Italian commune supports march in favor of polisario-detained Moroccans
Morocco-Italy, Politics, 3/5/2005

The release up to now of only some Moroccans detained in the polisario camps "is contrary to humanitarian law," and to the Geneva convention which stipulates that prisoners must be freed as soon as a cease-fire is enforced, said the communal council of Pontremoli, North Italy.

The Italian commune council made the statement in a message sent to Moroccan "Watanouna" association which will hold on Sunday a march to promote awareness among the international community of the fate and inhumane conditions befalling the Moroccans detained in the polisario camps.

Some 408 Moroccan are still detained in the camps located in Tindouf, South-West Algeria, and controlled by the polisario movement which has waged war on Morocco claiming the separation of the Southern provinces after they were retrieved from Spanish rule in 1975 in line with the Madrid accords.

The Pontremoli commune expressed "full solidarity" with Watanouna and "moral support" to the demonstration stressing that the detained Moroccans should have been released in 1991 when the cease-fire was enforced as provided by the third Geneva convention.

The message to Watanouna said "we join our voice to yours to contribute to seeking a peaceful solution to the conflict of the Sahara and to strongly denounce human rights violations" perpetrated by the polisario.

The message comes in the morrow of the call by Italian Euro-representatives to UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, while in Brussels last January 29th, to international organisations and to the world public opinion, to work for "the immediate and unconditional release" of the Moroccans detained in Tindouf.

The Euro-representatives condemned the intransigence of the polisario in refusing to release the prisoners and the violations of human rights perpetrated by the Algeria-backed movement. Watanouna was set up on January 20 in Casablanca to sensitize the public opinion on the question of Moroccans who are sequestered in the Polisario camps. It aims to draw the attention of the international public opinion on human rights violations committed in the camps and to denounce the exploitation of families by the Algeria-backed Polisario group.

On the day of its establishment, Watanouna called on international organizations to "intervene to bring to halt the sufferings of families and children, who are separated from their mothers, and to release all Moroccans sequestered in Tindouf."

Previous Stories:
  Italian senator: 'We share Morocco's stance on the Sahara issue'   (1/18/2005)
  Italy against separation of Moroccan southern provinces, speaker   (6/25/2004)
  Sahara issue is a Morocco-Algeria problem that must be settled through dialogue, Italian speaker   (6/25/2004)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search