Frente Polisario considers Spanish change of position on Western Sahara a “serious mistake”

The Saharawi independence activists of the Frente Polisario considered Saturday a “serious mistake” the change in the Spanish government, which decided to support the Moroccan position in Western Sahara, according to a statement received by AFP this Saturday.

“The position expressed by the Spanish government totally contradicts international legitimacy. The UN, the African Union, the European Union, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and all regional organizations do not recognize any sovereignty of Morocco over Western Sahara,” the text says.

The Frente Polisario statement also admits that they received the news “with great strangeness” and urges Spanish political forces to “pressure the government to correct this grave error”.

On Friday, Spain took a radical turn in its position by abandoning its stance of neutrality and supporting Morocco in relation to the disputed territory of Western Sahara, ending a diplomatic crisis between the two countries. Rabat applauded the move.

“Spain considers that the autonomy initiative presented in 2007 [by Morocco] is the most serious, realistic and credible basis for the resolution of this dispute” between Rabat and the Sahrawi independence activists of the Frente Polisario, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, told the press in Barcelona.

The conflict in Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony considered a “Non-Self-Governing Territory” by the UN, has for decades opposed Morocco with the Frente Polisario, supported by Algeria.

Rabat, which controls about 80% of this territory, proposes a plan of autonomy under its sovereignty. The independentists are calling for a self-determination referendum organized by the UN, scheduled for the 1991 ceasefire, which never took place.

ad/hj/bfi/bl/es