Willy Meyer, Spanish MEP from Izquierda Unida (IU), described the European Union's (EU) declaration on the VIII session of the EU-Morocco Association Council - held this Monday in Brussels - as "shameful" because "it makes no mention of the Aminatou Haidar case".
According to a statement, Meyer also criticizes that "in this 12-page text, the EU only refers to Western Sahara in one paragraph and welcomes Morocco's willingness to develop confidence-building measures, especially favoring exchanges by land within the framework of family visits".
In response, the MEP recalled "the case of the seven Sahrawi human rights activists who were arrested on October 12 precisely when they were returning from a family visit to the refugee camps and who now face a military trial in which they could be sentenced to death".
In this regard, he considered it "unworthy that the Union does not demand compliance with international law. It is regrettable that the EU has not urged Morocco at this meeting to restore Haidar's kidnapped rights".
Through a written question submitted this week to the European Commission, Meyer reiterated that the EU "must immediately freeze the Association Agreement it maintains with Morocco and end preferential relations" with "the Moroccan regime".
The case of Aminatou Haidar "shows once again that Morocco does not respect Article 2 of this agreement on respect for human rights. By not pressuring Morocco, the EU becomes an accomplice to its continuous human rights violations and responsible for the fate that may befall Haidar".
The MEP also alluded to the statements of the Commissioner for External Relations and Neighborhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who stated that the Haidar case "is a bilateral issue between Morocco and Spain". Meyer responded that the activist "has been kidnapped and sent to a country of the European Union, Spain, therefore the EU cannot remain passive and turn a blind eye to this situation".
The MEP will travel back to Lanzarote tomorrow to visit Aminatou Haidar. This time, he will be accompanied by other MEPs, including his party colleagues Joao Ferreira and Miguel Portas.
ACN Press
