Rabat – Convening on Friday for a seminar in the Congolese capital of Kinshasa, several African political and economic experts underlined the urgent need to expel Polisario’s self-styled Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) from the African Union (AU).
The seminar, which was held under the theme of “The African Union in the light of the Sahara issue: how to move from a dynamic failure to a final solution serving African unity,” was organized by the Public Affairs Cabinet of Congo.
Discussing the history of and recent development in the Western Salaha conflict, the seminar’s participants concluded that the “artificial” dispute over the Sahara presents a threat to the continent’s stability, peace, and economic integration.
The event’s speakers criticized the Polisario militia’s blockade in Guerguerat late last year, calling it an “act of piracy” and noting that it was also decried by the Secretary General of the United Nations.
The seminar also called into question the contributions and merits of the SADR’s AU membership, with experts pointing out that the self-styled state has no added value or relevance to the AU.
They also argued that Morocco’s readmission to the AU has effectively changed the pan-African organization’s stance on the Sahara conflict while making SADR’s membership obsolete.
The seminar further examined Morocco’s Autonomy Plan for the Sahara, describing it as a step toward a “just, credible, and sincere political solution.”
Such conclusions reiterate Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara, reinforcing the prevailing impression of an increasingly pro-Morocco momentum on the African political scene.
Further buttressing this impression is that this week’s Kinshasa seminar’s conclusions are identical to the conclusions and recommendations of another Western Sahara- and pan-Africanism-themed seminar that took place last week in Dar es Salam, Tanzania.
Politicians and experts such as Fahmi Said Ibrahim and Orlando Simba expressed similar views during the Dar es Salam conference, calling on the AU to expel Polisario’s self-proclaimed “republic” and supporting Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara.
Morocco’s Autonomy Plan has also been getting increased support from other countries in Africa and the Arab world.
During discussions before the Fourth Committee of the UN General Assembly earlier this week, Cote D’Ivoire, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia were among the countries that reaffirmed their support for Morocco’s territorial integrity.
