[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 106 (Friday, July 29, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1716-E1717]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             WESTERN SAHARA

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 28, 2005

  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, recently, Moroccan police and security forces 
have arrested and tortured peaceful protestors. For example, as 
recently as July 20th, reports indicate that Moroccan security forces 
abducted five human rights activists: Mohamed Elmoutaoikil, Noumria 
Brahim, Elhoucine Lidri, Larbi Massaoud, and Gaoudi Fdaili. According 
to the reports, all five of these people suffered psychological torture 
for long hours, humiliation, and threats of rape. Unfortunately, this 
was all done due to their opinion concerning the status of Western 
Sahara.
  After this incident, reports indicate that both Noumria Brahim and 
Lhoucine Lidri were subjected to further torture including being 
burned, handcuffed and blindfolded, and being brutally beaten. The 
Moroccan officials that perpetrated these horrendous acts of torture 
are reported to be the Wali of Security in EI Ayun, Brahim Bensami, and 
the Urban Security Group Chief Officer, Ichi Abou Hassan, and Abdelhap 
Rabii, a security officer. When these torturers were finished, they 
locked their victims in the Black Jail in EI Ayun on July 23, 2005. 
Reports indicate they are still being held captive.
  Such acts of violence and abuse against peaceful protestors and human 
rights activists have escalated in the last few weeks in Morocco. Other 
reports indicate that on July 21, 2005, a group of six Saharawi 
political prisoners who were arrested during a protest in EI Ayun were 
presented to the court of appeal in EI Ayun. The report reveals the 
group was tried in a show trial on June 23, 2005. They were sentenced 
to up to 5 years imprisonment--one of the victims of this injustice is 
human rights activist Bougarfa Abderrahmane. Mr. Abderrahmane is 53 
years old and a father to 10 children. The others were sentenced to 3 
years in prison (Hamma Achrih, Chyahou Brahim) and 2 years in prison 
(Mohamed Salem Essallami, Azlai Abdellah).
  Sources say the Court of Appeal in EI Ayun was firmly controlled by 
the Moroccan security forces while the trial was taking place. Some 
Saharawi citizens were forbidden to enter the court room. In addition, 
a French journalist, Agata Andre, from the newspaper Charle Hebdo, who 
came to EI Ayun to attend the trial of these political prisoners was 
put in a separate room until the Saharawi political prisoners' trial 
was over. Furthermore, it is reported that the families of the five 
activists arrested were banned from bringing food to their relatives as 
well as from seeing them. No telephone contact with them is possible. 
Unfortunately, these reports of torture and injustice are commonplace 
for the Saharawi people who are denied equal rights under the Moroccan 
occupation of Western Sahara.
  On one of Secretary Condoleezza Rice's trips overseas, Secretary Rice 
delivered a strong message to the King of Morocco, Mohamed VI, 
concerning the lack of civil liberties in the kingdom of Morocco. The 
Spanish newspaper, La Razon, reported on June 30th that Ms. Rice 
expressed her concerns regarding the Moroccan regime's continuous 
violations of freedom of press and of expression. Amidst recent reports 
of escalating repression by Morocco's intelligence and security 
services against dissenting voices, and the repression perpetrated 
against Saharawls, Ms. Rice is reportedly urged the King to bring and 
end to the repression and allow progressive voices to be heard.
  Other countries have expressed similar concerns about Morocco's human 
rights record regarding the Saharawis. Earlier this month in Spain, 
Spanish news sources reported that a Spanish delegation, composed of 
parliamentarians and representatives of the civil society of Aragon, 
was not allowed by Moroccan authorities to visit the occupied capital 
of Western Sahara, EI Aaiun. The delegation planned to investigate 
allegations of human rights abuses by Moroccan forces. One of the 
delegates was quoted as saying Morocco's denial of the visit was 
absolutely unacceptable.
  Morocco has been occupying Western Sahara for decades. The United 
Nations Security Council has continued to uphold the right of Western 
Sahara to self-determination. On April 29th, 2004, the Security Council 
adopted Resolution No. 1541 which reaffirmed support for the Peace Plan 
for Self-Determination of the People of Western Sahara devised by U.N. 
Secretary General Kofi Annan's Special Envoy, James Baker. Two years 
prior, the Security Council upheld the right to self-determination in a 
meeting to discuss the conflict over Western Sahara. In this 2002 
meeting, the Security Council rejected other proposed options and 
clearly stated that the only viable resolution to this conflict must be 
based on the Saharawi people's right to self-determination.
  There is a long history of international consensus that supports 
Western Sahara's right to self-determination. The International Court 
of Justice, issued on October 16, 1975 the following decision 
concerning the conflict over Western Sahara, ``The Court's conclusion 
is that the materials and information presented to it do not establish 
any tie of territorial sovereignty between the territory of Western 
Sahara and the Kingdom of Morocco or the Mauritanian entity. Thus the 
Court has not found legal ties of such a nature as might affect the 
application of General Assembly resolution 1514(XV) in the 
decolonization of Western Sahara, and in particular, of the principle 
of the self-determination through the free and genuine expression of 
the will of the peoples of the territory.''
  I agree with many of my colleagues that Morocco is an important 
partner to the United States in our War on Terror and in international 
trade. However, the examples of human rights abuses that Moroccan 
officials have exhibited against the Saharawi people and the peaceful 
protestors is not the type of behavior we expect from our friends.
  A conclusion for the conflict over Western Sahara is long overdue. 
Both sides of the conflict need to come together and implement the 
Settlement Plan elaborated by Secretary James Baker. A great step 
towards a peaceful resolution would be for Morocco to release all their 
political prisoners, including Mr. Tamek and Mrs. Haidar, to stop 
detaining and torturing peaceful protestors and human rights activists, 
and to allow freedom of thought and expression both in Morocco and in 
occupied Western Sahara.

[[Page E1717]]



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