Por Taleb Alisalem – elcomun.es .- A feeling of solidarity and humanity shakes the entire European Union. The governments of the different countries that make up the EU came out, and all, individually and jointly, forcefully condemned the war in Ukraine, and pointed the finger at its “ferocious culprit”, Vladimir Putin. All were open to receiving Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war in search of a new home.
Spain did not want to be left behind, in fact, it did everything possible to be in the front row and be part of the exclusive group of countries that lead the opinion, action and position of the EU and NATO. “We send a strong message to Vladimir Putin to leave Ukraine alone, to respect its territorial integrity, its national sovereignty and its ability to choose freely about its future” were the words of the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Madrid on 21 November 2022. It is not the first time that the Spanish president has spoken on this issue, in fact, in his eagerness to be in this exclusive decision-making group, Sánchez has repeatedly repeated his rejection of Russia’s “illegal occupation” of Ukraine and on several occasions expressed his condemnation of Putin, whom he described as a “war criminal”.
What is remarkably striking is that the same Spanish President, at the same time as he is making this speech, did not hesitate to support a true war criminal, an unscrupulous dictator, an outspoken autocrat such as Mohamed VI King of Morocco, to whom he sent a letter last March openly showing his support, recognition and backing for the so-called “Moroccan autonomy plan for the Sahara”, which is nothing more than a way of trying to legitimise the illegal occupation that Morocco has been exercising in Western Sahara since 1975.
We could delve into the reasons, or expose the various theories that attempt to explain the reasons that led Pedro Sánchez to legitimise an illegal occupation of Western Sahara, thereby violating international law, the will of the Sahrawi people and even violating the sovereignty of the Spanish state itself, which expressed its total rejection of this decision through repeated majority votes in the Congress of the Disputes. But we will not, beyond the reasons that led Pedro Sánchez to take this crazy decision, what I would like to expose is the simultaneous and completely contradictory discourse of the one who calls himself president of the most progressive government in the history of Spain.
Is it possible to ask Putin to respect international legality in Ukraine and at the same time support Mohammed VI in his violation of that same international legality in Western Sahara? For Pedro Sánchez, yes, it is possible.
Is it possible to repeatedly claim the right of the Ukrainian people to choose their future in freedom, while at the same time declaring that the best thing for the Sahrawi people is to live under a fierce Moroccan occupation? For Pedro Sánchez, yes, it is possible.
Is it understandable to ask for sanctions against countries that sell arms to Russia while the same Spanish government sells arms to Morocco that are used to repress the Sahrawi people? For Pedro Sánchez, yes, it is understandable.
Is it possible to defend human rights and the reception of refugees while supporting Morocco, which violates human rights and condemns thousands of Sahrawis to an eternal refuge in the desert? For Pedro Sánchez, yes, it is possible.
Far from Realpolitik, interests and political manoeuvres that often lack morals, I firmly believe that in this case we are faced with the clearest and most obvious example of political hypocrisy. We are faced with a cynically incongruous president who does not hesitate to trample over 60 UN resolutions calling for a referendum on self-determination in Western Sahara. A president who ignored the rulings of the Court of The Hague, the rulings of the High Court of the European Union or the reports and petitions of the African Union, all of which call for a referendum on self-determination to end Morocco’s illegal occupation of Western Sahara. For Pedro Sánchez, nothing was valid, only his criteria, only his position, which in this case completely contradicts international legality. The same legality that Sánchez claims to respect in Ukraine.
A real scandal that is ignored by the media, self-interested politicians, armchair lovers and Morocco’s accomplices who always “in exchange for…” are capable of ignoring even the most savage and inhumane decisions of a government that has sold out, betraying not only the Sahrawi people, but its own people, its own principles and the most basic human rights.
