A large coalition of European and Western Sahara groups asks the European Parliament not to pay Morocco to fish in the waters it occupies. 16.189 individuals have joined the letter, including thousands of refugees from Western Sahara.
“We request the EU to work within the framework of international peace, and to support the UN’s efforts to negotiate a solution to the conflict. The Saharawi people have the right to be heard. No further EU fisheries operations should take place in Western Sahara until a peaceful solution to the conflict has been found”, states the letter directed to the European Parliament today.
Download the complete letter here, together with a list of the organisations that signed.
The letter will today be sent to the political parties of the European Union, asking them to not accept a fisheries agreement with Morocco covering the waters of occupied Western Sahara.
267 organisations and 16.189 individuals are among the signatories. Among the signatories are organisations such as political parties, environmental groups (e.g. Greenpeace International), and trade unions.
Half of the individuals signed over the course of this week: Most of those are refugees that have left Western Sahara as the territory was invaded territory by Morocco. See examples of these signature leaflets below. These refugees receive fish donated as humanitarian aid once a month. The vote on 10 December will consider whether the occupying power Morocco will be paid 160 million Euros for European access to the fish that these Saharawis own.
Some supporters of the fish deal claim that a fisheries accord between Morocco and the EU is to the Saharawis own interest. However, all known Saharawi groups have joined this request to the European Parliament stating it is not.
As EU ambassadors give their green light to a new Morocco trade deal, the public is still denied access to the very agreement they are voting on - a striking case of secrecy in Brussels.
A wave of reactions is rippling across Europe following the news that the EU is moving ahead with a new trade agreement in occupied Western Sahara. The vote is scheduled for tomorrow.
WSRW can today reveal a leaked EU document showing plans to continue trading with products from occupied Western Sahara, in direct violation of earlier rulings by the EU Court of Justice. A vote will take place this Wednesday.
Water pouring out of Moroccan faucets is soon powered by energy stolen from occupied Western Sahara.