Thursday, February 17, 2011

Robert F. Downtown Kennedy claims that repression continues in Laayoune

The violent incidents in November in Laayoune (Western Sahara) left behind a "climate of fear and repression" in an abundance of torture and arbitrary detention, according to a report in EE. UU. Robert F. Center Kennedy (RFK) for Justice and Human Rights, based in Washington, has published the findings of his trip to Western Sahara in January, when he visited several camps in the hands of the Sahrawi activist Haidar, two months after the dismantling Camp 'Gdaim Izik.

" At dawn on November 8, the Moroccan forces entered Gdaim Izik with helicopter support and while most of the camp occupants abandoned it peacefully and few resisted violently. With the forced return of the inhabitants of 'Gdaim Izik' to Laayoune, thousands of young people took to the streets to deal with the Moroccan security forces in a battle that left 13 dead officially.

To analyze the consequences of the dismantling of the camp Gdaim Izik, RFK met with two dozen "victims of torture and imprisonment" and their families, he said, as well as with representatives of the Moroccan Government and the Mission United Nations for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).

The main conclusion of these meetings is proof of "serious human rights abuses committed by the Moroccan government forces" against civilians during and after the dismantling of Izik Gdaim camp, created "to protest social and economic conditions" in the region. Although the incident took place on 8 November, the RFK Center has found that "arbitrary arrests continue," and that the area remains "strong police presence and a general atmosphere of repression." Moreover, due process ensures that criminals "are not being followed consistently for all detainees." Specifically, "the right to a fair trial and a defense is not regularly observed", nor know the charges brought against many of the detainees in Gdam Izik.

The "evidence fraudulent" and "forced confessions" are common in processes, in which several individuals had to sign documents that were not allowed to read, according to the center. Witnesses interviewed by the center have denounced "inhuman conditions" in the Black Prison in El Aaiun, robbery, intimidation, insults and threats, in addition to withholding food and medicine sent to prisoners by their families.

The report includes stories about the "serious injury" caused by tight plastic handcuffs used in the prison, on an injured prisoner with a rubber bullet and another who is deprived of medication for asthma. It also notes significant restrictions on freedom of expression and association, especially by human rights organizations, whose activists often suffer repression and whose manifestations are dispersed by the extreme police presence.

In his meetings with government officials to present these complaints, members of the RFK Center received inconsistent answers and were denied all accusations. The organization believes, therefore, that the situation in Western Sahara "needs a constant neutral international supervision, with a mechanism that requires the responsibility of state actors." It recommends establishing an international force to monitor compliance with human rights.

In addition, requests to be allowed to national movements such as Haidar, CODESA, register as nongovernmental organizations-something that has been prevented so far, "and to authorize access to international organizations. Finally, it requires a "full and impartial investigation" of the events of November 8 in Laayoune.

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