Western Sahara – 5 December 2014
Algeria’s support to Western Sahara cause remains firm, constant
Shaheed Elhafed (Refugee Camps), November 30, 2014 (SPS) – The Sahrawi President Mohamed Abdelaziz reiterated Saturday at the Presidency headquarters at Shaheed Elhafed, Sahrawi refugee camps, that Algeria continues to give firm and unconditional support to the Sahrawi cause since 1975 .
Mohamed Abdelaziz who hosted an Algerian delegation visiting the Saharawi refugee camps, said that Algeria has adopted this position at the outbreak of the November 1954 Revolution with a commitment for the just causes and self-determination right of peoples in struggle around the world like Palestine and against apartheid.
He stressed that the United Nations has always affirmed the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination and independence, and called for implementation of this principle.
He also recalled that the African Union has supported the Saharawi issue since the 1970s, while also calling for the respect of the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and respect for borders inherited from colonization. The European Union and the Non-Aligned Countries also supported these rights, but the Moroccan government has ignored these positions, he has said.
Sahara Press Service
Assault against minor Saharawi in occupied city of Boujdour
Boujdour (occupied territories), December 1, 2014 (SPS) – Saharawi minor, M’hamed Ahbibi, suffered Saturday a “violent” attack with knives in the occupied city of Boujdour perpetrated by Moroccan settlers recruited by Moroccan security services, after leaving his family home to school, reported a Saharawi human rights source.
“The victim was transferred urgently to the hospital for first aid after the attack which caused several serious injuries in different parts of his body,” the source added.
The same source also regretted that Moroccan security forces had not conducted an investigation to find the perpetrators despite the complaint filed by the victim to the police
Sahara Press Service
Norwegian pension fund decides to divest from Canadian company Agrium
Norwegian pension fund (KPL) on Monday decided to divest from the Canadian fertilizer company “Agrium” for its import of phosphate rock from Western Sahara, said Polisario Front’s representation in Oslo.
KLP said, in a statement, that it divested from Agrium fertilizer company over its purchase of phosphates from Western Sahara via a long-term contract with the state-owned Moroccan company Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP), a thing described by the fund as an “unacceptable risk of contributing to violations of basic ethical norms, and therefore contravenes KLP’s guidelines for responsible investment.”
In May 2013, KLP divested its share from the international oil company Total over its exploration of oil and petroleum offshore occupied Western Sahara.
In relevant context, Norwegian Foreign Ministry has advised investors and companies in the country not to invest in Western Sahara, which remains a Non-Self-Governing Territory pending decolonization.
In a legal opinion date back to 2002, former UN legal counsel, Hans Corell, said that any exploitation of the natural resources of Western Sahara by Morocco or any other party would a violation of international law.
Sahara Press Service