Amnesty International Report's on Western Sahara Summer 2008

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Morocco/Western Sahara
Morocco/Western Sahara: Investigate Allegations of Torture and Grant Detainees a Fair Trial

July 2008



AI Index: MDE 29/013/2008


Eighteen students of the Cadi Ayyad Marrakesh University, aged between 21 and 29 and members of the National Union of Moroccan Students, were arrested on 14 and 15 May 2008 following confrontations between law enforcement officers and members of the student body. The students attempted to organize a march from the Faculty of Law to the office of the Rector of the University located in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences to demand better social and economic conditions, the reintegration of expelled students and the dismissal of the Dean of the Faculty of Law. On 9 June, seven students, namely: Nasser Ahsain, Younes Al-Salami, Mohamed Al-Idrissi, Hisham Al-Idrissi, Hafiz Al-Hafezi, Radawan Al-Ribiri and Mansour Aghdir were found guilty of a number of criminal offenses including "participation in an armed gathering" and "contempt of and attacks on" public officials on duty. Eleven students, namely: Zohra Boudkhour, the only female detainee, Galal Al-Qitbi, Abdelallah Al-Rashidi, Alaa Al-Dirbali, Mohamed Gamili, Youssef Mashdoufi, Mohamed Al-Arabi Gadi, Youssef Al-Alawi, Khaled Mouftah, Mourad Al-Chouni and Ousman Al-Chouni remain in custody while the judicial investigation continues. In light of testimonies collected, Amnesty International is deeply concerned that the students' cases have been marred with reports of torture and other forms of ill-treatment. [1]

Amnesty International calls on the Moroccan authorities to ensure that the 18 members of the National Union of Moroccan Students detained in the Civil Prison of Marrakesh are granted fair trials in accordance with international standards and that they do not face the death penalty. The organization also urges the Moroccan authorities to open a prompt, independent and impartial investigation into their allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and to guarantee that the detainees are protected from torture and other forms of ill-treatment and have adequate access to medical treatment, their lawyers and families. Amnesty International is concerned that the 18 students might be detained on account of their political activism in demanding a number of reforms in the Cadi Ayyad Marrakesh University and participating in student demonstrations, and therefore might be political prisoners. Reports suggest that 13 of the 18 detained students have affiliations with the leftist movement Democratic Path (Voie Democratique).

The circumstances surrounding the Cadi Ayyad Marrakesh University incidents of 14 and 15 May, which resulted in the 18 students' arrest, remain highly disputed. While university authorities maintain that some students initiated and used violence against law enforcement officers and destroyed public property; a number of students, political movements and human rights organizations assert that law enforcement officers used excessive force to prevent the planned march, raided the university campus and committed a number of violations including arbitrary arrests and detentions, the unauthorized confiscation of personal belongings and physical attacks on students. An unconfirmed number of injuries was reported in the aftermath of the demonstrations. To Amnesty International's knowledge, no full, independent, impartial investigation into the events has been conducted to date.

Student protests against the Cadi Ayyad Marrakesh University administration escalated in the months leading up to the confrontations on 14 and 15 May. On 25 April, law enforcement officers prevented a student march which resulted in confrontations between students and law enforcement officers and the detention of a number of students. The march was intended as a show of solidarity with approximately 20 students hospitalized at the Ibn Toufail hospital suffering from food poisoning, allegedly as a result of a university campus cafeteria meal.

Amnesty International urges the Moroccan authorities to conduct an independent, full and impartial investigation into allegations of the use of excessive force by law enforcement officers during the confrontations between law enforcement officers and members of the student body on 14 and 15 May and to bring those responsible to justice.

Lack of investigation into allegations of torture and other ill-treatment
Amnesty International is gravely concerned by reports that all 18 students arrested on 14 and 15 May during or in the aftermath of demonstrations at Marrakesh University have been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment during their arrest and their transportation in police vehicles from the university campus to Gamaa Al-Fanaa Police Station and in particular in the course of their garde à vue (pre-arraignment) detention at the Gammaa Al-Fanaa Police station, which was extended by an additional 24 hours by the judicial authorities .[2]

Reports suggest that the two groups of students brought in front of the Crown Prosecutor on May 17 and 18, respectively, bore visible injuries and requested investigations into their torture and medical examinations. The students' request was reiterated by their lawyers during the first hearing in front of the Court of First Instance of Marrakesh on 19 May in the case of the group of seven students detained on 14 May, and at a number of hearings in front of the Investigative Judge in the case of the group of 11 students detained on 15 May. Article 134 of the Moroccan Criminal Procedure Code requires the Investigative Judge to order a medical examination if requested by the detainees or their lawyers or if there are visible signs of ill-treatment to prompt an examination. Reports suggest that the 18 students were only seen by medical professionals several weeks after their garde à vue. The examining doctors are reported to have failed to conduct a thorough physical and psychological examination and told the detainees verbally that they were in good medical condition. No medical examination reports were shared with the students or their lawyers. The detainees' lawyers are not aware whether or not medical reports have been produced. While reports indicate that the Public Prosecutor arranged for the questioning of a number of students following their allegations of torture, to Amnesty International's knowledge a full, impartial and independent investigation, meeting Morocco's obligations under the UN Convention against Torture and in line with the Principles on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, was not conducted and no one found responsible has, to date, been brought to justice.

Amnesty International calls on the Moroccan authorities to immediately conduct a full, impartial and independent investigation into allegations that the 18 students were tortured or otherwise ill-treated, to bring those responsible to justice and to ensure that the students promptly obtain any medical attention they may require.

Flouted Legal Proceeding
On 9 June, the Court of First Instance in Marrakesh found Nasser Ahsain, Younes Al-Salami, Mohamed Al-Idrissi, Hisham Al-Idrissi, Hafiz Al-Hafezi, Radawan Al-Ribiri and Mansour Aghdir guilty of a number of offences including "participating in an armed gathering", "contempt of and attacks on" public officials on duty and destroying public property and sentenced them to one year prison terms and fines of 1,500 dirhams (approximately 208 US dollars). Amnesty International is concerned that they were convicted on the basis of police statements they signed as a result of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, without being allowed to read them, in breach of Article 293 of the Moroccan Criminal Procedure Code, which stipulates that no confession can be relied upon in court if it is obtained "through violence or duress" and of Article 15 of the Convention against Torture which states that "any statement which is established to have been made as a result of torture shall not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings". The defence appealed the ruling. The next hearing is scheduled to take place on 4 August.

Eleven students, namely: Zohra Boudkhour, Galal Al-Qitbi, Abdelallah Al-Rashidi, Alaa Al-Dirbali, Mohamed Gamili, Youssef Mashdoufi, Mohamed Al-Arabi Gadi, Youssef Al-Alawi, Khaled Mouftah, Mourad Al-Chouni and Ousman Al-Chouni were charged by the Crown Prosecutor on 18 May with a number of offences including "participating in an armed gathering", "contempt of and attacks on public officials on duty", "destroying public property", "voluntarily setting fire" on residential places and "attempting to murder another individual". They have not been brought in front of a court to date and remain in custody at the Civil Prison in Marrakesh, while the judicial investigation continues. The charges of "voluntarily setting a fire" on residential places and "attempting to murder another individual" incur the death penalty.

Amnesty International calls on the Moroccan authorities to ensure that the detainees are granted fair trials in accordance with international standards and that they do not face the death penalty. Amnesty International also urges the Moroccan authorities to guarantee that information obtained as a result of torture or other forms of ill-treatment is not adduced as evidence in any proceedings, except against a person accused of torture as evidence that the statement was made.

Prison Conditions
The 18 students have been on a hunger strike since 11 June in protest over their incarceration and their prison conditions. Their demands include being grouped in the same cell in prison, access to educational materials, medical examination reports, adequate medical care, guarantees of a fair trial and protection from torture and other ill-treatment during their incarceration. According to information received by Amnesty International, the 18 students are held in harsh and unhygienic conditions with no access to adequate medical care. Reports suggest that many are in critical medical condition exacerbated by the injuries sustained as a result of beatings they received during the period of garde à vue detention and as a result of their hunger strike. Amnesty International is also concerned by reports that the 18 detainees are routinely verbally abused by prison guards and that in at least one instance one of the detainees, Alaa Al-Dirbili, was placed in solitary confinement for a number of hours and beaten by guards on 27 May for attempting to communicate with another detainee.

Amnesty International calls on the Moroccan authorities to guarantee that the 18 detainees are held in conditions that do not violate Article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 16 of the Convention against Torture, and which also conform to the UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any form of Detention or Imprisonment adopted by the General Assembly on December 1988 and that prompt, independent, thorough and impartial investigations are conducted into all allegations of torture and other ill-treatment.

Allegations of Harassment of Supporters of the Detainees
Amnesty International is also concerned by reports that a number of peaceful solidarity sit-ins organized by the National Committee of Solidarity with the Detainees in Marrakesh and other Political Detainees and by family members of the detained students have been dispersed by law enforcement officers with excessive use of force. For example, during a peaceful sit-in on 28 June in front of the Parliament in Rabat organized by the Committee and attended by a number of human rights defenders, law enforcement officers used excessive force to disperse the sit-in without giving prior warning as stipulated in the Moroccan Code of Public Liberties. It has been reported that security officers beat protestors with batons and that as a result a number of protesters including at least 4 members of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights, a well-known human rights organization in Morocco, sustained injuries including an eyebrow wound and a dislocated arm. On another occasion, during the dispersal of a peaceful protest by family members on 10 June in front of the Appeals Court in Marrakesh, it has been reported that a law enforcement officer stepped on Mariam Banna, mother of detainee Alaa Al-Dirbili, who fell on the ground while trying to prevent security officers from arresting her other son, Ahmed Al-Dirbili. Mariam Banna's leg was broken as a result and she had to be admitted to hospital. Amnesty International is concerned that law enforcement officers may have used excessive force and may have failed to act in conformity with international standards on the use of force by law enforcement officials, in particular Article 3 of the United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, which states that: "Law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty."

Amnesty International urges the Moroccan authorities to investigate allegations of the use of excessive force by law enforcement officers during the peaceful protests organised in solidarity with the detained students and to bring those responsible to justice.






In light of the above Amnesty calls on the Moroccan authorities to:

- Guarantee that the 18 students detained at the Marrakesh Civil Prison are protected from torture and other ill-treatment and are granted adequate access to medical treatment, their lawyers and family members;
- Immediately investigate the allegations that the 18 students were tortured or otherwise ill-treated and ensure they obtain promptly any medical attention they may require;
- Ensure that any officials found to have committed, ordered or authorized torture are identified and promptly brought to justice;
- Guarantee the right to a fair trial, including by ensuring that no statements made under torture or other ill-treatment will be used to obtain convictions;
- Introduce an immediate moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty and commute all death sentences in line with the UN General Assembly resolution in favour of a worldwide moratorium (Resolution 62/149).
- Investigate allegations of the use of excessive force by law enforcement officers during the confrontations between law enforcement officers and members of the student body on 14 and 15 May and during the peaceful protests organised in solidarity with the detained students and to bring those responsible to justice.
- Implement the recommendation of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission (Instance Equite Reconcilitation, IER) to reform the security sector, particularly with regard to the means of intervention during operations for those organs which have the power to resort to public force
-Implement the recommendation of the IER, to adopt and implement an integrated strategy to combat impunity.

See Also
-Morocco/Western Sahara: Allow Reporting on Human Rights, 11 July 2008,
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/011/2008/en
-Morocco / Western Sahara: Allegations of torture of Sahrawi human rights defender must be investigated, 25 April 2008,
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/008/2008/en
-Morocco: Submission to the UN Universal Period Review: First Session of the UPR Working Group, 7-11 April 2008, 20 November 2007, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/012/2007/en
-Morocco/Western Sahara: Amnesty International calls for release prisoners of conscience sentenced for "undermining the monarchy", 16 July 2007,
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/009/2007/en
-Morocco/Western Sahara: Torture in the "anti-terrorism" campaign - the case of Témara detention centre, 24 July 2004, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/004/2004/en

Poetry from Occupied laayoune,Western Sahara

انت ستعمرتني



ضاجعتني في ليلة سوداء



لتخرج ديمائي دماء الشهداء





نعم.انت المغرب وانا الصحراااء





ملكت علي جسدي لكن روحي ابت ان تردخ لك



لتذهب لاجئة لموطنها الاخر



بلد المليون ونصف مليون شهيد



ليصبح الالم هو كل ما اشعر به

والاذى غذائي الوحيد





فانت الحائز على جائزة نوبل لدمار



وانا تعلقني وساما يجسد ظلم التاريخ واستغلال الاحرار



كانت معنوياتي ترتفع في الافق في كل مرة تصلني رسالة من نصفي البعيد

وهو يجدد الوعيد

Denmark warns businesses over Western Sahara

Denmark warns businesses over Western Sahara



Copenhagen (DanWatch) - Denmark is joining an increasing number of governments with official policies against trade in non-renewable resources from Western Sahara .The Danish position echoes the non-trade policies of fellow Scandinavian governments Sweden and Norway.


"Taking the principles of international law regarding non-renewable resources from Non-self Governing Territories as a point of reference, it is the opinion of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs that such exploitation should not take place," said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs-statement.


"Denmark supports that the status for Western Sahara should be settled in a peaceful process under the auspices of the UN, and that until the time when a final status is found, actions should not take place that are in violation of the local populations' interests relating to the resource basis of the territory," it said.


The Ministry opens up for an exception to the rule if the exploitation is to the benefit of the local population.

While occupied by Morocco, the mineral rich Western Sahara has been on the United Nations list of so-called Non-Self-Governing countries since the 1960's.


The statement was prompted by a request from DanWatch for an official Danish position on trade linked to the disputed territory.


"Although the principles of international law and human rights are in general not directly binding for Danish companies, the Ministry will at all times encourage Danish companies to be aware of their international responsibility," the statement went on to say.


Foreign trade in phosphate, fish and other resources from Western Sahara is strongly criticized by representatives of Polisario, the exile government, who says Morocco is harvesting the economic benefits of the trade.


DanWatch earlier this year reported that the Danish shipping company J. Lauritzen had been involved in transportation of phosphates from Western Sahara to New Zealand .


The Danish move was welcomed by Polisario:


"What we understand from the statement is that the Danish Government upholds the norms of international law applicable to Non-Self-Governing Territories including Western Sahara, and therefore it discourages all kinds of involvement of Danish companies in the exploitation of the "non-renewable resources" of Western Sahara under Moroccan occupation, because that will be a breach of those norms," Sidi M. Omar, a high ranking Polisario official, told DanWatch.


"We hope that other countries would follow suit, especially those whose nationals and companies are acting in the occupied Western Sahara," said Mr Omar.


Pedro Pinto Leite, an international lawyer and co-editor of a recent book on international law and the question of Western Sahara also welcomes the Danish statement - cautiously:


"This statement is in line with the positions of the Norwegian and Swedish governments. It constitutes a clear warning to the Danish companies not to violate what is agreed to be international law in the question of Western Sahara ," Pinto Leite said.


"However, the statement refers to the "benefits" of the local people, but it does not mention how the companies can know whether it is to the benefit of the local people or not. Are one to ask Morocco or Polisario?" he said, underlining that there is clear evidence that the interests and wishes of the Sahrawis are not being respected by Moroccan industries and government.


The Portuguese lawyer points to another contradiction implicit to the Danish statement:


A recent EU fisheries agreement with Morocco has opened up waters off the coast of Western Sahara to EU fishing fleet. Of all EU member states, only Sweden voted against the agreement, keeping in line with the government's policies on trade in natural resources from Western Sahara .


Given that the Danish statement is sincere, Pedro Pinto Leite believes it could have some positive influence:


"It can support a Swedish call for a review of this agreement and perhaps even request its cancellation before the European Court of Justice," said Pedro Pinto Leite.


http://www.danwatch.dk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=67&Itemid=1

Latest Video on Western Sahara Event in the Capitol Hill, May2008, Washington D.C.

Human Rights Watch Report

Morocco: Sham Inquiry Highlights Impunity for Police Abuse
Prosecutor Prematurely Closes Investigation Without Hearing All Testimony
(New York, May 8, 2008) – Citing “lack of evidence,” Moroccan authorities closed an investigation into police abuse allegations made by two human rights defenders whose testimony the prosecutor refused to solicit, Human Rights Watch said today.


A real, impartial investigation would have included testimony from both the police officers accused of abuse and the rights advocates making the allegations. Instead, Moroccan authorities chose to hear only one side, showing they’re not impartial.

Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch








The two Sahrawi human rights advocates, Dahha Rahmouni and Brahim al-Ansari, say that, in December 2007, police in the city of El-Ayoun, in the Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara, arbitrarily arrested and beat them before releasing them without charge. Human Rights Watch is making public today the men’s formal complaints [Rahmouni's complaint, in Arabic and Ansari's complaint, in Arabic] and additional evidence indicating that authorities did not conduct a credible investigation into the incident before announcing the end of the probe on May 5.

“A real, impartial investigation would have included testimony from both the police officers accused of abuse and the rights advocates making the allegations,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Instead, Moroccan authorities chose to hear only one side, showing they’re not impartial.”

Since submitting their complaints to the office of the prosecutor at the El-Ayoun Court of Appeals in January 2008, the only contact the two men have had from Moroccan authorities came on May 5, when police informed them that the prosecutor at the El-Ayoun Court of Appeals had closed the investigation into their complaints for “lack of evidence.”

Police made the men sign a one-page document to this effect, but refused their request for a copy.

Human Rights Watch’s release of correspondence and documentation related to the case shows that, from the start, Moroccan authorities sought to discredit the plaintiffs rather than arrive at the truth.

In an email sent to Human Rights Watch in February, authorities denied mistreating the two men and released them the same day. The email called the men “[pro-Polisario] separatists … seeking to inflame tensions and present the Kingdom as a ‘monster’ that has no respect for human rights.” The authorities maintained, falsely, that the men had filed no complaint with judicial authorities, “prov[ing] once again that they were seeking mainly to broadcast their claims to the rest of the world and misinform international public opinion.”

The authorities further claimed that police had sought to arrest Rahmouni on numerous counts, and that he belonged to an “unrecognized” association.

Human Rights Watch responded by furnishing Moroccan authorities with a copy of the formal complaints that the two men had lodged with the prosecutor on January 4, 2008; a document showing that Rahmouni had a clean judicial record; and a court decision [also in Arabic] showing that the organization to which he belonged, the Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Human Rights Violations Committed by the Moroccan State (ASVDH), had followed the proper procedures for obtaining legal status.

Human Rights Watch also provided the men’s detailed written testimony [Rahmouni's testimony, in French and Ansari's testimony, in French] of how police had subjected them to beatings and other mistreatment, including:



forcing them to sign against their will statements that they were prevented from reading;

questioning the two men about their peaceful activities in defense of human rights; and

threatening them if they did not cease these activities.


On March 21, 2008, Human Rights Watch sent the above-mentioned materials and a letter to the Moroccan authorities seeking clarifications in light of the apparent inaccuracies in their initial response. Human Rights Watch has yet to receive a response.

“We welcome a genuine dialogue with authorities on human rights concerns,” said Whitson. “But in this case, we received a cynical string of falsehoods, a response that indicates that the government will back up police abuses.”

Each year, scores, if not hundreds, of Sahrawi victims file formal complaints to local prosecutors alleging police violence in El-Ayoun and elsewhere in the contested Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara. Like the formal complaints filed by Rahmouni and Ansari, the authorities dismiss the overwhelming majority of these complaints without collecting evidence beyond the police’s own version of events. In most cases, authorities rarely follow up on complaints.

“Investigations that appear to be carried out in bad faith perpetuate impunity for police mistreatment of Sahrawis,” Whitson said. “If Morocco wants to be taken seriously on human rights reform, it must credibly investigate human rights violations in Western Sahara.”

Huamn Rights Watch Report

المغرب: التحقيق غير الحقيقي يُظهر إفلات الشرطة من العقاب جراء الانتهاكات
الادعاء يقرر إغلاق التحقيقات قبل الأوان ودون سماع كل الشهود


كان من شأن التحقيق الحقيقي المحايد أن يشمل شهادات ضباط الشرطة المتهمين بالانتهاكات والناشطين اللذين تقدما بهذه المزاعم. وبدلاً من هذا اختارت السلطات المغربية الاستماع إلى جانب واحد فقط، مما يُظهر كونها غير محايدة.

المديرة التنفيذية لقسم الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا سارة ليا ويتسن






(نيويورك، 8 مايو/أيار 2008) – قالت هيومن رايتس ووتش اليوم إن السلطات المغربية – متذرعة بـ "نقص الأدلة" – أغلقت التحقيق في مزاعم انتهاكات الشرطة بحق اثنين من المدافعين عن حقوق الإنسان، وكان الادعاء قد رفض ضم شهادتهما إلى التحقيق.


ويقول الناشطان الصحراويان بمجال حقوق الإنسان، دحا رحموني وإبراهيم الأنصاري إنهما في ديسمبر/كانون الأول 2007 قامت شرطة مدينة العيون – وهي منطقة خاضعة للمغرب في الصحراء الغربية – باعتقال وضرب كل منهما قبل إخلاء سبيلهما دون توجيه اتهامات إليهما. ومن المقرر أن تعلن هيومن رايتس ووتش على الملأ اليوم عن شكاوى الرجلين [شكوي أنصاري و شكوي رحموني] وأدلة إضافية تشير إلى أن السلطات لم تجر تحقيقاً يتمتع بالمصداقية في الحادث قبل أن تعلن انتهاء التحقيق في الخامس من مايو/أيار.

وقالت المديرة التنفيذية لقسم الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا سارة ليا ويتسن: "كان من شأن التحقيق الحقيقي المحايد أن يشمل شهادات ضباط الشرطة المتهمين بالانتهاكات والناشطين اللذين تقدما بهذه المزاعم". وأضافت: "وبدلاً من هذا اختارت السلطات المغربية الاستماع إلى جانب واحد فقط، مما يُظهر كونها غير محايدة".

ومنذ تقديمهما للشكاوى إلى مكتب الادعاء في محكمة استئناف العيون في يناير/كانون الثاني 2008، كان الاتصال الوحيد الذي تلقاه الرجلين بشأن القضية من السلطات المغربية في 5 مايو/أيار، حين أخطرتهما الشرطة بأن ادعاء محكمة استئناف العيون قد أغلق التحقيقات في شكوى كل منهما بسبب "نقص الأدلة".

وجعلت الشرطة الرجلين يوقعان وثيقة من ورقة واحدة بهذا الشأن، لكنها رفضت طلبهما بالحصول على نسخة من الوثيقة.

ويظهر من إصدار هيومن رايتس ووتش للمراسلات والتوثيق أدناه، على صلة بالقضية، أن السلطات المغربية سعت منذ البداية لنزع المصداقية من المدعين بدلاً من السعي للوصول إلى الحقيقة.

وفي رسالة بريد إلكتروني مُرسلة إلى هيومن رايتس ووتش في فبراير/شباط، أنكرت السلطات سوء معاملة الرجلين وأفرجت عنهما في اليوم نفسه. وورد في البريد الإلكتروني نعت الرجلين بأنهما "من مناصري البوليساريو الانفصاليين .. يسعيان لتأجيج التوترات وتصوير المملكة على أنها وحش ليس لديها احترام لحقوق الإنسان". وكررت السلطات المغربية وبشكل غير صحيح، أن الرجلين لم يتقدما بأي شكوى للسلطات القضائية المغربية، واعتبرت أن ذلك "يثبت مرة أخرى أنهما كانا يسعيان بشكل رئيسي إلى بث شكواهما إلى بقية العالم لتضليل الرأي العام العالمي".

وادعت السلطات المغربية أيضاً أن الشرطة سعت للقبض على رحموني على خلفية عدة تهم، وأنه ينتمي لجمعية غير مرخصة.

وردت هيومن رايتس ووتش بتزويد السلطات المغربية بنسخة من الشكاوى الرسمية التي أودعها الرجلين لدى دائرة الادعاء العام بتاريخ 4 يناير/كانون ثاني 2008، بالإضافة إلى وثيقة تُظهر أن رحموني لديه سجل قضائي نظيف، و قرار محكمة يظهر أن المنظمة التي ينتمي إليها، وهي الجمعية الصحراوية لضحايا الانتهاكات الجسيمة لحقوق الإنسان المرتكبة من طرف الدولة المغربية، ، قد اتبعت الإجراءات الصحيحة للحصول على وضع قانوني.

كما قدمت هيومن رايتس ووتش الشهادة التفصيلية المكتوبة [شهادة رحموني و شهادة أنصاري] التي قدمها الرجلان حول الكيفية التي قامت بها الشرطة بتعريضهما للضرب وغيرها من أشكال سوء المعاملة والتي تشمل:



إجبارهما على التوقيع بعكس إرادتهما على إفادات مُنعا من قراءتها

استجواب الرجلين حول نشاطهما السلمي في الدفاع عن حقوق الإنسان

تهديدهما في حال لم يوقفا هذه الأنشطة.


وفي 21 ارس/آذار 2008 أرسلت هيومن رايتس ووتش المواد سابقة الذكر مرفقة برسالة إلى السلطات المغربية، تدعو فيها إلى تقديم مزيد من التوضيحات فيما يخص انعدام الدقة الواضح في الرد الأولي، إلا أن هيومن رايتس ووتش لم تتلق أي رد حتى الآن.

وقالت سارة ليا ويتسن: "نرحب بحوار صادق مع السلطات المغربية حول المخاوف المتعلقة بحقوق الإنسان". وأضافت: "ولكن في هذه الحالة، تلقينا سلسلة من الأكاذيب المثيرة للسخرية، ورداً يشير إلى أن الحكومة المغربية ماضية في دعم الانتهاكات التي تقوم بها الشرطة المغربية".

ويسجل وفي كل عام العشرات إن لم يكن المئات من الضحايا الصحراويين شكاوى رسمية لدى الادعاء العام المحلي، يُفيدون فيها بالتعرض للعنف من قبل الشرطة المغربية في مدينة العيون وغيرها من المناطق محل النزاع في الصحراء المغربية الخاضعة للسيطرة المغربية وعلى غرار الشكاوى التي قدمها رحموني والأنصاري، لم تلتفت السلطات إلى الأغلبية الساحقة من هذه الشكاوى دون جمع أدلة تتجاوز في مداها رؤية الشرطة للأحداث. وفي أغلب الحالات نادراً ما تتابع السلطات الشكاوى.

وقالت سارة ليا ويتسن: "إن التحقيقات التي يبدو أنها تُرتكب بنية سيئة تعزز من أجواء الإفلات من العقاب في حالات إساءة معاملة الشرطة للصحراويين". وأضافت: "وإذا أراد المغرب أن تؤخذ إصلاحاته الخاصة بحقوق الإنسان على محمل الجد، فعليه أن يجري تحقيقاً يتمتع بالمصداقية في انتهاكات حقوق الإنسان بالصحراء الغربية".

Video Clip from Western Sahara

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/music/countries-wm/western-sahara-wm/

S.C New Resolution 1813 April 30, 2008 English Version

Resolution 1813 (2008)


Adopted by the Security Council at its 5884th meeting, on 30 April 2008


The Security Council,
Recalling all its previous resolutions on Western Sahara,
Reaffirming its strong support for the efforts of the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy to implement resolutions 1754 (2007) and 1783 (2007),
Reaffirming its commitment to assist the parties to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara in the context of arrangements consistent with the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, and noting the role and responsibilities of the parties in this respect,
Reiterating its call upon the parties and States of the region to continue to cooperate fully with the United Nations and with each other to end the current impasse and to achieve progress towards a political solution,
Taking note of the Moroccan proposal presented on 11 April 2007 to the Secretary-General and welcoming serious and credible Moroccan efforts to move the process forward towards resolution; also taking note of the Polisario Front proposal presented 10 April 2007 to the Secretary-General,
Taking note of the four rounds of negotiations held under the auspices of the Secretary-General; welcoming the progress made by the parties to enter into direct negotiations,
Welcoming the agreement of the parties expressed in the Communique of the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara of 18 March 2008 to explore the establishment of family visits by land, which would be in addition to the existing program by air, and encouraging them to do so in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
Welcoming the commitment of the parties to continue the process of negotiations through United Nations sponsored talks,
Noting the Secretary-General’s view that the consolidation of the status quo is not an acceptable outcome of the current process of negotiations, and noting further that progress in the negotiations will have a positive impact on the quality of life of the people of Western Sahara in all its aspects,
Having considered the report of the Secretary-General of 14 April 2008 (S/2008/251),
1. Reaffirms the need for full respect of the military agreements reached with MINURSO with regard to the ceasefire;
2. Endorses the report’s recommendation that realism and a spirit of compromise by the parties are essential to maintain the momentum of the process of negotiations;
3. Calls upon the parties to continue to show political will and work in an atmosphere propitious for dialogue in order to enter into a more intensive and substantive phase of negotiations, thus ensuring implementation of resolutions 1754 and 1783 and the success of negotiations; and affirms its strong support for the commitment of the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy towards a solution to the question of Western Sahara in this context;
4. Calls upon the parties to continue negotiations under the auspices of the Secretary-General without preconditions and in good faith, taking into account the efforts made since 2006 and subsequent developments, with a view to achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara in the context of arrangements consistent with the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, and noting the role and responsibilities of the parties in this respect;
5. Invites Member States to lend appropriate assistance to these talks;
6. Requests the Secretary-General to keep the Security Council informed on a regular basis on the status and progress of these negotiations under his auspices, and expresses its intention to meet to receive and discuss his report;
7. Requests the Secretary-General to provide a report on the situation in Western Sahara well before the end of the mandate period;
8. Urges Member States to provide voluntary contributions to fund Confidence Building Measures that allow for increased contact between separated family members, especially family visits, as well as for other confidence building measures that may be agreed between the parties;
9. Decides to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 30 April 2009;
10. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to take the necessary measures to ensure full compliance in MINURSO with the United Nations zero tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse and to keep the Council informed, and urges troop-contributing countries to take appropriate preventive action including pre-deployment awareness training, and other action to ensure full accountability in cases of such conduct involving their personnel;
11. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

Security Council Resolution April 30, 2008 Arabic Version

القرار 1813 (2008)
الذي اتخذه مجلس الأمن في جلسته 5884 المعقودة في 30 نيسان/أبريل 2008


إن مجلس الأمن،
إذ يشير إلى جميع قراراته السابقة بشأن الصحراء الغربية،
وإذ يعيد تأكيد دعمه القوي للجهود التي يبذلها الأمين العام ومبعوثه الشخصي لتنفيذ القرارين 1754 (2007) و 1783 (2007)،
وإذ يؤكد مجددا التزامه بمساعدة الطرفين على التوصل إلى حل سياسي عادل ودائم ومقبول للطرفين، بما يكفل لشعب الصحراء الغربية تقرير مصيره في سياق ترتـيـبـات تتماشى مع مبادئ ميثاق الأمم المتحدة ومقاصده، وإذ يلاحظ دور الطرفين ومسؤولياتهما في هذا الصدد،
وإذ يكرر تأكيد دعوته للطرفين ولدول المنطقة إلى أن تواصل تعاونها التام مع الأمم المتحدة ومع بعضها البعض لوضع حد للمأزق الراهن ولإحراز تقدم نحو إيجاد حل سياسي،
وإذ يحيط علما بالمقترح المغربي الذي قدم إلى الأمين العام في 11 نيسان/أبريل 2007، وإذ يرحب بالجهود المغربية المتسمة بالجدية والمصداقية والرامية إلى المضي قدما بالعملية صوب التسوية؛ وإذ يحيط علما أيضا بمقترح جبهة البوليساريو المقدم إلى الأمين العام في 10 نيسان/أبريل 2007،
وإذ يحيط علما بجولات المفاوضات الأربع التي عقدت تحت رعاية الأمين العام؛ وإذ يرحب بما أحرزه الطرفان من تقدم نحو الدخول في مفاوضات مباشرة،
وإذ يرحب باتفاق الطرفين الوارد في بيان المبعوث الشخصي للأمين العام إلى الصحراء الغربية في 18 آذار/مارس 2008، للنظر في إمكانية وضع برنامج للزيارات الأسرية عن طريق البر، كإضافة إلى البرنامج القائم للزيارات الأسرية عن طريق الجو، وإذ يشجعهما على القيام بذلك بالتعاون مع مفوضية الأمم المتحدة لشؤون اللاجئين،
وإذ يرحب بالتزام الطرفين مواصلة عملية المفاوضات عن طريق محادثات ترعاها الأمم المتحدة،
وإذ يلاحظ ما ذكره الأمين العام من أن توطيد الوضع الراهن ليس نتيجة مقبولة لعملية المفاوضات الجارية، وإذ يلاحظ كذلك أن إحراز تقدم في المفاوضات سيؤثر تأثيرا إيجابيا على نوعية حياة شعب الصحراء الغربية من جميع جوانبها،
وقد نظر في تقرير الأمين العام المؤرخ 14 نيسان/أبريل 2008 (S/2008/251)،
1 - يؤكد مجددا ضرورة الاحترام التام للاتفاقات العسكرية التي تم التوصل إليها مع بعثة الأمم المتحدة للاستفتاء في الصحراء الغربية بشأن وقف إطلاق النار؛
2 - يصادق على التوصية الواردة في التقرير بدعوة الطرفين إلى التحلي بالواقعية والرغبة في التسوية، لما لذلك من أهمية جوهرية في الاحتفاظ بزخم عملية المفاوضات؛
3 - يهيب بالطرفين مواصلة إبداء الإرادة السياسية والعمل في بيئة مواتية للحوار من أجل الانتقال بالعملية إلى طور المفاوضات الجوهرية الأكثر تعمقا، بما يكفل تنفيذ القرارين 1754 و 1783 ونجاح المفاوضات؛ ويؤكد دعمه القوي لالتزام الأمين العام ومبعوثه الشخصي بإيجاد حل لمسألة الصحراء الغربية في هذا السياق؛
4 - يهيب بالطرفين مواصلة المفاوضات تحت رعاية الأمين العام دون شروط مسبقة وبحسن نيــة، مع أخذ الجهود المبذولة منذ عام 2006 والتطورات اللاحقة في الحسبان، من أجل التوصل إلى حل سياسي عادل ودائم ومقبول للطرفين، بما يكفل لشعب الصحراء الغربية تقرير مصيره في سياق ترتيبات تتماشى مع مبادئ ميثاق الأمم المتحدة ومقاصده، ويلاحظ دور الطرفين ومسؤولياتهما في هذا الصدد؛
5 - يدعو الدول الأعضاء إلى تقديم الدعم الملائم لهذه المحادثات؛
6 - يطلب إلى الأمين العام إطلاع مجلس الأمن بانتظام على حالة هذه المفاوضات التي تجري تحت رعايته والتقدم المحرز فيها، ويعرب عن اعتزامه عقد اجتماع لاستلام هذا التقرير ومناقشته؛
7 - يطلب إلى الأمين العام أن يقدم تقريرا عن الحالة في الصحراء الغربية قبل وقت كاف من نهاية فترة الولاية؛
8 - يحث الـدول الأعضــاء على تقديم تبرعات لتمويل تدابير بناء الثقــة التـــي تمكن من تكثيف الاتصالات بين أفراد الأسر الذين تشتت شملهم، وبخاصة الزيارات الأسرية، وكذلك من أجل تدابير بناء الثقة الأخرى التي قد يتفق عليها الطرفان؛
9 - يقرر تمديد ولاية بعثة الأمم المتحدة للاستفتاء في الصحراء الغربية حتى 30 نيسان/أبريل 2009؛
10 - يطلب إلى الأمين العام أن يواصل اتخاذ التدابير الضرورية لكفالة الامتثال التــام داخـل البعثة لسياســة الأمم المتحدة القائمــة على عدم التسامــح مطلقــا إزاء الاستغـــلال والانتهاك الجنسييـن وإبقاء مجلس الأمن على علم بذلك، ويحث البلدان المساهمة بقوات على اتخاذ إجراءات وقائية ملائمة تشمل التدريب لإذكاء الوعي قبل مرحلة نشر القوات، وغيرها من الإجراءات لضمان المساءلة التامة في حالات إتيان أفراد قواتها سلوكا من ذلك القبيل؛
11 - يقرر
إبقاء المسألة قيد نظره

Sahara-panorama blog - Echo of Western Sahara Statement

The owner of this blog will stop blogging temporarily because of the statemnts made by Peter Van Walsum. As owner of this blog and as a sahrawi, i decided not to comment on the statements of Peter Van Walsum ,the special envoy of U.N Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. It is my duty to say that as a sahrawi, i do not want Walsum to be a mediator anymore since he violated the very basic right we have as sahrawis fighting for our freedom. Self determination is a very simple claim, and independence remains our goal.
therefore, There will be no more bloggin till the Security Coucil issues its resolution later this month.
Mohamed-Brahim


Decalaracion:
El dueño de este blog parará el blogging temporalmente debido a los statemnts hechos por Peter Van Walsum. Como dueño de este blog y como sahrawi, decidía no hacer ninguna observación respecto las declaraciones de Peter Van Walsum, el enviado especial de BAN Ki Moon el secretario general de U.N. Es mi deber para decir que como sahrawi, no quisiera que Walsum fuera un mediador más puesto que él violó el derecho muy fundamental que tenemos como sahrawis que luchan para nuestra libertad. La determinación del uno mismo es una demanda muy simple, y la independencia sigue nuestra meta por lo tanto, allí no será no más de bloggin hasta que la seguridad Coucil publica su resolución más adelante este mes.

Mohamed- Brahim

Declaration:

Le propriétaire de ce blog cessera de blogging temporairement en raison des declarations faites par Peter Van Walsum. Comme propriétaire de ce blog et comme sahrawi, j'ai décidé de ne pas présenter mes observations sur le rapports de Peter Van Walsum, le délégué spécial de BAn Ki Moon le sécrétaire général des Nations Unies. C'est mon devoir comme sahrawi de dire que je ne veux plus que Walsum soit un médiateur puisqu'il a violé le droit très fondamental que nous avons comme sahrawis combattant pour notre liberté. Le droit de l'auto-détermination est une réclamation très simple, et l'indépendance demeure notre but ; donc, il n'y aura plus de bloggin jusqu'à ce que la sécurité Coucil publie sa résolution plus tard ce mois.
Mohamed- Brahim

Dedication: to all those who suffer!

Landmines and Disaster

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A short Story in Arabic Written by an Omani Writer dedicated to Sultana Khaya

نحبوها
محمد الشحري *
إلى الطالبة الصحراوية (سلطانة خيا) التي فقدت عينها في إحدى المظاهرات.
* * *
تنظر إليه بتمعن تُثبِت عليه ما جاد به بصر عينٌ واحدة، يسحبها تفكيرها من وقائع مؤتمر الأطباء الناطقين بالإسبانية، إلى ركام الأيام المنسية في إحدى خبايا الذاكرة، وحدثت نفسها "هذا الرجل ذو الندبة على جبهته أعرفه لكن لا أتذكر أين؟".
حاولت استدعاء طيف صديق من رماد منثور في المجهول، صديقا ورفيقا تزاملا معا في بلاد الأغراب في(كلية الكاريبي بسانتياغو دي كوبا) لكن ذكرى الصديق لم ينتفض من الحطام،فحاولت البحث عنه في ظلال النسيان،فلمحته جالسا مسمرا كعرب الجنوب في زاوية قصية من الماضي السعيد،فأنشرح صدرها وكمن وجد شيئا بعد أن أعياه التعب في البحث عنه،قالت "نعم إنه الرفيق ثائر ".
حط بعض منها في قاعة المؤتمر فتابعت ما تبقى منه، ثم هاجمتها أسراب الظنون، وأسرها الشك وهمست لنفسها" لا يمكن أن يكون ثائر ممثلا لُعمان!!"
هكذا تحدث (نحبوها) نفسها، وأوراق المؤتمر تتناقل بين الوفود قراءةً ومناقشةً، وتصفيقا يطارد الكلمات،و(نحبوها) تتأرجح بين الشك واليقين،استرجعت ما قاله لها (ثائر) وهو يودعها حينما أكملت دراستها عائدة إلى الصحراء "سأحمل رفات رفاقي أينما حللت في هذه البسيطة،سأذكر من انتشلنا من مهاوي الفقر والجوع والمرض وخنادق الجهل،نعم سأخلدهم في كل بقعة من ترابي،سأستحضرهم في الحياة وفي الممات".
ثم باعدت بيمنها السنين، انقطعت أخباره عنها ،رجعت (نحبوها)إلى الجزائر للتدريب في مستشفى (بن عكنون)ومن ثم حملت عدة الطبابة واتجهت إلى الخيام تداوي وتعلم الأولاد والبنات من أبناء الصحراء،و التحق بها بعد ذلك رفيقها الصحراوي (ماء العينين) ساعدها في التدريس والعلاج، وأخبرها أن (ثائر) وزملائه تركهم هناك منقطعين عن ذويهم فلا رسائل ولا أخبار تصلهم ،(ماء العينين)كان يعرف (ثائر) لكنه لم يكن يزامله في التخصص ذاته،تخصص (ماء العينين) في العظام بينما درس (ثائر ونحبوها) طب العيون.
* * *
قبل اختتام الجلسة الصباحية في المؤتمر أشار مقرر الجلسة بنقل (الميكرفون) إلى الدكتور(ثائر) ممثل عُمان،تبدد الضباب عن (نحبوها)واستسلمت لليقين،كان (ثائر) زميلا لها في كوبا،هو مبعوث من جبهة تحرير ظفار،وهي مبعوثة كذلك من جبهة البوليساريو،كانا يقودان المظاهرات في ساحات الكلية،ويبثان الحماس في زملائهم العرب، والطلبة الأجانب المتعاطفين مع القضايا العربية،وزاد نشاط المظاهرات بعد نكسة حزيران ،كانت (نحبوها) تخطب بالإسبانية مرة، وبالعربية مرة أخرى" الحقوق لا تتغير ولا ترمى كعظمة في البحر،الحرية أعز وأثمن من أي تاج وعرش،الرهبة هي التي تطوع النفوس للقبول بالمساومات والهزائم ، أيها العربي انتفض كأفاعي الهند التي تقتل بالنظر،وأعبر جراحك على أسنة الرماح ".
أما (ثائر) فإنه ما أن يقابل الجماهير ويخطب فيهم حتى يتراء له من بين الصفوف ابتسامة امرأة يختلط بياض بشرتها بلون ثوبها النيلي،تقترب سحنتها من لون السماء فيحن (ثائر) إلى ذكرى أم تناثر بين محطات المنافي ومسالك الاغتراب (عدن،بغداد،هافانا)،فتمنعه الذكريات من مواصلة الخطاب فيخنق بكاءه بين أضلاعه،يكتم أنين الحزانى بحماس الثوار ويبحث عن كلمات من آثر الكادحين .
* * *
في الوقت المخصص للاستراحة بين جلسات المؤتمر اقتربت(نحبوها) من طاولة يجلس عليها (ثائر) و بعض الضيوف،مدت له يدها صافحها ولم يعرفها، إذ كانت النظارات السوداء تخفي بعضا من ملامح وجهها.
- "ألم تعرفني ؟! قالت (نحبوها)
- "أبدا يا سيدتي ".رد (ثائر)
- "الرفيقة سعدى".
نهض (ثائر) وأمسك بكلتا يديه كف (نحبوها) وقال" سعدى أين أنت ولماذا كل هذا الغياب؟!!!".
رفعت النظارة السوداء عن عينيها، ابتسمت وقالت "تلك مشاغل الحياة والقضية".
وكمن يعرف تفاصيل مهنته أدرك (ثائر) أن إحدى عيني (نحبوها)ليست طبيعية ولا تتحرك كالأخرى،استأذن (ثائر)من زملائه بعد أن عرّفهم على (نحبوها) أو الرفيقة سعدى،اسمها الحركي حينما كانت في منظمة الشباب العربي في كوبا،ونأى بها في ركن قصي من بهو الفندق.
- سألها "ماذا حصل لعينك ؟!".
-"ألم أقل لك إني منشغلة بالقضية والشعب".
- "كما عرفتك دائما مناضلة و ثائرة بلا حدود".
- " أنت ما الذي أوفدك إلى هنا؟؟!" سألته.
تلكأ ونظر يمينا ويسارا محاولا الهرب من سؤال أخذه على حين غرة
- قالت: "لا عليك لست مطالبا بالتبرير، فقد سمعت رئيس الجلسة وهو يقدمك، المهم أين موقعك من هذا العالم".
- " العالم تغير كما تعلمين اختل توازن القوى، فبحثت عن مكانا أجد فيه اللقمة وراحة البال، الثورات انتهت، الآن عصر الأسواق المفتوحة والاستقرار والبناء، وعلينا القبول بالأمر الواقع، وأعتقد أنه من الأفضل لكم القبول بالحكم الذاتي، لتبنوا شعبكم وتطوروا الصحراء".
- "يا ثائر نحن شعب الصحراء لا نشحذ الحرية على أبواب الملوك،رؤوسنا لا تنحني لتقبيل الأيادي،نحن طلاب حق لا يروضنا الدولار ولا الكراسي الوثيرة،وفي غنى عن الشركات الأجنبية، وأسواقها المفتوحة أو المغلقة لا تعنينا،مادامت الناقة والنخلة هبات الله لهذه الصحراء ،إذا كنت تحسب أننا لا نملك شيئا فإنا لدينا كرامة من يملك كل شيء".
اخرج (ثائر) سيجارة أشعلها،سحب كتلا دخانية وخزنها في جوفه ثم أطلقها مع تنهيدة خرجت من سكينة الأعماق،وقاطع (نحبوها)التي استرسلت في العبارات، كأنها لا تزال تلك الفتاة التي تخطب في ساحة (الفريدو جبور معلوف)(1).
- "كم أنت مثالية يا رفيقتي!!".
- " حاولت فقط أن أذكرك ، أنسيت (ماركس) حينما قال (ليس من اليسير على المرء أن يتذلل من أجل الحرية لقد سئمت النفاق والغباء وفظاظة الموظفين الرسميين وتعبت من طأطأة الرأس) ألم تكن هذه العبارة منقوشة على جدار غرفتك؟".
احمر وجه (ثائر) كمن تلون قميصه بدم كذب وقال" يا رفيقة سعدى كفِ عني طعناتك واسمعيني،أنا لم أكن حرباءً يغير لونه حسب الأمكنة أنا مثلك ولدت في العراء رضعت من الناقة وجلت في المراعي وتبنتني الثورة وعاهدت نفسي على الوفاء لها،لكن حين عدت وجدت كل شيء قد تبدل رفاق الأمس أصبحوا تجارا أثرياء شعارات البارحة غدت محرمة لا يتبناها إلا العاطلون عن العمل،وجدت نفسي غريبا بين أهلي وحتى لا يركبني الجنون أو يتغلب عليّ السُكر غضضت البصر ورضيت بهذا المصير".
ترفع (نحبوها) اللحاف عن عينها تثبته فوق الرأس وتقاطعه "أنا متفهمة لكل ما حدث لك ولكن لا أريدك أن تفكر مثل الآخرين الذين يعرضون علينا حكما ذاتيا،نحن لا خيار لنا سوى الصمود،في داخلي أجد شيئا قويا متحدا ومضاء،الحرية يا رفيقي لا توهب ولا تعطى،تؤخذ عنوة بالدماء والرصاص أو بالكلمة الصادقة أو بأرواح المتحفزين للحياة،الحياة ليست أكلا ونوما وصباحا يشرق وموتا منتظرا في الختام،الحياة هي أن تشعر بأن لوجودك قيمة ولبقائك معنى".
- "هل اتخذت كل هذه الخطبة مهربا من سؤالي عما جرى لعينك" قال (ثائر).
- ابتسمت وعلامات التعجب على محياها"ألم أقل لك أنك تغيرت؟،أبدا لم أخجل يوما من عيني ما دمتُ ضحيتُ بها من أجل قضية شعبي،حين عدتُ للصحراء وجدت أبي مقتولا وإخوتي في المعتقل،فجمعت بعض أمهات السجناء ونظمنا مظاهرة لإطلاق سراحهم أو السماح لنا بمقابلتهم،فمنعنا العسكر وحالوا بيننا وبين بوابة السجن،كنت في مقدمة الصف فضربني ضابطا بهراوته على عيني،فخرجت في طرف العصا،ولكن عيني ليست أغلى من دماء الذين ماتوا في سبيل الحق،يستطيعون أن يقتلعوا عيني من مكانها، لكنهم لن يستطيعوا أبدا أن يطفئوا نور السماء، إن الفجر آت هاتكا أثواب العتمة ،صوتنا الهادر لا تسكته أحذية العسكر،أملنا أن يعيش الصحراوي حياة تليق بتضحياته وكرامة يستحقها هذا الشعب المعذب".
- " قد اتفق معك أو اختلف ليس ذلك مهما، آه ...نسيت أن أسألك عن (ماء العينين)، أين هو؟!".
- " هو الآخر انسحب من صفوفنا، سمعت أنه فتح عيادة في الدار البيضاء، أختار مكانا آخر مثلك " قالتها بسخرية.
- " لماذا تسميه انسحابا؟!، لماذا لا يكون ذلك عملا قوميا ونبيلا للحفاظ على وحدة التراب الوطني؟". قالها (ثائر)وهو يحاول تضميد جراح الكلمات التي تصوبها (نحبوها) إلى صميم ذاته.
- " لا تكن ساذجا إلى هذا الحد،الم تسمع بأن الأقلية دائما على حق؟!!،ثم إن الملوك لا يأتمنون أحدا إلا بعد أن يخصوه".
- "لماذا تريدون تعميق جراح الأمة؟، آلا يكفي العرب هذا التشتت وآلام التشرذم؟!!."
- " كن كما تشاء ومع من تشاء، ولكن تذكر أنه من المحزن أن يكون لديك حلم لم يتحقق ،إذا أنت تناسيت ما كنت مؤمنا به فأعلم بأن آخر دعانا أن الثورة خيار المقهورين،لا أستطيع أن أتحدث إليك أكثر من هكذا" كان هذا الرد الأخير (لنحبوها)،تاركة ظفار يسبح في ضباب من دخان سيجارته.
في الأيام التالية من أيام مؤتمر الأطباء غاب (ثائر)عن الحضور،وظن زملائه في الوفد، أنه ذهب لمختبر الأبحاث الطبية في المدينة،ولكنه اختفى ماحيا كل أثر،قيل فيما بعد أنه شوهد آخر مرة يمر في الحي الذي توجد فيه السفارة الفنزويلية.
(1) محامي الثورة الكوبية ووزير العدل فيما بعد.
*كاتب وقاص من عُمان
Mohmed_shahri@yahoo.com

Morocco and the censorship of Accredited Spanish Journalists in Morocco

السلطات المغربية تطرد مراسلة اسبانية وتهدد اخري بسبب ملف الصحراء الغربية
سفارة مدريد بالرباط لا تتدخل لتفادي وقوع أزمة دبلوماسية

28/03/2008

مدريد ـ القدس العربي من حسين مجدوبي: قررت السلطات المغربية عدم تجديد بطاقة الاعتماد الصحافي لمراسلة اسبانية في الرباط وطردها، ويبدو أن القرار قد يشمل صحافية أخري، في حين تصف بعض وسائل الاعلام في هذا البلد الأوروبي القرار بأنه حرب علي المراسلين الاسبان، وأكدت حكومة مدريد تدخلها لبحث حل للمشكلة حتي لا تتحول الي أزمة بين البلدين.
والصحافية المعنية بالطرد هي مراسلة إذاعة كوبي في الرباط، بياتريس ميسا التي تلقت أمس من وزارة الاتصال (الاعلام) المغربية قرار رفض تجديد بطاقة اعتمادها التي تخول لها الاقامة والعمل في المغرب.
وفي نفس القرار طلبت الوزارة من المراسلة مغادرة البلاد فورا. كما تلقت مراسلة إذاعة كادينا سير وجريدة لفنغورديا ، الصحافية كارلا فيبلا، بدورها إنذارا وتهديدا بالطرد.
وقالت جريدة الموندو الاسبانية في موقعها علي الانترنت مساء أمس الخميس أن السبب الرئيسي هو مشاركة الصحافيتين في ندوة باسبانيا حول الصحراء الغربية من تنظيم جمعية أصدقاء الشعب الصحراوي الموالية لجبهة البوليزاريو.
وقالت صحيفة الموندو أنه رغم بعض المساعي وإلزام وزارة الاتصال للصحافيتين بعدم تكرار حضور أنشطة خاصة بالبوليزاريو أو ربط علاقات بمن يسميهم المغاربة الانفصاليين ، إلا أن الادارة المغربية قررت في آخر المطاف طرد مراسلة كوبي وترك كارلا فيبلا معلقة في منزلة بين المنزلتين لا تعرف مصيرها حتي الآن.
وأصدر المراسلون الاسبان المقيمون في المغرب أمس بيانا ينددون فيه بما يصفونه الممارسات الاستفزازية التي يتعرضون لها بين الحين والآخر بسبب نوعية تغطيتهم لنزاع الصحراء الغربية. كما أبرز البيان أن مراسلي قنوات التلفزيون محرومون من ترخيص البث الحي منذ شهور، علما بأنهم في الماضي كانوا يتوفرون علي هذا الترخيص.
ورفضت سفارة اسبانيا في الرباط التدخل حتي لا تتسبب في أزمة دبلوماسية، خاصة وأن هناك ولاية تشريعية جديدة لرئيس الحكومة خوسي لويس رودريغيث سبتيرو والرهان علي إصلاح العلاقات مع المغرب بعد الأزمة التي مرت بها العلاقات بسبب زيارة الملك الاسباني خوان كارلوس الي مدينتي سبتة ومليلية الواقعتين شمال المغرب وتحتلهما اسبانيا وتطالب الرباط باستعادتهما.
وكشف الصحافيون الاسبان أنهم طلبوا من حكومة بلادهم التدخل المباشر لوضع حد لما يعتبرونه حربا عليهم من الحكومة المغربية. وأكد وزير الدولة في الخارجية الاسبانية، بيرناردينو ليون، أنه سيقوم بمساعي لدي حكومة الرباط لتجاوز هذه الأزمة. ويوجد عدد كبير من المراسلين الاسبان في المغرب تعزز حضورهم خلال السنوات الأخيرة، ويعود هذا الي الأهمية التي يحتلها المغرب في السياسة الخارجية الاسبانية وكثرة الملفات المعقدة الحاضرة بقوة في العلاقات الثنائية مثل سبتة ومليلية والارهاب والمخدرات والصيد البحري.
وينتقد النظام المغربي الصحافة الاسبانية بسبب نوعية تغطيتها لبعض الأحداث، وخاصة الأخبار حول العاهل المغربي الملك محمد السادس.
ومن ضمن الأسباب التي دفعت المغرب الي سحب سفيره في تشرين الاول/أكتوبر 2001 كانت التغطية التي تخصصها وسائل الاعلام للملك المغربي. وتؤكد مدريد أنها لا يمكنها التدخل في عمل وسائل الاعلام لأن اسبانيا دولة ديمقراطية توجد فيها حرية تعبير

Rabab Amidane ON a Swedish TV

A Poem: The Political Prisoner

ايها السجين الوفي
المدافع عن الحق والحرية
انت رمزا للنضال
وصبارا في فم الاعداء
انت يا سعيد البيلال
عاهدت الشعب على النضال
ونضالك سيبقى دوما
علقوما يمرض الاعداء
فيا سعيد نم وارتاح
فلك السعادة مدى الحياة
***************
ستفتح ابواب الحرية
في الصحراء الغربية
بتضحية السجناء
ستفتح ابواب الحرية
وتشرق الشمس من جديد
وترى النور يا سعيد
ايها السجين الصنديد
سر ولا تقف نحو دروة النضال
واهتف باسم الوطن
في السر والعلن
وقل بصوت مزعزع
في العلن في العلن
ان السجن علمني
كيف ادافع عن وطني بلا ثمن
واسابق النسورللقمم لرفع العلم
واركض نحو الوطن بلا نعل
وفوق الزجاج امشي وفي النار اسبح
******************
السجن مدرسة ينبغي للمناضل
ان يدرس فيها
وصرخة في وجه الاعداء
ولحمة بالوطن بالوطن
لكم يا اوسود السجون
ورودا من العيون
ونسورا من السمارة
تهتف بحريتكم
وبجدور تسال متى سراحكم
فيا ما وراء القضبان من اجل الحرية
قولوا في السر والعلن
السجن لي مرتبة
والقيد لي خلخال
والمشنقة يا اخوتي

A Poem from the Intifada

إذا الشعب الصحراوي أراد الاستقلال *** فلا بد للسجون أن تمتلئ
وإذا أراد العيش في سلام***فلا بد للشعب أن ينتفض
فمن أراد الصحراء حرة***فليقدم نفسه لتضحية
ومن أراد العيون عاصمة***فل يعتصم بالله والجمهورية
نحن للحرية سائرون**** وللانتفاضة مسايرون
نرقص بالأعلام في العيون*****وبزغاريد النساء مشحونون
فزغردي يا أمي الصحراء فزغاريد****كالرصاصة في قلب الأعداء
فيا أمي لا تبكي****فشوارع العيون تنادي
يا شعب يا شعب لم يبق****لم يبق إلا القليل
الله اكبر الله اكبر****الصحراء ستعود لها الحرية
ستعود، ستعود ****ستعود لها الحرية
إذا الشعب الصحراوي أراد الاستقلال *** فلا بد للسجون أن تمتلئ
وإذا أراد العيش في سلام***فلا بد للشعب أن ينتفض
وإذا أراد جمع الشمل****فلا بد للقبور أن تمتلئ
فمن أراد الحرية بلا تعب**** بقا طول الدهر دليلا مدلولا
ومن أراد الحرية بالدماء**** يدون اسمه مع الشهداء
ويحكي قصصه**** الأجداد للأحفاد
ويكتب له التاريخ أنه *****كان صنديدا أنجبته الصحراء
فيا صحراء هنيئا لك*****فقد أنجبت شعبا يدافع عنك

US State Department official Report on Human Rights in Western Sahara

WESTERN SAHARA
Morocco claims the Western Sahara territory, with a population of approximately 383,000, according to recent UN estimates, and administers Moroccan law and regulations in the estimated 85 percent of the territory it controls; however, Morocco and the Polisario (Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro), an organization seeking independence for the region, dispute its sovereignty. Since 1973 the Polisario has challenged the claims of Spain, Mauritania, and Morocco to the territory.
The Moroccan government sent troops and settlers into the northern two‑thirds of the territory after Spain withdrew in 1975 and extended its administration over the southern province of Oued Ed‑Dahab after Mauritania renounced its claim in 1979. Moroccan and Polisario forces fought intermittently from 1975 until the 1991 ceasefire and deployment to the area of a UN peacekeeping contingent, known by its French initials, MINURSO (the UN Mission for a Referendum in Western Sahara).
In 1975 the International Court of Justice advised that during the period of Spanish colonization, legal ties of allegiance existed between Morocco and some of the Western Saharan tribes, but the court also found that there were no ties indicating "territorial sovereignty" by Morocco. The court added that it did not find "legal ties" that might affect UN General Assembly Resolution 1514 regarding the decolonization of the territory and in particular the principle of self-determination for its persons.
Sahrawis, as the persons from the territory are called, live in the area controlled by Morocco, and live as refugees in Algeria near the border with Morocco, and to a lesser extent in Mauritania. A Moroccan‑constructed sand wall, known as the "berm," separates most Moroccan-controlled territory from Polisario‑controlled territory.
In 1988 Morocco and the Polisario accepted the joint Organization of African Unity/UN settlement proposals for a referendum allowing the Sahrawis to decide between integration with Morocco or independence for the territory. Disagreements over voter eligibility were not resolved, however, and a referendum has not taken place.
In 1997 then UN secretary-general Kofi Annan appointed James Baker as his personal envoy to explore options for a peaceful settlement. Baker visited the territory, consulted with the parties, offered proposals to resolve the problem, and in 2001 presented a "framework agreement," which Morocco accepted but the Polisario and Algeria rejected. In 2003 Baker proposed a peace plan, which the UN Security Council endorsed. The plan proposed that a referendum consider integration with Morocco or independence and addressed other questions agreed to by the parties, such as self-government or autonomy. Morocco ultimately rejected the plan, while the Polisario accepted it.
In 2005 Kofi Annan appointed Peter van Walsum, a former Dutch ambassador to the UN, as his personal envoy to oversee the political process.
On October 31, the Security Council adopted Resolution 1783, extending MINURSO and its 227-member military staff until April 31, 2008. In the secretary-general's October report to the Security Council, he renewed a call for all parties to engage in dialogue with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure adequate human rights protection for all. The resolution called on Morocco and the Polisario to continue negotiations and requested that the secretary-general facilitate the talks. The first round of discussion occurred in June and the second in August. Neither session produced breakthroughs, but the parties agreed to continue meeting. Resolution 1783 also called on member states to consider voluntary contributions to the Confidence Building Measures that allow increased contact between family members separated by the dispute. The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) maintained a separate office in Laâyoune to coordinate these measures.
The Moroccan constitution and laws apply to the civilian population living in the territory under Moroccan administration. Political rights for residents remained circumscribed, and citizens did not have the right to peacefully change their government. International human rights groups and Sahrawi activists maintained that the Moroccan government subjected Sahrawis who were suspected of supporting either Western Saharan independence or the Polisario to various forms of surveillance, arbitrary arrest, prolonged detention, and in many cases torture.
Since 1977 the inhabitants of the Western Saharan provinces of Laâyoune, Smara, Awsard, and Boujdour (and Oued Ed‑Dahab since 1983) have participated in Moroccan national and regional elections. In Morocco's September parliamentary elections, Sahrawis with pro-Morocco political views filled all the parliamentary seats allotted to the territory. No Sahrawis opposed to Moroccan sovereignty were candidates in the elections. According to Moroccan government statistics, the national election turnout was 37 percent, but 62 percent of registered voters in the territory participated. The international mission that observed the September elections did not monitor voting in Western Sahara, but domestic observers leveled accusations of corruption in some races.
In March 2006 King Muhammad VI appointed a new Royal Consultative Council for Saharan Affairs. The council, which met twice in 2007, was charged with developing an autonomy plan for the territory within the context of the Moroccan state.
A substantial Moroccan government subsidy aided migration to and development in the portions of the territory under its control. The government subsidized incomes, fuel, power, water, housing, and basic food commodities for residents of the territory.
During the year there were no confirmed reports of politically motivated disappearances in the territory under Moroccan administration.
On November 20, five skeletons were discovered outside the walls of Laayoune prison at the site of a construction project. The remains were transported to the local hospital, where government doctors were charged with determining the date and cause of death. The proindependence Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders (CODESA) claimed that police kept the discovery secret until November 28. The Moroccan government stated that the bodies dated to the early part of the 20th century, while many proindependence organizations claimed they dated to the early days of the Moroccan territorial administration in the 1970s and 1980s. In November the Moroccan government admitted in statements to the press that during this period activists and dissidents were secretly detained and sometimes killed but stated that the five skeletons were not of that era.
During the year the mothers of 15 Sahrawi activists, who disappeared in 2005 after departing for Spain in a boat, continued to allege that the activists were actually detained by Moroccan authorities. They further claimed that three had possibly been killed during interrogation and that the rest remained in secret custody. The government insisted that all 15 Sahrawi activists must have died at sea and denied any knowledge of their whereabouts. Neither side had produced any evidence regarding the fate of the 15 by year's end.
The Laayoune-based Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Human Rights Violations Committed by the Moroccan State (ASVDH) maintained a list of persons who allegedly had disappeared or been tortured since the conflict began. The list named more than 500 persons. In 1997 the Moroccan government pledged that such activities would not recur and agreed to disclose as much information as possible on past cases.
In 2004 authorities stated that they had released information on all confirmed disappearance cases, which totaled 112. However, human rights groups and families claimed hundreds of cases remained outstanding. International human rights organizations estimated that between 1,000 and 1,500 Sahrawis had disappeared in the territory between 1975 and the early 1990s, many of whom were held for long periods in undisclosed locations. The missing persons were both Sahrawis and Moroccans who challenged the Moroccan government's claim to the territory or other government policies.
On August 10, the Consultative Council on Human Rights (CCDH), a Moroccan government organization, opened a Laayoune field office. Since 2000 the CCDH has been paying reparations, including assisting with urgent medical or financial needs, to Sahrawis or the family members of those Sahrawis who had disappeared or been detained. The Laayoune office processed and paid 1,600 claims between August and December.
Human rights activists in Western Sahara stated that physical beating and torture continued and that the use of psychological and "mental stress" interrogations increased. They also reported increased uses of certain torture methods, including many threats and one allegation of forcing victims to sit on bottles and inserting wires into orifices. Activists alleged that police sometimes beat detainees in transport vehicles rather than in stations or prisons in order to deny abusing persons in government facilities.
Numerous victims of human rights abuses repeatedly named specific police officers as either supervising or using excessive force and/or beating demonstrators, including children. During the year multiple complaints were filed with both police and judicial authorities against these specific officers, who had also had complaints filed against them in previous years. No officer was either suspended or disciplined by year's end, creating the perception of impunity.
The Moroccan government reported that the Laayoune police authorities received nine complaints of police misconduct during the year. The government stated that it had investigated the complaints and found them baseless.
In February Zahra Bassiri, a 14-year-old girl, was arrested after a peaceful demonstration of approximately 50 persons in support of Western Saharan independence, according to the Associated Press. Bassiri stated that police officers began beating her as soon as they put her into a transport van. According to her statement, four policemen threw her on the van floor in order to get a better angle for beating her with their truncheons.
Activists also reported that courts often refused to bring in experts to testify about torture.
Both Moroccan authorities and human rights activists agreed that the Laayoune prison was outdated, overcrowded, and substandard. The Moroccan government stated that the facility, built during the Spanish colonial period, was constructed to accommodate 200 inmates but housed 500 during the year. In August the government broke ground for a new prison, which was scheduled to be completed in 2009. The Moroccan Observatory of Prisons (OMP), a local nongovernmental organization (NGO) that received some financial support from the Moroccan government, had blanket permission from the government to enter all prisons, to inspect prison conditions, and to receive complaints.
The OMP regional office in Laayoune stated that a new prison director decreased overcrowding, improved security by installing metal detectors and cameras to prevent violence, improved access to health care, and created new cells for family visits.
On January 18, prominent proindependence activists, including Brahim Sabbar and Ahmed Sbai, alleged that they were handcuffed, dragged from their cell, and beaten in Laayoune prison.
On October 12, the Moroccan Ministry of Justice (MOJ) announced that it had instituted a new system by which prisoners may register complaints of abuse through the prison system or via the OMP. Complaints are then forwarded to the MOJ and presented by a government attorney to a judge. Prisoners also availed themselves of the OMP's complaint mechanism in which OMP's attorneys pursued cases through the system.
Human rights activists and NGOs claimed that the court system in Laayoune dispensed justice unfairly. Many activists claimed that although they were arrested for political activities, they were officially charged with drug offences. On April 15, Muhammad Tamek, cousin of a well-known Sahrawi activist, was arrested in Assa, allegedly as a warning to his cousin, and subsequently sentenced to four years in prison on drug smuggling charges. He denied any connection to drug smuggling. A Spanish observer at the trial claimed that the proceedings were neither fair nor transparent. According to the observer, several prosecutorial witnesses did not recognize the defendant.
On June 26, the court in Laayoune sentenced Sahrawi activists Abdesalam El-Loumadi, Abdesalam Daidda, Sidi Bahaha, Muhammad Mustapha, Zougham El-Houssein, Moulay Daddah, and Belyazid Lamine to prison terms ranging from 10 months to five years for participating in an unauthorized protest. At certain times during the trial, family members of the defendants were barred from entering the courtroom, although the restrictions were lifted following protests by defense lawyers.
According to activists, police stopped Muhammad Tahlil, president of the Boujdour branch of the ASVDH, on his way to attend the trial. He was allegedly held at a police station for a period of time, then blindfolded and driven to an unknown location where he was stripped and beaten severely. Tahlil was left on the eastern outskirts of Laayoune. The Moroccan government reported that it had investigated this and similar allegations in other cases and found them baseless.
On May 9, Boujdour-based Sahrawi activist and student Sultana Khaya participated in a proindependence demonstration in Marrakech. In the course of police attempts to disperse participants, she was injured and subsequently lost an eye. Khaya and Sahrawi human rights activists, including the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), alleged that her injuries were a direct result of a police beating. The government maintained that she fell and injured herself on the ground.
According to Amnesty International (AI), on March 6, two Sahrawi human rights defenders, Brahim Sabbar and Ahmed Sbai, were sentenced to one year in prison on charges of inciting violent protest activities, having led demonstrations in 2005 and 2006 against the Moroccan administration of Western Sahara and for belonging to ASVDH, an unauthorized organization.
AI also reported that on March 6, three other Sahrawis--Ahmed Salem Ahmeidat, Muhammad Lehbib Gasmi, and El-Hafed Toubali--were sentenced to three years in prison for forming a criminal gang and setting fire to a building during demonstrations against the Moroccan administration of Western Sahara. The conviction was based on written statements by police officers who claimed that the defendants confessed their guilt. When the men appeared before an examining magistrate, they denied the charges and stated that they were forced to sign the statements after being subjected to beatings by security force personnel.
On October 8, Sabbar and Sbai briefly appeared before a court in Laayoune and accused of "offending magistrates" because they chanted slogans advocating Sahrawi self-determination at their trial on March 6. They appeared with Ahmeidat, Gasmi, and Toubali, who faced the same charges. All five defendants were expelled from the court by order of the presiding judge shortly after the trial opened because they continued to demand self-determination for Sahrawi persons and to express support for the Polisario. When the defense request that they be brought back to court was rejected, the defense lawyers stated that they were unable to present the defense case. The prosecution asked the judge to apply the law as it stands. On December 17, Ahmed Sbai was released, while Brahim Sabbar remained in prison.
On December 14, police reportedly detained Dahha Rahmouni and Brahim al-Ansari, both members of human rights NGOs, and allegedly beat them in custody. Rahmouni and al-Ansari were released without charge on December 16 after being forced to sign statements they had not read. Police returned the activists' cell phones and car confiscated during the detention, but not al-Ansari's USB drive, which contained personal information.
During the year activists and NGOs alleged that police violated Moroccan law by holding minors for up to 72 hours without informing parents. Activists also claimed that minors were often seized and arrested for short periods of time, during which they were allegedly beaten before being released. On June 16, police arrested 17-year-old Muhammad Boutabaa following a demonstration. He spent six days in custody without being officially charged. The law states that a suspect can only be held for 48 hours, with the possibility of a 24-hour extension at the request of the public prosecutor before being arraigned in court. Boutabaa did not appear before a judge until June 21.
Youths supporting independence were reportedly detained and mistreated. Activists claimed that they were regularly taken into custody, beaten, and released, generally within 24 hours, without being formally arrested or charged.
Police reportedly used excessive force or violence to disperse some proindependence demonstrations, which continued intermittently throughout the year. On May 11, police broke up a demonstration in Laayoune's central square. Four individuals were injured and several arrested. On May 25, Moroccan police disbanded another demonstration, arrested several persons, and searched the homes of some protestors. Moroccan authorities claimed that they did not intervene in any demonstrations until demonstrators became violent and destroyed personal property.
On June 20, after an investigation carried out by the Moroccan government, two police officers responsible for the death of a Sahrawi, Hamdi Lembarki, were sentenced to 10 years in prison. Lembarki died in police custody from wounds received at a 2005 demonstration in Laayoune in support of the independence of Western Sahara.
In 2006 the Urban Surveillance Group, a security group accused of involvement in past abuses, was reorganized, eliminating a police unit and reassigning personnel. Security personnel also received new training, which included a human rights component. The retention of personnel in key roles who allegedly have perpetrated past abuses, however, highlighted continuing problems of impunity.
During a November demonstration, ASVDH and CODESA reported that police used excessive force to disperse demonstrators. Police reportedly pulled children by their hair, pushed them into vans, and kicked demonstrators. One activist reported that police tried to take off her clothes and threatened her with rape. The same activist also reported that her daughter was arrested and beaten with batons, wires, and truncheons on the soles of her feet while being transferred to jail. The police also allegedly removed the girl's veil and smock and threatened to remove her clothes.
On November 9, police allegedly beat an 18-year-old student participating in a demonstration. The student reported that approximately seven policemen also beat another boy and threatened to force him to sit on a bottle.
From January 2004 to November 2005, the Equity and Reconciliation Commission (IER), established by the king, investigated egregious human rights violations that occurred between 1956 and 1999 in Morocco and Western Sahara. The IER received approximately 22,000 allegations of violations, many of which concerned the territory. Investigative teams from the IER visited the territory on several occasions during its term.
From January 2004 to November 2005, the IER assessed 16,861 cases. It held public hearings in Morocco and planned for hearings in the territory. Due to internal IER time constraints and to demonstrations in the territory, hearings in Western Sahara did not take place. The IER mandate did not include the disclosure of names of individuals responsible for the violations nor did it include a mechanism for bringing violators to trial. The AMDH criticized the IER for its inability to refer cases to authorities for prosecution and for underreporting the numbers of victims.
During the documentation phase of its work, the Moroccan government identified approximately 63 Sahrawi graves. AMDH, however, claimed that many more Sahrawis died in detention during the years under investigation.
In January 2006 the IER published its final report, which provided a historical context, calculated compensation payments, and outlined recommendations on preventing future abuses.
Both the 1991 settlement plan and the 1997 Houston Accords called for the Polisario to release all remaining Moroccan prisoners of war (POWs) after the parties completed the voter identification process. In 2005, despite the ongoing lack of agreement on voter eligibility, the Polisario released all remaining Moroccan POWs, some of whom reportedly suffered serious physical and psychological health problems due to prolonged detention, abuse, and forced labor.
According to the Polisario, the Moroccan government continued to withhold information on approximately 150 Polisario missing combatants and supporters whom the Polisario listed by name. Morocco formally denied that any Sahrawi former combatants remained in detention. During the year the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) continued to investigate such Polisario claims in addition to Moroccan claims that the Polisario had not fully divulged information on the whereabouts of 213 Moroccan citizens. In a few cases the ICRC found that individuals on the Polisario list were living peacefully in Moroccan territory or in Mauritania.
During the year the Working Group on Forced and Involuntary Disappearances of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), in recognition of Morocco's cooperation in resolving cases of missing Algerian and Polisario soldiers, dropped its demand to visit the territory. The total number of unresolved cases in which Morocco was implicated decreased from 249 in 1994 to 58 in November.
Morocco and the Polisario disputed the number of persons in refugee camps. The Moroccan government continued to claim that the Polisario detained 45,000 to 50,000 Sahrawi refugees against their will in camps near Tindouf, Algeria. The Polisario and Algerian government claimed that refugee numbers at Tindouf were much higher, and the Polisario denied holding any refugees against their will.
The UNHCR and the World Food Program appealed regularly to donors for food aid and distributed it to approximately 155,000 in refugee camps. However, because Algeria would not allow a census, and partly out of concern over inflated figures, the UNHCR reduced its planning figure to 90,000 through sampling and satellite imagery analysis. The UNHCR provided supplementary rations to pregnant and lactating women, as well as malnourished children under five years of age.
The UN reported disruptions in the delivery of food aid. Cereals, which accounted for 70 percent of nutrition provided, were not distributed in July.
Local advocacy groups in Western Sahara protested against the treatment of the Sahrawi refugees in the Tindouf camps throughout the year. During a December 14 hearing before the Belgian parliament, Moroccan Sahrawi activists expressed concerns about human rights abuses in Polisario-run camps in Tindouf. Six young former residents of the camps testified that they were taught weapons handling against their will and were taken from their families and sent to Cuba to undergo military training.
On December 11, during meetings at the sixth session of the UNHRC, Moroccan Sahrawi groups accused the Polisario of keeping residents in its camps by force. They also accused the Polisario of embezzling or diverting international funds meant to assist refugees.
In 2004 the UNHCR began a program of Confidence Building Measures (CBMs), highlighted by family visits that allowed individuals to spend five days with long‑separated relatives. In August 2005 the program was halted. In November 2006 the UN resumed family reunion flights after a five-month suspension, and flights were ongoing at year's end. During the year 2,109 Western Saharans participated in the family visit program.
The CBMs also included free-of-charge telephone exchanges between relatives in the territory and refugee camps in Algeria. During the year approximately 24,700 telephone calls were made.
The UNHCR reported that the CBM program, which was dependent on contributions from UN member states, was threatened by a shortage of funds.
Web sites considered controversial, such as those advocating independence, were at times inaccessible.
In October CODESA applied to the Moroccan government for recognition as an official NGO. CODESA claimed that Moroccan authorities adopted measures of pressure and harassment to impede the organization's Constitutive Conference planned for October 7. CODESA reported that the owners of the space in which they had arranged to hold the meeting were pressured by the authorities to withdraw permission. The conference was ultimately canceled. At year's end CODESA's application, sent by registered mail to the local authorities, was still pending before the government, and CODESA chose to take no further steps regarding the issue.
The ASVDH applied to register as an NGO in 2005 but was denied permission by the Moroccan government. Despite two subsequent administrative court decisions in its favor, the government continued to refuse to approve its application.
Both CODESA and ASVDH continued to operate informally, but the lack of legal status prevented them from receiving domestic and international funding and from implementing projects.
The laws and restrictions regarding religious organizations and religious freedom in the territory are the same as those in Morocco. The constitution provides that Islam is the state religion, and that the state provides the freedom to practice one's religion. The Catholic Church continued to operate and minister in the territory.
The Moroccan government and the Polisario restricted movement in areas regarded as militarily sensitive.
Some Sahrawis continued to have difficulty obtaining Moroccan passports, although the Moroccan government reissued travel documents to 11 Sahrawis whose passports were confiscated more than three years ago.
Antigovernment activists were generally able to travel internationally. Such activists, however, sometimes faced intimidation. In late 2006 a prominent activist returned to the territory after traveling overseas, whereupon, the activist's brother was beaten as an apparent message to the activist.
The Moroccan penal code imposes stiff fines and prison terms on individuals involved in or failing to prevent trafficking in persons. The territory was a transit region for traffickers of persons.
At year's end, six illegal migrants remained at the UN Bir Lahlou monitoring site, and MINURSO was coordinating with the International Organization for Migration to return them to their countries of origin.
On July 31, the Moroccan government reported that two illegal migrants were killed and two seriously injured while trying to break through a security system in Laayoune. Authorities stated that 37 sub-Saharan persons attempted to break through the surveillance system despite warning shots fired by security forces, and 26 were arrested. In July the Moroccan government launched an investigation, but at year's end the results had not been made public.
The Moroccan labor code applied in the Moroccan‑controlled areas of the territory. Moroccan unions were present in those areas but were not active.
There were no known strikes, other job actions, or collective bargaining agreements during the year. Most union members were employees of the Moroccan government or state‑owned organizations. These individuals were paid 85 percent more than their counterparts in Morocco as an inducement to relocate to the territory. The Moroccan government exempted workers from income and value‑added taxes.
The Moroccan labor code prohibited forced or bonded labor, including by children, and there were no reports that such practices occurred.
Regulations on the minimum age of employment were the same as in Morocco. Child labor did not appear to be a problem.
The minimum wage and maximum hours of work were identical to those in Morocco. In practice, however, during peak periods, workers in some fish processing plants worked as many as 12 hours per day, six days per week, which was well beyond the 10-hour day, 44-hour week maximum stipulated in the Moroccan labor code. Occupational health and safety standards were the same as those in Morocco and enforcement was rudimentary, except for a prohibition on the employment of women in dangerous occupations.

Exigen que se suspenda la explotación de recursos naturales en el Sáhara Occidental colonizado

glocalia.com 11/03/2008

España, 11/03/08- El Observatorio de Recursos Naturales del Sáhara Occidental (WSRW, en su acrónimo en inglés) se felicita por la cuarta ronda de conversaciones, cuya celebración está prevista en EEUU los próximos días 16 a 18 de marzo de 2008, entre el Frente Polisario y Marruecos, en orden a concluir la descolonización del Sáhara Occidental. WSRW insta al Frente Polisario, a Marruecos y a las Naciones Unidas, a que incorporen al orden del día la discusión del asunto de los recursos naturales en los territorios ocupados por Marruecos. "La explotación por Marruecos de los recursos naturales del Sáhara Occidental contribuyen a la perpetuación y profundización de la dominación colonial del territorio y al sufrimiento de su población, obstaculizando la resolución del conflicto", recuerda el coordinador internacional del Observatorio, Javier García Lachica. "Por ello", declara García Lachica, "desde WSRW hacemos un llamamiento a todos los Estados y actores económicos de la Comunidad internacional, para que se abstengan de contribuir con sus inversiones al mantenimiento de la situación colonial en el Sáhara Occidental. Abstenerse de realizar inversiones en el territorio ocupado del Sáhara Occidental constituye la forma más constructiva de apoyar el presente proceso de negociaciones". Los recursos naturales En la tercera ronda de negociaciones, celebrada el pasado mes de enero, ambas partes decidieron incluir en la agenda de la siguiente ronda la discusión de un asunto central en el proceso de descolonización: la gestión de los enormes recursos naturales que atesora el Sáhara Occidental. Estos recursos incluyen sobre todo pesca y fosfatos. La Unión Europea y el gobierno de Marruecos han firmado un acuerdo pesquero que permite a pescadores europeos pescar en los territorios ocupados. Productores de fertilizantes, sobre todo de EEUU, Australia y España, importan fosfatos del mismo lugar. Y dos empresas petroleras –Kosmos Energy de EEUU y Island Oil & Gas de Irlanda- tienen licencias de exploración de hidrocarburos. A la vista de las presentes negociaciones, WSRW solicita a los países y empresas involucrados que suspendan estas inversiones en aras a apoyar el proceso de paz e insta a Naciones Unidas a crear los mecanismos necesarios, conforme a la legalidad internacional, que contribuyan a proteger los recursos naturales del territorio a la espera de una solución permanente del conflicto. WSRW es una organización no gubernamental internacional con activistas en más de 30 países, que impulsa el respeto al Derecho Internacional apoyando la descolonización del Sáhara y la soberanía del pueblo saharaui sobre sus recursos naturales. (Redacción)

عشرات المعتقلين الصحراويين في اضراب مفتوح عن الطعام بالسجون المغربية

11/03/2008

تندوف ـ القدس العربي :أعلن 35 معتقلا سياسيا صحراويا بعدة سجون مغربية عن انضمامهم إلي الإضراب المفتوح عن الطعام الذي يخوضه 28 معتقلا سياسيا آخر منذ يوم 25 شباط/فبراير 2008 بسجن لكحل بمدينة العيون، عاصمة الصحراء الغربية المتنازع عليها بين المغرب والبوليزاريو منذ 1975.وقد قرر السجناء السياسيون الصحراويون المعتقلون بسجون مغربية بمدن آيت ملول، انزكان، سلا، تارودانت والقنيطرة، الانضمام إلي الإضراب الذي يشنه رفاقهم منذ 14 يوما للمطالبة بحق الشعب الصحراوي في تقرير المصير، واحترام حقوق الإنسان في الصحراء الغربية.وتقوم لجنة متابعة مشكلة من ست منظمات ولجان حقوقية صحراوية، برصد الحالة الصحية للمضربين عن الطعام منذ اليوم الأول لانطلاقه، حيث قدمت عدة تقارير محذرة من التدهور الخطير لصحة هؤلاء، ومتوقعة كارثة انسانية وشيكة ، قالت انها تتهدد سلامة السجناء الـ28 المضربين عن الطعام منذ 25 شباط/فبراير الماضي.وجاء في نداء عاجل للجنة المتابعة يوم الأحد 09 آذار/مارس الجاري أن الإضراب المفتوح عن الطعام للمعتقلين السياسيين الصحراويين لم يقابل بأدني اهتمام من السلطات المغربية، والتي واجهته بإهمال ولامبالاة بالرغم من وقوع المضربين ضحايا عدة أمراض وحالات إغماء بالإضافة إلي مضاعفات أخري تتهدد سلامتهم، علما بأن ثلاثة منهم قد نقلوا حاليا الي مستشفي مدينة العيون في حالة خطيرة.ودعت اللجنة في هذا الصدد من أسمتهم أصحاب الضمائر الحية، وقوي العدالة والديمقراطية، وكل الفاعلين الحقوقيين، بما في ذلك لجنة التنسيق للحملة الدولية لإطلاق سراح الناشط الحقوقي الصحراوي إبراهيم الصبار وكافة المعتقلين السياسيين الصحراويين بالسجون المغربية لتكثيف الجهود وممارسة المزيد من الضغط تفاديا لاقتراب كارثة إنسانية لن ينفع معها أي حل . وللإشارة فقد تم اعتقال غالبية معتقلي الرأي الصحراويين المذكورين خلال مظاهرات سلمية مناوئة للوجود المغربي في الصحراء الغربية، أو خلال مظاهرات طلابية، أو نتيجة لنشاطهم في مجال حقوق الإنسان في منظمات صحراوية تعمل من داخل مناطق الإقليم الواقعة تحت السيطرة العسكرية للمغرب.من جهة أخري شكلت الأوضاع الراهنة لحقوق الإنسان بالصحراء الغربية محور لقاء جمع يوم الجمعة 7 آذار/مارس بين منظمتي تجمع المدافعين الصحراويين عن حقوق الإنسان (كوديسا) ومنظمة هيومان رايتس وتش الأمريكية، ممثلة في شخص إريك كولدشتاين، مدير البحوث بقسم الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا.وأفاد تجمع المدافعين الصحراويين عن حقوق الإنسان في بلاغ له السبت الماضي ان اللقاء ركز خصوصا علي الإضراب المفتوح عن الطعام الذي يخوضه المعتقلون السياسيون الصحراويون، إضافة الي الوضعية اللاإنسانية والخطيرة للسجن المدني بالعيون ، المعروف باسم السجن لكحل. منظمة العفو الدولية كانت قد بعثت هي الأخري وفدا أجري نهاية شهر شباط/فبراير الفارط لقاء مطولا مع أعضاء من التجمع المذكور بمدينة العيون، علما بأن المنظمتين الدولتين إضافة إلي منظمة فرونت لاين (الخط الأمامي) تصدران بانتظام تقارير عن وضعية حقوق الإنسان بالصحراء الغربية وتصفها بالمزرية.وبدورها أصدرت المفوضية السامية لحقوق الإنسان، التابعة للأمم المتحدة تقريرا مفصلا سنة 2006، اعتبرت فيه أن المغرب ينتهك حقوق الإنسان بالإقليم بشكل ممنهج.التقرير المذكور، الذي تم منعه من النشر بسبب من الضغط الفرنسي الداعم للمغرب، أكد أن علي الأمم المتحدة تنظيم استفتاء لتقرير المصير بالإقليم لوضع حد لآخر قضايا تصفية الاستعمار باقارة الافريقية. من جهتها تتبني الجمعية المغربية لحقوق الإنسان موقفا مدافعا عن المعتقلين السياسيين الصحراويين، وتعبر في كل المناسبات عن دعمها لهم، مطالبة سلطات بلادها باطلاق سراحهم