06-02-06 The letter below was sent by Saharawi political prisoners in Western Sahara to Kerr-McGee:

6th February 2006

Mr Luke R. Corbett,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
Kerr-McGee Corporation
Kerr-McGee Centre
123 Robert S. Kerr Avenue, Oklahoma City
OKLAHOMA, USA, 73102

Dear Mr Corbett,

We, the Saharawi human rights activists and prisoners of conscience of the prison of El Aiun, would like to address to you this letter to express our deep concern regarding your company’s past and current activities offshore the territories of Western Sahara under Moroccan occupation.
As you may be aware, since 1975 when Morocco, in flagrant violation of the ruling of the International Court of Justice of The Hague, invaded Western Sahara, the Saharawi people have been enduring the dire consequences of occupation, including hundreds who have perished in Moroccan jails or disappeared in addition to dozens of prisoners of conscience.

Recently, since 21 May 2005, there have been massive and mounting peaceful demonstrations all over the occupied territories of Western Sahara in which theSaharawis have been taking to streets to protest against Morocco’s illegal occupation. The demonstrators have also been demanding the respect of their fundamental human rights, namely the inalienable right to self-determination and independence to be exercised through a free, fair, democratic, UN-supervised referendum, in accordance with the dictates of international legality.
The reaction of the Moroccan occupying authorities has been extremely brutal and violent, as documented by international media and evidenced by testimonies of human rights organisations such as Amnesty International, the International Organisation against Torture, and Moroccan Human Rights Organisations (AMDH).

We who write this letter to you are at this very moment detained at the “Black Jail” in El Aiun, the capital of the occupied Western Sahara, in harsh and degrading conditions. All of us have been arrested and brought to a show trial to face unfair sentences, only for speaking out our right. Two of our compatriots have already been cold-bloodedly assassinated. Many of us have also been seriously intimated, jailed and tortured.
Our peaceful resistance bears clear testimony to the dramatic failure of the policy that the Moroccan authorities have been pursuing for the past three decades with a view to winning the hearts and minds of the Saharawi population. Thirty years of occupation and repression have not made the Saharawis into Moroccans, for they remain attached to their identity and legitimate aspiration for living in a free and sovereign state of their own.

We find it very frustrating to repeatedly hear that Kerr-McGee claims to support the UN efforts to solve the conflict, and that your activities are to the benefit of the people of Western Sahara. You see, over the last years, there has been a very limited progress in the UN efforts to organise our promised referendum. The reason is that Morocco, in their hunger for the natural resources in Western Sahara, refuses any referendum to take place.
Your company, and your two US partners, Pioneer and Kosmos, are now the only three oil companies in Western Sahara. Through its presence, Kerr-McGee constitutes today a corner stone in Morocco’s plans for our land.

We know it might be difficult for you to understand, but since Kerr-McGee signed the contract with Morocco in 2001, the situation for us has been increasingly difficult. A UN solution seems now even more distant than only a few years back. Kerr-McGee’s important role in Morocco’s political game over Western Sahara cannot be ignored.
According to international law, an oil reconnaissance contract in an occupied territory, if it is not to the benefit or wishes of the local population, would be illegal. We invite you, Mr Corbett, to come to El Aiun and speak with our Saharawi friends who are not yet in jail, and try to assess for yourself whether Kerr-McGee’s’ activities will be to the benefit of our people, as your company claims to the international press.

In view of the foregoing, we, the Saharawi human rights activists and prisoners of conscience, would like to add our voice to all those who have expressed on many occasions their disaffection and disagreement with the contract signed by Kerr-McGee with the Kingdom of Morocco to explore for oil offshore the territories of Western Sahara under Moroccan occupation.
We would also like to request Kerr-McGee to do the right thing by seizing on this historic opportunity and announce its withdrawal from Western Sahara, by choosing not to renew the contract that expires in April 2006. Only then can Kerr-McGee really claim to be supporting the UN efforts. Such a gesture will be welcomed by the Saharawi people, and by all those who believe in the rule of law and in the paramount sovereignty of peoples over their natural resources.

In doing this, you will also demonstrate that Kerr-McGee is abiding by the same ethical guidelines that led all your previous subcontractors (TGS-Nopec, Fugro, Thor Offshore) to withdraw from Western Sahara, and to the same standards as some of your previous shareholders who have been opposing your activities.
By withdrawing from Western Sahara Kerr-McGee would send a clear message to the international community that it does not support abuses of human rights and violation of international law, committed by your current contractual partner.

While in prison, we have been told by someone that Jesus said, "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me."
Jesus then said, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did no do for me."

We the prisoners in Black Prison as well as all Saharawis livingin prison under the Moroccan occupation, are hoping that KMG and the Christian community of Oklahoma, will not forget the words from Jesus. We won't.
Please do the right thing, the Christian thing.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

The Saharawi Human Rights Activists and prisoners of conscience, The “Black Jail” El Aiun, the capital of the occupied Western Sahara

NB: A copy of this letter is sent to your partners, Pioneer Natural Resources and Kosmos Energy.”