Morocco Suppressed Over 225 Peaceful Protests Of Western Sahra People

Sahrawi human rights activist, Aminatou Haidar, called on the United Nations to put in place a mechanism to monitor violations by the Moroccan occupation authorities against the Saharaoui citizens in the occupied areas of Western Sahara.

“UN mission that is currently present in these occupied territories (MINURSO) is a blind witness to Moroccan crimes and violations, and we can not even communicate with them. Sahrawis hope the new UN envoy to Western Sahara will push peace plan forward”, she said.

Aminatou Haidar, who is head of the organization of the Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders Association, which is known as the Codesa, explained, in a press conference, that she was active at the Embassy of the Sahrawi Arab Republic in Algeria, along with Fatima Al Mahdi, member of the National Secretariat of the Polisario Front and General Secretary of the National Union for Sahrawi Women, that the Developments in the Situation of Human Rights in the Occupied Territories of Western Sahara occured after the Moroccan State continues to close the region in the face of human rights organizations and political, parliamentary, syndicates, press, students and international organizations in an attempt to cover the various grave violations of human rights that are committed against Saharawi civilians, who lead a peaceful uprising demanding the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination and independence, to benefit from natural resources and to release all Saharawi human rights defenders and political detainees.

In this context, the Sahrawi human rights activist uncovers a number of human rights violations that were committed by the Moroccan occupation against Sahrawi civilians in the period from January to August 2017.

“Number of peaceful protest over the right to self-determination of the Saharawi people and the right to benefit from the natural wealth and those in solidarity with the Saharawi political prisoners and others demanding the right to work and decent life, which is prohibited by the Moroccan occupation, reached over 225 protests”.

“Moroccan occupation authorities did not hesitate at all times to use violence and in some cases electric shock machines and arbitrary arrests and detentions of 105 young Sahrawis, and the number of Sahrawi political prisoners so far in various Moroccan prisons reached more than 70 detainees, including two kids”.