The headquarters of a Danish NGO, Global Aktion, based in Copenhagen, was set on fire on Sunday January 12. “Last night, our offices were the target of an arson attack. Anti-Western Sahara messages were spray painted. We consider it a politically motivated attack aimed at ending our criticism of the Moroccan occupation. Which will never happen,” announced the association close to the Polisario, in a press release posted this Monday on social networks.
Danish police have opened an investigation. A Danish media outlet assured this Monday that “part of the message is blurred due to snow or water, making it difficult to decipher what exactly was written. But the words “Morocco” and “stop supporting” are clearly visible.” A Global Aktion official said in press statements that the flames were caused by “an incendiary bomb thrown through a window.”
The Polisario seizes the incident
Without waiting for the conclusions of the investigations carried out by the Danish police, the Polisario hastened to point the finger at Morocco’s responsibility in the fire at the headquarters of Global Aktion. “This represents a direct attack on the values of justice, freedom and international solidarity,” underlined this evening the representative of the Front in Europe, Omar Mansour, in a press release.
“This attack is part of a systematic campaign led by Morocco to repress the Sahrawis. Now, these methods of repression are extending to international solidarity movements, as Morocco seeks to export its campaign of intimidation and violence beyond the borders of Western Sahara.”
Omar Mansour
And concluded his message by calling on “the international community to condemn this criminal act in the strongest terms and to hold Morocco accountable for its ongoing campaign of repression and violence.”
A few hours earlier, the official Polisario press agency seemed less categorical as to the identity of the perpetrators of the fire. “Moroccan organizations are said to be behind the “terrorist attack” against the Danish association Global Aktion,” wrote SPS.
On the other hand, as far as the Algerian press is concerned, Morocco’s responsibility has never been in doubt. “Terrorist attack against the pro-Sahrawi Aktion organization: Morocco in the dock,” said a French-speaking Algerian site.
The fire at the Global Aktion headquarters did not cause any casualties.
