Chahid Al Hafed (refugee camps), Nov 4, 2012 (SPS) - The Saharawi civil society has urged the United Nations to work for dismantling the Moroccan military wall that separates Western Sahara and clear the area of mines, during a meeting with the UN Secretary General’s Personal Envoy Mr. Christopher Ross, who arrived Saturday in the Saharawi refugee camps a part of a tour to North Africa and Europe.
The meeting was attended by the Association of Families of the Saharawi Prisoners and Disappeared (AFAPREDESA), Association for Victims of War and Mines (ASAVIM) and Union of Saharawi Journalists and Writers (UPES).
Speaking during the meeting, President of ASAVIM Mr. Aziz Haidar asked the UN to pressurize Moroccan occupation to remove the Moroccan military wall, also known as Wall of Shame or the Berm, which represents a war crime.
Mr. Haidar called for the need to put pressure on Morocco to sign the international treaties to ban mines such as Ottawa and Oslo Treaties, highlighting in this regard that the Frente POLISARIO signed Oslo Convention years ago.
“Morocco cannot continue to reject mines clearance from Western Sahara, it planted along the Berm,” underlined President of ASAVIM, calling on the United Nations to assist the Saharawis to rehabilitate and help the victims of mines, increased year after year.
ASAVIM recorded, in a statistics launched on 28 February 2012 and still underway, 1142 victims of mines, revealed Mr. Haidar.
The UN Envoy Christopher Ross has several talks and meetings with civil society, POLISARIO leadership and Saharawi government, to conclude the visit Monday by a meeting with the President of the Republic and Secretary General of the POLISARIO Front Mr. Mohamed Abdelaziz. (SPS)
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