Algiers, April 30, 2011 (SPS) - The President of Algeria-Western Sahara Parliamentary Group of Friendship and Brotherhood, Mr. Tayeb Houari, reiterated Thursday Algeria’s firm position towards the just struggle of the Saharawi people for self-determination, according to a statement of the Algerian National People's Assembly.
After his reception at the NPC’s headquarters to a Saharawi delegation comprising human rights activists from the occupied territories of Western Sahara, Mr. Houari reaffirmed the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination through a free and impartial referendum under aegis of the United Nations.
He pointed that the suffering and human rights violations in Western Sahara “has intensified specially after outbreak of the Independence’s Intifada, which faced brutality by the Moroccan repressive forces as registered by several international organizations of human rights.”
From their part, the Saharawi human rights activists said “the situation facing a people under occupation should lead the UN, in particular the Security Council, to extend prerogatives of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) to include protection of human rights through a mechanism.”
They also stressed that the request for extending MINURSO’s mandates “will remain valid and continue to be supported by many countries and human rights organizations, although the Security Council has overshadowed this request during its voting on the last Wednesday.”
The meeting was attended by the SADR Ambassador in Algeria, Mr. Brahim Ghali, and delegation of the Saharawi human rights defenders from the occupied Western Sahara. (SPS)
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