Wellington (New Zealand), October 27, 2018 (SPS) - Mohamed Fadel Kamal, Representative of the Polisario Front in Australia on Thursday called on New Zealand companies involved in the looting of Western Sahara phosphate to cease their activities which are in violation of international laws, hinder "the UN peace process and encourages the Moroccan regime to continue its illegal occupation of Western Sahara."
Welcoming the position of New Zealand government which supports the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and its positive role during its mandate at the UN Security Council, the Polisario representative however condemned the activities of New Zealand companies that illegally exploit the Sahrawi phosphate.
Those companies "are the last ones operating in the field after the withdrawal of all Western companies" he said.
The Polisario Front representative was speaking at a conference organized by the New Zealand Institute of International Relations, under the theme "Western Sahara, Africa’s last colony: the role of natural resources in the persistence of the occupation."
The conference was attended by ambassadors accredited in New Zealand, magistrates, researchers, journalists and UN officials in New Zealand, as well as members of the Solidarity Movement with the Sahrawi people and a large number of students and academics.
In his speech, the representative of the Polisario Front outlined the stages of the Sahrawi people struggle for freedom. He also mentioned the UN resolutions and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that affirmed the Sahrawi people right to self-determination and independence.
The Sahrawi official recalled that the Moroccan occupation has been flagrant violation of the UN Charter and its resolutions on Western Sahara decolonization, highlighting the suffering of the Sahrawi people due to the occupation of their territory and the violation of its rights. (SPS)
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