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Exploitation of Western Sahara sand, violation of international law

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Madrid, May 20, 2016 (SPS) - The exploitation of the sand of Western Sahara by a Spanish company is a "violation of international law and the rights of Sahrawi people," said Carmelo Ramirez, President of the Federation of Spanish Institutions in Solidarity with Sahrawi People (FEDISSAH).
Ramirez, quoted by the e-paper eldiario.es, said "natural resources like fish, phosphate and sand of Western Sahara are not part of Moroccan natural resources, because Western Sahara is subject to self-determination process," and consequently, "Morocco has not sovereignty over this territory," he added
"Any Spanish company exploiting natural resources of this territory is violating international law and Sahrawi people's rights," said Ramirez.
"Our solidarity movement will take legal actions to denounce extraction of aggregates of Western Sahara," he said, adding that this case has been denounced to the United Nations and first to the Spanish authorities, because "it is not right that a Spanish company conducts such a criminal activity," he deplored.
For his part, Sergio Ramirez, former member of Western Sahara Resources Watchdog, also quoted by the Spanish e-paper, said "the exploitation of the sand of Western Sahara is an example of the plundering of Sahrawi people's resources, especially as the Court of Justice of the European Union cancelled the agricultural agreement with Morocco." SPS
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