Monthly Archives: August 2009

Video of Jose Ramos-Horta speech at Melbourne event

image004.jpgPresident Jose Ramos-Horta supports Western Sahara independence
The Monthly.com.au
The President of Timor Leste and co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, Jose Ramos-Horta headlined a discussion on the status of Western Sahara, Africa s last colony, in Melbourne, Australia on 23 July 2009.

View Jose Ramos-Horta’s presentation >>

Philippe Mora opens his diary. The Spectator, 29 August

The Spectator Australia, 29 August 2009
Philippe Mora writes: ‘I was in Sydney’s Chinatown, enjoying delicious steamed lobster with ginger and attending the recent Film Festival, when I got a dramatic phone call. An old friend and cameraman for three of my films, Carlos Gonzalez, was calling from Los Angeles to say that a West Saharan woman, Fetim, from Tindouf refugee camp in Algeria, was flying in to Sydney to denounce a film portraying her as a slave…

Read the rest of Philippe Mora’s article >>.

16 August 2009 – Updated critique of Stolen

The Second Edition of the detailed critique of the documentary Stolen has now been published. This updated edition reflects the more recent publicity, information and events surrounding the screening of the documentary at the Melbourne Film Festival on 31 July.
The critique investigates the questionable methods and unethical practices from pre to post production used in the making of Stolen, directed by Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw and produced by Tom Zubrycki.

Download:  Critique of Stolen II

Sahrawis prevented from travelling and punished for their stance

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC STATEMENT
Date: 7 August 2009
Amnesty International is concerned by reports that Moroccan security officials forcibly removed six young Sahrawis from Agadir’s Al Massira airport on 6 August 2009 and then assaulted them, after refusing them permission to travel to the United Kingdom (UK) on 5 August.

Read AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL STATEMENT >>

We seek no revenge – only peace, writes Mohammed Khadad

Guardian.co.uk,  10 August 2009
The people of Western Sahara stand prepared to engage with Morocco and to enter open discussions about our joint future.
A new round of talks between the kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front of Western Sahara are under way in Vienna, Austria. These talks, characterised as informal by the personal envoy of the UN secretary general, Christopher Ross, are the latest attempt to bring peace and security to Western Sahara and to the wider Maghreb region.

Read article >>