Rome (Italy) 17 September 2024 (SPS)– The Italian Sahrawi Network for the defense of human rights and support of the Sahrawi cause (Rete Saharawi) affirmed that Moroccan community in Italy, led by a former Moroccan-Italian politician, is involved in various verbal harassments against Saharawi activists and even kids in holidays in Italy.
Rete Saharawi added in a press release published Today that a recent ruling by the Rome Court has granted Saharawi human rights defender, Mohamed Dihani, the right to apply for international protection and asylum in Italy, exposing by the same the gross human rights violation of the Moroccan forces of occupation against the people of Western Sahara in occupied territories and even abroad.
The human rights defender and activist for the Sahrawi people, Dihani, “has been a victim of severe human rights violations for an extended period, including arbitrary detention, torture, legal and administrative harassment, and surveillance in Morocco due to his exclusively peaceful activism”.
Nonetheless, Rete Saharawi regretted Moroccan-Italian citizen, Khalid Chaouki, attacks against the Saharawi activists by issuing a “call to Moroccan citizens in Italy, inciting them to launch violent attacks against Saharawis and Saharawi activists in Europe.”
The Italian Sahrawi Network “condemns this baseless interference and the dangerous incitement to undertake unclear actions against Sahrawi figures and against the peaceful process for recognizing the independence of Western Sahara, as outlined in UN Security Council Resolutions 1514/64, 690/91, etc.”
The Press release further recalled that there is “a resurgence of actions by emissaries and representatives of the Kingdom of Morocco involving violence against Sahrawi citizens, authorities, and even children”, mentioning in this context verbal assaults against Saharawi kids “in Pontassieve (FI) by members of the Moroccan community, and in Castelfiorentino (FI), the flag displayed at the school hosting the children was torn down.”
The Network of solidarity added that “these intimidating acts, fueled in Italy by Mr. Chaouki, are part of a broader violent threat pursued by Morocco. Recently, a Moroccan government official even assaulted Sahrawi Ambassador Lamine during the Africa-Asia Summit in Tokyo on August 23, 2024.”
The Network condemned this Moroccan-Italian citizen’s “resort to intolerance and violence in the name of interests alien to our community and in support of an authoritarian regime opposed to any peaceful solution for the Sahrawi cause, which is supported by parts of Italian civil society and institutions”.
It further considered such acts “particularly concerning when promulgated in Italy by a representative of the Islamic Cultural Center, Mr. Khalid Chaouki, who was previously elected as a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies.”
Rete Saharawi finally express determined solidarity with the victims of these Moroccan attacks, mainly “Amnesty International for its commendable work in defending human rights; The Polisario Front and its representatives for their commitment to pursuing a peaceful solution through a strict rejection of all violent practices during the ceasefire period in Western Sahara; and Mohamed Dihani, so that he may see the right to international protection upheld and the right to advocate for the independence and freedom of his people recognized.” (SPS)
090/500/60 (SPS)
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