Author Archives: appleton

May 2022: Amnesty International reports on the targeted assault on Sahrawi women activists

In response to increasing concerns about the status and safety of Sahrawi activists in Western Sahara, particularly following five separate issues in April, Amnesty International has issued a call for an investigation into police and security forces who are said to have assaulted five Sahrawi women who voiced support for Sultana Khaya.

The details of the attack are serious and are outlined in Amnesty’s call for action following its own investigation. Amnesty’s extensive report on the violence faced by the five women was published on 27 May and can be found here.

New York Support Group for the Independence of Western Sahara sends letter to the UN Security Council

13 April 2022
The New York Support Group has sent an open letter to the members of the UN Security Council in anticipation of the meeting on 20 April on the mandate of MINURSO.

Group members V. Ramos (AAJ) and A. Al Hussain (CONASADH) ask Western Sahara support groups to circulate it immediately to your social networks, to the media in Australia, as well as to political representatives (parties, parliamentarians, members of the government, foreign ministry officials).

NY Support Group letter 13 April 2022Download

“U.S. Hypocrisy on Ukraine”: Biden Admin Remains Silent on Morocco’s Occupation of Western Sahara

DemocracyNow, March 21, 2022

Amy Goodman talks with Stephen Zunes, professor of politics and international studies at the University of San Francisco

“The disparity between U.S. treatment of the two countries reveals Western hypocrisy and discrimination when it comes to countries that are not white, Christian and European, says Stephen Zunes, professor of politics and international studies at the University of San Francisco. He adds that U.S. policy on Western Sahara emboldens Putin’s claims on Ukraine (cont…),

View DemocracyNow podast

Western Sahara support groups release a strong statement on TICAD8, the Japan-organized forum on African development

The forum is to be held in Tunisia in August 2022. Friends of Western Sahara Japan and Africa Japan Forum (AJF) are calling on the Japanese government to include Western Sahara just like the EU-AU summit did in Brussels.

They demand that Western Sahara (SADR) be included in the list of invitees of the Japanese government. As the EU-AU summit in last February included Western Sahara, there is no reason that Japan excludes it.

Statement on TICAD8, 9 April 2022

Exclusive: Sahrawi Activist Sultana Khaya Speaks from Moroccan-Imposed House Arrest in Western Sahara

March, 21, 2022

Sultana Khaya speaks about her de facto house arrest for nearly 500 days

Watch Video or click on image

In an exclusive interview, Democracy Now speaks with prominent Sahrawi human rights activist Sultana Khaya in occupied Western Sahara. Moroccan authorities have held her and her family under de facto house arrest for nearly 500 days, where she has been subjected to harassment and sexual abuse. A delegation of U.S.-based activists arrived at her home last week to break the siege and ward off police surveillance.

Guests
Adrienne Kinne, peace activist, former U.S. Army sergeant and former president of Veterans for Peace.
Sultana Khaya, prominent Sahrawi human rights activist.
Stephen Zunes, professor of politics and international studies at the University of San Francisco.

Western Sahara Is Still Fighting for Freedom

Sahrawi women display Sahrawi flags during a demonstration on 18 June 2021 in Madrid, Spain (Photo by Isabel Infantes/Getty Image)

By Eoghan Gilmartin
Tribune, 5 April 2022

‘We are being told by the West to simply accept our reality—the reality of occupation,’ Sahrawi journalist Nazha El Khalidi tells Tribune. ‘Why don’t we have the same right to self-determination as the Ukrainians? This hypocrisy shows you the real face of Europe and Spain, who are more interested in our land and resources than in the people of Western Sahara.’ (cont….)

Read full article

Sydney AWSA commemorates Saharawi National Day 27 February

Sunday 27 February 2022 marked the 46th anniversary of the proclamation of the Saharawi Republic (SADR) following Spain’s abrupt withdrawal after almost a hundred years of colonialism.

On Friday 25 February In recognition of this anniversary the flag of Western Sahara was raised in solidarity at Leichhardt Town Hall by Inner West Council Mayor Darcy Byrne.

(Image: Shane Teehan)

Also attending the flag-raising ceremony were Jamie Parker MP, Kamal Fadel (Polisario Representative Australia and New Zealand), Lesley Osborne, Secretary of the Australia Western Sahara Association (AWSA) and members of AWSA.

Free Webinar: Violations of International Law in Western Sahara

Hear these outstanding guests: Cheija Abdalahe, Dr. Jeffrey Smith and Pedro Pinto Leite.
Feb 9, 2022 07:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada):
NOTE: Australian attendees: Thursday 10 Feb, 11 am (AEST)
Register : https://bit.ly/3IUOgZz

February 9th Webinar final Download

This webinar will explore the violations of international law that have led to this ongoing tragic situation from the invasion itself to the exploitation of natural resources; how this had led to the four fold crimes of aggression still ongoing against the Sahrawi people, and what those crimes have meant to the Sahrawi people in the camps and in Moroccan Occupied Western Sahara.

Climate Colonialism: Why Was Occupied Western Sahara Excluded from COP26 U.N. Summit in Scotland?

Democracy Now Nov 17, 2021

Activists are criticizing the British government for excluding Western Sahara, occupied by Morocco since 1975, from the U.N. climate summit COP26 in Glasgow Scotland. Meanwhile, Morocco is counting renewable energy developments in Western Sahara towards its own climate pledges.

Negotiators from Western Sahara independently announced a plan to reduce carbon emissions outside COP26, as the climate crisis has brought extreme weather conditions including drought, extreme heat and flooding to the region.

In an interview last week in Glasgow, Scotland while COP26 was underway, Amy Goodman talked with Oubi Bouchraya Bachir, a representative of the Polisario Front for Europe and the European Union, and climate change consultant Nick Brooks, who has traveled to Western Sahara for decades to carry out archaeological and palaeo-environmental fieldwork and helped release the Sahrawi climate plan adjacent to the COP26.

Saharawi government launches climate plan to coincide with COP26

The Saharawi refugee camps in Algeria are regularly affected by floodings, sand storms and extreme heat

8 November 2021

The Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) has today launched an indicative Nationally Determined Contribution (iNDC) for Western Sahara, outlining what actions it intends to undertake to contribute to global efforts to address the climate crisis.

The launch coincides with the COP26 negotiations in Glasgow, from which the Saharawi people and their government are excluded as a result of Morocco’s illegal occupation of their homeland. The Saharawi people’s contribution to the global fight against climate change, was presented at a side-event of COP26 today. (cont…)

Read more including the full iNDC for Western Sahara, launched at a side-event of COP26 today