Algiers, 22 June 2015 (SPS) - An international petition denouncing the violations of human rights committed by Morocco in Western Sahara and prompting the international community and organizations was launched Sunday in Algiers by a group of Algerian journalists.
Open to the entire press corps but also to various profiles and representatives of civil society, the call will be sent to the United Nations, the European Union (EU), the African Union (AU), League of Arab States and the Organization of Latin American States.
The initiative was announced during a sit-in observed at the Press House Tahar Djaout in support of the Saharawi citizen Tekber Haddi, who observed a hunger strike for over a month in Las Palmas (Spain) to protest against the death of her son Mohamed Lamine Haidallah in the occupied Saharawi territories.
This action was also launched so that "Moroccan colonial authorities require the return of the remains of Mohamed Lamine Haidallah and so that the perpetrators of the crime will be brought to justice."
Beyond this tragic case, petitioners raised the issues of violation of human rights perpetrated in the occupied Western Sahara, as well as the need for a political solution to the conflict in abeyance for four decades
In this regard, the signatories called on "lifting the political and media blackout imposed on the Saharawi people who struggle to be a concern of the media in the world, particularly in Europe and North America, subject to the influence of pro-Moroccan lobbies."
"By joining this call, we lift the veil surrounding the legitimate and citizen action of the mother Tekber Haddi, abduction and imprisonment of Salah Lebsir and the case of the 600 disappeared Saharawis from the Moroccan military invasion," says the petition.
It is "a cry from the heart" of Algerian journalists addressed to their colleagues around the world, especially those whose countries are members of the UN Security Council and torpedo the referendum'", the writers of the petition added.
The group of journalists wishes, moreover, to denounce "the double standard policy" of the UN Security Council, while questioning about its "responsibility" to organize a self-determination referendum.
Despite her advanced age, mujaheeda (veteran) Louisa Ighilahriz, female figure of the struggle of the Algerian people against French colonialism, attended the sit-in and expressed its support for the struggle of the Sahrawi people for their independence. (SPS)
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