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Rabat – South Africa has renewed its hostile position towards Morocco’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over Western Sahara.
South African President Cyril Ramaphsoa reaffirmed his country’s traditional support for the Polisario Front and its separatist claims on Tuesday during a meeting with Polisario leader Brahim Ghali.
Ramaphosa received Ghali today, conveying his government’s “unapologetic” support for Polisario’s independence claims in Western Sahara.
“We are concerned about the silence that persists in the world about the struggle for self-determination for the people of Western Sahara,” Ramaphosa said during Ghali’s visit to Pretoria.
South Africa’s support for the Polisario Front comes as no surprise. The country has been vocal about its stance challenging Morocco’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over Western Sahara.
In addition to Algeria, South Africa backs Polisario’s “self-determination,” a claim that Morocco sees as an outdated narrative.
Morocco reaffirms that its Autonomy Plan, which the country presented to the Security Council in 2007, is the most serious and credible basis to end the dispute over Western Sahara.
The autonomy initiative garnered support from the international community, including the US, Germany, and Spain, among others.
As many as 27 countries also opened consulates in Morocco’s southern provinces of Dakhla and Laayoune, reflecting their support for Morocco’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over Western Sahara.
About 40% of African countries have opened consulates in Morocco’s southern provinces.
UN Security Council resolutions, including 2602 of October 2021, commended Morocco’s efforts in the UN-led political process, recalling the “credible and serious” Autonomy Plan initiative.
Amid the UN’s recognition of Morocco’s efforts, French news agency AFP shared a tweet, alleging that the UN “supports the holding of a referendum.”
The French state-owned news agency’s claims come amid tension between Morocco and France.
In 2021, French-Moroccan citizens signed a letter, calling on France to make its position clearer on the Western Sahara dossier.
In August, King Mohammed VI emphasized Morocco’s firm stance on the Sahara dispute, calling on the country’s new and traditional partners whose positions are still ambiguous to make their stance clearer.
“I should like to send out a clear message to everyone: the Sahara issue is the lens through which Morocco looks at the world. It is the clear, simple benchmark whereby my country measures the sincerity of friendships and the efficiency of partnerships,” the King said during his Revolution of the King and People speech.
The King emphasized that Morocco’s partners whose stances about the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty are ambiguous need to “clarify their positions and reconsider them in a manner that leaves no room for doubt.”
