The reception in Spain, for humanitarian reasons, of Brahim Ghali, the leader of the Polisario Front has heavy economic consequences for the northern neighbor excluded from the Marhaba operation, which marks the return of millions of Moroccans residing abroad (MREs) to Morocco by road.
The participation of Podemos leaders in the "March for Freedom" in support of the Sahrawi people, which took place on Saturday in Madrid, has revived tensions between Spain and Morocco. For the Moroccans, it is a "provocation".
The Spanish government has remained laconic in its written response to the opposition’s questions seeking clarification on the humanitarian reception in Spain of Brahim Ghali, the leader of the Polisario Front, and on the diplomatic crisis with Morocco.
Spain’s new position, which is now ready to "consider any solution" proposed by Morocco on the Sahara , can be considered a victory for Moroccan diplomacy, according to an expert in international relations who stresses that this could be the beginning of a easing of tensions between Rabat and Madrid.
The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that it "does not have a file on the entry of Brahim Ghali into Spain". This, despite the many public interventions of Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya on the subject, since the opening of the diplomatic crisis with Morocco, provoked by the reception of the leader of the Polisario Front.
After his appearance on June 1 before the National High Court in Spain and his return to Algeria, Brahim Ghali, the leader of the Polisario Front, has asked judge Santiago Pedraz to drop the charges against him.
Podemos has been publicly thanked by the Polisario Front and Sahrawi media for its support for the Sahrawi cause in the Ghali case. This was on the occasion of the party’s assembly held in Alcorcón (Madrid).
The diplomatic crisis provoked by the reception of Brahim Ghali in Spain, and the recurring tensions with Algeria which supports the Polisario leader, are weighing on Morocco’s renewal of the concession of the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline whose expiration is coming in November.
The first vice-president of the Spanish government, Carmen Calvo, indicated in a response to an oral question to the government in the lower house, initiated by the Popular Party (PP), that she has been mandated by Pedro Sánchez to resolve the crisis with Morocco.
The Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, denounced on Wednesday the attitude of the Spanish government aimed at "Europeanizing an exclusively bilateral crisis" that persists between Morocco and Spain. For the minister, this is a flight of responsibility on the part of Madrid.
The "affairs" are piling up for the Polisario leader, Brahim Ghali . The Logroño court has just initiated a procedure for "terrorism" against him and his number 2, Salem Lebsir.
Morocco threatened on Monday to suspend its cooperation with the European Union if the European Parliament voted on Thursday a resolution condemning the kingdom’s attitude in allowing thousands of underage migrants to enter Ceuta in May, in reaction to the reception by Spain of Brahim Ghali.