Morocco's Actions Threaten Peace in Western Sahara

A serious situation caused by Morocco, backed by Western Europe and the United States, is happening in Africa. War now seems unavoidable on the continent as the United Nations Security Council has stopped the peace process in Western Sahara and ended the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).

Africa has faced colonialism, but all 55 countries gained independence. However, Morocco tried to recolonise the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, also known as Western Sahara. Africa stood firm. On 22 February, 1982, the Organisation of African Unity, now called the African Union (AU), recognized Western Sahara's independence and welcomed it as a full member. The greedy Moroccan monarchy rejected this decision and walked away on 12 November, 1984.

After 33 years of being turned away by the European Union, Morocco returned on 31 January, 2017, like a lost child. Sadly, the AU did not question Morocco's intentions and simply accepted it back. Now that Morocco has rejected the peace agreement and seeks to take Western Sahara by force, it is clear that it had hidden motives all along.

Africa has not been very critical of the United Nations, thinking its peace efforts and the establishment of MINURSO were sincere. Now the UN, which claims to be working for peace, has gone against its own principles to please Morocco and its Western allies. UN Resolution 1514 of 1960 states: "All peoples have the right to self-determination; by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development."

Following this, the UNSC passed Resolution 690 on 9 April 1991, ordering a referendum in Western Sahara. Now, 35 years later, with Morocco refusing to hold the referendum, the UNSC has canceled it instead of enforcing its own resolution. It has decided that only Morocco’s questionable plan for King Mohammed VI to rule over Western Sahara will be accepted. This leaves our Sahrawi brothers and sisters with little choice but to return to armed struggle.

Meanwhile, this has put the Moroccan government in a celebratory mood. The Moroccan Monarchy marked what it called “Unity Day.” They said: “A 35-year chapter has now come to a close. Rooted in an anachronistic and outdated context, this Mission (MINURSO) has long served as a tool for internationalizing the regional dispute concerning the Kingdom of Morocco’s legitimate recovery of its Saharan provinces.”

On the other hand, Western Sahara has warned it may completely withdraw from peace talks. The representative of the Polisario Front to the UN, Sidi Mohamed Omar, said if the UN draft is: “approved without substantial and significant modifications, the Polisario Front will have no choice but to withdraw from the entire peace process.”

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz, in support of ending the UN peace mission, asked: “each of the concerned parties to negotiate a lasting peace.” He added: “Under President Trump’s leadership, the United States has done more for peace in Western Sahara this year than in decades.”

China has warned the UNSC about its one-sided approach to the Western Sahara issue. Algeria, which has long supported the Sahrawi people with political and material help, said: “the tragedy being endured by the Sahrawi people has oddly been diluted to the concept of refugee populations.” They emphasized that the Polisario Front is the real representative of the Sahrawi and criticized the: “failure of this Security Council.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in his usual unclear way, said ending the peace mission: “does not abrogate” the Sahrawi people’s “inalienable right to self-determination.” He urged all parties: “to respect and promote the rights of the people of Western Sahara.” But why has this not been respected in his nine years in office? With MINURSO leaving, he asked all: “to respect and promote the rights of the people of Western Sahara.” So, why were those rights not respected even with MINURSO? How can he expect King Mohammed VI, who rules by decree, to respect the fundamental rights of the Sahrawi?

Sadly, the African Union, whose founding member is about to be recolonised, has remained silent. If war breaks out again between Morocco and the Sahrawi people, Africa will pay the price. So, why are African leaders quiet?

The attack on the Sahrawi is just another move by Western Europe and the US, who still control over sixty colonies. They want a world where colonialism is accepted as normal. In October, the US asked the UN to end the mandate of its Special Committee on Decolonisation, claiming UN hearings on decolonisation are a waste of resources.

The US, which once claimed that all men are equal and promotes a statue of Liberty, does not want to end colonialism. They do not want the colonised to have a voice, not even at a UN committee level.

If colonialism becomes normal as the West wants, it won't be long before they start pushing for the recolonisation of free countries. So, in fighting for the people of Western Sahara against Moroccan colonialism, we in underdeveloped countries like Nigeria and South Africa would actually be fighting for our freedom.