Boumerdes (Algeria), Aug 17, 2013 (SPS) - The United Nations (UN), France and Spain have “betrayed” the Saharawi people by blocking the exercise of their right to self-determination, said Wednesday in Boumerdes the President of the European Conference of Coordination and Support to the Saharawi People, Mr. Pierre Galand.
“The UN, France and Spain have betrayed Western Sahara people in their legitimate aspiration to independence,” he said at the opening ceremony of the Summer University of Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) cadres.
In his speech, Galand criticized UN silence concerning the actions of Morocco “that prevents the Saharawi people to exercise their right to self-determination in accordance with UN resolutions.”
“It is not normal that a regional organization such as the African Union recognizes the SADR and welcomes it as a member, without being endorsed by the UN,” he lamented.
“The framework in which must exercise the right of the Saharawis to independence exists, namely the UN resolutions, but there is a problem of application of this law on the ground,” he added.
After denouncing the blockade of all UN resolutions on Western Sahara issue by France, Galand noted that the accession to power in 2012 of French President, Francois Hollande “has brought nothing new to the French position in this conflict, which remains in line with Morocco’s.”
As for Spain, the President of EUCOCO accused it of a “double betrayal”.
“The first betrayal was in 1975 when Spain signed an agreement with Morocco allowing it to invade and occupy the territory of Western Sahara,” he recalled. (SPS)
090/089/700