Aminatou Haidar
I don't often post work-specific stuff here but this is so outrageous that I must.
Aminatou Haidar is a human rights activist from the Western Sahara, most of which has been occupied by Morocco for the last thirty years. Last year she was given the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Award; last month she was in New York to receive the Train Foundation's Civil Courage Prize. On her return to the Western Sahara yesterday morning, she was arrested by the Moroccans, purportedly for failing to complete her immigration form on landing.
This was pretty much announced in advance by King Mohammed VI of Morocco in a speech a week ago, when he announced that "it is time to stop outlaws taking advantage of civic freedoms to agitate from within". This in turn was probably helped by Hillary Clinton the week before endorsing the Moroccan policy on the illegal occupation of other people's territory.
I know some of you guys are fans of Hillary's, but really this is disgusting. The EU is not much better. It can put out a statement condemning Azerbaijan's treatment of bloggers, but I haven't heard a peep from them on the arrest of someone who happens to be awkward for the Moroccans. It is a shameful performance.
Aminatou Haidar is a human rights activist from the Western Sahara, most of which has been occupied by Morocco for the last thirty years. Last year she was given the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Award; last month she was in New York to receive the Train Foundation's Civil Courage Prize. On her return to the Western Sahara yesterday morning, she was arrested by the Moroccans, purportedly for failing to complete her immigration form on landing.
This was pretty much announced in advance by King Mohammed VI of Morocco in a speech a week ago, when he announced that "it is time to stop outlaws taking advantage of civic freedoms to agitate from within". This in turn was probably helped by Hillary Clinton the week before endorsing the Moroccan policy on the illegal occupation of other people's territory.
I know some of you guys are fans of Hillary's, but really this is disgusting. The EU is not much better. It can put out a statement condemning Azerbaijan's treatment of bloggers, but I haven't heard a peep from them on the arrest of someone who happens to be awkward for the Moroccans. It is a shameful performance.