Brussels, 12 September 2022 (SPS) - Member of the national Secretariat of the Polisario Front for Europe and the European Union (EU), Abbi Boushraya Bashir, affirmed that the crossing of the Rally “Africa Eco Race” through the occupied Sahrawi territories without the authorization of the Polisario Front is a “clear support to the objectives of the forces of the Moroccan occupation aimed at annexing Western Sahara by force.”
“The organizers’ contribution in this direction, by exploiting the values of sport to support expansionist acts is a renunciation of the principles and ideals of sport,” said Saturday Abbi Boushraya in a statement.
Facing this immoral and illegal move, the Polisario Front, in its capacity as the Sahrawi people’s legitimate representative, condemns vigorously the illegal inclusion of the occupied Western Sahara in the route of the Rally, and warns Morocco against the continuation of its aggression policy which threatens the region’s stability and security and the populations’ future.”
According to the statement, the “Africa Eco Race” Rally, scheduled from 15 to 30 October, follows the same route as Paris-Dakar Rally, from the south of France to reach Senegal via Mauritania. The Sahrawi diplomat said that the organizers pretend to ignore the existence of Western Sahara and plan to cross the territory illegally without requesting authorization from the Sahrawi people’s sole representative, i.e. the Polisario Front.
The Sahrawi diplomat warns the organizers that hiding this fact “exposes the potential participants to unknown risks in view of daily military confrontations between the Sahrawi People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the forces of the Moroccan occupation, and millions of anti-personal mines laid by the Moroccan occupier throughout the Sahrawi territory.”
062/SPS/APS