Arab doctors union calls for release of Moroccan POWs in Tindouf

The Arab Doctors' Union called on Sunday for the "immediate, total and unconditional release of Moroccan prisoners held in Tindouf (southern Algeria)."

The Union's council deplored in a release made public at the end of an extraordinary meeting in Cairo the detention of Moroccan prisoners as "a violation of all international humanitarian laws and all the decisions taken by the concerned international bodies, notably the UN Security Council and the General Assembly."

The Moroccan delegation participating in the meeting had shed light on the situation of the Moroccans detained in the prisons of the Polisario (Algeria-backed guerrilla movement claiming the independence of Moroccan southern provinces) and on the separatist group's unscrupulous embezzlement of humanitarian aid.

During the extraordinary meeting, the Union also expressed complete backing to Morocco as regards its rights over the Spain-occupied cities Sebta and Mellila.

Of the Mideast, the Union expressed unconditional support to the Palestinian people to recover their legitimate rights, most importantly the creation of an independent state with Al-Qods as capital. It also condemned "all kinds of oppression, aggression and state terrorism " practices perpetrated by Israel.

The council denounced Israeli attempts to expel the legitimately elected president, Yasser Arafat, urging for lifting the blockade enforced on the Palestinian leader.

As for Iraq, the council urged for the withdrawal of occupying forces, the transfer of power to the Iraqi people and the promotion of humanitarian sectors in Iraq.