Alicante (Spain), 02/14/2017 (SPS) - The XI Congress of the Spanish Inter trade Union Confederation, held on 10, 11 and 12 February in the city of Alicante, has unanimously adopted a resolution in Solidarity with the Saharawi People And for the freedom of political prisoners.
With the participation of a delegation from the General Union of Workers of Saguia Hamas and Rio de Oro, (UGTSARIO), headed by Labedda Kasia, Head of International Relations and Cooperation, the XI Congress rejected the harsh sentences imposed on 25 Sahrawi by a Moroccan military court in 2012, in a farce trial and without procedural guarantees, sentenced nine of them to life imprisonment, four to 30 years' imprisonment, seven to 25 years, Three to 20 years and two to two years in prison.
The resolution recalled that the prisoners were accused of having participated in the organization of the Gdeim Izik Camp held at the end of 2010 outside the occupied city of El Aaiún, the capital of Western Sahara, and in which more than 20,000 Sahrawi protested In this way and peacefully against the violations by Morocco of human rights, the inequalities to which they are subjected, the mass dismissal of Saharawi workers, arbitrary and unwarranted trials, the looting of their natural resources (phosphates, fishing, sand …), etc.
After the pressures and mobilizations demanding the annulment of that trial and the freedom of the political prisoners, the military trial has been annulled, but they are still imprisoned and will again be tried, this time by a civil court, and without the minimum procedural guarantees.
The XI Congress of the Inter-Union Confederation reiterated solidarity with Saharawi political prisoners and rejected this new trial.
The resolution also recalled that the Moroccan administration has no legitimacy or competence to act against them, since the Kingdom of Morocco - as all international and United Nations resolutions dictate - has no jurisdiction or sovereignty over the Territory of Western Sahara.
In that regard, and in response to the international appeal launched by the UGTSARIO, the lawyers of the Inter trade Union Confederation have expressed their support to the group of more than 40 lawyers and jurists from different countries who are defending the Saharawi political prisoners, subject to a second trial In which innocent people are targeted.
"We are facing another episode of the conflict generated by the Moroccan invasion that has lasted for more than 41 years and has condemned hundreds of thousands of Sahrawis refugees in the Tindouf camps, while many others are being persecuted in their own territory, The Western Sahara. Only the cessation of occupation, respect for human rights, the release of Saharawi political prisoners and the exercise of the right to self-determination may open the way to a solution to this conflict, "said the resolution.
The XI Congress of the Inter- Trade Union Confederation demanded the cessation of the Moroccan occupation, called to set the date for the referendum of self-determination to which the Saharawi people are entitled and which the numerous resolutions of the United Nations and its Security Council recognize, and the Freedom of all political prisoners
Ladeda Kasisa, Head of International Relations at UGTSARIO, in addition to thanking the Inter- trade union Confederation for its solidarity and support for the workers and the Saharawi people in general, informed the congressmen about the latest developments related to violations of Human Rights In the Occupied Territories by the Moroccan occupying forces, the dramatic situation experienced by Saharawi political prisoners in Moroccan prisons, the looting of natural resources.
Mr. Laabedda also held talks with trade union delegations participating in the XI Congress of the Inter- trade Union Confederation, France, Portugal and several communities in Spain, where he took the opportunity to inform his interlocutors about the latest developments in the Saharawi cause and Further strengthen relations between these organizations and UGTSARIO. SPS
125/090/TRA