The postal administration of Morocco deplores the fact that illegal postage stamp issues inscribed "République sahraoui" (Saharan Republic) or "Sahara Occidental" (Western Sahara) are still circulating on the international philatelic market, and being sold through various Internet sites and philatelic publications. We wish to stress once again that this alleged republic does not exist, and that all these postage stamps are illegal. The illegal issues of which we are aware are summarized below:

– Three souvenir sheets commemorating various aspects of the life of the singer Elvis Presley. Each sheet contains one postage stamp with a face value of 200 ptas.

– One miniature sheet of nine postage stamps commemorating various aspects of the life of the singer Elvis Presley. The face values are 20, 29, 40, 58, 105, 136, 148, 163 and 175 pesetas respectively.

– Three souvenir sheets commemorating various aspects of the life of the actress Marilyn Monroe. The face values of these sheets are not known.

– One miniature sheet of nine postage stamps commemorating various aspects of the life of the actress Marilyn Monroe. The face values are 20, 29, 40, 58, 105, 136, 148, 163 and 175 pesetas respectively.

– One souvenir sheet (with a face value of 200 ptas) and six individual stamps (with face values of 28, 29, 40, 68, 105 and 136 ptas) depicting various breeds of dog.

– One souvenir sheet (with a face value of 200 ptas) and six individual stamps (with face values of 28, 29, 40, 68, 105 and 136 ptas) depicting various types of fire-fighting vehicles.

– One souvenir sheet (with a face value of 200 ptas) and six individual stamps (with face values of 28, 29, 40, 68, 105 and 136 ptas) depicting various types of old cars.

– One series of five postage stamps on the theme of Galileo and space.

– One miniature sheet and a series of five postage stamps on the theme of the 1996 Olympics.

– Another series of five postage stamps depicting various athletes from the 1990 Olympics.

– One series of five postage stamps depicting various desert cacti.

– One miniature sheet depicting camels.

– One miniature sheet depicting a football world cup.

– One miniature sheet depicting scenes from Ancient Egypt.

These stamps have been issued in contravention of the Universal Postal Conven-tion and the Letter Post Regulations and are prejudicial to the integrity and sovereignty of our country. Consequently, we regard these illegal issues as null and void and worthless whether for postal prepayment or as philatelic or collector's items.

The postal administration of Morocco would be grateful for any information leading to the identification of those responsible for these illegal issues so that appropriate action may be taken.

K J S McKEOWN

Director of Markets