US association calls for immediate release of moroccan POWs

A newly created American NGO called for the "immediate release of Moroccan POWs held captive by Algeria and the Polisario Front" in Tindouf, Algeria.

The American Council for Moroccan POWs (ACMP) said in a release the issue of Moroccan prisoners "involves grave violations of human rights and should be of a great concern to all freedom-loving peoples around the world."

ACMP will seek to provide humanitarian assistance to military and civilian personnel who have been or are still being held in Tindouf, noted the release, underlining that it will inform the US public opinion about the plight of the Moroccan prisoners and "will explore the real possibility of taking legal action on behalf of Moroccan POWs in US courts" against all those who may have benefited from the slave labor of the captives.

The association also plans to raise the awareness of members of the US government about the illegal detention of the Moroccan POWs, a situation that lasts despite the cease-fire in place since 1991,which according to Geneva conventions should ensure the release of all POWs."

In addition, ACMP intends to establish contact with Moroccan POWs and their relatives in Morocco and overseas in order to gather evidentiary materials that may document any kind of abuse and human rights violations suffered by the POWs while held captives.

It will also set up a website that will be as a "clearing-house for information relating to the issue of Moroccan POWs," create a fund to help the most-in-need captives deal with financial difficulties, and establish a scholarship fund for "the benefit of the meritorious children of the Moroccan prisoners to help them continue their education in American universities."