Mike Pompeo “appears to be determined to continue his malign activities until his very last day in office. His latest awful act was buying Morocco’s support for the normalization of relations with Israel by endorsing that latter’s seizure of the Western Sahara.”
“Rabat had no colorable claim, religious, cultural, ethnic, economic, or historical, to the territory, which is why no other country or organization has officially accepted the annexation. And the International Court of Justice and United Nations affirmed the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination. Yet the Trump administration is backing the aggressor.”
“King Mohammed VI brilliantly played Pompeo, winning something for almost nothing. The former did not even agree to open an embassy, despite America’s lavish PR claims.”
“Still, the worst part of the agreement is the substance. Hundreds of thousands of Sahrawi people suffer because of Morocco’s ruthless land grab. The State Department admits that not all is well for those living under Rabat’s rule, with human rights issues including: “allegations of torture by some members of the security forces, although the government condemned the practice and made efforts to investigate and address any reports; allegations of political prisoners; undue limits on freedom of expression, including criminalization of libel and certain content that criticized the monarchy and the government’s position regarding territorial integrity; limits on freedom of assembly and association; and corruption.” On top of this, there was “a widespread perception of impunity.””
“Yet Pompeo treated these Sahrawi people as did Morocco—as spoils of conquest, objects to be bartered for geopolitical gain. Trump’s action, complained Sid Omar, the Polisario Front’s UN representative, was “a blatant violation of the United States charter and the resolution of international legitimacy.””
“And with the apparent breakdown of the nearly three-decade ceasefire between Rabat and Sahrawi last month, Washington’s action could add gasoline to the fire. “This move makes the resolution of the current bout of violence much harder,” contended Riccardo Fabiani of the International Crisis Group: “This will also make Sahrawi youths more angry, mobilized and committed to resolving the conflict through force.””
“This is no idle worry for the U.S. An Army War College assessment warned: “kidnappings and arrests suggest that terrorist and criminal organizations, some with ties to al-Qaeda, are attempting to infiltrate Western Sahara and the refugee camps, although Polisario leaders appear to be trying to keep them out. Still, such infiltrations may come to threaten regional security.””
“Strangely, Pompeo’s potentially dangerous sell-out does not even benefit America. Although the U.S. generally gains from more peaceful relations among other nations, Morocco and Israel were not at war. Indeed, their security services have long cooperated in the shadows. The two countries even opened liaison offices, which were closed in 2000 after the Second Intifada erupted. Mohammed VI, like the Gulf monarchs, is pragmatic and fears many of the same radical forces as does Israel. Yet Israel is unpopular among Moroccans and full recognition would undermine the king, who traces his lineage back to the Prophet Mohammed.”
“Nevertheless, the so-called Abrahamic accords have been a political plus for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the hard-right Trump ally facing trial for corruption. The secretary sold out an entire people and trashed America’s reputation for the benefit of a man dedicated to creating a Greater Israel in which the Palestinians are kept in political bondage as a captive work force. It is a disreputable end achieved by equally disreputable means.”
“Western Sahara was a Spanish colony that Madrid, finally rid of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship by his death, abandoned in 1976. The Sahrawi speak mostly Arabic and some Berber; ethnically they are a mix of Arabic, Berber, and black African. Without the slightest concern for the wishes of residents, Spain split its colony between Morocco and Mauritania. Exactly how many people are involved is disputed: estimates range up to 400,000, with the Sahrawi spread out through Morocco, Western Sahara, and Algeria, there mostly in refugee camps.”
“An insurgency by the Polisario Front emerged. Morocco possessed conventional superiority but had difficulty coping with the PF’s guerrilla attacks. Tens of thousands of refugees fled to camps in Algeria. The Polisario proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. After four years Mauritania relinquished its share of Western Sahara and recognized the SADR, but Rabat promptly annexed this territory as well. The Army War College termed the conflict “brutal” and concluded that Morocco’s decision to build a sand “Berm” in an attempt to exclude insurgents “signaled an acknowledgement by Moroccan leaders that decisive defeat of the Polisario was not possible; hence, Rabat adopted a strategy of static defense.””
“In 1991 the warring sides agreed to a ceasefire and an independence referendum but deadlocked over who could vote. Eventually Morocco offered some degree of autonomy instead and balked at including independence as an option. In that case, however, the vote would have been essentially meaningless. Last month Moroccan forces broke the ceasefire by entering the buffer zone. Whether the result will be Kabuki Theater-style combat or real conflict is unclear.”
“The Western Sahara is one of many international problems with no good answer. Rabat, through a mix of military activity and population transfers, has made it difficult to have a fair and useful referendum. Moreover, the democratic commitment of the Polisario, which began with aid from the Soviet bloc, remains untested.”
“Nevertheless, Moroccan control of the region remains an affront to justice. Just last month, reported Human Rights Watch, “Security forces broke up pro-independence demonstrations and harassed, beat up, arrested, or attacked the houses of several of the activists.” This is standard operating procedure.”
Read more: Reverse Trump’s Western Sahara Giveaway
Related: Israel-Morocco deal: Palestinians and Sahrawis hope for renewed solidarity
2021-week25
