The earthquake, which killed at least 2 thousand people in Morocco, occurred at around 23:00 on Friday. At noon on Saturday, King Felipe VI sent a heartfelt telegram to Mohammed VI. condolences for the earthquake (“dear brother: I am devastated by the violent earthquake”). At that time, the Alevi ruler had not yet addressed his people after the disaster. The first words of the Moroccan king came in a statement from the Royal Palace at eight in the afternoon: Almost 24 hours after the disaster. At the time of writing this article VI. Muhammad had not yet appeared on television.
Muhammad VI was in Paris was on holiday when the misfortune occurredAccording to the French newspaper Libération. It usually spends most of the year there. According to the media, on Saturday morning, two planes belonging to the Moroccan Royal Family arrived in the French capital to take him home. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Aziz Ajanuch and the rest of the administration remained silent. No one speaks in front of the ruler, who actually has the final say in the administration of the country.
Following his arrival in Rabat, King Mohammed VI with his entourage Crown Prince Moulay HassanAt 20, he chaired an emergency executive meeting at the capital’s Royal Palace. representatives Royal Armed Forces According to a statement from the Royal Family, (of which Mohammed VI is the “supreme head”), local authorities, law enforcement and civil protection teams, as well as relevant ministerial units. Three days of national mourning were declared and the country’s flags were ordered to fly at half-staff due to a “major natural disaster”. The king ordered search and rescue teams to be strengthened, drinking water and food kits to be provided to affected areas, and public services to be restarted as soon as possible.
An absent king
Mohammed VI, 59, spends long periods outside the country, at holiday homes in Gabon, a country in Central Africa, or in France, where he maintains a large castle in the town of Betz. The mansion at the foot of the Eiffel Tower He bought it three years ago for 80 million euros, according to Libération.
In February last year, he was unable to attend the High Level Meeting between Spain and Morocco, where he was scheduled to meet with Pedro Sánchez, after the ice broke in exchange for a return to Spain to support Morocco’s Western Sahara theses.
In the French-speaking press in the Moroccan orbit, there is constant speculation about this possibility. Muhammad VI abdicates as crown prince due to health problems. He looked weaker and paler at the last Throne Party, where he celebrated the 24th anniversary of his reign. [ver foto superior].
But in recent months he has tried to be more present and has launched numerous initiatives. public demonstrations across the country. He stayed in Morocco for almost half a year before going on holiday to Paris.
Geopolitical changes in the region
The earthquake sent Morocco into a diplomatic frenzy over the issue of Western Sahara, the former Spanish province it invaded in 1975 and defended a United Nations self-determination referendum.
They traveled around the area in just a few days High-ranking representatives of the United States and the United Nations, It gives the impression that something is going on behind the scenes. Western Sahara special envoy Staffan de Mistura visited Rabat and, after years of obstacles, managed to enter the disputed territory under Moroccan control.
Interviewed with Sahrawi pro-independence activistsAlthough the senior diplomat’s entourage does not want to disclose further details, this newspaper has learned. In a few weeks, he will present a long-awaited report on the state of the eternal conflict before UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who will use it to once again defend his attempt to find a solution to the conflict.
United States Deputy Secretary of State Joshua Harris also recently toured the region: Visiting the leader of the Polisario Front, brahim gal, in refugee camps in Tindouf (Algeria); in Algeria, the main supporter of the exiled Sahrawis; and in Rabat. At the end of the talks, the American embassy in the Moroccan capital issued a statement explaining the US position on the conflict: The autonomist plan by which Morocco wants to protect the Sahara is just a “potential focus”; serious and convincing, but not the only one.
In this sense, the Biden Administration appears to be changing the radical pro-Moroccan stance of its predecessor, Donald Trump. “Moroccan sovereignty” in Western Sahara. It is also distancing itself from Israel, which recently openly sided with Morocco and in turn declared “Moroccan sovereignty” over the region.
In this context, Morocco will need to focus on the rescue of citizens trapped under the rubble in the coming weeks and then on the reconstruction process. He was caught up in the deadly earthquake, backed by a wave of international support: the entire international community, including his enemies, offered him their condolences and offers of assistance. Algeria and Polisario Front.