- Western Sahara and Scandinavian countries - Norway reaffirmed position in favour of Sahrawi people’s self-determination Denmark should condemn Moroccos crackdown on peaceful Saharawi protesters Finland for Saharawi people’s right to self-determination Sweden confirms its support for the UN resolution on Western Sahara Al Ayoun (Western Sahara occupied territories), 2014-03-31 - The Norwegian minister of foreign affairs, Børge Brende reaffirmed his country’s position on the Western Sahara issue in support of the efforts of the United Nations (UN) to find a political solution providing for the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination, in a written response to a question submitted by a member of parliament. The Minister deplored the violations of human rights in the Western Sahara, stressing the need to expand the prerogatives of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) to include the monitoring and reporting on human rights. Also the very same month, the Danish Red-Green Alliance Party says Denmark must condemn Moroccos abuse, in the wake of the events that took place on March 28, in occupied Western Sahara. Early in the morning, activists Mayara Mujahid and Hajoub Khatar had been arrested in their homes by Moroccan Security forces. They had previously participated in an entirely peaceful demonstration in the city of Al Ayoun, where more than 500 participants called for an independent Western Sahara and condemned Moroccos brutal repression of Western Sahara’s indigenous population in Spains former colony in north-western Africa, the Saharawis. The Foreign Affairs spokesperson of the Red-Green Alliance Party in the Danish Parliament said: - Denmark should strongly condemn the assault of peaceful activists in line with an array of UN resolutions that assert their right to self-determination in trying to take a break with Moroccos 39-year occupation and oppression. - Today I have asked the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs to explain Moroccos increasing suppression of the people in the occupied territories and asked what the Danish government will do to stop it, including in the EU in view of the Union’s various political and economic agreements with the occupying power. - Last week, the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Danish Parliament was visited by a number of Moroccan parliamentarians who, in response to the Red-Green Alliances criticism, claimed that there was nothing wrong with the human rights situation in the occupied territories. I also expect that the Minister issues a formal submission to the Moroccan king and the Moroccan parliament that these abuses are intolerable. Just a Month earlier, the Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Erkki Tuomioja expressed in Algiers his country’s support to guarantee the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination. “Finland and Algeria have a common position vis-à-vis the Western Sahara issue. We support the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and we are willing to be part in all solutions which are freely accepted by the Saharawi people,” said Tuomioja, during a joint press conference with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Algeria, Ramtane Lamamra. He stressed the importance of “creativity” in diplomatic tasks to find solutions to the Saharawi issue, recognizing the existence of a political will to achieve this goal. He, therefore, also reaffirmed that Finland’s support to the self-determination of Saharawi people is clear. Last year, the Vice-President of the Swedish Parliament, Susanna Eiberstein, had already confirmed, while visiting Algiers, Swedens attitude towards the issue of Western Sahara in support of the UN resolution 1514 relating to the right of colonised peoples to self-determination. Mrs. Eiberstein told the press, after a meeting with the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mourad Medelci: “We support the position of the United Nations for Western Sahara since a long time ago and I’m sure that our position will not change.” Regarding the significance of her visit to Algeria, Mrs. Eiberstein explained that was aimed at strengthening the relations between Sweden and Algeria. She also highlighted the important role played by Algeria in the region. Based on news releases published by the Sahara Press Service (SPS): spsrasd.info/en/content/norway-reaffirm-its-position-favour-sahrawi-people%E2%80%99s-self-determination spsrasd.info/en/content/denmark-must-condemn-moroccos-crackdown-peaceful-protesters-western-sahara spsrasd.info/en/content/finland-saharawi-people%E2%80%99s-right-self-determination-says-fm spsrasd.info/en/content/sweden-confirms-its-support-un-resolution-western-sahara-vice-president-swedish-parliament
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 11:27:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015