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.”