Morocco accused of expelling a journalist and two Spanish activists from the Sahara

Eduardo González The State Coordinator of Associations in Solidarity with the Sahara (CEAS-Sahara) has accused Morocco of the expulsion of a journalist and two Spanish activists from the city of Dakhla, in Western Sahara, and has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make “a formal complaint” to the authorities in Rabat. “A few hours ago, two Spanish activists and a journalist were expelled from the occupied Sahrawi city of Dakhla by the Moroccan occupation forces,” the organization denounced this past Sunday in a statement. The three expelled, it continued, were participating in an observation mission of “the alarming situation of Human Rights experienced by the Sahrawi civilian population in the occupied areas of Western Sahara.” The Spaniards had arrived in Dakhla on a flight from Madrid operated by Ryanair, among other companies, “to denounce the illegality of the opening of this line,” it added. In this context, the expulsion “is one more example of the company's complicity in the illegal occupation of Western Sahara,” continued the State Coordinator of Associations in Solidarity with the Sahara (CEAS-Sahara). In the statement, CEAS-Sahara specifies that it has reported “the aforementioned events” to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and considers that the Department headed by José Manuel Albares “should make a formal complaint to the Moroccan authorities after preventing them from carrying out their observation work.” It also reiterates its support for the work in the area of promotion and defense of Human Rights carried out by “people and entities” in the territory of Western Sahara, given the lack of competence on the part of the UN mission (MINURSO) “with regard to monitoring the situation of Human Rights.” CEAS-Sahara, created in 2005, coordinates more than 200 associations supporting the right to self-determination of the Sahrawi people with the aim of promoting awareness and pressure campaigns directed at the Spanish Government, denouncing human rights violations and other abuses by the Moroccan authorities and providing humanitarian support and development cooperation to the Sahrawi refugee population in Tindouf (Algeria).

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