ITTRA MINGĦAND L-EĊĊ. SIDI MOHAMMED OMAR, RAPPREŻENTANT
TAD-DELEGAZZJONI TAL-FRONT POLISARIO F'ĠENEVA.
Insellilkom. Matul din il-ġimgħa għadni kif għamilt kuntatt mad-delegazzjoni tal-Front Polisario ġewwa Ġeneża, l-Isvizzera. Din id-delegazzjoni tirrappreżenta lill-Front Polisario u lill-poplu Saħrawi fin-Nazzjonijiet Uniti, li tirrikonixxi lill-Front Polisario bħala l-unika entita' leġittima li tirrappreżenta l-aspirazzjonijiet tal-poplu Saħrawi. Qiegħed naqsam magħkom ittra indirizzata lili bħala l-fundatur tal-komunita' ġdida 'Maltese for Sahrawis', li ġiet mibguta mill-Eċċ. Sidi Mohammed Omar, diplomatiku Saħrawi li huwa rappreżetant tad-delegazzjoni tal-Front Polisario f'Ġeneva.
Il-komunita' 'Maltese for Sahrawis' se tkun qiegħed tassigura wkoll illi l-kawża tal-poplu Saħrawi tibda tingħata iżjed attenzjoni mingħand il-politiċi Maltin, u se tkun qiegħda topponi mingħajr ebda kundizzjoni lil dawk il-politiċi li jaħdmu kontra l-kawża tal-poplu Saħrawi, irrespettivament mill-kulur politiku tagħhom. Il-prijorita' ta' din il-komunita' se tkun illi topponi bi sħiħ l-appoġġ preżenti li l-gvern Malti qiegħed jipprovdi lill-preżenza illegali tal-Marokk fis-Saħara tal-Punent u kwalunkwe manuvri oħrajn illi jkunu qegħdin jiffaċilitaw il-kontinwita' tal-okkupazzjoni illegali Marokkina fl-artijiet tal-poplu Saħrawi. Din il-komunita hija miftuħa għal kulħadd; inkluż għal organizzazzjonijiet mhux governattivi, 'pressure groups' u anke għalikom. Din hija l-ewwel komunita' lokali tax-xorta tagħha li qiegħda tagħti vuċi lill-poplu Saħrawi permezz tal-qawmien ta' iżjed solidarjeta', għarfien u kuxjenza dwar l-oppressjoni u l-kolonizzazzjoni li qiegħda tkompli tgħakkes lil dan il-poplu.
L-Eċċ. Sidi Mohammed Omar għoġbu li jirringrazzjani tal-ħidma li qiegħed nagħmel ġewwa Malta sabiex inqajjem iżjed għarfien dwar il-kawża tal-poplu Saħrawi sabiex ikun hawn iżjed saolidarjeta' lejn dan il-poplu. Fl-ittra li bagħtli, huwa sab ukoll ħin sabiex jispjegali l-pożizzjoni tal-Front Polisario bħala l-gvern tar-Repubblika Demokratika Saħrawi-Għarbija u r-rappreżentanti leġittimi tal-poplu Saħrawi dwar il-Proposta ta' Awtonomija għas-Saħara tal-Punent li ġiet imressqa mill-Marokk lura fl-2007, u li qiegħda ssib l-appoġġ ta' bosta pajjiżi. Min-naħa tiegħi, kelli l-opportunita' li nirringrazzjah tal-apprezzament sinċier tiegħu lejn il-ħidma tiegħi favur il-kawża tal-poplu Saħrawi u wgħedtu li se nkun qiegħed ngħaddi l-messaġġ tiegħu lill-Gvern Malti u li se nibqa' nappoġġja din il-kawża ġusta billi nirrappreżentaha f'Malta. Għalija, bħala persuna soċjalista u bi prinċipji anti-kolonjali u anti-imperjalisti, huwa l-obbligu tiegħi li nkun hemmhekk għall-maħkuma u għall-oppessati kollha.
Ittra mingħand l-Eċċ. Sidi Mohammed Omar f'isem il-Front Polisario.
Hello friends of Western Sahara in Malta,
Our representative in Argentina forwarded to me your message and email address.
I would like to thank you so much for your solidarity with our people. We highly appreciate your efforts to raise awareness about our question in Malta, especially at a time when your country is a non-permanent member of the Security Council.
Why the “autonomy” proposal made by Morocco, the occupying power of Western Sahara, is illegal and utterly unacceptable?
Let us start by some key facts:
1. Since including Western Sahara, within its internationally recognised borders, on the list of the Non-Self-Governing Territories of the Special Committee on Decolonisation in 1963 (Resolution 1956 (XVIII) of 11 December 1963), the United Nations General Assembly and its subsidiary bodies have consistently addressed Western Sahara within the scope of Chapter XI of the UN Charter, recognising the international status of the Territory as a Non-Self-Governing Territory as well as the responsibility of the United Nations towards the Sahrawi people and the decolonisation of the Territory.
2. In its landmark Advisory Opinion on Western Sahara, dated 16 October 1975, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which is the principal judicial body of the United Nations, concluded that “The materials and information presented to it do not establish any tie of territorial sovereignty between the territory of Western Sahara and the Kingdom of Morocco or the Mauritanian entity. Thus, the Court has not found legal ties of such a nature as might affect the application of General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) in the decolonisation of Western Sahara and, in particular, of the principle of self-determination through the free and genuine expression of the will of the peoples of the Territory” (para. 162).
3. The decolonisation process of Western Sahara was interrupted forcibly by Morocco which, contrary to its earlier commitment to the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination, invaded and occupied militarily the Territory on 31 October 1975 in violation of the Charters of the United Nations and the Organisation of the African Unity (OAU) and their relevant resolutions on Western Sahara.
4. The UN and all international and regional organisations have never recognised as legal the Moroccan occupation and annexation of Western Sahara. More precisely, in its Resolutions 34/37 of 21 November 1979 and 35/19 of 11 November 1980, the UN General Assembly deeply deplored the aggravation of the situation resulting from “the continued occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco”.
5. The above facts, among others, confirm that Morocco does not exercise any sovereignty over Western Sahara, and that its presence in the Territory is an illegal, forcible occupation in violation of the UN Charter and the fundamental principle of the inadmissibility of acquisition of territories by force. As such, it does not produce any legal effects on the international status of the Territory.
6. The right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination has been recognised in numerous resolutions by the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council. In its first resolution on Western Sahara, adopted on 22 October 1975, the Security Council reaffirmed the terms of General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960 and all other relevant General Assembly resolutions on the Territory.
7. Both in the case of Western Sahara and other decisions, the ICJ affirmed that the exercise of self-determination, by its very nature, entails “the need to pay regard to the freely expressed will of peoples”. While the exercise of self-determination may be achieved through one of the options laid down by General Assembly Resolution 1541 (XV), the process must be the outcome of the free expression of the genuine will of the people concerned, which constitutes the basic pillar of the right of self-determination.
8. The essence of the right to self-determination is free choice. In this sense, no genuine and credible exercise of the right to self-determination in the case of Western Sahara can be envisaged without the Sahrawi people, and only the Sahrawi people, making a free choice to determine their political status under the optimal conditions of freedom, fairness, and transparency and without any military or administrative constraints.
9. The right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination and independence therefore is neither renounceable nor negotiable and cannot be affected by the lapse of time or forfeited by the Moroccan illegal invasion of Western Sahara in 1975 or its subsequent unlawful annexation of the Territory. As a corollary, only the Sahrawi people have the right to decide, through the free and genuine expression of their will, the political status of the Territory of Western Sahara in accordance with relevant General Assembly resolutions.
In view of the above, it can safely be affirmed that:
1. Morocco, the occupying power of Western Sahara, cannot grant an “autonomy” or any other type of territorial arrangements or otherwise to Western Sahara and its people, because Morocco does not have any internationally recognised sovereignty or administrative jurisdiction over the Territory. Morocco is simply an occupying power as confirmed by the relevant UN General Assembly resolutions.
2. The proposed “autonomy” undermines the right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination and to determine freely their political status because it prejudges and predetermines the outcome of their choice by limiting it to only one option, i.e., “autonomy”, which would be tantamount to Morocco’s making the choice instead of the people of Western Sahara. This would clearly be inconsistent with the right of self-determination under international law and relevant UN resolutions.
3. The proposed “autonomy” eliminates the independence option, which is one of the three options among which a people of a Non-Self-Governing Territory can choose in accordance with UN General Assembly resolution 1541 (XV). Moreover, independence has always been the demand of the Sahrawi people under the leadership of the Frente POLISARIO and cemented by decades of resistance to colonialism and occupation, and the establishment of the Sahrawi State (SADR).
4. The proposed “autonomy” is very dangerous not only because it cannot be the basis for achieving a just, durable, and sustainable peace as it would violate the principles of international law, but also because it would reward Morocco for illegally using force to occupy Western Sahara.
In conclusion, the “autonomy” proposal made by Morocco, the occupying power of Western Sahara, is illegal and therefore it is utterly unacceptable because Morocco does not have any sovereignty over Western Sahara. Because Morocco is an occupying power of Western Sahara, it cannot grant it any “autonomy” or the like. The proposal undermines the right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination and to determine their political status freely. Therefore, it can never be contemplated by any state or organisation that respects the fundamental rules of international law that prohibit the use of force to acquire territories and to deprive a people of a Non-Self-Governing Territory of their right to self-determination. In a rules-based world, political expediency can never justify violation of international law, and might can never be allowed to make right.
Once again, thank you immensely for your solidarity.
Please keep us updated on your activities and initiatives.
Kind regards,
Sidi Omar.
Risposta lill-Eċċ. Sidi Mohammed Omar f'isem 'Maltese for Sahrawis'.
Your Excellency Sidi Omar,
We would like to thank you for your kind words and for your informative email. We assure that this will be passed on to the Maltese Government. We are committed to continue serving as representatives of the Sahrawi people and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic here in Malta. We will keep you informed and updated with our efforts in the future.
Kind regards,
Maltese for Sahrawis.
Sahara Occidental Libre!
Viva La Resistencia!
الصحراء الغربية الحرة!
عاشت المقاومة!
AGĦTI D-DONAZZJONI TIEGĦEK SABIEX
TEĦLES L-AĦĦAR KOLONJA FL-AFRIKA.
Saħara tal-Punent Ħielsa!