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[That this former UN Envoy to NATO and Albright-selected operative would be the recipient of last year's Nobel Peace Prize ranks with Time Magazine making Adolf Hitler its man of the year in 1938. As nominal head of the UN, Annan has only one job to perform in relation to the Western Sahara: To demand that French and U.S. armed Morocco get out post haste and stop trying to change the demographics, a la Indonesia in East Timor earlier. Instead, the traveling salesman of world imperialism attacks the Polisario Front and advocates for the occupying monarchy.] Saturday January 12, 8:16 AM Annan backs call for release of Moroccan POWs from Western Sahara UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called on the Polisario Front to release more than 1,350 Moroccan prisoners of war seized during its struggle for the independence of the Western Sahara. In a report to the Security Council, he noted that most of the prisoners had been held for more than 20 years and described their continued detention as "a serious humanitarian issue". Annan said the situation of Saharan refugees living in camps at Tindouf in neighbouring Algeria was also "a matter of growing concern". In a separate letter to the council, Morocco's ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammed Bennouna, accused Polisario of using the prisoners of war as propaganda tools. On January 2, Polisario said it had released 115 Moroccans at the request of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar as a gesture to mark the new year and the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Bennouna said their release was "consistent with the pattern" of Polisario's policy of using prisoners "for political and propaganda purposes by releasing them in dribs and drabs." Bennouna denied that Morocco was holding any Polisario prisoners, and he asked the Security Council to "continue its efforts to secure the prompt and unconditional release of all the Moroccans detained in camps in Algeria." Annan said the release of the Moroccans -- like the release in November of 25 Saharans held by Morocco -- was a "positive development". He urged both sides to help the UN High Commissioner for Refugees with confidence-building measures. Polisario fought a 15-year guerrilla war in Western Sahara after Morocco annexed the former Spanish colony in 1976. The two sides agreed to a ceasefire in 1991 and asked the UN to organise a referendum on the political future of the territory, but since then they have been at loggerheads over the composition of the electoral roll. Their failure to reach an agreement that would enable the referendum to take place has cast doubt on the future of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Western Sahara, known as MINURSO. In his report, Annan recalled that the two sides had held separate meetings with his special envoy for the Western Sahara, the former US secretary of state James Baker. He said he would report to the council next month with a recommendation on the mandate of MINURSO, which expires February 28. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send FREE video emails in Yahoo! Mail! http://promo.yahoo.com/videomail/ ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
