PRESS BRIEFING BY MOROCCO ON WESTERN SAHARA

Speaking to correspondents at a Headquarters press briefing this morning, a group of former Moroccan prisoners of war, veterans of a conflict in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, appealed to the international community to demand the release of 408 of their fellow detainees.

Western Sahara, a territory on the north-west coast of Africa bordered by Morocco, Mauritania and Algeria, was administered by Spain until 1976.  Both Morocco and Mauritania affirmed their claim to the territory, a claim opposed by the Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguia el-Hamra y de Río de Oro (Frente POLISARIO).

The United Nations has been seeking a settlement in Western Sahara since the withdrawal of Spain in 1976 and the ensuing fighting between Morocco, which had “reintegrated” the Territory, and the Frente POLISARIO, supported by Algeria.  While a ceasefire between Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO was reached in 1991, diplomatic efforts for a final settlement have fallen short.

Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Mohamed Bennouna, called the 408 Moroccans, still detained in POLISARIO camps in the Algerian town of Tindouf, “the world’s longest held POWs”, many often held for over 20 years.  Joining him were six former detainees, who provided testimonies of their ordeal.

Twelve years after the establishment of a United Nations-sponsored ceasefire, noted Mr. Bennouna, the detention of those 408 POWs continued, in direct violation of humanitarian law, the Third Geneva Convention and the principles of the civilized world.  Everyone had agreed that the political aspects of the Sahara question had to be dissociated from the humanitarian aspects.  While at the United Nations, the delegation would meet with those responsible for humanitarian matters, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

In addition, he hoped that, at the upcoming Maghreb Summit, to be held on 25 and 26 May, all participants, including Algeria, would reaffirm their commitment to human rights and fundamental humanitarian law.

Ali Najab, a pilot who had been shot down and taken prisoner in 1978 and released in 2003, said he was at United Nations Headquarters to give voice to 408 of his countrymen who remained prisoners of war, despite the repeated appeals of the Secretary-General and the Security Council.  He had come to the United Nations because it was the world’s most important defender of freedom and human rights.  He had already met with a number of United States leaders, including Senator John McCain (R-Arizona), as well as members of the American media and religious leaders, all of whom were helping him spread his message to the American people.

Saying he had not come to talk about politics, he described himself and his fellow former POWs as ordinary men, who had suffered a terrible ordeal and now had a duty to call on the international community to demand that POLISARIO free their peers.  Sharing some of his experiences, he said he had watched as fellow prisoners were murdered and tortured.  They were forced to work as slave labour, to give their own blood to other inmates, to go on the radio and speak false propaganda against their country, and were denied adequate food, shelter and medical care, as well as communication with their families.

All those, he continued, were clear violations of the Third Geneva Convention.  What made the remaining 408 unique was how long they had been held captive, many of them were now in their fifties and had been held well over two decades.  The POLISARIO had turned a deaf ear to the repeated demands for their release.  More information could be found on the website freethemnow.org, which also contains a petition demanding the release of the remaining Moroccan POWs.

After being shot down and taken prisoner in 1978, Mohammed Belkadi said he had spent 25 years and 86 days as a POW in camps in northern and southern Algeria, over half of which was following the 1991 ceasefire.

Mohammed Hadri, a fighter pilot captured in 1982, described the 22 years he spent in “hell”, that was the POLISARIO prison.  Accused of trying to escape, he was thrown inside an iron shipping container for 33 days in the scorching summer heat.  Although he had been released, he said he was not really free so long as 408 of his fellow detainees remained in captivity.

After trying to escape in 1987, Mohammed Astati was recaptured by the Algerian army and returned to prison, where he was, among other things, forced to spend three months in the Saharan winter without a blanket.

Ali El Jaouhar, who had spent 23 years as a detainee, said he never had felt like a human being and was treated like donkeys and cows.  Donkeys because they had to load and unload trucks all day long, and cows because they “milked the prisoners of their blood”.  He appealed to those who believed in human rights to put an end to the ordeal faced by his fellow POWs.

Shot down and captured just one month before the 1991 ceasefire, Rabea Errarhib was released last year.  He appealed for a distinction to be made between the political and humanitarian aspects of the Sahara question.

A correspondent noted that a representative of POLISARIO had stated that his group’s refusal to release the remaining POWs was linked to Morocco’s reneging on a promise to hold a sovereignty referendum on the territory.  Responding to that, Mr. Najab recalled that the Security Council had issued several appeals to separate the humanitarian issue from the political one.  Mr. Bennouna added that the ICRC had declared that there were no POWs in Morocco.  That was also clear from Security Council resolutions, which urged POLISARIO to release remaining detainees, while nothing had been addressed to Morocco regarding prisoners.  There were no prisoners in Morocco, he stated.

Asked what had helped the men survive the years of detention, Mr. Najab said that, as Muslims, they had always believed that tomorrow would be better, and they also believed they were fighting for their country.  The more they suffered, the more they believed in their country and believed they were there for something sacred.

As to why they were released while others were still detained, Mr. Najab said the POWs had started being released in 1978 due to strong pressure by the international community.  The release had begun with those who had been detained the longest.

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