Shahid Al Hafed, 27 February 2022 (SPS) - The Sahrawi people continues its struggle for independence and continues to gather more support for its just cause, as it prepares to celebrate on Sunday the 46th anniversary of the establishment of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), with as much determination and resolve to achieve its goal.
February 27, 1976 marked the beginning of the process of building the Saharawi state, when the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro (Polisario) decided to proclaim the birth of SADR after the withdrawal of the Spanish colonizer following the signing of the Madrid Accords on November 14, 1975.
Despite the contempt of the Moroccan occupier towards the Saharawis and its attempts to obstruct international efforts for the decolonization of the last colony in Africa, the Saharawi people have remained, over the years, committed to its just cause, continuing their struggle for the recovery of its inalienable right to self-determination, by peaceful means, until the flagrant violation by the Moroccan regime of the ceasefire agreement, on November 13, 2020, which forced it to resume the armed struggle.
The SADR has led, since its inception, "battles" at all levels to achieve independence and put an end to the plundering of its wealth by the Makhzen, thus deploying immense diplomatic efforts to make the voice of its people heard throughout the world, with the result in resounding victories at the diplomatic and legal levels.
The most recent of these victories was the participation of the SADR, represented by its president Brahim Ghali, in the 6th African Union (AU)-European Union (EU) Summit, held recently in Brussels, consecrating the SADR as an inescapable reality in spite of the fallacious declarations and the maneuvers of the Moroccan occupier.
On the legal side, the decision of the European Union (EU) Court last September, annulling the two Moroccan-EU fisheries and agriculture agreements, extended to the occupied Western Sahara. Such a decision requires that "the Sahrawi people, sovereign over its wealth, must be consulted before any economic transaction", through its only legitimate representative, the Polisario Front.
A decision that reinforces the ruling made in 2016 by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which states that the EU-Moroccan association agreements do not apply to Western Sahara, insisting on the "separate" and "distinct" status of this territory, included on the UN list of non-self-governing territories.
In an equally important move, the U.S. Congress decided to limit aid and military funding to Morocco if the Kingdom did not commit to "finding a mutually acceptable political solution in Western Sahara.
The outpouring of solidarity and support shown by the free peoples in favour of the Saharawi people has continued to increase, reflected in the numerous visits made by foreign officials, politicians and associative actors in the Sahrawi Republic but also in the refugee camps, in addition to the meetings, conferences and mobilization campaigns organized in particular in the European capitals in order to include the Saharawi issue in international foras and put an end to this conflict that has lasted too long.
The Sahrawi refugee camps have recently received the visit of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Honduras, Torres Zelaya Gerardo José Antonio, who reaffirmed the solidarity of his country with the Sahrawi people and their just cause, in addition to the visit of the President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Francesco Rocca, who called for raising the international community's awareness of the humanitarian situation of refugees.
Numerous forums and events were also organized with the participation of delegations from different countries and various affiliations in solidarity with the Saharawi people.
Several activities also organized by political parties and human rights organizations held almost every month around the world to highlight the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and alert the local authorities to the need to respect international law through the organization of a referendum on self-determination.
The mass rallies observed in many capitals and major cities, including Spain, Germany, Italy, Australia and Austria, are another form of solidarity with the Sahrawi people to enable it to exercise its sovereignty over its territories and natural resources.
062/T