Ambassador Amine Kherbi
Embassy of The People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
2118 Kalorama Rd, NW
Washington, DC 20008




Dear Mr. Ambassador,

The American Council for Moroccan POWs (ACMP) is encouraged by your government’s decision to release the group of 404 Moroccan POWs last August. This long-awaited and long-overdue release came about after the successful mission of President George Bush’s personal envoy Senator Richard Lugar to Algiers, Algeria. Senator Lugar subsequently traveled to Tindouf, Algeria, to personally oversee their release. These Moroccan prisoners were held in complete violation of all international laws and conventions on Algerian-controlled territory. The prisoners were held against the wishes of the international community and of the civilized world for the longest time that they became universally known as the world’s longest held POWs. All along their long and painful incarceration, the prisoners were subjected to all kinds of abuse and ill-treatment which ranged from humiliation, torture and forced labor to summary and cold-blooded executions.

Mr. Ambassador,

Egregious war crimes were committed against helpless and defenseless detainees who, according to Geneva conventions, should have been released in 1991 right after the implementation of the UN-monitored ceasefire. Because of this, Algeria will forever have to shoulder the blame and bear the burden and accusation that it violated prisoners’ rights and committed war crimes. The ACMP would like to see your government continue acting in a positive and just manner towards resolving this issue and others intimately related to it. Your government should fully assume its legal, moral, and financial responsibilities towards the victims in this tragedy of its own design and making.

Mr. Ambassador,

The Moroccan POWs are not Algerian citizens who can be expected to write off their abuse at the hands of Algerian perpetrators or at the hands of Algerian-hired mercenaries and terrorists. The Moroccan victims, whether they be civilian or military, cannot be expected to just sweep it all under the rug by participating in a referendum on some kind of “national reconciliation”. The victims, and their families, should not be victimized twice; and all efforts to make them whole again should be made honestly and earnestly by your government. Your government, which in the eye of the world community and of international law, is and will always remain the primary responsible party in the detainees’ horrible ordeals.

Mr. Ambassador,

Your Government continues to sponsor a terrorist, murderous, and criminal organization: The polisario. This organization is involved in the murder and disappearances of hundreds of Moroccan POWs and civilians. It is also involved in the sequestration and terrorizing of thousands of men, women and children in the camps in Southwestern Algeria with your government’s help and blessing. The polisario criminals are also involved in the internationally-sanctioned and morally-reprehensible practices of human trafficking by shipping thousands of minor children alone to Cuba for indoctrination and for other vile purposes. The polisario criminals are also involved in the embezzlement and trafficking of international food aid for their self-enrichment.

Mr. Ambassador,

Releasing the latest batch of prisoners is just the beginning of a process that should be continued by your government taking the following concrete actions:

1. Your government should proceed to immediately disband the polisario mercenary, terrorist and criminal band and dismantle its infrastructure. This infrastructure which allowed it to carry out abject human rights violations and criminal activities and which poses a threat to peace and stability in the region.

2. Your government should help resolve the issue of the hundreds of disappearance cases of Moroccans who were held by polisario under the direct supervision of your country’s security services.

3. Your government should allow the families of those who perished in the camps and who are interred there to retrieve the remains of their loved ones for proper burial in their country, Morocco.

4. Your government should issue a public apology to all the victims of the detention, torture and death camps that it allowed polisario to run and where all the wrongs and despicable practices were committed against helpless civilian and military detainees.

5. Your government should act diligently to start the process of identifying the perpetrators and in assisting in the launching of an internationally-monitored investigation of what took place in the camps and in order to bring the perpetrators to justice.

6. Your government should act towards launching negotiations with the victims, their families, and their representatives in order to put forth a process of reparations and indemnification for all the wrongs to which the victims have been subjected.

7. Your government should allow free and unimpeded access to the camps by independent international organizations in order to inquire about the real conditions inside.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.

Hassan El Farissi

President