You may or may not share the Sahrawi cause. You may disagree with the historical demands of this people. You can even defend Morocco's right not to let in a person who, they claim, filled out the ...
You may or may not share the Sahrawi cause. You may disagree with the historical demands of this people. You can even defend Morocco's right not to let in a person who, they claim, filled out the entry form putting Western Sahara as their nationality, despite the fact that their passport states that they are Moroccan, because the Sahara is not recognized as a State. But what cannot be done is to affirm, as Minister Moratinos did, that Spain has limited itself to "facilitating" the entry of Aminatou Haidar into Spain. That is as absurd as it is insulting.
Aminatou was not facilitated entry into Spain, because she did not want to enter this country. She only wanted to return to El Aaiún, where her children and family reside. She, no matter how much the Spanish Government tries to look the other way by disguising reality, was expelled by Morocco, for whom she is an uncomfortable character. Uncomfortable for her struggle from within, but also for her international projection, which has earned her several awards.
And faced with this, Spain continues with the same ambiguous discourse that it has been maintaining for years, despite the fact that its role was key in the origin of this conflict, when 30 years ago it abandoned the occupied territories of the Sahara, leaving them in the hands of Morocco. And if we add to that the erratic policy of the current Government, all the ingredients are there for Aminatou's situation to become eternally entrenched, in the face of the silence of the State and its representatives in the Canary Islands, including the island director of the General State Administration in Lanzarote.
However, in this case, time is running against us. And it is that beyond what this Sahrawi activist can resist installed on the airport floor, the hunger strike that began last Sunday makes each day that passes without resolving this situation a real danger. She has made it clear: she is willing to die if they don't send her back to her country. And the answer: silence.
And faced with such a challenge, the State would have the right to stand up and not enter the game of pressures. To set a clear position and dare to say that it does not share the cause of this woman, that Morocco is right, that they have reached an agreement with that country for this expulsion, that it is not willing to seek an enemy in its enigmatic international policy... In short, it could get wet and explain to all Spaniards and the whole world what its position is in this conflict.
But instead, it tries to confuse public opinion or deceive itself. Or perhaps, simply, the Government was too busy with the strategic and tactical waste that they have deployed in the Alakrana case, to focus on new fronts.
And meanwhile, in Lanzarote we are living day by day with this drama. With this woman installed in an airport, who until last Wednesday was evicted every night by the Civil Guard. With a person who has been on hunger strike for days, and whose health could take its toll at any moment.
Probably, they knew where they were sending her. After all, Lanzarote is very far away, and so it seems easier to "park" the problem. But further or closer, the problem is there, and it is not going to disappear no matter how much José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's entire cabinet covers its eyes.
What are they going to say if something happens to Aminatou Haidar? That they only "facilitated" her entry into Spain? Whatever it is, the Government must do something. It must act and take sides. It must demonstrate that it is capable of managing crises or conflicts with other countries. Because in this case, the situation is not going to be resolved by paying ransoms to pirates.
