Chahid Al Hafed (Refugee Camps), April 14, 2013 (SPS) - President of the Republic and Secretary General of the POLISARIO Front Mr. Mohamed Abdelaziz said that the position of France on Western Sahara conflict is still confusing and needs clarification, adding that the principles of democracy, human rights and the right to self-determination cannot be subject to “bargaining”.
"(...) we would have liked that (Francois Hollande) calls things by their names. There are principles that cannot be bargained (principles of democracy, human rights and the right of peoples to self-determination),” stated the Saharawi President, in an interview with the Algerian News Agency (APS), arguing that France “must be clearer on these issues.”
However, he felt that there is a “positive” change in the position of France, as, he said, the President Holland insisted in his speech of April 4 before the Moroccan Parliament on the need to resolve the Western Sahara conflict.
Describing as “important” the visit of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, Christopher Ross, to the region, he recalled that the visit was a step before the presentation on April 22 of his report on Western Sahara to the Security Council which is called upon to decide the fate of the conflict, according to the content of the document.
The President felt, moreover, that the interest of the recent visit of Christopher Ross lies in the fact that he met this time Saharawis in the occupied territories in the city of Dakhla, while his previous visit was limited to the city of El Aaiun.
“The talks he had with citizens, in addition to those with the parties to the conflict and neighboring countries, are all factors that argue for the need to advance the issue of Western Sahara in the direction of United Nations resolutions, and in a way that ensures the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination,” he confirmed.
These talks, he said, mainly “alerted” Ross on the situation of human rights in the occupied territories and the illegal exploitation of natural resources in the Saharawi territories.
He also considered that the visit of Ross is a proof for his will to continue the efforts in maintaining the principle of visits and talks with the stakeholders, while focusing on direct talks between the conflicting parties.
Mohamed Abdelaziz regretted in this regard for the lack of political will from the Moroccan government, a position, he said, which stumbled on all UN efforts to reach a political solution to the conflict, while the same rights in the occupied territories remain without any “guarantee".
To a question on the timing of the next round of negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations, the Saharawi president said that Ross has not confirmed neither the place nor the date of the meeting so far.
“The next meeting of the Security Council will be a test for the United Nations and influential states, notably France,” stated Mohamed Abdelaziz wondering whether this country (France) “will continue to protect Morocco who is accused of so many violations, or we will see a change in its position.”
“The credibility of the United Nations today is precisely the settlement of the Saharawi conflict as it is the last case of decolonization,” he added.
Morocco overwhelmed by the reports of NGOs and organizations of human rights
Responding to a question about the letter he recently sent to the King of Morocco on the challenging situation of human rights in the occupied territories, Secretary General of the POLISARIO Front noted that “the majority of international, continental and regional organizations emphasized, during the last two months, the horrendous violations committed against the Saharawi population in the occupied territories.”
He cited, in this regard, the reports of Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the UN Special Rapporteur against Torture, UN Delegation for Human Rights, Front Line, European Parliament, RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights and African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Recalling that Morocco is sitting on a kingdom of drugs, the Secretary General of the Polisario Front said that the country “is one of the founders of the terrorist movements that operates in the Sahel region”, adding that it was “behind many cases of organized crime.”
“This has become a reality and all the attempts to involve the Polisario Front in these acts are doomed to failure and particularly tends to hide the fact that Morocco encourages terrorist organizations to market the drug and to undertake kidnappings for ransom benefit,” he said.
“Every time when Morocco is cornered and brought in front of its responsibilities vis-à-vis the conflict with Western Sahara, he tries to make Algeria a scapegoat by accusing him of being behind the unresolved conflict. Indeed, Algeria, at all times, has had a clear position in encouraging the decolonization of our territory and supporting the right of our people to self-determination,” he added.
He stressed, in this context, that Algeria “expects nothing of Western Sahara, except that she looks for the respect of the right of our people to self-determination. Algeria is also a victim of the expansionist policy of Morocco, and we denounce the Moroccan attempts to involve Algeria in the conflict, which are actually attempts to obscure reality and evasion.”
Negative impact of the global economic crisis on the humanitarian situation in the Sahrawi refugee camps
Concerning a question on situation in the Saharawi refugee camps, SADR President deplored the “negative effects” of the global economic crisis on the level of food aid.
He, in this regard, sent an urgent call to the international community in order to take into account the difficult conditions faced by the Sahrawi refugees.
The Saharawi President invited, in this regard, the international community to put pressure on Morocco to end the suffering of the Saharawi people, because in the end, he said, the solution can only be political through referendum on self-determination of the Saharawi people.
On this occasion, he applauded the resistance of the Saharawi people, pointing in particular to patience of Saharawi women who coped with the difficult situations.
He reiterated thanks to Algeria which have provided invaluable assistance for the Saharawi people over many years.
“It is true that sometimes the Saharawi youth feels impatient, especially because of the provocations of Morocco in the occupied territories, but we are keen to express our anger in the most peaceful ways and we hoped that the United Nations would reach to the organization of the referendum on self-determination,” concluded the Saharawi president. (SPS)
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