April 2013

Paris, April 29, 2013 (SPS) - France reiterated Monday its “commitment to the right to peaceful protest,” following a peaceful demonstration recently organized by the Saharawis in the occupied city of El Aaiun, occupied Western Sahara, which was repressed by Moroccan police force, leaving nearly 40 injured.


“We regret that this gathering has resulted in violence which left several injuries. We reiterate our commitment to the right to peaceful protest,” French Foreign Ministry spokesman Mr. Philippe Alliot told reporters. (SPS)

Addis Ababa, April 29, 2013 (SPS) - A Saharawi delegation, led by the Minister of Defense Mr. Mohamed Lamin Bouhali, participated at the Sixth Meeting of the African Chiefs of Defense Staff, took place today, Monday, in the Ethiopian capital.


The meeting was chaired by the Federal Republic of Ethiopia and attended by all Member States of the African Union.


The meeting assessed the progress and steps taken to date towards the operationalization of the Rapid Deployment Capability and the challenges encountered thus far.

Chahid Al Hafed (refugee camps), April 29, 2013 (SPS) - Several national organizations have expressed condolences to the Saharawi people following the passing away of Khalil Sid Mhamed, member of POLISARIO National Secretariat, praying to Allah the Almighty to accept him as a martyr among the righteous people.

Bir Lehlou (liberated territories), April 29, 2013 (SPS) - The President of the Republic and Secretary General of the Frente POLISRIO Mr. Mohamed Abdelaziz said, in another letter sent Sunday to the UN Secretary General, that the falling of 90 victims in the recent Moroccan repression “reveals an intention to repeat the scenario of the attack on Gdeim Izik camp.”

Smara (refugee camps), April 29, 2013 (SPS) - Saharawi people paid this morning, Monday, the last tribute to the late Khalil Sid Mhamed, head of POLISRIO Political Braches Secretariat, in a funeral procession took place at the cemetery of Smara, in the presence of a large crowd of citizens, political leadership and friends from Algeria.

Moscow, April 28, 2013 (SPS) - “The independence of Western Sahara is a matter of time,” said Mr. Igor Mentosov, Chairman of the Board of directors of Niccolo M, a public relations company.

Tunis, April 28, 2013 (SPS) - Tunisian Prime Minister Mr. Ali Larayedh said Sunday in Tunis that his country supports “any just and fair solution accepted by all parties” to the Western Sahara conflict.

Copenhagen, April 25th, 2013 (SPS) - The Saharawi human rights defender and former prisoner of conscience, Mr. Ali Salem Tamek, has visited Denmark on 23 and 24 April 2013, where he met officials in the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, representatives from different organizations and a member of the Danish Parliament, according to POLISARIO representation to Denmark.

Algiers, April 28, 2013 (SPS) - The Speaker of the People's National Assembly (Lower House of Parliament) Mr. Mohamed Larbi Ould Khelifa received Sunday in the capital Algiers the President of Saharawi National Council (Parliament) Mr. Khatri Addouh.

Shahed Al Hafed (refugee camps), April 28, 2013 (SPS) - Presidency of the Republic has declared 7-day national mourning starting from today, Sunday, following the sudden death of Khalil Sid Mhamed, member of the National Secretariat and Head of its Political Branches, on Saturday night due to cardiac arrest.

Algiers, April 28, 2013 (SPS) - Algeria has set three conditions, including the question of Western Sahara, for the re-opening of the border with Morocco, closed since 1994, a senior Algerian official told Echorouk newspaper.


“Morocco has to finally admit that Algeria has permanent and irreversible position toward the Western Sahara issue,” stated the official.

El Aaiun (occupied territories), April 28, 2013 (SPS) - Thirty Saharawis were injured in a peaceful demonstration organized Friday afternoon in the occupied city of El Aaiun, capital of Western Sahara, repressed by the Moroccan police , said the NGO Amnesty International, quoted by AFP and adopted by the APS.


The demonstration organized after the vote of the Security Council on the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) without expanding its prerogatives to include the monitoring of human rights.

Algiers, April 28, 2013 (SPS) - The President of the Saharawi National Council Mr. Khatri Addouh welcomed the latest UN resolution that affirms the importance of improving the situation of human rights in the occupied Western Sahara, saying “Western Sahara issue is a question of decolonization which can only be resolved through the exercise of the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination and independence.”

Copenhagen, April 28, 2013 (SPS) - The Representative of the POLISARIO Front to Denmark, Mr. Abba Malainin, attended the annual Congress of the Danish Red-Green Alliance Party (RGA) held from 26 to 28 April, 2013 in Copenhagen, at an official invitation by the Party, according to the POLISARIO representation to Denmark.

Bir Lehlou (liberated territories), April 28, 2013 (SPS) - President of the Republic and Secretary General of the Frente POLISARIO Mr. Mohamed Abdelaziz emphasized the responsibility of the United Nations to ensure the protection and monitoring of human rights in Western Sahara, in a letter sent Saturday to the UN Chief Ban Ki-moon following Morocco’s repression of peaceful demonstration in Saharawi occupied territories.

Shaheed Al Hafed (refugee camps), April 28, 2013 (SPS) - The member of the National Secretariat of the Polisario Front and Head of its Political Branches Secretariat, Mr. Khalil Sid M'Hamed, passed away Saturday night due to heart attack, according to a statement of the Office of the POLISARIO National Secretariat.

Algiers, April 27, 2013 (SPS) - Algerian National People’s Assembly (Parliament) organizes today, Saturday, in Algiers an international parliamentary day of solidarity with the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination.


The event is attended by a number of parliaments from different parts of the world.


It is an opportunity for the parliamentarians present to show solidarity with the Saharawi people, as to renew commitment to defend their right to freedom and independence.

Brussels, April 27, 2013 (SPS) - A delegation of the Party of the European Left (Spanish acronym; PIE), led by the Vice-President Ms. Maite Mola, arrived Friday night in the occupied city of El Aaiun, capital of Western Sahara, in the aim to verify the human rights situation in the Territory, reported the website of Spanish Communist Party.


The delegation brings together women from France, Greece, Spain and Denmark.

New York, April 27, 2013 (SPS) - UN Security Council’s latest resolution on Western Sahara deserves credit for having emphasized "the Council’s commitment to Saharawi people’s right to self-determination as a basis for any political solution to the conflict created by Moroccan occupation," Polisario Front’s representative to the United Nations, Boukhari Ahmed, told APS.


Saharawi official’s statement was made in response to Security Council’s adoption of a resolution on Western Sahara Thursday.

Basque (Spain), April 27, 2013 (SPS) - The Basque National Party “Amaiur” has urged the government of Spain to support the just cause of the Saharawi people, in accordance with international legitimacy.


Reacting to statements of the Spanish foreign minister, Amaiur stressed that the Spanish government gives priority to geopolitical interests with Morocco to the detriment of the legitimate aspirations of the Saharawi people.