23 Agosto, 2010 

LETTER TO MR. CHRISTOPHER ROSS, PERSONAL ENVOY OF THE UN SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR WESTERN SAHARA FROM A SPANISH CITIZEN TO THE ATTENTION OF MR. CHRISTOPHER ROSS, PERSONAL ENVOY OF THE UN SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR WESTERN SAHARA Madrid, August 21, 2010 Excellency: Let me take the unusual freedom to write you this letter in your capacity as the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara. These days we have learned from the press that you have asked for help to the Security Council, to "the powers" and, in particular, the so-called "Group of Friends of Western Sahara" to try to resolve once the problem of Western Sahara and the Saharawi people. It is true that this problem has lasted too long and has involved a huge cost and great suffering for the population under attack: the Saharawi people. But it is not less true that many, many human beings throughout the length and breadth of the world share the suffering of these people, so exemplary as peaceful, and we feel embodied in their pain, their suffering and the enormous injustice and the many abuses of all kinds against the population, their legitimate representative, the Polisario Front, and its territory of Western Sahara that have been perpetrated and continue to being carried out every day, directly by the occupant and, apparently less directly, by those who support him. Too many years have passed since the criminal military invasion, in blood and fire, of Western Sahara, and many people around the world are determined not to endure it anymore. If the UN does not know, will not or cannot fix this simple problem is, in this matter, a superfluous institution, and its staff of officials should go immediately to the street, unemployed. If the powerful do not want to apply its own law and put an order where they have put disorder (and a thousand traps and odd jobs of all kinds), we the citizens will do it, "the peoples of the world," as reads the frontispiece of the Charter of the UN ("We the peoples of the United Nations ...."). In 1974, Spain informed the UN that the self-determination referendum would take place in the first half of 1975. What happened next, You know much better than me. The 1991 ceasefire was conditional on the timely holding of the referendum, and the UN said it could take place in just a few months. And they have spent almost 20 years now! We now know conclusively that the U.S. is the main - the main! - responsible, as a hegemonic power, for the tragedy of Western Sahara and the Saharawi people, together with Morocco, Spain and France. We also know that the then Secretary of State, Henry A. Kissinger, was the organizer of the invasion of Western Sahara by Morocco (the infamous "Green March" and the previous entry of the Moroccan Army in the Territory), as have publicly denounced experts in the field (like Jacob Mundy or Tomás Bárbulo, among other authors). We know that Kissinger misled the then U.S. President, Gerald Ford, and that the latter was pleased fooled by convenience or political expediency, ignoring the values and principles of a democratic society and international law. We know that in the White House (and also elsewhere) it was agreed that the UN would be used later to, if necessary, manipulate / rig / adulterate, in favor of the invader, the possible self-determination referendum. We know that the International Court of Justice in The Hague rejected Morocco's claims (and Mauritania’s), and that the king of Morocco deceived and inflamed his people telling them all the contrary than ruled by the ICJ, to justify “the stealing of the Sahara” (Thomas M. Franck). We know that, almost two months before the Hague Court had pronounced on the issue, U.S. Secretary of State closed the delivery of the Sahara to Morocco with a telegram sent to Rabat from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut: "Laisa will perfectly be able to walk within two months. He will help her in everything." The telegram from Kissinger was repeatedly published by the international press of the time and was never denied. We know that Kissinger also lied coldly and cynically misled the then Foreign Minister and now President of the Republic of Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in a meeting held in Paris in December 1975. The White House’s secret document declassified in 2006 shows that the U.S. could have interrupted their civilian and military aid and established a de facto embargo on Morocco to stop the invasion. And that was not, quite the opposite. It is also suspected that the CIA and its environment "fixed" a certain line of succession to the Spanish monarchy in exchange for ..., and perhaps also pledged to help up to power a political party now ruling in Spain, also in exchange for ... Presumably, You already know all this and much more. But, nevertheless, I point out at the end of these lines some of the incriminating documents of reference - collecting part of the facts described here-, so that everyone could read them and verify the facts when this letter would circulate freely. I will not go into the details of good French business leaders with the Alawite regime, nor the abundant war material and other aid provided by the United States to that regime. (In Spain, however, we are pioneers in this field: we not just sell, but also give as a gift to the Moroccan Army bomb throwers and decorate senior Moroccan officials known for their alleged criminal conduct). We believe that all people should just live in peace, without invasions, green marches (preceded by a military invasion), genocide, military walls, “disappearances”, arbitrary detention, imprisonment, torture, rape, secret prisons… How, in what spirit, can you sit at one “negotiating” table the invader and the invaded, the attacker and the attacked, the torturer and the tortured? Should we remind You again that Western Sahara is the last colony in Africa even today in the XXI century, and that the regime in Morocco does not, even remotely, comply with the minimum standards of international responsibility, freedom, respect for human rights…? Should we remind You again that the SADR is a State made up for 35 years, whose territory has been stolen with the support (pre- and post invasion) of the US and other “powers”? Should we also remind the powerful that MINURSO is the sole mission of UN peacekeepers not assuring respect for human rights in the Occupied Territories of Western Sahara, occurring before his impassive eyes all kind of violations of human rights? Is not true that also the United States sought and got independence from the mother country, as did Morocco, Algeria and many other countries? Did not have we, the Spanish, to expel from our country the invading troops of Napoleon? Was not applied Chapter VII of the UN Charter in the case of the invasion of Kuwait? Why not also apply Chapter VII to force Morocco to meet its international obligations? Why is denied this right, enshrined in the Charter of the UN, to the Saharawi People, moreover having the support of a lot of favorable resolutions of the UN ant the OAU/AU? Should not be equal justice for all? Or will we continue a policy of double standards and the law of the jungle? By the way, I do not understand why is called “Group of Friends of Western Sahara”, if most of them are proving to be bitter enemies. What sarcasm! The times and the justifications of the Cold War have gone by and, therefore, the U.S. must take a radical turn in its policy concerning Western Sahara and also comply –without deception or lies- with International Law. If it does not well, If it does not hear the public outcry, if it fails to enforce their own ethical and legal principles and responsibilities, then do not be surprised and hypocritically ask: “Why do they hate us so much? Excellency: With this letter I am trying to make a modest contribution to solving the apparent problem and provide a piece of the aid You ask to the “powers” in the document of June 18, 2010. There is no squaring the circle. With all the humility of a simple citizen of the world, but with all the courtesy and the utmost respect that You deserve, I venture to suggest to forward this letter to the Secretary General of the UN, the Security Council, the UN General Assembly, President Barack Obama and some good people, to clearly convey them our desire for a just solution to the conflict, according to International Law and without further delay or deception. I should add here the comment verbatim from an anonymous citizen (no doubt, good-hearted but somewhat naïve) to let them reach the President of the United States: “Obama, here on the sands of Western Sahara lie the remains of the battered U.S. disgrace! Obama, still time to recover! Hundreds of thousands, millions of people around the world will be willing to help You in the task of solving the problem that, however much one tries to circumvent, must go through the exercise, once and for all, of the inalienable right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, like many other countries that have achieved their freedom and independence. Today, the Saharawi people and the SADR are a universal example of resistance to injustice, moderation, and longing for peace and a just and lasting freedom. Perhaps it is in your hands, Excellency, that we could move towards a more just and peaceful world or to allow it to slide down the path of violence, war and death. And nor have we born for this nor is that the world we want. Thank You very much for your attention and best wishes in carrying out your difficult task. Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration. Luis Portillo Pasqual del Riquelme Civil servant Ph. D. in Economics Former Professor of International Economics at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain) Attachments: Carta en español, Letter in English References: - Inglés: “How the US and Morocco seized the Spanish Sahara” http://mondediplo.com/2006/01/12asahara http://www.tlaxcala-int.org/article.asp?reference=790 - Francés: “Comment les USA et le Maroc se sont emparés du Sahara espagnol” http://www.tlaxcala-int.org/article.asp?reference=792 http://www.arso.org/mundy2006.htm#note - Español: “Cómo los EE. UU y Marruecos se apoderaron del Sáhara Español” http://www.tlaxcala-int.org/article.asp?reference=791 http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=110736 http://www.arso.org/MundyMondeDiplo2006es.pdf http://www.sanborondon.info/content/view/26381/34/ http://www.larepublica.es/spip.php?article20810 http://www.saharatoday.net/?p=5124 http://www.piensachile.com/content/view/7438/5/ Henry Kissinger-Abdelaziz Bouteflika transcript, 1975 This file was declassified in 2006, although went unremarked at that time. It has a critical importance regarding the conflict of Western Sahara because the (then) minister of foreign affairs and current president of Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, asked US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to "stop economic and military aid", which would have meant an embargo on Morocco. This file concerns the whole Maghreb region, and particularly Morocco-Algerian relations, and was the basis for the top story of the Moroccan newspaper Tel Quel (www.telquel-online.com ) on Saturday, December 19, 2009. http://wikileaks.org/wiki/Henry_Kissinger-Abdelaziz_Bouteflika_transcript,_1975 original: Es posible que tu navegador no permita visualizar esta imagen. MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION , 17.12.75 (PDF) Henry A, Kissinger, US Secretary of State - Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Algeria http://file.wikileaks.org/file/kissinger-bouteflika.pdf TRADUCCION Es posible que tu navegador no permita visualizar esta imagen. MEMORÁNDUM DE CONVERSACIÓN: ENTREVISTA HENRY A. KISSINGER – ABDELAZIZ BOUTEFLIKA, París, 17/12/1975, [Traducción por Luis Portillo Pasqual del Riquelme, con notas del traductor] http://arso.org/Kissinger-Bouteflika1975ES.pdf Declassified: Western Sahara Kissinger-Buteflika: The secret Conversations at Paris (1975) http://www.tlaxcala-int.org/article.asp?reference=990 Desclasificado: Sáhara Occidental Kissinger-Buteflika: Las conversaciones secretas en París (1975) http://www.tlaxcala-int.org/article.asp?reference=992 Crimes Against Humanity in Western Sahara: The Case Against Morocco Hanga Sántha, Ylva Lennartsson Hartmann and Mark Klamberg May 24, 2010 http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1614745 http://www.sloga-platform.org/sloga/images/stories/PDF/crime%20against%20humanity%20in%20ws.pdf Western Sahara: The Legitimate Reasons of the Saharawi People http://www.tlaxcala.es/pp.asp?reference=4965&lg=en Sahara occidental: Les raisons légitimes du peuple sahraoui http://www.tlaxcala.es/pp.asp?reference=4619&lg=fr Sahara occidentale: Le legittime ragioni del popolo saharawi http://www.tlaxcala.es/pp.asp?reference=4861&lg=it Sáhara Occidental: Las legítimas razones del pueblo saharaui http://www.tlaxcala.es/pp.asp?reference=4625&lg=es http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=61146 ¡ HIPÓCRITAS ¡ Hypocrites ! Heuchler! IPOCRITI! En defensa del pueblo saharaui - Pour la défense du peuple sahraoui - In defence of the Sahrawi people - Em defesa do povo saraui - In difesa del popolo saharawi Luis Portillo Pasqual del Riquelme 29/07/2008 http://www.tlaxcala.es/detail_artistes.asp?lg=es&reference=187 http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=69718