Tag Archives: Western Sahara

News, Politics, Government

Clashes erupt in Western Sahara after UN vote

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Protesters have clashed with government forces in Western Sahara after the U.N. Security Council extended a peacekeeping mission in the disputed territory — but without a mandate to monitor human rights.

Morocco annexed the former Spanish colony in 1976 and has proposed autonomy for the mineral-rich territory. The Polisario Front seeks self-determination through a referendum on Western Sahara‘s future.

Conflicting reports emerged Saturday about clashes late Friday in the northern town of Laayoune. Hamoud Iguilid of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights said dozens chanted their hopes for rights monitors and protested peacefully. He said a young man who was hurt and a woman who lost a finger were among those injured.

The Security Council vote Thursday came after the U.S. abandoned the monitoring proposal amid strong Moroccan opposition.

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News, Politics, Government

Morocco: No to UN eyeing human rights in W. Sahara

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Morocco condemned on Monday any talk of giving the U.N. mission to the disputed Western Sahara territory the power to supervise human rights after reports surfaced the U.S. was backing the move.

The United States is “in discussions” over proposing that MINURSO expand its mission to include monitoring human rights, confirmed U.S. embassy in Rabat spokesman Rodney Ford.

It is a position long backed by international human rights groups, who maintain the Moroccan government violates the rights of Saharan people living in the former Spanish colony.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report Thursday that continued reports of human rights violations required sustained monitoring by a neutral party.

The Moroccan statement, issued after a meeting among the king, Cabinet and political party heads on Monday, however, rejected any such proposal and said Morocco‘s efforts to promote human rights were internationally recognized.

“The bias of such a unilateral move without prior consultation, in terms of content, context and procedure can only evoke incomprehension and rejection,” said the statement.

Morocco annexed the former Spanish colony to its south in 1976, sparking a fight for independence in the region. There was a ceasefire in 1991, but a proposed U.N. referendum over the fate of the territory has never been carried out.

Morocco has proposed wide-ranging autonomy for mineral-rich Western Sahara, but the Polisario Front, the pro-independence nationalist movement, insists on the “inalienable right” to self-determination through a referendum on the territory’s future. Neither side has budged and sporadic talks have ended in a stalemate.

The U.N. observer mission in the Western Sahara currently has 183 military observers, 26 troops, and six civilian police. Ban recommended an increase of 15 military observers and six police and suggested the mission be extended until April 30, 2014.

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/akxlh8uEJHU/

News, Politics, Government

France to take part in Mali peacekeeping after clearing out Al Qaeda rebels

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French troops will take part in a future U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali after they end their task of clearing Al Qaeda-linked rebels out of Mali‘s vast northern region.

French President Francois Hollande made the announcement Thursday as he spoke before Morocco‘s parliament, part of a two-day visit celebrating the two nations’ close cooperation.

“France will soon complete its mission (in Mali) in a few weeks and African forces will take over. The security council is going to deploy a peacekeeping operation and France will play its part,” Hollande said.

He said that scenario was based on the condition that a “indispensable” dialogue take place between Mali‘s factions and the Mali government in Bamako and on the resumption of the democratic process in the West African nation.

Elections in Mali are planned for July.

Mali was plunged into turmoil after a coup in March 2012 created a security vacuum. That allowed secular rebel Tuaregs, who have long felt marginalized by Mali‘s government, to take half of the country’s vast north as a new homeland. But months later, their struggle was co-opted by Islamic jihadists, who imposed strict Shariah law in the north.

France launched a military operation on Jan. 11 against the Islamic extremists, many linked to Al Qaeda, after they suddenly started moving south and captured key towns. Backed by Chadian soldiers, French troops ousted the radical Islamic fighters from major towns in northern Mali, though many went into hiding in the desert and continue to carry out attacks.

Hollande said last week the first of France‘s more than 4,000 troops in Mali will pull out in late April and by July, will be down to 2,000 soldiers. He said just 1,000 will remain by the end of the year.

Hollande also took the opportunity to describe Morocco‘s autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region it annexed beginning in 1976 as “credible.”

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Graham Hughes Visits Every Country, But Loses Guinness World Record On Technicality

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By The Huffington Post News Editors

A British man completed his mission to visit every sovereign state on the globe without taking a single plane in order to earn himself a Guinness World Records title. However, recognition for his round-the-world jaunt is in jeopardy because of a technicality.

Graham Hughes, 33, took off the record-breaking trip in 2009. By Nov. 26, 2012, he had reached his goal of visiting all 193 United Nations member states — plus Taiwan, Vatican City, Kosovo, the Palestinian territory, and Western Sahara — all by train, bus, taxi or ship.

However, in February the Guinness Book of World Records rejected Hughes because he crossed into Russia illegally, according to the Mirror. “Due to media reports that described you snuck into some countries, we cannot accept your application, as we do not accept any illegal activity,” read a letter sent to him from the judges.

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News, Politics, Government

Kerry Kennedy fights NY drugged-driving charge

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Kerry Kennedy argued Friday that the drugged-driving case against her should be dismissed because she accidentally took a sleeping pill and because the only damage done was to her pride and her famous name.

In a 99-page motion filed in North Castle Town Court, Kennedy and her lawyer also recount her work for social justice and include a large file of glowing letters from friends and relatives.

Kennedy is the ex-wife of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the daughter of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the niece of President John Kennedy.

She was arrested July 13 after police said her Lexus swerved into a tractor-trailer on Interstate 684 in North Castle, near her Bedford home. Police found her on an exit ramp and reported she failed sobriety tests and was slurring her speech.

Tests found a small amount of the sleeping drug zolpidem in Kennedy’s blood. She said she believes she accidentally took a sleeping pill instead of her daily thyroid medication.

In the motion, she said the two bottles were side by side and “are virtually identical in size, shape and appearance.”

“I have too much regard for the lives of others, as well as my own, to place them at risk by driving while under the influence of zolpidem,” she wrote in an affidavit.

Kennedy also discussed her work as president of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, for Amnesty International and for human rights groups involving Tibet and Northern Ireland.

Her lawyer’s affidavit and many letters to the prosecutor praise her as a champion of justice and a good mother to her three daughters.

“Human rights defenders in need from the tomato fields of Florida to the slums of Port au Prince, the desert of Western Sahara and the still homeless of New Orleans have come to rely on her compassion, keen insight, judgment and support,” wrote Kennedy’s mother, Ethel Kennedy.

Other letters came from her brothers, sisters and in-laws, several priests and an assistant secretary of state.

Defense lawyer Gerald Lefcourt said a defendant’s character can be taken into consideration and added, “By any objective standard, Kerry Kennedy is a uniquely …read more
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News, Politics, Government

Morocco refuses entry to EU lawmakers

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Four members of the European Parliament, on their way to study human rights in Western Sahara, have been denied entry to Morocco.

They were headed for Laayoune, a city in a part of mineral-rich Western Sahara annexed by Morocco in 1975. The legislators had announced their plans in a letter to the Moroccan ambassador to the European Union on Feb. 25.

The ambassador’s reply, dated March 5, arrived while the parliamentarians were already in transit, the leader of the delegation said Thursday. The ambassador’s letter said the members of Parliament held “excessive politicized views against the interests of Morocco.” It went on to say that Morocco did not expect that the visit could “provide an objective, credible report,” and the visit would not be welcomed.

Ivo Vajgl, of Slovenia, the leader of the delegation, said the four landed Wednesday in Casablanca, were met by local police, refused entry and put back on their planes.

“It was humiliating,” Vajgl said. “It was absolutely unacceptable. It was a demonstration of totalitarian disregard of decency and democratic standards.”

He objected strongly to the ambassador’s letter and called for him to be banned forever from the European Parliament. He said the aim of the visit had been to meet with representatives of civil society and with local Moroccan authorities, as well.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso visited Morocco on March 1-2. Following meetings with Moroccan officials, Barroso praised the political, economic and social reforms the country had made. He added that relations between the North African country and the EU were excellent and would soon develop further with the negotiation of a free trade agreement.

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Don Melvin can be reached at http://twitter.com/Don_Melvin

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News, Politics, Government

24 convicted in killing of Moroccan soldiers

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A Moroccan military court convicted 24 Western Saharan activists on Sunday for their roles in the killing of 11 soldiers at a protest camp in 2010, and gave nine of the defendants life sentences.

The long delayed trial revolves around the sensitive issue of Morocco‘s annexation of the mineral rich Western Sahara region in 1975.

In October 2010, thousands of Western Saharans set up a protest camp in Gdim Izik just outside the main city of Laayoune to demonstrate against their marginalization in favor of Moroccans from the north and to demand jobs and housing.

The Polisario, an Algeria-based group fighting for the independence of the Western Sahara, maintains the camp also had political demands and was part of a popular revolt for independence.

After negotiations with the protesters broke down, security forces went to clear the camp on Nov. 8 and were met by armed resistance. Eleven soldiers and two Saharans died in the fighting in some of the most serious violence in the region since it was annexed by Morocco in 1975.

Hundreds of people were arrested, but only 24 were finally tried as well as one more in absentia. Nine life sentences were handed down Sunday, as well as four for 30 years, eight for 25 years, 2 for 20 years, and two others released for time served.

Mohammed Messoudi, a defense lawyer, described the verdict as “shocking” and added that “the accused did not have all their rights because in a military trial we can’t appeal the verdicts.” Still, the lawyer said he will ask the supreme court to review the verdict.

He added that many of the accused claimed they had been tortured while in custody, and the court did not authorize medical examinations. He also dismissed the evidence, largely police reports, as sufficient for a guilty verdict.

The trial, which began Feb. 1, was often the scene of rival demonstrations between families of the defendants and those of the victims, who had long denounced the delays in the trial.

“We had confidence in Moroccan justice and it has not disappointed us,” said Miloud Belhouari, who represents the families of the victims. “These people (the defendants) can see their families again after 30 or 25 years of prison, but we will never see our sons again who were …read more
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