US congressional staffers visit southern provinces

A delegation of staffers of the US congress, currently visiting Moroccco, undertook a visit to Moroccan southern provinces where they met heads of Sahrawi tribes, local elected representatives, former secessionists who re-integrated Morocco, and delegates of women's associations.

The delegation, comprising 13 office managers of both Republican and Democrat congress members, heard explanations on the situation in these provinces, since Morocco retrieved them from Spanish colonization in 1975. They were also briefed on Morocco's efforts to develop the region, through carrying out a set of economic projects.

Regarding the UN referendum process, the representatives of the Sahrawi population insisted on the need to include all people of Sahrawi-descent in the voting that will determine whether the Sahara would remain part of Morocco or stand on its own as claimed by the Algerian-backed Polisario separatists.

They also denounced the obstacles erected by the Polisario to sabotage the settlement process.

A group of former members of the Polisario made testimonies on the sufferings of the Sahrawi population sequestered in the Polisario camps in Tindouf, southwestern Algeria. People sequestered in these camps are subjected to daily human rights violations and are denied requirements of a decent life.

Former prisoners, who were detained by the Polisario, recounted to the US congress staffers the torture and sufferings they endured.

The delegation was called to transmit these realities to the US and international public opinion.

During their stay in Morocco, they also met some Moroccan officials, including secretary of state for cooperation, Aicha Belarbi, and members of the Moroccan Human Rights Advisory Council (CCDH).