Yearly Archives: 2011

“Robbed of Truth” : Australian Media Premiere

cgep-img_1364.JPGOn Monday 19 December Carlos Gonzáles introduced his new film at the Centre for Ideas at Victorian College of the Arts, part of Melbourne University in the presence of its director, Dr Elizabeth Presa (see photo).

Entitled “Robbed of Truth”, the documentary examines the claim in the earlier Australian film “Stolen” that slavery is widespread in the Saharawi refugee camps. Carlos, who had been the camera man during the second visit of the Australian filmmakers of “Stolen”, retraces their steps meeting the main characters in the film such as Fetim Salami and her family to find out how the film he thought would be about family reunion turned into a film about slavery.
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Carlos González is coming to Melbourne for the premiere screening of his film, Robbed of Truth (a critique of Stolen)

fetim.jpg‘Robbed of Truth’ – Australian Media Premiere

MONDAY, DECEMBER 19TH, 2011 – 1PM

Victorian College of the Arts
School of Film and TV – Federation Hall
234 St.Kilda Road, Melbourne
This screening has been endorsed by The Center for Ideas, University of Melbourne
“Robbed of Truth: The Western Sahara Conflict and the Ethics of Documentary Filmmaking” will be introduced by its director and producer Carlos González.

Flyer about event >>

Facebook page about event and film >>

Western Sahara: Saharawi Political Prisoners On Hunger Strike

Malainin Lakhal
17 November 2011, Pambazuka news/allAfrica.com

The prisoners were taken from a group of more than 200 activists arrested by Moroccan authorities a year ago. And as Malainin Lakhal reports, Morocco has over 60 Saharawi prisoners of conscience, including eminent human rights defender Naama Asfari.

Twenty-four Saharawi human rights defenders and prisoners of conscience, who are to appear before a Moroccan court-martial, are on hunger strike since 31 October, after being one year imprisonment without appearing before a court.

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Paper by The Hon John Dowd AO QC, President International Commission of Jurists, Australia

On 29 October 2011 The Hon John Dowd AO QC, President International Commission of Jurists, presented a paper at the 2nd International Conference, Peoples’ Right for Resistance: the Case of Sahrawi People, Dar Diaf – Bouchaoui, Algier.

Conference paper available at this link “The Western Sahara and the United Nations”  >>

Two EU Parliament committees reject EU-Morocco Fish Pact

Western Sahara Resource Watch,
7 November 2011

Today, the European Parliament’s Development and Budget Committee both adopted an opinion calling on Parliament to reject the EU-Morocco fisheries agreement.

The Budget Committee deplored the heavy financial yoke of this particular agreement, consuming no less than 25% of the Union’s budget line for fisheries. Of all the EU’s ongoing bilateral agreements, the accord with Morocco is the least cost-efficient, placing the heaviest relative burden on EU tax payers.

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Pambazuka News : latest articles

Features
Fresh political storm for Western Sahara
Konstantina Isidoros
2011-10-27, Issue 554
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/77452

Why does Spain need Morocco to free the hostages in Western Sahara?
Malainin Lakhal
2011-10-27, Issue 554
http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/77453

Sahrawi camps not ‘dangerous’; Visitor rejects Morocco’s claim
Sabrina Tucci
2011-10-27, Issue 554
http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/77458

The Allegra unloads its cargo of phosphate rock from Western Sahara for Impact Fertilisers in Hobart

allegra.JPG

Photo: Glenn Towler

AWSA together with the Australian Unions for Western Sahara have asked both Tasmanian Customs and the shipping company Inchcape to check the way the country of origin of Allegra’s cargo is designated on the importation documents.

If it says “Morocco” this is not right and should be changed to “Western Sahara” where the phosphate comes from. If it says “Western Sahara”, then they must ask the importer to provide evidence that the Saharawi people consent to the sale of this phosphate which rightly belongs to them.

Story and video about Allegra unloading phosphate in Tasmania >>

AWSA’s statement on the kidnapping in the camps

24 October 2011

The Australia Western Sahara Association today condemned the terrorist
attack on the Saharawi refugee camps that resulted in international aid
workers being injured and kidnapped.

AWSA expresses its deepest sympathy for victims and their families and
solidarity with the Saharawi people.

Three European aid workers, two Spanish citizens and one an Italian, working in the Saharawi refugee camps, were kidnapped on Saturday night by terrorists.
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