RFK CENTER DELEGATION JOINS AMINATOU HAIDAR IN LANZAROTE AS SHE BEGINS THIRD WEEK OF HUNGER STRIKE
Aminatou Haidar (middle) holds a picture of her children on the 16th day of her hunger strike. She is accompanied by RFK Center Advocacy Director, Marselha Gonçalves Margerin (left), and Senior Advocacy Officer, Boi-Tia Stevens (right). Credit: Tirsa Alonso Afonso
Lanzarote, Canary Islands (December 1st, 2009)—A delegation from the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights (RFK Center) joined Aminatou Haidar, a Saharawi rights defender expelled from Western Sahara, at Lanzarote Airport in the Canary Islands this past weekend. On November 16th she began a hunger strike to demand her lawful return. Today marks the 16th day of her hunger strike.
The delegation, which included RFK Center Advocacy Director, Marselha Gonçalves Margerin, and Senior Advocacy Officer, Boi-Tia Stevens, joined Ms. Haidar in urging Morocco and Spain to comply with their respective obligations under both national and international law and permit Ms. Haidar, the 2008 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Laureate, to safely return to Western Sahara.
Ms. Haidar has been in the Canary Islands since November 14, when she was expelled by Moroccan authorities who took her passport and forced her to board a plane to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. Ms. Haidar has remained at Lanzarote Airport since her arrival. After more than two weeks without food, she has begun to weaken physically, but Ms. Haidar says she remains committed to continuing the hunger strike until she can return home.
On November 29th the RFK Center delegation joined Ms. Haidar in meeting with representatives of the Spanish Foreign Ministry, who traveled to Lanzarote to discuss the situation for the first time since Ms. Haidar was expelled. The officials stated that Ms. Haidar would not be allowed to board a plane home without her passport, but did offer her a Spanish passport.
Ms. Haidar did not accept the offer of Spanish nationality, stating that it would not resolve her situation and could create additional hardships by making her a foreigner in her own homeland.
In a statement responding to the offer Ms. Haidar said, “I offer my thanks to the Spanish government for offering me Spanish citizenship or political asylum; however, for me, citizenship is not something for the Spanish government to offer to me, but rather, my right, a right as a Saharawi. I do not plan on requesting Spanish, American, or Italian citizenship; this is my personal political stance… I live under Moroccan occupation and I advocate, as do the rest of the Saharawi people, for the realization of our self-determination. Morocco has not [returned] my passport….but it is obligated to do so, because it is an occupying country and, according to the Fourth Geneva Convention, it is obligated to respect all political and civil rights of citizens under its occupation. I have never requested another passport. I will never request another passport because I already have one that is in force… What I am demanding of the Spanish government is that it simply return me to my homeland.”
“The Spanish government violated their own domestic law by accepting Aminatou into Spain without a passport, and now, instead of rectifying that action, they refuse to allow her to board a plane home. As easily as they accepted her into Spanish territory, they should allow her to board the next flight to Western Sahara and return to her home.” said Marselha Gonçalves Margerin. “The RFK Center will continue to call on Spain, Morocco and the international community to ensure the fundamental human rights of Ms. Haidar and every Saharawi.”
For additional information on Aminatou Haidar’s expulsion, please visit:
- RFK Center Press Release: Kerry Kennedy urges Morocco: Allow Return of Illegally Expelled Saharawi Rights Defender, Aminatou Haidar (11/25/2009) http://www.rfkcenter.org/node/418
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