Home > Spain > Moroccan Istiqlal Party Slams Spain’s Decision to Host Polisario Leader
Moroccan Istiqlal Party Slams Spain’s Decision to Host Polisario Leader
Monday 10 May 2021, by
Alongside the various diplomatic statements, the Istiqlal party has strongly criticized the decision of Spain to host the leader of the separatists, Brahim Ghali, with the Spanish Popular Party. In a letter addressed to Pablo Casado, the Moroccan political formation has lambasted this stance of the Spanish authorities which it considers "hostile and unfriendly" towards Morocco.
"We consider, in the Istiqlal Party, that the decision of the Spanish government to welcome the head of the Polisario, [...] seriously tarnishes the serenity of the partnership convergence that our two countries know how to hold in high esteem when necessary," said the Secretary General of the Istiqlal Party, Nizar Baraka, in a letter addressed to the president of the Spanish Popular Party, Pablo Casado.
For the Istiqlal, this decision by the Spanish authorities has been very poorly perceived by the entire Moroccan people in the sense that it is "inexplicable and unjustified" that a neighboring country, moreover Spain, intimately linked by history, can embark on such a maneuver in disregard of all historical, economic, security, humanitarian and geopolitical considerations.
"I find it hard to say, but this decision has been experienced by my political family as a stab in the back, as it is unacceptable, inopportune and unfriendly," the Secretary General, Nizar Baraka, indignantly noted, also pointing out that this gesture is likely to jeopardize the future of the two countries given the particular context prevailing in the region.
Moreover, the letter underlines the incomprehension of the party and its activists or even the whole kingdom that Spain accepts to offer hospitality to Brahim Ghali who has "declared war on Morocco and has been violating the ceasefire agreement signed in 1991 since November 2020."
Furthermore, the Istiqlal party congratulated the Spanish political formation that was at the forefront to condemn the presence of the rebel leader on the territory and to call on the government to activate the arrest warrants against the rebel leader who is being prosecuted for numerous human rights violations.
"The political family you lead has shown reiterated friendship towards Morocco, but also demonstrated political consistency and fraternal empathy which unfortunately has drastically failed other currents of the Spanish political scene," Nizar Baraka told Pablo Casado.
Hospitalized in Spain for cancer and a Covid infection, the Polisario chief is nevertheless the subject of several prosecutions in this country for, among other things, crimes against humanity, torture, rape, terrorism and kidnappings.