Repression, intimidation and the besieging of cities; all by means of an astonishingly abusive and disproportionate deployment of police and military force, used continuously to disperse peaceful protests. This is the way in which the Moroccan state and its authorities act towards the defenceless Saharawis in Western Sahara; venting their anger against women and children. This is a state that claims to uphold rights, particularly having recently reformed its constitution and human rights laws (amongst these the right to peacefully protest in the Saharawi territories which remain under its control). Once again the Moroccan state has not kept its word and the promise it made to the international community. This puts its defenders in an embarrassing situation.

On 25April 2013, hours after Morocco promised the Security Council once again to respect human rights in Western Sahara, as stipulated in Resolution 2099 (2013) which was accorded and voted on by the members of the Security Council, Moroccan forces, both police and military, violently intervened, without warning, against the defenceless Saharawis in the midst of their peaceful protests. This intervention continued for five consecutive days in different cities in Western Sahara and resulted in a large number of casualties and the destruction of the homes of many Saharawi activists. These scenes were verified by two delegations, one from Amnesty International and the other from the European Parliament who were travelling to Western Sahara at the time.

In view of the fact that Morocco continues in its disregard for the Security Council Resolutions, and in the face of the deteriorating situation with regard to human rights in the occupied territories by Morocco, we at Adalauk stand by the reports elaborated by prestigious human rights organisations which corroborate the daily suffering of the Saharawi citizens following this brutal intervention, and wish to announce:

• our solidarity with the victims of the brutal intervention committed by the Moroccan authorities.
• our condemnation of the brutal intervention by the Moroccan authorities against the peaceful Saharawi demonstrations
• our plea that the UN intervene as quickly as possible to put an end to the violence and assume its responsibility in the face of the alarming human rights situation. This situation, far from improving (the expectation following the last Security Council resolution), has done nothing but worsen due to the lack of political will on Morocco’s part; failing to meet the promises required of it by the international community.
• our call to the international community, local human rights bodies, international organisations and governments friendly to Morocco to intervene against the Moroccan state to stop the violence perpetrated in Western Sahara against the defenceless Saharawi citizens.

By Sidi Ahmed Fadel  (ADALAUK)

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