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Rabat – The Algerian-backed separatist group of Polisario faced another setback as the British government shut down its lobbying attempts aimed at influencing trade and commercial activities between Morocco and the UK.
The UK government this month received a question from British MP Llyod Russel Moyle, who asked the Minister of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office if “he will make it his policy to support the establishment of a UN Council for Natural Resources in Western Sahara.”
In response, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office David Rutley highlighted that commercial activities in Western Sahara re perfectly legal.
“We do not consider commercial activity to be illegal in Western Sahara, providing it respects the interests of the Sahrawi people,” he said in an answer on Monday, recalling the UK’s support for the UN-led political process to find a mutually acceptable political solution to end the dispute.
“The UK continues to support the UN-led efforts and the work of Staffan de Mistura as Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Western Sahara and we continue to encourage constructive engagement with the political process and monitor progress,” he added.
The new setback comes as Polisario and its supporter Algeria continue lobbying attempts to challenge Morocco’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over its southern provinces in the Western Sahara region.
For decades, the Algerian regime has hosted the separatist group in the Tindouf camps, providing them with logistical and financial support – including military training, financing, and unconditional support for their independence claims in Morocco’s southern provinces in the Western Sahara region.
The UK’s remarks came as Morocco is gaining further support for its autonomy initiative as a serious and credible basis to put an end to the lingering Western Sahara dispute.
The statement coincided with numerous UK MPs urging the British government to join the growing number of countries who have endorsed the autonomy initiative as the sole available political solution to resolve the regional dispute.
In February, British news outlet Express quoted MPs calling on the British government to abandon what they described as “pigheadedness” and recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces in the Western Sahara region.
MP Daniel Kawczynski 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.
Simon Mayall, a retired general and an adviser to the UK Minister of Defense echoed the same sentiment in an opinion piece published by Think Tank Rusi.org.
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.”
Last year in May, the UK expressed its appreciation for Morocco’s commitment to the UN-led political process in Western Sahara, recalling the country’s serious efforts toward finding a lasting, politically negotiated, solution to the dispute.
