Morocco strengthens its position in the Sahara with more Arab consulates
The UAE Consulate is the first Arab representation in Laayoune
Morocco is winning the diplomatic battle on the ground by getting several Arab countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Bahrain, and about fifteen African countries to open consulates in Western Sahara, in the cities of El-Ayoune and Dakhla. The opening of these representations means a real, tangible support, with a new outstanding initiative by the Emirates after the peace agreement with Israel, which goes far beyond the mere rhetorical declaration with its political weight but which is resoundingly endorsed with faits accomplis.
In the current political environment, so convulsed in the Middle East, the ambiguous position of Qatar stands out, which is not decided to take the step that other Gulf countries have taken, although it is one of the best commercial partners of Morocco, acting with certain hypocrisy for the Moroccan interest that at this moment has put a great part of its capacities and efforts in achieving its objectives in what they call their southern provinces.
Moroccan diplomacy has been working intensely with the objective of definitively channeling the political solution to the situation in Western Sahara with explicit recognition of its initiative to grant broad autonomy to the region under its sovereignty.
The steps that have been taken from Rabat in recent years range from the recovery of its position in the African Union, after a few years of absence due to the recognition of the SADR, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, the promotion of its political, economic, commercial and social leadership in Africa, to the notable improvement of its relations with the great powers such as the United States and China, even with Russia, which has always intervened because of its historical support for Algeria and its interest in a base in the Atlantic, in addition to seeking the support of countries such as France and Spain, which maintains an official position of neutrality due to their degree of legal responsibility for the former colony, according to the United Nations.
Precisely, in the last resolutions of the UN for the renewal of its mission in Western Sahara, MINURSO, above all in the one approved this year (2548) because it advocates the political resolution of the conflict between the parties instead of the holding of a referendum on self-determination, as the Polisario Front claims. This is the conclusion of the Rabat Government which understands that the resolution limits MINURSO's mandate to the mere observation of the ceasefire agreement signed by Morocco and the Polisario in 1991.
The current circumstances caused by the serious crisis of the coronavirus, both in Algeria and in Morocco, as well as the new political situation after the adoption of the new Algerian Constitution following changes in the leadership, the arrest for corruption of prominent personalities and months of massive protests in the streets, the Hirat, and the option of President Tebboune to take over the Sahara issue that has always been in the hands of the military with various political and economic interests.
The fact that a large part of the more than 170,000 Saharawis who have been living in the camps in the Tinfuf area for many years are fed up with the Polisario Front and its well-to-do leaders is a determining factor in the complicated puzzle of that area. Every day more Saharawis are captured by terrorist groups operating in the Sahel, which increases the risk to security and stability.
The option of a possible agreement being negotiated in secret with the appropriate mediation is the justification for the Polisario to provoke an increase in tension in the Guerguerat pass with Moroccan intervention to restore free trade and the transit of goods to Mauritania and other sub-Saharan countries, and to break the ceasefire and declare the resumption of a war that nobody wants, neither Algeria nor Morocco, nor the Saharawis themselves.