The autonomy plan proposed by Morocco in 2007 before the Security Council to definitively settle the dispute and bring continuous peace to the Sahara, has been welcomed in all UN resolutions. This political solution coupled with the dynamics experienced by the southern provinces of Morocco, is the only way to put an end to this file, estimated a panel of experts during the MEDays Forum.
“What do the people want? asked Mubarack Lo, replying as soon as the populations seek peace, stability and economic development, that “Morocco already offers its populations in the Sahara”.
In this regard, Abdou Diop of the Mazars firm, affirmed that “the reality on the ground always prevails”, highlighting development at all levels in the southern regions of Morocco. In this sense, he invited all those who doubt and who do not know the file, to go to the Sahara to see peace, freedom, universities, businesses, agriculture, infrastructure…
This dynamic is driven by a royal vision and a strong commitment from the public and private sectors, as well as a very significant support from the populations, he said, stressing that the southern provinces are the first in Morocco in terms of GDP. per capita, and have become “a pilot region in terms of energy and sustainable transition and a real hub for Africa”.
Recalling Morocco’s expertise in advanced regionalization, Amine Laghidi, expert in diplomacy and sovereignty, affirmed that the southern regions are “champions of participatory democracy in the Kingdom” with their highest electoral participation rate of all the Moroccan regions.
Returning to the content of the latest Security Council resolution 26-54 on the Sahara, Laghidi considered that it constitutes “a recognition by the international community of the seriousness and credibility of the Moroccan autonomy plan” and that the solution to this dispute can only be done within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty and respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom.
“It is no longer a question of fragmenting the States but of consolidating them”, launched Moubarack Lo, speaking of the dispute around the Sahara where Algeria and the separatists of the polisario militia are demanding the creation of an “independent State”. in the Moroccan Sahara.
For his part, Emmanuel Dupuy, president of the Institute for Prospective and Security in Europe (IPSE), explained that Algeria’s objective in this matter has always been to create animosity with Morocco in order to pursue its strategy of arming and using the Polisario as a proxy.
“It’s a question of survival for the Algerian regime which needs, among other things, to justify the increase in its defense budget,” he said.
At the level of the African Union, sooner or later it will have to correct its “historical error” and suspend the SADR (creation of the Polisario and Algiers) which was granted member status in 2002, launched Lo.
“The African Union knows how to bring in members but does not know how to bring them out,” he lamented, noting that in the constitutive texts of the AU, there is no provision for an exclusion procedure.
Stressing that article 32 of the AU treaty allows the revision and amendment of texts if two thirds of the members ratify, he estimated that since 70% of African states support the autonomy plan, it is the path to adopt to exclude the sardp.
In this regard, he underlined the need to “consolidate these achievements and move towards 99%”.