OBAMA´S ADMINISTRATION DIFFERENT POLICY IN THE WESTERN SAHARA CONFLICT´S SOLUTION

The Saharawi Women and the whole people of Western Sahara have a lot of hope in the President Obama´s Administration to impose a just, democratic and lasting solution to the problem of decolonization of Western Sahara according to the United Nations resolutions.
President Obama’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Morocco seemed to confirm a U.S. policy shift on the Western Sahara in testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In addition, Samuel Kaplan said Morocco faces a growing threat from the Al Qaida Organization in the Islamic Maghreb.Kaplan, a career attorney and businessman said Al Qaida Islamic Maggreb has managed to recruit operatives from the slums of Moroccan cities, despite increased counter-insurgency cooperation.

"While the Moroccan government has been successful in finding, arresting and prosecuting terrorist cells over the years, the specter of transnational terrorism has grown significantly in the region," Kaplan said.Kaplan said the key impediment to Moroccan cooperation with its neighbors has been the dispute over Western Sahara.

In his nomination hearing, Kaplan did not cite Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara or support by Congress and the former Bush administration.

Diplomatic sources said President Barack Obama has withdrawn U.S. support for Morocco’s autonomy plan. The sources said Obama has not ruled out a United Nations-arranged effort that would grant the Algerian-backed Polisario control over the entire region.

"One of the major impediments to improved cooperation among North African countries has been the issue of Western Sahara," Kaplan said. "If I am confirmed as ambassador to Morocco, I will fully support the efforts of the UN secretary-general’s personal envoy to work with Morocco and other parties in the region toward a just, lasting and mutually-acceptable political solution."In testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kaplan, a career attorney and businessman, reviewed the U.S. assessment of the security situation in Morocco.

He said the North African kingdom must reduce AQIM’s capability by accelerating development, democracy and regional cooperation."If confirmed, I will continue our efforts to promote partnership, expand U.S. exports, promote human rights, counter extremism, reinforce military cooperation and peacekeeping, and of course, to protect Americans living abroad," Kaplan said on July 22.In 2008, the United States launched a project to supply Morocco, deemed a major non-NATO ally, with 24 F-16 Block 52+ multi-role fighters. Morocco has been the first North African to order the advanced F-16.

AMERICANS SEND A LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA ON THE SITUATION IN WESTERN SAHARA

The Saharawi women would like to express their deepest thanks to this distinguished friends of the people of Western Sahara for their great inniciative for sending a letter to their President, Mr. Obama.

A diverse group of concerned American citizens and non-governmental organizations including Seoul Peace Prize Laureate Suzanne Scholte, Robert F. Kennedy Center Director Monika Kalra Varma, Former Reagan Ambassador Frank Ruddy, and Professor Stephen Zunes of the University of San Francisco sent a letter today to President Barack Obama urging him to resolve the long-standing conflict over Western Sahara by supporting a referendum on self-determination and protecting the Sahrawis from the violence perpetrated against them by the Moroccan authorities in the occupied territory.

"As Africa’s only remaining colony, the fate of Western Sahara has been uncertain since Morocco began its occupation over 30 years ago," stated the letter. "In light of the historic friendship between the governments of the United States and the Kingdom of Morocco, as President of the United States, you have the ability to help resolve this long-standing conflict and ensure that the Sahrawi people’s human rights, including the inalienable right to self-determination, are protected.

" The letter included Americans who had served with MINURSO and seen the conflict first-hand including attorney Katlyn Thomas and Mara Hanna, and Christian leaders supportive of the Sahrawi cause including Janet Lenz of Christ the Rock Church, Cheryl Banda of Not Forgotten International and Pastor Dan Stanley of RockFish Church as well as a diverse group of NGO leaders including Shaazka Beerle of the International Center for Nonviolent Conflict, Nina May of the Renaissance Foundation and Emira Woods of the Institute of Policy Studies. Recording Artist Cynthia Basinet of California and Sahara Marathon Founder JEB Carney of Virginia were also signatories on the letter.

"The signers of this letter come from very different backgrounds and in many cases totally opposite political views, " said Scholte, "but we all agree and are united in this appeal to President Obama: the Sahrawi people of Western deserve the inalienable right to self-determination and the abuse against them by the Moroccan authorities must stop.

A complete text of the letter follows below:

The Honorable Barack Obama

President of the United States

The White House

Washington D.C.

20500 U.S.A.

Dear Mr. President:

We are writing as a diverse group of concerned citizens—Democrats, Republicans and Independents, and representatives of non-governmental organizations—to pledge our strong support for the human rights of the Sahrawi people of Western Sahara.

As Africa’s only remaining colony, the fate of Western Sahara has been uncertain since Morocco began its occupation over 30 years ago. In light of the historic friendship between the governments of the United States and the Kingdom of Morocco, as President of the United States, you have the ability to help resolve this long-standing conflict and ensure that the Sahrawi people’s human rights, including the inalienable right to self-determination, are protected.

The Sahrawi people welcome your outreach to the Muslim world and consider it an important opportunity for dialogue. The Sahrawi are a people who have demonstrated a commitment to the rule of law, democracy, human rights, equal rights for women, and religious tolerance.

In exercising their rights to freedom of assembly and expression, the Sahrawi people in Western Sahara have been subjected to arbitrary arrests and detention, forced disappearances, abuse, torture and sexual assault.

The violence against the Sahrawis by agents of the government of Morocco has been well-documented in reports by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Freedom House, the World Organization Against Torture, Reporters without Borders and the United States Department of State.

Western Sahara represents a clear case of a peoples’ unfulfilled right to self-determination, a right not only embedded in the United Nations Charter, but the very principle on which our own nation was founded.

The Moroccan government, rather than facilitating the realization of the long-promised United Nation-backed referendum on self-determination, has worked aggressively to thwart the efforts of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) to implement its mandate.

Therefore, in support of the human rights of the Sahrawi people, we respectfully request that your administration:

1. Calls upon Morocco to end the ongoing repression and human rights abuses against the Sahrawi population in the territory of Western Sahara;

2. Supports a resolution of the conflict over Western Sahara through the long-promised free, fair and transparent referendum administered by MINURSO; and,

3. Organize a meeting with representatives of the undersigned to discuss this issue further. The conflict in Western Sahara is often forgotten, along with the plight of the Sahrawi people. However, we must not allow the misinformation perpetuated by political interests to seal an uncertain fate for an entire people and obstruct the realization of their fundamental human rights.

As a group of concerned citizens and NGOs, we seek to shed light on and present a balanced analysis of the conflict. Thank you in advance for your consideration of our requests.

We appreciate the opportunity for continued dialogue on this important human rights concern. Please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned individuals or representatives of the NGOs, at 703-534-4313 with any questions, concerns or further inquiries.

Sincerely,

Letter was signed by 41 USA NGO representatives and American citizens.

THE SAHARAWI SINGER, MARIAM HASSAN, IN THE BRITISH CAPITAL

The famous saharawi singer, Mariam Hasssan, offered this week-end a great concert in the heart of the british capital, London.

The Mariam Hassan´s voice, one of the most famouse singers in Western Sahara, vibrated in Ingland, high and clear in front of thousands of spectators in the open air stage of Wodmad (World Musical Festival) celebrated this year in the United Kigdom.

The public was astonished and invaded by the deeply rooted voice of the Saharawi singer, coming from Western Sahara, the last colony in Africa.

The BBC recorded the entire concert and transmitted at night the interview of Mariem Hassan by Lucy Duran with three songs of the concert.

The famous british newspaper The Independent wrote in their first feature of the festival on 25th of July about Mariem Hassan:The early highlight is Mariem Hassan.

She plays a version of the Saharan Blues popularised by Tinariwen, the result of rebel fighters in refugee camps plugging into Led Zeppelin, and their Mississippi sources.

Black-robed Mariem Hassan is a spokeswoman for the rebel nomad tribes of Western Sahara, easy to believe as her rapid ululations drill through the air. You can only imagine the cultural and political barriers she brazens through daily. Dirty rhythmic lead guitar helps the job here. Nor are potent resistance songs her only talent. As we’re cheerily informed" Mariem will be cooking later at the Taste the World tent." Of course.

On 29th of July Mariem Hassan will be performing also in the spanish northern city of Tafalla. On the 31st of July the documental "The Voice of the Sahara" will be shown at MUMES Festival in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands) and on the 1st of August, Mariem at MUMES presents ‘en la JAIMA’(authentic nomad tent) music, dance and poetry from Western Sahara presenting some songs of her soon out coming new CDWestern Sahara, the last colony in the african continent.Africa.

FATMA MAHFUD ATTENDED AN EVENT WITH THE PRESIDENT RAMOS HORTA

The President of Tomor de Leste, H.E. Ramos Horta, has participated recently in an important event on Western Sahara in the capital of Australia where among other personalities was a representative of the Saharawi Women´s organization, Mrs. Fatma Mahfoud.
The President of Timor Leste and co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, Jose Ramos-Horta headlined a discussion on the status of Western Sahara, Africa´s last colony, in Melbourne, Australia on 23 July 2009.

President Ramos-Horta examined the parallels between Timor Leste and Western Sahara. He asked why the Morocco has denied the process of self-determination mandated by the United Nations. He said that Morocco can t make a serious historic claim to the territory because it agreed to partition it with Mauritania.

He also said that the African Union would not have admitted SADR to the AU if they were in any doubt about the legitimacy of the Saharawi cause. Because Africa respects the sanctity of the borders inherited from the colonial period.

Mr. Ramos Horta said that sooner or later Morocco, like Indonesia in East Timor, will realise that it is in its benefits to withdrew from Western Sahara and allow the Saharawis to have their full independence. He added that Western Sahara as a viable nation will contribute to the stability and progress of the Maghreb region.

The event was chaired by former leader of the Australian Democrats and current President of the Australian Western Sahara Association, Ms. Lyn Allison.

The panel of speakers included:

• Ms. Janelle Saffin, Member of the House of Representatives from the Labor Party (in power),

• Mr. Kamal Fadel, Polisario representative to Australia and Ambassador to Timor Leste

Lyn Allison believes Australia must play a greater role in bringing self-determination to Western Sahara.

• Ms. Fatima Mahfoud, a Representative of the National Union of Saharawi Women.

During the event a film made by the Australia ABC TV on the crucial role of Saharawi phosphate in Australian agriculture and the illegality of the importation of phosphate through Morocco was screened On July 22, 2009,

President Ramos-Horta published an article in one of the main newspapers in Australia the Sydney Morning Herald. In the article he stated “The world must support the independence of Western Sahara as a bridge between the Maghreb and the rest of Africa and as an enlightened Muslim nation bringing the Islamic world and the western democracies closer.

The Government and the people of Western Sahara deserve at least that much. As for East Timor, the worldwide support of the people, quite apart from governments and world organizations, has been, and remains significant. Those connections count and the value of ensuring truth and fiction remain separate is vital

SAHARAWI WOMEN CONDEMN THE MOROCCAN HARRASEMENT AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS

The saharawi Women strongly condemn the repressive actions carried out by the moroccan police against a group of saharawi human rights activists after their arrival in the moroccan airport of Casablanca and express their total solidarity with them and reaffirm to them that they are not alone and the peaceloving people all over the world support them in their struggle for a free and indepent Weestern Sahara.

Several Saharawi NGOs, active in the field of human rights in Western Sahara, have denounced the repressive practices of the Moroccan authorities against the delegation of activists, and former Sahrawi political prisoners who returned from Algeria after attending the second Pan-African Cultural Festival, held in Algiers July 05 - 20 2009.

A group of Saharawi defenders of human rights, among them was the saharawi woman, Soukeina Djedahlou, whwn they were coming from Algeria were arrested last friday on their arrival in the moroccan airport of Casablanca for several hours, during which they underwent a series of procedures on the part of the Moroccan Police and Customs, the same sources affirmed.Sahrawi human rights activists have denounced that the police have confiscated, at the airport, books dealing with the question of Western Sahara, belonged to Mr. Larbi Masaud and Ali Salem Tamek, Prizewinner, Jose Antonio Carballo III in June 2005.

Invited by the Algerian National Committee of Support to the Saharawi people (CNASPS), the ten former Sahrawi political prisoners and activists of human rights had denounced on the sidelines of the PANAF festival in Algiers, violations of human rights by the authorities of Moroccan occupation and advocated for the Sahrawis to self-determination.The group of activists of human rights includes: Ennaâma Asfari, Soukeina Jidehlou, Ali Salem Tamek, Hmad Hamad, El Mami Amar Salem, Brahim Dahan, Sid Ahmed Lemjeyed, Larbi Messoud and Nassiri Hamadi, it recalled. SPS

SOUKEINA EL IDRISI WITH OTRER SAHARAWI HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS IN THE ALGERIAN CAPITAL

Soukeina El Idrisi is among the Saharawi Human Rights activists whom are these days in the algerian capital where an important delegation from the occupied cities of Western Sahara is visiting for the first time the capital of this neighbouring country.

The Human Rights activists were also part of the saharawi delegation, led by the Saharawi Culture Minister, Mrs. Khadidja Hamdi, that is participating in the 2nd Pan-African Cultural Festival which was inaugurated on July 4th.

The Saharawi Representatives have taken part in all the different activities such as conferences, cultural events: musical spectacules etc.

The H.R. activists have given to the international press their personnel testimonies about the flagrant violations of human rights perpetrated by the moroccan army in the occupied cities of Western Sahara and ask them to put pressure on the moroccan goverment to respect the international law and the Human Rights Declaration of Human rigjts.

History of the Pan-African Culture Festival:

On July 21st, 1969, 4,000 artists converged on Algiers for the first Pan-African Cultural Festival. Representing 31 nations from across the continent, painters, poets, photographers, musicians and intellectuals transformed the streets into a meeting place of creative culture. Energy, idealism and optimism abounded as for the next ten days the Algerian capital pulsated to the sound of music and debate long into the hot, balmy nights. It was without doubt a high point in post-independence Africa. Coming together in this way, the Algiers Festival embodied the belief that, free from imperialism at last, Africans had the capacity to shape their own history.

The idea for a Pan-African Cultural Festival originated with the Organisation of African Unity two years earlier. Algeria was chosen to host and coordinate the event because of its unique place within the decolonisation process. This was the country that had fought the longest and bloodiest war of liberation, winning independence from France in 1962 after eight years of conflict and 132 years of colonial rule. This was the country, too, whose struggle had produced the prophet of the African revolution: Frantz Fanon (1925-61).

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION´S POSITIVE POSITION ON THE SAHARAWI CONFLICT IN THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS

The women from Western Sahara and the whole people of this Africa´s last colony are very satisfied about the Barak Obama Admistration´s position on the issue of solving the conflict created by the kingdom of Morocco invaded Western Sahara 34 years ago.

The international media has covered these days this important step for solving the problem of decolonization and among this press, we publish this article written in the american on line magazin www.Worldtribune.com

WASHINGTON- President Barack Obama has backed a Polisario state, ending U.S. support for a Moroccan plan to establish autonomy for Western Sahara. Morocco has warned the West that such a state could become a haven for Al Qaida and other terror organizations. Diplomatic sources said the Obama administration has disassociated itself from a Moroccan plan for autonomy for the disputed Western Sahara. They said the White House no longer sees itself as committed to the endorsement by then-President George Bush of Western Sahara autonomy."The United States no longer supports or endorses the Moroccan autonomy plan," a diplomatic source said. "Instead, the administration has returned to the pre-Bush position that there could be an independent Polisario state in Western Sahara." "The Moroccans have become highly concerned by the U.S. reversal," the source said. "It calls into question whether Obama sees himself as committed to anything agreed to by his predecessors, which is a key factor in diplomacy.

"In 2007, Rabat launched its plan to end the 35-year-old dispute with the Algerian-backed Polisario by offering autonomy to Western Sahara, 80 percent of which has been under Moroccan control. At the time, Morocco persuaded such allies as France and the United States that a Polisario-dominated state would become a haven for Islamic insurgency groups, including Al Qaida.But the sources said the administration dropped U.S. support for Western Sahara autonomy in June 2009. They said the White House ordered the State Department to interpret the United Nations mediation effort between Morocco and Polisario as including the option of statehood.

In 2008, a Security Council report determined that Polisario’s demand for independence for Western Sahara was unfeasible.Obama reversed U.S. policy on Western Sahara in a letter to Morocco’s King Mohammed in June, the sources said. The letter, which focused on a U.S. request for Morocco’s help to advance the Arab-Israeli peace process, ended with a reference to UN-sponsored talks on Western Sahara."I share your commitment to the UN-led negotiations as the appropriate forum to achieve a mutually agreed solution," Obama wrote. "My government will work with yours and others in the region to achieve an outcome that meets the people’s need for transparent governance, confidence in the rule of law, and equal administration of justice.

"Unlike Bush, Obama did not reiterate support for Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara. Several days after the Obama letter, the sources said, U.S. envoy Christopher Ross arrived in Rabat and pressed for unilateral Moroccan concessions to Polisario, which has threatened to renew war with the North African kingdom.The sources said Ross urged Morocco to accept Polisario’s demand to ease security measures in Western Sahara as a condition for resuming negotiations. They said the U.S. appeal violated a resolution by the UN Security Council in April 2009 that called for direct and unconditional negotiations.

MINISTER KHADIDJA HAMDI IN THE PANAFRICAN CULTURAL FESTIVAL

The Saharawi Minister of Culture, Khadija Hamdi, is leading an important delegation from our country participating in the Panafican Cultural Festival which it is celebrating these days in the algerian capital, Algiers.

The saharawi woman leader called on tuesday on the African countries to exert pressure on the Kingdom of Morocco to comply with the international legality, in order to enable the Saharawi people to exercise their right to self-determination and independence, in a statement to the Algerian newspaper Echaab, on the occasion of the Pan-African Cultural Festival held in Algiers these days.

"The participation of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in this event is an opportunity for the Saharawi people to transmit, to the international public opinion, the message of the struggle for more than three decades for the decolonization of Western Sahara", the minister revealed.Mrs. Khadija Hamdi, also highlighted the absence of the SADR in the first edition of this festival for 40 years and its current involvement as a full part founding member of the African Union, "despite that it remains the last colony in Africa.

"In addition, the director of studies and research within the culture ministry, Jatra Zein, animated a conference entitled, "the beautiful art in Africa, attended by many who were interested in the field.It should be recalled, the Minister of Culture conducted, on the sidelines of the event, talks with head of delegations, including the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Palestine, Sudan and Uganda, in the presence of Sahrawi Ambassadors to South Africa and Algeria, respectively Saleh Alabd and Brahim Ghali, related to means of raising cooperative relations and latest developments of the just cause of the Saharawi people.

PRESIDENT OBAMA´S ADMINISTRATION SUPPORT A JUST AND LEGAL SOLUTION TO THE CONFLICT OF WESTERN SAHARA

The saharawi women would like to express their happiness that the new american administration is supporting a just and lasting solutions to the Western Sahara conflict and see it as a problem of decolonization. We have seen several international media articles reporting about the Obama´s administration position on the issue of Western Sahara.
One of these journalists,Tim Kustusch, reports:

In his first official mention of the Western Saharan conflict since taking office in January, U.S. President Barack Obama voiced his support for United Nations-sponsored negotiations as the appropriate road towards the resolution of the 35-year-old conflict in the Western Sahara. The President’s pronouncement came in an official letter written to King Mohammed VI of Morocco as reported in the Maghreb Arabe Press Service (MAP), the official Moroccan news agency, on Friday.While Obama’s letter was primarily dedicated to encouraging the Moroccan monarch to further his Kingdom’s role in “bridging gaps between Israel and the Arab world”, the U.S. President also raised the issue of the Western Sahara in his memo.“I share your commitment to the UN-led negotiations as the appropriate forum to achieve a mutually acceptable solution,” the President stated in his letter, “and I trust that Christopher Ross, a proven diplomat with extensive experience in the region, will be able to promote constructive dialogue between the two parties.”The President referred to the recently appointed UN Special Envoy to the Western Sahara Christopher Ross, a U.S. diplomat with experience in both Morocco and Algeria. Mr. Ross, who just finished a several months-long tour of the region, has received UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s blessing for his proposal to bring representatives from the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front – the leaders of the Saharawis’ movement for an independent Western Sahara – together for informal negotiations.President Obama went on to stress that while he supports the UN’s efforts in the conflict, the U.S. government would not remain on the sidelines as it has done for the past 35 years.“My government will work with yours and other in the region to achieve an outcome that meets the people’s need for transparent governance, confidence in the rule of law, and equal administration of justice,” Obama stated in the letter.President Obama refused to step on King Mohammed’s toes, however, by recognizing “the importance that the Western Saharan issue carries for you, your Kingdom, and all of the people that have suffered because of this conflict.”A break with the pastWhile this declaration does not offer insight into the U.S. Administration’s support for either the Polisario Front or the Kingdom of Morocco – the only two UN-recognized sides to the Western Saharan conflict – it is significant in that the leader of the United States government did not specifically voice his support for Morocco’s autonomy proposal.In 2007, both the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front presented proposals to the United Nations, outlining their plans for an acceptable resolution to the conflict.The Moroccan proposal called for a referendum for the Saharawi people with autonomy under the Kingdom as the only option. According to international law and the UN Charter, such a referendum – one that does not offer the previously colonized Saharawis the option of independence – would be illegal. Nonetheless, in the final years of former President George W. Bush’s Administration, the US Department of State supported the Moroccan proposal as a “realistic solution” to the decades-old dispute.Now, it appears that the U.S. government will be taking a slightly different approach, encouraging the UN to fulfil its duty of decolonizing the last colony in Africa by the holding of a free and fair referendum on independence, as stipulated by the UN Charter and resolutions by both the UN Security Council and General Assembly.A new hope?A new U.S. approach to the issue was predicted last May by U.S. Congressman Donald Payne, the chair of the House of Representative’s Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health. In a press conference in Madrid, Spain, the congressman suggested that a change in policy might be on its way.“I am not a representative of the Obama Administration… [and] I am not prepared to try to predict the change in U.S. policy, but I can assure you that President Obama is a person that listens and a person who is very concerned about human rights,” offered Representative Payne. “You can certainly expect a different approach to the issue.”The President’s letter comes at a time when increasing attention is being given to the Western Saharan conflict in both Washington-based think tanks and the U.S. Congress. These institutions view the peaceful settlement of the dispute as the only means to improving regional integration, and thus security and economic development, in the North African region.The Moroccan monarch responded to President Obama with his own message, ensuring that Mohammed VI’s kingdom is ready “to work jointly with your friendly country towards establishing peace, security and stability in the world and to contribute to the international efforts aimed at peacefully resolving conflicts, spreading the values of freedom, justice, and human rights.”

SAHARAWI WOMAN REPRESENTATIVE ATTENDED AN IMPORTANT SEMIMAR IN THE ITALIAN SENATE

Mrs. Fatma Mahfoud, Saharawi Deputy--Representative for Italy has participated very recently in an important Seminar on the question of Western Sahara that was held at the headquarters of the Italian Senate on the initiative of the Italian Association for Human Rights (CISP), the Western Sahara Section, in collaboration with the Parliamentary Friends of the Saharawi People in Italy, according to a source of the Polisario Front Representation in Italy.

"The aim of the seminar was to inform the Italian civil society about this forgotten drama in the Western Sahara, through this study day organized under the theme: the Italian civil society and the international law, in the case of Western Sahara" , CISP specified.

Fatma Mahfud in her intervention in the seminar has spoken about the important role are playing the saharawi women in the struggle for peace and justice in the Africa´s last colony whom are an example of emancipation in the arab and muslim world and also said " that the international community and specially the European government must put pressure on the moroccan king to implement the United Nations Peace Plan for Western Sahara for solving this problem of decolonization and also to stop the flagrant violations of human rights in the occupied saharawi cities as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have denounced several timed in their annual reports.

Twenty-two university students of Italian human rights of the Bologna city, who recently visited the Saharawi refugee camps, took part in the seminar, the same source said.These intellectuals have submitted a motion to the Italian Deputies and Senate in which they reaffirmed their commitment to defending the right to self-determination of the Saharawi people, as guaranteed by the international law, it added.