Moroccan Monarch Affirms Sovereignty over Sahara proposes New Initiatives and Calls for Restructuring Institutions for Moroccans Abroad.
King Mohammed VI has reaffirmed that Morocco’s partnerships and legal obligations will never be at the expense of its territorial integrity or its national sovereignty, and deplored the existence of another world clearly disconnected from reality, a world still feeding on illusions, and clinging to outdated theories and claims.
In a speech he delivered Wednesday on the 49th Anniversary of the Green March, the Monarch said time has come for the UN to shoulder its responsibility and spell out the major difference between the real, legitimate world – represented by Morocco in its Sahara – and a world which is frozen in time, and which is disconnected from reality and the developments that have taken place.
The peaceful and popular Green march “enabled us to recover the Moroccan Sahara; it also strengthened the bond between that region’s inhabitants and their motherland”, said the King.
Since then, “Morocco has been able to establish tangible facts on the ground as well as an irreversible reality rooted in law, legitimacy, commitment and responsibility”, underlined the Monarch, citing in this regard the strong attachment of local Sahrawis to their Moroccan identity, and their commitment to the nation’s sacred, immutable values, in keeping with the bond of the Bei’a, which has existed throughout history between the inhabitants of the Sahara and the kings of Morocco.
The King has also cited the progress, security and stability existing in the Moroccan Sahara, growing international recognition of the Sahara as a Moroccan territory, and the broad support the Autonomy Initiative has been receiving.
Parallel to this natural, legitimate situation, “there is, sadly, another world clearly disconnected from reality – a world still feeding on the illusions of the past and clinging to outdated theories and claims”, deplored the Moroccan Sovereign.
There are some who demand a referendum, despite that option being discarded by the United Nations and the impossibility of implementing it; at the same time, the proponents of that position refuse to allow a census of the people sequestered in the Tindouf camps, using them as hostages, keeping them in deplorable, humiliating conditions, and depriving them of the most basic rights, said the King.
“And there are those who exploit the Sahara issue so as to secure access to the Atlantic Ocean”, added the King, saying: “We do not refuse such as a prospect”.
Morocco has proposed an international initiative to facilitate the Sahel countries’ access to the Atlantic Ocean, within the framework of partnership and cooperation, explained the Monarch, noting that the aim of this initiative is to achieve shared progress for the benefit of all peoples in the region.
There are also those who exploit the Sahara issue to deflect attention from their many internal problems, while others seek to manipulate certain legal aspects in order to serve narrow political goals, said the King, stressing that Morocco’s partnerships and legal obligations will never be at the expense of its territorial integrity or its national sovereignty.
the Monarch also called on the United Nations to assume its responsibility and spell out the major difference between the real, legitimate world – represented by Morocco in its Sahara – and a world which is frozen in time, and which is disconnected from reality and the developments that have taken place.
He also spoke about the role of Moroccan community abroad in defending the nation’s sacred values and its contribution to country’s development.
To strengthen further the bonds linking Moroccan expatriate community to the homeland, the Monarch decided the revision of the mechanisms used in managing the affairs of Moroccans residing abroad to make sure there is no overlap of powers and no dispersion of actors, and to see to it that the new needs of our expatriate community are met.
“I have asked the government to ensure a restructuring of the institutional framework, based on two main bodies: The first one is the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad; this independent constitutional institution must play its role in full as a platform for reflection and for making proposals, ensuring that all components of our expatriate community are duly represented”, said the King.
“The second one concerns the establishment of a special body, to be called the “Mohammadia Foundation for Moroccans Residing Abroad”; it will serve as the executive arm for the implementation of public policy in this regard, added the Monarch.
The new institution will be tasked with pooling the powers currently scattered among a number of actors, and with preparing, coordinating and implementing the national strategy for the Moroccan community abroad.
The new institution will also manage the “National Mechanism for Mobilizing Moroccan Skills Abroad.
The aim is to open up prospects for Moroccan skills abroad and to accompany project leaders.
