In a press release issued in Paris, the FIAS said it was surprised to hear the Middle-East and North Africa director at the US-based watchdog say, in the press conference held in Rabat to present the report, that the document's conclusions "are devoid of scientific rigor".

   This could explain the lack of credibility of the report, especially if one considers the difference in time spent by HRW searchers in Tindouf and in Morocco to conduct investigations for the sake of the report, the federation said, recalling that the searchers stayed several weeks in Morocco against only four days in Tindouf.

   Another clearly ungrounded fact put forward by HRW is the number of people living in Tindouf, FIAS said, pointing out that the watchdog claimed that this number stands at 125,000 people, while the United Nations specialized body, the High Commissioner for Refugees, puts the number at 90.000.

   Besides these contradictions, the report blatantly conceals the extent of human rights violations committed against Moroccan Sahrawis sequestered in Tindouf and opponents of the Polisario, said the press release.

  The FIAS noted, though, that the report explicitly holds Algeria responsible for what is going on in Tindouf and recommends that the camps be supervised by human rights organizations and international bodies.   

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