he is also the brother of the recently deceased polisario leader mohamed abdelaziz.bi is one of just four sahrawi lawyers permitted by morocco to try cases in court. >> the first stage of the ararrests were made theranand ty were brutal l beyond imaginatio. they used an extensive number of strange tools for torture and beatings. some of the prisonererwere even forced to drink their own urine. they showed up before the interrogation judge covered in blood. amy: why was gdeim izik such a turning point? what happened? why were people protesting? >> gdeim izik was a turning point because it was a very genuine form of mass protest like western sara hahanever witnessed, nor h h the rest of the world.d. amy: some have c called it the first arab sprining, before tunisia and d before egypt. >> yes, without any doubt, this was the beginning of the arab spring. every memedia outlet after gde izik cld only talk about how well-organized, wellananaged, and d well-preparered the proten westerern sahara wasas. and from here it sprd d to tunisia and egypt. so of course when n the ame

into territory which the polisario says the longs to the sally people.morocco controls ninety percent of the territories including its three main town buses and insists its energy go part of the kingdom while polisario demands a referendum on self-determination through. the two drivers have now reached the southwestern corner of the disputed territory here a small town called got outs where there is a un buffer zone but which is effectively the border crossing into mauritania. over one hundred eighty thousand travelers pass through here every year tourists visiting west africa and africans heading to morocco and europe. as a hotspot for smuggling and illegal immigration the wait here can be lengthy they can't inspect over thirty thousand trucks and cars here every year. for ibrahim of this could be it it's an unwelcome bottleneck and they have no idea how long the visa procedure vehicle inspection and people work will take hours days or even longer and. the drivers are also concerned for their safety as there has been violence here in recent years. brahi

efforts have repeatedly failed to broker a settlement over the disputed territory which the polisariosays belongs to the softball the people of. morocco controls ninety percent of the territories including its three main town boats and insists it's an integral part of the kingdom while polisario demands a referendum on self-determination through. the two drivers have now reached the southwestern corner of the disputed territory here a small town called good outs where there is a un buffer zone but which is effectively the border crossing into mauritania. over one hundred eighty thousand travelers pass through here every year tourists visiting west africa and africans heading to morocco and europe. as a hotspot for smuggling and illegal immigration the wait here can be ten feet they can't inspect over thirty thousand trucks and cars here every year. for ibrahim of the. it's an unwelcome bottleneck and they have no idea how long the visa procedure vehicle inspection and people work will take hours days or even longer. the drivers are also concerned for their safety as there has been vio

the territory which the polisario says the longs to the soft all the people.morocco controls ninety percent of the territories including its three main town offices and insists it's an integral part of getting them while polisario demands a referendum on self-determination through. the two drivers have now reached the southwestern corner of the disputed territory here a small town called good outs where there is a un buffer zone but which is effectively the border crossing into mauritania. over one hundred eighty thousand travelers pass through here every year tourists visiting west africa and africans heading to morocco and europe. as a hotspot for smuggling and illegal immigration the wait here can be lengthy they claim to inspect over thirty thousand trucks and cars here every year. for ibrahim of this could be it it's an unwelcome bottleneck and they have no idea how long the visa procedure vehicle inspection and people work will take hours days or even longer and. the drivers are also concerned for their safety as there has been violence here in recent ye

how likely is a new round of direct talks between morocco and the polisario front -- how realistic isit that these talks could move forward to a new place? >> senator, thank you for the question. the u.s. continues to support a u.n. led efforts to find a just, lasting, and usually accept the ball political solution to the conflict that provides for the self-determination of the people of the western sahara. recently, former german president helmut kohl are, as thepersonal envoy of secretary-general for western sahara was in morocco. he has visited all of the appropriate players in the morocco,d he was in algeria, marr attain you, -- mauritania and has met with the polisario. if confirmed, i would be more than happy to come back and discuss that with this committee. >> thank you very much. asked aenator merkley number of questions about bangladesh which is also in the foreign relations subcommittee where i serve as the ranking member. i applaud the work of senator merkley and others who have made this an area of focus. i would say to you, ambassador miller, that i did not get a chance