NLC hosts Africa on Western Sahara

A press statement signed by Acting General Secretary of the NLC Comrade Chris Uyot said the conference is in keeping with the tradition of Africa as the centre- piece of Nigeria`s foreign policy objective, and in line with NLC’s tradition of supporting liberation struggles in Africa and across the world.Lamenting the fate of Western Sahara, […]

A press statement signed by Acting General Secretary of the NLC Comrade Chris Uyot said the conference is in keeping with the tradition of Africa as the centre- piece of Nigeria`s foreign policy objective, and in line with NLC’s tradition of supporting liberation struggles in Africa and across the world.
Lamenting the fate of Western Sahara, NLC said the conflict started when Morocco invaded Western Sahara in October 1975, after the withdrawal of Spain (colonial power), thereby preventing the Saharawi people from enjoying the legitimate right of self-determination guaranteed in all international laws and UN charter.
“The Polisario Front declared the Saharawi Republic on February 1976, a full member of AU. After 16 years of war between the Saharawi liberation movement (POLISARIO Front) and Morocco, in September 1991, the Organisation of African Unity (AU now) and the UN reached a cease-fire and a peace settlement agreement in which a referendum should be organized to enable the Saharawi people decide their future, but Morocco backed by a UN security council member France, blocked the path all along these years,” NLC said.
The statement accused Moroccan military and security forces of committing severe and brutal violations, abuses and crimes against humanity in Western Sahara witnessed by the international human rights organizations like the Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Front Line, Freedom House, the European Parliament, The African Human Rights Commission and the annual report of US State Department on human rights in addition to the illegal exploitation of the natural resources of Western Sahara.
The NLC hopes to draw more attention on the African Union to assume its responsibilities towards the implementation of AU-UN peace settlement plan and also, through deliberations at the conference, break the deadlock that has prevented the Saharawi people from enjoying their independence.