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Join on Telegram Rabat – A group of North African intellectuals from across the Maghreb gathered in the Moroccan city of Laayoune last week to discuss the viability of Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as the basis to end the dispute over Western Sahara.
The experts aim to coordinate efforts to implement Morocco’s peace plan in advance of any potential deal between the involved parties in the lingering dispute that has destabilized the region and undermined regional unity.
The event, which saw participation from experts from countries such as Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria, called for the implementation of the autonomy plan for southern provinces under Morocco’s sovereignty. Resolving the Western Sahara dispute, the experts highlighted, would be a major step towards a more united Maghreb union.
In addition to journalists and civilians from the region, the symposium also marked the attendance of former Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Ouanaeis.
Ouanaeis is the president of the coordination group pushing for the autonomy plan’s implementation.
Libyan political consultant Mohamed Abdessalam Hadi El Mekouz, Algerian journalist Oualid Kebir as well as Algerian journalist and analyst Hichem Abboud attended the meeting.
Abboud, who lives in exile, was among the activists Algeria prosecuted in absentia for his criticism of Algeria’s oppression of activists and journalists during the Hirak movement. Abboud highlighted that the lingering Sahara dispute not only impacts the unfortunate souls trapped in the Tindouf camps, but also turns the 120 million people in the Maghreb region into “the big losers” of the artificial conflict.
The gathered intellectuals are hoping to kickstart the process of implementing the Autonomy Plan based on recent Moroccan diplomatic victories, and call out Algeria as the responsible party for continuing the dispute, and the resulting Maghrebi fragmentation.
“Our destiny as North Africans is in our hands. It is therefore essential to speak the truth, to identify the person responsible for this blockage and to keep our minds riveted on the future,” Moroccan historian Hassan Aourid concluded.
Morocco’s Autonomy Plan has garnered support from hundreds of politicians and countries, who see the initiative as the most serious and credible solution to end the dispute over Western Sahara.
The latest regional country to endorse the Moroccan initiative is Spain, which described the plan as serious and credible, emphasizing the need to put an end to the artificial dispute that has lasted for more than four decades.
Morocco submitted its plan to the UN in 2007, suggesting designating the Western Sahara region as a semi-autonomous region under Morocco’s sovereignty. The plan aspires to allow the region’s inhabitants full ownership to manage their social, economic, and political affairs, while the government handles both defense and diplomacy.
Like Spain, many countries have emphasized the importance of the Moroccan Autonomy Plan, including Germany, the Netherlands, France, and the US, among others.
Germany described the autonomy initiative as an essential contribution to resolving the dispute over Western Sahara, while the US recognized the Moroccan sovereignty over the region – commending the North African country’s efforts to contribute to the UN-led political process.
Many countries also opened diplomatic representations in Morocco’s southern provinces in Dakhla and Laayoune to reflect their support for Morocco’s territorial integrity.
Officials, journalists, and activists have also shared their optimism regarding the development programs in southern provinces.
One of them was Abboud, whose visit to Laayoune during the event regarding the creation of the coordination initiative in support of Morocco’s Autonomy Plan.
In a statement to Moroccan media MEDI1 TV, Abboud said he was amazed and shocked to see the development in the region.
“When I arrived in Laayoune, I blamed my media colleagues for not showcasing the development that the region witnessed. I honestly was amazed,” he said.
He said he never imagined that Laayoune was that “modern and big, adorned with flowers and green lands. You wouldn’t even imagine that you are in the Sahara.”
