In a statement to MAP, Morocco’s Foreign Minister Taib Fassi Fihri denounced "in the strongest terms, the arrest," on Tuesday, "of Mustapha Salma Ould Sidi Mouloud, while he was preparing to join his family members in the camps of Tindouf in Algeria, following a stay in Morocco."

"The Kingdom of Morocco expresses its deep concern and dismay at the infringement of the physical integrity of Ould Sidi Mouloud and condemns the coercive and punitive measures taken against his family and against him," said Fassi Fihri, who is taking part in New York in the Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

This serious act "by Algeria and the polisario confirms the peculiar nature prevailing in the camps of Tindouf, on the Algerian territory, where free movement is hindered, free speech is confiscated and free opinion is censored,” he added.

The minister pointed out that Ould Sidi Mouloud “only expressed, freely and publicly, an opinion widely supported at international level and shared by a vast majority of people of Sahrawi descent, not only in the southern provinces, but also in the camps of Tindouf.”

“After he declared that the Moroccan autonomy initiative is the best perspective to settle the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, Ould Sidi Mouloud announced that he intended to join his family in the camps of Tindouf in the Algerian territory,” he said.

“The Kingdom of Morocco rejects, vigorously and categorically, the excuses and arguments advanced to justify this extremely serious act,” he said.

The travesty of a “judiciary police”, a “court” or “liberated territories” can trick no one, considering that the international community is fully aware of the exact status of the eastern part of the berm,” the minister said.

“This travesty will not exempt Algeria from its full and entire responsibility for this reprehensible act,” Fassi Fihri affirmed.

“In fact, Algeria bears full responsibility, in conformity with the international law, vis-à-vis the populations in the camps of Tindouf,” he said.

The minister recalled that “Algeria, a state party to the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the status of Refugees, cannot shirk from its clear and specific legal duties which fall to it with regard to the Tindouf camps populations.”

He added that "the Kingdom of Morocco calls on the Secretary-General of the UN to take urgent action with the Algerian authorities to ensure the protection of Mustapha Salma Ould Sidi Mouloud and the members of his family.”

The Kingdom has also asked the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, to take the steps needed to protect Ould Sidi Mouloud from retaliation and preserve his physical integrity and dignity in accordance with universal principles of Human Rights, the minister said.

Source: MAP
News and events concerning Western Sahara issue/ Corcas