Monthly Archives: November 2011

Western Sahara: Saharawi Political Prisoners On Hunger Strike

Malainin Lakhal
17 November 2011, Pambazuka news/allAfrica.com

The prisoners were taken from a group of more than 200 activists arrested by Moroccan authorities a year ago. And as Malainin Lakhal reports, Morocco has over 60 Saharawi prisoners of conscience, including eminent human rights defender Naama Asfari.

Twenty-four Saharawi human rights defenders and prisoners of conscience, who are to appear before a Moroccan court-martial, are on hunger strike since 31 October, after being one year imprisonment without appearing before a court.

Read article >>

Paper by The Hon John Dowd AO QC, President International Commission of Jurists, Australia

On 29 October 2011 The Hon John Dowd AO QC, President International Commission of Jurists, presented a paper at the 2nd International Conference, Peoples’ Right for Resistance: the Case of Sahrawi People, Dar Diaf – Bouchaoui, Algier.

Conference paper available at this link “The Western Sahara and the United Nations”  >>

Two EU Parliament committees reject EU-Morocco Fish Pact

Western Sahara Resource Watch,
7 November 2011

Today, the European Parliament’s Development and Budget Committee both adopted an opinion calling on Parliament to reject the EU-Morocco fisheries agreement.

The Budget Committee deplored the heavy financial yoke of this particular agreement, consuming no less than 25% of the Union’s budget line for fisheries. Of all the EU’s ongoing bilateral agreements, the accord with Morocco is the least cost-efficient, placing the heaviest relative burden on EU tax payers.

Read more >>

Pambazuka News : latest articles

Features
Fresh political storm for Western Sahara
Konstantina Isidoros
2011-10-27, Issue 554
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/77452

Why does Spain need Morocco to free the hostages in Western Sahara?
Malainin Lakhal
2011-10-27, Issue 554
http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/77453

Sahrawi camps not ‘dangerous’; Visitor rejects Morocco’s claim
Sabrina Tucci
2011-10-27, Issue 554
http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/77458

The Allegra unloads its cargo of phosphate rock from Western Sahara for Impact Fertilisers in Hobart

allegra.JPG

Photo: Glenn Towler

AWSA together with the Australian Unions for Western Sahara have asked both Tasmanian Customs and the shipping company Inchcape to check the way the country of origin of Allegra’s cargo is designated on the importation documents.

If it says “Morocco” this is not right and should be changed to “Western Sahara” where the phosphate comes from. If it says “Western Sahara”, then they must ask the importer to provide evidence that the Saharawi people consent to the sale of this phosphate which rightly belongs to them.

Story and video about Allegra unloading phosphate in Tasmania >>