The president of the Saharawi Association for the Defence of Human Rights reacted in a statement to a publication in the daily El Pais about the organisation, attributing to it "extra-humanitarian agendas"

ASADEDH rechaza las informaciones que intentan desprestigiar sus actividades

photo_camera REUTERS/ZOHRA BENSEMRA - Boudjdour refugee camp in Tindouf, southern Algeria

The president of the Saharawi Association for the Defence of Human Rights (ASADEDH), Ramdan Mesaud Larbi, issued an official statement in which he rejects a report in the newspaper El Pais which attributes to the organisation "extra-humanitarian agendas".

The official statement is reproduced below:

In view of the information referring to the Saharawi Association for the Defence of Human Rights (ASADEDH) and its president, which appeared in the newspaper "El Pais" on 7 June 2022, the president of the association wishes to make the following CLARIFICATION:

The attempt to discredit the activities of the Sahrawi Association for the Defence of Human Rights (ASADEDH), which I have the honour to lead, by attributing to it extra-humanitarian agendas does not hold water for a number of reasons among which I highlight:

1- All Saharawis have no doubt that the leaders of the Polisario Front, with very rare exceptions, have been seriously, repeatedly and systematically violating human rights since the creation of the Movement in the mid-1970s, leaving a trail of corpses, disappearances and mutilations along the way.

It is an open secret that has been acknowledged and accepted by the accused themselves on several occasions.

ASADEDH has been fighting since its creation to ensure that these crimes do not go unpunished, based on our firm conviction to prioritise human rights over any other type of political or social considerations.

We are very proud in our association to have given a voice to hundreds of victims, "the forgotten victims of the conflict" who are the victims of the Polisario. A taboo subject for the whole of society, and especially for those in solidarity with the Polisario and those who share its objectives.

2- The lawsuit that came to a head with the so-called "Ghali case" had been in court for several years (since December 2007) and was directed against some twenty people involved (politicians, security agents and Algerian officials), Mr Ghali being one of the accused. It should be noted that at that time, Mr. Ghali had not yet assumed the highest responsibility in the Polisario, and that his predecessor, the late Secretary General of the Polisario Front, Mohamed Abdelaziz, was not among the defendants.

3- Throughout the whole process, we acted with total transparency on the basis of the victims' testimonies and forensic analyses confirming the abuses and humiliations they suffered. In fact, the courts always argued "formal" reasons for postponing or closing the case and never denied the facts.

Ramdan Mesaud Larbi, President of ASADEDH.

More in Politics