EUCOCO 2004

A SOLUTION TO THE CONFLICT IS DEMANDED TO UN AS WELL AS A MORE ACTIVE ROLL IN THE EU.

EUCOCO PRECEDENTS

The European Conference TO support to the Saharaui people (EUCOCO) was organized the firt time in 1974 and it’s been happening yearly ever since.

It meets representatives from diferent places: Comites and Assossiations, local authorities, twin regions, non governmental organisations, trade unions, cooperatives, volunteers and diferent european parliament groups….that work for the freedom of the Saharaui people and that have been helping to these people to survive in this wait that has been lasting for the last 30 years.

In the conference there are representatives of the Saharaui government, the RASD president, different members of that government, the Saharaui representative and the FRENTE POLISARIO delegate from different European countries.

It is important to point out that the Saharaui House is receiving wide and vast support from all around the world. For that reason it is been questioned whether to change the name of the Conference, from the European Conference to the International Conference.

The last few conferences were celebrated in Paris (2003), Módena (2002) and Sevilla (2001). The candidature that was accepted last year in the French capital for 2004 was Zaragoza, the capilal of Aragon.

The EUCOCO is organized in three different areas:

-         The saharaui area, coordinated by the European Saharaui Delegation

-         The political area, coordinated by  Federacion de Instituciones Solidarias con el Sahara

-         The solidarity area coordinated by the European Coordinator of Friendly Associations with the Saharaui people.

LA XXX CONFERENCIA. EUCOCO 2004

Once the Paris candidature for 2004 was accepted, Zaragoza took the responsibility for celebrating this year the 30^th edition of the Conference, through UM DRAIGA (The Amigos del pueblo saharaui Association in Aragon).

The reasons given by the organisational Entity are based in the following criteria:

-   The political situation in Aragon is appropiate due to the unanimous consensus in the Cortes de Aragon, as it is shown in the presentation “Paz para el pueblo Saharahui” which was included in the last Institutional Declaracion of el Pleno de las Cortes aragonesas the last 29/12/03. This demonstrates a high implication of the Aragon govermnent and the Zaragona council to the issue.

·        The associative movement in the Aragon community is adquiring more compromise with the solidarity towards the Saharaui people (which can be demonstrated by the celebration of the smbolic remferemum in la Comunidad autonoma de Aragon; the arribal of more Saharaui children to the community; and the incresase of humanitarian projects). Thus, makes the Aragon society to become more and more sensitized with the Saharaui house.

-         Zaragoza meets all conditions as a city  conferences and the city can project its image of big city

-         With any doubt, the conference will contribuite with the International community to solve peacefully a conflict that it is been lasting for too long. Therefore Zaragoza might be a meeting point for peace, en concreto Occidental Sahara, and International law as the UN states.

The aims for this XXX Conference are:

-         To raise public awarenes, at a European, Spanish and in Aragon society, about the Saharaui conflic, what it is the state of the problem, the peace plan and the problem that this arise.

-         To influence in the search for a quick and peaceful solution at a personal level, political level and the institutional and social organisations level.

-         To insist to UN that they should demonstrate,  that they are fighting for the freedom of people and they should not allow external pressures for the political, economical and geostratigic interests that they only make go worse the rights recognized by international bodies.

-         To stimulate the support of european and international communityto the saharahi people, encouraging to continue fighting for their rights to become autonomous.

In the organization of this event the will be participation of the following institutions:

-         Saharaui representation  in Europe and Spain and  Delegacion del Frente POLISARIO in Aragon

-         European Coordination of Friendly associations with the Saharaui people (TASK FORCE)

-         Federacion Española de Instituciones Solidarias con el Sahara (FEDISSAH)

-         Coordinadora Estatal de Asociaciones Solidarias con el Sahara (CEASSAHARA), to whon UM DRAIGA (Amigos del Pueblo Saharaui de Aragon) belongs.

The participants in the Conference will include social and political saharaui authorities, MP’s,   Meers and city councilors, social and political representatives of different countries, representatives of different associative movements that help the saharauis and other relevant international representatives

FOR THE SAHARAUI PEOPLE FREEDOM!!!