Friday, December 02, 2005

Reporters Without Borders Condemned the censorship of many websites supporting The Polisario Front

Access to Sahrawi sites blocked within Morocco
Reporters Without Borders today condemned the censorship of many websites supporting the Polisario Front’s struggle for Sahrawi independence, such as Arso.org, which have been made inaccessible within Morocco.
Calling on the Moroccan authorities to stop blocking access to sites dealing with Western Sahara, the organisation said : “It should not be possible to take a decision to filter a website without a fair trial taking place first. Banning an online publication simply on the basis of an administrative decision is a serious violation of free expression.”
Reporters Without Borders has verified that the arso.org, cahiersdusahara.com, wsahara.net and spsrasd.info websites have all been rendered inaccessible in Morocco since 21 November. These sites all criticise Morocco’s control of Western Sahara and encourage protests, but they do not call for violence.
A “connection failure” type of error message is displayed when someone tries to access one of these sites. The decision to block may have been taken by the communication ministry, which is responsible for censorship, or the interior ministry, while monitors the Sahrawi problem. Local sources said the filtering can nonetheless be easily sidestepped by using an online proxy such as www.anonymizer.com.
ARSO - the Free and Legitimate Referendum in Western Sahara Support Association - carried photos on its website in September that showed Sahrawi prisoners being held in extremely harsh condition in the prison in El Ayoum, the territory’s main city. The local state prosecutor reacted by ordering an investigation with the aim of “exposing all those implicated in this vile act that jeopardises the reputation of the prison where the inmates are held.”
Western Sahara was annexed by Morocco in 1975 and the Polisario Front wants it to be independent. The situation in the territory is extremely tense, with frequent clashes between the population and the security forces.

Polisario Front is Satisfied with the decision of The Swedish "Öhman Fund's" and "Sventh AP Funds"

SADR/SWEDEN/MOROCCO
Two Swedish Funds disinvest from Kerr-McGee because of its illegal activities in Western Sahara
Chahid El Hafed, 01/12/20050(SPS) Swedish "Ohman Fund" decided last Friday to disinvest from oil company, Kerr-McGee, because of the latter's illegal activities in Western Sahara, while Swedish largest pension Fund, "Seventh AP Funds", which administers approximately 57 billion Swedish kroner, will sell all its shares in the American company starting from February 2006, for the same reason.
"Polisario Front is satisfied with the decision of disinvestment from Kerr-McGee adopted by Swedish 'Ohman Fund's", as well as with the "seventh AP funds", Swedish pension Funds, decision to sell its shares in Kerr-McGee starting from next February, cause of the American oil company's illegal activities in Western Sahara, declared Mr. Mhamed Khadad, member of Polisario Front's National Secretariat Coordinator with the Minurso, to SPS.
These Funds, who received massive criticism before from Swedish civil society because of the Funds investments in American company Kerr-McGee, took into consideration ethical consultancy agencies that concluded, after deep study, that the presence of this American company in Western Sahara violates international conventions Sweden signed.
Swedish Press Agency, TT, indicated that consulted experts consider that "Kerr-McGee exploration activities languishes the occupation in Western Sahara and is a threat to the cease-fire signed in 1991".
"Kerr-McGee violated conventions and it is time to exclude it from our Funds" declared Richard Grottheim, vice-Director of the "Seventh AP Funds", to TT.
Norwegian oil Fund, one of the most important world wide disinvested all its shares, last June, from Kerr-McGee for ethical reasons and in accordance with the international legality.
"Polisario Front calls shares owner in Kerr-McGee to do their best in order to convince the company put an end to its contract with Morocco, which is illegally occupies Western Sahara", Mr. Khadad underlined.
"They can not be indifferent in the face of an unacceptable violation of the right an ethics. If Kerr-McGee persists in its obstinacy, they should disinvest from this company", he said. (SPS)

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