<\/a>Well-known Sahrawi activist Hmad Hammad described the Moroccan presence in Western Sahara as an invasion and said Rabat’s promises of respect for human rights in the territory are just one big lie.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDuring the second part of an interview with Equipe Media in Bilbao, Basque Country, Hammad shed light on another aspect of the international community’s approach to this long-standing conflict. He confirmed that the entry of Morocco in 1975 into the former Spanish colony was not a peaceful annexation, but rather a military invasion and occupation that violates international law and defies all morals and values upon which nations and civilizations are built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The speaker concluded that it is just an illusion to expect any day that Morocco would respect human rights in Western Sahara or give the Sahrawi people space to express their opinions. He said this could be the case on one condition: the creation of an international United Nations mechanism for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Sahrawi human rights activist pointed to the Moroccan occupiers’ treatment of foreign delegations as evidence of their current stance, stating: \u00ab\u00a0As you can see, delegations arrive only to be expelled by the Moroccan regime’s thugs… This is their work; they treat delegation members like circus puppets, no more, no less.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The activist, who has been documenting human rights conditions in the region for years, concluded his statement with definitive words: \u00ab\u00a0Anyone who knows Morocco well realizes that it will never respect human rights\u2014and I repeat, never\u2014unless there is an international mechanism to monitor the human rights situation in the occupied territories.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n