Moroccan official warns of terrorism peril of armed gangs presence in Sahara

The chairman of the provincial council of the Moroccan southern city of Tan Tan warned on Tuesday against the dangers posed by the presence in the Sahara of armed gangs and the risks of thriving terror for Europe and Spain particularly.

Talking at a forum on "governance and poverty in the world" held by the Spanish southern city of Malaga, Mohamed Boujida warned "the presence of armed gangs in the already-sensitive Sahara risks to become, as observers and strategists have been pointing out, a potential hazard of international terrorism and a serious threat, not only for countries of the Maghreb but also for Europe and, particularly Spain."

The Moroccan official was referring to the Algeria-backed Polisario secessionists who are laying claims over Moroccan southern provinces, the Sahara. Morocco retrieved this territory in 1975 after signing an agreement with Spain, the former occupying country, and Mauritania.

This peril is all the more serious as the region has become a den for all kinds of traffickers, mainly weapons traffickers and illegal migrants traders, he stressed in an eye-opening presentation.

Boujida also wondered on the reasons why some are still supporting the Polisario and directly pointed to Algeria as a manipulator of this repressive instrument in its quest to weaken Morocco and harm its territorial integrity.

After highlighting the internationally-acknowledged progress achieved in Morocco in human rights, press freedom and civil freedoms, he expressed astonishment that some Spanish circles still support the separatists theses and close their eyes on various forms of human rights abuses sustained by the populations sequestered in the Polisario-controlled camps.

He also deplored the fact that international organizations have always been denied access to the camps of shame to conduct population census or inquire about the situation of Moroccan prisoners, missing people or opponents held in tragic conditions.

In front of an audience bewildered by these revelations, Boujida recounted how "the so-called Sahrawi republic, proclaimed by the Polisario over 30 years ago, was not endowed with any courts, judges, lawyers, or appeal institutions and the fate of repression victims and of suspected opponents merely depends on the will of the Algerian military intelligence services which hold absolute power."

Stunning accounts were also made on horrors committed in the Polisario jails where Moroccan prisoners are crammed for over thirty years, surviving in inhumane and degrading conditions and compelled to forced labor in projects that are financed by NGOs and international organizations.

Boujida showed the assistance the bitter findings of the investigation conducted by French NGO "France Libertés," a former unconditional friend of the Polisario, which was courageous enough to go on site and counter-check its beliefs with the reality. The damning 53-page report details the unbelievable gore and the total absence of any human feelings.

Hardly-imaginable scenes of pure barbarism and unjustified cruelty were depicted in the testimonies collected by this French NGO, he said calling the audience, which is debating good governance, transparency and democracy, not to remain indifferent to the situation of prisoners.

Those are not the only horrors in the camps, he went on citing the embezzlement of humanitarian aid by the Polisario leaders which deliberately maintain the confusion over the real number of people it is sequestering in order to obtain more aid that is found on sale on the black markets of neighboring countries.

Surprisingly enough, while claiming more assistance and complaining about food shortages, the Polisario can afford exorbitant military maneuvers, he went on.

Another facet of the gore going on in the camps is the tearing apart of families forced to part from their children who are deported at an early age to Cuba, under the cover of studies.

These children are deprived of their passports, separated from their brothers and sisters and sent to the Cuban so-called "youth Island," he recounted showing the assistance the testimony of a deportation victim whose father is still missing in the Tindouf camps.

"Children deportation is used by the Polisario as a means of pressure on parents in order to keep them forcibly in the camps," he said recounting that on their return, these deported children do not recognize their parents and lose all their original traditions.