The Moroccan authorities are pushing their Spanish counterparts to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, as Donald Trump’s United States has done. Because Spain has a key role to play in the area, notes El Confidencial.
Rabat is waiting for a gesture from Madrid regarding Western Sahara. For several months, the Moroccan authorities have been multiplying the signals for the Spanish government to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita on Friday, January 15, urged Spain to follow the US position. At the end of December, the Trump administration recognized this sovereignty in exchange for a rapprochement between Morocco and Israel and the opening of a consulate in the Sahrawi city of Dakhla – “or, at least, to support the proposal for a Moroccan solution , which consists in granting the Sahara its autonomy, but under Moroccan sovereignty ”, indicates El Confidencial.
Until 1975, Western Sahara was a Spanish colony, which Spain ceded two-thirds to Morocco and one-third to Mauritania. In reaction, the Polisario Front, a Saharawi independence movement, had taken up arms. Mauritania had withdrawn from its portion in favor of Morocco.
“In 1991, Rabat and the Polisario reached, thanks to UN mediation, an agreement which provided for a ceasefire and a referendum of self-determination among the Sahrawi population. The latter never took place because of the obstacles posed by Morocco, ”recalls the digital newspaper.
Biden should follow in Trump’s footsteps
Today Spain, as a former colonial power, has a vital role to play in the region. His stance could bring with it a large part of the member countries of the European Union, according to the Moroccan authorities.
She has all the more interest in coming to an understanding with Morocco as “the majority of the 23,000 illegal immigrants who landed [on the Canary Islands] in 2020 are Moroccan,” notes El Confidencial.
Some Spanish diplomats are wondering if Rabat has not opened the floodgates of massive illegal immigration from the Sahara – a phenomenon never before seen – to put pressure on Spain. ”
The new US president, Joe Biden, should not back down on the decision of his predecessor, Donald Trump. According to El Confidencial, this would risk cooling the rapprochement between Morocco and Israel.
