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   Vol. 68/No. 20           May 25, 2004  
 
 
Polisario envoy to tour New Zealand
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BY ANNALUCIA VERMUNT  
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand—Kamal Fadel, a representative of the Polisario Front, the independence movement from the country of Western Sahara in northwest Africa, will tour New Zealand from May 25 to June 2. He will visit Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch to speak at public meetings and on campuses.

The Polisario Front is leading the struggle of the Saharawi people for independence from Moroccan occupation. Western Sahara is on the northwest coast of Africa between Morocco and Mauritania. Previously a Spanish colony, it has been occupied by Morocco since 1975, when Spain withdrew in the face of a rising independence struggle led by Polisario. The occupation has been backed by the governments of the United States, France, and Spain, with Washington being the leading military supplier of the Moroccan monarchy.

Tens of thousands of Saharawis fled the Moroccan invasion to refugee camps in the Algerian desert, where the bulk of the population has lived for nearly three decades. Fadel will have returned from a recent visit to the camps.

The Saharawi people fought a war against the Moroccan occupation forces from 1975 until 1991, when both parties agreed to a United Nations-brokered cease-fire. The Moroccan regime has built a massive sand wall to keep the Polisario Front out of Moroccan-occupied territory, which comprises some eighty percent of the country. Today Western Sahara is partitioned by this wall, which extends for 1,500 miles down the length of the county, is fortified with barbed wire and land mines, and is guarded by more than 120,000 Moroccan troops. Last October, the Moroccan government rejected a UN-brokered plan to hold a referendum on the status of Western Sahara, which Polisario had agreed to accept.

Kamal Fadel is Polisario’s representative based in Sydney, Australia. To help organize meetings for Fadel or assist the tour, contact Annalucia Vermunt at annalucia@chn.quik.co.nz

Wellington: Thurs., May 27, 1 p.m., Victoria University, Rm. 304, Cotton Bldg. tel: John Cao (04) 4636108

Christchurch: Thurs. May 27, 7:30 p.m., PEETO, Corner of Peterborugh and Madras St. tel: Annalucia Vermunt (03) 3773834

Lincoln: Fri., May 28, 12:40 p.m., Totara Rm., Union Building, Lincoln University. tel: Jo Newman (03) 325 3808

Auckland: Monday, May 31, 7:30 p.m., St. Columba Centre, 40 Vermont St., Ponsonby. tel: Felicity Coggan (09) 5795707  
 
 
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