In an interview discussion with another icon of the press in Spain, Ignacio Muro, former director of the EFE agency and professor of journalism at the Carlos III University in Madrid, Javier Valenzuela, who is currently working with El Pais said "today more than ever, the solution of the Sahara(conflict) goes through a fully democratic Morocco".
The wind of change blowing on the region offers the opportunity to Morocco to place "democratic reforms, decentralization reforms and set the resolution of the problem of the Sahara in this context," said the Spanish journalist.
Thinking against the current dominant reflection in Spain
In this interview-debate, published Thursday by the news website "NuevaTribuna", which is part of a series of debates entitled "A View of the Left on the Arab world and today’s Islam ", Javier Valenzuela also gives ideas about the Sahara conflict, a reflection that" goes against the dominant position in Spain, mainly that of the Spanish Left ".
According to the expert of the Sahara issue and Morocco as he was correspondent for the newspaper "El Pais" in the Kingdom from 1988 to 1990, "the attitude of the Spanish Left (on the Sahara issue) is a very stereotypical attitude”.
The Spanish Left raises this issue in nationalist terms rather than democratic terms, adds Javier Valenzuela who wonders if this is "coherent or consistent."
It is not time for the creation of new states but for regional integration
In this context, he believes that the solution of the Sahara conflict "does not necessarily require the creation of a new State, because by using the same arguments against nationalism in Spain, this is not time to create new states. On the contrary, it is time for regional integration ".
"Does it mean, however, not to recognize the personality of Sahrawis? Absolutely not. But this identity does not require a state as we know in Spain," he argues, before adding: "Why the arguments and solutions that we defend in Spain would not be valid for Morocco and the Sahara?".
Asked to comment on the assertions claiming that "the current dominant position in Spain and those of IU (Izquierda Unida) and the Spanish Left in general are inherited from colonial Francoism" which initiated during the independence era between 1950-1960 in the Maghreb, a plan that would create an independent state in the Sahara, taking advantage of differences between Algeria, Mauritania and Morocco, the Spanish journalist, with a rare lucidity, courage and high level of analysis recognizes that "the Francoism plan " was "the artificial creation (in the Sahara) of an independent state not viable, in order to control it and put it under guardianship."
But the Francoist plan was foiled by the late Hassan II, "he said. According to him, "the will of Spain was to continue to have a presence in the region with a quasi-virtual puppet state.
This same position is still defended in the Spanish Left by promoting networks that rely on feelings or the heroism of a people whose leaders stick to a non viable project, "he said, considering that the Spanish Left instead of keeping these obsolete positions should "teach our Spanish autonomy experience and practice pedagogy."
Source: MAP
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