Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

I have more than once raised this issue, most recently during questions to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. It is a little less than a scandal that such little progress on this matter has been made here or at European Union level. I raise this issue this evening because of the urgent position in which two human rights activists find themselves, one of whom attended a conference in Cork, of which I am sure the Minister for Foreign Affairs will be aware, and was arrested on her way home and is now ill in prison. The other, who is in prison in Lanzarote, is in the fifth week of her hunger strike. The position in terms of her health is desperate.

I became aware of the position of the Saharawi people some time after the original annexation of this territory, the old Spanish Sahara, by Morocco. On 6 November 1976, King Hassan announced the discovery of a new and empty country and marched into what was the Spanish Sahara in violation of the natural expectation of the people to independence. Since then, there have been many attempts at establishing some form of peace. The Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, declared on 27 February 1976, is recognised by the African Union, of which Morocco is not part because of the African Union's acceptance of the SADR. They are a very interesting people. I stayed with them for some weeks and they have been visited by former Ministers for Foreign Affairs, former Deputies Andrews and Collins and many other parliamentarians.

Half of the population live in four refugee camps and are divided from their home by a long wall of 2,200 km. Scandalously, the European Union has signed an agreement through which it gives €224 million per annum to Morocco for the right, principally, of Spanish ships to fish in what are the waters of the Saharawi people. Scandalously, too, an Irish company has attempted to sell shares and to seek investment for mining rights on land the annexed occupied rights of the Saharawi people. From time to time, they come outside and attend international conferences to draw attention to the refugee camps, one of which I visited and stayed at in Tindouf on the Algerian border. I have also crossed the Sahara to the wall to which I referred earlier. I have visited the region four or five times. The United Nations agencies speak of what the women and children suffer. Now, when delegations are returning from these international conferences they are arrested and not allowed to return to Layaaoune. That is why one is on hunger strike in Lanzarote. It is also why another is in hospital.

In addition, there have been different approaches internationally to organise a UN-based referendum, but in all of the cases the Moroccan Government has insisted that it will not recognise any form of independence. For all of these reasons, in a number of prisons brought to my attention, including Casablanca, Laayoune itself and others in Marrakesh, there are civilians who will be brought before military courts, prisoners who are not allowed to be visited, prisoners being submitted to degrading and inhuman punishments, and two women I mention who have been delegates to conferences here in Ireland.

Our concern is being expressed by our ambassador to Portugal, who also is our ambassador to Morocco. However, I hope that before this weekend the ambassador will once again take up these issues and I would urge the Minister for Foreign Affairs to take it up with the Moroccan ambassador in Dublin.

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