14 February 2003
U.S. Welcomes Release of Moroccan Prisoners by Polisario Front
(State's Boucher praises Spain's mediation in Western Sahara conflict)
(260)
Following is a statement from State Department Spokesman Richard
Boucher February 14 welcoming the release of Moroccan prisoners by the
Polisario Front:
(begin text)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
February 14, 2003
Statement by Richard A. Boucher, Spokesman
Western Sahara: Polisario Release of Moroccan POWs
The United States welcomes the February 10th release by the Polisario
Front of 100 Moroccan prisoners of war. We want to extend our
appreciation to the Government of Spain for its intervention on behalf
of the prisoners. As we have said before, the Polisario has an
obligation under international humanitarian law to release, without
conditions, all remaining Moroccan prisoners captured during the
Western Sahara conflict. We call on the Polisario to release the
remaining 1160 Moroccan prisoners without delay, all of which have
been held for more than a decade after the cessation of hostilities in
Western Sahara, and in most instances for more than 20 years.
The United States calls on the parties to the Western Sahara dispute
to release or account for all those missing or held prisoner since the
start of the conflict and to implement confidence building measures,
as called for by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1429 and
previous resolutions. The United States urges the parties to continue
their work to resolve all the issues remaining from this conflict, and
to engage seriously with the representatives of the UN Secretary
General to achieve a mutually acceptable solution to this
long-standing problem.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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