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Monday, 16 August 2010 12:11 |
 Aug 14, 2010 – Al Ghofran Cemetery is located few Kilometers north of Casablanca, Morocco. The cemetery is home to thousands of Moroccans and Casablanca natives. It is now Undergoing major expansion due to high death tolls from lack of decent health care and high roadway accident rates.
"During my last visit to al Ghofran to pay tribute to my father's grave, I was shocked to see that this cemetery is not well maintained, the sanitary conditions were very bad and not within Muslim standards. So, I created an organization here in the US to help clean this cemetery. Our group has no political or religious goals; we simply solicit donations from all Moroccans including the Moroccan Government to address the sanitary issues of this particular cemetery. Our goal is to raise $10,000.00 by year's end." said Mr. Bechat .
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Sunday, 18 July 2010 20:28 |
Washington - Moroccan sociologist Mohamed Cherkaoui highlighted, on Saturday in Washington, the social bond that ties the Sahara population to the rest of Moroccan regions.
This "central aspect" of the Sahara issue is "completely left out accidentally or deliberately of the discussions and agenda of the international organizations," said Cherkaoui in an address to the annual meeting of the Young Democrats of America.
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Thursday, 24 June 2010 11:22 |
 Washington - Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), voiced on Wednesday his concern over the involvement of Al Qaeda branch in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI) in drug trafficking to Europe.
"I am very worried by the fact that once again in the world we see evidence that drug trafficking is used to fund insurgency and terrorism," the UN official told MAP on the sidelines of the presentation of the UNODC World Drug Report 2010.
Antonio Maria Costa added that the "trafficking routes of the Latin-American cocaine cross territories which are, to some extent, under the control or characterized by the presence of insurgents of AQMI," calling the situation "very serious".
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Sunday, 20 June 2010 14:22 |
 Washington / Morocco Board News Service - The independence of the Sahara could result in a dependent, inept and chaotic territory failed state dominated by Al Qaida, an entity known for its preference for sanctuaries in weak or failed states, U.S. paper World Tribune warned.
The European Union and the United States are concerned of another sanctuary for Al Qaida, said the paper which commented on a report by the Chairman of the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), Harvey Sicherman.
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Panama-City - The Sahrawis seek to build a different future from that offered by the Polisario, former Polisario leader Ahmeddou Ould Souilem told Panama's daily 'La Estrella de Panama.'
"The Polisario's margin of manoeuvre is narrowing," Ould Souilem said, adding that the most salient issue is the humanitarian tragedy that takes place in the Tindouf camps (south-western Algeria).
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Tuesday, 25 May 2010 12:16 |
Brussels - Links between the Polisario Front and the development of terrorism in the Sahel are multiplying and the collapse of the movement feeds the activity of Al Qaeda branch in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Brussels-based the European Strategic Intelligence & Security Center (ESISC) said Thursday.
"While this hypothesis initially reflected the simple fear of excesses of the Polisario, every day it becomes a bit more concrete, to the point where now there is a consensus among analysts regarding the security situation in the region," said ESISC in a report entitled "The Polisario Front and the development of terrorism in the Sahel."
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 Rabat - Morocco deplores Algeria's negative reaction to its participation on March 16 in a regional conference on cooperation in the fight against terrorism and cross-border crime in the Sahel-Saharan region, a statement of the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
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03/06/2010 / Laayoune / Morocco / Slavery still practiced in the Tindouf camps (south-western Algeria) is completely unacceptable and cannot be silenced, president of the African-American congress Seddiq Abu Bakr Way said on Friday.
Following a meeting with several Saharan NGOs notably the "Ligue des défenseurs des droits de l'homme au Sahara", Abu Bakr Way said the Algerian press overshadows the appalling practices in these camps and focuses on the baseless claims of human rights abuses in the southern provinces.
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2010-02-19 18:48:52 - Laayoune - M'barek Cheikh Ahmed Baba Al-Kadi, a young Saharan from the Rguibet Laâyaycha tribe, escaped Tindouf camps (south-western Algeria) to join homeland, Morocco.
M'barek Cheikh, 24, had participated along with several Saharans in a sit-in staged in front of "Polisario’s secretariat general", near Tindouf.
The young Saharan told MAP that he returned home to regain his freedom and dignity and meet his relatives.
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Dakhla, Morocco - Mohamed Ahmed Hamou, a Moroccan citizen from the Saharan Ouled-Dlim tribe, on Monday urged UNSG Ban Ki-moon to save the lives of his brother and friends who were arrested last December by the western Polisario militia in Tindouf camps (south-western Algeria).
In a letter sent to the UN chief, Mohamed Hamou called for putting pressure on Algeria and the Polisario to free the three prisoners; Balouh Ahmed Hamou, Ahmed Salem Chibani Hamou and Mohamed Salek Ouled Gueya, who were arrested for publicly expressing their opposition to Western sahara separatist Polisario leaders.
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Brussels - A large majority of Morocco southern populations is convinced that the Moroccan proposal to grant a broad autonomy to the southern Saharan provinces is the only solution to settle the Sahara issue, member of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs, Moulay Ahmed Mghizlat, said on Tuesday.
A large majority of the Sahara populations is convinced that the Moroccan proposal to grant a broad autonomy to the southern provinces is the only credible and realistic solution to settle the Sahara issue, given that all attempts to solve this artificial conflict were a complete debacle, Mghizlat said at a series of meetings in Brussels of a delegation of Saharan MPs and officials with European deputies from across the political spectrum. |
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The Moroccan initiative comes in response to repeated requests of the United Nations Security Council and several of its key members, including the United States, that Morocco propose a solution to this longstanding problem that could facilitate the opening of negotiations for a “just, durable and peaceful” political solution.
After nearly a decade of trying to bring the Polisario and Morocco to agreement to conduct a referendum to determine the territories future, Kofi Annan, then Secretary General, and James Baker, then Personal Envoy for the Western Sahara, reported to the Security Council that it was not possible to achieve agreement between the Polisario and Morocco on the central issue of who should be permitted to vote in a referendum. Consequently, Annan and Baker recommended that the Security Council encourage Morocco and the Polisario to enter into direct negotiations to find a compromise political solution. The Security Council accepted the assessment of Annan and Baker that a referendum would not be possible, and began a process carried through several years of UNSC resolutions calling for direct negotiations.
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Mohammed Boughdadi
Le Sahara marocain, le même peuple dans les mêmes frontières
Le Sahara est l'un des sujets qui a été le plus exploité par la littérature méditerranéenne des siècles derniers. Toutefois, les Européens en ont un aperçu tout à fait particulier, ne sachant comment le distinguer sous ses différentes coutures. Le plus connu par l'Europe est le Sahara français. Sa conquête par la France, en 1830, a fait l'objet d'écrits plus ou moins préconçus et sa libération, en 1962 après la guerre d'Algérie, n'a pas manqué d'attirer l'attention des observateurs et écrivains de toutes les tendances.
\Par sa géographie, son anthropologie, ses populations millénaires, son histoire et ses aléas sociopolitiques, il est normal de parler du désert africain. Il se présente sous un ensemble homogène allant de l'Atlantique à la Mer Rouge, avec des nuances à peine perceptibles. S'il n'avait pas été dépecé et cloisonné en plusieurs zones politiques par le colonial européen, il aurait gardé son harmonie et ses lois géographiques. Les frontières administratives de la période d'occupation ont été plus d'une fois modifiées ou effacées. Les coloniaux qui les avaient imposées ont disparu, mais restent à jamais ces éléments géographiques et humains qui continuent de former le corps originel du Sahara. Sa physionomie physique et humaine conserve ses singularités millénaires, restées immuables malgré les vicissitudes de l'époque coloniale.
Le Sahara qui nous intéresse ici est le Sahara Marocain, tel qu'il était avant la colonisation du Maroc par la France et l'Espagne et tel qu'il est aujourd'hui avec ses problèmes et ses labyrinthes. C'est dans cette optique que ce chapitre tente de faire connaître la géographie et la morphologie de cette région pour connaître la population qui y évolue et ses problèmes. Le terrain, le relief, le climat, l'hydrographie, la pluviométrie, jusqu'à la faune et la flore, expliquent le mouvement des masses humaines et déterminent leur mode de vie, leurs caractères et leurs spécificités. L'homme ne choisit pas son mode de vie, mais ce sont ces éléments naturels qui tracent sa destinée. Le nomadisme et le système caravanier n'ont pas été un choix, mais imposés au bédouin par le milieu où il évolue.
La géographie du Sahara
Le Sahara n'est point cette pensée têtue et romantique qui le représente comme une suite infinie de dunes dorées où cheminent, au son envoûtant d'une flûte magique, de féeriques et interminables caravanes qui éveillent la nostalgie d'alléchants et fabuleux voyages. Le Sahara n'est pas non plus un vaste espace constellé d'oasis rêvés pour le repos dans des palmeraies enchanteresses que traversent de roucoulants et limpides ruisseaux où se désaltère le voyageur après sa longue méharée. Seuls les contes des Mille et une Nuits donnent peut-être du Sahara cette séduisante métaphore
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by Dr. Ahmed Kostas
It is a shame that in the name of the man who fought all his life against the axis of evil: communism and totalitarianism, Robert F. Kennedy, the RFK Memorial Canter for Human Rights would honor the communist camp, created by the the military regime in Algeria, that is busy acquiring sophisticated weapons from Russia, for 7.5 billion dollars to deter Morocco's initiatives for peace and back up other totalitarian regimes in the African continent; and who, for decades, bought weapons for Palestinian Radicals to spread terrorism and bloodshed. This camp called "Western Sahara People" was created in 1975, after the success of a peaceful march called “Green March” which rescued the Sahara from the Spanish colonialists to bring it to the fold where it belonged for centuries, The Kingdom Morocco.
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To whom it may concern,
MoroccoBoard, the Moroccan American community media Group in the US, regrets the excessive punitive fines levied against Moroccan Daily , Al Massae, and considers that these kinds of rulings by Morocco’s Court system threatens the emerging independent media and freedom of the press that is currently enjoyed by Moroccans....( Read More )
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 The United States of America affirmed its stance on the Sahara remains unchanged, making it clear that some form of mutually-accepted autonomy is the only realistic solution for this issue,The stance of the United States is written down in a statement that was delivered to the press, US State Department Spokesman, Sean McCormack said on Friday in response to a journalist's question on the Sahara issue
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After more than six months of preparation by Washington Area volunteers. a Moroccan American community network was born on Saturday following the Second Annual Moroccan American conference which took place at the Washington Park Hyatt Conference Hall with the participation of over seventeen Moroccan American Associations from various parts of the country.
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.jpg) Today, we are celebrating the eleventh anniversary of my accession to the throne.
This glorious event is an opportunity to renew the bonds of mutual, indefectible allegiance, which unite us. It is also the opportune moment to reaffirm the strong consensus on the nation’s immutable values.
The country’s unity, territorial integrity and single identity are the cornerstone of these tenets, along with the nation’s sacred values, of which, as Commander of the Faithful, I am the Guarantor. These values, which include our tolerant Islamic faith, with its distinct Moroccan characteristics and its adherence to the Sunni Maliki rite, advocate mutual respect between the revealed religions and open-minded attitudes towards other civilizations.
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Tuesday, 29 June 2010 14:08 |
Robert M. Holley, Executive Director
Caitlin Dearing, Principal Author
Jean AbiNader, Editor
 This report is a case study of the violation of refugee rights resulting from the three decades old warehousing of Sahrawi refugees in Algeria. It includes a brief introduction to the background of the factors that generated the refugee situation, an analysis of the current deplorable state of refugees in camps near the city of Tindouf in southwestern Algeria, and an assessment of how their rights are being violated under international refugee law. Drawing on international refugee and human rights law, particularly the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), it outlines both the legal rights of Sahrawi refugees and the legal responsibilities of UNHCR and the host country, Algeria. By assessing the responsibilities and shortcomings of UNHCR and Algeria in derogating from their obligations under international law, this report seeks to call international attention to the problem of refugee warehousing and to offer realistic suggestions for further international action that is urgently needed to improve the lives of the Sahrawi refugees and guarantee their rights under international refugee law. |
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Tuesday, 22 June 2010 21:30 |
 Marrakech, June 19 - (AP) - Alain Delon, famous French actor, has emphasized the need to make all the effort to free the Moroccans sequestered in Tindouf camps in south-western Algeria.
In a press statement on Saturday in Marrakech, the living legend and myth of world cinema has stressed the need to help the Moroccans, "the Algerian prisoners in Tindouf" to regain their freedom and return to the Motherland.
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Tuesday, 15 June 2010 14:37 |
Paris - The Sahara conflict costs the Maghreb a loss of 2 points of growth annually, the French daily "Le Monde" writes on Tuesday.
Morocco's ambitions to promote regional and continental integration are "thwarted by its relations with its neighbour Algeria," it says.
Le Monde underlines that the conflict between two countries over the Sahara prevents the Kingdom from having access to larger markets, but also fuels a fierce competition.
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Friday, 28 May 2010 18:57 |
 In an article entitled " Polisario's Black Book in Tindouf camps" reported by Almounaataf daily, Anwar Malek addresses the serious violations of human rights committed by Polisario, since the data revealed by the report by Human Rights Watch.
The reasons for concern regarding the situation of human rights in the region are, according to the report by Human Rights Watch, the absence of regular monitoring of the situation, writes Anouar Malek in this article published on Marayapress website.
"The field of human rights is continually being violated in Tindouf, even if Polisario said to be open to foreign control and that there are foreigners within the humanitarian and development organizations," said the author.
Algeria is responsible for this situation given that the Polisario Front can not be held responsible under international law, protection of individual rights, even though it executes policies and decisions that negatively affect human rights of the population in the Tindouf camps, he said.
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Wednesday, 28 April 2010 12:58 |
 Brussels - A recent report of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) revealed the mechanisms of embezzlement of humanitarian assistance meant for the Sahrawi population sequestered in the Tindouf Camps, southwestern Algeria, said on Monday the Brussels-based the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center (ESISC).
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Monday, 15 March 2010 12:43 |
Geneva - The International Agency for Development expressed on Monday its concern over the persistence in the Tindouf camps of enforced disappearances, and urged the international community to exert pressure on Algeria so that it assumes its responsibility regarding these human rights violations.
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02/16/2010 10:38 PM -- Washington - The non-resolution of the Sahara issue hinders interregional cooperation and prevents the integration of the Maghreb countries, Robert Godec, Principal Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism in the Department of State said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a meeting held by the U.S. think tank, The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), on "the dynamics of terrorism in North Africa," Godec stressed that the non-resolution of the Sahara issue hinders the cooperation and integration which the Maghreb region needs.
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02-11-2010 - 19:18:23
Rabat - Saharan NGO, the League of human rights defenders in the Sahara wrote to the UN Secretary-General about "the acts of violence" committed against the Saharans who staged a sit-in in front of the polisario's secretariat general, near Tindouf in the Algerian territory.
In this letter, the NGO said the protesters' families contacted it to express their indignation at the polisario’s behavior which put human lives at risk, adding that the demonstrators were subjected to the worst forms of torture.
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Madrid - Spain, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, hailed on Thursday the announcement of a new set of informal talks on the Sahara issue.
Speaking in Brussels before the European Parliament, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos hailed the announcement of a new set of informal talks under the UN aegis, said the Spanish Radio and Television. The new informal talks on the Sahara will take place on February 10-11 in Westchester County, in the outskirts of New York. |
 Washington -02/02/10-- US House of Representative members called on the UN high Commissioner for refugees (HCR) to "protect the rights" of the population held against its will in the Polisario-run camps of Tindouf, south-western Algeria.
In a letter sent the HCR head Antonio Guterres, co-chairs of the partisan Congressional Refugee Caucus of the US House of Representatives, Lincoln-Diaz-Balart and Zoe Lofgren said they believe the Office of the UN high Commissioner for refugees "should work toward ensuring that the rights of the populations living in Tindouf be fully protected".
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Appeal For A Manifestation
In the light of some recent events that attack the sovereignty and the security of our country, We, Moroccans living abroad and friends of Morocco, want to call the attention of the American and international public opinion on the following:
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Following the media storm around Western Sahara Separatist, Aminatou Haidar, a group of Moroccan Americans, friends of Morocco that are not affiliated with any particular organization or association issued a petition on the Western Sahara conflict and its roots.
The petition emphasizes the Moroccan identity of the Sahara, denies the misleading information circulated by the "Polisario Front" and its supporters, and seeks to reach out to the Moroccan Sahraoui people and help them return back home to Morocco. |
Erin Kim
Meryem Riane (left) and Loubna Gourari visit the Blue Door at City Hall. The door was donated by their hometown, Issaquah’s sister city, Chefchaouen, Morocco. The girls visited as part of an exchange program. |
On their first visit to America, students Meryem Riane, 19, and Loubna Gourari, 18, traveled to Issaquah from its Moroccan sister city, ChefchaouenLong before the students made a two-week trip to Issaquah, Issaquah residents and officials took steps to cement the relationship between the city and Chefchaouen.
In 2006, 12-year-old Iman Belali wanted to create a better understanding between America and Morocco, her home country. Iman convinced her parents to start the nonprofit organization, the American Moroccan International Exchange program. |
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 Virginia’s Moroccan community, working together with other ethnic communities, has arrived on the stage and is planning and increasingly vital role in shaping Virginia’s future.
With four of the most important offices for Virginians —the Presidency, the two U.S. Senate seats and the Governorship in Democratic hands, we have plenty of reasons to smile!...
What’s next? How do we build on these successes to ensure an increasingly healthy role for our community in shaping Virginia’s future?
The most important election in what remains of this decade will take place on Nov 3, 2009. The election for Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
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 It has been long established that involvement in the political process is vital to any community’s success. With each new elected congress, there are a number of positions that require to be filled.
In an effort to open various doors to the Moroccan American community, it brings me great pleasure and joy to announce that the Congressional Muslim Staffers Association (CMSA) has sent out a call for interested individuals to submit their resumes to be included in the CMSA Resume Book. Interested Moroccan Americans are highly encouraged to apply.
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 The Moroccan Community in the 10th Congressional district of Virginia is not happy about its congressman Frank Wolf's series of position regarding Morocco. The congressman has sided with the Polisario front and its backers and dismissed Morocco's Sahara autonomy plan and supported the referendum option championed by the Polisario.
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Every now and then a group of people have a vision, a small idea that
extends beyond each one of them but together they could reach.
Our journey would lead to a destination if we have something in common. We got together in Washington DC and it did not take us long to realize that we love our country. With or without a cause, we wake up and go to sleep thinking about home. What brought us together is an emotion. What made us want to go on a journey together is passion.
It is difficult for a group of people to agree. There are differences that
we must admit and put aside before we hold hands and march toward a common goal. Trust is gained not imposed and for each one of us to look at the other and say "count on me", its a combination of verbs not words.
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Contributors
 Hassan Masiky  Hamid Mernissi  Maryam Montague  Jillian York  Mohamed Benchemsi  Dr. H. Ben Kirat  Farah Kinani  Sarah Zaaimi  Matt Schumann  Nora Fitzgerald  Mostafa Chtaini  My Adil Naji  James Zoghby  Norman Greene  Elizabeth Blackney  Suzanna Clarke  Karim Kadiri  Zouhair Baghough  Lydia Beyoud  Lahcen Achy  Driss Benmhend  Jalal Nali  M. Benfadil  Yasmine Hasnaoui  M. El Younsi  Duncan De Lafeld  Rekia Ennaboulssi  Jamal Elabiad  Hisham G  Mohamed Brahimi  Belkhayat Ph.D.  Alison Lake
 James Liddell  Anouar Boukhars  Fadwa Massat  Mr. Saïd Bellari  Jack Rusenko  Marina Ottaway  Mr. Doug Davis  Hellen Ranger  Mostapha Saout  Mr. Younes Tihm  Ms. Sarah Tricha  Najat F. Kessler  Driss Temsam  Ahmed Taibi  Mustapha Azayi  Derek Workman  Nabil Arrach,PHD  Z. Ettamymy  M. Ghambou  Anas Bouslamti  Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir  Sarah Alaoui
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Morocco Goes to Easton, Maryland
Moroccan from LA
Great job guys, since I heard so...
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Western Sahara: Concerns About Christophe
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[b]Algerian said:
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First of all, just want t...
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Western Sahara: Concerns About Christophe
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We should not blame Alg...
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I am not White, Black, Asian or Hispanic
Give me a break! If it is such a problem for you t...
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Western Sahara: Concerns About Christophe
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WOW! The FLN swept up the majority of seats, which...
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Western Sahara: Concerns About Christophe
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Morcelli & Algerian: May I suggest that you have ...
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Morocco Goes to Easton, Maryland
You proved me wrong, Honestly speaking, I have to...
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Western Sahara: Concerns About Christophe
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I remember when Obama first became a president, he...
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Morocco Goes to Easton, Maryland
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Western Sahara: Concerns About Christophe
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Algerian,
Some things never change. Because you d...
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