THE SAHAURI human rights activist Aminatou Haidar was admitted to hospital and placed in intensive care early yesterday after refusing food for over a month. She began her hunger strike, accepting only drinks of sugared water, at Lanzarote airport on November 14th when Moroccan officials confiscated her passport when she wrote “Western Sahara” as her place of residence on an entry form and deported her to the Canary Islands.
Ms Haidar, a 42-year-old former Nobel Peace Prize nominee, was returning from a visit to the United States where she had received a Kennedy human rights prize. She has campaigned for independence for the people of Western Sahara, the mineral-rich territory annexed by Morocco in 1976 when Spain abandoned its former colony The rights of the Western Sahauri people is a cause backed by many Spaniards ashamed their government handed them over to the Moroccan kingdom in the interim period following the death of the dictator General Franco.
Today, tens of thousands of them are virtually stateless, still living in Spartan refugee camps in the harsh desert and, in spite of the International Court of Justice upholding their right to self-determination, Morocco continues to stall.
During her protest in the departure hall of Lanzarote airport, Ms Haidar, who has been nicknamed “the Gandhi of the Western Sahara” has received the support of politicians; intellectuals such as Nobel Literature laureate Jose Saramago; film directors Pedro Almodóvar and Ken Loach; and actor Javier Bardem and his actress mother Pilar Bardem. Several hundred sympathisers staged a token 24-hour fast at San Sebastian airport in support.
Her condition has deteriorated rapidly over the past week and she is reported to have lost over 10kg during her fast. She finally agreed to be admitted to hospital when her suffering became unbearable. Her one fear, she says, is doctors might try to force feed her if she becomes unconscious, although her lawyer, Ines Miranda, stressed yesterday that she was only being treated to relieve her pain.
The Spanish government has been accused of putting sensitive bilateral relations with Morocco before the welfare of Ms Haidar. They refused to accept the suggestion that King Juan Carlos, who has a close personal relationship with the Moroccan royal family, should intervene or to accept foreign intervention although the case has now gone to the European Parliament. They say they have done all they can and that Ms Haidar has refused the offer of Spanish citizenship – to which she was entitled because Western Sahara was Spanish territory at the time of her birth in 1966. She also turned down political asylum.
Two weeks ago, when she was already weakened, the problem appeared to be drawing to a close when she was wheeled to a private jet to fly her to El Aaiun, only for the Moroccans to refuse it landing rights. They say she has insulted their King Mohammed and their country, and will only allow her back when she apologises.
But although she says she wants to return home to her two young sons, she remains adamant and refuses to comply. “I am in no doubt that Morocco wants me dead,” she says.