 Participants to a videoconference Friday denounced the serious and systemic violations of human rights in the camps of Tindouf, on the Algerian territory.
Organized by the Consulate General of Morocco in Orly in partnership with the Association "Mémoire France-Maroc" and held under the theme "Tindouf camps: a perpetual humanitarian drama through the book of Ali Najab "25 years in the jails of Tindouf"", the meeting was also an opportunity to discuss the situation in the camps of Tindouf as well as the latest developments in the national question in light of the U.S. recognition of the Moroccaness of the Sahara.
The Consul General of Morocco in Orly, Nada Bakkali Hassani described the meeting as a "duty of remembrance" to Ali Najab, captain of the Royal Air Force, captured in 1978 by the polisario militias and to all Moroccan prisoners who have suffered along with all types of humiliations, torture and inhuman and degrading acts.
This book also brings to mind the situation of the population in the camps of Tindouf, an entire population of men, women, and children held hostage on Algerian territory, said the diplomat, adding that the situation is characterized by multiple violations of human rights; individual and collective.
The systemic individual violations of the fundamental rights of this population (civil, political, economic, social or cultural) are aggravated by the collective dimension that characterizes the situation of human rights in these camps, and which relates to the absence of a defined legal framework governing the rights and obligations of people in this geographical area on the Algerian soil, she explained.
As for Najab, he delivered a poignant testimony on the suffering he endured during the 25 years spent in the prisons of the separatists in Tindouf, stressing particularly the psychological impact of the abuse and torture suffered by Moroccan prisoners in the jails of Tindouf at the hands of the "polisario".
He noted that his book covers more than 9,125 days of suffering, torture, and humiliation by the "polisario" under the indifferent eyes of Algerian military security services officers and in the total indifference of international bodies and human rights NGOs.
Professor affiliated with the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, El Mostafa Rezrazi recalled the latest developments of the Moroccan Sahara after the American recognition.
These recent events have enraged the enemies of the Kingdom's territorial integrity, led by Algeria, who have engaged in all sorts of maneuvers to minimize the diplomatic victories achieved by Morocco, said Rezrazi, who is also a senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, specializing in terrorism and security studies.
The academic denounced the instrumentalization by the separatists and their acolytes of the question of the representativeness of the Sahrawi people in international forums as well as the actions of the "polisario" which engages in a "dangerous" policy of promoting hate and violence discourse.
This discourse reduces the chances of finding a peaceful settlement to the dispute, he said, pointing also to the collusion between the "polisario" and terrorist groups in the region.
Lawyer at the Paris Bar and President of the Foundation ''"France Morocco, Peace and Development", Hubert Seillan underlined the legal aspects of the Sahara question from the perspective of international law and particularly customary law.
Seillan, also a member of the International Platform for Defense and Support for the Moroccan Sahara, exposed "polisario" allegations which claims to be the sole representative of the Sahrawi people, while denouncing the lack of freedoms in the camps of Tindouf and the serious violations of the rights of the population held against its will in these territories.
For Seillan, the dispute over the Moroccan Sahara is over, with the change in the context in which this artificial conflict arose in the wake of the Cold War. He highlighted the successes of Moroccan diplomacy, crowned by the recognition of the United States of America of the Moroccaness of the Sahara and the opening of many consulates of foreign countries in Dakhla and Laayoune.
Seillan called on his country, France, to follow in the footsteps of the United States to accelerate a solution to this conflict that has lasted too long.
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