Spains new position and its effects on Tindouf Camp Population, Gustavo de Arístegui

Gustavo Manuel de Arístegui is a Spanish politician, diplomat and an international analyst. Gustavo de Arístegui comes from a long-standing diplomatic background, his father and grandfather were both senior diplomats posted as ambassadors in Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. Mr Arístegui next to his native Spanish speaks English, French and German, and is interested in all the international issues that are related in any way to Spain. Gustavo de Arístegui expresses high hope that Spain’s new position on the Moroccan Sahara issue.

Gustavo Manuel de Arístegui is a Spanish politician

The new parameters that now guide the Spanish position should also “inspire” the whole world and lead to “a reconciliation between Algeria and Morocco. A reconciliation that may require time, but that is what we all want,” he said, commenting the recent message addressed to HM King Mohammed VI by the President of the Spanish government, Pedro Sanchez,

in which he confirms his support for the autonomy plan in the Moroccan Sahara.

Former Spanish diplomat and MP Gustavo de Arístegui expressed hope that his country’s new position on the Moroccan Sahara issue will contribute to ending the “tragedy” suffered by the populations in the Tindouf camps.

These new parameters, Gustavo de Arístegui added, lead us to another thinking on the question of the representation of the polisario in relation to the Saharawis. The polisario is not the only representative of the Sahrawi people, he pointed out.

Gustavo de Arístegui served in the European Division, in the Africa and Middle East Division as Deputy Head of Middle East Affairs in the time of the first Gulf War (1990-91), as Deputy Chief of Mission of the Spanish Embassy to Libya (1991-1993) where he was Charge D’Affaires (Acting Ambassador) for well over a year, and as Deputy Chief of Mission of the Spanish Embassy to Jordan (1993-96).

According to the former MP, Gustavo de Arístegui, this issue has been a source of confusion in Spain on several occasions. On the geopolitical level, Gustavo de Arístegui pleaded for a rapprochement between Morocco and Algeria to tackle, together, the terror threats coming from the Sahel

The longer the disagreement between Morocco and Algeria lasts, the easier it will be for these terror groups to be effective in their criminal activity, whether it involves drug, weapons and human beings trafficking or terrorism, Gustavo de Arístegui underlined.