Polisario Front Backs Spain’s Decision to Treat Leader, Tensions with Morocco Rise

Brahim Ghali was evacuated from Algeria last week after contracting the coronavirus. He arrived in Spain on a medical plane and with an Algerian diplomatic passport, Abdulah Arabi said in an interview with Europa Press. The Polisario’s delegate in Spain insisted that Brahim Ghali’s presence is of a "strictly humanitarian" and not political nature.

Morocco does not look favorably on this attitude of Spain, which it considers unfriendly. Last weekend, the Moroccan authorities summoned the Spanish ambassador to Rabat, Ricardo Díez-Hochleitner, to express their "disappointment" and demand "explanations".

For Arabi, Morocco is just trying to "take advantage" of the situation, assuring that since the outbreak of this controversy, the Sánchez government has not been in contact with the Sahrawi delegation and "does not believe it should do so". The Polisario’s delegate in Spain also confided that Brahim Ghali, as soon as he is better, will be able to leave Spanish territory without problem and "resume his duties".

The Sahrawi delegate recalls that Spain "has a role to play in resolving the conflict in Western Sahara", adding that the Polisario will always be open to negotiation. The possible appointment of a UN special envoy for Western Sahara "is not an end in itself", but rather should be "a means to lead the parties to negotiations", Arabi also pointed out, who welcomed the dynamism of the former special envoy, Horst Koehler, who resigned in May 2019. For the Polisario, the special envoy must be a "renowned" personality, "honest" and "completely impartial".