News / National
Saharawi leader arrives in Zimbabwe
05 Jun 2018 at 12:58hrs | Views
Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic President Mr Brahim Ghali has arrived in Zimbabwe on a two-day official visit this Tuesday afternoon.
Mr Ghali is on a tour of the region on which he has been to South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana and Namibia appealing to the region to put pressure on Morocco to stop its colonisation of the Saharawi.
The Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic is a former Spanish colony which was annexed by Morocco in 1975 and has been a subject of a long running dispute between Morocco and the indigenous Saharawi people led by the Polisario Front.
A 16-year insurgency ended with a UN brokered truce in 1991 and a promise of a referendum for independence is yet to be held.
The Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Tayeb Sadik Bachir who received him at the Robert Mugabe International Airport said his mission in the region is to request fellow AU members to put pressure on Morocco to grant the people of the north African country their right to self determination and independence.
He said the readmission of Morocco back into the continental body, the AU, is a major setback for the Saharawi people's rights to independence.
The visiting Saharawi leader was met by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, Ministers Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, Miriam Chikukwa, Algerian Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Nacedine Sai and Ambassador Jonathan Wutawunashe before proceeding for talks with President Emmerson Mnangagwa at the State House later in the evening.
Mr Ghali is on a tour of the region on which he has been to South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana and Namibia appealing to the region to put pressure on Morocco to stop its colonisation of the Saharawi.
The Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic is a former Spanish colony which was annexed by Morocco in 1975 and has been a subject of a long running dispute between Morocco and the indigenous Saharawi people led by the Polisario Front.
A 16-year insurgency ended with a UN brokered truce in 1991 and a promise of a referendum for independence is yet to be held.
The Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Tayeb Sadik Bachir who received him at the Robert Mugabe International Airport said his mission in the region is to request fellow AU members to put pressure on Morocco to grant the people of the north African country their right to self determination and independence.
He said the readmission of Morocco back into the continental body, the AU, is a major setback for the Saharawi people's rights to independence.
The visiting Saharawi leader was met by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, Ministers Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, Miriam Chikukwa, Algerian Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Nacedine Sai and Ambassador Jonathan Wutawunashe before proceeding for talks with President Emmerson Mnangagwa at the State House later in the evening.
Source - zbc
