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Monday, December 22, 2008

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Polisario Blocks Dissidents In W. Sahara WASHINGTON — The Algerian-backed Polisario has cracked down on dissent in Western Sahara.

A U.S. human rights group said Polisario has prevented civil liberties in refugee camps controlled by the rebel group in Western Sahara. Human Rights Watch said Polisario has also stopped international monitoring of human rights in these camps. "The population of the camps remains vulnerable to abuse due to the camps' isolation, the lack of any regular independent human rights monitoring and reporting, and Algeria's claim that the Polisario, rather than Algeria itself, is responsible for protecting the human rights of the camps' residents," Human Rights Watch said. In a 216-page report, HRW detailed human rights violation by both Polisario and Morocco, which controls about 80 percent of Western Sahara. The organization said Polisario "marginalizes those who directly oppose its leadership" in the Tindouf camps, which contain about 125,000 refugees.

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"The refugees in Tindouf have, for more than 30 years, lived in exile from their homeland, governed by a liberation movement in an environment that is physically harsh and isolated," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said. "Regardless of the current state of affairs, both the Polisario and the host country, Algeria, have responsibilities to ensure that the rights of these vulnerable refugees are protected." The report, "Human Rights in Western Sahara and in the Tindouf Refugee Camps," said Morocco has beaten and tortured Sahrawi separatists. HRW, citing testimony from Sahrawis, said Moroccan authorities have banned pro-independence demonstrations in Western Sahara and dismissed complaints of police brutality. "The repression has eased somewhat, and today dissidents are testing the red lines," Ms. Whitson said. "But Moroccan authorities -- to their credit - ask us to judge them not against their own past record, but against their international human rights engagements. By that standard, they have a long way to go." The New York-based organization called on Polisario, which operates courts, prisons and police, to allow refugees to leave their camps and settle in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara. Another recommendation was that Polisario allow freedom of the press and assembly. "Sahrawis differ on how to resolve the conflict," Ms. Whitson said. "But wherever they live, authorities must allow them peacefully to express and act on behalf of those views. Any proposed solution for the Western Sahara that does not guarantee these rights is no solution at all."

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