Western Sahara : Andalusian Leaders’ Double Game

Is the Autonomous Government of Andalusia playing double game in the Western Sahara territorial dispute?
This question was raised by many observers and Maghreb affairs experts after the Vice-President of the Autonomous Government of Andalusia, Diego Valderas (United Left-IU,) announced his plan to visit the Tindouf camps in southern Algeria next January.
The announcement was made less than two weeks after the president of this very Andalusian Government, socialist Susana Diaz, paid a two-day official visit to Morocco September 11-12.
During the visit, Diaz got a red carpet welcome, was received by Morocco’s King and conferred with the head of the Government and the Foreign Minister.
And now her troublemaking assistant seeks to spoil the success of the visit and the good relations between the two sides especially that the Andalusian fishing fleet has just resumed its activities in Moroccan waters after a forced shutdown of nearly three years.
Valderas who was attending the dedication of a photo exhibition on the daily life in the Tindouf camps dubbed “Exiliados en la arena” said his coming trip to Tindouf “is part of a solidarity campaign with the Sahrawi people,” to be staged in cooperation with Andalusian  municipalities and associations.
Valderas’ statements are quite strange since he holds the position of adviser for Local Government and Institutional Relations at the Andalusian government. Besides, his statements are completely different from the remarks made by the Andalusian Government president during her talks with Moroccan officials.
The Vice-President’s behavior is not surprising however when you remember that he is member of the Andalusian United Left party which also includes former MEP Willy Meyer, MP Cayo Lara and many other personalities who are very hostile to Morocco and to its territorial integrity.