It began with actions in the main cities of the Spanish state, then converged in a large mobilization in Madrid.
By Rubén Tzanoff
On Saturday, June 19, thousands of people marched through the streets of Madrid against the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara that has lasted 45 years. The action was attended by a delegation of the Polisario Front mission in Spain and representatives of the Diaspora who received the support and sympathy of popular and social activists and Spanish youth. The slogans expressed the current demands “Long live the struggle of the Saharawi people”, “No more human rights violations”, “No to the plundering of Western Sahara´s natural resources” and “Referendum now.”
“Spanish Government, pay attention, the Sahara is not for sale”, “Morocco is guilty; Spain is responsible” were chanted, in this case as a demand to President Pedro Sánchez for the Spanish State to assume its responsibilities, put aside support for the Moroccan monarchy and support a “just peace,” which implies advancing the process of decolonization and self-determination. The Sahrawi cause is more alive than ever, the people´s demands are becoming more and more known. They receive the sympathy of young activists and militants from all over the world.
Years ago, the Kingdom of Morocco invaded the Saharawi territories, and since violates human rights with repression, persecution and torture, while plundering its natural wealth with large foreign companies and the cynical complicity of the UN, the EU, Spain, France, the United States, Israel and other oppressors.
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Meanwhile, the war that the Polisario Front declared on Morocco continues to unfold after the Morrocan army attacked Sahrawi activists at the Guerguerat pass. The diplomatic confrontations are related. Spain and Morocco have growing friction and crises, for example, a month ago, when Rabat relaxed border controls for 12,000 migrants to enter the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, in response to their reception in a Spanish hospital of Brahim Gali, leader of the Polisario Front, sick with COVID-19. Germany has also strained its relations with Morocco. This does not mean that Germany and Spain defend the self-determination of Western Sahara, since they did not even oppose the Moroccan proposal of “regional autonomy” for Western Sahara, they only demand a “lasting” solution accepted by “both parties” within the UN´s framework.
The International Socialist League has been promoting an international campaign of systematic support for the struggle of the Saharawi people which we will continue, in solidarity with the just claim of a people that does not back down from the invaders and the great imperialist powers. Free Sahara and Free Palestine are two causes that are fundamental flags of our international organization’s struggle.
