For the Moroccan government, business must go on as normal in occupied Western Sahara.

The natural resource exploitation of the territory is in violation of the wishes and interests of the people of the territory, and thus in violation of international law. The Sahrawis have never given its consent to the trade.

The last months have been marked by social unrest, as as many as 20.000 Sahrawis took to a protest village outside of El Aaiun to express their discontent with the plundering and unemployment in the rich territory. Both fish industry and the offices of the Moroccan Ministry of Mines in El Aaiun were attacked in the violence that erupted after the Moroccan attack on the protest camp. New clashes took place in Smara this week. 

While the unrest continues, Morocco, together with foreign businessmen, make huge profits on the illegal plunder of the territory.

According to Moroccan newspaper L'Économiste, 30 November 2010, the maire of El Aaiun has now chartered an airplane to transport businessmen from Tanger to El Aaiun to visit the city. 

The reason of the trip is to "show the Spanish businessmen the true reality of what happened in El Aaiun and surroundings, far from the misleading truth presented by the Spanish media."

Dozens of journalists from Spain and other countries have been thrown out of Morocco and Western Sahara the last few weeks, for wanting to cover the situation in the territory.

"It is time that the Spanish business community takes social responsibility in the matter of Western Sahara. Contributing to the plunder, and in the cover-up of the abuses by embracing such trips, is central in the cementation of the occupation and escalation of the conflict level. Until the conflict is solved, all business in Western Sahara should stay out of the territory", stated Sara Eyckmans, coordinator of Western Sahara Resource Watch.

The business invitation to El Aaiun was announced in a breakfast meeting in Tanger Monday this week. See full text of the short story below.


Tanger: Les industriels espagnols de Tanger à El Aaiun
30 Nov 2010
Les industriels de la ville de Tanger ont été conviés par le maire de El Aaiun, Fouad El Omari, à une visite de la ville. L'objectif est de faire découvrir à ces hommes d'affaires espagnols la de ce qui s?est passé à El Aaiun et environs, loin de la vérité par les médias espagnols. Un avion a été spécialement affrété pour faire le voyage dans la journée du mardi. L'invitation a été adressée lors d'un déjeuner organisé lundi dernier à Tanger sur invitation de la mairie.