Donald Trump shocked the world by declaring Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara in 2020. Joe Biden’s government has not openly given up on its predecessor’s return, but in practice, both his spokesperson’s statements and recent diplomatic moves suggest that he has strayed from the Republican path and is approaching a supported, negotiated solution. The United Nations advocating a referendum on self-determination. These changes mixing the sands of conflict In the former Spanish province, the canal has been open for almost half a century.
On the ground a real diplomatic frenzy. Official visits of US and UN officials to Morocco, Algeria and Western Sahara.
This Thursday, the United Nations special envoy to Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura meets with Saharan activists In the city against the Moroccan occupation Dakhla, former Villa Cisneros Spanish, according to what this newspaper learned from Sahrawi sources. He arrived in El Aaiún, the Sahrawi capital, on Monday. Both places are controlled by Morocco.
This appointment is part of the work to prepare a report on the situation, which he will later present to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and defend before the General Assembly. The content of De Mistura’s meeting with the activists is unknown, but the symbolism is huge. he represents minuteUnited Nations Referendum Mission in Western Sahara. Until now, the Moroccan government had prevented De Mistura from entering the disputed areas to hold these meetings with the dissidents. What made you change your position now?
“I think it was Due to US pressure”, argues Carlos RuizMiguel He is an expert on Western Sahara and a professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Santiago de Compostela. “And everything is connected with another crisis, the crisis in Niger. Washington is very concerned about the state of the country [que acaba de sufrir un golpe de Estado] It fell into the hands of Russia. Many African countries and France advocate the possibility of an invasion to restore the democratic order. In this context, the key country is Algeria due to its geographical location and the strength of its army. “Biden sent envoys to meet with the Algerian government to gain support. In return, Algeria will want something related to Western Sahara”.
This Wednesday CIA director called the commander of the Algerian armyAccording to Algeria. According to the statement, William Joseph Burns called Said Chengriha to discuss security and counter-terrorism in the region, without providing further details.
Diplomatic action in the Sahara
Meetings in the region have increased in recent days. Head of US Middle East and North African diplomacy, Joshua Harris, He visited the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria’s Tindouf region last Saturday. He met with Brahim Ghali, the General Secretary of the Polisario Front, the arch-enemy of Morocco. After the deadly attack on the border between Mauritania and Moroccan-controlled Sahrawi lands in 2020, Polisario declared that the ceasefire signed with Morocco in 1991 had been broken, and declared a state of war.
Harris expressed US support and reaffirmed his “support for the UN’s political process” after his visit to Ghali. a political solution”In Western Sahara. It’s a completely different style to the one the Trump Administration uses.
A diplomata permanent and dignified solution It is based on the spirit of “realism and compromise” for the people of Western Sahara.
A day later, Harris traveled to Algeria to meet with his colleague at the Algerian foreign ministry. Algeria is the biggest supporter of the Polisario Front, to which it supplies arms. Algeria advocates the UN’s plan to hold a referendum on self-determination, which ensures that it respects whatever comes up, be it independence or annexation to Morocco.
United States Over the Sahara
While making his striking statement on Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, Donald Trump also signed a much more important document: Trilateral agreement between the USA, Israel and Morocco. “In this document, Washington promised that Morocco would defend its theses at all international forums. Not only did he not do that, he did the opposite. Last year he voted in favor of the United Nations Security Council resolution on Western Sahara and the UN General Assembly”, says Ruiz Miguel. The thesis defended in these resolutions is not the autonomy plan proposed by Rabat, but rather “the need to reach a realistic, viable, permanent and mutually acceptable political solution to the Western Sahara problem, based on consensus.”
The last statements of Biden’s spokesmen were in the same direction. In an interview with Algerian media, US Under-Secretary of State Joshua Harris emphasized: “Washington is strongly compatible with the international political process In another meeting, this time with Moroccan Foreign Minister Naser Burita, whom he met in Rabat on Thursday, Harris underlined the US’s new approach to the conflict. US considers ” Moroccan Autonomy ” Plan as follows: serious, believable and realistic and a potential approach to realizing the aspirations of the people of Western Sahara”. It’s a good plan, but only one of the possible plans. Another could be the self-determination referendum advocated by the United Nations. Pedro Sánchez VI last year. He went much further in his letter to Mohammed: the autonomy plan is now by Spain “more serious, realistic and believable”.