Johannesburg, May 15, 2013 (SPS)-The president of the Collective of Saharawi Human Rights Defenders (CODESA), Aminetu Haidar denounced today that Morocco commits all kinds of "violence and torture" against the Saharawi population in the occupied territories in the silence of the international community, in a speech to the Pan African Parliament.
Haidar has insisted that while the great powers keep silence , "Morocco continues its violations of human rights in Western Sahara and rejects launching investigations of violations, which reaffirms the need for the African Union to exercise all kind of pressure so that Morocco respect the rights of the Sahrawis ".
Haidar has emphasized the Sahrawi resistance despite the escalation of " Moroccan brutal repression and terrorism". "We will not commit any violence and we continue to rely on international law," insisted the activist, who added that the Saharawi people want "a clean fight like Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi."
The human rights defender has claimed that the situation in the occupied territories is critical and Morocco prohibits any type of expression and uses weapons to disperse the Sahrawi protesters.
She also noted that several international human rights organizations have always sought to Morocco the investigation of human rights violations. "These applications always receive the rejection of Morocco, who remains in their practices against the Saharawi people," She said.
The President of CODESA, in her speech, pointed out that since the Moroccan invasion of Western Sahara, the Saharawi people "suffered from killings, detentions, disappearances, attacks with white phosphorus and napalm and even were thrown from airplanes.
Haidar has called on the international community to intervene to stop human rights violations and protect the Saharawi people from this mindless violence and put pressure on Morocco to respect the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination.
In this regard, she requested the African Union urgent intervention so that the United Nations push forward negotiations between the Polisario and Morocco, as well as stop the plunder of Saharawi natural resources.
Finally, she asked the Pan African Parliament to support the Saharawi people and the UN to send a commission of inquiry into the occupied territories of Western Sahara. (SPS)
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