March 2017

Madrid, 11 March 2017 (SPS) - A conference on the struggle of Saharawi women in the camps, occupied territories and diaspora was held yesterday at the center of Women and Equality of the City Council of Getafe, Madrid, at the initiative of the RedMamsa (Madrid Network for Support to Saharawi Women)
The Conference was attended by the Secretary General of the National Union of Saharawi Women (UNMS), Fatma Mehdi, and the head of International Relations Jadiyetu El Mohtar, in addition to Meti Mohamed Lamin, Digja Lechgar, Aicha Babeit, and young Fati Jadad.

Complex of Hussein Tamek, 11 March 2017 (SPS) - Prime Minister, Abdelkader Taleb Omar, received Friday a delegation of the International Union of Jurists, in presence of Minister of Information, Mr Hamada Salma, and President of the Constitutional Council, Mr. Mohamed Buzeid.

Brussels, 10 March 2017 (SPS) - The Polisario Front calls on the European Commission to open discussions to make legal the presence of the European economic players in Western Sahara in accordance with the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), warning that if not, the Front will act with determination to impose the full implementation of the law.

Nouakchott (Mauritania), 10 March 2017 (SPS) - The Saharawi coordinator with the UN mission for the referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), Mhamed Khadad, was received on Thursday by Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz, to whom he handed a message from President of the Republic, Secretary General of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali.

London, March 10, 2017 (SPS) - International human rights organization, Amnesty International calls for a "fair trial" for the Sahrawi political prisoners of Gdeim Izik, held arbitrary by the Moroccan occupation authorities.
The trial of 24 Sahrawis, to take place on 13 March in a civilian court, "is an opportunity to redress the numerous violations that tainted their fundamentally flawed military trial in 2013," said the AI in a statement.

Algiers, March 09, 2017 (SPS) -  Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Alfonso Dastis on Wednesday  reaffirmed his country’s support to the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination, recalling that Spain has a "historical and emotional" connection with occupied Western Sahara people.

Brussels (Belgium), March 09, 2017 (SPS) - The illegal exploitation of natural resources in western Sahara after the European Union Court of Justice (EUCJ) ruled on the matter has sparked concerns among the members of the EU Parliament (MEPs).
The MEPs called on the European Commission to publish the "consultative guidelines" for the attention of companies about the legal risks of disregarding EUCJ's decision.

Paris, March 09, 2017 (SPS) -The lawyers defending Sahrawi political prisoners, condemned by a Moroccan military tribunal, on Tuesday denounced a "sham trial", which will resume on next Monday in Rabat in a civil tribunal.  
Held by three French MPs, namely Noel Mamere, Jacqueline Frayse and François Asensi, and the Action of Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT), the press conference of the lawyers of the 24 Sahrawi activities was an opportunity to explain the "difficulties" they face in the defence of these prisoners.

Bogotá, March 07, 2017 (SPS) -The head of International Relations of the UNMS has presented a conference at the free university of Colombia on the human rights situation in the occupied Western Sahara by Morocco.
The conference took place on Friday, March 3 and was attended by Dr. Dean, Mr. Carlos Arturo Hernández Díaz, the director of the Department of Socials, Don. Néstor Barón, Deputy Dean Hernando Peña and teachers of this university.

Algiers, March 6, 2017 (SPS) – President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, has expressed hope that the US current administration led by Donald Trump will contribute in accelerating a just, lasting and democratic solution in Western Sahara, through the urgent application of the UN and AU settlement plan in 1991.

Acraa (Ghana), March 6, 2017 (SPS) - President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, sent a congratulatory message to his Ghanaian counterpart Mr. Nana Addo Dankwa Akofo-Addo, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Ghana, the first independent country in sub-Saharan Africa.

Luxembourg, March 5, 2017 (SPS) - Deputy Minister for Europe, Mohamed Sidati, has affirmed in an interview with Euronews Chanel “the standoff in Guerguerat occurred because Morocco violated the cease-fire by crossing the wall” and “tensions had been growing, but that should not mask the root of the problem which is the Western Sahara conflict.”
Below is the text of the full interview:

Bir Lahlou (Liberated Territories), March 5, 2017 (SPS) -The Sahrawi people are celebrating on Sunday the 41st anniversary of the foundation of the first Sahrawi government, with the resolution of pursuing the fight to recover their land from the Moroccan occupier.
In a context marked by legal and diplomatic victories and a large-scale campaign of international solidarity in support to the Sahrawi cause, the Council of Ministers held a meeting under the chairmanship of Sahrawi president and Secretary General of Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali.

Bir-Lehlu (Liberated Zones), March 5, 2017 (SPS)- The Council of Ministers set during a meeting Friday in the liberated town of Bir-Lehlu, an action plan for the reconstruction of the liberated zones of Western Sahara to realize the decisions of the 14th Congress of the Polisario Front and the Government programme for the year 2017.

Shaheed El-Hafed (Refugee Camps), March 5, 2017 (SPS) – President of Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, inaugurated the new center of preparation of electronic documents, associated to the Central Directorate of Statistics.

Bir-Lehlu (Liberated Zones), March 4, 2017 (SPS) - The Council of  Ministers has expressed rejection to the Moroccan attempts to deceive the world by retreating few meters into its trenches in the military wall.   

Bamako (Mali), March 4, 2017 (SPS) – The 11th Ordinary Congress of the Organization of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU), held in Bamako, Mali, has expressed its solidarity with the struggle of the Sahrawi people for self-determination and independence.
The Congress welcomed, in a recommendation, all international, United Nations and African Union resolutions in favour of a fair and lasting solution to the Western Sahara conflict.
The recommendation called on the United Nations to speed-up the settlement process in Western Sahara. (SPS)

Washington, March 4, 2017 (SPS) - The Moroccan authorities continued in 2016 imposing restrictions on the civil and political rights of the Sahrawis in the occupied territories, according to the US Department of State in its annual report on human rights practices in the world.
“The most significant human rights problems in the territory of Western Sahara were Moroccan government restrictions on the civil liberties and on the political rights of pro-independence advocates,” US Department of State said in its report.

Bamako (Mali), March 4, 2017 (SPS) – A delegation of Sahrawi Workers Union (UGTARIO) led by Secretary-General Salama Brahim, took part Friday in Malian capital Bamako, in the 11th Ordinary Congress of the Organization of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU).
The opening ceremony, which was attended by some 50 African trade union organization and many international organizations, was marked by the presence of Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, accompanied by several members of the government and the diplomatic corps accredited in Bamako.

London, March 4, 2017 (SPS) -The Polisario Front, only legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people has become a consultative member of the Socialist International (IS) association after being an observatory member 2008, representation of the Front in London announced.
"Despite Morocco's attempts to put obstacles to this new status, five of the eight members of the IS ethics committee granted the consultative member status to the Polisario Front, representative of the Polisario to the UK Mohamed Limam Mohamed Ali said.