Western Sahara used to be a Spanish colony and when the Spanish withdrew in 1975 it was annexed by Morocco.Morocco is now offering Western Sahara autonomy rather than the independence which was proposed by the UN in 1991.
Recently diplomatic tensions have been running high between Spain and Morocco because of a hunger striking Western Sahara woman Aminatou Haidar.Haidar is a Nobel Peace Prize nominee following her campaign to her country’s right for self determination from Morocco.Last month she was returning from the US when the authorities in the Western Sahara capital of Laayoune refused her entry,confiscated her passport and placed her on a flight to Lanzarote.
Since that time the 42 year old has camped out at the airport in Lanzarote to protest against her treatment.During this time she has refused Spanish citizen status and also refugee status.Quite understandably she did not want to feel a stranger in her own country.
Last week she thought on two occasions that she would be able to fly home but each time Morocco withdrew the permission for the flight and Haidar returned to her hunger strike at the airport.Haidar regards Spain as complicit with Morocco for her state of affairs.Morocco feels that there is no need for Un intervention.
