Spain supports autonomy for Western Sahara proposed by Morocco

Madrid, 18 Mar Spain supported this Friday the autonomy initiative proposed by Morocco in 2007 for Western Sahara as the “most realistic” way of resolving a conflict that has been going on for almost five decades. This decision, initially announced by Morocco and later confirmed by the Spanish Government, represents a total change in Spain's position regarding the future of Sahara, a former Spanish colony, since until now it defended the UN agreements to hold a referendum in the Sahara, to determine the political future of this territory. However, the Spanish decision counted on the opposition of the Frente Polisario, which represents the Saharawi people, who have been in refugee camps in Algeria since 1975. A NEW STAGE The Spanish government assured this Friday that a “new stage” of the relationship with Morocco begins based on “mutual respect, compliance with agreements, the absence of unilateral actions and transparency and permanent communication,” according to an official statement. Shortly thereafter, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, stated that Spain considers the Moroccan autonomy initiative for the Sahara presented in 2007 to be “the most serious, realistic and credible basis” for the “resolution” of the conflict. The dispute over Western Sahara began in 1975 when Morocco annexed the territory of this former Spanish colony in the midst of decolonization, while the Polisario Front unilaterally proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in the Saharawi refugee camps in Algeria and declared war on Morocco. At a press conference, Albares explained today that the “new stage” of relations with Morocco will be based on “a clear and ambitious roadmap” that will guarantee “the sovereignty, territorial integrity and prosperity” of both countries. “It is always a good time to close a crisis for good. This very moment, when all of Europe and Spain also have to face such a big challenge as Vladimir Putin's war, is a good time to close crises,” said the Spanish minister. As an example of the new stage that is opening up in bilateral relations between Spain and Morocco, Albares announced that he will travel to Rabat on April 2, the prelude to the trip of the President of the Government, the specialist Pedro Sánchez, to the Moroccan capital. However, Spain's new position on Morocco and Western Sahara led to the rejection of the socialists' main partner in the Spanish coalition government, the leftist Unidas Podemos, because it means “abandoning the position of neutrality and the consensus of United Nations resolutions”. FRENTE POLISARIO AND ALGERIA After Spain's announcement, the reaction of the Frente Polisario was swift and considered that the Spanish Government had yielded to pressure from Morocco to change its official position with regard to Western Sahara in exchange for resuming bilateral relations, Polisario representative to the European Union, Bachir Oubbi, told Efe Bouchraya. For this reason, he believes that Spain cannot continue to play a role in the peace process after taking sides with one of the parties. The representative of the Frente Polisario for Spain, Abdulah Arabi, also considered this Friday that this country “is wrong” and that it has “succumbed to permanent pressure and blackmail from Morocco” by accepting the Moroccan proposal of autonomy for Western Sahara as the basis for the resolution of the conflict over the former Spanish colony. With today's announcement, bilateral relations between the two countries are resumed, after a year of crisis, triggered by the arrival in Spain of the leader of the Frente Polisario, Brahim Gali, to deal with covid-19. After learning about Gali's presence in Spain, which Morocco rejected, in May 2021 there was an avalanche of thousands of migrants who entered the Spanish city of Ceuta, on the border with the North African country, with the permissiveness of the Moroccan authorities, and in addition, the crisis materialized with the call for consultations from the Ambassador of Morocco in Madrid. On the other hand, on how the agreement with Morocco will affect relations between Spain and Algeria, Albares said that this country is “a very reliable partner” and “strategic” and that the relationship between the two “is bound to last over time.” Algeria is the main support of the Frente Polisario, which fights for the self-determination and independence of the Saharawi people since in 1975 Moroccan troops occupied a territory that until that year was a Spanish colony. Moreover, diplomatic relations between Algeria and Morocco have been broken since last year. CHIEF nac/ma/vh (photo) (video)