March 2019

Shaheed Alhafed (Refugee Camps), March 31, 2019 (SPS) – The organisations of Sahrawi civil society has addressed a letter to His Holiness Pope Francis, calling on him to exhort the King of Morocco to abide by the international legality and law and respect the will and rights of the people of Western Sahara.
Below is the full text of the letter addressed to His Holiness Pope Francis by the organisations of Sahrawi Civil society:
“Letter to His Holiness Pope Francisco
30 March 2019
Your Holiness

Shaheed Alhafed, March 29, 2019 (SPS) - The Ministry of Information on Friday celebrated the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Sahrawi News Agency, Sahara Press Service (SPS), on March 29, in the presence of members of the National Secretariat of the Polisario Front, government, journalists of the Ministry of Information, and relevant bodies.
The event witnessed organistion of a discussion table on the performance of the Agency since its establishment in 1999.

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REPORT from Southern African Development Community Published on 26 Mar 2019
26th March, 2019, Pretoria, South Africa: The Southern African Development Community (SADC) on 25-26 March, 2019 convened a Solidarity Conference with Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic/Western Sahara where participants expressed their unwavering commitment to stand in solidarity with the people of Western Sahara to attain their right to freedom and self-determination.

21 Mar 2019 | by Conor McCarthy

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to deliver his welcome address at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) solidarity conference with the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic or Western Sahara, which will be held in Pretoria on Tuesday.
According to the presidency, the conference follows a decision taken at the 37th Summit of the SADC heads of state and government, held in Pretoria in 2017 to convene the Solidarity Conference with Western Sahara.

Opinion / 25 March 2019, 09:00am / LUWELLYN LANDERS
On Monday and Tuesday the Southern African Development Community will convene a Solidarity Conference with the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in Tshwane.
The conference will confirm the region’s support for the decolonisation of the occupied territory and for the holding of a referendum on self-determination for the Saharawi people.
Western Sahara is a Non-Self-Governing Territory of the UN that lies in the Sahel region bordered by the Kingdom of Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania.

Opinion / 24 March 2019, 09:01am / Shannon Ebrahim - The Global Spotlight
It seems Morocco has tried everything to deflect attention from the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) Solidarity Conference with the people of Western Sahara, due to take place in Pretoria on Monday and Tuesday.
The extent to which Morocco has attempted to neutralise African efforts to find a resolution to the conflict and ensure the liberation of Africa’s last colony is a measure of its intransigence and desperation.

Bir Lahlou (Liberated Territories), March 24, 2019 (SPS) - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), Mohamed Salem Ould Salek, said on Sunday that the right to self-determination is the fundamental principle of contemporary international law, signed by the Sahrawi side and Morocco in 1991.

Pretoria, March 24, 2019 (SPS) - South Africa will host the SADC Solidarity Conference on Western Sahara, scheduled for 25 to 26 March 2019 in Pretoria. The conference will be in support of Sahrawi people’s right to freedom and self-determination.
The 38th Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of SADC, held on August 2018, approved the convening of a solidarity conference.

Geneva, March 24, 2019 (SPS) - Nearly 200 NGOs denounced on Friday detention conditions of Sahrawi human rights defender Mbarek Daoudi, despite the opinion made by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
Last August, the working group on arbitrary detention of the UN Human Rights Council adopted an opinion regarding the detention of Mbarek Daoudi.
The UN Working Group’s opinion reveals that the Sahrawi human rights defender rarely had a lawyer and that he suffered abuses which led him to confess that the court used to convict him.

Geneva, March 22, 2019 (SPS) – The Polisario Front has confirmed in a statement on Friday, March 22, that “only with the approval of the Sahrawi people can a solution be enduring and foster a genuine peace that paves the way for a free, prosperous, and democratic Western Sahara, which will contribute to regional peace, stability, security and integration.”
Below is a full read of the text of the statement:

Geneva (Palais des Nations), March 23, 2019 (SPS) - The delegations of the parties in conflict, Morocco and the Polisario Front and, the neighboring countries, Algeria and Mauritania, were called Friday to a new roundtable on the conflict in occupied Western Sahara.
The delegations who have met for two days in Bursins (Vaud - Switzerland) "welcomed the intention of the UN Personal Envoy to invite them again in the same format," said a statement given to the press.
The statement does not mention the date of the meeting.

Bursins (Vaud, Switzerland), March 23, 2019 (SPS) - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra hoped on Friday in Bursins that "more concrete" measures and "more significant" progress will support the effort of UN Personal Envoy for Western Sahara Horst Kohler.

Geneva, March 23, 2019 (SPS) - UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Western Sahara Horst Kohler affirmed Friday, in Geneva, that Western Sahara’s people “need and deserve that this conflict ends,” insisting on reaching a “compromise.”

Paris, March 23, 2019 (SPS) - Representative of the Polisario Front to France Oubi Boucheraya Bachir affirmed that the progress of the negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario Front, which started Thursday in Geneva, under the aegis of the United Nations on the settlement of the Sahrawi conflict, depends on the willingness of the Moroccan occupation regime to respect the United Nations’ resolutions guaranteeing the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination.

Geneva, March 23, 2019 (SPS) - The second round table on Western Sahara, scheduled for Thursday and Friday near Geneva, is an “additional” step in the conflict resolution process, said the United Nations on Wednesday.

Bir lehlu (liberated territories), March  21, 2019 (SPS) - The President of the Republic, Secretary General of the Frente POLISARIO, Brahim Gali, sent a congratulatory message to his counterpart of the Republic of Namibia, His Excellency Mr. Hage Geingob, during the celebration of his country's 29th anniversary of independence of the Republic of Namibia.

Geneva (Switzerland) March 21, 2019 (SPS) – the negotiating team of the Frente POLISARIO has met with the UN envoy for Western Sahara, Horst Köhler, to finalize the preparations for the second round table with Morocco in Geneva, Switzerland.

Bir Lehlu (SADR Liberated Territories), March 14, 2019 (SPS) - the President of the Republic, Brahim Gali, conveyed Tuesday his condolences to HE, Mr. Brahim Boubacar Keita, President of the Republic of Mali following the  military victims of the terrorist attack on Diouram military base
The Saharawi leader conveyed in the name of the People and the Government of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and in his own, his sincere and deep condolences and his total solidarity with the Malian Government and people.