Makhzen’s Corruption in the European Parliament is Just the Tip of the Iceberg
Revelations that circulate about the resounding “MarocGate” scandal in the European Parliament are just the tip of the iceberg, the representative of the Polisario Front in France, Mohamed Sidati, said, pointing to the involvement of other MEPs and European institutions in this vast corruption cell led by Rabat.
In a statement to APS on the sidelines of the 16th conference of the Polisario Front, held from January 13 to 17, in the city of Dakhla in the Sahrawi refugee camps, Sidati explained that “this is just the tip of the iceberg because there are many MEPs who are implicated in corruption and I can say even other European institutions are involved in these (corruption) networks.”
“This situation created a kind of stalemate about the issue of Western Sahara within the European Parliament”, he confirmed, “We faced Morocco’s practices that are obstructing our cause.”
“The stalemate also came due to the complicity and activity of the MEPs involved in the corruption networks that are manipulated by the Makhzen regime”, he added.
According to the Sahrawi official, these corrupt MEPs who were bribed by Morocco in exchange for their approval of its theses in Western Sahara “set themselves two goals”, and “the matter relates to turning a blind eye on the human rights situation in Morocco (…) and to avoid any mention of Western Sahara, especially since the European Parliament always had a tradition of supporting the right to self-determination and the fundamental rights of the Sahrawi people.”
The representative of the Polisario Front in France also asserted that “instead of continuing based on the values of democracy, freedom and the right of peoples to self-determination, the position of the MEPs and some European institutions has deviated.”
“In addition to many MEPs, committees of the European Parliament are also involved in such corruption cases”, citing an example about the committees on foreign affairs, human rights, fisheries and agriculture”, he added.
“The entire machinery of the European Parliament is involved, hence the need for this European institution to assume its responsibility and resume its position in support of the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination”, Sidati concluded.
