Brussels (Belgium), 10 Sept. 2015 (SPS) – The Moroccan authorities has blocked the mission of International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) to the occupied territories of Western Sahara which was planned for the next week.
ITUC Deputy General Secretary, Jaap Wienen, confirmed in a statement that the reason behind the blockade was that the Sahrawi community in the occupied territories “would use the opportunity of our mission to organise big mobilisations on the roads of Laayoune , which especially in a period of elections would lead to confrontations”.
Moreover, Mr. Wienen confirmed “we received a signal that most probably the members of our delegation would be refused to enter Morocco at their arrival at the airport”.
The statement indicated that “apparently the authorities managed to create an atmosphere of fear among our affiliates, which made them decide to demand to postpone the mission.”
The federation regretted the blockade of the mission and insisted that the mission would take place as planned, as the program was developed together with the Moroccan affiliates, and all reservations were definitively made. (SPS)
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