RFK Ctr's Kerry Kennedy: Political Operative or HR Activist?

: NEWS; 08/26/12

Washington / Morocco News Board--- On August 24, the President of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights (RFK Center), arrived in Laayoune leading a human rights delegation with distinguished international human rights advocates to visit Moroccan Sahara and then Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria. The objective of the visit is to assess the human rights situation on the ground.

"Our delegation will seek to assess the human rights situation on the ground by speaking to human rights defenders, government authorities, and ordinary families split apart by this conflict," said Kerry Kennedy. "We hope to raise attention to this issue and support the establishment of a human rights mandate for the UN Mission." So far, and I’m sure many will agree with me, is that any international or national human right organization has the full right to visit and assess human rights situation on the ground anywhere in the world. However, to issue such statement , RFK center has chosen to go beyond its human rights agenda by engaging in partisan political activity on behalf of the pro Polisario group. The Minurso mandate is clear agreed upon by the two conflicting parties and the international community represented in the UN. So now RFK and even before starting its « noble » mission has made its political objective clear. At first blush, it may seem that the objective is to encourage the United Nations to create a new human rights entity in the region but the truth is that it will hurt the Moroccan territorial integrity and promote a totally negative image of Morocco as a brutal violator of human rights in the region and thus weaken its negotiation power in any upcoming round organized by the UN. In pursuing this political objective RFK took deliberate aim urging the UN to adopt such decision. Therefore, RFk has totally moved from its human rights agenda and has become a political broker. Such statement is worthy of the best propaganda efforts of Morocco’s most vehement denigrators and detractors.

RFK center– of course -is perfectly entitled to engage in any activity it chooses and its president can say whatever she likes– but must be prepared to face any criticism that is subsequently leveled at its center's conduct. When such conduct also involves the possible use of funds donated to RFK to pursue human rights objectives – not political objectives – the actions of RFK are thrown more sharply under the public spotlight. If the RFK – or any other organization - want to also be power brokers - then it should add this new job description to its listed on its website – so that donors will be left in no doubt as to where their money is being spent. So, RFK or another human rights organization should stick and respect its human rights agenda. It should remain totally neutral and stand up if it encounters during its fact finding mission any arbitrary violation of human rights. Moroccan NGOs will be the first ones to support and denounce in case of any violation in the region. Morocco has opened its doors to many international human rights organization and they moved freely and met with whomever they judge worthy to be interviewed or just to meet with to enable them to issue a unbiased report on the situation on the ground. Therefore, RFK should carry out its mission within that professional spirit of neutrality and hopefully reflect the real situation on both sides.

Said Temsamani is a political observer and consultant, who follows events in Morocco and across North Africa.

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Comments (12)

-1 #1 Are we really ready for the Sahara autonomy? — Maghribi USA 2012-08-26 14:28

RFK mission statement is a minor issue, I think Morocco did allow the situation to escalate by dragging this Sahara issue. There is no real intention from our side to give a real autonomy to the Sahara. Quite honestly, if we are not prepared to spread democracy, decentralizatio n, and human rights in the main land, why do we think the Saraha autonomy plan is credible?

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-2 #2 RE: RFK Ctr's Kerry Kennedy: Political Operative or HR Activist? — Morcelli 2012-08-26 16:18

Unfortunately the author is at it again. Just keep in mind that Ban Ki-Moon called M6 this morning to let him know that he will not replace Christoper Ross. A big blow to Morocco who is a non veto holding member of the UN for couple of years and who contributes the most number of peace keepers than any other Arab or African country. This speaks volume, Morocco has zero weight in the international arena. When Algeria/Polisar io asked for Van Walsum to be removed, Kofi Yanan obliged in a new york minute.
Morocco can no longer buy time with sending Moroccan peacekeepers to hostile areas where these poor peacekeepers end up being dead or raping under age Ivory coast girls. This is not a case of scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. Morocco can no longer rely on France to do everything for us. Hilarry Clinton the so called friend of Morocco wanted to keep Ross due that he's American, Americans always side with Americans no matter what.
Morocco is already crying foul now that Kerry Kennedy (the prescription drug addict by the way) is visiting the Moroccan Sahara. If all is fine and dandy in the Sahara, then the communication minister khalfi should not worry right? Well he is very worried. We have been subsidizing the Sahara for 40 years and we have yet to bear any fruit. why? Blame it on Hassan II who offered the polisario a Referendum, we should never have accepted any referudum that we know will never take place because we simply can never be able to figure out who can and cannot vote.
The Moroccan government should go ahead and implement this so called autonomy with or without the UN and show the world that the autonomy is working and that the sahraouis are living freely and in total harmony. Unfortunately, the foreign affairs are in the king's hands and he will never jeopardize the monarchy by agreeing to something he does not know the results ahead of time. For now sit still and watch if the king will bow to Ban kin moon's demands to keep Christopher's Ross as his envoy.
If M6 agrees , that will be the biggest mistake of his reign after the Leila island. I really hope that he can get back to the Korean dude and tell him to go F..... himself.
I can't wait to hear something, right all media outlets in Morocco are waiting to see what the kind will reply before they can write a thing.
MAP instead is telling us that the korean dude call the king to thank him for helping with the peace keeping operations without mentioning that he will keep Christopher Ross as his envoy.

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-1 #3 RE: RFK Ctr's Kerry Kennedy: Political Operative or HR Activist? — riffi 2012-08-26 23:48

Morocco is paying dearly for not going ahead with the autonomy,the government dragged their feet without knowing that was the last chance the US and the western world gave us. So now let's pray and do what we always do"sit and pray and do nothing" if Ross come back god have mercy on the monarchy.

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+2 #4 RE: RFK Ctr's Kerry Kennedy: Political Operative or HR Activist? — Morcelli 2012-08-27 16:03

The thing that I do not understand is Morocco is doing everything it can as to not have the Human right mandate included in Minurso, Kerry kennedy is doing everything it can to have the mandate included. What does Morocco do? it gave total access to Kerry Kennedy and her clan to visit the Moroccan Sahara and at the same time cry foul that Kerry will be biased toward the Polisario.
Is it by giving a free pass to Kennedy Morocco is hoping that she will favor the Moroccan side? When in her site she calls Morocco an occupier who is brutalizing Aminatou Haidar's children?

Is Morocco hoping that Kerry Kennedy will have a change of heart and site with what she calls a brutal occupier?

Has Morocco forgotten the prize that she awarded to Aminatou? Does Morocco hope that Kerry Kennedy will revoke the award from Aminatou?

If someone out there has a better explanation to Morocco's Motive, please enlighten us.

Morocco cannot surround the Sahraouis with police and military while Kennedy is there and hope for good things to come after her visit.

The government is good at running mosques, I am not sure they can handle the Sahara dossier, Benkirane relies on God to do his job for him. The God I know gave you a brain to do a good job not to do the job for you.

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-2 #5 RE: RFK Ctr's Kerry Kennedy: Political Operative or HR Activist? — man en blanc 2012-08-27 23:37

This woman is using her own teenage daughter to put Morocco on the Spot. A big mistake M6 letting this woman in Morocco.

newyork.newsday.com/news/kerry-kennedy-and-daughter-in-western-sahara-1.3931429#1

Here she is again blogging about the DST in Layoune

newyork.newsday.com/westchester/westchester-now-1.3784383/kerry-kennedy-a-view-from-moroccan-occupied-western-sahara-1.3931260

I really do not know what Morocco is thinking, they just shot themselves in the foot.

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-1 #6 Hypocrasy and lies — Patriot 2012-08-28 06:17

Kerry Kennedy's tweet was a complete hit job, she asserted that the sahraoui woman was "assaulted" by the Moroccan police, but she did not present any evidence whatsoever, she used camera shots of a woman on the floor being assisted by other people including some Moroccan polices as evidence, I challenge Ms Kennedy to present us with a single photo to back up her allegations.
In regards to the photo of the men in his car, why does she think he was trying to hide from the camera???
The Moroccan idiot who inserted his arm in the Kennedy's know that Ms Kennedy Is in morocco for propagande on behalf of Algeria and the Polisario, so he knew that she will use the picture of the woman on the ground for her lies.
She a leftist who own a huge mansion in MA, empty most of the year.....can you help the homless Kerry? You have enough wasted space for at least a 200 homeless people this winter.

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+1 #7 No Coordination. Result: Car Crash — Aliwa 2012-08-28 06:30

The Moroccan governement and the Palace lack what is know as joined-up thinking, i.e. each minister, each royal advisor and each department communicating efficiently with each other and acting together purposefully and effectively.

Benkirane has talked about this issue recently. But he came back and issued a public apology to the king.

Those who gave RFK Centre a free reign to come, witness and do whatever they like in the Sahara were clearly wrong. How come we are about to give the Polisario a big stick to kick us with!

They can stir up stuff to promote their cause in the territory we control. This fact no one can deny.

On the other hand, we lack the same influence on the Polisario camps. Is not it time we launch a powerful media campaign (Medium Wave and FM radios) aimed at the refugees like the West did during the Cold War?

Soon we will have a big bad ugly bucket of foul manure thrown over our heads soon. I have already seen some photos and comments on Huffington Post by the members of this lobby group. They are not an independent body as they claim. So expect the worst.

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+1 #8 get a real job — no one 2012-08-29 17:32

rfk headed bythis worthless pc of you know what kerry kennedy is nothing but a sugar coded human right bs , let's see her go to palestine and see for her self the abuse, the killings and ethnic cleansing that happen every day in the occupy lands of the muslim palestinian poeple,quit browning your nose in the moroccan sahara, it's not a good idea to make the moorish poeple mad

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-2 #9 The king is to blame ... — Haqq 2012-08-30 11:06

Twenty years from now when sahara is independent and Algeria plays us against each other like Syria played in Lebanon we will all look back and say why in this world did we not hold the king responsible for his decisions...

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-1 #10 IT Technician — Naoufal 2012-08-30 17:03

Unfortunately it looks as if this delegation of human rights advocates are biased. Morocco has nothing to hide and other human rights NGOs have already visited the region and confirmed Moroccoo's respect of human rights and rule of law. Maybe RFK has another agenda

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