Euro-deputies plead for release of moroccan POWs

A group of Euro-deputies has pleaded for the immediate and unconditional release of Moroccan prisoners of war (POW) who are still detained by the Polisario separatist group in Tindouf (southern Algeria).

This came in a call to the United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan who visited Brussels last Thursday to receive the European parliament's "Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought."

The signatories urge for the liberation of the prisoners who, they deplored, are subject to torture, forced labor, blackmail, and blatant violation of international law.

The Euro-deputies denounced the obstinacy of the Algeria-backed secessionist group "Polisario" to keep in captivity the Moroccan prisoners who should have been released in 1991 as soon as the ceasefire was proclaimed. The Polisario, which is claiming the independence of Moroccan southern provinces, has turned a deaf ear to the calls of the UN, the security council, the European Union, Amnesty international and many other organizations concerning the release of the POWs.

The deputies insisted that they support a political settlement to the Sahara conflict, calling on Algeria and Morocco to open direct dialogue to secure peace and stability in the region.