The King of Morocco, Mohamed VI, stressed Sunday on the anniversary of the Green March that began the Moroccan occupation of the Spanish Sahara in 1975 that the process of «consolidation» of the «Moroccanness» of the Sahara is in a «crucial phase».
«This year we celebrate the 47th anniversary of the Green March at a time when the process of consolidation of Moroccanness in the Sahara has entered a crucial phase,» Mohamed VI said in his speech, published by the official Moroccan news agency, MAP.
The Alaouite monarch highlighted the «glorious epic» that led to the «liberation» of the «plundered lands». «From now on, the Marches that we carry out relentlessly aim to ensure to the Moroccan citizen the conditions of a dignified life, particularly in these territories that we love so much», he assured.
In this sense, he has pointed to a vision «that combines political and diplomatic action with the promotion of socio-economic and human development in the region» and has given as an example of this the Program for the Development of the Southern Provinces–official name of the former Spanish Sahara–announced in 2015.
Mohamed VI recalled that this is a program financed with 77 billion dirhams (more than 7 billion euros) «designed to initiate a real economic and social dynamic in the region.» «Its vocation is to stimulate, in these territories, the creation of jobs, ensure a favorable climate for investment and provide them with the infrastructure and equipment they need,» he said.
The monarch highlighted that seven years after the launch of this program, a commitment rate of close to 80 percent of the allocated budget has been achieved. «We are delighted with the positive results achieved,» he stressed.
«Loyalty to the spirit and the eternal oath of the Green March demands that all Moroccans remain mobilized and vigilant to defend the national unity of their country, promote its full development and strengthen its attachment to its African depth,» he reiterated.
Mohamed VI dedicated an important part of the speech to the agreement signed in 2016 with Nigeria for the construction of a gas pipeline of which he highlighted «the progress» of the same.
«The memorandum of understanding signed recently in Rabat with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and in Nouakchott with Mauritania and Senegal are a fundamental milestone in the process of implementing this project,» he stressed. «We want it to be a strategic project at the service of the entire West African region, whose population exceeds 440 million inhabitants,» he recalled.
«Here is a project for peace, African economic integration and shared development; a project for present and future generations» and which «links Africa with Europe».
FORMER SPANISH COLONY The former Spanish colony of Western Sahara was occupied by Morocco in 1975 in the Green March following a cession agreement signed with Madrid and despite the resistance of the Polisario Front, which proclaimed the independence of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).
The 1991 cease-fire was signed by Morocco and the Polisario with a view to holding a referendum on self-determination, but differences over the elaboration of the census and the inclusion or not of the Moroccan settlers have so far prevented its convocation.
In addition, the Polisario considered the 1992 cease-fire broken after the eviction of Saharawi activists from the Mauritanian border crossing with Mauritania at Guerguerat by Moroccan military forces in November 2020. Rabat considers the area between the post and the Mauritanian border as ‘no man’s land’, while the Polisario Front considers it as its own territory.
The latest setback for the Saharawi independence fighters has been the support of the Spanish government for the Moroccan autonomy plan made public on March 18 in a letter addressed to the Alaouite king, Mohamed VI, a change of position described as a betrayal by the Polisario Front, which recalls that Spain is still ‘de jure’ the administering power of Western Sahara.
