News

Is an oil war about to erupt in the middle of the Atlantic, with the Canary Islands embroiled right in the middle of the conflict? Tenerife News, 16 April 2009.

Published 19 April 2009
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The company Prospectiuni from Romania are specialists on geological surveys.

Published 17 April 2009

In January, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic claimed their Exclusive Economic Zone offshore Western Sahara. Here is the SADR legislation.

Published 17 April 2009
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New cargo of stolen goods has arrived Australia. Wesfarmers seem to be responsible, again.
Published 17 April 2009
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Two Swedish fishermen have been charged with illegal fishing off Western Sahara. Their allegedly illegal catches have been worth 1,9 million euros.
Published 16 April 2009
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Now they plan building a first phosphate processing plant inside occupied Western Sahara.
Published 16 April 2009
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Hundreds of foreign activists attend special conference on Western Saharan natural resources in the refugee camps in Algeria. UPES, 10 April 2009.

Download presentation here by Polisario representative Lih Beiruk.
Published 11 April 2009
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A Thai owned, Danish operated vessel has recently arrived Colombia with phosphates from occupied Western Sahara.

Published 10 April 2009
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The Swedish tour operator Ving has removed information from their homepages claiming that the occupation of Western Sahara in 1975 took place in a peaceful manner.

Published 02 April 2009
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A group of three Norwegian shipping companies have stated that they desist from future assignments in Western Sahara.
Published 24 March 2009

Statement from Western Sahara Resource Watch, 24 March 2009.

Published 24 March 2009
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The Norwegian Council for Africa wrote in February about the shipping company Atlantic RTI which transported fish from occupied Western Sahara. The company now says they will prevent their vessels from being used for such purposes in the future.

Published 21 March 2009

France Libertés: Fondation Danielle Mitterrand - an NGO with special consultative status in the Human Rights Council - has submitted a written statement to the council denouncing the plundering of Western Sahara.

Published 20 March 2009

Faroe Islands national TV ran the Sahrawi demonstration against oil industry in Western Sahara as main story on its evening news 17 March 2009.

Published 20 March 2009
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The Irish oil company Island Oil and Gas, which illegally explores for oil in occupied Western Sahara, has produced new maps.
Published 20 March 2009
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Sahrawi refugees on the Canary Islands yesterday protested against the Norwegian oil search in occupied Western Sahara. They demanded that the project be stopped.

Published 18 March 2009
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For a few days more you will still find tomatoes from occupied Western Sahara on the vegetable counters of the Norwegian grocery store Coop. On Wednesday they stopped the controversial import. Norwatch, 11 March 2009.

Published 18 March 2009
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The Moroccan Navy was asked to support Fugro-Geoteam’s oil assignment outside occupied Western Sahara. This is shown by an internal Moroccan government document that Norwatch has obtained. Norwatch, 17 March 2009.
Published 18 March 2009

Morocco has hired key lobbyists in the US to promote its illegal phosphate sales. While selling legitimate phosphate from Morocco, their government owned phosphate company OCP also exports phosphate from occupied Western Sahara to the US. Such trade is in violation of international law.

Published 16 March 2009
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Norwegian Council for Africa: When The Norwegian Council for Africa visited occupied Western Sahara between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, we photographed a freighter that later turned out to be Norwegian. The shipping company Atlantic RTI confirmed the fish transport and said they dislike that their ship has been utilised in the occupied area.

Published 03 March 2009

BASF is member of UN\'s corporate social responsibility initiative Global Compact. But to Inner City Press, the company still refuses to disclose their "expert opinion" as to why they believe their imports of phosphates from occupied Western Sahara is legal. See video from the UN.

Published 02 March 2009
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Former chairman of the Nobel Committee, and yesterday’s laureate of Student Peace Prize 2009 criticise the Norwegian-Dutch involvement in oil search in occupied Western Sahara.

Published 28 February 2009
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The Nordic Committee of Co-operating Social Democratic Youth Organisations (FNSU), consisting of organisations from all the Nordic and Baltic countries, demands renegotiation of EU-Morocco fisheries agreement to exclude occupied Western Sahara.

Published 25 February 2009
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The Irish oil company Island Oil and Gas - and their partners in San Leon - today announced their intention to upgrade their licence in occupied Western Sahara from a frontier licence to an exploration licence.

Published 25 February 2009
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"WSRW believes it is time for the Saharawi people to settle the question of how they wish to be governed through the referendum which the UN calls for. Then it will be clear to companies with whom to deal", writes WSRW in letters to the editor in the petroleum journals Upstream and Petroleum Africa.

Published 23 February 2009
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The Moroccan state electricity company ONE last year launched a tender to find a company to take on the construction of power plants in occupied Western Sahara. WSRW has got the lists of the 21 companies which are prequalified. The companies, from a dozen countries worldwide, are these days being contacted by WSRW, with an appeal to withdraw from the tender.
Published 15 February 2009
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Fertilizer producer Yara receives critisicm in Norway for its 2008 phosphate purchase from occupied Western Sahara. The company answers they hope Western Sahara "will be liberated one day, and then the inhabitants will benefit if we can receive their phosphate quickly".

Published 15 February 2009
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The students of Red Cross Nordic United World College (RCNUWC) addressed a letter to the Norwegian company, Fugro Geoteam, to withdraw their vessel “Geo Caribbean” from the occupied waters in Western Sahara. The letter was handed over by the Sahrawi student Basiri Mulay El-hasan.
Published 11 February 2009
In August Yara’s plant on Herøya imported phosphate from occupied West Sahara, contrary to the advice of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Yara may have paid 4,3 million euros to a Moroccan state company for phosphate stolen from its occupied neighbour.
Published 09 February 2009
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The New Zealand fertilizer producer confirms that they have a long term delivery contract with Moroccan state phosphate company OCP. The highly unethical agreement was signed in 1999.
Published 09 February 2009

Download Afroil, 20 January 2009, covering the oil industry in Western Sahara.

Published 09 February 2009

The Ministry of Trade and Industry knew about the transaction but did not try to stop the import of phosphate from Western Sahara. Norway may have broken international law.

Published 09 February 2009
News coverage in Faroese newspaper Dimmalætting, 12th and 13th of January 2009.
Published 09 February 2009

The vessel Ennerdale with link to El Aaiún, 2008.

Published 09 February 2009
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The government of the Faroe Islands supports the Western Sahara people\'s right to self-determination over its natural resources.

Published 07 February 2009
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Irishmen Bryan Benitz and and Paul Griffiths are leading a company that is planning to profit from an occupation.

Published 02 February 2009
Arrived 12th of January 2009 with phosphates from occupied Western Sahara.
Published 29 January 2009
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Morocco has apparently launched a big onshore exploration programme in Western Sahara.

Published 29 January 2009
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Sahrawi students at the University of Agadir on 22 January 2009 protested Fugro-Geoteam\'s engagement for Moroccan authorities in occupied Western Sahara.
Published 29 January 2009
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Uranium, diamonds, gold, niobium. ONHYM's mining programme in southern parts of occupied Western Sahara is speeding up. See where their projects are here. 

Published 28 January 2009

LONDON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The Western Sahara independence movement Polisario said on Thursday the European Union must stop boats fishing off the disputed territory's coast and announced a legal framework to back up its claim to the area's resources.

Published 28 January 2009

WESTERN Sahara's Petroleum Authority has accused Kosmos Energy of violating international law by awarding Fugro-Geoteam a contract for a major seismic survey in Morocco's Southern Provinces, writes Barry Morgan. Upstream, 23 January 2009.

Published 27 January 2009
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Rumours of Libyan state oil company Tamoil having entered occupied Western Sahara were in 2007 emphanitcally denied by the company. Now, the rumours resurface in Spanish media.
Published 27 January 2009
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President Abdelaziz calls on EU to cease illegal fishing in Western Sahara’s waters. Press release from SADR, 22 Jan 2009.
Published 22 January 2009
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Sahrawi Arabic Democratic Republic sent 15 January 2009 a letter to Kosmos Energy demanding the company to terminates its operations in occupied Western Sahara. On 13 January 2009 a similar letter was sent to Dutch-Norwegian seismic survey company Fugro-Geoteam, which started its exploration for Kosmos in January.
Published 16 January 2009
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Western Sahara Resource Watch demands that Fugro-Geoteam terminate their profoundly unethical activities, and immediately withdraw their vessel "Geo Caribbean" from the Western Saharan waters. Fugro works in occupied Western Sahara on behalf of Moroccan authorities. Read open letter to Fugro, 12 January 2009.

Published 13 January 2009

A huge Norwegian research vessel has in secret travelled to the coast of occupied Western Sahara. This weekend the Norwegian company Fugro-Geoteam started a controversial operation to carry out oil exploration, in defiance of the advice of the UN and the Norwegian government. Norwatch, 12 January 2009.

Published 12 January 2009
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From this port, in El Aaiun, Western Sahara, the international phosphate plundering is taken place.

Published 07 January 2009

Gas tanker 'Lingegas' has visited occupied Western Sahara.

Published 07 January 2009
In 2006, the EU fisheries commissioner used the 2002 UN legal opinion on natural resources in Western Sahara to legitimise an illegal fisheries agreement. The author of the legal opinion says Borg must have been "ill advised". See Borg's bizarre reading of the UN text.
Published 06 January 2009