Canadian jurists meet Moroccan Sahrawis in southern Morocco

A delegation of the Canadian Jurists Association for the Respect of Persons' Rights in the World was briefed in Laayoune by Moroccan Sahrawis on human rights abuse allegations against the Polisario separatists in the Tindouf camps (southwestern Algeria).

Shioukhs, notables, elected representatives and representatives of women's associations in the southern provinces made testimonies to the Canadian delegation on the ordeals of the Sahrawis sequestered by the Polisario in the camps.

The Moroccan Sahrawis spoke of the kidnapping in the mid-1970's of thousands of persons by the Polisario mercenaries to use them as a trump to sustain an artificial problem in the Sahara. They said the Polisario maneuvers seek to maintain the status quo in the region and to continue to benefit from international humanitarian assistance to the benefit of the separatists' leaders to the detriment of the sequestered population, the Moroccan Sahrawis said.

The speakers decried Polisario stalling tactics to sabotage the identification of would-be voters in the self-determination referendum that the United Nations plans to hold in the Sahara.

The much-delayed vote is now slated for July, 2000 to determine whether the Sahara -- a former Spanish colony retrieved by Morocco in 1975 -- sets up on its own, as claimed by the Polisario, or remains part of Morocco.

The Moroccan Sahrawis stressed that all Sahrawis must enjoy the right to be identified and participate freely in the referendum. No referendum can be held without the participation of all Sahrawis, who want to confirm to the international community their attachment to the Moroccan identity of the Sahara, they said.

They recalled, in this regard, the solid ties that have always linked the Moroccan southern provinces to the north in various political, cultural, economic and social fields.

They put a special emphasis on the allegiance bond that has always existed between the Alawite Throne and the southern provinces.

The members of the Canadian delegation said the meetings with the Moroccan Sahrawis were fruitful and helped them know the reality of the situation in the region.

They added that the information they were given will be included in a report on the results of the visit to Laayoune.