Sevilla, capital of the international solidarity with the Saharawi people

05/09/2008

The Spanish city of Sevilla (Andalusia) hosts for three days and international conference of solidarity with the Saharawi people, with the participation of many Saharawi and international personalities as well as representatives of many associations supporting the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination. Organised by the Spanish-Saharawi association "Somoud" (resistance), the Spanish Council for the Defence of Solidarity and Peace and the Mayoralty of Sevilla, this conference, whose works started on Friday, aims to "strengthen the support to the Saharawi cause on the basis of the inalienable right to self-determination", according to the organisers. In a meeting that introduced the conference, few hours before its opening, El-Ouali Bentaleb, member of the association Somoud called on Spain to "assume its historical and moral responsibilities towards the conflict in Western Sahara and to recognise the Saharawi Republic and POLISARIO Front as the unique and legitimate representatives of the Saharawi people like more than 85 other countries did". In the conference the participants discussed on many themes related to the history of the conflict, the current situation on the basis of the international law, the political scene after the Manhasset’s negotiations between the two parties to the conflict, POLISARIO Front and Morocco. The serious human rights violations in the occupied zones and the popular uprising against the Moroccan occupation as well as testimonies on the life in the refugee camps, will also be presented in the conference. Amongst the speakers there will be the Saharawi Ambassador to Algiers, Mr. Brahim Ghali, who will speak about the "international political situation after the negotiations of Manhasset". The Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation will be present to speak about the model of decolonisation of Timor-Leste, which is similar to the decolonisation process of Western Sahara. The conference will also be an opportunity to present some books and project films on the history, life, culture and struggle of the Saharawi people for independence.

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POLISARIO calls on Spain to finish the decolonisation process in Western Sahara

POLISARIO Front’s Representative in Spain, Mr. Bouchraya Beyoun, called on the Spanish government to finish the process of decolonisation in Western Sahara, more than 30 years after Madrid abandoned its ex-colony to illegally deliver it to a new colonizer, Morocco. "We simply ask Spain to respect the international legality and finish, more than 30 years later, the process of decolonisation in this territory", which is its ex-colony, Mr. Bouchraya stressed in the opening of the General Assembly of the Coordination of the Associations of Solidarity and friendship with the Saharawi People (CEAS). This Assembly, held under the theme: "Better organisation for the independence of Western Sahara" is organised in the locality of Puertollano, near the Spanish city of Ciudad Real, some 200 km in the south of Madrid, in the presence of more than 130 representatives of many associations supporting the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination and independence, according to the organizers. The Saharawi official seized the opportunity to thank the Spanish civil society, through these associations, for their actions in favour of the Saharawi people by receiving more than 9.000 Saharawi children during the summer holidays or through the caravan of solidarity that enabled the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Saharawi refugees. On their side, the local authorities of the Spanish city and the regional political party’s representatives reiterated their support to the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination and condemned the human rights violations committed by Morocco in the occupied zones.

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The preparing Committee of UGTSARIO 6th Congress fixes the schedule of the local conferences from 6 to 12 October

05/09/2008

The preparing Committee of the General Union of the Workers of Saguia El Hamra y Rio de Oro (UGTSARIO) fixed the schedule of the local conferences from the 6th to the 12th October in the different wilayas and institutions to elect the delegates that will participate to the UGTSARIO 6th Congress, due to be organised in the El Aaiun camp from the 19th to the 2st October. In a meeting last Friday under the chairmanship of the UGTSARIO Secretary General, Mohamed Cheikh Mohamed Lehbib, the Committee discussed the procedures and organisational aspects of the conferences that will be organised in 25 Dairas in addition to 27 of February camp, 12 October School and the institutions of the Saharawi Republic. The Saharawi workers in different sectors will participate massively to the conferences to elect 400 delegates, who will participate to the UGTSARIO 6th Congress. The Committee also listened to the reports of the sub-committees, mainly the Sub-committees of the Constitution, Programme of Action and evaluation, Information, Occupied Territories and Diaspora, as well as the sub-committee of the Cultural programme accompanying the congress and the sub-committee in charge of the programmes of the international guests.