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independence demonstrations and in separate incidents, persons have thrown rocks
and, on occasion, Molotov cocktails. These dangerous and illegal actions have
caused injuries to both law enforcement officers and civilians and damaged property,
as cases presented in this report show. It is the right and responsibility of Moroccan
authorities to prevent and punish such acts. However, the Moroccan authorities ban
virtually all gatherings – no matter the subject – when they suspect the organizers of
having pro-independence sentiments, and they routinely break up “unauthorized”
public gatherings even when such gatherings are completely peaceful.
Serious Rights Violations Continue Despite Improvements over Time
This report focuses on the human rights situation from 2006 to the present. This
picture, however bleak, represents an easing of repression since the 1970s and
1980s, when Morocco and the Polisario were at war. Moroccan authorities abducted
and “disappeared” hundreds of Sahrawis and sentenced hundreds of others to long
prison terms in unfair trials. All areas under Moroccan rule, including Western Sahara,
have experienced some progress on human rights since the mid-1990s.
Despite the persistent enforcement of laws repressing advocacy of Sahrawi
independence, Morocco has gradually and unevenly opened the door to wider
debate on this issue. It has for example granted legal recognition to one small
Moroccan political party, the Democratic Way (en-Nahj ed-Dimuqrati) whose platform
includes allowing the Sahrawi people to vote on the option of independence.
Sahrawi activists today denounce Moroccan rule of the contested region, and form
associations, albeit unrecognized ones, to expose Moroccan human rights abuses
and advocate their pro-independence views. These activists brief and escort visitors
to Western Sahara, travel abroad and promote their views in international media and
in some independent Moroccan dailies such as al-Masa and Al-Jarida Al-Oula and in
weeklies such as TelQuel and Le Journal, even as Moroccan state and progovernment
media continue a black-out on such expression.
In contrast to twenty years ago, Sahrawi activists conduct such activities and return
home most nights without being disturbed. However, sooner or later most of them
encounter various forms of harassment that can include travel restrictions, arbitrary
arrest, beatings, or trial and imprisonment on trumped-up charges. In recent years,
7 Human Rights Watch December 2008