Foreign Policy in Focus: Morocco playing all cards to pressure countries into legitimizing illegal occupation of Western Sahara, Spain surrenders to pressure
By: Hana Saada
ALGIERS- The American Center for Studies “Foreign Policy in Focus” said that Spain, as the former colonizer of Western Sahara, maintained for a long time a kind of neutrality towards the conflict in this region, classified as non-independent, but the Sanchez government recently changed its position in favor of Morocco due to pressure.
In an article published by the American Think Tank on the reasons behind Madrid’s reversal of position towards recognizing Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara, the center shed light on the historical and legal aspects of the tragic story of the last colony in Africa, which remains unresolved to this day. The Center stated that after the end of Spain’s colonization of Western Sahara, and despite the fact that the International Court of Justice affirmed on October 16, 1975, in response to the consultation requested by Morocco, that the Saharawi people have the right to self-determination, Morocco invaded Western Sahara.
“By the 1960s, Spain — the colonial ruler of Western Sahara beginning in the 19th century — came under growing international pressure to relinquish control of the territory. The Polisario Front, a Sahrawi nationalist liberation movement, began waging guerrilla warfare against the Spaniards shortly before Madrid formally gave up its role as the colonizer of “Spanish Sahara” and agreed to the UN’s decision to rename the territory Western Sahara.
Yet Morocco, which gained its independence from France in the 1950s, rigidly believed that Rabat had the right to incorporate this land into its own borders after the end of Spain’s colonization of Western Sahara. However, on October 16, 1975, the International Court of Justice in The Hague rejected Morocco’s legal argument and decided that the Sahrawi people had a right to self-determination,” said the writers.
The center pointed out that “the Spanish government promised the Sahrawi people independence, but it handed over the region to Morocco and Mauritania under the pressure of Rabat and Washington, after which Mauritania withdrew, and Morocco controlled most of the region.”
“Unwilling to cede this land to the Polisario Front, Morocco’s King Hassan II mobilized his fellow Moroccans and led them in the “Green March” in which hundreds of thousands of Moroccans, including volunteers and state officials, crossed into Western Sahara to “reclaim” the land and partition it between Morocco and Mauritania.
This took place shortly before the scheduled end of Madrid’s rule in Western Sahara in 1976. Although Spain’s government promised the Sahrawi people independence, Rabat and Washington pressured Madrid into surrendering the territory to the Moroccans and Mauritanians,” according to the article.
The report further explained that “the United Nations has never recognized that any of these lands belong to the Kingdom of Morocco, except that Rabat has since maintained its occupation of most of Western Sahara,” referring to the war that broke out between Morocco and the Polisario Front, before the signing of the cease-fire agreement in 1991. Later, the war resumed on November 13, 2020, after the failure of international efforts under the auspices of the United Nations to settle the Sahrawi issue.
The same center noted that “Morocco considers Western Sahara an existential issue”, especially with the great importance of its wealth for the Moroccan economy, including rock phosphate, which is a very important mineral, in addition to the important strategic location of the region and its fish wealth, pointing out that the 2018 statistics confirmed that more than 75 percent of Morocco’s fish catches came from Western Sahara.
“Morocco considers the Western Sahara conflict an existential issue, and Western Sahara itself is immensely important to Morocco’s economy. As a foreign policy doctrine, Rabat sees its full control of the territory as necessary for guaranteeing Morocco’s territorial integrity. Additionally, Western Sahara is rich in rock phosphate, a hugely important mineral for the world’s food supply chain. Phosphate is, in fact, Morocco’s third largest exported product, amounting to about $850 million U.S. in 2021. Western Sahara’s strategic location by the Atlantic Ocean also represents an immense asset to Morocco and its fishery industry. In 2018 alone, more than 75 percent of Morocco’s catches came from Western Sahara,” illustrated the report.
Morocco is playing all cards in order to legitimize its occupation of Western Sahara
The American Think Tank warned, in the same vein, that “in light of the failure of international efforts to find a solution to the Sahrawi issue, Rabat is playing all its cards to exert pressure on the countries of the world in order to legitimize its occupation of Western Sahara. This is the case of Spain, whose government reversed its position after being neutral for many years.
The website explained that the dispute intensified between Rabat and Madrid after Spain refused Washington’s recognition of Morocco’s alleged sovereignty over Western Sahara, in 2020, and hosted the Sahrawi President and Secretary-General of the Polisario Front, Ibrahim Ghali, for treatment from Covid-19. Besides, tension between the two countries worsened after a mass influx of migrants reached Ceuta, a Spanish exclave in North Africa, in May 2021, with some 6,000 of them attempting to cross the border. The Spanish city was completely unprepared for the situation.
The website further noted that this wave of illegal immigration was “because of Morocco’s relaxation of its border controls,” which the Sanchez government considered as “an attempt by Rabat to manipulate Madrid into making concessions on the issue of Western Sahara.”
Accordingly, “within less than a year, the Spanish government changed its position on Western Sahara, and sided with the so-called” autonomy proposal “, but this biased position “did not have any realistic effect on the conflict.”
“Friction between Rabat and Madrid intensified after Spain rejected Washington’s recognition of Western Sahara as Moroccan land in 2020 and later hosted Polisario chief Brahim Ghali for COVID-19 treatment. Morocco responded by summoning Spain’s ambassador to Rabat and recalling its ambassador.
Bilateral tensions exacerbated when a mass influx of migrants reached Ceuta, a Spanish exclave in North Africa, in May 2021, with some 6,000 of them attempting to cross the border. The Spanish city was completely unprepared for the situation. Morocco relaxing its border controls made the departure of those migrants possible. Sánchez interpreted the move as Rabat’s attempt to manipulate Madrid into making concessions vis-à-vis Western Sahara.
Morocco’s strategy proved efficient. Within less than a year, Spain shifted its stance on Western Sahara. Spain now supports Rabat’s “autonomy plan” which would allow Morocco to continue exercising its sovereignty over the territory while the Saharawi people would be allowed their own government. The proposal’s critics, however, maintain that this “autonomy” falls short of the definition under international law,” explained the American Think Tank.
Regarding the implications for Spain, after reversing its position, Dr. Geoff Porter, the president of North Africa Risk Consulting, told Foreign Policy in Focus: “ “That being said, both Morocco and Spain have organized investment conferences and forums in Dakhla and Laayoune to explore opportunities for Spanish investors. Several plans have been announced, including in tourism and healthcare, but nothing has launched yet.”
Link to the American article:
