Amid improving Moroccan-Spanish ties,Spain’s PP party chose to swim against the current,extending an invitation to members of the Algeria-backed Polisario separatist group. The hostile stands of the PP party,which runs the occupied cities of Ceuta and Melillia,triggered a letter from the Istiqlal party urging a clear stand on the Sahara issue.
In a letter,signed by Istiqlal party leader and minister Nizar Baraka,the PP was called on to align with the growing international consensus supporting the Kingdom’s sovereignty.
Relations improved at all levels between Madrid and Rabat in 2022 after Prime Minister Sanchez backed the Morocco-proposed autonomy plan as the sole solution for the Sahara issue.
The letter,addressed to PP President Alberto Núñez Feijóo on July 10,expressed “deep concern” over the PP’s ambiguous position on the Sahara issue and the PP’s ties with the Polisario.
The letter also underscored the historical and political ties between the two parties,both members of the Centrist Democrat International (CDI) for over two decades.
Baraka emphasized that the Moroccan autonomy plan,presented to the United Nations in 2007,remains the only credible and realistic framework for resolving the regional dispute.
The Moroccan initiative has garnered strong support from major global powers including the United States,France,the United Kingdom,and over 20 European nations.
“We are surprised that the Popular Party,despite its political weight and affiliation with the European People’s Party,has not yet joined this historic momentum,” Baraka wrote,urging the PP to contribute to regional stability and economic cooperation in the region.
The letter also highlighted the plan’s potential to foster development and employment in Morocco’s southern provinces,thereby addressing key challenges such as irregular migration and regional insecurity.
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