Kathryn Cameron Porter and Nancy Huff together to be the voice of the forgotten people in Tindouf Camps in Algeria.
Report – Facts on the Ground in Western Sahara by the Leadership Council for Human Rights and Teach the Children International
REPORT
VISIT OF A DELEGATION OF AMERICAN NGOS TO WESTERN SAHARA
Two American NGOs, the Leadership Council for Human Rights (LCHR) and Teach the Children International (TCI) began a visit to the Western Sahara to assess the human rights situation.
The delegation wishes to emphasize that it does not take sides on the status of Western Sahara because of the complexity of the issue. One of the members of the delegation, Kathryn Porter of the LCHR, requested a visa from the Algerian authorities through their visa section in Washington DC to visit the Sahrawi refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria. Her application was not acted up on by the Algerian government.
The delegation was composed of Nancy Huff president of Teach the Children International TCI and Kathryn Cameron Porter founder and President of the Leadership Council for Human Rights (LCHR) and the Congressional Human Rights Caucus of the United States. The delegation travelled to Laayoune and Dakhla for over ten days in order to allow sufficient time to observe the facts on the ground and to meet with as many people as possible. The members of the Delegation met with a broad range of civil society activists, representatives of the UN, Chiefs of Tribes, government officials, recent returnees from the camps of Tindouf located in Algeria as well as individuals who travel back and forth in the region.
The humanitarian dimension of the conflict and the urgent need to assist the people who remain in the Tindouf camps is of paramount importance. Unfortunately, the increased security concerns in the region and the growing danger posed by Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM) became an underlying focus of the delegation’s interviews and conversations.
The Delegation wishes to thank all those who took the time to meet with them to share the tragic stories of their shattered lives and their families’ burdens. The delegation was moved by their courage and continued hope for a meaningful future for their children. We regret, however, the lack of cooperation from the Algerian authorities to allow us to visit the camps of Tindouf. The reaction of the Algerian government is all the more regrettable since they granted access to RFK Center, known for its unconditional support to the leadership of the Polisario.
After visiting both the Western Sahara and the Camps of Tindouf, the RFK center’s recent report was perceived as biased and ill-informed due to the small narrow scope of interviewees and meetings. Unfortunately, the members of the RFK delegation met mainly with separatists and few independent people and NGOs. Their report seemed to ignore the facts on the ground. This oversight caused a negative reaction among many people in Western Sahara. The delegation regrets that the RFK report was particularly hurtful to the Chiefs of Tribes whose ages are between 50 and 91 years. They expressed to the LCHR and TCI that they were disrespected and insulted by the RFK Center delegation.
INTRODUCTION
The Western Sahara is a territory administered by Morocco according to international law. It is a former Spanish colony that was used as leverage by the Eastern bloc against Morocco, historically known as a strong ally of the United States. This continuing conflict is between a separatist group called the Polisario Front that was funded by the deposed Libyan dictator Gaddafi, Cuba and Algeria, and between the Kingdom of Morocco who considers the Western Sahara as an integral part of its territory.
The Polisario Front emerged in the 1970s as a student movement and later created a government-in-exile based in the refugee camp in Tindouf, Algeria. The cold war itself presented Algeria with the opportunity to manipulate the Polisario Front for its own purposes. The Algerian leadership decided unilaterally to close its border with the Kingdom of Morocco and, even today, systematically hinders all attempts to find an equitable solution to the conflict, making it impossible for the refugees in the camps of Tindouf to travel to Western Sahara to join their families if they so wish.
With the help of Libya, Cuba, Yugoslavia and Algeria, an armed confrontation broke out between Morocco and the Polisario Front until a cease-fire was signed in 1991, prior to the UN negotiations. After attempts by the UN to conduct a referendum that Morocco proposed in good faith, the UN came to the conclusion that the identification process was impossible. Therefore, a referendum is still impossible because those who should vote cannot be identified. The Polisario Front, however, remains intransigent about the option of a referendum on self-determination despite the UN decision for a negotiable political solution that would be acceptable to all parties.
While Algeria and the Polisario Front insist on a referendum, Morocco offers a wide autonomy under its sovereignty in order to end the 37 year conflict and stop the proliferation of terrorism in North Africa. The Moroccan proposal has been supported by numerous countries including the United States, France, Spain and the majority of the countries belonging to the Arab League.
The United States has made it clear that Morocco’s autonomy plan is serious, realistic, and credible. This was recently underscored by Secretary Clinton’s declaration during the bilateral strategic dialogue between Morocco and the United States which took place in Washington DC in September 2012. Morocco’s proposed “autonomy plan represents a plausible approach that could satisfy the aspirations of the people in the Western Sahara to run their own affairs in peace and dignity” and to avoid the establishment of a failed state especially with the dangers posed by Al Qaeda in the region.
Resolving the Western Sahara conflict and reopening the borders between Algeria and Morocco would be an important step in the process of regional integration which is undoubtedly the most effective way to reduce social problems and economic challenges facing the region.
Greater cooperation between Morocco and Algeria would also be an effective way to fight the threat of Al Qaeda in southern Algeria. The presence of AQIM is increasingly impacting theSahel region. According to testimonies of many individuals recently returned from the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, the people in the camps are in grave danger. The absence of prospects for the future leave thousands of refugees as prey for al-Qaeda recruiters and traffickers of all kinds (smugglers, kidnappers, South American drug traffickers and arms dealers among others).
In summary, the Western Sahara issue is very complex and has been virtually ignored by the international community for decades. The unresolved humanitarian crisis has continued for generations and decades. Yet, the increasing presence and the impending dangers of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb threatens the region as well as Europe and the United States. These two forces create an untenable situation where the degradation of human life is the new reality.
OBSERVATIONS IN MOROCCAN-CONTROLLED WESTERN SAHARA
The delegation paid particular attention to the situation at the capital of Western Sahara, Laayoune, as well as its surroundings. The delegation also held meetings in Rabat with experts on Human Rights, members of civil society and government officials.
Throughout the stay in Laayoune, the delegation was able to conduct its investigations freely without being subject to any surveillance or harassment. While life is improving and business developing, there is a tension noticeable when in small intimate meetings. Individuals express their concern with those who try to disrupt everyday life.
The delegation was able to see firsthand the implementation of changes that have been made recently in the Moroccan Constitution, particularly with regard to the criminalization of torture, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances, the equality of rights between men and women and freedom of expression.
These changes have strengthened existing institutions like the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), whose objective is the protection of human rights and the role of civil society in promoting human rights. The CNDH headquarter is in Rabat and has two regional offices in Laayoune and Dakhla, whose directors are from the local population.
The delegation visited the office of the National Council for Human Rights (CNDH) of Laayoune. The scope of this office and their activities are detailed by quarterly reports. This office makes a real and strong outreach and demonstrates good capacity that is proactive in its concerns to deal with situations before they escalate.
The CNDH office in Laayoune has extended its scope to include social services. Nearly 160 people from families of victims who received job training were able to secure gainful employment. One-hundred-eighty homes have been assigned to families of victims. The offices were full of people seeking help to return to local life.
In addition to Well established political institutions in the Western Sahara, the delegation noticed that the government of Morocco provides the population in the region with modern means of communication (Internet, land lines and mobile phones). People in Western Sahara have all the means to voice their concerns to the international community. Activists opposed to the territorial sovereignty of Morocco are active on many Internet and social networks without encountering any restrictions.
The delegation visited the headquarters of the TV channel of Laayoune. Launched in 2004, it is the first regional channel to offer diversified programs disseminating information and promotion of the Saharawi culture. The majority of employees of the local TV Channel are young women hired among the young unemployed graduates in the region.
Contrary to the allegations made by the polisario front supporters, the delegation confirms that no ban has been imposed on foreign journalists with whom separatists or pro-independence activists meet. Pro-polisario activists are receiving foreign delegations of diplomats, human rights activists and observers as well as UN officials and international NGOs.
According to statements collected from officials, more than 600 NGOs are active in the Western Sahara region. The delegation met with over 100 people representing NGOs and civil society. We thank them for their testimony and the information they shared with us on disappearances and other human rights abuses committed during the war years. Their concern about their family members in the camps of Tindouf in Algeria and their concern for future generations is strong and poignant. Through their stories, we understand better the current climate in Western Sahara.
Many Sahrawis that we interviewed expressed their full support for the Moroccan autonomy project especially those who experienced the hardship of life in the Camps in Algeria. They consider this alternative as the only option that will allow them to run their own affairs in peace and dignity.
The delegation noted that the Moroccan government pursues an ambitious policy in terms of basic infrastructure and the creation of stable jobs. We visited, in this context, one of the plants of Cherifian Office des Phosphates (OCP) that plays an economic and social role in the region. Half of the employees in OCP are Sahrawis and their rights as workers are fully respected. The OCP also funds several schools. We visited a school that was founded four years ago. The school offers quality education and gives a privileged place to underprivileged children. It is one of many schools now available to sahrawi students. This is especially important for those who have recently found their way out of the camps where education is rudimentary.
An impressive museum has been created in Laayoune which detailed the history and prehistory of the region. The museum was teeming with local people and creates pride of place. It offers a window on the past but also provides a window to the future for both young and old alike. This very professional museum is a source of healing and hope.
Also, Ms Porter and Ms Huff were welcomed by the newly appointed head of MINURSO, the UN organization that is responsible for monitoring the cease-fire between the Polisario and Morocco. MINURSO has had a presence in Southern Morocco since 1991 and has a prominent presence with 250 troops. Mr. Weber, the new administrator, explained MINURSO’s function and urged the members of the delegation to meet with Christopher Ross, the UN envoy who deals with issues of the Sahrawis as they pertain to Western Sahara. Mr. Weber also expressed great concern about the security issues that have arisen in the Tindouf camps and in the Sahel region as exemplified by the recent kidnapping of aid workers by terrorists in the Tindouf camps.
The delegation heard many harrowing testimonies of men, women and children who have fled the camps. Most of them suffered physical and psychological abuse inflicted on them by the Polisario Front or from diseases caused by the unhealthy living conditions in the primitive camps in Algeria. Their stories have never been told and each interview was emotional and fulsome. Many simply wanted to know where their loved ones were buried. The disappeared and the missing are still a reality for many. Everyone needs closure on issues, especially those who were prevented from discussing in the camps.
We thank all those who shared their painful experiences. Below are some of the evidence and stories told to the delegation. Many of our sources asked to remain anonymous so as to not endanger their relatives who still remain in the Tindouf camps. We chose at this time to report only on a few testimonies as others are recorded and will be released in the fullness of time on YouTube so that everyone can listen and hear their voices.
TESTIMONIES:
Mrs. Fala-Bousoula, lives in Laayoune and is a political activist. She is a former member of Moroccan parliament and currently runs an NGO, the Association for Hemophilia. Mrs. Bousoula stated, “My father was among the people who were taken to the Tindouf camps and I haven’t seen him for over 35 years.” As a mother, she expressed her serious concerns about the recruitment of children by the Polisario Front to become agent provocateur in the region. She said, “Pro-polisario activists go to the school gates and incite the kids to violence and strikes. As you all know, kids will give anything for an opportunity to miss school,” she added, “these agent provocateurs are paid by the Polisario Front and provide one of the few ways for them to make money. These tactics destabilize schools and neighborhoods. Like many other parents, I am afraid for the future of my 5 year old son. These activities of harassment have been reported by many others.”
Bachir Rguibi is a former member of the Polisario and heads an NGO for the defense of the rights of Sahrawi artists living in the camps. Bachir is a painter who came back to Western Sahara 2 years ago. He is concerned about the fate of his brother. Bachir said, “My brother is the well known singer Najm Allal who still lives in the camps. He dared to sing and call for a change in the Tindouf camp leadership, for democracy, freedom of movement, freedom of speech and social equity and justice.”
Bachir added, “Through his songs, Najm unveiled the suffering and despair of thousands of Sahrawi refugees living in the camps of Tindouf for over 37 years. This album came with a very high cost to him. He was beaten and imprisoned and his teeth knocked out. Supporters who joined Najem in solidarity were also jailed. After his release, the Polisario Front gave him 20 days to leave the camps. He refused to leave until he is allowed to speak with a representative office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.”
Songs and photos of Najm and the suffering of the refugees in Tindouf Camps on the Algerian territory can be found on http://www.najmallal.com
Bashir Rguibi also criticized Khadija Hamdi, the Minister of Culture and wife of the leader of the Polisario Front, Mohamed Abdelaziz, “We accuse her of using funds for her personal interests and spending large blocks of time on holidays in the Canary Islands, ignoring the suffering of the refugees and their children.”
Ahmed, a cousin of Bechri Sidi Ahmed Zein who was found dead in the camps of Tindouf told the delegation, “I am convinced that my cousin was killed for his anti-Polisario ideas, my cousin recently joined an opposition group called March 5,” Ahmed added, ”after working with the Polisario militia who engage in human trafficking, my cousin’s death occurred because Zein intended to expose the involvement of Polisario in the trafficking of all kinds in the region.”
Another former member of the Polisario Front, who preferred to remain anonymous told the delegation that he rebelled against the leadership in the camps and was put in jail from 1985 to 1998. He testified, “I spent exactly 13 years and 5 months in Errachid prison where I was tortured and kept in solitary confinement for years at a time.” The delegation saw deep scars on various parts of his body. He showed the members of the delegation an official and confidential document signed by the leader of the separatists, Mohamed Abdelaziz. It details personally financed pro-Polisario elements, among whom are RFK Center laureate, Aminatu Haidar, tasked to foment trouble in the Western Sahara.
Dahi-Aguai, an emotional and courageous Sahrawi, is the President of APDP (Association of Trace Polisario). Dahi Aguai told the members of the delegation, “I was among the first prisoners of the Polisario Front. My NGO identifies human rights abuses committed against the Moroccan Sahrawis in the camps of Tindouf by the Polisario Front.” Aguai presented the delegation with several official Spanish documents, posters and photos of Sahrawis tortured, imprisoned and/or missing in the Camps of Tindouf.
Aguai also presented the delegation with an official and confidential Polisario Front paper that revealed the difficulties facing the refugees who demonstrate to oust Mohamed Abdelaziz. The document was circulated by the Polisario “defense ministry” and gave instructions to all those responsible to supervise the elections to coerce participants to vote for Mohammed Abdul Aziz. Aguai said, “We are told by members of our families still in the camps that intimidation and the use of all means available to crush opponents have been used in order to keep the dictator Mohamed Abdelaziz in power for the past 35 years.”
Another returnee who preferred to keep her name anonymous told the delegation, “At the age of 5, while my family was camping in the desert, a truck picked us up without my father and headed to Tindouf camps. When I was 14, the Polisario put my mother in prison because of her political activism. As a young girl, I had to take care of my young siblings. At the age of 18, I was married.” She fled the camp and lives in Laayoune.
Another civil society activist mentioned some cases of violation by the Moroccan police. He stated, “Of course there are violations and abuses by the police, but things are getting better and we acknowledge that local authorities have taken punitive measures and sanctions against certain officials who have committed misconduct. Morocco is trying to better the lives of people living in Western Sahara but we need to engage also and help our people and for this, I plan on launching a women’s organization dedicated to the fight against corruption.”
Oum El Fadl, a native poetess from Laayoune who has never been to the camps, heads the office distributing assistance under the Moroccan Governments Human Development Initiative to fight poverty and exclusion. She stated, “First of all, I would like to express to you and to the American people my condolences for the attacks against the U.S. Ambassador in Libya.” She told the delegation that, “a large segment of the population in the Tindouf camps and their family members here in Western Sahara have a dream, it is a dream of ending the conflict so that we can all build together a peaceful future for our children.” Oum El Fadl told the members of the delegation, “The refugees in the camps suffer many social evils, such as poverty, high divorce rate, battered women, and no support for disabled children. Some of my relatives who live in the camps were unable to express their complaints to RFK Center delegation during their visit last August.”
Baba Mayara, a human rights’ activist has been working on this issue since 1998 in Laayoune and in the camps. Baba told us, “My organization is composed of eleven human rights activists. I have two sisters in the camps with whom I communicate via cell phone and who express their frustration and the inability of the Polisario leadership to provide quality health or education in the camps and keeps instilling fear in children about Morocco, making the children believe that they will be killed if they return to the Morocco.”
Baba Mayara also informed the delegation, “A group of young people staged a sit-in in the camps to demand the same rights as the Sahrawis living in the Moroccan administered city of Laayoune. Last year was a year of despair to the population of the camps for many reasons, mainly the economic crisis that hit hard the camps pushing young people to look for other outlets including getting involved in trafficking of all sorts.”
Baba confirmed to us that he was among people who were prevented by pro-Polisario activists from meeting with the delegation led by the RFK center. He showed us a copy as proof of an official document signed by the Polisario chief who imposed a curfew to stifle a critical path during the RFK delegation’s visit.
Mohamed Cherif is the example of an individual who is still fighting despite what he went through in the camps. He related to us, “I was a prisoner of the Polisario from 1982 to 1987. I was tortured, beaten and put in solitary confinement for no reason. A year after leaving prison because my uncle was close to the leadership of the polisario, I left the camps in 1988 and worked at the Polisario office in Algiers until 1991 where I witnessed an official emissary donating $1.5 million dollars to the Polisario leadership.” Mohamed added, “I started an NGO where I showed the world that humanitarian aid destined to the camps never gets to the people; in fact, I took photos of goods being sold in the black market in Mauritania I am touring Europe to show the world the scam of the polisario. My people are suffering while the polisario leadership are enriching themselves from humanitarian goods. I decided to denounce them and get the truth out.”
We were contacted many times by the hotel reception in Laayoune that people came to meet with us. Therefore, we worked around the clock and received in a spontaneous way anyone who wanted to talk to us about any situation pro-Morocco or pro-Polisario. Unfortunately the only people we saw were only those who felt neglected by RFK Center visit to the region. According to testimonies, in general, Moroccan security forces are seen by the Western Sahara population as reacting adequately to avoid or minimize violence. People also indicated that the government of Morocco does not restrict the freedom of anyone to travel abroad with a Moroccan passport even to criticize Morocco.
Finally, the delegation sought to inquire into the conduct of the last parliamentary elections in Morocco on November 25th. According to information obtained, the participation rate in western sahara exceeded 70%. No testimony was confirmed that the government has prevented pro-independence or pro-Polisario candidates to take part in the elections.
The members of the delegation met in the Hotel with Representative Hamza Kantaoui, a Laayoune native young politician who won the election as a candidate for the Justice and development party. Hamza brought his father Cheick Kantaoui who has been living in the camps of Tindouf and who has not seen his son for over 30 years.
The Young parliamentarian told the members of the delegation, “The new generation who has opened their eyes with this conflict are so frustrated and want this conflict over; we all see in the autonomy plan a way out and this is the reason why I became active in politics and I won a seat at the Moroccan Parliament. I would also like to talk about the trouble caused by agents sent from Algeria and the refugee camps to block any efforts by the Moroccan government for peace and security in the region.” Rep Kantaoui was happy to tell us, “I have opened dialogue with these agent provocateurs,” adding that, “social alienation, frustration and lack of future prospects push them to come to Morocco in order to get paid by the Polisario without really being convinced with the separatists’ ideology.”
His father, Cheick Kantaoui said, “there is a total despair and lack of visibility in the camps and the Polisario leadership is doing business as usual and that the closer you are to the leadership, the luckier you are. When I came back to Morocco with my wife and children few weeks ago, I noticed that the people of Western Sahara live way better than their family members living in the Camps of Tindouf.”
The members of the delegation tried to bring more testimonies but we chose just few that summarize the tragedy of family separation and the urgent need to reunite these families that have been separated for over 37 years.
A story of one woman in particular, Al Amari Salka from Dakhla, can show how families were separated and how generations of Sahrawi children were deprived of their culture and families. Salka told the members of the delegation, “I was born in Dakhla, my parents and ancestors lived and buried in Dakhla. I am well known in the camps because I was the nurse and was in charge of the storage for medication.” Salka tried to explain to us how she ended up in Algerian Tindouf camps. She said, “As you know, we are desert people and it is our tradition to leave our homes and go camping in the desert. One time, I went camping with my mother, my sister and our children. Some trucks came and picked us up from our tents without telling us where we were going. We ended up in Tindouf camps in Algeria and when we were asking why, we were told that we will be back within days. Days became months and then years. As soon as we got into the camps, the polisario took all the young children without consulting the parents and sent them to either Cuba, Libya or Algeria for ‘education.’ I had 4 children who were sent to Cuba, Algeria and Libya. I was deprived of my children for years. My son who was sent to Cuba was taught to become a Communist which is totally against our tradition. We are family oriented people and our children were brought up away from the love of their parents and the polisario distorted the identity of many generations. As mothers, we could not recognize our children when they came back from holidays, they were given numbers and the polisario never brought the children on holidays at the same time. I felt I had no real family. I was lied to and deceived like all the mothers in the camps. I lost one of my sons in Libya and until today I don’t know his whereabouts.”
Salka told the members of the delegation about another tragedy. “Children are taken to summer camps in Europe and the US. Europeans and Americans think that this is good for the kids. They don’t realize that the Sahrawi children are being used to generate sympathy for the polisario cause and this does not really benefit the children. My daughter came back from Algeria before finishing school, got married and had children of her own. My granddaughter was among the children that went to live with a family in Spain for the summer only. We have not seen her for 18 years and we don’t even know where she is. My heart is broken because I lose my son, and my daughter’s heart is broken because she lost her daughter.” Salka pleaded for us to find her granddaughter who is in Spain.
OBSERVATIONS IN THE SAHRAWI REFUGEE CAMPS
The delegation was not authorized by the Algerian authorities to conduct an assessment of the human rights situation in the Sahrawi refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria.
The delegation would particularly want to ensure the proper distribution of humanitarian assistance to the population in Tindouf camps knowing that Teach the Children International (TCI) has noted in the past that they had sent aid from the United States to the camps that never reached their destination.
During our visit to Laayoune in particular, we heard from former refugees who came back to Western Sahara. We could get a taste of the misery the refugees live in, deprived of their basic rights to movement, health and education.
Teach the Children International in the person of its President, Ms Nancy Huff, has a clear idea of the sufferings of the refugees. Ms Huff worked with the representative of the Polisario in DC for 7 years to deliver containers of humanitarian aid to the refugees. To her dismay, she realized that much of the aid sent to the Tindouf refugee population never reached the people in the camps. She also observed that the Polisario, with the complicity of the Algerian authorities, use the refugees to continue the flow of humanitarian aid and have exhibited little desire to negotiate a settlement. Algeria/Polisario seem content to keep the status quo. Mrs. Huff, like many others, directed her energy to working with the people of Western Sahara with the help of the Moroccan Government who proposed the autonomy plan seen by the US as the only resolution to this conflict.
TCI and LCHR suggest that the Polisario front and the Algerian officials in charge of the delivering aid to the refugees in the camps stop diverting humanitarian aid that has become a permanent income to few individuals and ask the international community to assist the refugees in the camps whose deplorable living conditions are getting worse by day. What is more, the presence of AQIM and other criminal activities around the camps are posing serious physical and ideological danger to the young desperate population of the camps.
The two NGOs would like to inform the international community that the only camps in the world where the UNHCR has no access to the refugees’ data are the camps of Tindouf on the Algerian territory. In Fact, UNHCR’s officials informed the delegation that they don’t have the right to make a census in these camps because Algeria refuses that a census be conducted by the UN. What really is the population of Sahrawi refugees in the camps?
Sources are very contradictory. Some believe that they would not exceed 60.000 while Polisario officials say more than 160.000. This tendency to the overvaluation can intensify organized humanitarian aid trafficking and distort all demographics, the main reason why the United Nations confirmed the inapplicability of a referendum. How can Algeria and Polisario refuse a census and fight for a referendum?
Finally, the delegation remains deeply concerned about the confusing policy of Algeria concerning the refugee camps on its own territory. The presence of AQIM in Southern Algeria and the proliferation of terrorism in the Sahel is a cause for our concern.
The delegation concludes this report by attracting the attention of the international community to the fact that the deadlock in the settlement of the Western Sahara issue, the loss of confidence of the Sahrawi refugees in the political leadership of the Polisario combined with the economic crises and the poverty that causes deep despair within the camps, according to several credible studies, have led some young people to make the choice of jihad in joining Al Qaeda in the Maghreb and its allies namely the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (Mujao) and armed Islamist Ansar Dine who rule their law in northern Mali.
According to ABC, one of the Spanish daily papers known for its support of the Polisario, reported that the Polisario defense minister, Mohamed Lamine Bouhali, admitted the presence of Sahrawi activists in the ranks of the jihadist groups affiliated to Al Qaïda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) revealing that 20 to 30 individuals from the Sahrawi refugee camps of Tindouf, in southwest Algeria, are member of Al Qaïda-affiliated terrorist groups operating in the Sahel. He admitted that a group of Polisario fighters joined AQIM in Mali, while a second group joined the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) who had claimed the kidnapping, last October, of three European humanitarian workers from the Rabouni camp, near Tindouf. The three workers, two Spaniards and an Italian, were released last July after the payment of a 15 million Euro ransom.
Bouhali claimed that the individuals who joined the terrorist groups are Sahrawis “who are involved in drug trafficking”. Spanish officials fear that terror tactics common in the Sahel, such as kidnapping, may become more prevalent in the Canary Islands.
A CALL TO ACTION
Because the Saharawis have been warehoused for 37 years, the people are weary of continued talks within the United Nations with no action. Now the population of the Tindouf Camps is disillusioned, which has caused them, mainly the youth, to begin to look to other places for solutions. One of the major sources that give them promise is unfortunately not the best solution for the free world. Many are embracing the doctrine of AQIM and al Qaeda. While the youth look one direction, the corruption of the Polisario leadership continues to build, creating a situation much like a stick of dynamite with a fuse lit at both ends.
The international community can no longer afford to stand by as spectators. Values of freedom and universal compassion must prevail. As members of the free world, we have a moral duty to end the suffering of thousands of Sahrawi refugees at the mercy of an unscrupulous junta.
Published October 24, 2012
Tags: al Qaeda, Aminatu Haidar, AQIM, autonomy, camps of Tindouf,jihad, Junta, Kerry Kennedy, kidnapping, Laayoune, Mali, Morocco,MUJAO, nomads, polisario, radicalism, RASD, referundum, refugees,RFK, Sahara, Sahel, sahraoui, Sahrawi, salafists, spain, status quo,tabouni, Terrorism, Tindouf, Toureg, Western Sahara
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