France's 3rd largest party supports Western Sahara
"Future MEPs from Europe Ecologie will work to put an end to the natural resources plundering of Western Sahara", stated the French party in a letter to WSRW. Europe Ecologie is France's third largest political party in front of the European Elections on June 7th.
Update, 8 June 2009: Europe Ecologie surprised with 16 percent of the votes, getting 14 seats in the European parliament.In a letter to Western Sahara Resource Watch on 2 June 2009, Europe Ecologie, part of the Greens, states their full support to the Sahrawis' right to self-determination, and to the exclusion of Western Sahara from the EU-Moroccan fisheries agreement.
"We have always defended the Sahrawi's rights, and particularly their right to self-determination. Western Sahara is in effect maybe Africa's last colony, having been passed over from Spanish to Moroccan oppression in 1975", the letter reads.
It continues:
"Regarding the question of fishing offshore the coast of Western Sahara, the Greens/EFA had suggested two amendments to the Varela report in 2006, urging an explicit exclusion of the Western Saharan waters from the fisheries agreement with Morocco. These waters do not belong to Morocco. We strongly regret that the amendments were rejected, and we consider that the fisheries agreement between Morocco and the European Union violate international law. We will, however, continue to defend the idea that all economic arrangement regarding this territory must benefit the Sahrawi people. The future members of parliament from Europe Ecologie will work to put an end to the natural resources plundering of Western Sahara",
Read letter from Europe Ecologie to WSRW here (in French).
The EU considers to pay Morocco to fish in occupied Western Sahara. An EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement from 2013 would be both politically controversial and in violation of international law.
The international Fish Elsewhere! campaign demands the EU to avoid such unethical operations, and go fishing somewhere else. No fishing in Western Sahara should take place until the conflict is solved.
