Major Event

Sahrawis hold Algeria responsible for compensation of HR breaches' victims in Tindouf camps
9/17/2008

The Algerian state must be held responsible for human rights breaches in the Polisario-run camps of Tindouf, and should, therefore, compensate the victims, said, here Thursday, NGO "Association sahraouie de défense des droits de l'homme" (ASADEDH).

Noting, at a press conference, that these violations are committed on the Algerian soil by the Polisario separatists, with the blessing and the supervision of Algerian military and civil officials, the Sahrawi human rights NGO decried Algiers' maneuvers to scatter, starve, deny the rights and "use the Sahrawis living in those camps for political escalation."

Polisario is a separatist movement that lays claims to Morocco's Southern Provinces, known as The Sahara. The former Spanish colony was ceded by Spain to Morocco under the 1975 Madrid Accords.

"History will recollect these violations that constitute serious mistakes and are reflected by forced abductions, death under torture, deportation" and the "plight" of the majority of the people held against their will in these camps for more than three decades, the NGO went on.

Touching on the recent complaint it has filed, before the Spanish justice, against some Polisario leaders and Algerian senior army officers on serious human rights violations in the Tindouf camps, the ASADEDH stressed that several barristers practicing in Spain visited more than 50 victims and collected testimonies on these breaches.

The NGO said that 28 people, including 23 members of the Polisario and 5 Algerian officials, are concerned by this complaint, requesting to issue international arrest warrants against several officials responsible for human rights violations, namely the current representative of Polisario in Spain, Brahim Ghali, the Polisario representative in the canary Island, Louchaa Obeid, current coordinator with the UN mission in the Sahara (MINURSO) and former managing director of military security, Mohamed Khaddad, Education "minister", Bachir Mustapha Sayed and Information "minister" of the so-called Sahrawi Republic, Sid Ahmed Batal.

The arrest warrant request also includes the colonies "minister", Khalil sidi Mhamed, former “prime minister”, Mahfoud Ali Beiba, head of the Polisario delegation to the talks of Manhasset, commander of the second military zone of the Polisario, Brahim Ahmed Mahmoud and the Polisario representative in Italy, Khadoud Mohamed.