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Thousands of demonstrators in Madrid call on Spanish government to hold on its historic responsibilities towards Saharawi people

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Madrid, November 18, 2018 (SPS) - Tens of thousands of Sahrawis and members of the Solidarity Movement demonstrated today in Madrid to condemn the Madrid tripartite agreement and demand that the Spanish state take on its historic responsibilities.
The demonstrators marched through the streets of the Spanish capital, chanting slogans in support of the Saharawi people's struggle, holding Sahrawi national flags and banners demanding the Spanish state to shoulder its responsibilities towards its former colony.
The final statement of the demonstration condemned Morocco's violation of human rights in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, especially the mistreatment of Sahrawi prisoners of conscience in the Moroccan prisons.
It also condemned the European Commission's attempt to bypass the last decision of the European Court of Justice, which affirmed beyond any doubt that Western Sahara is a separate territory from Morocco, which has no sovereignty over it.  
The statement also called on the Spanish companies involved in the marketing of Sahrawi products through Morocco to stop plundering the wealth of an occupied people.
The statement called on the European Commission to negotiate with the only representative of the Sahrawi people, the Polisario Front, and to sign economic and trade agreements with it as it represent the entire Saharawi people.
It also called on the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) to include human rights monitoring in the occupied territories within its mandate.
Finally, the Solidarity Movement expressed its sincere appreciation to the Spanish people for their continued support for the Sahrawi people's right to independence despite the government's failure and its complicity with Morocco. (SPS)
062/SPS