Johannesburg, March 18, 2014 (SPS) - President of the Republic, Secretary General of the Polisario Front Mr. Mohamed Abdelaziz has hailed the work done by the Pan-African Parliament during the past decade, highlighting that it has contributed effectively to the process of building the African Union.
In a speech delivered Tuesday at the ceremonies marking the 10th anniversary of PAP establishment, President Mohamed Abdelaziz expressed, on behalf of the people and Government of the Sahrawi Republic, best congratulations to the Bureau and honourable members of the Pan-African Parliament on this happy occasion, which he hoped to be another milestone in the history of this institution.
"The Sahrawi Republic, which is one of the Vice-Presidents of the Pan-African Parliament, is proud of this achievement and appreciates the role played by the Sahrawi Parliament in this context, especially by passing a great number of AU treaties and conventions," said President Mohamed Abdelaziz.
President of the Republic went on saying that a future Pan-African Parliament with full legislative and law-making powers, which are binding on all African countries, "will significantly promote the unity and cohesion of the continent and will open new horizons towards a future of stability and prosperity."
He also expressed confidence that the PAP will achieve further gains and take its place as one of the organs of the African Union and will play its role in laying the foundations of democracy, good governance, unity, development and integration of our dear continent.
«The Sahrawi Republic, as a founding member of the African Union, subscribes to this vision that lays the foundations for envisaging the best ways to deal with the political, economic and social situation of our continent and with vital issues such as peace, security, development, youth and women empowerment, poverty and diseases, among others,» he underlined.
Following the full text of the address delievered by His Excellency Mohamed Abdelaziz, President of the Sahrawi Republic (SADR) and Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO at the 10th Anniversary of the Establishment of Pan-African Parliament
«Midrand, South Africa, 18 March 2014
Hon. Bethel Nnaemeka Amadi, President of the Pan-African Parliament
His Excellency President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, President of the Islamic
Republic of Mauritania and Chairperson of the African Union
Honourable Members of the Pan-African Parliament
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is a great honour for us today to be a guest of honour at the Pan-African Parliament as it celebrates the tenth anniversary of its establishment. We highly appreciate this kind invitation that reflects the real and firm commitment of the representatives of the peoples of Africa regarding the issues of the continent.
Allow me, first, to express, on behalf of the people and Government of the Sahrawi Republic, our best congratulations to the Bureau and honourable members of the Pan-African Parliament on this happy occasion, which we hope, as you do, to be another milestone in the history of this institution.
Today Africa is proud of the historic achievements made by South Africa thanks to the sacrifices of its people and the struggle and wisdom of the international African symbol, Nelson Mandela. On 27 next April, we will celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the triumph of freedom, democracy and reconciliation in this country. Twenty years ago, this platform for dialogue and democracy would have been impossible.
Allow me also to extend my thanks and appreciation to His Excellency President Jacob Zuma, and through him to all the people of South Africa, for the tremendous efforts and warm hospitality and for hosting the Parliament of the African peoples in Midrand.
We congratulate the Pan-African Parliament on the generally positive outcome of the past decade. We believe that it has contributed effectively to the process of building the African Union. The Sahrawi Republic, which is one of the Vice-Presidents of the Pan-African Parliament, is proud of this achievement and appreciates the role played by the Sahrawi Parliament in this context, especially by passing a great number of AU treaties and conventions.
We are confident that a future Pan-African Parliament with full legislative and law-making powers, which are binding on all African countries, will significantly promote the unity and cohesion of the continent and will open new horizons towards a future of stability and prosperity.
The Sahrawi Republic, as a founding member of the African Union, subscribes to this vision that lays the foundations for envisaging the best ways to deal with the political, economic and social situation of our continent and with vital issues such as peace, security, development, youth and women empowerment, poverty and diseases, among others.
Ladies and Gentlemen
A major concern for our continent is terrorism that is taking place in some parts of Africa. On this occasion, we would like to renew our condemnation of the criminal acts that have occurred in countries such as sisterly Nigeria. We express our full solidarity with the Nigerian people and Government in the face of the blind extremism that has targeted defenceless civilians including schoolchildren.
I would also like to pay tribute to the important role played by sisterly Algeria in combating this menace. Algeria was among the first countries that were hit by terrorism, but it fought it with courage and capability, and today it has become an African and global reference for the fight against terrorism.
It is beyond any doubt that drugs are the most powerful sources of support and encouragement for terrorism. Africa regrettably suffers from this scourge because the Kingdom of Morocco exports drugs as much as it exports expansionism.
We are talking about reports of organisations such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime that has highlighted the risk posed by Moroccan drugs to North Africa. The International Narcotics Control Board has also underlined that between 65% and 72% of the total amount of drugs that were intercepted in the past two years originated from Morocco. The report issued this year by the U.S. Department of State equally underscored that Morocco is the world leading producer and exporter of cannabis.
We would like to express our solidarity with the Republic of Mali whose northern part is witnessing dangerous activities by terrorist groups linked to drug trafficking. We would also like to renew our support for the Malians in their efforts to resolve all their differences in a peaceful way that enables every Malian citizen to live in freedom and dignity, and we are committed to the safeguarding of the territorial unity and integrity of the country.
I would also like to take this opportunity to call on the parties in the Central African Republic and in Southern Sudan to work together to bring peace and stability in the framework of the preservation of the sovereignty and unity of the two countries.
We affirm our strong commitment to the decisions and steps taken by the African Union, which works to find African solutions to African problems, and we commend the laudable efforts that it is undertaking these days under the chairpersonship of His Excellency President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.
I would like to salute Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the AU Commission, the first African woman to assume deservedly such a high-profile mission, who has been working diligently and devotedly with her team of the Commission. Indeed, she has honoured African men and women and that is why she has earned all our support and admiration.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Like other peoples in Africa, the Sahrawi people suffered from Western colonialism. Last year, our people commemorated the fortieth anniversary of the commencement of their liberation struggle, led by the Frente POLISARIO, which culminated in the departure of Spanish colonialism in early 1976 without completing the decolonisation of our country.
We were surprised that colonialism could also come from within the continent. Our country was invaded militarily by Morocco on 31 October 1975 in blatant violation of the ruling of the International Court of Justice and the Charter and resolutions of the United Nations and the African Union, particularly the intangibility of borders inherited from the colonial era.
Despite all this, and thanks to the intervention of our continental organisation and the United Nations and with the acceptance of the Moroccan government, we agreed on the holding of a referendum on self-determination for the Sahrawi people. However, just like the apartheid regime, the Moroccan regime fears the truth and democracy. That is why it has reneged on its international obligations, and today it continues to hinder the holding of the referendum.
Not only that. This august House has listed to compelling testimonies about the gross violations of human rights perpetrated by the occupying Moroccan State against Sahrawi civilians. The violations have been documented in the reports of several countries, organisations and institutions such as the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Parliament, the U.S. Department of State, Amnesty International, Human Right Watch and the Robert F. Kennedy Centre for Justice and Human Rights, among others.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Following in the footsteps of the founding fathers such as Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere or Patrice Lumumba, the symbol of African struggle, Nelson Mandela, once said: “Freedom cannot be given in doses; one is either free or not free”. The Pan-African Parliament, the African Union and all African peoples are therefore called upon to end this illegal and immoral situation and to defend an African just cause and the right of an African people to freedom and independence and to the internationally recognised right of self-determination.
As we are preparing for the EU-Africa Summit to be held next month, we would like to draw attention to the Fisheries Agreement concluded between the European Union and Morocco. This agreement involves the Sahrawi occupied territories in blatant violation of international law and the legal opinion of the UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and the Legal Counsel. For this reason, action should be taken to stop the plundering of African natural resources.
Action should equally be taken to remove the 2700 km wall of Moroccan military occupation that divides Western Sahara and its people, and is infested with millions of mines including the internationally banned anti-personnel mines, barbed wire, trenches and ditches and is protected by a huge arsenal of destruction in addition to tens of thousands of soldiers.
We call upon you to ensure that the United Nations assume its responsibility in accelerating the decolonisation of Western Sahara, the last colony in Africa, through the holding of a free, just and fair referendum on self-determination for the Sahrawi people. We also call upon you to act immediately in support of the establishment of a UN mechanism for the protection, monitoring and reporting on human rights in the Sahrawi territories under Moroccan occupation, and to ensure the release of all Sahrawi political prisoners held in Moroccan jails.
We are confident that the Pan-African Parliament will achieve further gains and take its place as one of the organs of the African Union and will play its role in laying the foundations of democracy, good governance, unity, development and integration of our dear continent.
Long live the Pan-African Parliament!
Long live the African Union!
Peace be upon you!» (SPS)
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