Madrid, June 14, 2016 (SPS) - The conference of Spanish towns supporting Western Sahara, held last week in the Canary Islands, was an opportunity for all the participants to "reiterate their support to the Sahrawi people and their legitimate right to self-determination through a referendum," said the organizers.
"The Conference allowed examining the current state of the conflict and promoting all actions and initiatives of local institutions in order to find a solution to the long and painful conflict, which has lasted over 40 years," the National Federation of Institutions Working in Solidarity with the Saharawi People (FEDISSAH), the event's organizer, said in a communiqué, a copy of which reached APS,
The participants underlined the need "to continue supporting the right of Sahrawi people to self-determination, through a free and democratic referendum, in accordance with the United Nations' resolutions."
They denounced the "manipulations of the Moroccan government impeding the holding of a self-determination referendum."
They also denounced the "systematic violation of human rights in the occupied Sahrawi territories and the plundering of the natural resources of Western Sahara."
In this regard, they called for the cessation of repression and the plundering of Sahrawi natural resources as well as for the immediate release of all Sahrawi political prisoners and the opening of the occupied territories to international observers and media."
The conference brought together representatives of more than 50 Spanish public organizations and institutions.SPS
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