AL-Mustaqilla

Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Spain)- At the invitation of MEP Miguel Urbán of Podemos Spanish Party, the Sahrawi citizen Takbar Haddi, mother of the martyr Mohamed Lamin Haidalla, is expected Wednesday to give testimony in a plenary session organized at the European Parliament. The initiative comes after the visit by Ms. Mary Beta, General Secretary of Podemos Council, to the place where the Saharawi citizen is holding an open hunger strike in the Canary Islands. Takbar is expected to hold various open meetings with European parliamentarians from all groups of the Chamber of Deputies. She will also participate in an event about the situation in the Maghreb region, in which the spokesman of the Moroccan House of Representatives is expected to take part. It should be recalled that Ms. Takbar Haddi will continue her open hunger strike in front of the Moroccan consulate in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, to request the recovery of the body of her son, Mohamed Lamin Haidalla, and to condemn his assa...

ABUJA — President Goodluck Jonathan has again called on the global community and Nigerians to support the incoming government of President-elect Muhammadu Buhari. He spoke at the Presidential Villa while receiving members of the African Ambassadors Group, who were on a farewell and solidarity visit to him. According to President Jonathan, the incoming government will need the cooperation and commitment of the global community and Nigerians to effectively deliver on its promises to the people. PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN ARRIVING KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ACCRA, FOR THE 47TH ORDINARY SESSION OF THE ECOWAS AUTHORITY OF HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT IN ACCRA, GHANA ON TUESDAY (19/5/15). He noted:“The President-elect is not new to governance in Africa so I want you to show the same commitment to him as you have shown to me. The President-elect knows that our commitment is always to project Africa. I am urging you to extend the same warmth and solidarity you have shown to me to him.” Pre...

Tanzania - The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) participated in the work of a seminar for African dialogue on human rights mechanisms and justice, organized by the African Institute of International Law in collaboration with the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in the city of Arusha, Tanzania. The meeting discussed a wide range of topics such as; African human rights, mechanisms of the continental system, and the interactions between African and international and regional justice. Speaking during the opening session, Mr. Abba Haisan, secretary general of the Saharawi Jurists Union, informed the participants about the special situation experienced by the Saharawi people under Moroccan occupation, highlighting efforts undertaken by the Saharawi state in the field of constitutional construction and the promotion of human rights. Abba Haisan recalled that Morocco continue its illegal occupation of Western Sahara and its looting of Saharawi natural resources, in a flagrant ...

Abuja - The Saharawi Ambassador in Nigeria, Mr. Oubbi Bachir, on Wednesday led a delegation of African ambassadors as part of a courtesy visit to the outgoing President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, H.E. Mr. Goodluck Jonathan. Speaking on behalf of 42 African ambassadors, Mr. Oubbi Bachir applauded the excellent cooperation and coordination shown by President Goodluck Jonathan and his government in the recent years, praising his constant keenness to make Africa at the heart of Nigeria’s foreign policy. In his address on the occasion, the Saharawi diplomat welcomed the initiative of President Goodluck to spare the blood of the people of Niger when he congratulated the president-elect and called Nigerien citizens to accept the election results. “Nigeria, which was the biggest populated country in the continent, has since last year became the first economic power in Africa. After the last free and transparent electoral process, it has now become a democratic model worthy of being em...

NIAMEY (Niger)- The countries of the Sahel G5 committed, at the end of a regional meeting on Thursday evening in Niamey, to strengthen their cooperation in the fight against terrorism and the traffic of migrants to Europe. “Given the interactions between these crimes, only a joint action of our countries is able to meet these challenges,” said the Interior Ministers of the Sahel G5 (Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger and Chad) in a “Declaration of Niamey” that they signed at the end of the meeting. “Another step was made in the establishment of this space in terms of security,” said the Niger Minister of Interior Hassoumi Massaoudou at the end of the meeting. There is “a need to join efforts to provide a lasting response to the security and migration challenges which largely surpasse the capacity of States,” said Najim Elhajd Mohamed, Permanent Secretary of the Group of Five for the Sahel, a body created last year which includes Burkina Faso, Mali Mauritania, Niger and Chad.

Tokyo, May 18, 2015  - Japanese Journalist ITSUKO Hirata has issued a new book on the question of Western Sahara entitled “Last Colony in Africa,” on the occasion of the 20 May, the day of the outbreak of the armed struggle in Western Sahara in 1973 by the Polisario Front. “This book is for the Japanese people to know about Western Sahara,” wrote Journalist ITSUKO Hirata in the preface of the book. "They have no idea that Western Sahara is the last colony in Africa," she added.  The book is constructed in five chapters: Decolonialization in Africa and the last colony, uprising against the colonialization by the Saharawis, U.N. chapter and the international aid for the Saharawi refugees, expedients and cunning maneuvers by Morocco, negotiation table by U.N. In the 4th chapter, the writer put 5 messages by Former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Senator Satsuki Eda, Senator Mizuho Fukushima, MP Ryo Kasai and MP Mito Kakizawa, and a short message of H.E. Christopher Ross. In the 5...

El Aaiun (occupied territories)- Mauritanian artist Garmi Mint Abba was recently expelled from the city of occupied Laayoune by the Moroccan security services, for her support to the Sahrawi cause according to Mauritanian information websites. Garmi, who militates under the banner of the Polisario Front “is known for her songs supporting the Polisario front and its hostile positions in Morocco.

Gran Canaria, 17/05/15 - Sahrawi mother Tekbar Heddi has continued her hunger strike for a third day in front of the Moroccan consulate to demand revealing the circumstances surrounding the assassination of her son Mohamed Lamine Haidala, 21, was recently stabbed to death by Moroccan settlers in the occupied city of El Aaiun. The Sahrawi mother started Friday unlimited hunger strike to demand justice for the death of her son. She also called for an autopsy to be conducted. The solidarity movement and the Saharawi community in Spain have expressed full support and solidarity with the Saharawi mother.

Abuja, May 17, 2015 The Saharawi Ambassador in Abuja, Oubbi Boushraya emphasized that the establishment of peace in Africa requires systematic efforts to fight against poverty and unemployment, in order to ensure economic development, education system and anchor the principle of good governance and democratic. Speaking at the end of the summit of the First Ladies in Africa Mission, Mr. Bouchraya stressed that these points are the necessary keys to the establishment of peace in the continent, recognizing the important role played by this organization in Africa in spreading the culture of peace, the promotion of political and social participation of African women. The Saharawi Ambassador also recalled the struggle of the organization against diseases and epidemics, and its contribution to alleviate the suffering of African refugees affected by war and cases of instability in several African countries, including SADR

PARIS- A report by Amnesty International disclosing the practice of torture by the Moroccan authorities in Morocco and in occupied Western Sahara will be presented, on 19 May, in the moment when fears have been expressed by NGOs on a French-Moroccan agreement of legal cooperation, which came under heavy criticism Entitled "The shadow of impunity: Torture in Morocco and in Western Sahara," this report which will be presented by Geneviève Garrigos, Head of Amnesty International France (AIF), is part of Amnesty International's campaign "Stop Torture", media reported. This document notably unveils "the use of torture and other mal-treatments by the Moroccan police forces, especially during the police custodyand interrogations," the same source said. It confirms the information, already been issued. Recently, the president of Robert F. Kennedy Centre of Human Rights (RFK), Kerry Kennedy, had said that "the reports on human rights violations in Western...

UNITED NATIONS (US) – UN Secretary General UN Ban Ki-moon on Friday urged Morocco and the Polisario Front to "redouble efforts to negotiate a mutually acceptable political solution, which allows the self-determination for the people of Western Sahara." "I reiterate my call to the parties ... to redouble efforts to negotiate a mutually acceptable political solution that allows self-determination for the people of Western Sahara," Ban wrote in a report sent Friday to UN Security Council in anticipation of the annual renewal of the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). "It's too early to say whether the new approach chosen" by UN Secretary General envoy Christopher Ross, "will yield fruit", he said, while stating, however, that "40 years after the beginning of the conflict ...,there is no reason to maintain the status quo." Ban stressed that "the growing frustration among the Sahrawis and the e...

CHAHID EL HAFED (Sahrawi refugee camps)- Sahrawi Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Salem Ould Salek called on the United Nations to set a date for the referendum on the self-determination of Sahrawi people in order to definitively end the Moroccan colonization. "The Sahrawi government will ask the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for Western Sahara, Christopher Ross, to set a date for the referendum on Sahrawi people's self-determination with a view to ending the 40-year Moroccan colonization," said Ould Salek in a statement to APS. The Sahrawi Foreign minister said that this request will be made at the African Union Summit, which will take place in South Africa in June, adding that the Sahrawi authorities "are ready to hold this referendum at any time." "Morocco has continuously hindered the holding of the UN referendum," said Ould Salek, adding that "it tries to gain time and give some legitimacy to its colonization." he also deno...

ALGIERS- In occupied Western Sahara, the plunder of this non autonomous territory’s natural resources reached an alarming stage in the last two years, say some 243 NGOs, including "Western Sahara Resource Watch" (WSRW) in a warning sent to the UN Secretary General. In a letter sent on 15 April to President of the UN Security Council, Dina Kawar, Jordan's ambassador to the United Nations, the NGO WSRW warned against the plundering of Western Sahara's natural resources, particularly its mineral wealth. ''No oil drilling should be conducted in the territory as long as the Sahrawis have the chance to exercise their right to self-determination and decided freely and fairly about the political status of their country," warned the NGO in its appeal to the UN Security Council. The conclusion of all the NGOs, which have condemned the looting of natural resources in Western Sahara by the occupying power, does not appear at this time to be "listened to by the U...

CHAHID EL HAFED – The presence of Africa at the UN Security Council will contribute to hasten the decolonization of Western Sahara, the continent’s last colony, said Monday in Chahid El Hafed (Sahrawi Refugee Camps), Polisario Front Coordinator with the Minurso, Mohamed Khaddad. "The absence of Africa, as a permanent member of UN Security Council, is a historical injustice to the continent," Khaddad told APS on the sidelines of the 42nd anniversary of Polisario Front creation. After recalling that "Western Sahara, occupied for 40 years by Morocco, is Africa’s last colony," he added that the "African presence at the Security Council will undoubtedly contribute to hasten the definitive decolonization of the continent." On this occasion, Khaddad expressed "the support of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic to the legitimate demands of African countries on speeding up the reform of the UN system and its Security Council." He indicated that his count...

BOUDJDOUR (Saharawi Refugee Camps)- Saharawi Red Crescent (SRC) called Sunday, in Boudjdour, for an emergency aid of USD10 million for Saharawi refugees "to prevent an unprecedented humanitarian disaster." "We have launched an appeal to the international community in general, and donors in particular, to take action and provide an emergency aid to Saharawi refugees, estimated by the World Food Programme (WFP) at USD10 million, to prevent an unprecedented humanitarian disaster," the chairman of the SRC, Yahya Bouhobeini, told APS. The humanitarian assistance "has declined recently as the volume of aid has considerably dropped, especially the support from donor countries, due to the world economic crisis and the rise of conflicts worldwide." Bouhobeini said the humanitarian aid from the European Union (EU) has fallen from EUR51 million to EUR10 million. Spanish aid, he added, has dropped from EUR10 million to EUR4.7 million while the United States' suppo...

Nigeria, (MAP)- the Saharawi Ambassador to Nigeria Mr. Oubi Bushraia, accredited on Friday as the Doyen of the diplomatic corps in Nigeria, which includes more than 130 embassy and diplomatic missions.  By the way, the Doyen of the diplomatic corps in Nigeria, and the Ambassador of the Saharawi Republic, Oubi Bushraia, expressed the readiness of the diplomatic corps to cooperate with Nigeria in all manners, which will ensure that progress, prosperity and development is guaranteed in this instrumental country in Africa, saying That "this is the essence of our mandate and our presence here". “Let's hope that this 2015 will bring more development and peace in this country" he said. The Doyen of the diplomatic corps stressed that they are hopeful and rather confident that Nigeria which succeeded in overcoming major challenges will this time around also overcome the challenge of security arising from the terrorists actions of the Boko Haram group. “We are also wishful an...

Refugee Camps – UN Secretary General envoy for Western Sahara Christopher Ross arrived Saturday Shaheed Elhafed, (Saharawi refugee camps) as part of a three-day visit. During his visit, the UN envoy is scheduled to meet with Sahrawi President, Mohamed Abdelaziz, and members of the Saharawi delegation in charge of the negotiations and the National Secretariat of the Polisario Front. In a statement, at the arrival of the UN envoy in the Sahrawi refugee camps, Saharawi coordinator with the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), Mhamed Khaddad, expressed "Polisario Front's hope that Ross's visit will allow to accelerate efforts towards the completion of the Western Sahara decolonization process and to end to procrastination of Morocco seeking to save time and to impose the colonial fait accompli." The Saharawi diplomat reiterated the "readiness of Polisario Front to cooperate with Christopher Ross for he could carry out his mission assigned by UN ...

 - The Australian Western Sahara Association (AWSA) has condemned the decision made by the Swiss NGO “Crans Montana Forum” to hold its annual seminar in the occupied Saharawi city of Dajla, adding it undermines the efforts being undertaken by the international community to resolve the conflict in Western Sahara. In a letter addressed to the Forum’s board, AWSA said that such move will violate the fundamental ethical norms and is surely contrary to the commitment of the Crans Montana Forum. Following is full text of the letter: “To the Board of Crans Montana Forum I am writing on behalf of the Australia Western Sahara Association to condemn your decision to hold the annual Crans Montana Forum in Dakhla in the occupied territory of Western Sahara and to urge you to reschedule the forum in an appropriate location. As a Swiss-based organisation the Crans Montana Forum should be concerned that its international conference is to be held in a country where there is ongoing conflict over s...

President of the Republic of Uruguay, José Mujica, on Tuesday reiterated “solidarity and support” to the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination, in a meeting with the Secretary General of the Saharawi Women Union, Fatma Mehdi and SADR ambassador in Uruguay, Chaibani Abbas, who participated in Progressive Alliance seminar, held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Montevideo. President Mujica stressed the need to make greater efforts to resolve the conflict of Western Sahara and building peace in the region. On the sidelines of the conference, the Saharawi delegation held meetings with Tabare Vazquez, former president of Uruguay and candidate for the presidential elections next October, Monica Xavier, president of the left-wing party Broad Front, Viviana Pineri, former president of the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY), and other personalities from different political parties in Uruguay. The delegation also held meeting with the delegations of Mexico, Argentina, El Salvad...

 Saharawi Prime Minister Mr. Abdelkader Taleb Omar hailed Saturday Cuba’s position of solidarity with the liberation movements around the world, valuing its “constant support” to the legitimate struggle of the Saharawi people for freedom and independence. In a speech delivered during the closing of solidarity days with the Cuban Revolution, held from 23rd to 26th July 2014 in the Saharawi refugee camps, PM Abdelkader Taleb Omar said that Cuba has kept defending and pleading for the right of oppressed peoples to self-determination, freedom and independence, adding that the Cuban Revolution was an inspiring one for all mankind. “The anniversary of the outbreak of the Cuban Revolution constitutes a historic event not only for the people and the Government of the Republic of Cuba, but also for the Saharawi people and all peoples of the world who are fighting for human rights, dignity and freedom,” stated Mr. Abdelkader Taleb Omar. He took this occasion to express recognition and gratit...

 President of the Republic, Secretary General of the Polisario Front Mr. Mohamed Abdelaziz oversaw today morning, Thursday, a ceremony to honour the Saharawi graduates for the study year 2013-2014. Organized at the headquarters of the Ministry of Education, the ceremony was also attended by members of Polisario Front’s National Secretariat and Saharawi governments. Addressing the audience, President Mohamed Abdelaziz praised the “pioneering role” played by the Saharawi students to aware about the struggle of the Saharawi people inside the university sites. He also hailed their contribution to the battle for liberation waged by the Saharawi people. “These batches of graduates will constitute a huge manpower in the establishment of the national institutions, including of which the military institution,” said Mr. Mohamed Abdelaziz, addressing a crowd of Saharawi graduates. Some graduates, who were honoured today, obtained excellent results reached 18.50. A total of 259 Saharawi studen...