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EU should address embezzlement of humanitarian aid sent to Tindouf camps – MEP | Maghreb Arab Press
Embezzlement of aid by the Polisario draws increasing scrutiny from EU officials:
The EU is called upon to provide “official accounts” and to “take a stand” regarding the embezzlement of humanitarian aid sent to the population held in Tindouf camps, said socialist member of the European Parliament (MEP) Marc Tarabella on Monday.
Speaking to MAP following the disclosure by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) of a report on the embezzlement of humanitarian aid by Algeria and the Polisario, Tarabella said that he will bring the issue before the competent EU commissioner to seek more details on the results of the OLAF inquiry.
Tarabella deplored that some parties are trading in the suffering of the population in the camps by engaging in the embezzlement of humanitarian aid.
The OLAF report, conducted in 2007, slams Algeria and the Polsario which have been embezzling humanitarian aid for decades to the detriment of the population held against their will in the camps of Tindouf.
The report notes that organized embezzlement starts in the Algerian port of Oran where a large part of humanitarian aid is diverted away from the intended beneficiaries in the camps.
Among the factors that facilitate such embezzlement is the overestimation of the numbers of the refugees and consequently the aid, the OLAF explained in the report.
Neither Algeria nor the Polisario allowed a census of the population of the camps, deplores the OLAF…[Original Story, Subscription Required]