Spanish government stands firm on Laayoune location in Morocco

The Spanish government refused to change a reference listing Laayoune as part of Morocco, despite pressure from the Polisario and its supporters in Spain, unnamed sources at the Spanish Ministry of Defense told El Pais.

The reference was published in the Official State Bulletin (BO) in an announcement about construction work at the Spanish college in the city.

Usually, «errors» published in editions of the official Spanish state newspaper are «immediately corrected», the sources noted.

The Polisario, along with the International Association of Judges for Western Sahara, had requested that the government correct this «inappropriate reference» in the BO.

This rejection was condemned by media outlets affiliated with the Polisario Front. «This confirms that Sumar and Ernest Urtasun (the Minister of Culture and Sports, editor's note) support the PSOE in its plan to endorse Morocco's claim to Western Sahara» denounced an online publication.