Six prisoners of conscience express their gratitude to Sahrawi people and international bodies for their support:
Salé (Morocco), 6 May 2010: The six Saharawi prisoners of conscience at the Local Prison of Salé, Morocco have expressed their sincere gratitude to the national and international human rights bodies and Saharawi people for their support during the battle of hunger strike, which lasted 41 days, in an open letter Thursday, they signed from within the Sale prison.
The six prisoners of conscience stated, in their letter, a copy of which received by SPS, the urgent need to adequate laws for the protection of human in the Western Sahara.
The six prisoners of conscience also condemned the role played by France, offering Morocco the umbrella to hide its crimes and continue its prosecution of the peaceful Sahrawis in the occupied part of the Western Sahara.
Below is complete read of the text of the letter:
"The Sahrawi human rights defenders, the six prisoners of conscience at the Local Prison of Salé, Morocco.
April 30th, 2010
An Open Letter
To all those who supported us
We greet you very warmly….
We must first apologise for being all this late in thanking all those who supported us. That was not certainly because of the daily constraints that come after suspending a hunger strike, but it was rather due to our conscious awareness of our incapacity to generate an intellectual, linguistic production that can guarantee a minimum of equity to you.
In other words, it was very difficult for us to adequately qualify the exceptional militant action you have been doing. It was exceptional in its honesty and perseverance; an action which was characterised by its continuous creativity in ending up an atmosphere of satisfaction towards an unacceptable reality in the Western Sahara, existing against the international and humanitarian laws.
This reality is being hidden from the whole world. It is being marketed under the names of ''Stability and Development''. It hides unimaginable crimes, and it is being supervised by France, unfortunately; the country which pretends that its legitimacy has been founded on the defense of liberties. Meanwhile, it is offering Morocco the umbrella to continue its prosecution of the peaceful Sahrawis in the occupied part of the Western Sahara.
Not only did your invaluable support help us, as Sahrawi hunger-striking prisoners in the Moroccan jails, overcome whatever difficulties and continue our struggle, but it also set up a large dynamism which gathered different defenders of human dignity to denounce, in strong and collective ways, the inhuman crimes perpetrated against the Sahrawi civilians in the occupied part of the Western Sahara.
Hence, a mending measure has to take place as soon as possible; that is to say, an urgent need to adequate laws as far as the protection of human rights is concerned has now become indispensible. Simply put, a mechanism to monitor human rights in the Western Sahara has to be included in the mandate of the Minurso on the ground.
For these reasons, we should like to address our gratitude to the international and Moroccan human rights organisations, namely Amnesty International, which has been leading a strong campaign through its branches, Frontline, Human Rights Watch, R. F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights in the USA, the Moroccan Association of Human Rights, Al Wassit ( =The Mediator) Organisation for Democracy and Human Rights (Morocco), The Moroccan Forum For Truth and Equity, The Moroccan National Body for the Solidarity with all the Political Prisoners, the members of the defense body, who had been following our arrest from the start, the Sahrawi committees and organisations such as the Local Committee of Salé ( composed of Sahrawi defenders and university students), the continental and regional parliaments such as the European Parliament, the African Parliament, the national parliaments from Germany, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Sweden, South Africa, Nigeria, etc. Our thanks also should be addressed to various governmental institutions, the National Committee Responsible for Following the Sahrawi political prisoners' conditions, hunger striking in the Moroccan jails, the Coordination Committee in Spain, the different political parties, trade unions and associations in Europe, Latin America, Africa and Australia, the civil society in both Spain and Algeria, the Algerian National Committee of the Solidarity with the Sahrawi People, Annahj Addimoqrati (=the Democratic Path) party from Morocco, some Moroccan noble journalists, the Christian Religious Movement all over the world, the Nobel Prize-winners in different fields, the Committees and associations of solidarity with the Sahrawi people, the mass media in different forms such as TV channels, radios, newspapers and websites, the lawyers, human rights campaigners, journalists, artists, poets, actors, film-makers, musicians, sportspeople, the families of the disappeared and the kidnapped and the political prisoners, and finally the brave Sahrawi people wherever it is and the Sahrawi students at the Moroccan universities and abroad.
To all these and those whom we have not been able to mention, we say millions of thanks; we were deeply moved by your help and we will never forget your historical support. It is obvious that it embodies the strong will of all the noble people in this world to struggle for the prevailing of human honest values until the dignity of Man is imposed.
Again, thank you very much ….
And long live the international solidarity movement worldwide for the respect of human rights in the Western Sahara and the world.
The Sahrawi human rights defenders, the six prisoners of conscience:
- Ali Salem Tamek,
- Brahim Dahan
- Ahmed Naciri
- Yahdih Ettarrouzi
- Rachid Sghayar
- Saleh Lebaihi
April 30th, 2010
The Local Prison of Salé, Morocco."
