February 2013

Madrid, Feb 22, 2013 (SPS) - The Italian Communist Refoundation Party has condemned the sentenced issued last Sunday by Moroccan martial court of Rabat against the Saharawi activists, while Spain witnessed a wave of condemnation to this trial.
 

In a statement published Friday in Rome, the Head of the Party’s External Relations Mr. Fabio Amato described the trial as a “farce”, adding that the verdict was “another violation of human rights.”
 

New York (United Nations), Feb 22, 2013 (SPS) - The UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon urged Thursday the UN Special Committee on Decolonization to be more effective in the process of decolonization, arguing that “colonialism has no place in the modern world.”
 

London, Feb 22, 2013 (SPS) - The organization “Justice”, which advocates for the respect of human rights in Western Sahara, strongly condemned Friday trial of the 24 Saharawi political prisoners.


In a statement published Friday by Algerian Press Service (APS), the Organization said that Morocco “brought the Saharawi political prisoners to a martial court which does not respect international standards for a fair trial, in spite of the calls by international community to bring them to a civil court.”

London, Feb 22, 2013 (SPS) - The well-known British daily newspaper “Guardian” published Thursday a petition signed by a group of international figures, in which they condemned the martial trial of Gdeim izik detainees and demand the establishment of UN mechanism to monitor and protect human rights in Western Sahara.

Paris, Feb 22, 2013 (SPS) - Human rights activists and political parties will hold a demonstration, in Paris on February 27, to demand the release of the 24 Sahrawi political prisoners of Gdeim Izik, given recently heavy sentences by a Moroccan military court, and call on the French authorities to condemn the “iniquitous” trial pronounced against the detainees.

New York (United Nations), Feb 22, 2013 (SPS) - “The United Nations Mission for Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) has been ruled out from the gradual reform of the missions entrusted with the other UN peacekeeping operations,” said Algerian representative to UN.

Dublin, Feb 22, 2013 (SPS) - Responding to a question by the Parliament regarding Ireland’s position on human rights in Western Sahara, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Mr. Eamon Gilmore said that his country “closely follows” the situation of human rights in Western Sahara.

New York, 21 fév 2013 (SPS) – Le Secrétaire général de l’ONU, M. Ban Ki-moon, a exhorté jeudi le Comité onusien de décolonisation à faire preuve de plus d’efficacité dans son processus de décolonisation, soutenant que ‘’le colonialisme n’a pas sa place dans le monde moderne.’’

      
Le chef de l’ONU s’exprimait à l’ouverture de la session annuelle du Comité spécial chargé de l’application de la Déclaration sur l’octroi de l’indépendance

aux pays colonisés, appelé aussi ‘’Comité des 24’’, pour les 16 territoires

Shahid Alhafed, Feb21, 2013(SPS) President of the Republic, Secretary General of the Polisario Front Mohamed Abdelaziz, on Thursday expressed to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, through a telephone call “the deep concern of the Polisario Front, the Saharawi Government and the Saharawi People after unjust Moroccan military trial  and its arbitrary rulings against the 25 saharawi civilian innocents detainees before, during and following the brutal dismantling by Moroccan forces of the Saharawi protest camp at Gdem Izik on 8 November 2010”
 

Leesburg (USA) Feb21, 2013(SPS) the American- based Organization Strategic Conflict Resolution Group ,on Wednesday called on the United Nation Security Council to exert pressure on Morocco to overturn arbitrary sentences against25 Saharawi political prisoners by Moroccan military court.
 

“We call on the United Nations Security Council to pressure Morocco to overturn the sentences,” writes chairman of the Group, Don L. Pepper, to president of the United Nations Security Council.

Doblin(Ireland)Feb21,2013(SPS) “The Government will continue to raise concerns about human rights abuses in Western Sahara, said on Wednesday the Ireland Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Eamon Gilmore.
 

“in particular reports of the arbitrary arrest, detention and mistreatment of human rights defenders, with Morocco in our ongoing bilateral dialogue.” he added.
 

London (UK) Feb21, 2013(SPS) MPS, diplomats, human rights sympathizers and personalities from UK, Australia, and Switzerland and around the world, have urged the international community to speak out against arbitrary sentences against 25 Saharawi political prisoners by Moroccan military tribunal on Feb16.
 

“We urge the international community to speak out against these sentences and support our call for independent human rights monitoring in Western Sahara.” they wrote in a letter published on Wednesday at the Guardian newspaper.
 

Washington, DC, Feb. 21, 2013(SPS) the American- based humanitarian organization, Not Forgotten International, called upon the Government of the United States and the United Nations to take immediate measures against Moroccan criminal behavior after the military court of Rabat sentenced 25 Saharawi political prisoners to between 20years imprisonment and life sentences.
 

Washington, DC, Feb. 21, 2013(SPS) “The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights is deeply disturbed by the mistreatment and the military trial of 25 Sahrawi in Morocco.” said the Center on Wednesday in press release reached SPS
 

 The RFK Center called “for a full investigation into the alleged torture of the prisoners and calls into question Morocco's use of military courts in trying civilians.”
 

Algiers,Feb21,2013(SPS) - President of the Association of the families of Sahrawi detainees and missing Abdesselam Omar, denounced Wednesday in Algiers the arbitrary verdict pronounced by the Moroccan military court against 24 Sahrawi prisoners of Gdeim Izik, dubbing the trial "illegal and arbitrary."
 

Washington D.C ,Feb20,2013(SPS) the US Western Sahara Foundation , on Tuesday urged the United Nations Security Council to call upon Morocco to release 24 Saharawi political prisoners sentenced by Moroccan military court to verdicts between  20 years to life sentences.
 

“I urge the UN Security Council to call upon the King of Morocco to overturn these draconian sentences and release the Sahrawis” writes president of USWS Foundation Suzanne Scholte, to President of the Security Council Kim Sook.
 

Stockholm (Sweden) Feb20, 2013(SPS) the Swedish Western Sahara Committee, on Tuesday has urged the United Nations Security Council to extend the Mandate of the United Nations Mission for Referendum in Western Sahara(MINURSO),as learned from letter sent by President of this organization Jan Strömdahl, to Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon.
 

Geneva , February 19, 2013 (SPS) the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Tuesday has criticized the Moroccan justice on the conditions that surrounded the trial held by the military court in Rabat against the Saharawi political prisoners of Gdeim Izik.
 

Copenhagen (Denmark) Feb20, 2013(SPS) the Danish organization (Africa Contact) on Tuesday strongly condemned the harsh and unjust sentences given February 16th, by a Moroccan military court to 24 Saharawis, according to statement issued by the Organization.
 

 Africa Contact condemned these sentences against Saharawi political prisoners just because they “demanding the right to live in their own country without Moroccan occupation and discrimination.”
 

London, Feb20, 2013 (SPS) The organization of human rights Amnesty International on Tuesday called  on Moroccan authorities to use  civilian Court  to give a fair retrials to 25 saharawi political prisoners have  been sentenced on Sunday by Moroccan military court with arbitrary verdicts , asking for independent investigation on statements of Saharawi prisoners of torture they faced during their detention.