Morocco expels human rights activists from Western Sahara
Morocco has once again expelled foreign activists from Western Sahara, wary of foreign attention on a conflict it has struggled to resolve.
On August 24, two human rights activists were expelled from El Aaiun, the largest city in the contested Western Sahara, according to the Algerian friendly outlet, AL24. They were members of the Washington-based International Nonviolence Organization and had planned meetings with former Sahrawi political prisoner Mahfouda Bamba Lefkir and other activists.
Foreign observers rarely last long in the territory. Annexed by Morocco in 1975, Western Sahara has been caught in a protracted struggle between the irrendentist government in Rabat and the Algeria-backed Polisario Independence movement.
Mistaken for tourists by the authorities, the pair managed to spend two days in Dakhla. They met local activists, journalists, and rights defenders, collecting testimony about life under Moroccan rule, learning about prison conditions, daily harassment, and restrictions on basic freedoms.
The activists join countless others in their expulsion. On May 31, 12 activists who planned to march from Paris to Kenitra to demand the release of Sahrawi political prisoners were blocked at Tangier Med.
On July 8, two journalists and another rights activist, working with Équipe Média, a Sahrawi news collective, were also removed by Moroccan authorities.
Both denounced what they called the harassment of both Sahrawi activists and their supporters. They argued that Morocco’s increasingly bold repression of local dissent and censorship warrants scrutiny from its democratic European allies.
According to pro-Algeria outlets, they said “this arrest and expulsion demonstrates the harassment suffered not only by Sahrawi activists, but also by those who try to support them.”
They added: “These actions reflect Morocco’s failure to respect the most basic human rights, and it is worrying that it continues to be a preferred partner for democratic countries like Spain.”
AL24, Maghrebi.org
Want to chase the pulse of North Africa?
Subscribe to receive our FREE weekly PDF magazine
