In her letter she asks that Britain bring pressure to bear on Morocco not just to allow her to return home in accordance with her rights under Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but also to get them to accept a conflict solution that conforms with international law, namely: * a referendum on self determination for Western Sahara; * the cessation of the arrest and torture of human rights defenders; * the freeing of all prisoners of conscience most notably the seven prominent human rights activists awaiting sentence from a military tribunal in Rabat which could include the death penalty.
Haidar writes:
I would like to ask you and your government and the people of Britain for your urgent support. Support not just for me but for all the Saharawi people who, for the past 34 years have been forced to live either under an unlawful and brutal occupation in Western Sahara or in desolate refugee camps in the Algerian desert.
A public letter of support will also be delivered to Mr Brown today, in which signatories - including MPs from all three main political parties, MEPs, ambassadors, trade union leaders, lawyers such as Baroness Kennedy QC and celebrities such as Brian Eno, Terry Jones, Ken Loach, Mike Leigh and Juliet Stevenson call on the government to act. The letter states that the hunger strike is not about the individual right of one person to return to her home but about the collective right denied to the Saharawi people to live freely in their native land and they pledge to do all they can to support her and the people of Western Sahara.
Stefan Simanowitz, Chair of the Free Western Sahara Network who carried the letter from Lanzarote, said today:
Aminatou Haidar remains resolute but she is being pushed to the brink of death and her condition is now critical. Her doctor talks about hours or days rather than weeks. Sadly, biology knows nothing of politics.
Jeremy Corbyn MP, Vice Chair of the Parliamentary Human Rights Group, said today:
It is fitting that today, on International Human Rights Day, we are here outside No.10 Downing Street, to deliver this letter from Aminatou Haidar, an iconic campaigner for the rights and justice of her people. Throughout the world people have been shocked at her treatment at the hands of the Moroccan authorities and even the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has this week emphasised her right to return home. There has already been tremendous support for Ms Haidar among the British public and in Parliament with a delegation going to Lanzarote and a cross-party motion tabled in the House of Commons. We call on Britain to play a meaningful part both in bringing justice for the people of Western Sahara and in ensuring Ms Haidars immediate return to her home.
vive le polisario et le sahara occidental.
ngaous05600 2 years ago 2
Always and forever
AlgerianRelief 2 years ago
Aminatou Haidar returns to Laâyoune Hamdouliallah Lamine Baali representative of Polisario in Uk is extremly Happy As well All the volunteers and anyone who helped put pressure on the Morrocon Authority
AlgerianRelief 2 years ago