Western Sahara, a center for debate in several U.S. media Sat, 27/07/2013 - 18:37 Tags: Western Sahara Washington, 27/07/13 (SPS) -. The Western Sahara was the center of a debate of several U.S. media reports a APS office today saturday. Under the theme "Rights, Resources and refugees and reports on the question of Western Sahara,' particularly gathered journalists who visited the Western Sahara in 2012 and 2013 has started the debate that has addressed the issue Saharawi The panel is made up Whitney Shefte of The Washington Post, Elisa Barclay U.S. National Public Radion (NPR) and Jenn Abelson of the Boston Globe, with the assistance of Katlyn Thomas, a former lawyer for the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) and Anna Theofilopoulou, a former senior UN official. In their statements, preceded by the screening of a video documentary produced by The Washington Post on the Saharawi question, the three American journalists have left living testimonies of the political and human rights situation of the Sahrawi in the occupied territories by Morocco . In this regard, they noted that the policy of brutal repression perpetrated by the Moroccan authorities against the Saharawi people, underscoring the pressure and obstacles that have been subjected like other Western journalists on visits to the occupied city of El Aaiun in December and May. "The Violation of human rights, economic marginalization and social exclusion are the fate of the vast majority of Sahrawis living in the territories occupied by Morocco," they stressed. "Visiting the Western Sahara was a unique opportunity for me and an invaluable experience to learn more about this conflict and talk about it despite the difficulties," said Mrs. Barclay National Public Radio (NPR). For his part, Dr. Abelson of the Boston Globe said that despite the fact that the United States and other powers have never recognized the sovereignty of Morocco over the Western Sahara independence movement, however, is still clogged. "When the Sahrawi thanked me for coming to witness the situation, I felt that what we were doing, as journalists, was important," argued Ms. Shefte the Washington Post. Meanwhile, Ms. Thomas, who had lived for several years in Western Sahara as part of the contingent of MINURSO, lamented the status quo situation of the Saharawi question, adding that international law confirms that the right of the people Sahrawi self-determination is the basis for a political solution to the conflict in Western Sahara. After condemning Morocco for its refusal to accept a solution to self-determination and to remember that the international community does not recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, Ms. Thomas also criticized the biased position of French support for Morocco. The Western Sahara is since 1964 one of the Territories that can benefit from the implementation of resolution 1514 on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, Western Sahara is the last colony in Africa, occupied by Morocco since 1975 . (SPS) 090/099TRAD
Posted on: Sun, 28 Jul 2013 13:31:33 +0000
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