Gigantic march voices outrage over continued sequestration of Moroccans in polisario camps
Morocco-Algeria, Politics, 3/7/2005

They came on Sunday in tens of thousands to Rabat filling all downtown streets, stretching over kilometres, to ask in unison for the immediate and unconditional liberation of the Moroccans Sequestrated in polisario camps in Tindouf, South-West Algeria.

Moroccan Men, women, children of all walks of life and from all regions of the kingdom kept on pouring, up to late morning, in the thousands, to "Bab El Had," center of Rabat, to take part in the national march organised by the "Watanouna" association and contributed to by scores of other organisations.

"All for the liberation of Moroccans sequestrated in Tindouf" was the rally cry of the demonstrators who shouted in slogans in Arabic, Tamazight, French and English their outrage to the continuation of the detention of the sequestrated Moroccan.

The gigantic march was joined in by political parties, civil society, non governmental and human rights organisations, sport and cultural associations, as well as by family members of the victims of the continuing sequestration and those who succeeded in evading the shame camps.

Members of the Moroccan community living abroad and those of the Moroccan Jewish community also participated in the march that is meant to promote awareness of the ordeals and suffering of their brothers still kept in the Algeria-backed polisario camps in violation of international humanitarian law.

School boys and girls, unemployed degree holders and representatives of neighbourhood associations, as well as members of the families of the people sentenced under the anti-terrorist law and those of the victims of the May 16, Casablanca attacks rallied to join their voices to call for the release of the Sequestrated Moroccans. They came in the early hours of the morning and the stream of tens of thousands kept swelling till late in the morning responding to the call of Watanouna, set up in Casablanca to sensitise the public opinion on the question of Moroccans who are sequestered in the Polisario camps.

In solidarity to the sequestrated Moroccans, the demonstrators shouted their support walking through the main streets of the capital city and voiced their outrage over the continuation of the detention of their brothers in the polisario camps where they live day-in day-out in untold and inhumane conditions that breach universal human rights.

Both demonstrators and onlookers were moved at the passage within the procession of former detainees who were long imprisoned in the Lahmada camps, for their participation vividly brought to mind the ordeals they lived in the camps and the suffering of those still detained.

Several reporters of national and international written and broadcast press were present to cover the event that is meant to highlight to the international community the urgent need to endeavour to free the people still sequestrated.

Moroccans 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, known as the Sahara, after they were retrieved from Spanish rule in 1975 in line with the Madrid accords

Watanouna aims to draw the attention of the international public opinion to human rights violations committed in the camps and to denounce the exploitation of families by the Algeria-backed Polisario group. It has also organized a campaign to collect one million signatures of special greeting cards to be sent to international organizations, and opened a petition on its website.

Previous Stories:
  Over 500,000 postcards call UN to help release Moroccans sequestered in Tindouf   (3/4/2005)
  March to be staged in Rabat in support of Moroccans sequestered in Tindouf   (3/1/2005)
  NGO inquires on situation of former detainees in Southern Algeria   (2/23/2005)

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