MADRID, 10 (elDiario.es).- Committed to resume negotiations with a roadmap with specific objectives and deadlines
All parties represented in the Spanish Senate, with the exception of the Vox party, supported this Wednesday a motion in which they ask the Government to “actively facilitate” the achievement of a political solution to the conflict in Western Sahara and that this be a policy of State that overcomes “party clashes”.
The motion, the result of a transactional amendment agreed by all groups with the exception of the Vox party, “recognizes that Spain has a historical and affective link in the political conflict in Western Sahara, so it asks the Spanish Government to actively support and facilitate at the UN, in EU and other international organizations a political solution in accordance with international law and UN resolutions ”.
In this sense, the senators underlined that “it must constitute a remote state policy and free from polemics and partisan confrontations, which in no way favor the necessary political solution”.
PNV Senator Luis Jesús Uribe-Etxebarría, promoter of the motion, valued this last point and thanked the “broad agreement” reached on the text, to which the motions submitted by the PP and the PSOE were incorporated.
“We must congratulate ourselves because I believe that we have contributed a grain of sand to try to find solutions to this unfortunate problem”, he underlined. The rest of the groups also welcomed the consensus reached.
Thus, PP spokesman Gonzalo Robles stressed that an agreement was reached on a text that “is common sense and a moral obligation”, while PSOE spokesman Rafael Lemus stressed that “on an afternoon of tensions “and in a” country with so many polarizations “a” neutral point “has been reached.
SPAIN’S HISTORICAL RESPONSIBILITY
On the other hand, several spokesmen have referred to the Government’s “historical responsibility” with the Sahara, considered by the UN as a territory to be decolonized, and have defended that Spain remains the “administrative power”, something that the Spanish Executive refused repeatedly.
For this reason, Ciudadanos spokesman Emilio Argüeso regretted the “lack of action” in relation to the Sahara by the current government, while Adelante Andalucía Senator María Pilar González stressed that they do not want “the Government to keep looking the other way “. For his part, the JxCat senator, Josep Lluis Cleries, asked the Executive to fulfill its role of “guaranteeing the right to self-determination”.
In the text to be approved, the senators expressed their “concern about the situation in Western Sahara, which endangers the 1991 ceasefire agreement” and called on Morocco and the Polisario Front “to remain calm and refrain from practice any act of violence, provocation or use of force “.
In addition, they expressed their “full support for the efforts of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO)” so that it can fulfill its mission. Precisely, some of the spokespeople referred to the failure of the UN and MINURSO to fulfill the objective of holding a self-determination referendum. “The Saharawi people are still unable to exercise their right,” said Bildu deputy Gorka Elajabarrieta.
The approved motion underlines that a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution is essential, in accordance with United Nations resolutions, within the framework of the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter, appealing to the responsibility of all parties, for the search for a solution with a multilateral and constructive approach ”.
RESUME OF CONVERSATIONS AND SCREENPLAY
In this regard, he calls for the “resumption of permanent, credible and constructive talks and negotiations under the leadership of the United Nations and a new personal envoy” of the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, since the post has been empty for almost two years .
In addition, the senators argue that an “effective roadmap is needed, with concrete objectives and clear deadlines, in the belief that only dialogue, negotiation and agreement carried out in good faith and in a constructive manner, in accordance with international law and UN resolutions are the only way to achieve peace, coexistence, trust, security and economic and social progress in the region ”.
The resolution of this conflict “is essential for regional cooperation between the Maghreb countries and for the stability, security and prosperity of the region, which is vital for the Mediterranean, for Spain and, therefore, for whole of Europe”, they warned.
In this sense, the Upper House urges the Government to “work, both from European politics and in its bilateral relations, for the promotion of “ the Southern Neighborhood ”, betting on the creation of new opportunities for citizens on both sides of the Mediterranean”.
MORE HELP FOR THE SAHARAUIS
On the other hand, they called for an increase “as far as possible of the humanitarian aid needed to help cover basic needs for food, water, housing and medical services to improve the living conditions and human rights of the Saharawi people”.
Finally, they took the opportunity to express their “thanks and appreciation to all administrations and social organizations for their humanitarian and solidary work with the Saharawi people”, encouraging them to “persist and maximize their support”.
Vox was the only group that did not support the motion, after his amendment was not accepted, which, in Uribe-Etxebarría’s opinion, was to some extent included in the agreed text. The deputy of the parliamentarians of Santiago Abascal in the Senate, Yolanda Merelo, highlighted in her speech that, unlike the independence movements in Spain, the Saharawis “have a right” to self-determination.
In addition, she has argued that Spain is the “administrative power” and that is why the Government “is responsible for taking a step forward and assuming its role” with regard to Western Sahara, refining the point that the current Executive “was to give visibility. ”
mocion senado 10_03_2021
