http://www.dnewsglobal.com/spanish-media-manipulated-image-discredit-morocco-government/387.html#comment-124

Some Spanish media manipulated images of children in Gaza who were wounded in the Israeli army’s attack brutal to describe victims of riots in the town of Western Sahara, Laayouna, to frame the Moroccan government.

Appearance of picture seems intentional to influence public opinion to attack the Moroccan government. Spanish media names such as El Pais, El Mundo, and El Semenal Digital online media put a picture of Gaza’s children. But in a written statement that they are victims of violence against the Moroccan troops in Western Sahara Polisario Front.

Though the picture is the child victims of Israeli soldiers aggression in the Gaza Strip that captured in June 2006. The photographs showed two Palestinian children with bloody head wrapped in bandages. Both children were screaming in pain.

According to El Paiz, Spain’s biggest victims, two boys were said to be victims of police violence at Morocco refugee camps in Western Sahara. They are portrayed as victims of government oppression Morocco.

Similar photos have been posted on the site Polisario with the title ‘Even children can not escape from the massacre of Morocco’. The photo was also posted on the sites of Spain, France and other European countries that support the separatist movement Sahara.

Moroccan media have accused the Spanish tried to tarnish the image of Morocco in the international community. Moroccan Communications Ministry has condemned the falsification of facts by the Spanish media.

Andalus Press news sites , the Arab media in Spain, has been contacted Rosario Pons, Head of Department Photos News Spain (EFE) to clarify the picture. According to Pons, EFE do not have a photographer in Laâyoune so it does not have the source images in there. Therefore, the EFE is highly dependent on the sites and blogs Sahrawi rebels belonging to obtain the latest photos from the Western Sahara.

A spokesman for El Pais, Rosie Rodriguez, admitted the photo was featured in last week’s Thursday editions. El Pais also admitted photos of Palestinian children had been distributed by Reuters on June 21, 2006. ”The publishing of photographs as part of the conflict in Western Sahara is a mistake that made by our newspaper,”he admitted to Al Arabiya. That’s why we have made an apology after realizing his mistake.”

The apology was published in El Pais on Friday last week with a statement that the photographs in Gaza who was made in 2006 has been one published from the Western Sahara. This daily claimed full responsibility for not verifying the authenticity of the photograph before they are published.

The paper also acknowledges that the photo was taken by photographer Palestinian, Ibrahim Abu Mustafa in Gaza hospital where two children were hospitalized after hit by Israeli air strikes.

Rodriguez argued, El Pais is not the only Spanish newspaper that made this fatal mistake. Some Spanish media also carried photographs of the same. ”We have been informed of this error on the relevant authorities in Spain and Morocco,”he concluded.