The Moroccan Monarchy, which owns the Moroccan Government, plunged itself into avoidable crisis and antagonism with humanity when it ordered its military on 31 October, 1975 to invade, colonise, and occupy Western Sahara.
On 6 November, 1975, the Monarchy again organised a procession of 350,000 Moroccans to occupy a greater area, almost eighty percent, of Western Sahara land.
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Morocco boldly and arrogantly occupied, and refuse to leave Western Sahara due to the encouragement and support it is getting from France and the United States and their allies – the European Union (EU). As a matter of fact, the occupation was facilitated by the departing colonising power – Spain.
Since this illegal and criminal occupation, Morocco has been in one crisis after the other. It disgraced and dehumanised itself by setting Saharawi houses and land ablaze, destroying farms and other sources of food supply, poisoning wells and other water-supply sources, raping women and children, mutilating and massacring thousands of Saharawi. The result is the diplomatic humiliation and international disgrace which Morocco keeps inflicting on itself.
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In 1984, for instance, Nigeria joined other African countries to officially recognise Western Sahara and this beautiful and richly endowed country led by the Polisario Front was admitted as an independent State and member State of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) – Africa Union predecessor.
Morocco, as a result, dishonorably withdrew from OAU, only for it to come begging to join the successor AU. Its application, submitted on September 22, 2016, was approved on January 30, 2017, after much lobby, as well as stiff resistance by some member-states over the status of Western Sahara. It was, in fact, admitted as the 55th member of Africa’s continental body.
Further, its applications in 1987 to join the European Communities – the European Union predecessor – was rejected because Morocco is not an European State. Also, Morocco in 2017 applied to join the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) but its application stalled – technically rejected due to opposition from civil society organisations in Nigeria and other Western African countries.
Only a disturbed country like Morocco would beg to join regional organizations like the EU and ECOWAS when it is not from such regions.
These self-inflicted disgrace Morocco brought upon itself have compelled it to resort to continuously lean towards fascist Zionist Israel for protection. It has also been continuously inducing Western lobbyist “research” institutions to justify its occupation; and bribing Western and African politicians and diplomats to retain its hold over Western Sahara.
While US cowboy politicians have never hidden their disdain for the independent-minded Saharawi and, support for Morocco, the EU and UK have been fooling themselves by hypocritically supporting Morocco’s criminal occupation.
The UK, for instance, in its desperation to fully and effectively partake in the plundering of Western Sahara’s natural resources, currently backs Morocco’s new gambit to continue its plunder of Western Sahara.
The rogue plan, which would give Western Sahara ‘autonomy’ but rest ultimate sovereignty on Morocco, was hypocritically described by the UK Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, as: “the most credible, viable and pragmatic basis for a lasting resolution of the dispute”.
Morocco’s Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, concurred, saying the plan: “represents a genuine pivot toward a definitive resolution of the dispute.” This open display of hypocrisy marked the end of UK’s refusal: “to take sides over who should control Western Sahara”, even when the UN and AU considered the latter as “a non-governing territory”.
Lammy, however, exposed UK greed, when he said: “British companies will be front of the queue to secure contracts to build Moroccan infrastructures, injecting money into our construction industry and ensuring that British businesses score big on football’s biggest stage.”
Most EU countries, on the other hand, have never respected the favourable verdicts of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on Western Sahara. Neither do they honour the many resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that the inalienable rights of the Saharawi people to self-determination and independence be respected and upheld by Morocco.
They even disregard the 1975 ICJ Advisory Opinion that whatever ties Morocco and Mauritania must have had with Western Sahara in the precolonial period, such ties do not in anyway affect the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination. Consequently, that the principle of decolonisation must be applied to Western Sahara.
The West also refuses to recognise the various favourable rulings of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) in support of the independence of Western Sahara. Yet, these are the countries criticising Russia for disregarding international rule with regards to the conflict in Ukraine.
Some of the EU countries are illegally and criminally plundering Western Sahara energy resources through companies like French Engie, Voltalia, Vigeo Eiris, Hydrogen de France, and Total Energies; Spanish Acciona, and Cepsa; Italian Enel Green Power; German-Spanish Siemens Gamesa; Portuguese Gesto Energy; and MGH Energy, Soluna Technologies; and ORNX, a consortium the US, Spanish and German companies.
By their actions, the EU countries doing businesses with Morocco are complicit in Morocco’s arbitrary arrest and detention of Saharawi activists and journalists, torture and ill-treatment of detainees, and gross violation of the human, civil and democratic rights of the Saharawi people. They are also facilitators of Morocco’s terrorist and genocidal activities, and heinous crimes against humanity in Western Sahara.
Secondly, EU countries partaking in the feast, are legitimising and deepening the plundering of Western Sahara natural and human resources in gross violation of international laws, including the UN principles of the rights of people under occupation.
Thirdly, they are entrenching the forced Western Sahara integration into Morocco, thereby, making it increasingly difficult for Morocco to withdraw. Equally, they are undermining the peaceful resolution of the crisis, in defiance of the inalienable rights of the Saharawi people.
Fourthly, the EU and other Western countries violating international laws are not only subverting the peaceful struggles of the Polisario Front but also creating the basis for extremist forces to pop-up and become active in the Saharawi’s people’s struggle for independence and development.
The task of the forces that are opposed to Morocco’s criminal occupation of Western Sahara is to organise mass solidarity movements and support for the Saharawi people.
Immense pressure should be brought on governments and international institutions like UN, EU, and AU, amongst others, to uphold international laws, end any form of economic complicity, strengthen accountability and expand their oversights.
Financial institutions in general must be pressurized to end funding illegal projects, implement ethical investment policies, and increase transparency by, amongst others, disclosing whether their activities and projects are located in occupied Western Sahara.
The UN should equally conduct urgent and regular reviews of the transnational corporations operating in occupied Western Sahara and, ensure the protection of the human, civil and democratic rights of Saharawi people.
Transnational corporations and other investors operating in the territory should be compelled to cease their operations in Western Sahara, reject illegal trade agreements, and ensure compliance with international norms.
Civil society and advocacy organisations should strengthen solidarity support for the Polisario Front, increase awareness campaigns, engage international processes, and monitor corporate activities.
What Africa, humanity and governments did to liberate Guinea Bissau & Cape Verde, Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and apartheid South Africa, should be done to liberate Western Sahara from neo-colonial Morocco.
Ahmed Aminu-Ramatu Yusuf worked as deputy director, Cabinet Affairs Office, The Presidency, and retired as General Manager (Administration), Nigerian Meteorological Agency, (NiMet). Email: [email protected]
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