Rabat – After members of the US Congress introduced a bipartisan bill condemning collusion between Hezbollah and Polisario, pro-Polisario media have expressed their fears over Morocco’s latest diplomatic campaign.
Algerian news outlet TSA wondered if Morocco’s repeated pressure on the US had yielded results.
On September 28, three US congressmen, including two Republicans, Joe Wilson and Carlos Curbelo, and one Democrat, Gerry Connolly, submitted a draft bill to consolidate Moroccan ties with the US and to condemn the alleged collusion between the Polisario and Hezbollah.
Morocco “remains an important strategic ally and partner for peace in the Middle East and North Africa,” Wilson said.
Wilson described Polisario as “a terrorist organization funded by Iran” and accused Iran of supporting Polisario against Morocco.
“The terrorist regime in Iran has been funding attacks against Morocco, by the Polisario Front, and it is time for the United Nations to promote a peaceful resolution to this Western Sahara conflict.”
The pro-Polisario magazine Futuro Sahara expressed its fears over Morocco’s progress and diplomatic campaigning on the Western Sahara issue.
The bipartisan draft bill criticizes the Iranian government for providing “monetary and other forms of material support to terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah.”
The draft bill also condemns any action of both Iran and Hezbollah “that promotes instability in North Africa.” It notes that “the efforts of Iran and Hezbollah to maintain influence in North Africa runs counter to the national security objectives of the United States.”
A ‘dangerous development’
Futuro Sahara mentioned the US State Department’s 2017 Human Rights report which described the Polisario’s self-styled Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) as “separatists.”
The magazine considered the move a “dangerous development in the US government’s handling” of the Western Sahara issue.
Futuro Sahara stated that the 2017 Human Rights report cited only a few cases of alleged violations of human rights. On the other hand, the report recognized Morocco’s effort to implement “positive” measures to reinforce its respect for human rights.
The report also acknowledged that Morocco respects the right to both authorized and unauthorized peaceful demonstrations in the region.
The pro-Polisario magazine implied Polisario’s fears of the success of Moroccan diplomacy, saying that the US State Department’s recognition of Morocco’s effort “highlights the penetration of the Moroccan diplomat in the US government through the influential lobbies in Washington and New York.”
According to the magazine, the success “raises many questions about the feasibility of the one-actor policy pursued by” Polisario representatives in some key countries.
The pro-Polisario magazine considered the group’s lack of representatives in the US to be the cause of their failure in communicating with the US.
“Is it conceivable that a representative of one person and his assistant might be able to control the diplomatic work in the United States while Spain, for example, has dozens of representatives?” Futuro Sahara questioned.
“The same applies to [Polisario] representatives in the United Kingdom, where it is impossible for two people to carry out diplomatic work in four countries: England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland,” the magazine added.
The bill, which pro-Polisario media say portrays lies about alleged ties between the Polisario Front and Iran, advocates the Moroccan autonomy plan.
Morocco’s autonomy plan “is serious, realistic, and credible, and represents a path forward to satisfy the aspirations of the people in the Western Sahara to run their own affairs in peace and dignity,” according to the bipartisan bill.
