Rabat – King Mohammed VI delivered a speech as strong, straightforward and clear as the historical moment calls for. The language leaves no room to the ambiguity that usually marks the discourse of high politics and diplomacy. Relevance is the key word.
Morocco is a sovereign country. It can and will make all its strategic decisions in full independence. When it establishes relations or alliances with others, it is never against any third party but always in pursuit of mutual interests, on equal cooperation terms and in compliance with international law. Furthermore, friends of Morocco may eventually benefit from its strategic relations with others with whom they may have not been traditionally very close. The wide and diverse range of friendships and economic alliances that Morocco has been able to cultivate throughout its history makes it an asset to any party it cooperates with.
Geopolitics and history have meanings and exact responsibilities that neither should ignore. Morocco which shares a lot with many others who happen not to share as much will not give up either its political independence, cultural specificity or its territorial integrity; and will protect and defend each beyond and against any alliance, common grounds, economic interests or other type of relationships. It will not accept the dealings of biased, puppet and/or incompetent international clerks be they of the rank of a SG of the UN, especially when their behavior departs from established traditions of diplomacy and tends to induce instability and tension rather than the peace they are paid to promote and protect.
Difficulties can be overcome only when and if addressed directly. Arabs and Muslims need to face up to their problems with intelligence, courage and truth before it is too late and their countries and states are shuttered. The dangers are real and the jeopardy is closing up. The fall of one would inexorably take the others down, too. The time is for true and comprehensive strategic collaboration, mutual support and struggle against extremisms. The time is also for bold decisions and actions none of which seems to have as of yet resulted from the many encounters that have brought the Muslim and Arab leadership together and around talking tables.
For its tone, its structure, the choice of its terminology, the coherence it builds among its constitutive themes, the critical relevance of its tenure and the power of its straightforwardness that dispels all known causes of confusion and ambiguity, its immense courage, its comprehensiveness and many insight, the speech deserves to be scheduled in the political science courses of the best universities and required in all discourse analysis syllabuses – at least in Morocco and Arab and Muslim countries.
As to the Security General of the United Nations, the speech will be a lesson he will never forget…
© Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed without permission
