“Spain has known different terrorist groups, such as Grapo , Eta or the Polisario front” but ‘ in the canaries islands , the idealist vision which we had about the liberation movement helped to present them otherwise. “ we wanted to give credit to the idea that they did not kill each other , but the reality they have done it, we did not like to say that they have sequestered innocent people , but in fact they have done it, when they have machine gunned boats and they made them sunk , without being able to find dead bodies” said Mrs Jimenez , in a statement to the europapress agency , after having attended Sunday at Madrid the tribute ceremony to the victims of terrorism chaired by king Juan Carlos of Spain and Queen Sofia at the occasion of the day of victims of terrorism
“ this should not be tolerated in a state of law and democracy” the chairwoman of acavite said , reminding that crimes perpetrated by members of Polisario against staff of fosboucraa at laayoune and the canaries fishing boats which operated in the area between Sahara and canary islands during the seventies and the beginning of eighties .
She qualified this ceremony as an historic one for the 300 families of the canary victims which she deplored being forgotten during three decades, “for us it is a big historic day” In the sense that this act gives finally an institutional visibility and will allow to remember the canary victims of terrorist brutal crimes of the Polisario, added Jimenez, the daughter of Francisco Jimenez Santana, a victim of a terrorist crime perpetrated by separatists in the Sahara in 1976
She has deplored that during thirty years the Polisario’s victims have suffered from the propaganda of the movement pro- Polisario which remains incomprehensible. Through years the victims have been disorientated and thrown to the wafer, she said that regrettably.
Mrs Jimenez added that during the first days of the memory of victims , which has taken place the 27th march at the canary islands , the head of the autonomous government Paul Rivero has pledged to promote ‘ the canary law of victims” of terrorism following the one made in the Spanish communities.
Acavite is an association which was created in 2006 in order to gain justice for the canary killed fishermen victim families from the Spanish government and the national and international organisations, and also to obtain an official recognition of the crimes and the compensation of the victims in order to put an end to the wafer of over thirty years
She equally requires to be granted a similar support to the one given to victims of the terrorist acts of the Basque organisation “ETA” or other terrorist groups .
It is notable that following the blind attacks against the fishermen and canary civilians Polisario was declared as ‘ a terrorist organisation», and its representatives were kicked out of Spain in conformity with a decision taken by the then Spanish government led by Felipe Gonzales
The Spanish authorities have kicked out the representative of the separatist organisation Polisario in Madrid, Ahmed Boukhari , all offices of this organisation were closed and representatives in all regions of Spain were kicked out in 1985 . This decision was taken following the terrorist attack perverted by members of the Polisario against a Spanish trawler “el junquito” and “el tagomago”.
On the 20th of September Spanish trawler was attacked while it was in the international water zone more than 12 kms from boujdour , this attack led to the death of a fisherman and the kidnapping of his colleagues, who have been conducted to a prison in Tindouf camps ( south of Algeria)
On the 21 st of September a Spanish patrol boat of the Spanish army which navigated in the area searching for the Spanish marines was attacked by Polisario . One soldier was killed and fifty were injured.
Source : MAP
Events concerning Western Sahara