SPS

OCCUPIED TERRITORIES/UN/VISIT

Arrest of 19 Saharawi citizens in the occupied city of El Aaiun



El Aaiun (occupied territories), 17/05/2006 (SPS) 19 Saharawi citizens were
arrested by the Moroccan colonial forces in many neighbourhoods of th Saharawi
occupied capital, El Aaiun, in anticipation of demonstrations planed for by
Saharawis on the occasion of the visit undertaken by the UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights Delegation to the Western Sahara.



In Tuesday night to Wednesday early morning, in the street of "Hay Maatalla", 10
Saharawi citizens were arrested, mainly Mr. Jamal El Housseini, Mr. El Kharachi
Mohamed, Mr. Mohamed bahia Rachidi, Mr. Mohamed Lamine Sidi Zeine, Miss.
Mailemnine Mahjoub Boutebaa, Miss. El Karima Brahim, Miss. Ikmal Mohamed Liha,
Miss. Benta Mohamed Hamiya, Mr. Lembarki Mohamed and Mr. Alouatt Sidi Mohamed,
while the family of Mr. Mohamed Fadel Lehbib was threatned and his house was
banned to visitors.



2 other young Saharawis, Lamadi Said and Boufous Faraji were arrested on Tuesday
evening in the "Emirates" Street, while Mr. Mohamed Fadel Bechir and Mr.
Bechraya Bechir were arrested in their shops, according to eyewitnesses.



Another Saharawi, Faghour Walid, was arrested in the venue of "Le porco" in
company of Laroussi Mheidi, while Lechgar Baba Ahmed was arrested in the avenue
"Dir Eidak and Dahou El Mahfoud was brutally aggressed in the middle of a street
by GUS agents.



Dozens of tracts were distributed this Wednesday in the neighbourhood of
"Lehcheicha" and in the secondary school "Lemsal-la".



On another hand, the Saharawi citizens are terrorised by the concentration of
the different corps of police and paramilitary forces in all the streets of the
occupied city of El Aaiun, while confrontations took place between Saharawi
demonstrators and Moroccan settlers backed by more than 7.000 Moroccan soldiers
wearing civil clothes and armed with knifes and sticks, concordant sources
indicated.



A specialist on Moroccan colonial strategies considered that the Moroccan
authorities are using these methods to start violent confrontations between
Moroccan settlers and Saharawi population to justify violent intervention to
establish order.



The Saharawi citizens, who were planning to get to the streets in
demonstrations, reported the plans so as not to give the Moroccan authorities
any pretext of excessive use of violence, it was indicated. (SPS)



010/090/000/TRD 172025 May 06 SPS





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]