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21:11 GMT
RABAT, Nov 14 (KUNA) -- Moroccan Prime Minister Abbas El-Fassi reacted
angrily on Sunday to the recent remarks by Chairman of Spain's Popular Party
(PP) Mariano Rajoy.
"Rajoy's shocking and false remarks aimed to undermine our territorial
integrity," El-Fassi, also secretary-general of the ruling Istiqlal Party,
said in a statement carried by Morocco's news agency Maghreb Arabe Presse
(MAP).
He was commenting on Rajoy's remarks on the recent violent incidents of the
Tindouf Saharan refugee camp which were extensively covered by the Spanish
media.
"These remarks can harm the relations between, and the interests of, the
two countries and undermine the ties between the Istiqlal (independence party)
and the (opposition) PP," he said.
The Spanish politician degenerated into such groundless polemics in the
run-up to the electoral race in Spain, El-Fassi regretted.
On Saturday Moroccan Minister of Communications and government spokesman
Khalid Naciri denounced "the hateful and racist drift" of some Spanish media
regarding the Kingdom.
"The Spanish media had long used biased approaches and committed extremely
serious breaches of ethics especially regarding the Moroccan Sahara issues. It
is evident that this is more than mere professional errors or biased reading
of the events," the minister said.
In Tindouf the Moroccan authorities tried to move Saharan refugees into
camps on the outskirts of the city of Al-Oyoun but the refugees refused with
the dispute developing into a violent clash.
While covering the incidents, some Spanish media, including the news agency
EFE "fabricated photos of the incidents. They carried photos of Palestinian
children, seriously wounded in an Israeli raid on Gaza in 2006 and claimed
that the victims were children of Saharan refugees," Naciri said.
They also claimed that the Tindouf incidents incidents left 12 persons
dead, including 10 policemen, which is totally untrue, the government
spokesman added. (end)
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KUNA 150011 Nov 10NNNN