[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 8, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H2169]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             WESTERN SAHARA

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, last week the United Nations considered a new 
solution to the conflict over Western Sahara, a solution which 
basically gives Morocco control over Western Sahara.
  Mr. Speaker, everyone knows the Moroccan people do not have a 
democracy. The country is ruled by a king. They use torture in their 
prisons. The former king, father of the current king, established the 
notorious and hideously brutal Tazmamart prison camp in which he 
imprisoned and tortured his own family members. So how in the world 
will Morocco assure that democracy is protected for the Sahrawis?
  Mr. Speaker, I am deeply disturbed by reports that our U.S. 
Government now may be willing to throw away the rights of the people of 
Western Sahara to self-determination by supporting Moroccan claims of 
sovereignty to the land. It seems that our government is willing to 
bargain away fundamental human rights for cooperation with current 
agendas, after 10 years of advocating self-determination for Western 
Sahara.
  When our country no longer cares about the right to self-
determination, a right on which our Nation was founded, it is a sad 
day, indeed.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a dangerous time to play with instability, 
particularly in North Africa.

                          ____________________