The newspaper reported testimonies of members of a delegation of former hostages in the Tindouf camps, having paid a visit to the United States early May to speak to officials, congressmen and American media about the plight of populations in those camps.

"New York Times" says that members of the delegation described the camps as "prisons where corruption reigns''. Quoted by the newspaper, Said Abderahman, explained how he fled the Tindouf camps with his wife Salma Essalek who was pregnant, stating they were chased by "Polisario" agents through a minefield. 

They claimed that the camp population does not receive any humanitarian assistance accorded to them by international organizations.

A member of the delegation reported the existence of a centre where mothers of girls are held in total isolation from their families and loved ones, while another member stated the diversion by Polisario "leaders" of humanitarian aid when hostages are suffering from hunger," said the daily.

Brahim al-Selem had to pay a smuggler last August to help him escape the camps, after being imprisoned simply for having criticized "Polisario", said the daily.

Referring to the Executive Director of the Moroccan-American Center for Policy, Robert Holley, the newspaper said that the purpose of the delegation's visit to the USA was to expose "the severe restrictions and harsh conditions suffered by the populations in these camps.'' "The lives of these people are destroyed every day,'' said Mr. Holley quoted by the daily.

Source: MAP
- News on Western Sahara issue/ Corcas -