Gigantic march voices outrage over continued sequestration of Moroccans in
polisario camps
Morocco-Algeria, Politics, 3/7/2005
They came on Sunday in tens of thousands to Rabat filling all downtown
streets, stretching over kilometres, to ask in unison for the immediate
and
unconditional liberation of the Moroccans Sequestrated in polisario camps
in
Tindouf, South-West Algeria.
Moroccan Men, women, children of all walks of life and from all regions of
the kingdom kept on pouring, up to late morning, in the thousands, to "Bab
El Had," center of Rabat, to take part in the national march organised by
the "Watanouna" association and contributed to by scores of other
organisations.
"All for the liberation of Moroccans sequestrated in Tindouf" was the
rally
cry of the demonstrators who shouted in slogans in Arabic, Tamazight,
French
and English their outrage to the continuation of the detention of the
sequestrated Moroccan.
The gigantic march was joined in by political parties, civil society, non
governmental and human rights organisations, s****t and cultural
associations, as well as by family members of the victims of the
continuing
sequestration and those who succeeded in evading the shame camps.
Members of the Moroccan community living abroad and those of the Moroccan
Jewish community also participated in the march that is meant to promote
awareness of the ordeals and suffering of their brothers still kept in the
Algeria-backed polisario camps in violation of international humanitarian
law.
School boys and girls, unemployed degree holders and representatives of
neighbourhood associations, as well as members of the families of the
people
sentenced under the anti-terrorist law and those of the victims of the May
16, Casablanca attacks rallied to join their voices to call for the
release
of the Sequestrated Moroccans. They came in the early hours of the morning
and the stream of tens of thousands kept swelling till late in the morning
responding to the call of Watanouna, set up in Casablanca to sensitise the
public opinion on the question of Moroccans who are sequestered in the
Polisario camps.
In solidarity to the sequestrated Moroccans, the demonstrators shouted
their
sup****t walking through the main streets of the capital city and voiced
their outrage over the continuation of the detention of their brothers in
the polisario camps where they live day-in day-out in untold and inhumane
conditions that breach universal human rights.
Both demonstrators and onlookers were moved at the passage within the
procession of former detainees who were long imprisoned in the Lahmada
camps, for their participation vividly brought to mind the ordeals they
lived in the camps and the suffering of those still detained.
Several re****ters of national and international written and broadcast
press
were present to cover the event that is meant to highlight to the
international community the urgent need to endeavour to free the people
still sequestrated.
Moroccans are still detained in the camps located in Tindouf, South-West
Algeria, and controlled by the polisario movement which has waged war on
Morocco claiming the separation of the Southern provinces, known as the
Sahara, after they were retrieved from Spanish rule in 1975 in line with
the
Madrid accords
Watanouna aims to draw the attention of the international public opinion
to
human rights violations committed in the camps and to denounce the
exploitation of families by the Algeria-backed Polisario group. It has
also
organized a campaign to collect one million signatures of special greeting
cards to be sent to international organizations, and opened a petition on
its website.
SOURCE : http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/050307/2005030733.html
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