Rabat- Spanish public opinion regarding the question of Western Sahara has undergone a significant change over the last 10 years.
72 percent of Spaniards supported the territory’s independence in 2005, but only 58 percent support it in 2015, according to a survey conducted by the Spanish Real Instituto Elcano, one of the most important think tanks in Spain.
The percentage of Spaniards who support Morocco granting autonomy to the Western Sahara has witnessed a slight change, dropping from 16 percent in 2005 to 15 percent in June 2015.
“10 years later, we again ask the question to know the evolution of the positions. The result is a sharp drop in the percentage of those who believe that Spain should support the independence of the Sahara, while opinion remains the same for those who support that Sahara be an autonomous region of Morocco,” said the Real Instituto Elcano.
According to the same source, among those who support the territory’s independence, those who sympathize with left-wing parties came first, with 69 percent, as opposed to 48 percent among the right-wing and 55 percent of people from the center.
Of the population that supports granting of an autonomy to the Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty, the right wing came first with 22 per cent, as opposed to 10 percent of the left wing and 16 percent of the center.
Since the beginning of the conflict in 1975, when Morocco obtained sovereignty over the disputed territory, Spanish civil society has been among the most supportive of the separatist Polisario movement and its fight for independence.
This support translates to the number of associations that work closely with the Polisario in the Tindouf camps, providing financial and in kind support to the population living there. There are 200 associations that provide support to the Saharawi population in the Tindouf camps, and thousands of Spanish families receive about 10,000 Saharawi children every summer.
Edited by Timothy Filla
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