WE FULLY SUPPORT THE NEW CAMPAIGN: "DON´T GO TO MOROCCO"

The Saharawi Women fully support the new campaign on visiting and doing turism in a country like Morocco whom is daily violating the most basic human rights and is ilegally occupating Western sahara for over thirty-five years.

Following the Moroccan government’s announcement last Tuesday that it plans to double its tourism in the next 10 years activists today launched a new campaign aimed at highlighting human rights abuses in occupied Western Sahara and asking tourists to boycott holidaying in Morocco.

The new action dubbed "Don’t Go to Morocco" was launched in London today by the Western Sahara Campaign and the Free Western Sahara Network at a meeting in Piccadilly. A handful of dedicated campaigners then braved freezing temperatures outside Morocco’s main tourism office in Regents’ Street and the offices of Royal Air Maroc in Gosfield Street handing out leaflets detailing the discrimination, abuse and violence suffered by the native Saharawi population under Morocco’s 35 year occupation of their country.

Earlier this week Moroccan tourism minister Yassir Znagui unveiled a tourism development plan which would see the expansion of tourism over the next decade in eight regions including Western Sahara.

Morocco annexed Western Sahara after Spain pulled out of its former colony in 1976, and despite widespread international criticism and numerous United Nations resolutions requiring a referendum on self-determination the referendum has yet to be held.

Cities on Western Sahara’s Atlantic coastline such as Dakhla will be developed into thriving tourist destinations. This announcement comes just weeks after violent clashes in Western Sahara which resulted in several deaths, over one hundred injuries and many arrests.

A report from Human Rights Watch last Friday found that Saharawi detainees had been beaten and abused. The violence in El Aaiun has been condemned by the United Nations Security Council and last week the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for an independent UN investigation into the violence. This call has so far been rejected by Rabat.

“Western Sahara is a beautiful place but whilst the brutal occupation continues we do not feel it is an appropriate tourist destination", said Natalie Sharples of the Western Sahara Campaign.

"The Saharawi people face daily discrimination with those daring to challenge the occupation facing detention, abuse and torture. If holiday-makers knew about the situation in Western Sahara we are confident that many would chose to holiday elsewhere."

Cathy Jamieson, MP for Kilmarnock & Loudoun agreed. “Raising awareness of what has been happening over the years of Moroccan occupation is vital, particularly in light of recent events. Every effort must be made to get a fair and just solution for the Saharawi people and hopefully this campaign will show the real strength of feeling" she said.

Whilst Morocco will no doubt continue to be a popular tourist destination the campaigners hope that their slogan “sun, sea, sand and torture” may well put some people off holidaying in Western Sahara.

WE STRONGLY CONDEMN THE NEW MOROCCAN AGGRESSION AGAINST PEACEFUL SAHARAWIS

The Women from the Africa´s last colony: Western Sahara express their strongtest condemnation to the brutal and criminal intervention of the moroccan army and settlers against the saharawi citizens in the Gdeim Izik Camps, situated from 18 kilometers from the saharawi capital, Laayoune.

At least one Sahrawi, Mahmoud Babi Gargar, was killed and hundreds were injured after a brutal intervention by Moroccan forces early this monday´s morning, november 8th, against defenseless Saharawis in the Gdim Izik camp (Camp Liberty).

Sources from the occupided saharawi capital affirmed that he forcible intervention committed earlier Monday by Moroccan forces against the Saharawis in the Gdim Izik camp left at least one Saharawi killed and hundreds were injured and moroccan army and settlers entered to saharai houses.

The Saharawi women and the whole poeple of Western Sahara  warned that the situation was going to become became extremely serious several days ago in Laayoune and has erupted since today´s morning after the new escalation of the moroccan army and settlers where several international press agencies have reported that more than ten saharawis have died among them Mahmoud Babi Gargar, who was 26years old and killed by  moroccan occupider forces.

This despicable and tragic assassination, is repeated by the occupation forces following the intervention of the units of the Moroccan army, gendarmerie and auxiliary forces against the Sahrawi population, who are since the beginning of last October, left their homes and camping in Gdim Izik (17 km east of the city of Laayoune) to demand their rights.

The Saharawi Women  denounce strongly this criminal action of the moroccan army and settlers  against the peaceful people of Western Sahara and, we launch an urgent appeal to the international public opinion and all world´s organizations for defending human rights and for intervening to put an end to the repressive campaign against the peaceful saharawi population in the occupided cities which are under moroccan occupation since thirty five years ago.

SAHARAWI WOMEN IN THE 36TH EUCCOCO

As every year, an important delegation of Saharawi Women, from the occupided cities, also from the Refugee Camps and other parts, has partipated in the 36th European Coordianating Conference of Support to the Saharawi People which have just concluded its works in the french city of Le Mans.

This important event, the 36th European Coordinating Conference of Support to the Sahrawi People (EUCOCO) wrapped up Sunday by the adoption of a final resolution in which the participants renewed support to the right of Sahrawi people to self-determination.

The participants praised the "permanent effort" of the Algerian Committee for Support and Solidarity with Sahrawi People (CNASPS) for its support to the legitimate claims of Sahrawis, and also welcomed the setting-up of an international Latin-American conference of Support for Sahrawi people, and promised to help them achieve concrete results.

They also agreed on goals to be achieved to enhance and diversify solidarity operations and working methods to raise abilities of militants and their organizations to contribute to “ the implementation of the inalienable rights of the Saharawi people to self-determination and independence,”

The participants charged the working group of the EUCOCO to quickly find and deploy schedule and joint program coordinating on the international level.

The political, human rights and media issues took most time of the conference where the workshop of human rights decided to take many masseurs to develop its strategy of work to impose respecting human rights in Western Sahara.

Emergency program for the next two months has been adopted towards the occupied Saharawi territories especially “camps of independence” including visit of medical delegation and European parliamentarians and visits by representatives of several institutions, journalists, solidarity movement and civil society.

To support these decisions a creation of active “lobby” will begin towards UN, EU, France and Spain through letters, demonstrations and meetings

Lawyers have invited to join trails of Saharawi human rights defenders especially the trail of the Seven Saharawi political prisoners in Sale scheduled on November5.

It was also agreed on a program towards UN Human Rights Council and UN Security Council with need to find out a mechanism for monitoring and protecting human rights particularly the right of self-determination.

The participants began with group of jurists to study laws in favor of the Saharawi people to guarantee respect of human rights of Saharawi exodus toward “camps of independence”

Concern the media, the participants agreed to find ways to correct lies of Morocco and to promote media that could reflect the Saharawi reality

Regarding the natural resources of Western Sahara, the participants stressed on the need to demand EU to cancel its partnership agreement and fishing agreement with Morocco.

Finally the Participants decided to hold the 37th European Coordinating Conference of Support to the Saharawi People next year in Spanish Capital, Madrid.

SAHARAWI WOMEN IN THE 4TH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON ISLAMIC FEMINISM

Four women from Western Sahara have participated in the Fourth International Congress of Islamic Feminism which have just held in the spanish capital, Madrid, from October 21st to 24th.

The Saharawi Women´s delegation have activally taken part in all the different workshops and also could transmitted the message of peace and justice from what it is considered the last Africa´s colony people and specially in these days where the situation is very worried due to the brutal repression of the moroccan occupider army has brutally repressed the peaceful people in the main saharawi cities.

The Saharawi Women delegation in this important event was composed by Zahra Ramdán Ahmed, Soukeina N´Diaye (Gleiyilhum Buna), Zahra El-Hasnawi and Doctor Lehdia Dafa.

The International Congress on Islamic Feminism is an initiative of the Catalan Islamic Council (JIC). Through the conferences, the intent of the JIC has been to present Islamic Feminism (IF) as an emerging reality, with a strong intellectual development and a significant activism in pursuit of the rights of Muslim women. We have tried to maintain a balance between the theoretical and field experiences, including the development of a discourse generated in the academy, and ways to implement the propositions of IF in different contexts.

To date there have been three editions of the conference (Barcelona, 2005, 2006 and 2008), and the fourth is scheduled for 2010, in Madrid. More than 1300 participants have attended the conferences. The Congress has brought together some of the most prestigious and charismatic personalities of IF, as well as prominent organizations from the five continents. The media coverage of these conferences has helped to visualize IF as a emerging reality worldwide.

MRS. HAIDAR CANDIDATE FOR THE "SAKHAROV AWARD"

The women from Western Sahara would like to congratulate our compatriot Aminatou  Haidar for been candidate once again in one of the most important awards that the European Parliament gives to relevant personalities of human rights defenders from all over the world.

The Saharawi human rights activist, Aminatou Haidar, has nominated to the Sakharov Prize for human rights granted by the European Union for her commitment to defend human rights in Western Sahara, according to a source from the occupied city of El Aaiun.

The Saharawi activist was nominated within nine institutions and international figures for this Prize, to select one of them October 21 in a public meeting of the EU Parliament.

Aminatou Haidar won many awards in the field of human rights by international organizations, including Robert F. Kennedy Foundation of America, Juan Maria Bandres for Human Rights and Solidarity with the Refugees as well as Khobelano Prize of "resistance and freedom".

She also engaged in various indefinite hunger strikes which put her under the harassment and detained of the Moroccan authorities, where she adopted by many international organizations as a prisoner and political activist for defending the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and independence.

It is note worthy that the Saharawi activist held November14, 2009 an indefinite hunger strike in the Spanish airport of Lanzarote for 32 days on the ground of her forcibly deportation by the Moroccan authorities from the occupied city of El Aaiun.

SAHARAWIS CELEBRATES THE INTERNATIONAL PEACE DAY

Today, September 21th, The Saharawi people celebrates the International Peace Day. The Saharawi Women express their total support to the Saharawi Government´s decision on conmemorating every year the date: september 21th, as the International Peace Day , as an expressión of the whole people of western Sahara to their peaceful will of solving the conflict of what is considered as the Africa´s last colony due to the illegal occupation of the moroccan army to Western Sahara.

The Saharawi Press Agency (SPS) informs: The Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic has decided on Sunday to commemorate the International Day of Peace declared by the United Nations which falls Sept 21, in accordance with its obligations as a founder member of the African Union, according to a statement of the SADR Presidency.

The statement asked all the national bodies and institutions as well as citizens to exert maximum efforts in order to create the best conditions of cooperation, seriousness and commitment for implementing all the activities, in line with the SADR standing and responsibility within the AU to contribute for security and peace in Africa and the world.

The SADR decided to mark this Day by a number of activities and events, including hosting the AU flag besides SADR flag on the national institutions and observe a minute of silent for peace at 10:00 am GMT, 11 o’clock on the local time, visit the Saharawi victims of war in center of Shraif Martyr, developments works by members of the armed forces and multiple voluntary campaigns

According to the same source, the Day will also be known the organization of a football game under the slogan “one day and one goal”, in addition to teaching a lesson of peace in all SADR national schools, ensure complete coverage to all day’s activities by the national media as well as organize lectures and media platforms.

The International Day of Peace was ratified in the AU decision on the year of peace and security in Africa by the XIV Ordinary Session of the AU Conference held February 2010 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the conference of “make peace happen” which adopted by the XV Ordinary Session of the AU Conference July 2010 in Kampala, Uganda.

OUR SUPPORT TO ALI-SALEM TAMEK´S GROUP

The Women from western Sahara express their total supportt and solidarity with the so-called Ali-Salem Tamek´s Team who are a group of very well-known saharawi human rights activists who are in moroccan jails since nearly one yera ago.

We, the Saharawi Women support their just struggle and ask for their unconditioned release because we are sure that they haven´t committed any crime and they are  accussed by the moroccan government only because they have visited their family and their people in the Saharawi Refugee Camps.

Today, septermber 13th, the have published the following statement:

We, three Saharawi human rights activists who’ve been in jail for over 11 months without being charged nor tried, have decided to start a 48 hour hunger strike on 15 September 2010. We demand a either a fair trial or their unconditional release.

On April 28, 2010, we suspended our open-ended hunger strike which lasted forty-one days, as a response to the commitment of the Moroccan authorities to put an end to our emprisonment (the temporary release of three of our comrades was part of that commitment), which we considered as a positive sign and a first step towards ending our arrest for expressing our opinion in peaceful ways.

However, the continuation of our arrest against the urgent demand of all the Moroccan and international human rights organisations and international public opinion, which call for our release without any condition embodies the Moroccan authorities blind revenge of our group because of our opinions and our human rights and civil activities.

In contradiction to the international law that guarrantees the right to fair trial in logic and acceptable periods of time, the Moroccan authorities have neither started the preparations for our trial despite the 11 month-period of our emprisonment nor have they yet decided to release us.

Thus, we call all the democracy advocators, the human rights organisations in the world to support us in order to exert pressure on the Moroccan state to release all the human rights defenders and political prisoners in different Moroccan prisons.

The three Sahrawi prisoners of conscience, human rights defenders,

- Ali Salem Tamek, prison number 50010

- Brahim Dahane, prison number 50014

- Hammadi Naciri, Prison number 50015

September 13, 2010

The Local Prison of SaléSalem Tamek´s Group who

OUR TOTAL SOLIDARITY WITH PHOS-BOUCRÁA´S SAHARAWI WORKERS

Saharawi Women express their support and solidarity with PHOSBUCRÁA´s workers in their claims and peaceful demosntrations in the saharawi´s capital: L´Aayoune where these days have organized peaceceful demonstrations in front of MINURSO´s headquarters in the capital of Western Sahara.

The Saharawi Press Service (SPS) has published the following information:

Dozens of arrested and expelled Saharawis from FOS-Bukraa Company in the occupied city of El Aaiun have appealed to the UN mission in Western Sahara (MINURSO) to urgently intercede with the Moroccan Government for the actual settlement of their files.

In a statement on monday, september the 6th, the FOS-Bukraa Company workers denounced a violent repression of a protest that they organized in the occupied city of El Aaiun, holding the Moroccan administration responsible for the miserable situation which Saharawis live in the territory.

The Moroccan forces of occupation violently intervened to prevent the peaceful demonstration called for by Sahrawi Confederation for Saharawi Workers, which called on the UN Secretary General and the international community to urgently intervene to protect Saharawi workers and citizens and enable them to their confiscated rights.

The statement demanded the settlement of their seized rights according to the contract concluded between Saharawi workers and the Spanish company, involvement of the UN mission to facilitate settling the file and applying pressure on the Moroccan Government in this regard, and compelling Morocco to respect international treaties and conventions by the international community.

SAHARAWI WOMEN CONDEMN THE BRUTAL REPRESSION AGANIST THE 14 CANARIAN ACTIVISTS

The Saharawi Women express their most forceful comdenation to the brutal repressión of the moroccan occupied police and settlers against fourteen spanish activists from the Canary Island (located in front of Western Sahara) when they were participating in a peaceful demostration in the capital of our country: L´Aayoune, las week-end.

Last tuesday, August 30th, the 14 Spanish activists attacked in  El Aaiun made a press conference after their arrival to the Canary Islands and attested that the situation in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, under which the Saharawi people live, as a huge prison.

“Western Sahara is like a huge prison, where the people live under a climate of continued repression,” According to the testimony of one of the activists, Sara Mesa, upon arriving in Spain.

The activists arrived at the port of La Luz, where they were awaited by a group of 50 supporters with banners and posters for the Saharawi cause. The boat with 14 activists who were arrested and beaten by Moroccan police last Saturday arrived at the Port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The boat belongs to "Pro-Saharawi Sahara Acciones."

In the port waiting was a group of supporters who waved placards calling for the creation of a free and democratic referendum in what was the last colony of Spain in Africa and that has been occupied for more than 35 years by Morocco.

According to the testimony of Anselm Fariña "They attacked us without warning, individually administering straight punches to the kidneys and the face. They insulted us and spit on us without stopping. Some colleagues estimate that there were more than a hundred plainclothes police officers. Several of them followed us from our entry into the territory and even on the journey back."

"Nobody cared about what was happening in the occupied territories. Reports reached us that many Saharawi women and children were beaten and the result was many injuries and many faces bloodied. We wanted to denounce the repression suffered by the Saharawi people and we ended up surviving it in our own bodies," adds Anselmo Fariña, a professor from the island of Tenerife.

Members of the group announced their intention to denounce the brutal treatment by the Moroccan police in these incidents. The group of fifty militants who received them and the returning 14 activists shouted loudly: "Guilty Morocco, responsible Spain" and "Sahara Libre (free Sahara)."

SAHARAWI WOMEN CONDEMN THE REPRESSION AGAINST INTERNATIONAL OBSSERVERS

The Executive-Board of the Saharawi Women´s Association in Spain (AMSE) has hold an important meeting these days in which has discussed about the NGO´s future activities and also the current situation in Western Sahara and has published a new press release in which expresses the following:

The Saharawi Women Association in Spain (SWAS) expresses its strongest condemnation for the abuses suffered at the hands of the moroccan police against the international observers: three spanish citizens: Elizabeth Terrace, Pilar Fortuño, Emma Pomar and his partner, a Mexican citizen, Antonio Velazquez, in the Aaiún, Western Sahara.

As indicated by various medios and testimonies, the international observers were as tourists who "were visiting friends", the home of the famous Saharawi human rights activist, Ali Hammad Hmad, who returned from an International Conference on Human Rights hold in the capital Algeria, Algiers, organized by the Summer University of Boumerdass. In the incident in the occupied capital of Western sahra, El-aaiún, were also injured the saharawi human rights activists: Hmad Ali Hammad, Soultana Kheya and Brahim Sabbar.

Also, as denounced by the Spanish citizens were mistreated "threw us on the ground and stomped and spat on us" not only physically but they remained in a sort of "house arrest."

According to statements made by the Mexican Antonio Velázquez to Europa Press, the group moved to the headquarters to the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) in the Aaiún to lodge a complaint about his treatment by the Moroccan Gendarmerie and the Army since 22 August.

The Saharawi Women want to express our unconditional solidarity with all human rights activists who are imprisoned under systematic torture, to be part of peaceful resistance to the illegal Moroccan occupation and denounce the violation of human rights.

Also, since SWAS has launched, once again, an urgent appeal to all democratic governments of the world, especially the spanish one and all the human rights organizations to deploy their good offices for the Kingdom of Morocco to respect scrupulously the Rights Human in the occupied cities of Western Sahara, as you can see this vicious assault, is not only against the Saharawi population in the occupied cities living under a system of repression but also against international observers.

SAHARAWI WOMEN CONDEMN THE BRUTAL REPRESSION

Saharawi Women express their most vigorious condemnation to yesterday´s brutal repression perpetrated by the moroccan army against peaceful saharawi citizens whom were going to celebrate the returning of another group of Saharawi human rights activists who have just visited the Saharawi Refugee Camps (South-east Algeria).

Moroccan security services arrested Sunday and Monday in the occupied city of El aaiún dozens of Sahrawi citizens, while dozens others suffered injuries of varying degrees of severity, including four members of the delegation of human rights activists which was on a visit to the  refugee camps.

The occupied city of Al Ayun is currently under a tightened security blockade, imposed by various Moroccan intelligence services and police to prevent Sahrawi population from meeting with the delegation of Independence Intifada, after their return to the city, according to identical human rights sources.

The same sources indicated banning at least 20 Sahrawi people from meeting with the delegation of Sahrawi activists and that some of them have been subjected to attacks, resulting in injuries of varying degrees of severity.

It should be recalled that the delegation of human rights activists had expressed, pendig to their visit to the Sahrawi refugee camps, their fear of reprisals by the security services of the Moroccan occupation, as they returned.

¡GOD BLESS OUR LEADER: MR. MAHFOUD ALI-BEIBA!

The Saharawi Women, the entire people of Western Sahara and also their millions of friends all over the world express their deep condolences to the whole Ali-Beiba´s family and to the saharawi people for the death of the President of the saharawi parliament, Mr. Mahfoud Ali-Beiba who died last friday, July 2nd 2010 at his home in the saharawi refugee camps.

The funeral of the President of the Saharawi National Council, Mahfoudh Ali-Beiba, was held on sunday morning, july 4th, in the cemetery in the wilaya of Smara.

After the prayer of death, the deceased was buried in the presence of the President of the Saharawi Republic, Mohamed Abdelaziz, members of the National Secretariat of the Polisario Front, Members of  Parliament, Government, Advisory Council, High Council of Justice and Sahrawi civil and military senior officials, who had come to pay their last tribute to the deceased.

Delegations from Algeria, MINURSO and international organizations and NGOs active in the Saharawi refugee camps, also attended the funeral of the deceased, along with members of his family.

Hundreds and hundreds of Sahrawi citizens also came to attend the funeral of President of the Saharawi National Council, Mahfoudh Ali Beiba.

Our dear brother Mr. Ali-Baiba Hammad Douweihi was born in the northern part of Western-Sahara: Saguia el Hamra in 1.953. He was married with our dear friend Mouina Cheikhatou and father of three beatifoul girls: Chaiaa, Fala and Mahfoudha.

In 1976 he had been appointed Secretary General of the Polisario Front, after the death of El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed, the founder of the Saharawi independence movement.

He had been replaced by Mohamed Abdelaziz, who still directs the liberation movement.

Mahfoud Ali Beiba was also Prime Minister of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, (SADR)proclaimed by the Polisario, from 1982-1985, then 1995-1999.

Mahfoud Ali Beiba had chaired since 1997, all Saharawi delegations during the negotiations on the future of Western Sahara with Morocco conducted under the auspices of the United Nations and had been Chairman of the NSC since 2003.

The Saharawi Government has declared a week of mourning from last Saturday in honnour of one the most important leaders of POLISARIO Front movement and one of the historic leaders of the saharawi people who is still crying because of this great loss. Becasue Mahfoud Ali-Baiba is known by his strong loyalty to the national cause,  a great defender of the legitimate right of self-determination and independence of the saharawi people. That is why we still crying for these huge loss  in your third day´s death but we can assure you that we will continue in the struggle for what you have sacrificed your youth and your whole life.

¡God bless you!.

In-na lil-lahi wa in-na ileihi rayiúun. 

WESTERN SAHARA´S CONFLICT IN THE MAIN U.N.´S AGENDA

The women from the Africa´s last colony: Western Sahara, totally support the whole speech of the POLISARO Front United Nations´s Permanent Representative, Mr. ahmed, pronounced this week in

the Special Committee on Decolonization of western sahara hold in the UN´s main headquarters.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro (Polisario Front), said 18 years had passed since the United Nations had endorsed, in 1991, the plan for a self-determination referendum in Western Sahara, which was still to be held. The process had been deterred by Morocco on the basis of friendships it had forged in the Security Council, particularly with France, which would provide it with impunity to continue its destructive efforts. Morocco still believed that it could involve the Council in gravely altering the Saharan people's fundamental basic right to self-determination. None of the endeavours carried out, from the 1997 Houston Agreement to the 2003 Baker Plan, to efforts by Christopher Ross, the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy, had managed to overcome the intransigence of the occupying Power, he said.

Morocco had incorporated new arguments and pretexts to create new alliances within the Council in exchange for hopes of realizing the final annexation of Western Sahara, he continued. That would signify the introduction of a new and curious doctrine that would enable all those participating in it to annex neighbouring territories, he warned. That pseudo-solution of "autonomy of Moroccan sovereignty", which Morocco had formulated in 2007 and set as a precondition for advancing the current negotiations, implied forcing the Saharan people to renounce the option of independence and integrate into the occupying Power. It would not be difficult for members of the Special Committee to consider that pseudo-solution as a grave rejection of the principle of self-determination, established by the United Nations in resolution 1514 (XV) and defined in resolution 1541 (XV).

Morocco continued to negate the 1991 United Nations decision, he said, adding that it also continued illegally to exploit Western Sahara's natural resources and to violate the Saharan people's human rights under the eyes and ears of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). There was no indication that Morocco would change its position in the near future, he said, noting that the United Nations would fail to address the situation of the last African territory on the Special Committee's agenda. The Moroccan case could have represented success on decolonization, but instead, it had become a symbol of protracted failure. No one could resign themselves to a fait accompli predicated on false and territorial appetites, he stressed.

He said Morocco was continuing the expansionist policies of Mohamed Allal al‑Fassi, leader of the Istiqlal Party, who had sought, since independence in 1956, to forge a "Greater Morocco" extending into Senegal and swallowing up all of Western Sahara, Mauritania and parts of Algeria and Mali. The region had seen no peace since 1975, and had even moved further away from it due to Morocco's decision to base its demands on ancient history. Failure to follow the road to peace, as instructed by the United Nations, should not be permitted, he said, adding that the Special Committee could play a large role in replacing injury and violence with a complete process for the peaceful decolonization of the last African colony on its agenda.

More than ever, the Special Committee had the chance to find out for itself what was happening in the Territory, he said, recalling that its last visit to Western Sahara had taken place 35 years ago. There was no valid or convincing reason to object to a second visit until the question of decolonization was resolved. The Special Committee had a right to request and receive true and appropriate information about the situation in the Territory, but Morocco was refusing to provide it, claiming that it had no colonies, only "provinces". Sooner or later international law would prevail in Western Sahara, he said.

Calling for a pooling of efforts to convince Morocco to cooperate with the United Nations on ending the unsustainable colonial situation that had handicapped the future of the entire region, bringing instability and insecurity, he said all countries of the region had been subjected to European colonization, and had subsequently spent years building their own independent futures. "We cannot be an exception to the general rule," he emphasized, denouncing Morocco for trying to return to times of injury, violence and territorial bullying based on ancient history. The only way forward was through a democratic solution in which the Saharan people would be masters of their own destiny, he said.

When asked by the representative of Bolivia about a solution to the conflict, Mr. Boukhari ahmed said all the parties concerned had agreed on a solution "a long time". The consensus had been that the Saharan people could decide whether they preferred to remain part of Morocco or to become independent. However, there had been a deviation from that process towards attempts to legitimize an unacceptable situation, he said, noting that, during informal negotiations, Morocco had taken "a step back". In light of that, Mr. Ross hoped to consider a new negotiating round in efforts to move forward. The only solution was to apply the already agreed-upon principle of self-determination for Western Sahara, he said, noting that any other method could lead to "a dead end".

Responding to a question by the representative of Nicaragua about the Special Committee's role, he said that, as long as the decolonization process continued in the Territory, the Special Committee would remain involved and use all the means at its disposal. He said he did not understand the rationale behind objections to the Special Committee visiting Western Sahara in order for members to view the situation for themselves. It should visit, since preventing such a visit would not help to strengthen the competence of its work.

Asked by the representative of Venezuela about the difficulties of the decolonization process, he said the current situation in Western Sahara was the result of destruction that had begun in 2009. Considering the risk that a lack of action could become a shield for the status quo, he urged the United Nations to take another look at the situation in Western Sahara so as to avoid a tragedy that would take place in the Organization's name.

THE SAHARAWIS AND THE WORLD REFUGEE´S DAY

On the occassion of the World Refugee´s Day, June 20th, the Saharawi Women would like to express their great concern about the plight of the more than fourty millions of refugee persons around the world among them the thousand of the saharawis whom were forced to scape their country: Western Sahara when Morocco invaded their country theirty-five years ago.

The Saharawi Women launched an urgent appeal to the international community to convince Morocco to implement the hundreds of United Nations´s resolutions on this problem of decolonization and to respect the human rights in the saharawi cities of Western Sahara, illegally occupied by the moroccan army.

The Saharawi Women are convinced that the hardships of the Saharawi refugees will continue as long as Morocco continues to illegally profit from the occupation of its neighbouring country and that is why we as women from this north-african country call on the international community to break the cash-flow from the occupied territories to the Moroccan treasury.

The humanitarian situation for the Saharawi grows ever more acute. The Saharawi people living in the refugee camps in Algeria suffer from donor fatigue and malnutrition. A study from 2008 establishes that 1 in every 5 Saharawi children is malnourished. It is unsettling to note that the annual multilateral aid to the refugee camps is only a small percentage of the massive profits Morocco makes by illegally exploiting the Saharawi resources.

Once again and on the World Refugee Day we, the Saharawi Women urge the international community to stop turning a blind eye to this persistent injustice. Choosing to look away is also a political choice, as it only strengthens the ongoing and untenable moroccanization of the territory.

Furthermore, it is an offense to the Saharawi refugees, who in the face of inhumane hardship have kept their end of the seize-fire bargain, doing exactly what the international community has asked them to do: wait. If the United Nations are truly committed to solving the last unresolved colonial conflict in Africa , breaking the cash-flow from the occupied territories to the occupying regime might be a good place to start.

NEW BOOK ON WESTERN SAHARA

                                                                            

The Saharawi Women would like to express  their congratulations to the authors of the last book that has just been published on the conflict of decolonization of Western Sahara: The two authors of this book are: the american university professors: Stephen Zunes and Jacob Mundy.

The tittle of the book is: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution and with a Foreword by George McGovern

"The Western Sahara is one of the world’s last vestiges of colonialism. In this thoughtful and impressive analysis, Stephen Zunes and Jacob Mundy provide valuable insights on the importance of enabling the people of the Western Sahara to determine their own future through a democratic referendum."

—the late Senator Edward Kennedy

"This book is a timely and scholarly synthesis presented with clarity and comprehension. Backed by their fieldwork, the authors consider Western Sahara’s irresolution as a consequence of not only competing nationalisms (and interfering actors), but also of conflicting imaginations of polity and society."

—Phillip Naylor, author of France and Algeria: A History of Decolonization and Transformation

Description:

The Western Sahara conflict has proven to be one of the most protracted and intractable struggles facing the international community. Pitting local nationalist determination against Moroccan territorial ambitions, the dispute is further complicated by regional tensions with Algeria and the geo-strategic concerns of major global players, including the United States, France, and the territory’s former colonial ruler, Spain. For over twenty years, the UN Security Council has failed to find a formula that will delicately balance these interests against Western Sahara’s long-denied right to a self-determination referendum as one of the last UN-recognized colonies.

In the first book-length treatment of the issue in over two decades, Zunes and Mundy examine the origins, evolution, and resilience of the Western Sahara conflict, deploying a diverse array of sources and firsthand knowledge of the region gained from multiple research visits. Shifting geographical frames—local, regional, and international—provide for a robust analysis of the stakes involved.

View other books in the Syracuse Studies on Peace and Conflict Resolution series

Authors:

Stephen Zunes is professor of politics and international studies at the University of San Francisco where he chairs the program in Middle Eastern Studies. He is the author of Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy and the Roots of Terrorism. He was named Peace Scholar of the Year for 2002 by the Peace and Justice Studies Association.

Jacob Mundy is a doctoral candidate at the University of Exeter’s Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, and author of several book chapters and articles on North African politics. He is Amnesty USA’s Country Specialist for Morocco and Western Sahara, and served as a consulting external analyst for the International Crisis Group for the Western Sahara conflict.

WINNIE MANDELA REAFFIRMS HER COMMITMENT WITH THE SAHARAWI PEOPLE

The historical anti-apartheid activsit,Winnie Mandela, has reaffirmed her commitment of supporting the the Saharawi people´s struggle for freedom and independence.

The symbol of the struggle of the all african women, Mrs. Winnie Mandela, has been invited by the main Vice-Chancellors of the seven Public Universities of Madrid for attending an interesting conference on Western Sahara which has been held in the spanish capital, Madrid, where a great number of experts in the issue of decolnization of Western sahara have taken part during the three days talks. They invited her to participate in the International Conference because since last month of March she was elected as the President of the International Platform of Solidarity with the Saharawi People.

Winnie Mandela called in her speech in Madrid for the decolonization of Western Sahara, "the last colony in Africa," and condemned the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara, comparing it with "the fascist apartheid regime" in South Africa.

During the Public Universities Days on Western Sahara, opened on Wednesday, May 26th, in Madrid, Winnie Mandela stated that the "solution to the question of Western Sahara is clear, which is the self-determination and independence, based on the application of the UN legitimate resolutions and international recognized principles."

The ANC historic leader and nowadays South-African´s M.P. pointed out that "Western Sahara remains the last colony in Africa at a time when we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the UNGA resolution which is the cornerstone of the decolonization course under the auspices of the United Nations in the framework of international law and major independences in the African continent."

Winnie Mandela - President of the International Women's platform in support of the Sahrawi cause - also stated that the struggle of the Saharawi people for its inalienable right to self-determination is "a just and legitimate struggle for liberation led by a legitimate government."

She further stated "it is a struggle against colonialism and occupant and repressive state, indicating that Spain "has stolen the land and left it to other colonizer, namely Morocco, which continues to benefit from the support of Madrid as well as other Western powers exploiting the natural resources of the Saharawi people" She said in her speech.

WINNIE MANDELA: "I AM VERY SURE THAT THE SAHARAWI PEOPLE WILL BE FREE SOONER OR LATER"

The historic South-African women´s leader, Winnie Mandela, is in the spanish capital, Madrid, responding to an invitation from the main Public universities of Comunidad de Madrid which have invited her as the President of the International Plattform of Solidarity with the Saharawi Women.

The fourth edition of the Madrid public universities meeting on Western Sahara  helds from May 26th to 29th  in the Spanish capital with the participation of many academics, experts in the colonial conflict, as well as several political personalities, including among many others Sahrawi Prime Minister Abdelkader Taleb Omar or the South African Winnie Mandela. The fourth-day, which is meant to be a public space for reflection and debate on the Sahrawi issue, will be held at the prestigious Fine Arts Circle in Madrid under the theme: "Western Sahara, an outstanding agenda, decolonization and human rights."

In a meeting hold today between the South-African Women´s leader and the President of the Spanish Plattform of Women´s Artist, cristina del Valle acompigned by the Sahrawi Women´s International Relations Officer, Suelam Beiruk, she said that is going to launch a huge international campaign of solidarity with the saharawi people and mainly with their women whom are an example of emancipation and empowerment in the arab and muslim world.

SAHARAWI WOMEN CONDEMN THE UNFURLING OF THE WORLD´S BIGGEST FLAG

The Saharawi Women condemn the innitiative of the moroccan occupuders authorities to add a moroccan huge flag in the illegal occupied city of western Sahara, Dakhla, and we express our total support to the campainers who have dismissed the unfurling of the world’s biggest flag in occupied Western Sahara as a political stunt by Morocco and demanded that Guinness World Records strip them of the record which they were awarded on 9th May.

The giant 20 tonne, 60,000 metre Moroccan standard was laid out on 9 May in Dakhla, Western Sahara and Guinness World Records sent a judge to authenticate the record. But campaigners from Europe, America and Australasia have pointed out that Western Sahara is classified by the United Nations as a non-self-governing territory and that Moroccan claims to sovereignty over the territory have been dismissed by the International Court of Justice. Indeed not a single nation recognises Morocco’s occupation.

Campaigners last week contacted Guinness to point out that by authenticating the record they were legitimising the unlawful occupation of Western Sahara and requested that the record be rescinded. In response a spokesperson for Guinness responded stating that “our task is to measure, count, monitor all world records. We are not in a position to comment on the political nature of things - we simply document the world around us.” Stefan Simanowitz who chairs the global campaigning intiative the Free Western Sahara Network does not accept this. “Under international law, the situation of Western Sahara is unambiguous. Morocco’s invasion was a serious breach of the UN Charter and the UN has passed over a hundred Resolutions reaffirming the inalienable right of the Western Saharan people to self-determination” he argues. “By authenticating this record in occupied Western Sahara they are effectively legitimising an illegitmate occupation.”

The Free Western Sahara Network together with other campaigning groups around the world accuse Morocco of using the giant flag as a clumsy attempt to distract attention from a series of PR disasters surrounding Morocco’s 35 illegal occupation of neighbouring Western Sahara. The record attempt came just days after it emerged that the Moroccans had persuaded the French government to use their veto to prevent any mention of human rights being included in the latest UN Resolution on the disputed territory and just months after Morocco was forced to readmit hunger striking Nobel Peace Prize activist Aminatou Haidar after having her deported. Simanowitz believes that it is incumbent on Guinness to strip Morocco of their record. “If Saddam Hussein had unfurled a giant Iraqi flag in Kuwait in 1990 I am confident Guinness would not have flown out a judge to measure it” he argues. “By sending a judge to authenticate a record attempt that has clear political overtones, Guinness cannot claim to be non-political. We ask that this record be rescinded.”

NEW FILM ON WESTERN SAHARA: "SONS OF THE CLOUDS"

The Saharawi Women would like to express their deepest thanks to the actor Javier Bardem and the other artists and professionals for their wonderful idea to make a film on the issue of Western Sahara for giving awareness on this unjustice that is facing the people and of the territory known as the Africa´s last colony.

 Javier Bardem, who toplines Cannes competition player "Biutiful," will produce and narrate the Western Sahara-focused documentary feature "Oulad Lemzun" (Sons of the Clouds).

Bardem will produce through his Spanish label Pinguin Films. Wild Bunch will handle international rights outside Spain.

"Sons" reps the directorial debut of Alvaro Longoria, one of Spain's most internationally minded indie producers.

Based out of Madrid's Morena Films, which will co-produce "Sons," Longoria exec-produced Steven Soderbergh's "Che" and Oliver Stone's "Comandante." Both Bardem and Longoria will take producer credits. "Sons" has been pre-bought by Spain's main pay-TV operator, Canal Plus.

Now in pre-production, "Sons" will shoot in Western Sahara, Algeria, Mauritania, U.S., Spain and France.

"Sons" is an attempt, said Bardem, to analyze the "political and economic interests" behind a "geopolitical chess game" played by Morocco, Algeria, the U.S., Spain and France. This has left the Western Sahara as a colony -- the last in Africa, said Bardem -- and nearly 200,000 people living in refugee camps, largely in Algeria.

"Our objective is to illustrate, explain and expose this unknown story in a neutral way, telling all sides of the story and leaving the final judgement to the audience," Longoria told Variety.

Intended interviewees include French president Nicholas Sarkozy, Abdelaziz Butlefika of Algeria, Mohamed Abdelaziz of the Arab Saharaui Republic, former Ronald Reagan and George H.H. Bush chief of staff James Baker, former Spanish p.m. Jose Maria Aznar, Jacques Chirac, Felipe Gonzalez, former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger and former U.S. president Bill Clinton.

Bardem and Longoria both attended the 5th Sahara Intl. Film Frstival in 2008, which is held in refugee camps in South-West Algeria.

"Essentially, the film aims to prove that under the current world system those 'too small to matter' are ignored and fall between the world's political cracks," Bardem said.All profits from the film will be given to an NGO to help Saharaui children, said Longoria.

"Sons of the Clouds" is the name the Saharauis give to themselves -- "Oulad Lemzun" in Hassania.

ANOTHER YEAR FOR MINURSO DOING NOTHING IN WESTERN SAHARA

The Saharawi Women would like to express their disagreement and their concern on the recent UN Security Council´s resolution on Western Sahara aproved late this friday, April 30th 2010.

We express our concern and disaproval to this resolution because they have not included the need of protecting the human rights in Western Sahara due to the dangerous situation are facing our citizens in the occupied cities of what is known as the Africa´s last colony.

 As usually, for almost nineteen years the United Nations has  extented  the mandate of the peacekeeping force in Western Sahara, illegally occupied by kingdom of Morroco.

The Women from this country and the entire saharawi people are deeply concerded on the issue of the great violation of human rights.

Mandate of UN peacekeeping force in Western Sahara extended for another year without approving any mandate  of promoting human rights in the occupied cities of Western sahara, where the moroccan occupied authorities are violating daily the human rights like unjust prisons, detentions, turtures, etc..

We want to launch an urgent appeal to the international community to put pressure on the moroccan government to respect the international resolutions and to respect the human rights on Western Sahara.

UN Press release informed: "In a unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-member Council called on Morocco and Frente Polisario – the parties to the conflict in Western Sahara – to “continue to show political will and work in an atmosphere propitious for dialogue in order to enter into a more intensive and substantive phase of negotiations.”

The resolution was adopted after Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in his latest report on the peacekeeping mission (known as MINURSO), recently welcomed both parties’ commitment to the process of negotiations and their willingness to engage in the preparatory informal format.

But he noted that two informal meetings under the auspices of his personal envoy Christopher Ross held in August 2009 and February this year produced no movement on the core substantive issues, and more work is needed before a fifth round can be held.

Mr. Ross’ efforts to promote a settlement have been “laborious,” the Secretary-General said. “Their pace and substance have been heavily affected by the parties’ reaction to events in the region and their unyielding attachment to mutually exclusive positions.”

The recent  resolution called on the parties to continue the dialogue under the auspices of the Secretary-General without preconditions to achieve “a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.”

Last week, the Secretary-General expressed concern about alleged violations of human rights in the Western Sahara conflict and vowed to continue to promote the rights of Sahrawis after meeting with Mohamed Abdelaziz, Secretary-General of the Frente Polisario.

He reassured Mr. Abdelaziz of “the UN’s commitment to maintaining an active and balanced engagement in the search for a solution to the Western Sahara conflict that provides for the self-determination for the people of Western Sahara,” according to information released by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson.

“The Secretary-General stated that he remains very concerned about alleged violations of human rights. He said that his Personal Envoy, Christopher Ross, and the Secretariat will continue to work to promote the human rights of Sahrawis.”

RABAB AMAIDAN WRITTES AN OPEN LETTER TO HER BROTHER IN JAIL

The Saharawi Women express our total solidarity with all the saharawis that are suffering in the moroccan prisons and condemn the flagrant violations of human rights and launch an appeal to the international community to assume its responsability for the life of the saharawis that are in hunger strike for more than thirty-four days as a  protest of their inhuman situation.

Rabab Amaidan is a young human righta activists from our country who is now studying in a swedish university and she has recently sent the following open letter to her brother who is in jail:

Rabab writes: "I try to keep my sweet memories alive.. try to remember when we used to play on the roof of our grand parents’ big house, or playing with the neighbors’ kids, or sometimes we fight each others and he used always to win the fight..! When he used to call me the “cross-eyed” or the “big-nosed” to make me angry..

I remember our devil plans to steal sweets from the kitchen without my mother knowing..

Many funny things make me smile when it comes to my mind.. But, quickly, the sad and horrible memory comes to banish my sweet ones..!

I remember the police chasing him, remember him hiding, remember them storming our small house, remember the screaming, tears, beatings and torture... I remember how much I hate Morocco..

My little brother is now Hunger Striking.. with the Saharawi political prisoners and prisoners of conscience all over the Moroccan prisons, some of them have started the strike since the 18 of March.

My brother has been sent urgently to hospital today and once again earlier this week because of his weak health situation..

Being in prison for four years now, in neglect, malnutrition, bad treatment by the prison guards; Besides, the loneliness of being in a Moroccan prison, in an area where another language is spoken, not even the Moroccan accent that we are familiar with, the one is spoken by the settlers in our country..

Being far from home, it is hard for the family and friends to visit him often... Those harsh experiences make the mountain fall in ruin as we express in "Hassania..!

I wish I were the one in prison and that he would be free.. at least I am elder than him and have had some good times in my life, it would be ok for me to get in prison..

But, he is younger and has been imprisoned twice in his life, in addition to the several times he was detained and tortured..

He lost his education career, his sweet teenage life, his health, his natural and moral growth...

Oh! it is killing me to see how huge his suffering is and I can do nothing to change his situation!

Sadly, my brother is only one example of hundreds of Saharawis that are suffering in Moroccan prisons and secret jails..! " finnishs Rabab Amaidan´s open letter to her brother in jail.

TITTLE THOURA WRITES TO HER FATHER: ALI-SALEM TAMEK

The saharawi Women express their strongest condemnations to all forms of reppression particularly the reppressive moroccan policy in the occupied cities of Western Sahara and also we want to express our solidarity with all the saharawi compatriots who are in prision only because they fight for their legitimate right of self-determination and independence. littleThaura is the daughter of one of the famous saharawi human rights activists, Ali-Salem Tamek, who is in hunger strike like all his group that where taken into prison only because they visited their families in the saharawi refugee camps and who are now in their thirty-second day of hunger strike for protesting against the illegal conditions.

Thawra says to her father in the following call:

I won’t stop calling you, Daddy!

I won’t get tired of repeating out loud, “Free my dad! Free my dad!”

My father that I love brought me up to be stubborn and named me “Thawra” (Revolution), so that the revolution would be the first word I hear and answer to. He wanted me to be a seed of a revolution that grows.. and resists.. and prevails. But my name doesn’t mean anything without my people, because my people are a revolution, and the revolution, to my eyes, is my people. Each one of them is tied to the other to provide love, compassion, security and peace, because in this case, the revolution is not only blood and fire; the revolution here is also life.

My Dad, to me you are a symbol! A source that provides me with the feeling of belonging to my people. You make me proud of both my people and you. For this I loudly call, now, tomorrow and anytime, on all the free men of the world to stand up to come to the rescue of noble people like you. People who bare similar names, revolutionary people like you, militants who preferred to fight for principles and to take the risks. They abandoned their personal comfort, their personal happiness, to dedicate the most precious thing they have for the sake of the cause of the Saharawi people, to register the struggle of this people amongst the revolutions of the rest of nations.

Revolutions never die, because they are made by the people, and the people never forget. The collective memories of the peoples keep the stories and legends of their honourable sons to immortalize their names. Remember that caravans of followers took the path shaped by Martyr El Wali Mustapha Sayed, and more are still taking it, and there will be more and more tomorrow, so never feel embarrassed, my Dad! Never hesitate, because since you made your decision to fight, I looked up to you to see in you such a brave fighter, strong and courageous, you were great in my eyes, a freedom fighter who never compromises, never tires out, never despairs. And most important, Dad, never give up or fall despite of the weakness and disease, despite of death itself. If death is to come, Dad, die standing up! Because you were born to die standing. You gave me the name of the revolution and its path, so be sure, Dad, that the sadism of the torturers and their arrogance have only made me even more determined to keep on the path you chose for me, though they abusively deprived me of growing up with my Saharawi mates and deprived me from my grandparents and my homeland. Despite of all this, I fully accept and welcome my fate and that of my people.

I love you, Dad! Unlike other kids who love their parents, because I can only live through you. When I heard the news of your arrest with your comrades and your presentation before the justice of the soldiers, I panicked, and I was afraid to the point that I hid in the corner to cry so as to ease my heart, to cry my loneliness and my homesickness. We are both deprived of our homeland, my Dad - I am living abroad living like a stranger, and you are living in the prison of the occupier. Your opinions and thoughts treated like strangers, but you never surrendered, and you overcame your thoughts and doubts to choose an open hunger strike, while I almost succumb to illusions and despair.

I am still firm, my Dad, my love of life takes me to you, and missing you every moment brings me closer to you. And I can say that it is so sad when the feelings of adults invade my childhood, when we the children start to worry about you. Am I worried about you my dad? If I am not now while you are hunger striking, when can I get worried? You and your comrades almost finished one month fighting at the limits of death in the continuous battle of the hunger strike.

Yes, I have to confess, I am scared. I am terribly scared, and I fear the tragedy and bad news, and for that I will cry, Dad! I will cry so as everybody can see my tears, and I promise I won’t stop crying until I can see you and your comrades free! Until you and your comrades give us back our smile. Give us, your kids, our smile that became a hope and an aspiration we lose thousands of times in every moment, in every day of your hunger strike.

I won’t tire, Dad, from crying out loud “Free my dad, and free all of my dad’s comrades,.. and leave to never come again. Oh, you who made our days so sad and dark! Oh, you who turned us to orphans, separated us, displaced us and imprisoned us! Aren’t you yet satisfied with all those crimes you have committed? Leave us alone and never come back, so as we can recuperate our smile, so as my dad can come back to me, so as the victims of forced disappearance can come back, and the prisoners and the refugees.”

Thawra Ali Salem Tamek

Daughter of Ali Salem Tamek, the prominent human rights defender.

"THE SAHARAWI PEOPLE MUST DECIDE FOR HIMSELF" SAID MRS. RAMDAN

Madrid´s correspondent of Intermational Press Service (IPS) published these days an article about the situation in Western Sahara specially on occassion of the visit to the region of the United Nation Secretary General Special Representative, Christopher Ross.

and the journalist interviewed Mrs. Zahra Ramdán, Chair-person of the Association of Saharawi Women in Spain.

"The only solution for the conflict over Morocco's occupation of the Western Sahara is to do what the Saharawi people decide regarding their future" said Zahra Ramdan, President of the Association of Saharawi Women in Spain, told IPS.

Christopher Ross, United Nations envoy for the Western Sahara, expressed himself in similar terms this week after a tour that took him to Morocco, Algeria, Italy, France and Spain.

The aim of his visits, he said, was to reach a mutually accepted political solution that could lead to the holding of a referendum in the framework of the U.N. charter.

Western Sahara, a phosphate-rich disputed desert territory on the northwest coast of Africa bordered by Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania, was annexed by Morocco after Spain pulled out in 1975.

A political process aimed at determining the future of the territory has been at an impasse for many years. In 1991, the U.N. brokered a ceasefire to end the armed conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front, the Algeria-based Sahrawi independence movement, which erupted in 1976.

But while a referendum on self-determination for Western Sahara, in which the Sahrawi people would choose between independence, autonomy and integration, was promised in the 1990s, Morocco has prevented the poll from taking place.

On Thursday, students grouped in the "university platform for support for the Sahara" organised a demonstration outside the foreign ministry in downtown Madrid, as part of a series of activities calling for the territory's self-determination that began Mar. 15.

The theme of the students' activities is "Camping for the Sahara: 35 years is enough; freedom for the Sahrawi people" - a reference to this year's anniversary of the withdrawal of Spanish troops from the Western Sahara and the occupation by Morocco.

Mrs. Ramdan pointed out to IPS that the Polisario Front has respected the ceasefire and sees the U.N.'s proposed solution as positive.

But, she added, "the problem still lies in Morocco, where the king is not in favour of allowing the Sahrawi people to decide by means of a referendum."

Ross, a U.S. diplomat who U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed as his personal envoy for Western Sahara in January 2009, said "the negotiations…have stalled and we are all called to think and find the best way out of this impasse."

But he also told reporters "I remain convinced that with good faith all will be reached soon to resolve this problem."

Ross met with Sahrawi president-in-exile Mohammed Abdelaziz at a Sahrawi refugee camp in Tindouf province, Algeria; Mauritania's President Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz; Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika; and Morocco's King Mohammed VI.

Ramdan said that while the U.N. resolution for a referendum is positive, "Morocco has shown that it neither respects the U.N. nor complies with the Security Council resolutions."

She was referring to a 2003 resolution known as the Baker Plan II, which envisioned Sahrawi self-rule under a Western Sahara Authority for a period of five years, to be followed by a referendum on independence, and a later 2007 resolution.

The Sahrawi activist said it is indispensable for the U.N. to make Rabat live up to the Security Council resolutions on the Western Sahara, "especially given the fact that they are supported by all of the nations involved directly or indirectly, with the exception of Morocco."

Although the Western Sahara has rich phosphate deposits, fisheries and offshore oil reserves, it is an undeveloped, poverty-stricken territory.

Some 200,000 Sahrawi people live in the refugee camps in Tindouf province, Algeria, near the Moroccan border, where both jobs and water are scarce and summer temperatures soar to 50 degrees Celsius.

The refugee camps visited by Ross will receive another group of visitors between Mar. 28 and Apr. 3 - this time hundreds of mainly young activistsresponding to a call by two Spanish student groups, Voluntad y Determinación (Will and Determination) and Conciencia Saharaui (Sahrawi Conscience or Awareness).

The activists' trip to the camps, under the slogan "Column 2010: Let's knock down the wall and build freedom", is aimed at sending out the message that it is time to find a fair resolution to the conflict, to allow the Sahrawi people to return to their territory and live in freedom.

During the visit, the activists will march along part of the "Moroccan wall" or "wall of shame", a 2,500-km sand embankment built by Morocco in the 1980s, that separates the Moroccan-controlled areas and the Polisario-controlled section of Western Sahara.

INTERNATIOANL CONFERENCE OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE SAHARAWI WOMEN

The Second International Conference of solidarity with Saharawi Women held under the motto of " Woman and Resistance" which has taken place in the Saharawi Refugee Camps from March 20th to 22nd where a huge number of foreign delegations have participated mainly from Africa, Europe and both Americas has adopted important decitions among them the need of strenghthening the relationship among the whole women´s organizations and to help the saharawi women in all the fields mainly in the international arena.

Winnie Mandela was one off the participants in this historical event of solidarity with the saharawi women. In her intervention in the symposium the historial southafrican woman leader said that she will led the international support and solidarity with the women from the last african colony: Western sahara, and will deploy a great campaign all over the world on the saharawi people´s struggle for peace and justice.

The participants sent the following letter to the president of the Commission of the African Union.

Mr. President

We, the women participating in the Second Annual International meeting of Solidarity with the struggle of the Sahrawi women for their right to self-determination and independence, which takes place in the Sahrawi refugee camps under the theme "Women and resistance," in the presence of women from different continents, while expressing our support for the struggle of the Sahrawi women and people, we call upon the African Union to intervene to complete the liberation of the African continent by decolonizing one of its full fledged members, a found of the African Union and last African colony through the organization of a free, democratic and fair referendum to enable the Sahrawi people to exercise its inalienable right to self-determination, granted him by the international conventions, especially the Charters of the United Nations and African Union.

Mr. President

The meeting is held under deep concern to Sahrawis about the human rights situation in the occupied territories of Western Sahara and southern Morocco, in particular the deteriorating situation of human rights activists on hanger strike in Sale prison to demand their release or a fair trial.

We urge you to urgently intercede with the Moroccan state to release all those detained Sahrawi political prisoners in Moroccan prisons and unveil the fate of hundreds of missing persons and prisoners of war still unaccounted for.

We urge you and the international community to exert pressure on the Moroccan regime to comply with the international legitimacy and stop its ongoing human rights violations against Sahrawis, documented by credible international organizations and bodies, through expanding the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara to include the monitoring and reporting on the situation of human rights in the region. We also demand the immediate cessation of the illegal looting of natural resources of Western Sahara and dismantlement of the wall of shame and humiliation, which divides the Saharawi people and its land and contaminates the environment with millions of anti-personnel mines, thus constituting a crime against humanity and nature.

Mr. President

The independence, stability and progress of the African continent is above all a responsibility of Africa, a requirement that can only be achieved through the contribution to solve the question of Western Sahara by decolonizing it, via the organization of a free and democratic referendum, where the Sahrawi people can choose their own future and thus turn the last page of the history of colonialism in our continent and contribute to its growth and its women work side by side with their sisters in Africa to erase the vestiges of colonialism and lead their peoples to a better future.