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A surprising fact in the record of the dispute over Western Sahara, represented in the recognition of the United States of the sovereignty of Morocco over the Saharan territories.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump announced the recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, along with a peace agreement between Israel and Morocco.
The latest event comes at a time when Western Sahara witnessed a resumption of armed action, when the Moroccan army launched a military operation at Guerguerat, a crossing at the southern tip of Western Sahara, within the buffer zone guarded by the United Nations peacekeepers.
Western Sahara is a vast desert region on the Atlantic coast of Africa and a former Spanish colony, of which Morocco controls 80 percent, and aims to grant it autonomy under its sovereignty, while the Algerian-backed Polisario Front demands its independence. .
The Western Sahara dossier represents the main dispute between Morocco and Algeria, and the land borders between the two countries have been closed since 1994, and the recent development raised a question about Algeria’s options vis-à-vis the United States’ position, despite of his official silence on the matter.
There are other players
Mustapha Ait Mouhoub, Algerian journalist and president of the Network of Algerian Journalists in Support of the Sahrawi People’s Struggle, confirmed that Trump’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara will not change Algeria’s stance towards Western Sahara.
In an interview with Al-Hurra, Mawhoub added: “Algeria’s position is fundamental, which is to support the liberation movements.”
On Algeria’s options in the face of US recognition, Mawhib said that “the United States is not the only player, as there are other players present in the region that are behind Algeria’s position, such as China and Russia.”
Mawhoub explained that the Algerian position on the Sahara dossier is backed by Russia, and Moscow has always asked the Security Council to hold a self-determination referendum in Western Sahara, and that is how the Sahara dossier was registered at the United Nations.
Mawhoub noted that the development that will change the equation in the Maghreb region is Morocco’s trend towards the total normalization of relations with Israel, adding: “ We consider this to be dangerous and may lead the region to instability and to all the region, but regarding the Sahara, Trump’s position was scrapped in January. Nothing changes and the Court in The Hague has said its word on this file. “
The International Court of Justice in The Hague recognized the existence of links between Western Sahara during its submission to colonialism, Morocco and Mauritania, but the court considered that these links were not close and ruled on October 16, 1975 granting the residents of the region the right to self-determination.
Following the court’s decision, on November 6 of the same year, 350,000 Moroccans responded to the late King Hassan II’s call to launch a “green march” that would cross the borders of this region to confirm their “membership” in the kingdom.
The following year, in 1976, the Polisario Front backed by Algeria, Cuba and South Africa declared the “Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic”.
Morocco responded to this step in 1979, when it took control of the vast majority of the lands of Western Sahara after Mauritania withdrew from the part that was subject to it in the south of the region and built several defensive “walls” to repel Polisario attacks.
After a 16-year war, a ceasefire agreement came into effect in 1991, with the establishment of a buffer zone to be overseen by the UN Blue Berets.
“The African Union can act”
For his part, the former head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Algerian Parliament, Sadiq Boukataya, stressed that Algeria has no other option but to support Western Sahara, based on the decisions of the Court in The Hague.
Boukataya added in an interview with the Al-Hurra website, “Algeria, as a state, has a clear position from the beginning, and that it is with the right of the Saharawi people, if it wants to join Morocco then it is free, and if it wants freedom self-determination is also free. “
Qatawi believes that Trump’s decision is contrary to international law and the Security Council resolution, and believes that Trump’s decision will not affect the aspirations of the Sahrawi people in the future.
The United Nations classifies Western Sahara on a list of “non-self-governing territories.” The United Nations Mission (MINURSO) supervises compliance with the ceasefire agreement through land and air patrols. The mission, based in El-Aaiún, has about 240 employees.
Since the resignation of UN envoy Horst Köhler in May 2019 for health reasons, the United Nations has yet to find a successor.
Boukataya pointed out that Algeria can move on the Western Sahara file, through the African Union, which stipulates that no country violates the borders of another country, and the Union has recognized the status of Western Sahara.
“Certainly, the union will take action against Morocco, because Morocco did not comply with the union’s rules, along with other African countries that have opened consulates in Western Sahara, although they do not have the right to vote in the union, because they did not pay their financial dues. to the union, “added Boukataya.
It is noteworthy that the African Union has expressed concern about the ceasefire in Western Sahara that has been broken since 1991 between Morocco and the Polisario Front, and that was broken last month after Rabat sent forces to an area of damping.
For its part, the Polisario Front declared that the ceasefire “is a thing of the past” after Morocco launched a military operation to reopen a highway leading to neighboring Mauritania, sparking clashes.
The Algerian political analyst, Abdel-Razzaq Sagour, told Al-Hurra that Algeria will continue to support the Polisario and support their right to self-determination for the Sahrawi people at the United Nations and Security Council level.
“The Sahrawi people are responsible for self-determination, and the Polisario has relations with many countries, and the war in the Sahara is an open war,” Saghour added. “As for Algeria, it was always with a negotiated solution agreed by the Sahrawis, which is self-determination.”
