New York (United Nations) 30 October 2020 (SPS)- In a statement to the media after the Security Council adopted its new resolution on the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar, Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations, stressed that “the peaceful and spontaneous character of the protest by Sahrawi civilians in Guerguerat has debunked the claims of the Moroccan occupying state, which continues its frenzied campaign in an attempt to mislead international public opinion about the reality of what is happening on the ground in that area.”
The Sahrawi diplomat added that “after more than a week of mass demonstrations at the illegal breach in Guerguerat in south-western Western Sahara, it has become clear to the entire world that what is happening there is an act of peaceful and spontaneous protest by Sahrawi civilians of all ages and with legitimate demands, which is similar to other recent peaceful protests that took place throughout the Sahrawi Liberated Territories.”
The Sahrawi diplomat recalled the statement issued today by the Frente POLISARIO that “the ongoing peaceful, spontaneous mass demonstrations throughout the Territory, including the peaceful protest currently taking place at the illegal breach in Guerguerat, are a clear indication that the patience of the Sahrawi people is running out with the United Nations’ inaction and failure to ensure that MINURSO fully implements the mission for which it was established almost three decades ago.”
The peaceful demonstrations are also “a strong reaction to the terrorising and repressive practices pursued by the Moroccan occupying state against Sahrawi civilians in occupied Western Sahara and the relentless plunder of the resources of the Territory. They are also a response to the continuing farce of opening already bankrupt “diplomatic kiosks” in collusion with some governments that have sold their souls to more than one devil at a time when the United Nations remains completely silent.”
In conclusion, Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar reiterated the position of the Frente POLISARIO expressed recently in the letter sent by the President of the Republic and Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO to the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 22 October 2020. He stated that “the Frente POLISARIO has been doing its utmost to calm things down despite the growing and legitimate feelings of anger and discontent among the Sahrawi people with MINURSO’s failure to implement its mandate after 29 years of its deployment in the Territory.”
He added, however, that “no one should expect from the Frente POLISARIO to prevent Sahrawi citizens from exercising their legitimate rights to demonstrate peacefully and to oppose the Moroccan occupation, be it in occupied Western Sahara or anywhere else in the Territory.” (SPS)
090/500/60 (SPS)