Morocco deplores Spain’s attitude for hosting Polisario leader

RABAT - Morocco deplores the attitude of Spain, which hosts on its territory the man named Brahim Ghali, leader of the "Polisario" separatist militias, sued for serious war crimes and grave human rights abuses, said the foreign ministry on Sunday.

“Morocco expresses its disappointment with regard to this act contrary to the spirit of partnership and good neighbourliness, and which concerns a fundamental issue for the Moroccan people and its lifeblood,” the ministry added in a statement.

For the ministry, Spain's attitude arouses great incomprehension and legitimate questions: Why was the man named Brahim Ghali admitted to Spain secretly and with a forged passport? Why did Spain find it useful not to notify Morocco? Why did it choose to admit him under a false identity? And why the Spanish justice has not yet reacted to the many complaints lodged by the victims?

"This is why the Ambassador of Spain in Rabat was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, so that this position could be conveyed to him and to demand from him the necessary explanations on the attitude of his government", concluded the statement.

Spanish victims of terrorist acts perpetrated by Algeria-backed Polisario separatists demanded on Saturday the immediate arrest of Ghali, who was admitted to a hospital in Logrono, near Zaragoza, under a false identity and with forged papers to escape Spanish justice.

"Wanted by a search and arrest warrant for the attacks he committed", the man named Brahim Ghali "must be arrested immediately by the Spanish authorities", said the Canarian Association of Victims of Terrorism (Acavite) in a statement condemning "his illegal entry" into Spain.

The leader of the separatists is accused of "assassinations of Canarian workers" in the territory of the Sahara, as well as of being "the sponsor who ordered the assassinations, collective kidnappings and disappearances of crews of Canarian sailors in the high seas during the period from 1973 to the end of 1986," said the Association.

Acting with the support of the National Federation of Victims of Spain, of which it is a member, Acavite, which brings together the relatives of more than 300 victims of Polisario terrorism, denounced the decision of the Spanish authorities to allow "the entry and the illegal hospitalization in a public hospital" of a notorious criminal who murdered Spanish citizens.

Based on these arguments, the Association demanded that "the arrest of Brahim Ghali by the National Court be effective as soon as possible".

"Likewise, we ask Justice, the Spanish government and the ministries concerned to fulfil their duty as quickly as possible to take care of the Canarians who are victims of terrorism and not of the murderers of the Polisario front", said the Acavite which accuses the Spanish government of participating in a "laundering of the terrorist actions of Brahim Ghali, under the pretext of illness and alleged humanitarian reasons".

"The Canarian victims of terrorism affected by the terrorist attacks perpetrated by the Brahim Gali do not want to let pass in silence the humiliation and the contempt that the presence of this assassin means for the grieving families", concluded the press release.

The Spanish fishing boats +Cruz del Mar+ and +Mencey de Abona+ were the targets of attacks by Polisario militias during the 1970s and 1980s in the area between the Sahara and the Canary Islands, causing the death of several Canary Islands fishermen.

Another victim of the Polisario. The Spanish political scientist, Pedro Ignacio Altamirano, on Saturday filed a complaint via his lawyer with the investigating judge of the Malaga court against Brahim Ghali.

Altamirano accuses the leader of the separatists of instigating death threats against him by Polisario militias through social networks, calling for the immediate arrest of the man named Brahim Ghali for death threats and defamation.

This is the second complaint brought before the Spanish courts against the leader of the separatists. The defense of the Saharawi Association for the Defense of Human Rights ASADEDH had asked Spanish authorities to activate the European arrest warrant issued against the man named Brahim Ghali.