Morocco expels three MEPs visiting Western Sahara

27 Octobre 2017

Brussels, Belgium, October 27 (Infosplusgabon) - Three Members of European Parliament (MEPs) were on Friday expelled by Moroccan authorities soon after their plane landed at El Ayoun in Western Sahara, which Moroccans claim to be an integral part of their territory.

According to the parliamentarian group's spokesman, David Lundy, the three MEPs were  Paloma Lopez Bermejo, Lydia Senra and Josu Juaristi. All said their expulsion "is unacceptable".

Lundy said the MEPs had a programme to hold meetings with representatives of civil society in Western Sahara as well as with the victims of human rights violations and other activists.

The purpose of the mission was to obtain information "on the living conditions of the Saharawi people" in their own territory, he explained. The group immediately informed Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis of this situation, Lundy added.

Morocco and the Polisario Front are fighting over the sovereignty of Western Sahara which should be organized under the leadership of the UN and a referendum on the right to self-determination.

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/AER/ GABON 2017

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