Australia Western Sahara Association (AWSA) is an incorporated non-profit Association which was set up to raise awareness and promote the Saharawi cause in Australia, and to campaign for a free and fair referendum on self-determination for the Saharawi people.
The independence struggle in Western Sahara mirrors almost exactly that
of the East Timorese. In 1975 when the colonial power Spain withdrew, the neighbouring country, Morocco, invaded. A war ensued until a UN sponsored ceasefire was declared in 1991 when a referendum was promised.
Despite UN pressure Morocco refuses to agree to a referendum.
July 10th, 2010
Authors: Hanga Sántha Swedish Section of the International Commission of Jurists; Ylva Lennartsson Hartmann Swedish Section of the International Commission of Jurists; Mark Klamberg Stockholm University - Faculty of Law
May 24, 2010
The authors of this report argue that the violations against the Saharawis by Morocco may constitute crimes against humanity. Moreover they suggest that the international community should act as soon as possible to end Moroccan impunity and to make greater efforts for a just and lasting solution of the question of Western Sahara.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1614745
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July 10th, 2010
Press release, Western Sahara Resource Watch
7. July 2010
32 parliamentarians from Finland, Sweden and Denmark today requested the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of their countries to prevent renewed EU fisheries in occupied Western Sahara.
Read more >>
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June 27th, 2010
Sydney Customs House, Circular Quay
MFPA, CPACS (University of Sydney) and the Sydney Peace Foundation present: “Conflict Resolution in the Struggle for Self-Determination” – Western Sahara and Tamil (LTTE) Case Studies.
Workshop led by Prof. Johan Galtung, & Prof. Stephen Zunes
Intro Prof. Stuart Rees.
Venue: Barnet Long Room, Customs House Circular Quay Sydney
Time: 1800 -2000
Fee $30 includes refreshments All welcome.
More information and bookings at http://www.arts.usyd.edu.au/peace_conflict/news/ipra2010.shtml Note: go to page for full conference booking. Here you can select to book for this single event at Customs House.
Posted in Political issues, Human Rights, General | Comments Off
June 27th, 2010
guardian.co.uk , Thursday 13 May 2010
Stefan Simonawitz
The world’s most remote film festival takes place in a refugee camp deep in the Algerian desert
Report: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/may/13/desert-film-festival
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June 27th, 2010
The Lancet, Volume 375, Issue 9732, Pages 2135 - 2136, 19 June 2010
Stefan Simonowitz (Free Sahara Network) reports on health care in the Saharawi refugee camps in south west Algeria
Read his report >>
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June 27th, 2010
Natasha Phillips
Screen Hub
Friday 26 February, 2010
Almost all the truly contentious issues in documentary can be collected around the one phrase: documentary ethics. What happens when a group of documentary filmmakers discuss their private morality in a public space?…….Tom Zubrycki’s reactions are revealing when questioned about the documentary ‘Stolen’ which contains re-enactments in Cronulla and Bondi golf course. He acknowledges the tapes were never buried in the
desert thus making a mockery of one of the central tenets of the so-called ‘drama’ that our intrepid adventurers (sic.) violeta and dan found themselves caught up in…….
Read Natasha Phillips’ report >>
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June 14th, 2010
Reader riposte: Western Sahara
by Guest Blogger - 9 June 2010 10:46AM
A response to Danielle Cave’s recent post on the Western Sahara from Kamal Fadel, the representative to Australia of Polisario, the Western Sahara independence movement:
“I was surprised to read Danielle Cave’s recent article on Western Sahara. It was nice to see a fresh perspective on the plight of my country, a country that struggles to gain and maintain media attention in Australia, and in fact, the coverage it does receive is few and far between…..(cont.)
Read full response >>
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June 14th, 2010
The Sydney Centre for International Law at the Faculty of Law at the University of Sydney organised on 9 June 2010 an important public Seminar. The Seminar was fully booked. It was well attended by students, academics and the public in general.
The seminar explored the unfinished business of decolonisation, by considering the legal, political and historical aspects of two territories which raise questions about the international right to self-determination and the enduring legacies of colonialism and occupation.
Read full report >>
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June 14th, 2010
Freedom House’s annual “Worst of the Worst” report still includes Western Sahara. Consult the original document via this link, and browse to page 24.
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May 20th, 2010
“The appeals court in Sale has accepted the bail demand of three of these six activists, after it was rejected last Thursday by the military court,” Mohammed Sebbar said.
All six men were arrested in the coastal town of Casablanca after their trip to Tindouf, which is the headquarters of the Polisario Front movement that wants independence of the Western Sahara from Morocco.
The military tribunal in Rabat accused the six of “treason and intelligence with the enemy”, but none of them have yet been tried.
Read more >>
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