European Union rebuffs Moroccan King’s ultimatum
Morocco’s war drums are beating against all its neighbours, and against any country that will not disregard international law, and “swear allegiance” to the Commander of Believers ( title of the Moroccan Monarch) supporting its colonial adventure in the last colony in Africa.
The Moroccan king literally said in a speech last Tuesday: “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.
“I, therefore, expect certain states among Morocco’s traditional partners as well as new ones, whose stances concerning the Moroccanness of the Sahara are ambiguous, to clarify their positions and reconsider them in a manner that leaves no room for doubt.”
So basically, he warns all countries that they can only a) support his illegal occupation of Western Sahara, or, b) expect his wrath!
No country in the world, not even the biggest powers, had ever gone so far in arrogance in their international relations, or at least they would never go to the point of sending such public threats and ultimatums.
Worse still, it seems that the Monarch’s vision has supporters amongst the Moroccan religious elite, because just a few days before this speech an eminent Moroccan religious scholar, seized his title as President of the International Union of Islamic Scholars, saying in an interview that, “the independence of Mauritania was a mistake”, that Mauritania is the property of Morocco and that he is ready with other scholars to call for a holy war against Algeria, Saharawi and Mauritania if the king orders him to!
Uproars of indignation are raging in the region against this statement because Morocco appears to be multiplying provocations in preparation for a new war in the region. It won’t be the first time it does so. Morocco refused to recognise the independence of Mauritania from 1960 to 1969; it tried to invade the Western territories of Algeria in 1963 and waged six days of war against it then; and it invaded Western Sahara in 1975 occupying huge parts of it, not to talk about its constant threats and blackmailing against Spain and Europe with migration, drugs and terrorism.
The good news is that an unexpected reaction to the king’s ultimatum was made by the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borell, maybe intentionally or maybe not.
The EU official said in a statement to Spanish TV, on Tuesday, August 23, “the position of the Spanish Government was and is that of the EU, that is, defending the holding of a consultation so that it is the Saharawi people who decide how they want their future to be”.
This position goes totally against what the Moroccan King would expect, but it is still not enough to stop his expansionist appetite. The problem is that North Africa seems to be heating up increasingly these last years, because of Morocco’s attitude, that is what pushed Polisario Front to resume armed struggle against the military occupation of Western Sahara last November 13th, 2020. Many developments have occurred since. Fed up with its repeated treacheries, Algeria decided to totally cut diplomatic relations with Rabat, especially after Morocco normalised diplomatic relations with Israel, allowing its Foreign Affairs Minister, Yair Lapid, to threaten Algiers during a press conference with his Moroccan peer from Rabat. It was obvious when the African Union accepted Morocco’s membership in 2017, despite warnings from many countries, that the Monarchy is set on a mission to divide Africa and destroy the AU. Now, it is clearly set to launch this agenda by waging wars against its neighbours, and God knows when it is planning to stop, especially since it doesn’t accept its internationally- recognised borders.
It is big time for African nations to wake up and stand firm against this destructive behaviour. Morocco is a member of the AU and it must abide by its Constitutive Act, or otherwise leave. No one needs a colonialist, expansionist and arrogant regime in Africa in the 21st century.