريب العاجل...
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Urgent Action:3 SIMPLE ACTIONS TO SAVE THE SAHARAWI GHANDI
3 SIMPLE ACTIONS TO SAVE THE SAHARAWI GHANDI
Your support can make a difference at a crucial time in the campaign to save the life of Aminatou Haidar known as the ‘Saharawi Ghandi’. Aminatou is a prominent human rights activist and former political prisoner and Nobel Peace Prize nominee. She is known for her non-violent resistance to the illegal occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco.
On Sunday she entered her 21st day of hunger strike after being expelled from her home in Western Sahara. Negotiations are still taking place between Spain and Morocco, with involvement from the UN and the African Union, but so far this it has not been successful – YOU CAN EXERT THE PRESSURE NEEDED TO INFLUNCE THEM
Aminatou should not need to die to demonstrate to the world the extent of the Moroccan oppression against the people of Western Sahara.
Doctors have said she has only days to live. PLEASE HELP HER!
TAKE 3 SIMPLE ACTIONS:
1. Click here to take the Amnesty International Action to the Moroccan authorities
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&template=x.ascx&action=13368
http://www.es.amnesty.org/actua/acciones/sahara-presos-conciencia
2. Make sure key decision makers in the EU and UN take action.
- Copy the following into the subject heading of an email: AMINATOU HAIDAR IS DYING. PLEASE ACT NOW SO SHE CAN RETURN TO HER FAMILY
- Body text: Members of the UN Security Council have a responsibility to pressure the Moroccan authorities to act to enable Aminatou Haidar to return to Western Sahara. She should not have to die just to show the world the extent of the Moroccan oppression. Please Act.
- BCC it to the following addresses:
acreditaciones@mpr.es; maciej.popowski@europarl.europa.eu; epmadrid@europarl.europa.eu; InfoDesk@ohchr.org; eurobarometer@ec.europa.eu; leonor.ribeiro-da-silva@ec.europa.eu; ofiprensa@psoe.es; atencion@pp.es; cdc@convergencia.cat; comunicacion@izquierda-unida.es; prensa@upyd.es; prensa@coalicioncanaria.org; Michael.Denison@fco.gov.uk; Madlin.sadler@fco.gov.uk; Sarah.Schaefer@fco.gov.uk; Matthew.gould@fco.uk; hallp@parliament.uk;lisa.glover@fco.gsi.gov.uk; ukrep@fco.gov.uk; charles.moore@fco.gov.uk
3. Take direct action – join us at 12pm on Thursday 10th December outside the gates of Downing Street (off Whitehall) to demonstrate and show the Moroccan authorities that they must act. Please wear black!
More Info
The Human rights situation in Morocco is dire with torture, rape, disappearance, false imprisonment, and unfair trials commonplace and [i]have suffered a real regression in the last few weeks.[ii]
Aminatou, alongside many of the Saharawi people has suffered before. In 1987, aged 20, she "disappeared" and was tortured by the Moroccan secret police for four years for advocating independence. In 2005 she was jailed for seven months after being beaten by a Moroccan policeman during a demonstration protesting against the Moroccan occupation.
I was kidnapped and detained in prison for 4 years. I was blindfolded continuously throughout this time, and spent 9 months in solitary confinement…sometimes we would be forced to face the wall with our hands tied and spend the whole night standing on one foot. If we fell, we were tortured...the threat of rape meant we were afraid to sleep…my family, including my young children had no idea of my whereabouts."[iii]
In a cruel twist on Friday, her supporters including her 2 children were jubilant as the Spanish authorities told Aminatou she could return home only to be distraught when the Moroccan authorities refused to allow the plane meant to be taking her home to leave.
Her deportation has been condemned by human rights organisations including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.[iv] Morocco has been repeatedly asked to allow her to return home including by The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Jean Ping and UN Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres[v]but is refusing to do so and is prepared to let her die.
Her campaign has attracted high profile support including actors Javier Bardem, Juliet Stevenson and Terry Jones, film directors Pedro Almodovar and Ken Loach, musicians Manu Chao and Brian Eno and Nobel Literature Laureate, Jose Salamango.
Media coverage
This has made international headlines with front-page news in Spanish newspapers. For a l selection of coverage in English see:
Afrik.com: Western Sahara: Joy turns to anger
Afrik.com: British MPs support Haidar
The Guardian, Hunger Striker
The Guardian, Nobel nominee hunger strike fears
BBC, Morocco demands apology from hunger strike activist
Concert backs 'Gandhi of Sahara'
The Observer on Dec 6
The Independent Marooned at Lanzarote airport, the 'Gandhi of the Western Sahara'
Associated Press
Statements of Concern
UN commissioner for Refugees
Statement from the African Union
Statement from the South African Government
Statement from Amnesty International
Statement from Human Rights Watch Morocco: Reverse Expulsion of Sahrawi Activist
Human Rights Watch article on escalating Moroccan repression
Your support can make a difference at a crucial time in the campaign to save the life of Aminatou Haidar known as the ‘Saharawi Ghandi’. Aminatou is a prominent human rights activist and former political prisoner and Nobel Peace Prize nominee. She is known for her non-violent resistance to the illegal occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco.
On Sunday she entered her 21st day of hunger strike after being expelled from her home in Western Sahara. Negotiations are still taking place between Spain and Morocco, with involvement from the UN and the African Union, but so far this it has not been successful – YOU CAN EXERT THE PRESSURE NEEDED TO INFLUNCE THEM
Aminatou should not need to die to demonstrate to the world the extent of the Moroccan oppression against the people of Western Sahara.
Doctors have said she has only days to live. PLEASE HELP HER!
TAKE 3 SIMPLE ACTIONS:
1. Click here to take the Amnesty International Action to the Moroccan authorities
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&template=x.ascx&action=13368
http://www.es.amnesty.org/actua/acciones/sahara-presos-conciencia
2. Make sure key decision makers in the EU and UN take action.
- Copy the following into the subject heading of an email: AMINATOU HAIDAR IS DYING. PLEASE ACT NOW SO SHE CAN RETURN TO HER FAMILY
- Body text: Members of the UN Security Council have a responsibility to pressure the Moroccan authorities to act to enable Aminatou Haidar to return to Western Sahara. She should not have to die just to show the world the extent of the Moroccan oppression. Please Act.
- BCC it to the following addresses:
acreditaciones@mpr.es; maciej.popowski@europarl.europa.eu; epmadrid@europarl.europa.eu; InfoDesk@ohchr.org; eurobarometer@ec.europa.eu; leonor.ribeiro-da-silva@ec.europa.eu; ofiprensa@psoe.es; atencion@pp.es; cdc@convergencia.cat; comunicacion@izquierda-unida.es; prensa@upyd.es; prensa@coalicioncanaria.org; Michael.Denison@fco.gov.uk; Madlin.sadler@fco.gov.uk; Sarah.Schaefer@fco.gov.uk; Matthew.gould@fco.uk; hallp@parliament.uk;lisa.glover@fco.gsi.gov.uk; ukrep@fco.gov.uk; charles.moore@fco.gov.uk
3. Take direct action – join us at 12pm on Thursday 10th December outside the gates of Downing Street (off Whitehall) to demonstrate and show the Moroccan authorities that they must act. Please wear black!
More Info
The Human rights situation in Morocco is dire with torture, rape, disappearance, false imprisonment, and unfair trials commonplace and [i]have suffered a real regression in the last few weeks.[ii]
Aminatou, alongside many of the Saharawi people has suffered before. In 1987, aged 20, she "disappeared" and was tortured by the Moroccan secret police for four years for advocating independence. In 2005 she was jailed for seven months after being beaten by a Moroccan policeman during a demonstration protesting against the Moroccan occupation.
I was kidnapped and detained in prison for 4 years. I was blindfolded continuously throughout this time, and spent 9 months in solitary confinement…sometimes we would be forced to face the wall with our hands tied and spend the whole night standing on one foot. If we fell, we were tortured...the threat of rape meant we were afraid to sleep…my family, including my young children had no idea of my whereabouts."[iii]
In a cruel twist on Friday, her supporters including her 2 children were jubilant as the Spanish authorities told Aminatou she could return home only to be distraught when the Moroccan authorities refused to allow the plane meant to be taking her home to leave.
Her deportation has been condemned by human rights organisations including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.[iv] Morocco has been repeatedly asked to allow her to return home including by The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Jean Ping and UN Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres[v]but is refusing to do so and is prepared to let her die.
Her campaign has attracted high profile support including actors Javier Bardem, Juliet Stevenson and Terry Jones, film directors Pedro Almodovar and Ken Loach, musicians Manu Chao and Brian Eno and Nobel Literature Laureate, Jose Salamango.
Media coverage
This has made international headlines with front-page news in Spanish newspapers. For a l selection of coverage in English see:
Afrik.com: Western Sahara: Joy turns to anger
Afrik.com: British MPs support Haidar
The Guardian, Hunger Striker
The Guardian, Nobel nominee hunger strike fears
BBC, Morocco demands apology from hunger strike activist
Concert backs 'Gandhi of Sahara'
The Observer on Dec 6
The Independent Marooned at Lanzarote airport, the 'Gandhi of the Western Sahara'
Associated Press
Statements of Concern
UN commissioner for Refugees
Statement from the African Union
Statement from the South African Government
Statement from Amnesty International
Statement from Human Rights Watch Morocco: Reverse Expulsion of Sahrawi Activist
Human Rights Watch article on escalating Moroccan repression
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Monday, December 07, 2009
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
A Tale of Two Human Rights Awardees: Steven Zunes
A Tale of Two Human Rights Awardees
Stephen Zunes | December 2, 2009
Editor: John Feffer
Foreign Policy In Focus www.fpif.org
The annual Robert F. Kennedy Award ceremony took place at the White House this year for the first time in its 28-year history. Also for the first time, the president of the United States was there to honor the awardees.
This year's winner was the group Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), represented by Magodona Mahlangu and Jenni Williams.Since its founding six years ago, WOZA has campaigned against domestic violence and rape, for rebuilding their country's crumbling health and education systems, and for ending government repression. Despite their commitment to nonviolence, WOZA activists have been routinely threatened, abducted, and beaten, and over 3,000 of its members have been detained or imprisoned. This show of support from President Obama is particularly important in light of the trial of the two WOZA activists, scheduled to begin next week, for "conduct likely to cause a breach of [the] peace," which could result in a five-year prison sentence if convicted.
Such public support from the White House is in stark contrast with its silence on the fate of last year's winner, Aminatou Haidar, who is widely known as the Saharan Gandhi. Earlier in November, when she was returning from the United States after receiving the Civil Courage Award from the Train Foundation, Moroccan occupation authorities arrested and expelled Haidar from her homeland of Western Sahara.
Belated Response
Haidar is Western Sahara's leading human rights campaigner. She has led the nonviolent struggle to free her people from an illegal 34-year Moroccan occupation, and was nominated on several occasions for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Like many Western Saharans who travel abroad, she declared Western Sahara as her country of origin on the immigration entry form when she landed at the airport in El Aioun, in the occupied territory. This time, however, Moroccan authorities confiscated her Moroccan passport, held her overnight for interrogation, and — claiming she had renounced her Moroccan citizenship — expelled her to Spain's Canary Islands. It is a direct violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention for an occupying power to expel anyone from their country of origin.
For nearly two weeks, the State Department was silent on Haidar's fate. It spoke out only this past Thursday, as Haidar's physical well-being came into question when she entered the eighth day of a hunger strike. Spokesman Ian Kelly expressed U.S. concerns about her health situation, but simply called for "a speedy determination of her legal status." Rather than calling on Moroccan authorities to live up to their international legal obligations, Kelly instead appeared let the Moroccans determin her status. The Moroccans "determined" that she is persona non grata, and has no right to return.
The RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights, which grants the annual award, has sent its director and senior advocacy director to the Canary Islands to be with Haidar, now entering the third week of her fast in the Lanzarote Airport. They also called upon UN Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay to immediately investigate the circumstances of Haidar's forced exile and to establish a formal mechanism for protecting the human rights of the people of Western Sahara. However, despite the RFK Center's efforts and those of Kerry Kennedy, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and others, the Obama administration has refused to demand Haidar's return.
It was Leahy who, standing in for his ailing colleague Edward Kennedy at last year's ceremony, praised Haidar's struggle for human rights against Moroccan repression and promised that, with the incoming Obama administration, "help was on the way." Unfortunately, Obama ended up appointing Hillary Clinton, a longtime supporter of the Moroccan occupation, to oversee his foreign policy.
Currying Favor with Morocco
Indeed, Secretary of State Clinton may bear partial responsibility for Haidar's situation. The activist's arrest and expulsion is part of a broader Moroccan crackdown that appears to have received Clinton's endorsement during a visit to Morocco early last month. Rather than joining Amnesty International and other human rights groups in condemning the increase in the already-severe repression in the occupied Western Sahara, Clinton instead chose to offer unconditional praise for the Moroccan government's human rights record. Just days before her arrival, Moroccan authorities arrested seven other nonviolent activists from Western Sahara — Ahmed Alansari, Brahim Dahane, Yahdih Ettarouzi, Saleh Labihi, Dakja Lashgar, Rachid Sghir, and Ali Salem Tamek — on trumped-up charges of high treason. Amnesty International has declared the seven activists (who are currently awaiting trial) prisoners of conscience, and called for their unconditional release. But Clinton decided to ignore the plight of these and other political prisoners held in Moroccan jails.
Under such circumstances, it appears that the Moroccan authorities decided they need not fear a negative reaction from Washington for engaging in further repression, especially since the United States has given the country billions of dollars in military assistance since its conquest of Western Sahara in 1975. International law requires that the people of non-self-governing territories such as Western Sahara deserve the right of self-determination, confirmed in the case of Western Sahara by a landmark opinion of the International Court of Justice. However, Clinton — in an interview during her recent visit — appears to have endorsed Morocco's plans for annexing the territory under a dubious "autonomy" plan. Though a series of unanimous UN Security Council resolutions supported by previous U.S. administrations have called for a UN-supervised referendum on the fate of the territory, Clinton has simply called for "mediation" between the Moroccan kingdom and the exiled nationalist Polisario Front, a process that would not offer the people of the territory a say in their future.
I have worked with both Jenni Williams and Aminatou Haidar. They are both deserving of the RFK Prize, and they both deserve the support of the U.S. government as well. A test of a government's sense of justice is whether it sees human rights as a universal principle or simply as a political tool to advance its foreign policy agenda. The Obama administration appears to have opted for the latter. It is easy to support human rights activists like the women of WOZA, since they are battling against a regime opposed by the United States. When it comes to human rights activists who challenge a U.S. ally, however, the Obama administration appears no different than previous administrations in tolerating their oppression.
Stephen Zunes is a Foreign Policy in Focus senior analyst. He is a professor of Politics and chair of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco and is the author, along with Jacob Mundy, of the forthcoming Western Sahara: Nationalism, Conflict, and International Accountability (Syracuse University Press).
Stephen Zunes | December 2, 2009
Editor: John Feffer
Foreign Policy In Focus www.fpif.org
The annual Robert F. Kennedy Award ceremony took place at the White House this year for the first time in its 28-year history. Also for the first time, the president of the United States was there to honor the awardees.
This year's winner was the group Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), represented by Magodona Mahlangu and Jenni Williams.Since its founding six years ago, WOZA has campaigned against domestic violence and rape, for rebuilding their country's crumbling health and education systems, and for ending government repression. Despite their commitment to nonviolence, WOZA activists have been routinely threatened, abducted, and beaten, and over 3,000 of its members have been detained or imprisoned. This show of support from President Obama is particularly important in light of the trial of the two WOZA activists, scheduled to begin next week, for "conduct likely to cause a breach of [the] peace," which could result in a five-year prison sentence if convicted.
Such public support from the White House is in stark contrast with its silence on the fate of last year's winner, Aminatou Haidar, who is widely known as the Saharan Gandhi. Earlier in November, when she was returning from the United States after receiving the Civil Courage Award from the Train Foundation, Moroccan occupation authorities arrested and expelled Haidar from her homeland of Western Sahara.
Belated Response
Haidar is Western Sahara's leading human rights campaigner. She has led the nonviolent struggle to free her people from an illegal 34-year Moroccan occupation, and was nominated on several occasions for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Like many Western Saharans who travel abroad, she declared Western Sahara as her country of origin on the immigration entry form when she landed at the airport in El Aioun, in the occupied territory. This time, however, Moroccan authorities confiscated her Moroccan passport, held her overnight for interrogation, and — claiming she had renounced her Moroccan citizenship — expelled her to Spain's Canary Islands. It is a direct violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention for an occupying power to expel anyone from their country of origin.
For nearly two weeks, the State Department was silent on Haidar's fate. It spoke out only this past Thursday, as Haidar's physical well-being came into question when she entered the eighth day of a hunger strike. Spokesman Ian Kelly expressed U.S. concerns about her health situation, but simply called for "a speedy determination of her legal status." Rather than calling on Moroccan authorities to live up to their international legal obligations, Kelly instead appeared let the Moroccans determin her status. The Moroccans "determined" that she is persona non grata, and has no right to return.
The RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights, which grants the annual award, has sent its director and senior advocacy director to the Canary Islands to be with Haidar, now entering the third week of her fast in the Lanzarote Airport. They also called upon UN Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay to immediately investigate the circumstances of Haidar's forced exile and to establish a formal mechanism for protecting the human rights of the people of Western Sahara. However, despite the RFK Center's efforts and those of Kerry Kennedy, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and others, the Obama administration has refused to demand Haidar's return.
It was Leahy who, standing in for his ailing colleague Edward Kennedy at last year's ceremony, praised Haidar's struggle for human rights against Moroccan repression and promised that, with the incoming Obama administration, "help was on the way." Unfortunately, Obama ended up appointing Hillary Clinton, a longtime supporter of the Moroccan occupation, to oversee his foreign policy.
Currying Favor with Morocco
Indeed, Secretary of State Clinton may bear partial responsibility for Haidar's situation. The activist's arrest and expulsion is part of a broader Moroccan crackdown that appears to have received Clinton's endorsement during a visit to Morocco early last month. Rather than joining Amnesty International and other human rights groups in condemning the increase in the already-severe repression in the occupied Western Sahara, Clinton instead chose to offer unconditional praise for the Moroccan government's human rights record. Just days before her arrival, Moroccan authorities arrested seven other nonviolent activists from Western Sahara — Ahmed Alansari, Brahim Dahane, Yahdih Ettarouzi, Saleh Labihi, Dakja Lashgar, Rachid Sghir, and Ali Salem Tamek — on trumped-up charges of high treason. Amnesty International has declared the seven activists (who are currently awaiting trial) prisoners of conscience, and called for their unconditional release. But Clinton decided to ignore the plight of these and other political prisoners held in Moroccan jails.
Under such circumstances, it appears that the Moroccan authorities decided they need not fear a negative reaction from Washington for engaging in further repression, especially since the United States has given the country billions of dollars in military assistance since its conquest of Western Sahara in 1975. International law requires that the people of non-self-governing territories such as Western Sahara deserve the right of self-determination, confirmed in the case of Western Sahara by a landmark opinion of the International Court of Justice. However, Clinton — in an interview during her recent visit — appears to have endorsed Morocco's plans for annexing the territory under a dubious "autonomy" plan. Though a series of unanimous UN Security Council resolutions supported by previous U.S. administrations have called for a UN-supervised referendum on the fate of the territory, Clinton has simply called for "mediation" between the Moroccan kingdom and the exiled nationalist Polisario Front, a process that would not offer the people of the territory a say in their future.
I have worked with both Jenni Williams and Aminatou Haidar. They are both deserving of the RFK Prize, and they both deserve the support of the U.S. government as well. A test of a government's sense of justice is whether it sees human rights as a universal principle or simply as a political tool to advance its foreign policy agenda. The Obama administration appears to have opted for the latter. It is easy to support human rights activists like the women of WOZA, since they are battling against a regime opposed by the United States. When it comes to human rights activists who challenge a U.S. ally, however, the Obama administration appears no different than previous administrations in tolerating their oppression.
Stephen Zunes is a Foreign Policy in Focus senior analyst. He is a professor of Politics and chair of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco and is the author, along with Jacob Mundy, of the forthcoming Western Sahara: Nationalism, Conflict, and International Accountability (Syracuse University Press).