West Saharan Rights Activist on Hunger Strike

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By Tayo Adelaja

Published: November 21, 2009

 

 

West Saharan Rights Activist on Hunger Strike

 

 By Tayo Adelaja

Western Sahara’s most prominent human rights activist has been told to appear in a Spanish court for public disorder after starting a hunger strike in the Canary Islands. Aminatou Haidar, who campaigns for indigenous Sahrawi rights, started her protest at Lanzarote airport on Sunday after Morocco refused to allow her to return to the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Ms Haidar was allegedly arrested and had her passport confiscated by Moroccan authorities on Friday after arriving in the Western Sahara capital of Laayoune, where she lives, on a flight from Spain’s Canary Islands. She was sent back to the archipelago. Ms Haidar has accused Spain of holding her against her will. Spanish officials say she cannot leave without a passport. Morocco controls most of the disputed Western Sahara, but Algerian-based separatists want a referendum on independence.

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