Arizona senator McCain urged 'Polisario' to release Moroccan prisoners

Arizona senator John McCain urged the Polisario, in Washington Tuesday, to release immediately the 408 Moroccan prisoners of war, many of whom have been held for over 20 years in the Tindouf camps, South-West Algeria.

At a press conference, held in the American Congress in the presence of Moroccan former prisoners, McCain, himself a former prisoner in Vietnam, said "the detention of the prisoners for more than two decades in inhumane conditions is a serious violation of international law and human rights," referring to the Geneva convention provision on the release of prisoners after cease-fire.

In 1991, Morocco and the Algeria-backed "Polisario" concluded a cease-fire after more than 15 years of hostilities over the Moroccan Southern provinces, which the separatist movement has been claiming to separate from the motherland since 1975, when Morocco retrieved the provinces under the Madrid accords signed by Morocco, Spain and Mauritania.

The American senator said Amnesty International, the Red Cross, the UN security Council and the American State department all called for the liberation of the prisoners.

"Let us hope these captors can be swayed, not by political pressures or promises, but by what is undeniably just and humane in the eyes of the world community," said McCain. "We urge the Polisario to restore these individuals' freedom and allow them to return to Morocco to live the remainder of their lives in dignity with their families."

"I know all too well that appeals to decency and justice can make a difference in the lives of prisoners," said McCain. "I have sent a letter to the leadership of the Polisario Front, calling for the immediate release of all prisoners of war, and I hope that my colleagues in the Senate and others will join this call as well."

For his part, Director of the American organisation of former POWs, Les Jackson asked the "Poliario" to release the Moroccan detainees and abide by international law.

Ali Najab, Moroccan former prisoner visiting the United States along with five other former companions in the camps, called on Americans to support the Moroccans still detained in the Tindouf camps and to help put an end to the ordeal they are going through. Najab underscored the ceaseless humiliations "Polisario" mercenaries inflict day in day out to the prisoners.