Firms’ operations in Western Sahara only entrench Moroccan occupation, says Polisario Front

Oslo, March 14, 2014 (SPS) - Polisario Front has confirmed that any operation carried out by international firms in Western Sahara can only entrench Morocco’s occupation, adding that the Sahrawi people’s wishes “cannot be ascertained except via a referendum on self-determination.”

“Any exploration and production carried out by Kosmos, Cairn and Atwood can only serve to entrench Morocco’s occupation, and serve as pretext for seemingly normal commercial activity,” Polisario Front’s Representative in Australia Mr. Kamal Fadel told the news service Upstream Online, quoted by the Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW).

The Saharawi diplomat stressed that the interests and wishes of the Sahrawi people “cannot be ascertained except via a referendum on self-determination or through consultation with SADR-Polisario, and neither Kosmos nor its partners have done this.”

Upstream Online published today, Friday, information that Kosmos would open a “supply chain base” in the occupied Saharawi city of Boujdour to serve its offshore operation.

On relevant context, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund is examining the operations of the French oil firm Total in Western Sahara to ascertain whether its activities there are unethical. (SPS)