Berlin, April 16, 2012 (SPS) - At the initiative of the German support group “Projektgruppe Westsahara”, many people staged Saturday outside the French Embassy in Berlin, as in many other cities, to demand that human rights abuses in Western Sahara be halted and calling on France to allow giving the MINURSO the power to monitor human rights in the Territory.
The demonstration, which was joined by Volker Beck (Green party) and a member of the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs of German’s parliament (Bundestag), held under the title: “HEY UN! Stop Morocco's Human Rights Violations in WESTERN SAHARA.”
The participants indicated that France not only supports the Moroccan occupation forces in every respect, but going so far as to threaten to prevent human rights monitoring, with a veto in the UN Security Council.
They raised banners painted with three monkeys wearing blue hats like those worn by members of MINURSO “the first does not see, second does not hear and third does not speak” pointing to the failing of the UN mission to notice the human rights violations in occupied Western Sahara.
The participants of the manifestation underlined “the UN Security Council members, who now in April must arrange the continuation of MINURSO's mandate, should be aware of the disappointment and impatience of the young Saharawis, and push for a solution to the conflict, in order to prevent a possible military escalation while they still can.”
It should recalled that similar demonstrations have been held in front of the French embassies in 13 capital: Berlin, Madrid, Rome, Stockholm, Melbourne, Oslo, Paris, Vienna, London, Helsinki and Brussels, in addition to the Saharawi refugee camps and occupied city of El Aaiun, capital of Western Sahara.(SPS)
090/089/000