Greta Thunberg says Morocco sabotaged Western Sahara debate in Zurich

ZFF: 40 attendees instead of 300 at the debate with Greta Thunberg Keystone-SDA

A debate featuring Greta Thunberg, held on Wednesday on the fringes of the Zurich Film Festival, appears to have been sabotaged. All 300 tickets had been sold, but only 40 people attended. The climate activist blames Morocco for this.

Demand for tickets was very high, but many reserved seats remained empty, a spokesperson for the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) told Keystone-ATS news agency, confirming a report published in the Tages-Anzeiger paper.

Ticket orders were so high that the organisers eventually limited the number to four per person. Prior to this, some orders had exceeded this quota. Admission to the event was free of charge. The spokesperson was unable to assess or comment on whether the massive number of orders constituted a coordinated and deliberate action.

+ Greta Thunberg in Zurich to discuss Western Sahara

‘To silence the Sahrawi cause’

According to the Tages-Anzeiger, Greta Thunberg’s view on this matter was clear. The 23-year-old Swede holds Morocco responsible for sabotage, as the country has been in conflict for decades with the Sahrawi people, the indigenous people of Western Sahara. The documentary film My Home of Wind and Sand, which centres on Najla Mohamed Lamin – a Sahrawi woman born in a refugee camp in Algeria and who still lives there – was screened on Tuesday evening at the ZFF to a packed house for its world premiere.

For Greta Thunberg, the many empty seats during the debate in Zurich are confirmation that there is a desire to silence the Sahrawi people’s struggle. During Wednesday’s debate, the young activist highlighted the links between their struggle, the global climate crisis and social justice.

“The film is very moving. It tells of a betrayal – that of the occupation and the fact that this conflict is ignored by the world,” Thunberg said after the screening. She called on privileged people to stand alongside the Sahrawis: “We must talk about it and spread the message. Otherwise, we are hypocrites.”

Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is at the heart of a decades-long conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front. Rabat controls most of the territory, whilst the Polisario Front, supported by Algeria, is demanding independence and calling for a referendum on self-determination.

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Translated from French, reviewed by an English Department journalist.