Press release: Brussels, 23 February 2010
In a previously confidential legal opinion, the European Parliament’s Legal Service has declared fishing by European vessels in Western Sahara’s waters to be in violation of international law.
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Wed Feb 10, 2010 4:24pm GMT
By Patrick Worsnip
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Morocco and Western Sahara’s independence movement opened informal talks on Wednesday, with U.N. mediators pressing them to engage in earnest on the future of the disputed resource-rich territory.
2 February 2010 –The parties in the dispute over the status of Western Sahara, where fighting broke out between Morocco and the Frente Polisario after Spain’s colonial administration ended in 1976, have agreed to a United Nations proposal to hold their next set of informal talks next week in the United States.
Irene Jacob: Valentine Dussaut
“THE RUNNER” (2010, in-production)
The TRAILER for the long-form documentary, “The Runner” is now on YouTube >>
The story of a World Champion long-distance runner from Africa’s last colony, the Western Sahara:
… As he approached the last 200m in the lead of an 8km race, he pulled out a Sahrawi flag - illegal in Morocco and a symbol of the “Sahrawi Intifada” - and waived it across the finish line. Knowing he would be arrested on arrival in Morocco, he immediately sought political asylum in France and has been there ever since.
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WSRW - Reply to the Chairman’s statement in the AGM:
Australian phosphate importer Incitec Pivot said at its recent Annual General Meeting that the UN is responsible for the Western Sahara issue, not the company. Simultaneously, they defended their imports which are taking place in violation of the UN’s legal opinion and over 100 UN resolutions.
Members of the Australia Western Sahara Association organised a demonstration during the Annual General Meeting of Incitec Pivot, one the Australian companies that imports phosphates from Western Sahara illegally. The meeting took place in Melbourne on 23 December 2009.
AWSA Victoria Press Reslease >>
Western Sahara Resource Watch Report
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TOMÁS BÁRBULO reports 22 December 2009 El Pais - English Edition
Aminatou Haidar’s return to Laâyoune has sparked violence and recrimination
“This neighborhood is closed,” said the policeman. The plain-clothes officer, with dozens of colleagues both in uniform and out, was stationed at the entrance to Bir Jedid street, the home of Aminatou Haidar. At 10am last Saturday, the policemen blocked the passage of Domingo de Guzmán, Haidar’s doctor. An argument ensued, during which Haidar herself appeared, supported by her daughter, Hayat, and another family member.
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18 December 2009
Agence France Presse
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009 All reproduction and presentation rights reserved.
Western Sahara independence activist Aminatou Haidar headed back to the disputed Moroccan territory overnight Thursday, declaring triumph after a long hunger strike to protest being exiled.
Haidar was released from hospital in Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, and immediately headed to the airport where she boarded a plane heading for the Western Sahara.
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Link to petiton in support of Aminatou Haidar >>
VIGIL TO SUPPORT THE RETURN OF WESTERN SAHARA HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER AMINATOU HAIDAR TO HER HOMELAND
Thursday 17 December 2009, (6pm-7pm)
Sydney Town Hall STEPS
483 George Street, Sydney 2000
AMINATOU HAS BEEN ON HUNGER STRIKE FOR OVER A MONTH
PLEASE JOIN US TO SHOW SUPPORT AND SOLIDARITY
As the world’s diplomats duel over her destiny, Aminatou Haidar, on the 29th day of her hunger strike, could be hours from death
* Brian Eno and Stefan Simanowitz
* guardian.co.uk, Monday 14 December 2009 18.10 GMT
Anyone who has seen Hunger, Steve McQueen’s harrowing film about the Maze prison hunger strike, will have some idea of just how horrific it is to die by starvation. Bobby Sands, a fit 27-year-old man, survived 66 days without food. Aminatou Haidar, a delicate 42-year-old, is on the 29th day of her hunger strike; with a perforated ulcer and a constitution weakened by years of imprisonment and torture, there are fears that she will not survive much longer.
