Australian oil company Baraka Petroleum has decided to cease involvement in the Cap Juby prospect off Western Sahara. Western Sahara is occupied by Morocco, which licenced Western Sahara’s marine area to US-based Kerr McGee last year. The Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic government has called on Kerr McGee and its partners to withdraw from the region, stating in a February 6 declaration: “The presence of Kerr McGee and its partners continues to be an affront to the Saharawi people. The companies’ illegal presence ... provides moral and economic support to the intransigent Moroccan regime ... The SADR government calls on its friends and all governments that recognise the legitimate rights of the Saharawi people, to assist in protecting the natural resources and sovereignty of our country.” The SADR government welcomed Baraka’s move.

From Green Left Weekly, February 15, 2006.
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