Spain laments confrontation in Western Sahara

Madrid, Agency
Spain laments the "very serious events" that followed Morocco's dismantling of a protest camp in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, but has refrained from condemning Rabat's actions in light of "confusion" about what happened, Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez said Friday.

Madrid is doing all it can to ensure the safety of Spanish citizens in the affected area and remains "actively and permanently" engaged in U.N. efforts to resolve the underlying dispute, she told a press conference following the weekly Cabinet meeting.

The native Saharawis, led by the Polisario Front, have spent decades resisting Morocco's annexation of the Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony.

Stressing the Spanish government's rejection of violence as a path to settling the conflict, Jimenez called on both sides to resume talks and to avoid any further incidents in Laayoune, the administrative capital of Western Sahara.

The latest crisis began Monday, when Moroccan police and soldiers invaded the Gadaym Izik camp set up outside Laayoune nearly a month ago by more than 12,000 Saharawis protesting Rabat's rule.

Rabat says the clashes left 13 dead, all but two of them members of the Moroccan security forces.

But according to the Polisario Front, 19 Saharawis were killed and hundreds more wounded, while 159 are missing.

Spain has asked Moroccan authorities for "urgent" clarification of the circumstances surrounding the death in Laayoune of Baby Hamadi Buyema, a Saharawi who had Spanish citizenship, Jimenez said.

She also expressed regret about Rabat's decision to expel three journalists working in Laayoune for Spain's SER radio network as well as the Morocco correspondent of Madrid daily ABC.

On Friday, Moroccan authorities stopped nine other Spanish journalists - including two with Agencia Efe - from entering Western Sahara.

Jimenez said good relations with Morocco are a priority for Spanish foreign policy and that Rabat is a "key partner" in the region.

"To condemn, one needs complete knowledge of the events," she said when asked why Spain has not condemned the confrontation in Laayoune.

Noting the absence so far of any comprehensive account, Jimenez said Spain will wait for "exhaustive and clear" information before making any judgment.

The question of Western Sahara is not a bilateral issue between Spain and Morocco, she said, but rather a matter for the entire international community.

Spain has no fear that the issue will harm Madrid's "solid" relations with Morocco, Jimenez said.