70,000 Sahrawis could become Spanish: PSOE fears Morocco’s reaction
Some 70,000 Sahrawis could obtain Spanish nationality through a law that is due to be submitted to Congress on Thursday. The PSOE has decided to support it, but some Socialists acknowledge fearing the consequences for relations with Morocco.
The information was reported this Wednesday, September 9, by El Español. The proposal, sponsored by Sumar, concerns Sahrawis born under Spanish administration and had already been approved on July 23 by Congress’s Justice Commission.
The text notably provides a route to nationality through a letter of naturalization for people born in Western Sahara under Spanish administration. It also reduces to two years the period of residence in Spain required for certain nationality applications.
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According to El Español, around 70,000 people could be affected. However, the text must still pass through several parliamentary stages before entering into force.
“This is not the best time”
It is above all the timing that concerns the PSOE. The vote comes a few weeks after the mass entries recorded in Ceuta on July 30 and 31 and the serious crisis that followed with Morocco.
Socialist sources quoted by the Spanish daily acknowledge that “this is not the best time.” They fear a reaction from Rabat, even though the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it has no information indicating that Morocco is planning a retaliation.
The Socialist spokesperson in Congress, Patxi López, for his part insists on Madrid’s independence: the PSOE conducts its policy “without Morocco’s views conditioning us,” he said.
The text had, moreover, already caused tensions during its parliamentary examination. According to El Español, the PSOE had notably attempted to remove the expression “Sahrawi people” in order not to provoke Morocco.
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If the law completes its parliamentary process, people born in Western Sahara under Spanish administration before September 29, 1977, will be able to apply for nationality under the procedure provided. The text also extends this possibility to certain descendants and reduces the residence requirement to two years for the Sahrawis concerned.
The vote expected on Thursday thus places the PSOE before a delicate choice: support a measure it presents as historical reparations while avoiding opening a new front with Rabat just a few weeks after the Ceuta crisis.
