NGO calls for 'Algerian commitment' to determine fate of disappeared Sahrawis

The Sweden-based Association for the Defense of the Population Sequestered in Tindouf (ADESETI) has called for Algeria's commitment to determine the fate of the Sahrawis who disappeared in Tindouf camps, southern Algeria.

Respecting the rights of Sahrawi populations that are sequestered in the camps is "tributary to Algeria's commitment" to unveil the true fate of the missing sahrawis, noted the NGO in a letter addressed to the Parliamentary Assembly of the European Council that is convening on January 24-28 in Strasburg.

This can only be concretised by releasing the persons who are still alive, returning the corpses of those who perished under torture in the secret jails of the "Polisario" and judging the people responsible for these human rights violations, the letter pointed out.

ADESETI denounced the situation of the population sequestered in Tindouf Camps, that are controlled by the Algeria-backed Polisario separatists. This group is claiming the separation of Morocco's southern provinces (known as the Sahara), a former Spanish colony retrieved by Morocco in 1975.

Hundreds of persons have been abdicated, deplored ADESETI, noting that 352 persons have disappeared in the secret detention centers of Polisario and that their fate is still unknown.

The separatists continue to show absolute indifference despite multiple calls made by international human rights organizations and the UN Secretary General to end the suffering of Sahrawi families, underlined the NGO, noting that the Polisario persists in denying the existence of sahrawi prisoners and concealing information about them.

ADESETI exhorted all human rights NGOs to pursue their mobilization in order to put an end to the repression of the sequestered populations, and to guarantee the respect of their rights in accordance with international law.