March to be staged in Rabat in support of Moroccans sequestered in Tindouf

The Moroccan NGO 'Watanouna' (our nation) will organize on March 6 a national march in support of the Moroccans held against their will in the Tindouf camps (southern Algeria) by the Algeria-backed Polisario front that is claiming the separation of Morocco's southern provinces (known as the Sahara), announced its vice president, Saadia Saadi.

In an interview published Monday by "Assahra Al-Maghribiya" daily, Saadi said the action of the NGO, set up on January 20 in Casablanca, is a message addressed to the international community to work for the liberation of Moroccan POWs, some of whom have been under detention for almost three decades.

The march, she added, is also a "message to our brothers who are sequestered in Tindouf to make them feel our support and our resolve to fight for their release."

In addition to the march, "Watanouna" will organize on March 8 - the international day for women- a meeting in Laayoune (southern Morocco) to pay tribute to "sequestered women."

Saadi explained that "Watanouna" is the "initiative of women of the civil society and women associations of all social and professional categories, that are aware of the tragic situation of the Moroccans sequestered in Tindouf."

President of the newly set up association, Naima Elmcherqui, had said in a release that "Watanouna" aims to draw the attention of the international public opinion on human rights violations committed in Tindouf camps, and to denounce the exploitation of families by the Algeria-backed Polisario.