A NGO calls international Red Cross to intervene to enable people sequestered in Tindouf return home
Morocco, Politics, 12/6/2001

The association of Moroccan Sahrawi tribes in Europe has called the International Red Cross to intervene to enable the Sahrawis who are sequestered in the camps of Tindouf, stronghold of the Polisario in south-western Algeria, to return to their homeland.

In a release sent to MAP, the association chairman, Lahcen Latif, urged the International Red Cross to intervene the soonest so that the Sahrawis who are sequestered in the camps of shame return to their homeland and to their provinces in the south, that are witnessing a large scale development in all sectors, under the leadership of King Mohammed VI.

Lahcen Latif denounced the tragic situation in the sequestration camps and said more than one thousand Moroccan sahrawi children were displaced to Cuba where they are submitted to the pressure of Cuban authorities.

The association also voiced indignation at the Spanish authorities' decision to prevent a Moroccan delegation from explaining Morocco's legitimate stand on its national cause before a European conference of backing to the polisario separatists, convened in Seville on November 24.

The association deemed the measure "an irresponsible and provocative act for the Moroccan people and for their sacred values.

Several Moroccan associations and ngos dealing with disabled persons on Monday sent a memorandum to the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, urging him to take emergency action to protect the persons sequestered in the Tindouf camps by the Polisario, an Algerian-backed separatist movement claiming the independence of the Sahara.

The associations-- that were participating in a solidarity day, held Monday, on the occasion of the World Disabled Persons Day, in the southern city of Laayoune-- called the UN chief to guarantee conditions of voluntary return to the persons sequestered in Tindouf and stressed the imperative need to secure protection to the people injured in war and to persons having specific needs, in line with the UN recommendations.

They also underlined the necessity to activate the role of the UN higfh commissioner for refugees in order to organize the return operation of the sequestered persons.

Previous Stories:
  Moroccan official calls for lifting blockade on people sequestered in Tindouf   (12/4/2001)
  Moroccan association denounces Spanish police's repressive practices   (11/29/2001)
  Morocco condemns Spanish accommodating attitude vis-a-vis Polisario activities   (11/26/2001)

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