Boujdour (Refugee Camps), Oct 22, 2012 (SPS) - President of Republic and Seretary General of Polisario Front Mohamed Abdelaziz has praised the role of the Saharawi workers in the national struggle, emphasizing "all Sahrawi men and women are workers for independence", in speech at the opening session of 7th Congress of Saharawi Workers Union “UGTSARIO “.
“Ladies and Gentlemen,
Distinguished Guests,
As we open the proceedings of the Seventh Congress of the General Union of the Workers of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro, allow me to welcome all guests, brothers and friends, who have come from Argelia, Mauritania, Tunisia, Spain, South Africa, Nigeria, Venezuela, Sweden, Mexico, Argentina, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland , Polonia, England, Danmark, USA, France, Austria, Brazil, Japan, China and others, to convey the solidarity and friendship of their trade unions and peoples and countries with the Sahrawi people and their legitimate struggle for freedom, dignity and independence.
We also salute all the organisers and participants in the international demonstration, ARTifariti, in its sixth edition, who are present with us today. This initiative embodies the vision of solidarity between peoples; it gathers every year a wide variety of artists to engage in extraordinary artistic, intellectual and solidarity activities with the Sahrawi people to reduce distances between cultures and to give more visibility to the Sahrawi cause worldwide. We thank and welcome them.
I would like to applaud the large presence of Sahrawi workers in this Congress, those coming from the liberated territories and the camps of pride and dignity and abroad, but above all, those coming from the occupied territories and southern Morocco. This is a clear message to the world that the Sahrawi people, and despite the tragedies of displacement and exile, are determined to move forward together, with their workers, youth, men and women, in their just and legitimate struggle against all forms of oppression, injustice and tyranny.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Guests,
This Congress is being held as the Sahrawi people are preparing for marking the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro and the launching of armed struggle against the colonial presence in Weatern Sahara . It also coincides with the thirty-seventh anniversary of the Declaration of National Unity, that historic event that galvanised all Sahrawis and consolidated their unity, under the banner of the Frente POLISARIO, in the face of a tripartite international conspiracy that was aiming at annihilating their people and identity.
The Congress also coincides with the second anniversary of Gdeim Izik protest, which embodied the unity, solidarity and attachment to the identity and to peaceful resistance and national goals. That historic protest has given the tangible evidence of the categorical rejection of the Sahrawi people of the Moroccan occupation and colonial policies.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Distinguished Guests,
I would like to seize on this opportunity to pay tribute to the memory of the Martyr after whose name this Congress is honoured to be named, Martyr Said Ahmed Abdel Wahab Damber. His case is still and will remain open until the whole truth is revealed about the double crime perpetrated by the Moroccan occupying authorities against him and his family, when they assassinated him and buried him forcibly, without conducting any independent medical inquiry.
We also pay tribute to the memory of all martyrs of the national cause, led the Martyr of freedom and dignity, the Founder of the Glorious May Revolution, Martyr El Wali Mustapha Sayed. Our most sincere greetings and appreciation go to the Sahrawi People’s Liberation Army that has made historic glories for our people, and is now ready to carry on the liberation march and to face up to all current and future challenges.
We warmly salute our people who are carrying on the increasingly widespread and valiant peaceful resistance, the Uprising for Independence, in the occupied territories and southern Morocco and university campuses.
In this regard, we condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the colonial and repressive practices pursued by the Moroccan occupying power against Sahrawi civilians. We also express our solidarity with all Sahrawi prisoners of conscience in Moroccan prisons and with their families. These heroes continue to defy resolutely the practices of torture, intimidation, harassment and siege, including the announcement by the Moroccan government that it would bring a group of Sahrawi activists before a military court on 24 October.
All members of this group were arrested before, during and after the Moroccan military attack on Gdeim Izik Camp erected by displaced Sahrawis on 8 November 2010. Their bringing before a military court is a heinous crime and a shameful act that is characteristic of tyrannical regimes, and it should be condemned vehemently.
Their case requires a decisive and urgent intervention by the international community to ensure their immediate and unconditional release and to stop the blatant injustice inflicted on them, and to prevent the recurrence of medieval barbaric practices in the twenty-first century.
We renew our call for the release of Yahya Mohamed El-Hafed Izza and all Sahrawi prisoners of conscience and the accounting for more than 651 missing Sahrawis at the hands of the Moroccan State. We also call for stopping the massive looting of the Sahrawi natural resources by the Moroccan occupying authorities Moroccan and for the dismantling of the Moroccan military separation wall, a virtual crime against humanity, which divides Sahrawi families, and is equipped with millions of mines, including internationally banned anti-personnel mines.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Distinguished Guests,
It is no wonder that “development” in the slogan of the Seventh Congress of the General Union of the Workers Saguia el Hamra and Río de Oro is linked to “resistance” and “liberation”. All Sahrawi men and women are workers for independence.
Since the beginning, the Sahrawi workers were at the forefront in various structures and political and military bodies of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Río de Oro. In view of their high enthusiasm and active participation and the wide range of this organisation that includes all segments of society and the two genders, it is natural that the Sahrawi workers have an active and permanent presence in the national liberation war.
Let us remember here that heroic operation that we mark its thirty-eighth anniversary, which was carried out on 20 October 1974 by Sahrawi workers against the Spanish conveyer belt of phosphate at the mine of Boukraa, in order to stop the looting of the Sahrawi wealth. That day has become the national day of the Sahrawi worker.
In line with the decisions of the thirteenth Congress of the Frente POLISARIO, the Sahrawi trade union is today, an active agent of the Sahrawi national struggle for freedom and emancipation. At its seventh congress, it is about to begin a new stage for which it will set goals and plans that would take into account the objective conditions arising from the reality of the Moroccan occupation of parts of the Sahrawi Republic, whilst complying with the universal principles and rules that frame the global trade unionism.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Distinguished Guests,
While we stress our readiness to cooperate seriously and constructively with the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy, Mr Christopher Ross, we welcome the latter’s expected visit to the region. We hope that the visit would contribute to putting things in perspective, particularly in terms of enabling MINURSO to accomplish without delay its mandate by holding a referendum on self-determination for the Sahrawi people. It is also our hope that it would be empowered to work, like other operations in the world, in an atmosphere of integrity, transparency and freedom of movement and communication with Sahrawi citizens, and thus for ensuring the protection, monitoring and reporting on the human rights in the territory.
It is only through resolving the conflict in Western Sahara in accordance with the UN Charter and resolutions, particularly the right of colonial countries and peoples to freedom and independence, that real regional integration and cooperation can materialise.
In this context, we would like to draw attention to the serious security situation in the region, including threats to its security and stability, and we renew our condemnation of all terrorist acts.
We also condemn the role played by the Moroccan State in fuelling the situation, either by violating international law through its occupation of Western Sahara or by being the main producer and exporter of cannabis, given that drugs and terrorism have become two sides of the same coin represented by transnational groups engaged in organised crime and illicit activities.
In the face of the intransigence of the Moroccan government and its continued obstruction of a peaceful, democratic and just solution, the message of the Sahrawi people is that the independence of Western Sahara, the last colony in Africa, is a right guaranteed by international legality. The Sahrawi people have demonstrated over 40 years of heroic struggle their steadfast attachment to this legitimate right. Victory is certain and there is no alternative to the realisation of the free will of the Sahrawi people, and there is no choice but to intensify the resistance, by all legitimate means, no matter how long it may take and no matter the sacrifices that it may require.
We applaud the noble and courageous positions expressed by certain Moroccan parties, organisations and personalities in support for the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination, and for which they have paid dearly. We would like to assure the brotherly Moroccan people that the just and democratic solution to the conflict is the only way conducive to consolidating relations of fraternity and friendship between the two neighbouring peoples and countries and among the rest of the peoples of the region.
In conclusion, I would like to express once again our sincere thanks and gratitude to all friends and distinguished guests, and to wish every success to the Seventh Congress of the General Union of the Workers Union Saguia el Hamra and Río de Oro.
Let me here make a special mention and express our profound appreciation and gratitude to the sisterly Algeria, this great country that has stood steadfastly and continue to do so, under the leadership of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, by the just struggle of an oppressed people in line with the dictates of international legality and its own principles and ideals. Algeria gave shelter on its land to tens of thousands of refugees who were fleeing napalm and white phosphorous that the Moroccan occupying Air Force were dropping on them.
Long live solidarity between Sahrawi workers and workers of the world and between the Sahrawi people and the peoples of the world for freedom, justice, democracy and peace.
The Sahrawi Independent State is the Solution!
Thank you!