Western Sahara government protests TOTAL activities in the Territory

Western Sahara - Independent Maghreb Press Agency - The government of Western Sahara Republic has asked the French company TOTAL to refrain from any exploitation of natural resources in the occupied Western Sahara without the approval of Saharawi government, in a letter sent Wednesday by the Saharawi Coordinator with the MINURSO Mr. Mhamed Khadad to Total’s Chief Executive Officer Christophe de Margerie. “The illegal occupation of Western Sahara is legitimized by individuals and corporations who deal with Morocco for the natural resources of the territory,” stated the letter. “By the illegal exploration of the natural resources of Western Sahara, the conflict is prolonged, and the Saharawi people denied their economic future,” wrote Mr. Mhamed Khadad. “We remain confident that TOTAL will prove it was not and would not remain involved, in any way, in the exploitation of petroleum resources in the Western Sahara coasts,” he added. The letter coincides with the end of TOTAL’s licence with the Moroccan state oil company ONHYM, which was revealed last week.