ASADEDH considers suing Pablo Iglesias for alleged incitement to violence against Morocco
The Sahrawi Association for the Defence of Human Rights (ASADEDH) is considering filing a lawsuit against Pablo Iglesias, former secretary general of the Spanish left-wing political party Podemos, for allegedly inciting violence against Morocco.
According to various media outlets such as Rue 20 and Hespress, ASADEDH is considering suing the Spanish political leader for statements made on Canal Red's ‘La Base’ programme in which he said that the Polisario Front has no choice but to resort to armed struggle after the United Nations (UN) Security Council endorsed Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara.
According to these media outlets, sources at ASADEDH have indicated that the legal team of the Madrid-based human rights organisation has studied Pablo Iglesias' words, in which he urged the Polisario to continue ‘taking up arms’ to confront the current situation favourable to Morocco. These statements have been considered irresponsible by the North African country, especially considering that Pablo Iglesias was once vice-president of the Spanish government.
‘Inciting against the security and stability of a neighbour of Spain the size of Morocco is unacceptable and utterly reprehensible, and contradicts the guidelines and decisions of international and regional powers,’ according to these sources.
Pablo Iglesias' statements came after the United Nations Security Council's decision to endorse Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara as the most serious and credible option for reaching a negotiated solution to the Sahrawi question.
Pablo Iglesias' words were interpreted in various quarters as an incitement to violence, and even terrorism, because in Morocco the Polisario Front is considered a terrorist entity.
The political issue is a hot topic because the Security Council's decision endorsing Morocco's position gives significant backing to the Moroccan kingdom.
In 2007, the North African country launched its autonomy plan for Western Sahara, which envisages autonomous status for the Sahrawi territory under Moroccan sovereignty, granting the Sahrawis a high degree of self-government and leaving foreign and defence policy in the hands of the Moroccan state, all in accordance with UN resolutions.
This initiative received the support of more than 120 countries, which considered it the most serious and realistic solution to the Sahrawi dispute, including very important nations such as the United States, France, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain, as a prelude to the final endorsement given on 31 October by the United Nations Security Council, which considers the Moroccan proposal to be the most solid basis for successfully completing a negotiation process on the Sahrawi question.
In view of this, the Polisario Front continues to advocate for a referendum on independence for the Sahrawi people, with less international support, including that of Algeria, Morocco's great political rival in the Maghreb, which saw how traditional allies such as Russia and China did not veto the Security Council's favourable decision on the Moroccan proposal for Western Sahara.
In this regard, left-wing political groups, such as the Spanish party Podemos, have historically supported the Polisario Front's position in favour of independence, hence the recent statements by Pablo Iglesias in support of the Polisario Front. However, what is being discussed is the nuance of the Polisario Front's alleged call for violence or the use of arms in response to the latest decision taken by the UN Security Council.
Pablo Iglesias' position goes against Spain's current official diplomatic stance, which clearly supports Morocco's proposal for autonomy in Western Sahara, a move that has fostered a great deal of diplomatic understanding between the two neighbouring countries on either side of the Mediterranean, which are considered allies and strategic partners.