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The Polisario Front said Tuesday that it intends to take similar actions in other countries against companies that buy «Sahrawi phosphate». «[The Polisario Front] anticipates similar civil legal proceedings in other countries against the remaining Saharawi phosphate purchasing enterprises involved», it stated in a communiqué published on its «press agency».
Moreover, the Front says that it «observes with satisfaction the successful recovery and the sale of a cargo of phosphate rock illegally exported from the occupied part of Western Sahara».
The Front’s satisfaction comes as OCP announced yesterday that it is finally recovering the cargo «illegally seized in South Africa». «Today, OCP is pleased that its rightful ownership has been restored… In order to free the vessel, the ship operator covered the auctioneer's costs and were awarded the cargo, which they then returned to its legitimate owner, OCP Group, for symbolic 1 USD dollar», says the phosphate group in a statement issued yesterday.
Cherry Blossom, which was carrying a 50,000-ton phosphate cargo, has finally left the Port Elizabeth harbor after its operator managed to retrieve it, reports said on Tuesday.
The cargo was seized last year by the South African authorities after the Polisario pledged a complaint claiming that the cargo «belongs to the Polisario Front».
The Port Elizabeth court ruled on Friday, 23rd of February, in the absence of the Moroccan party involved, that the Moroccan phosphate cargo belongs to the Polisario Front.
After being out in auction for months, no one has tried to buy the shipment which pushed South Africa to reach a settlement with the vessel’s operator and get them pay for the judicial fees only.
