A conference in Spain concluded on 12 March that the EU–Morocco fisheries agreement was illegal and immoral because it includes fishing in waters belonging to Western Sahara, a country illegally occupied by Morocco since 1975.
Juan Soroeta, an expert in international law, argued that the accord was illegal, because the natural resources of Western Sahara “can’t be exploited to the detriment of the population and without the approval of the legitimate representatives” of Western Sahara, in this case the Polisario Front, which rejects the accord.
Pressure is now being applied to members of the European Parliament to reject a new “accord of association”, which aims to liberalise commerce and agriculture with Morocco. The current wave of protests in the Middle East began in Western Sahara in November with a 12,000-strong tent city near the city of Laayoune, a protest against oppressive living conditions that was brutally broken up by Moroccan security forces.
On 5 March, a much smaller protest took place within Western Sahara. 200 demonstrators demanded higher salaries for the Sahrawi army, more support for victims of the war against Morocco and families of martyrs, as well as an end to corruption and nepotism.
Topics: Western Sahara