The saharawi women express their total support and solidarity with the one of the most internationally recognized saharawi human rights activist, Aminatou Haidar, who is today in her eight day of hunger strike due to the moroccan occupied authorities didn´t permit her to enter the capital of Western Sahara, El-Aaiún, where she lives with her children.The Awarded Saharawi human rights defender, Aminatou Haidar (recipient of the 2008 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Prize and the 2009 Train Foundation Civil Courage Prize, among others), was arrested following her arrival on 13 November at La’ayoune airport, Western Sahara. Ms. Haidar’s passport was confiscated, and she was subsequently expelled to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. She has not yet been allowed to return to her home and family in Western Sahara and decided to go on hunger strike.
These developments represent a serious intensification of systemic human rights abuses perpetrated by Moroccan authorities against the Saharawi civilian population in Western Sahara, which constitute a blatant violation of international human rights norms.
Moreover, these actions appear to be part of a coordinated effort to undermine any possibility of political progress in the negotiations over Western Sahara. In a speech on 6 November 2009, King Mohammed VI of Morocco foreshadowed a crackdown on those speaking out in favour of a process of self-determination in Western Sahara.
These developments represent a serious intensification of systemic human rights abuses perpetrated by Moroccan authorities against the Saharawi civilian population in Western Sahara, which constitute a blatant violation of international human rights norms.
Moreover, these actions appear to be part of a coordinated effort to undermine any possibility of political progress in the negotiations over Western Sahara. In a speech on 6 November 2009, King Mohammed VI of Morocco foreshadowed a crackdown on those speaking out in favour of a process of self-determination in Western Sahara.
The King called on government authorities to “deal vigorously with any infringement of the nation’s sovereignty, security, stability and public order”, and once again sought to limit Morocco’s engagement in the UN-led process to negotiations “on the basis of the autonomy proposal, and within the framework of the Kingdom’s sovereignty, national unity and territorial integrity.” These words are completely inconsistent with the call by the Security Council to the parties to engage in negotiations without preconditions and in good faith. Says a letter to the UN Secretary general, Ban Ki Moon, signed by the Saharawi Permanent representative at the United Nations.
