The president of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria emphasizes that the African northwest and the archipelago “need peace actions and to flee from any message of militarization”
It also emphasizes that the naval exercises “represent a new violation of the UN resolutions on Western Sahara”
The president of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales, has today expressed his rejection of the military maneuvers scheduled by the Royal Moroccan Navy off the coast of Western Sahara because “they represent a destabilizing action for the Canary Islands and for the entire region.” .
The president of the Insular Institution has stressed that “the area of northwest Africa and the Canary Islands in particular need peace actions and to flee from any message of militarization.” On the contrary, as he pointed out, "these military maneuvers, which are carried out a short distance from the Canary archipelago, will cast a warlike shadow on some islands that live off their tranquility and the strategic tourism sector until June."
In this same sense, he denounced that "the demonstration of naval force in Rabat adds unnecessary tension to the climate experienced in the entire Sahel, a geographical band that begins in the Sahara and encompasses parts of countries such as Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, "Nigeria, Chad or Sudan, a territory marked by social and political instability, which makes it a hotbed of forced immigration, repetition of cycles of poverty, terrorism and disputes between military and economic powers."
In addition to criticizing the “militaristic desire of the Kingdom of Morocco,” Morales demanded from the Government of Spain “constant and prior information on all decisions that are known in this area and that affect the Canary Islands” and considered that its actions “on this occasion "It has not been diligent, nor critical of the negative repercussions for the Canary Islands."
Likewise, the president of the Cabildo highlighted that the naval exercises represent “a new violation by the Alawite Kingdom of the spirit and letter of the UN resolutions regarding Western Sahara, which establish that it is an area pending decolonization through a self-determination referendum.”
“Despite this clear international legal framework, Morocco has decided to deploy unprecedented maneuvers due to their location and duration,” with an initial forecast of three months.
Morales also highlighted that “the decision to deploy came just a few days after the General Counsel of the European Union urged the cancellation of the fishing agreement reached between Brussels and Rabat in 2019, precisely with the argument of the waters adjacent to the territory of the Sahara. Occidental were not treated separately and distinctly from the Kingdom of Morocco, which is why, according to the Lawyers, it means that the Council did not respect the right of self-determination of the Sahrawi people.”
“In any case,” he finally added, “these maneuvers turn the Canary Islands into a piece that is too close to the movements led by Morocco to benefit its economic, political and expansionist interests regarding Western Sahara, in addition to going against the will.” of peace of a territory of integration, solidarity and respect for international justice, as the islands have always been, historically aligned, in addition, with anti-war movements.”
