Moroccan protest draws 20 000

2005-03-06 20:26

Rabat - Up to 20 000 Moroccans took part in a government-backed demonstration here on Sunday to demand the release of Moroccan soldiers held prisoner by the Polisario Front, which seeks independence for the Western Sahara region.

"This is a big message from Moroccans to the United Nations, to (UN Secretary General) Kofi Annan and to the UN refugee commission in protest against the terrible detention conditions," said Land Management Minister Mohamed El Yazghi.

More than 400 Moroccan prisoners of war are being held at Tindouf in southwest Algeria by the Polisario Front, a movement backed by Algeria that is fighting for the independence of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony annexed by Morocco 30 years ago.

Naima Lemcherki, chair of an umbrella organisation called Watanouna which organised the protest, said Sunday's rally was intended to "reach every international organisation."

"Algeria is interfering in things that have nothing to do with it, the Sahara is Moroccan," the crowd chanted.

The rally was also backed by Morocco's main political parties. "Where the Sahara is concerned we forget our rivalries," said Mohamed Hamdaoui, a leader of the Islamic Unification and Reform Movement (MUR).

The march was also in solidarity with tens of thousands of destitute Saharan dwellers located in Tindouf region, whom the Moroccan authorities consider to be Moroccan citizens kept in illegal confinement by Polisario.

At one time about 1 000 Moroccan prisoners were held by the Polisario, but many have been freed in batches over the years, with 408 remaining.

Morocco annexed Western Sahara after former colonial ruler Spain pulled out of the large, phosphate-rich desert territory in 1975, despite a World Court ruling in favour of autonomy for the territory.

The Polisario Front took up arms for independence the following year, and later declared a self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which is recognised by the African Union but not the United Nations.

A truce is now in effect, but UN efforts to resolve the situation have stalled since Morocco refused a plan under which Western Sahara would enjoy a large degree of autonomy during a five-year transition period followed by a referendum on self-rule.

- AFP