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The Independence Intifada (intifada is Arabic for "uprising") is a Sahrawi name for the disturbances, demonstrations and riots that broke out in May 2005 in the Moroccan-held parts of Western Sahara. It should not be confused with the "Intifada of Independence" in Lebanon, against Syrian occupation.
The event has also been called "The El-Aaiun Intifada". The Moroccan government denies that the uprisings amount to an "intifada", and term them simply disturbances. It has accused the Front Polisario of instigating unrest.
Demonstrations began in El-Aaiun after relatives protesting the transfer of a Sahrawi prisoner to Morocco were dipersed by police, and escalated into major demonstrations within a matter of days. It quickly spread to other Sahrawi cities such as Dakhla and Smara, and also into Sahrawi-populated parts of southern Morocco, notably the towns of Assa and Tan-Tan. Sahrawi students rioted in the universities of Rabat and Marrakesh. Police and army units were brought in from Morocco to quell the uprising, and although demonstrations subsided, several protests a month are still held in November 2005. On October 30, 2005, a first casualty was reported: 31-year old Lembarki Hamdi died after what human rights organizations claimed was police brutality, although the Moroccan government attributed his death to an accident.
Hundreds of Sahrawi protestors have been arrested, and about thirty demonstrators and well-known Sahrawi human rights-activists have been imprisoned after summary trials. Among them are the former political prisoner Ali Salem Tamek (who did not parttake in any demonstrations, but was arrested when returning from abroad), human rights-activist Mohamed Elmoutaoikil, and Aminatou Haidar, a former disappeared. There is an international campaign for her release which has been signed by 178 members of the European Parliament, and she has been nominated as a candidate for the Sakharov Prize. Amnesty International has demanded an investigation into reports of torture of prisoners, and calls for fair trials, and the release of political prisoners. A 50-day hunger strike of all the arrested Sahrawis put the health of several at risk, and the action was aborted. It has since been resumed again, but apparently again broken off.
Investigative missions from European countries have been denied access to the territory, including parliamentary delegations. Several foreign journalists, mainly from European countries, but also al-Jazeera correspondents, have been expelled after interviewing protestors.
The European parliament "deplored" expulsions of journalists covering the uprising and and demanded the "immediate release" of political prisoners in an October 2005 resolution.
In November 2005, Sahrawi activists began complaining of Internet censorship targeting pro-Sahrawi or pro-Polisario sites.
See also
External links
- [Amnesty International New arrests and allegations of torture of Sahrawi human rights defenders
- Spanish TV on Sahrawi student riots in Rabat (RealPlayer)
- Western Sahara Online Sahrawi support page on the Intifada
- Picture Gallery of the Intifada