President of the West African Bar Association and famous Nigerian civil rights lawyer, Femi Falana, today visited Madame Aminatou Haidar, the Sahrawi human rights activist, at the Lanzarote airport in Canary Islands, Spain.
Falana’s visit coincided with the sixth day of Haidar's open-ended hunger strike and vigil at the flight's hall, Haidar is also protesting the refusal of the Moroccan and Spanish governments to allow her visit her family in Western Sahara, currently under the illegal occupation of Morocco.
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Mr. Falana said during his meeting with struggling desert activist that he was visiting "in order to express support, on behalf of the solidarity movement of Africa, especially Nigerians, his absolute support of the demands of the Sahrawi people. He condemned their unfair treatment as a people, and the violation of their rights to immigration without passports through the Morrocan desert. He also condemned the complicity of the Spanish authorities.
During a press conference he held with the Sahrawi activist, the African jurist warned: "African Lawyers cannot ignore the enormity of the crimes committed by the Moroccan authorities against Sahrawi civilians, the most recent being the expulsion of Aminetou Haidar and arrest of seven activists, preventing many from traveling without travel documents and detention."
Even more seriously, Mr. Falana said: "Morocco, which occupies the other African country by force, benefits from the support of some international powers, especially the European greats, for the further colonization of Western Sahara, to violate the rights of its people, looting its resources and the challenge of the United Nations and international legitimacy for the organization of the referendum on self determination and respect for human rights.
Mr. Falana vowed to "take all necessary steps at the level of the statutory bodies of Africa and the UN, to win respect for the rights of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and also to guarantee for its activists and lawyers the freedom of movement and the peaceful expression of opinions and political beliefs."
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