Friday 13 November 2009
Polisario militant arrested in Morocco
Posted on 17:00 by google
RABAT — Moroccan authorities on Friday detained a Western Sahara activist close to the Polisario Front rebels, Aminatou Haidar, in the disputed territory's main city, a Moroccan security source said.
"Aminatou Haidar was arrested for failing to carry out police formalities when he arrived at Laayoune airport," the source said.
Seven people were held on October 8 at Casablanca airport, after they visited Western Sahara refugee camps run by the Polisario front at Tindouf in southwest Algeria.
The members of the group are to appear before a military tribunal in Rabat on charges of supporting secession, Moroccan press reported.
Their visit to Tindouf led to an outcry among political parties and Moroccan media. Morocco claims Western Sahara is part of its territory.
The Polisario Front has been fighting for the independence of Western Sahara since Morocco annexed it after Spanish settlers left in 1975.
On November 6, King Mohammed VI warned of a crackdown against "opponents of the territorial integrity of Morocco," referring to Sahrawis who support the Polisario Front.
In a speech to the nation on the 34th anniversary of the "Green March," in which his father Hassan II sent tens of thousands of Moroccans to colonise the territory, the king said "communication with to the enemy amounts to high treason."
"There's no more room for ambiguity or duplicity: either a citizen is Moroccan, or he isn't. (...) It's time for clarity and assuming our duty. Either one is a patriot or one is a traitor. There is no just position between patriotism and treason," he added.
With Algerian backing, the Polisario Front is holding out for the independence.
Morocco has proposed broad self-government under its sovereignty in order to end the three decade old conflict which a string of UN peace plans has failed to solve.
Copyright © 2009 AFP.
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