Western Sahara under the spotlight

Spain this week called for more International effort to resolve the issue of Western Sahara. The one-time Spanish possession in North Africa has been under the control of Morocco since 1975.

A promised 1992 referendum on independence never came to pass, and the United Nations has since brokered talks between the Moroccan government and the Polisario Front, the national liberation organization recognized by several countries as the legitimate government of Western Sahara, which they call the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

We spoke to Malainin Mohamed, the Secretary General of the Saharawi Journalists and Writers Union about conditions in the territory, “What is happening is that there is a very serious human rights situation in the occupied zone of the Sahara under Moroccan control.”

He adds, that there is “a very serious situation, ongoing situation in refugee camps where Saharan people have been living for the last 35 years.

Mr Mohamad also voiced his objections to how some European countries give support to Moroccan enterprises in the area.Listen