See this great footage of the first ever flashmob musical against the plundering of Western Sahara, in Mercadona-supermarkets across Spain. Mercadona sells canned fish originating from occupied Western Sahara, under their store brand ‘Hacendado’.
Activists of Spanish support organizations have entered Mercadona supermarkets across Spain to protest the fact that Mercadona’s generic brand of canned fish, Hacendado, contains fish from Western Sahara, a territory illegally occupied by Morocco.
According to international law, an occupying power cannot make profit from the natural resources of the territory it occupies. Therefore products from Western Sahara exported by Morocco are stolen goods. Their rightful owners, the Saharawi, have not seen any benefit stemming from these unlawful transactions. They have been living under the yoke of Morocco’s repression, or on the brink of starvation in Algerian refugee camps.
The Galician JEALSA group, comprising 21 companies, markets the RIANXEIRA and ESCURIS brands in Spain. Jealsa is associated with the Moroccan company Dr. Lhoucine DERHEM. This partnership, called DAMSA, owns a factory specialized in canned fish in El Aaiún, Western Sahara, with an output of more than 33 million cans. Escuris also distributes its products through Mercadona’s generic label “Hacendado”.
This flashmob musical was organized by PAPPS (Platform for Political Support to the Saharawi People), AISA (Asociation of Saharawi Immigrants in Aragón), the Western Sahara in the Olympics Committee, and AAPSIB (Friends of the Saharawi People, Balearic Islands).
Morocco occupies the major part of its neighbouring country, Western Sahara. Entering into business deals with Moroccan companies or authorities in the occupied territories gives an impression of political legitimacy to the occupation. It also gives job opportunities to Moroccan settlers and income to the Moroccan government. Western Sahara Resource Watch demands foreign companies leave Western Sahara until a solution to the conflict is found.
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