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Rabat – Several UK members of parliament have intensified their appeals urging their government to abandon what they described as “pigheadedness” and recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara.
British news outlet Express said that senior conservative politicians have been urging the Foreign CommonWealth and Development Office (FCDO) to change the “UK policy and recognize Morocco’s sovereignty” over the Western Sahara region.
The news outlet quoted an MP, who urged the UK to reconsider “out of date” diplomatic positions that are harming British interests.
The news outlet also quoted MP Daniel Kawczynski who emphasized the status of Morocco as a “very important ally” for the UK.
“The Foreign Office has consistently failed to explain its irrational refusal to recognise the territorial integrity of the whole of the Kingdom of Morocco, including Moroccan Sahara ” he told Express.
He also stressed the growing support Morocco’s Autonomy Plan has been gaining as a serious and credible basis to end the dispute over the Western Sahara region.
He recalled that Germany, Spain, France and the US have all emphasized the viability of the autonomy initiative and publicly supported the initiative to end the dispute.
“Civil servants are now starting to harm British interests in the region as a result of their conduct and therefore the brake on progress will have to be increasingly debated in Commons and beyond,” he added.
Read Also: House of Lords Member Urges UK To Recognize Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Western Sahara
Kawczynski, who was part of a recent UK delegation visiting Morocco, made similar remarks during his trip to Rabat.
Earlier this week, the MP emphasized that he raised questions within UK parliament to “know when we will recognize the Moroccan Sahara as an integral part of the Kingdom of Morocco.”
Simon Mayall, a retired general and an adviser to the UK Minister of Defense made similar arguments in an opinion piece published by Think Tank Rusi.org on Wednesday.
In the commentary, Mayall called on the UK to give the Moroccan autonomy plan “a full backing,” describing it as the “only realistic, credible, forward looking plan for the region that is on the table.”
He emphasizes that “frozen conflicts” like the Western Sahara dossier could lead to regional instability, including extremism, terrorism, and violence.
Mayall was also part of the UK delegation that visited Morocco recently.
Last week, Member of the House of Lords Daniel Hannan published a similar opinion piece in the Telegraph, urging the British government to fully recognize Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara region.
The UK should not only scrap tariffs, but also create a “digital corridor” between Tangier and UK ports to “reduce bureaucracy, and to facilitate investment into the special zones that Morocco is happy to offer to Britain exclusively,” he emphasized.
British MP Liam Fox also joined the growing chorus of UK politicians, who believe that recognizing Morocco’s southern provinces in the Western Sahara region would further boost cooperation between the two countries.
In an interview with Medi1TV, he said that the UK should offer its “full support” noting that he had sent a letter to the British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, to “draw his attention to the fact that the UK has fallen behind the US on this issue.”
Morocco’s position, particularly its Autonomy initiative, has been garnering international community support.
In December 2020, the US reiterated the importance of the Moroccan proposal while announcing its decision to fully recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces and territorial integrity.
