The speech delivered by King Mohammed VI on the occasion of the 46th anniversary of the Green March reflects the strength of the Moroccan commitment and the depth of the arguments and tangible achievements that enshrine the primacy of the Sahara issue as a priority in the Kingdom’s domestic and foreign policies, said Mohamed Bouden, a political scientist and president of the Atlas Center for the analysis of political and institutional indicators.
This speech represents a national message that enshrines the image that the Kingdom wants to show to the international community; it also supports Morocco’s international and regional aspirations, he said in an interview with APA.
According to him, the royal speech reflects in a tangible way that the modern history of Morocco is full of steps that followed the Green March leading to fruitful results and apparent benefits.
It is clear that the royal speech has five dimensions, Mohamed Bouden notes. The first is related to the context, which is rich in achievements and challenges. As for the achievements and the passage of Morocco from one victory to another, there is a dynamic that results from the achievements of Morocco through the intervention in November 13, 2020 of the Royal Armed Forces to ensure the smooth flow of people and goods at the passage of El Guerguerat. The other aspect is the impact of the recognition by the United States of America of the Moroccanness of the Sahara on the strategic reality in the region and the continued opening of consulates in the Sahara, which illustrates the growing international support for the Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara.
These are voluntary decisions of sovereign states in harmony with the content of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963, he added.
For the Moroccan academic, “this is a momentum that cannot be reversed over time. Morocco faces the challenges with clarity and wisdom, and enshrines the Moroccanness of the Sahara as a fact that represents its own standard with the logic of history, reality, international recognition and the will of the Moroccan Sahara population.
The second dimension refers to the fact that King Mohammed VI has stated in the clearest terms that the Moroccan Sahara status “is not up for debate and the Moroccanness of the Sahara will never be on the agenda of any negotiation. Also, the Sovereign has expressed his commitment to international legitimacy and UN references since 2007, that is to say, in the framework of the last 18 Security Council Resolutions, from resolution 1754 to 2602.
The third dimension is related to the development and democratic process of the Moroccan Sahara, which does not depend on the international evolution of the situation in the Sahara. Thus, the royal speech highlighted the development that the Moroccan Sahara is experiencing at different levels, whether through national investment and implementation of the development model of the southern provinces or at the level of international partnerships, which affects the opportunities and business environment in the region, Mr. Bouden went on.
Today, the Moroccan Sahara benefits from elements of attractiveness and structures for project incubation, and experiences a significant and diversified movement of citizens and capital, he noted.
As for the fourth dimension, it carries a message for those who have dual and ambiguous positions regarding the Moroccan Sahara, which Morocco expects another logic that deals with the Moroccan territorial integrity as Moroccans believe in it to achieve common goals. Morocco wants to work on a clear basis and find solutions to the crises.
There is no doubt that Morocco is committed to constant values towards its traditional and new partners, but there is no room for using the Moroccan Sahara issue to achieve geopolitical gains with duplicity or ambiguity of positions. The Moroccan Sahara is the backbone of international partnerships with Morocco.
For the fifth dimension, it is worth mentioning that the royal speech consolidates the foundations of the common destiny between the five countries of the Maghreb, interacts with the context serenely and deeply and puts some parties to the hour of truth. Therefore, the royal speech reflects the strategic culture of the Moroccan State that meets the challenges and defends with firm conviction the efforts for prosperity, unity and stability, Bouden argued.
HA/fss/abj/APA