Morocco to review Spanish ties after Sahara condemnation - Summary

Thu, 02 Dec 2010

Madrid/Rabat - Morocco reacted testily Thursday to a Spanish legislative condemnation of violence in Western Sahara, saying it would review relations with Spain "from the ground up" in light of the Spanish action.

The Spanish parliament had earlier Thursday voted to condemn recent violence in Western Sahara and urged the Madrid government to express its concern to Moroccan authorities over alleged human rights violations in the region.

All main Spanish parties backed the motion.

But Morocco's Information Minister, Khalid Naciri, said the resolution contained language that Rabat could not accept, reported the state news agency MAP.

He did not say what possible consequences there might be from the threatened review of relations.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialists had agreed to support the motion on the condition that it would not directly blame Morocco for the violence that erupted when Moroccan security forces dismantled a protest camp near the Western Saharan capital Laayoune on November 8.

The camp dwellers were demanding social improvements, but Rabat said the camp had been infiltrated by members of the Western Saharan independence movement Polisario. The clashes were followed by rioting in Laayoune itself.

Rabat said only 10 policemen died in the violence, while Polisario spoke of dozens of victims.

The Spanish parliament called on MINURSO, the United Nations force in Western Sahara, to investigate how many people had really been killed or injured. The motion also called upon the Spanish government to intensify its relations with Polisario.

Opposition representatives criticized Zapatero, saying the government had ducked an opportunity to take a firm stance on human rights violations by Morocco.

A group of protesters calling for Western Saharan independence was expelled from the assembly room.

The European Parliament has also condemned the November 8 incidents and voiced concern over the "deterioration" of the situation in Western Sahara.

Morocco occupied Western Sahara after the colonial power Spain pulled out in 1975. It has refused to carry out a UN-proposed referendum on the independence of the desert territory. Polisario rejects its offer of autonomy instead of independence.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/356323,sahara-condemnation-summary.html.