Shaheed Al Hafed (refugee camps), Feb 18, 2013 (SPS) - National Secretariat of the POLISARIO Front described the sentences pronounced against Gdeim Izik prisoners as “a provocative and escalatory step” by Moroccan government, highlighting, in a statement concluded its emergency meeting on Sunday, that it is a blow to efforts of the UN and does not contribute to create the appropriate atmosphere for reaching a political settlement.
POLISARIO National Secretariat warned that the Sahrawi people have no responsibility at all of what might result from it.
It considered that this unfair trial is the result of the absence of a UN mechanism to monitor human rights in Western Sahara, recalling in this respect that the MINURSO mission “is the only one of its counterparts in the world that has no such mandate, a thing which affect the credibility of the United Nations.”
In this sense, it reiterated its appeal to the UN to assume “full responsibility” towards the Saharawi people, calling in the same regard for imposing sanctions on Moroccan government to release Gdeim Izik group and all the Saharawi political prisoners.
In this respect, POLISARIO National Secretariat decided to take a range of measures aimed at escalating the Intifada (uprising) and national action for the release of Gdeim izik detainees and all the Saharawi prisoners.
It, therefore, expressed thanks and gratitude for the international organizations and observers as well as Saharawi citizens and independent media in accompanying proceedings of the trial for more than 15 days in the Moroccan capital, Rabat.
The statement noted that the trial represents a failure of Moroccan policies of expansion and occupation in one hand and a new victory for the Saharawi people in his struggle for freedom and independence in other hand.
The statement called on the Saharawi people and his brotherly Moroccans to act to stop such “flagrant assault” perpetrated by Moroccan regime, in the name of Moroccan people, against the defenseless and oppressed Saharawi people, through terrible methods that hurt reputation of Moroccan people and contradict grossly with his aspirations in establishing justice, democracy and respect for human rights.
“Such act does not indicate at all to any real orientation by Moroccan state towards the establishment of the rule of law, but it strengthens its repression machine the Saharawi and Moroccan peoples have long suffered from,” said the statement.
It also recalled that Moroccan policies, both old and new, have failed being related to authoritarian and dictatorial regimes humanity witnessed their atrocity during antiquity and modern times, highlighting that the sentences were “sham and unfair” like those carried out by French colonialism in Algeria, Apartheid in South Africa as well as the dictatorial regimes in Argentine and Pinochet in Chile and others.
It is worthnoting that the Moroccan military court of Rabat sentenced 8 defendants of the 24 Saharawi political prisoners, known as Gdeim Izik group, to life imprisonment and one to life in prison in absentia, four to 30-year prison term, eight to 25-year and three to 20-year jail term. It released 2 of them after they sentenced to two-year in prison, because they have already served their terms in custody.
Thr group was arrested following Moroccan military attack on Gdeim Izik protest camp, near the capital El Aaiun, on 8 November 2010. (SPS)
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