Spain may grant refugee status to W.Sahara activist

Nov 20, 2009

MADRID — Spain will grant refugee status to a Western Sahara activist on hunger strike in the Canary Islands if Moroccan authorities reject her request for a new passport, the foreign ministry said Friday.

Aminatou Haidar, a winner of several human rights awards, launched a hunger strike at midnight on Sunday to protest against Morocco's decision to expel her from her native Western Sahara.

"The government is ready, if Ms Haidar asks, to grant her refugee status as soon as possible and provide her with all the necessary documents (so she can travel)," the Spanish foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added this step would only be taken if the Moroccan consulate in Spain turns down her request for a new passport.

Moroccan authorities arrested Haidar on November 13 on her arrival in the Western Sahara capital of Laayoune from Spain's Canary Islands.

Immigration officials immediately sent her back to the archipelago after confiscating her passport. Haidar used her Spanish residency permit to re-enter the country.

In October, Haidar received the Civil Courage Prize from the New York-based Train Foundation for her human rights campaigning in the disputed Western Sahara territory.

The Polisario Front rebel movement has been fighting for the independence of Western Sahara since it was annexed by Morocco after Spain left in 1975.

With Algerian backing, the Polisario Front is holding out for independence.

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