Morocco calls UNHCR to release moroccans sequestered in tindouf
Morocco-Algeria, Politics, 6/26/2003

Morocco called the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to extend a humanitarian assistance to the Moroccans sequestered in the Tindouf camps (southeastern Algeria) and promote their voluntary return to their homeland.

In a statement before the 27th meeting of the HCR's permanent committee, that reviewed the Commissioner's activities in the Tindouf camps, Morocco's ambassador to the UN, Omar Hilale, warned the Commissioner against falling in the trap of "famine in the camps" and of Polisario separatists' skimming of humanitarian aid.

My delegation has unveiled such practices repeatedly and with evidences, and called the UNHCR to check the aid reception and distribution, but they remained unheard, Hilale deplored, adding that the US Committee for Refugees' 2003 report supports Morocco's sayings and voiced the concerns of donators who requested that aid distribution be checked against skimming.

In order to relief these populations' sufferings and restore their links with Morocco, the kingdom has agreed to back a UNHCR comprehensive scheme that included allowing phone communications between the camps and Morocco's Southern provinces, family visits, apolitical seminars and an information campaign, he said.

Morocco deplores delays by the so-called Polisario (an Algeria-backed separatist movement claiming the independence of Moroccan southern provinces) and the obstacles it is erecting, which the UNHCR downgrade its ambitions and limit them to phone calls and mail exchanges with one camp only. The phone calls operation launched April 15, 2003 was cancelled unilaterally by the Polisario the day after on grounds of technical reasons, Hilal said.

Actually, he explained that the separatists are fearful of the sequestered populations' yearning to learn about the Moroccan southern provinces and of the emotions binding them to their homeland.

Concerning financing issues, the diplomat regretted that records of the UNHCR aid distribution is a standard one that is applied to all the HCR-managed situations, safe for Algeria for which the 2002 Global report mentions populations figures with the traditional "according to estimates of the Algerian government."

The Moroccan ambassador recalled that Morocco has long called for a reliable census of the sequestered populations to determine their origin, number, age, gender and needs.

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