Geneva, 25 August 2024 (SPS) - The representative of the Polisario Front in Switzerland and at the United Nations and international organizations in Geneva, Oubi Boushraya Bashir, affirmed that the aggression by the Moroccan diplomat against the Sahrawi delegation participating in the preparatory meetings for the Ministerial Conference of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) was proof that Morocco's agenda is becoming increasingly hostile towards the African Union (AU) and its objectives of continental unity.
In an article published on Sunday, Mr. Oubi Boushraya described the violent aggression by the Moroccan diplomat against the delegation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) participating in TICAD as an "irresponsible act", which says a lot about the failure of the Makhzen to push through its plans within the continental organization.
"Morocco's agenda within the AU is not only contrary to the AU, but is also increasingly hostile to its objectives of unity and development of the African continent, in line with the founding values and principles," said the Sahrawi diplomat, who stressed that "this situation can no longer continue".
He specified, in this sense, that Morocco, after 32 years of attempts to influence the position of the SADR within the AU, had reintegrated the latter in January 2017, betting, within the Organization, on the exclusion of the SADR from the AU, although it is a founding member.
To achieve this objective, "Morocco had agreed to sit side by side and on an equal footing with the SADR and to recognize it even in its official journal in the issue published on January 31, 2017," he said.
"The Moroccan occupier was betting that his suffering within the AU would not last long, and he thought he could turn the failures he had suffered from the outside into successes on the inside in a short time," he said, but "after 7 years, Morocco has not succeeded in achieving any of its objectives.
"Rather than being weakened by Morocco's reintegration into the AU, the SADR has achieved several diplomatic achievements, particularly through the support of African countries in its favor, as they are convinced that the unity and future of the AU are linked to respect for the Constitutive Act of the Union and the sovereignty of all Member States."
Oubi Boushraya Bashir mentioned the participation of the SADR in the AU's international meetings, such as the Partnership Summit with the European Union (EU) in November 2017 in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire), and the one in February 2022 in Brussels, the Partnership Summit with Japan in August 2017 in Maputo (Mozambique), and most recently the TICAD in Tokyo.
The Sahrawi diplomat stressed that "Morocco has failed to achieve its objectives against the Sahrawi Republic, due to the collective position of African countries and their support in favor of the Sahrawi State," adding that Morocco's intentions behind its reintegration into the AU are now evident and that after its failure to exclude the SADR, it has sought to provoke crises and maneuvers aimed at tarnishing the image of the AU before the world.
The Sahrawi diplomat pointed out that "the tensions provoked by Morocco within the AU are not limited only to Western Sahara, but also aim to grant observer status to the Zionist entity within the AU (...)".