The European Greens ask Sánchez to "rectify" his turn on the Sahara
"Worrying". This is how the European Green Party and Verdes Equo describe the change in Spanish position with respect to Western Sahara that the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, transferred to King Mohamed VI in writing. In a letter sent to the chief executive and the foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, the greens demand a "rectification" from the Spanish government.
“The recent letter from the President of the Spanish Government to King Mohamed VI on Western Sahara is very worrying for the European Green Party and its member party in Spain, Verdes Equo”, states the letter signed by Evelyne Huytebroeck and Thomas Waitz, co-spokespersons of the Party. European Green; and Inés Sabanés and Florent Marcellesi, co-spokespersons for Verdes Equo.
The document underlines that "in recent years, the EU Court of Justice has recalled that neither the EU, nor any of its member states, have recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara", so "it must be considered as a separate and differentiated territory and any commercial agreement that includes Western Sahara must guarantee the prior consent of the Saharawi people”.
“In the same way”, they continue, “the letter from the President of the Spanish Government to the Moroccan king, affirming that the autonomy proposal is the 'most serious, realistic and credible' seems extremely serious to us. Neither does it allow the situation on the ground to improve, starting with the tens of thousands of refugees in the Algerian camps, nor does it allow compliance with international and European legality”.
Faced with this situation, the Greens call on “the Spanish Government first to rectify and second to take measures”, and they ask Spain “to work for the urgent celebration of a fair referendum for the self-determination of Western Sahara”; that it "follow a strict policy of non-recognition of the annexation of the territory of Western Sahara by Morocco"; that “strongly condemn any act of aggression and violation of Human Rights by Morocco in the territory of Western Sahara”; to “propose an ambitious strategy to enhance EU action in support of UN efforts to reach a just and sustainable solution to the conflict”; to “urge both parties to the conflict to immediately cease their military escalation”; to “support that the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) receive the mandate to supervise and guarantee respect for Human Rights in the occupied territories and that it urgently appoint a new UN special envoy”; and to “call for the suspension of bilateral fisheries and trade agreements with the Kingdom of Morocco that cover the territory, products, services and resources of Western Sahara and ensure, unlike today, that future agreements have the prior consent of the Saharawi people”.
