Oslo, Nov 18, 2013 (SPS) - Secretary General of the Norwegian Labour Party, Mr. Raymond Johansen, has reiterated his party’s commitment to support the legitimate right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and independence, in a meeting held at the Party’s headquarters with Polisario Front’s Representative to Norway Dr. Limam Khalil.
This meeting was an opportunity for the Saharawi representative to inform his interlocutor about the latest developments on the Saharawi question, especially the appaling situation of human rights in the occupied Western Sahara.
It also addressed the looting of Western Sahara natural resources by Morocco, being carried out in a blatant breach of international law which stresses the need to safeguard the wealth of the non-self-governing territories and harness it for the benefit of the indigenous population of these territories.
Last April, the Norwegian Labout Party approved a motion on the Western Sahara issue, through which it emphasized the need to speedily find a durabe and just political solution to Western Sahara conflict on the basis of the respect for the legitimate right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and freedom.refugees, enlarging the MINURSO’s mandate to include the monitoring and protection of human rights in Western Sahara, and immediate release of all Saharawi political prisoners.
It, therefore, recommended the owners of capital and companies in Norway not to invest in the occupied territories of Western Sahara.
With regard to the recognition of Saharawi state, the motion indicated that the Labour Party "will work to ensure that Norway recognizes Western Sahara as an independent state, on the basis of the rules of international law regarding the recognition."
Labour Party is now the largest political party in Norway and biggest among opposition parties. It won 55 seats in parliament in the last general elections, held last September. (SPS)
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