Catégorie : marocleaks

  • Les villes de Ceuta y Melilla dans les relations hispano-marocaines

    La question de Sebta et Melilia figure parmi les différends latents qui risquent à tout moment de compromettre les efforts de l’Es`pagne et du Maroc en vue d’instaurer une relation apaisée et durable, souligne une note du ministère marocain des affaires étrangères.
    « Aussi,  la sensibilité de cette question quant à la marocanité de ces enclaves a-t-elle toujours été abordée avec subtilité », ajoute la note datée de janvier 2012.
    « Il est à rappeler qu’au titre des années 2006 et 2007 les visites respectives du Chef du Gouvernement espagnol et des Rois d’Espagne à Sebta et Melilia, avaient suscité une nouvelle tension entre les deux pays », ajoute-t-elle.
    Selon cette note, « en décembre 2011, le groupe parlementaire « coalicion Caballas » de Sebta avait présenté uen proposition à l’Assemblée plenière au sujet de l’intégration de la ville de Sebta dans l’union dounière, avec un régime similaire aux régions ultrapériphériques. Le groupe évoque l’exemple des Canaries qui font partie de l’Union Douanière depuis 1986 ».
    « En janvier 2012, M. Abdelmalek El Berkani (PP) a été nommé délégué du gouvernement espagnol à Mélilia », conclue la note.

  • Moroccoleaks : Jordi Pujol hacía lobbying para Marruecos

    Parece ser que Jordi Pujol fue encargado por Marruecos para reanimar el proyecto de la organización por el Mediterráneo.
    En una carta envíada por Pujol a las autoridades marroquíes al principio de los eventos de la denominada Primavera Arabe, el antiguo presidente de la Generalitat de Cataluña elogia el régimen marroquí y las falsas reformas hechas en aquel entonces para frenar la protesta de los jóvenes marroquíes para luego excusarse por le fracaso en reanimar las actividades de una organización cuya base sería las relaciones entre los países de las dos rivieras del Mediterráneo.
    « Debo hablar de una decepción que fue, desde mi punto de vista, la evolución negativa del Proceso de Barcelona iniciado en 1995 -ampliamente impulsado por el Presidente Felipe Gonzalez con el firme apoyo de Cataluña- pero abandonado y más tarde neutralizado por la Unión por el Mediterráneo. Una iniciativa debida, a mi parecer, a un reflejo de « grandeur » francesa y de la voluntad de jugar los primeros roles del Presidente Sarkozy que al fruto de una reflexión y de un proyecto sólidos », afirma Pujol en la carta en defensa del proyecto mediterráneo que, según él, podrá ser propuesto cuando el PP y el PSOE ganen las elecciones y cuando las relaciones entre España y Cataluña mejoren. « No sé si el resultado (de las elecciones, ndlr) reforzará o no la influencia de Cataluña sobre la política española que, en ciertos momentos de los últimos 20 años fue realmente importante. Si esta influencia aumenta, favorizará sustancialmente la colaboración con Marruecos y el reconocimiento del esfuerzo de democratización y progreso social de Marruecos », dice Pujol.
    « Desde finales de los años 80, cuando yo era el Presidente, el Gobierno de Cataluña adoptó una serie de iniciativas para hacer comprender a Europa la importancia del Mediterráneo. Pero ni Europa en general ni la Unión Europea se interesaron por el tema y ahora tampoco muestran el suficiente interés », añade.
    Pujol deplora que « aunque hayamos dado conferencias y seminarios de Estocolmo a El Cairo y de Casablanca a Roma y Hamburgo, y que hayamos contactado políticos del más alto nivel, no tuvimos mucho éxito. Europa Central y del Norte no se ha sentido muy concernida. Tampoco -muy poco- Gran Bretaña. Incluso en Francia, de manera sorprendente, no tuvimos ningún eco. Sí tuvimos éxito en hacer que el gobierno español de Felipe Gonzales se interese. Actúó de manera eficaz, lo cual dió lugar, en 1995, al Proceso de Barcelona. Con una actitud mucho más comprometida por parte del Gobierno español. Pero como os decía, todo eso se ha calmado, en cierto modo a causa de todo el mundo. En parte, por un cambio de actitud del Gobierno español que ha transferido hacia el Atlántico y los EEU el centro de gravedad de su política exterior y que desconfió de Marruecos. También a causa del desinterés mostrado por numerosos países europeos y la lentitud en la adopción de decisiones de muchos países de la riviera Sur del Mediterráneo. A causa, también, de la creciente conflictividad israelo-palestina. Pero ahora, la Unión por el Mediterráneo, que hasta ahora ha sido un fracaso, podría tal vez ser relanzada con el nuevo gobierno español, aunque, como sabeis, Europa tiene grandes preocupaciones de carácter urgente. De todas maneras, no olvideis que la Unión por el Mediterráneo tiene ahora un nuevo secretario general, marroquí precisamente, el señor Youssef Amrani, mucho más activo que su predecesor », concluye Pujol.

  • Marocleaks : Moroccan arguments to justify its coloniwation of Western Sahara

    Memorandum on the Moroccan Sahara issue

    May 2014
    Overview:
    1. The Kingdom of Morocco holds a unique experience in the history of colonization, as well as in the decolonization process, that deviates from the usual model. Thus it was in 1912, that the Moroccan territory was effectively split up into several zones of occupation. Forty years later, through international agreements negotiated with the various colonial powers; the Kingdom of Morocco began to gradually recover its territorial integrity. It is in this context that the Kingdom of Morocco, after its independence in 1956, entered into negotiations with Spain that brought about the progressive recovery of certain areas located in the south of the Kingdom, namely Tarfaya in 1958, Sidi Ifni in 1969 and the Saquiet al Hamra and Oued Eddahab in 1975, known since then as the Sahara, following the Madrid Agreements which was acknowledged by the General Assembly.
    2. For geopolitical reasons related to the context of Cold War, Algeria has opposed to the process of completion of Morocco’s territorial integrity and has embarked on a deliberate policy to systematically thwart the legitimate rights of the Kingdom.
    1. The African mediation, undertaken in 1976, having failed, the Sahara issue was entrusted to the UN.
    I- Development of the issue within the United Nations:
    1. Morocco participated in good faith to the implementation of the Settlement Plan proposed, in 1991, by the United Nations to resolve the dispute over the Sahara.
    1. However, the complex and delicate nature of the identification process, the deliberate will of other parties to exclude important constituencies of the Sahrawi tribes from this process, as well as the fundamental differences that characterized the positions of the parties on important aspects of the Plan, led the Secretary-General and the Security Council of the United Nations to conclude on the inapplicability of the Settlement Plan.
    1. Thus, the Secretary-General underlined in his report S/2000/13 of February 17, 2000 that «it has not been possible during this period to implement in full any of the main provisions of the United Nations Settlement Plan », due to “fundamental differences between the parties over the interpretation of its main provisions”.
    1. The Security Council, drawing the necessary conclusions from this report, recommended to the Secretary-General in its resolution 1292 of February 29, 2000 “to consult the parties and, taking into account existing and potential obstacles, to explore ways and means to achieve an early, durable and agreed resolution of their dispute, that would define their respective rights and obligations in Western Sahara”.
    1. In application of this recommendation, Mr. James Baker, Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General, held in the year 2000, in London and in Berlin, a series of consultations during which he invited the parties to consider a solution of compromise, deemed a “3rd way” by appealing to the parties to “begin negotiating a political solution that could settle the dispute over the Western Sahara” (Report S/2000/683 of 13 July 2000).
    1. Upon presenting the draft Framework Agreement, (Baker Plan I) in June 2001, the Secretary General and his Personal Envoy considered that this plan “offers what could be the last chance for the upcoming years” and urged all concerned parties to “seize this opportunity, for it serves the interests of the population of Western Sahara as well as the countries of the region”.
    1. By its resolution 1359 of 29 June 2001, the Security Council confirmed this recommendation and «encouraged the parties to discuss the draft Framework Agreement and to negotiate any specific changes they would like to see in this proposal, as well as to discuss any other proposal for a political solution, which may be put forward by the parties, to arrive at a mutually acceptable agreement« .
    1. In response to this resolution, Morocco accepted the draft Framework Agreement, as a basis for negotiation, in order to definitely settle this regional dispute. However, Algeria and the Polisario rejected this proposal and refused the negotiations which were proposed to them by the Secretary-General.
    1. Algeria went so far as to submit, on the 2nd of November 2001, to Mr. Baker, in Houston, a proposal whereby the territory and population of the Western Sahara would be partitioned. Needless to say, this proposal sacrifices both the principle of self-determination and the myth of “the Sahrawi territory and people” which have always constituted the basis of the position, or at least the officially declared one, of Algeria in relation to this dispute.
    1. It is worth noting that Algeria deliberately ignored Baker Plan I and the Algerian proposal whereby the territory would be partitioned, an important step that has marked the process of resolving the issue within the United Nations.
    1. Following these important developments, Mr. Baker submitted the “Peace Plan” (Baker Plan II). By its resolution 1495 of July 31, 2003, the Security Council conditioned its support for this plan to the agreement of the parties. Due to the fundamental disagreements between the parties concerning this second Baker Plan, the condition set by the Security Council for its support was, de facto, not met and thereby rendered it invalid.
    1. In this framework, the Security Council, by its Resolution 1541 of 29 April 2004, clarified, once for all, the modality recommended by the international community for the final settlement of the question of Sahara, as consisting solely of a negotiated solution. The Security Council also placed this dispute in its actual regional context while calling on the States of the region to cooperate for this purpose with the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy.
    1. Following the resignation of Mr. James Baker in June 2004, Mr. Kofi Annan appointed Mr. Alvaro De Soto to succeed him, entrusting him with a mandate to continue working with the parties and States of the region in order to arrive at a mutually acceptable political solution, with no reference to Baker Plan II.
    This decision generated a radicalisation of theAlgerian position,particularly illustrated by the refusal to cooperate with Mr. De Soto and by the insistent demands to have him replaced.
    1. Following Algeria’s refusal to cooperate with his Special Representative, Mr. Alvaro De Soto, the Secretary-General appointed in July 2005, Mr.Peter Van Walsum as his new Personal Envoy for the Sahara. The Secretary General entrusted him with a mandate to “evaluate the situation and search, with all the parties, the neighbouring States and other protagonists, for the best way to overcome the present political deadlock”. (Letter of the Secretary-General S/2005/497).
    1. In this regard, M. Van Walsum presented on January 18, 2006 to the Security Council his vision of a possible solution to the Sahara issue. He thus carefully considered the situation and made an analysis of the reality surrounding this dispute, calling upon all parties to engage in negotiations. In this regard, he urged the international community to “convince Algeria to participate to the negotiations because it holds the key to the solution”.
    1. This approach was confirmed by the UN Secretary General in its reports of April and October 2006 (S/2006/249).
    II–Moroccan initiativeandstartinga newprocess:
    1. In response to the numerous calls made by the Security Council to end the political impasse, Morocco submitted to the Secretary General of the United Nations, on April 11th 2007, “the Moroccan Initiative for negotiating an autonomous statute for the Sahara region”.
    1. This initiative is the result of a large consultation process at national and local levels, bringing together political parties, people and politicians of the region, through the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs, to gather their views on the draft implementation of autonomy to the Sahara region. This internal consultation process has also been supplemented by dialogues at regional and international levels in order to gather the views of the countries concerned and interested in this regional dispute.
    1. Through this initiative, the Kingdom of Morocco guarantees to the population of the region, their position and role, without discrimination or exclusion, in its bodies and institutions. Thus, populations of the Sahara can democratically manage their affairs, through legislative, executive and judicial exclusive power. They have the financial resources to develop the region in all areas and to participate actively in the economic, social and cultural development of the nation.
    1. This is an initiative of compromise that is consistent with international law, the UN Charter, resolutions of the General Assembly and Security Council, as well as the right to self determination.

    Indeed, the autonomous statusofthe Saharawillbenegotiatedandwill besubject toafreereferendumof the peopleconcerned.
    1. In a desperate effort to thwart this new dynamic, the polisario has submitted a proposal containing outdated proposals with no constructive element to help solve the regional dispute over the Sahara.
    1. On April 30th 2007, the Security Council adopted resolution 1754 which represents a major turning point and whose fundamentals are as follows:
    • No reference to previous proposals namely the Baker Plan II;
    • Calls upon the parties and States of the region to continue to cooperate fully with the United Nations and with each other to end the current impasse and to achieve progress towards a political solution;
    • The appreciation of the “serious and credible” efforts of Morocco;
    • The consecration of negotiations as the means chosen by the International Community for the resolution of this conflict as well as a way to satisfy the right to self-determination;
    • Calls upon parties to enter into negotiations without preconditions in good faith, taking into account the developments of the last months with a view to achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution.
    1. While the Security Council opted for a genuine major turning point by adopting resolution 1754, the General Assembly foreclosed this option by affirming the departure from the earlier approaches.
    2. In application of resolution 1754, the Secretary-General invited the parties and States of the region to the first two rounds of negotiations, which were held respectively on 18 and 19 June and 10 and August 11, 2007 in Manhasset.
    3. This rupture was confirmed by the adoption without a vote by the General Assembly of resolution 62/116 of 17 December 2007, endorsing the approach chosen by the Security Council and expanding the scope of self-determination to all available options of expression for self-determination, as long they are in accordance with the freely expressed wishes of the people concerned and in conformity with the principles clearly defined contained in general Assembly resolutions 1514 and 1541 and other resolutions.
    4. This resolution of the General Assembly therefore no longer makes any reference to previous plans and strongly supports Security Council resolution 1754 and welcomes the process of negotiation that has begun. Thus the General Assembly is now in accord with the Security Council.
    1. In resolution 1783 adopted in October 2007, the Security Council confirmed the pre-eminence of the Moroccan autonomy proposal. It also calls for the pursuance of negotiations “while taking into account the efforts made since 2006” in reference to the actions taken by Morocco in the elaboration, the promotion and presentation of the Moroccan initiative.
    2. After four rounds of negotiation, held in Manhasset, pursuant to UN Security Council resolutions 1754 and 1783, respectively in June and August 2007 as well as in January and March 2008, the Secretary-General recommended in his report S/2008/251 issued on 14 April 2008 that there should be intensive and substantive negotiations with a sense of realism and a spirit of compromise.
    3. This report also underlines that the Personal Envoy would “brief the parties as well as the Security Council on the way forward”, which would clearly be consistent with the assessment of the situation that the Personal Envoy will make at a later stage.
    4. In his briefing to the Security Council on April 21st 2008, the Personal Envoy of the Secretary General, M. Peter Van Walsum, underlined that “the independence of the Sahara is not a realistic option”.
    1. This conclusion is the result of the sound assessment of the Personal Envoy based upon numerous visits to the region, talks with all concerned parties as well as consultations with other members of the international community involved or interested in this regional dispute.
    35. In resolution 1813, the Security Council while reaffirming its strong support for the efforts of the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy, calls upon the parties to engage in substantive negotiations and underlines that realism and spirit of compromise by the parties are essential to maintain the momentum of the process of negotiations.
    36.From his part, the Secretary General in his report to the 63rdsession of the General Assembly (A/63/131 dated 15thJuly 2008), the Secretary General “concurred with his Personnel Envoy that the momentum could only be maintained by trying to find a way out of the current political impasse to realism and a spirit of compromise from the parties”.
    37.On the other hand, Algeria and the Polisario have multiplied their public and violent attacks against the person and mandate of Mr. Van Walsum. This attitude is reminiscent of that adopted against Mr. De Soto in 2004. Over and beyond the hostility displayed towards the most recent Personal Envoys, Algeria is confirming its opposition to any prospect for the political solution that is sought by the international community.
    38.Even though they first welcomedthe adoption of resolution 1813 that in fact endorsed the approach based on realism and the spirit of compromise (op. para. 2), Algeria and the Polisario quickly made the person of the Personal Envoy the target of their increasingly violent attacks culminating in the proclamation of breakdown and the rejection of his mediation.
    39. The General Assembly, for its part, has adopted the resolution 63/105, on December 5th, 2008, which buries sterile and backward-looking approaches, whose inapplicability has been established by the United Nations, and consecrates the multisided referential and diverse forms of principle of self-determination. This Resolution also reinforces the centrality of negotiations in order to reach a mutually acceptable solution, engaged by resolutions 1754, 1783 and, 1813 of the Security Council, and seals the cohesion between the Security Council and the General Assembly with regard to the Sahara issue.
    40. After the end of Mr. Van Walsum’s mandate, the Secretary General of the United Nations appointed, on January 6th2009, Mr. Christopher Ross as the new Personal Envoy, with the mandate to work with the parties and neighboring states on the basis of resolution 1813 and previous resolutions, and by taking into account the progress made so far towards reaching a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution to the Sahara issue.
    41. His first visit to Morocco and to the region from 18 to 24 February 2009, was the occasion for him to get in touch with the parties, to hear their views on the next phase of negotiations, and to study the conditions for the preparation of a fifth round.
    42. Morocco has reaffirmed to the Personal Envoy, its commitment to implement the contents of Resolution 1813, under the continuation of the work done by Mr. Van Walsum, and to enter a phase of intense and substantive negotiations on the basis of the Moroccan autonomy initiative.
    43. The report of the UN Secretary-General on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara (S/2009/200 of 13 April 2009) reaffirmed the primacy of resolution 1813 and the need for the parties to enter into substantive negotiations, while stressing on the importance of good preparation for the next round of negotiations through the holding of one or several small preparatory meetings in this regard.
    44. The Security Council adopted unanimously Resolution 1871 on 30 April 2009, reaffirming and reinforcing the Council’s support to all the provisions of resolution 1813 of April 2008, thus consolidating the fundamental and indispensable reference defined by the United Nations to achieve a political and final solution to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.
    In addition, this new text retains all the provisions of resolution 1813, and, therefore, put the United Nations and the efforts of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on the path of continuity, refusing a step backwards, as it has been advocated by the other parties, and consolidates further the ongoing process since April 2007 thanks to the Moroccan autonomy Initiative.
    It also confirmed the centrality of the negotiation process and refused to give in to political blackmail, shameless practices of harassment and instrumentalisation that accompany it, and to attempts to avoid the fundamental track of negotiation.
    45. After the 2nd visit of Mr. Ross to the region from 25 to 30 June 2009, Morocco has stressed on the strong commitment of the Moroccan Government to facilitate the mission of the UN Envoy, including the participation in the informal meetings called for by M. Ross as part of its pragmatic approach with a view to holding the 5th round of the negotiations.
    46. Morocco has expressed the wish for a positive and effective participation of all parties in order to ensure adequate preparation for the 5th round of negotiations recommended by the Security Council’s resolutions, particularly resolution 1871.
    47. In this context, Morocco took part in the first informal talks held in Vienna, from 9 till 11 of August 2009, under the auspices of the Personal Envoy of the Secretary General, in implementation of the Security Council resolution 1871. These talks were a new occasion for Morocco to re-introduce the content, the scope and the philosophy of the Moroccan Initiative, as a compromise solution to end the artificial dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.
    48. The other parties, namely Algeria and polisario stood at their obsolete positions, presenting options and solutions which inapplicability were proved and verified.
    49. The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted by consensus, on December 10, 2009, the resolution 64/101 on the Sahara issue, which supports the ongoing process of negotiation and emphasizes the responsibility of the parties and States of the region to cooperate fully with the Secretary General and his Personal Envoy and with each other to contribute to progress toward a compromise political solution to the dispute on the Regional Sahara.
    Like the four resolutions of the Security Council (1754, 1783, 1813 et 1871), this resolution reinforces the negotiation as the unique mean to reach a political and mutually acceptable solution to the Sahara issue, and excludes the reference to the referendum as a tool to ensure the right to self-determination and settlement of the issue of the Moroccan Sahara.
    50.The second informal talks on the Sahara, held on February 10-11 in Armonk (New York), in application of Security Council resolution 1871, provided an opportunity for Morocco to demonstrate the purpose, justness and full conformity of its autonomy initiative with the international legality, as well as with the spirit and the letter of the UN Security Council resolutions. Morocco expressed its willingness to negotiate a realistic solution on the basis of its autonomy Initiative, whose primacy was explicitly underlined by the Security Council.
    Furthermore, Morocco showed the out-dated reference of the so-called proposal of the other parties, its obsolete content and its biased interpretation of the principle of self-determination, as well as the inapplicability of the referendum with extreme options.
    51.The positions of the other parties, Algeria and polisario, remained frozen, advocating extremist options for the settlement of the Sahara issue, compromising, thus, the efforts of the United Nations to reach a political and lasting solution to this conflict.
    III- The recent developments during 2010:
    52.The report of the UN Secretary General S/2010/75 dated April 6th, 2010, reconfirmed the need for the parties to show the political will required to enter into substantive discussions and ensure the success of the negotiations. Furthermore, the report urges that appropriate attention should be paid to the issues of conducting a census of refugees and implementing a program of individual interviews.
    53.Resolution 1920, adopted unanimously by the Security Council on April 30th, 2010, confirms and consolidates the new guidelines and the important parameters set by the recent Security Council resolutions, which should govern the pursuit of the political process, and guide the work of the Personal Envoy of the Secretary General to achieve a political solution.
    54. Inaddition, it reinforces the determination of the international community to preserve and strengthen the positive dynamic, initiated by the submission of the Moroccan autonomy initiative. It reiterates, also, the appreciation of the serious and credible efforts of Morocco to end the impasse, calling for intensive and substantial negotiations, based on realism and spirit of compromise, taking into account the efforts since 2006.
    This resolution considers that the consolidation of the status quo is not acceptable in the long term and emphasizes the need to make progress. It calls upon the parties and the States of the Region to cooperate more fully with the UN and with each other to end the current impasse and to achieve progress towards a political solution. It also calls upon the parties to continue to show political will so as to move ahead in negotiations, taking into account the pre-eminence of the Moroccan autonomy initiative, through its rich and substantial content, its strategic vision, its compliance with international law, its democratic and open criteria’s, and its philosophy that goes along the logic of compromise and the « third way ».
    55. The Fourth Committee of the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted by consensus, on October 11th, 2010, the resolution on the Sahara issue A/C.4/65/L.5, which supports the ongoing process of negotiation and emphasizes the responsibility of the parties and States of the region to cooperate fully with the Secretary General and his Personal Envoy and with each other to contribute to progress towards a political solution to the regional dispute on the Moroccan Sahara
    56. Under the auspices of the Personnel Envoy of the UN Secretary General, the parties the 3rdinformal meeting was held on November, 8thand 9th2010, in Manhasett (New York), in application of Security Council resolution 1920. During this meeting, Morocco underlined the necessity to give a new impetus to the negotiations, on the basis of a new methodology, so as to overcome the deadlock. This proposal was accepted by the Personnel Envoy, Ambassador Christopher Ross.
    During this meeting, Morocco reiterated his readiness to engage in a more substantial and intensive negotiations, according to the parameters defined by the Security Council resolutions, and in particular on the basis of the Moroccan autonomy initiative described by the international community as serious and credible. Morocco expressed its willingness to negotiate a realistic and feasible solution on the basis of its autonomy Initiative, whose primacy was explicitly underlined by the Security Council. Furthermore, Morocco reaffirmed that the so-called proposals of the other parties are obsolete and reiterated the inapplicability of the referendum with extreme options.
    57. Inpursuitof thisprocess ofnegotiations, thefourthinformal meeting, held under theauspicesof thePersonal Envoy ofthe Secretary-General, inManhasetton 16, 17 and 18 of December 2010, wasan opportunityfortheMoroccan delegationto presentanumberof initiativesandproposalsto givea further chance for negotiation, accelerate andimproveits relevanceandvision.Itwas alsoan opportunity todiscusstheneedto no longer restricttoursof the Personal Envoyofthe Secretary-General of the United Nations to Sahara, to preparationofroundsofnegotiation, but toenrollinadynamictolisten tothosewho can facilitatetheprocessinthe region, towardsreaching a settlementserving the interestsof theArabMaghreb.

    The Moroccan delegationexpressedthestrongwillofMoroccoto reachafinal solutiontothe Sahara issueonthebasis ofrealismandtheMoroccan autonomy initiativewelcomedbytheentireinternational community, stressing thattheautonomy planrepresentsareal opportunityfor allpeoples oftheregion.
    58.During the 5thinformal meeting, held from the 21stto the 23rdJanuary 2011, in Green tree, Long Island, USA, the Kingdom has presented numerous and concrete ideas, so as to accelerate the rhythm of negotiations around the Sahara dispute. The Kingdom has proposed to diversify the mission of the Personal Envoy, to extend the negotiation to the representatives of the local population and to examine the real state of the natural resources of the region and the positive way to manage it for the benefit of the local population.
    The Kingdom has reaffirmed its availability to come up with a political solution to the regional dispute, based on the Moroccan Initiative for Autonomy.
    59. During the 6thinformal meeting, held the 7th, 8thand 9thMarch 2011 in Malta, the Kingdom showed its full acceptance to the Personal Envoy initiative aiming to explore new approaches and to discuss new themes. It was also the occasion for the Moroccan delegation to highlight the relevance and the reasonableness of the Moroccan Initiative for Autonomy, as it was confirmed by the Security Council. The meeting was also the occasion for the Kingdom to highlight the limits of the polisario’s proposition, based on obsolete thesis and inapplicable contents.
    On the other hand, the Kingdom has also expressed its astonishment towards the refusal of the other parties to talk about the question of the human rights, initially insistently introduced by the polisario. This has proven that the question of Human Rights is a media oriented maneuver aiming at disturbing the whole process of negotiation.
    60.The Security Council adopted unanimously on April 27th2011, the Resolution 1979 on the Sahara, encouraging the efforts made by the Kingdom, through its Initiative for Autonomy Plan and actions conducted by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, aiming at protecting and promoting human rights at the regional and national levels.
    The Council recalls the Initiative for Autonomy Plan supremacy, the serious and credible efforts made by Morocco and the necessity to conduct serious negotiations based on spirit of compromise and realism, which is the only possible settlement for the dispute over the Sahara.
    The Resolution encourages Morocco’s propositions that lie within the innovative approach for the negotiations processes, through a better contribution of the legitimate local population’s representatives in the settlement of the dispute and the setting up of thematic debates on governance, enabling thereby Morocco to assert the total conformity with international law of the Moroccan Initiative for Autonomy Plan.
    The Resolution highlights parties’ responsibility in the actual political deadlock and in the dramatic humanitarian situation prevailing in Tindouf camps in Algeria.
    Concerning human rights, the Resolution does not refer to an international monitoring mechanism of human rights, congratulates the efforts expanded by Morocco in that field and, in so doing, rejects other parties’ attempts to discredit the achievements and the reforms announced through His Majesty speech, concerning the establishment of the National Council for Human Rights and the Ombudsman Institution.
    On the other hand, the Council congratulates the Kingdom’s will to keep on interacting positively with the UN Human Rights Council, through the newest Inter ministerial Delegation for human rights.
    For the first time, the Security Council calls the UN HCR to register the population in the Tindouf camps in order to ensure its international protection and to take into account their political will, through individual interviews.
    61.The Security Council Resolution, 1979, was the centre of the 7thinformal talks, held in Manhasset the 6th , the 7thand the 8thof June 2011, and is considered as a framework of orientation for the coming negotiations.
    These negotiations were the occasion for the Kingdom to recall, through the adoption of this resolution, the supremacy of the Moroccan initiative for autonomy as a basis for negotiation, and the Security Council calls to Algeria to enable the population census in Tindouf camps, in accordance with its international obligations, as a state party of the Convention of 1951on refugees.
    The Kingdom called the neighbouring states and to Algeria to engage in intensive negotiations and to cooperate with Morocco to end the dispute over the Sahara, as highlighted in the Resolution.
    On the human rights field, the international community recognized the substantial efforts made the Kingdom, where as the other parties’ commitment to respect and protect the human rights, in particular in Tindouf camps in Algeria, remains uncertain.
    With regard the innovative approach for the negotiation process, the Kingdom proposed the participation of the population legitimate’ representatives in the quest for a political solution and in the governance, in conformity with the Moroccan Initiative for autonomy.
    The Kingdom also insisted on the fact that the legitimacy of the representation derives from the holding of a free, regular and fair elections, as it is the case in Morocco, refuting thereby polisario’s claim as a legitimate representative of the local population.
    62. During the 8th informal talks, which were held in Manhasset from the 19th to 21st of July 2011, Morocco highlighted the accuracy of the United Nations’ innovative approach that can help evolve the current situation through a full involvement of the population legitimate representatives.
    Morocco disclosed the status quo installed by the other parties and reiterates its call to the international community and to Algeria, as a country host of the refugees, to apply the international humanitarian law, in particular the organization and the registration of the population living in the Tindouf camps in Algeria.
    Morocco has denounced polisario’s refusal to engage talks on the human rights question, that it claimed and that Morocco accepted, with its strong legal framework in the field of the human rights.
    In the meantime, Morocco insisted on the necessity to conduct the next informal talks with the participation of the local population legitimate representatives, in order to contribute to a final settlement.
    These talks were the occasion for Morocco to highlight the evolvement of its position through the Moroccan initiative for autonomy and to recall its legitimacy and its conformity with the international law, as highlighted by the Security Council.
    63.On October 10th, 2011, the 4thCommittee of the General Assembly adopted a draft resolution on the Sahara issue (A/C.4/66/L.5), welcoming the process of negotiations and encouraging a mutually acceptable political solution to the dispute
    The resolution also calls upon the parties and the states of the region to cooperate fully with the Secretary General and its personal Envoy to find a political solution to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.
    64.Regarding the humanitarian dimension, Morocco has participated in several meetings and initiatives for the sole purpose of alleviating the suffering of the Tindouf camps populations in Algeria. In this context, it should be noted that the family visit program has been strengthened and continued without interruption, despite attempts to politicize this humanitarian activity by other parties.
    In the same context, a seminar on the Hassani culture was organized under the aegis of the UNHCR in Madeira (Portugal) in September 2011.

    The parties held under the auspices of UNHCR and in the presence of the Personal Envoy, the second review meeting on implementation of confidence-building measures in Geneva on 24 and 25 January in 2012. During this meeting, Morocco contributed positively to the adoption of new measures, including increasing the number of beneficiaries of the family visits program by air, by using larger aircraft. The parties have agreed to hold two new seminars and adopted a new action plan on CBM.
    65. During the ninth round of informal talksheld in Manhasset from March 11 to 13, 2012, Morocco reiterated its strong commitment to contribute effectively to an innovative solution that goes beyond the classical methods to end the current deadlock on the Sahara issue, expressing its regret that the other parties are sticking to their position, especially regarding the identification and the registration of the Tindouf camps population.

    Morocco recalled also that the autonomy initiative is a courageous initiative developed in response to calls of the Security Council of the UN for a political, negotiated and mutually acceptable solution. This initiative is open to discussion and negotiation.

    In addition, Morocco has reported that the ninth round of informal talks took place in a context marked by the positive changes due to « Arab Spring », and the new dynamic in the relations between the Maghreb countries. The Moroccan delegation noted, in this respect, that this new regional order requires all parties to change their perception and adopt a constructive new approach.
    66. The Security Council resolution 2044(2012) unanimously adopted April 24, 2012, consolidated the parameters set by the Council to reach a final political solution to the regional dispute over the Sahara. It has reinforced the process of negotiations as single-track dispute resolution and enhanced innovative approaches.

    The preeminence of the Moroccan autonomy initiative was reaffirmed along with the cardinal principles of realism and a spirit of compromise as a means of achieving a political solution advocated by the Council.

    Similarly, the resolution reaffirmed the determination of the international community to promote responsible and sincere commitment of all parties in intensive and substantive phase of negotiations and avoid blocking strategies.

    Despite repeated attempts to instrumentalize the issue of human rights in the Moroccan Sahara, the Security Council welcomed the measures taken by Morocco, in the process of deepening political reforms in the Kingdom.
    Hence, the Council welcomed the operationalization of the two regional offices of National Human Rights Council in Lâayoune and Dakhla, and the positive interaction with special procedures of the Human Rights Council.

    The Security Council reiterated, for the second time, his appeal to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to proceed in accordance with its mandate and practice, to the identification of the Tindouf camps, in consultation with Algeria as the host country. This operation is no longer just a moral or legal responsibility, it is a political obligation confirmed by the Security Council.
    67. Morocco, while considering that the question of Sahara is currently going through an important stage, has undertaken a global assessment of the last developments which gave to the following three conclusions:
    • The stalemate of the negotiations process after the nine rounds of informal negotiations without any perspective of progress;
    • The unacceptable lapses in the last report of the Secretary General which are considered as unfair to Morocco;
    • The acts, statements and initiatives of the personal envoy and his unbalanced and partial course of action which are contrary to the mission he was entrusted with by the SG of the UN in his nomination letter dated January 2009, and in violation of the parameters defined by the Security Council of the United Nations,
    68. Morocco shared this assessment with the SG of the UN and requested him to take the necessary measures in this regard,
    69. On 15 June 2012, the SG of the UN appointed Mr. Wolfgang Weisbrod-Weber (Germany) as the new Special and head of the MINURSO in replacement of Mr. Hany Abdel-Aziz whose term ended in April 2012.
    70. Morocco took part to the 3rdmeeting of the CBMs evaluation program conducted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) between the populations of the provinces of the south and their families in Tindouf camps in Algeria, on 19 through 20 September, in Geneva with the participation of delegations from Algeria, Mauritania and polisario.
    The meeting focused mainly on the assessment of the family visits by plane and to the nonpolitical seminars organized in the framework of the CBMs. Implemented under the auspices of the UNHCR humanitarian protection global mandate and in conformity to the relevant international conventions, practices and decisions of the High Commissioner for Refugees.
    71– ThePersonal Envoyof the SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations for the Moroccan Sahara,Mr.ChristopherRoss,visitedMoroccoon 27 October, 2012.
    This visit ispartof the efforts being made torelaunch the political processwith a view to finding out a political, definitive and consensual solutionto the regional disputeover the Moroccan Sahara.
    72– The visit followed also the telephone conversationof 25 August2012, betweenHis Majesty KingMohammedVI,May God Assist Him, and Mr. Ban KiMoon,the Secretary General of the United Nations, which was the occasion to insist on the necessity to realize a progress in the settlement process on solid and sound basis, to abide bythe clear parameters contained in the UN Security Council resolutions, in particular, realism and compromise spirit and the recognition of the serious and credible nature of the efforts made by Morocco in the framework of the autonomy initiative.
    73– On 28thNovember 2012,theSpecial Envoy of theUNSecretary Generalin charge ofthe Sahara, presented to the Security Councilhis reportwhich came in conformity with SC resolution2044 (2012).The reportalsofollowed thephone conversation, dated 25 August2012, of HisMajestythe King,may GodAssistsHim with theUN Secretary Generalandtheregional visitof the Personnel Invoice of the UN SG in charge of the Sahara, M.Rosswhich coveredMorocco (Rabat andprovinces of theSouth), Algeria (Algiers, Tindouf camps), Mauritania, Spain andFrance;
    74–The reportconfirmsMorocco’s positionwith regardthe negotiation processincluding:
    • The stalemate in the negotiations and the need to give a new dynamic through a new approach while focusing on key parameters set by the Security Council for the visibility for this process
    • The need for a differentiation between the political, military, humanitarian and human rights aspects, while stating that it is the political aspect that is solely the responsibility of the Special Envoy;
    • The role and responsibility of Algeria to find out a solution to this artificial regional dispute and the need to normalize relations between Algeria and Morocco to progress in the negotiations;
    • Security threats and developments in the region impose a new approach based on greater coordination between Morocco and Algeria to counter threats including security in the camps of Tindouf.
    75-The report hasreceived positive feedbackfromsome membersof the Security Councilwho reiterated their supporttothe process ofnegotiations for apolitical solutionto the regional disputeover the Moroccan Saharawhile emphasizing therealism andseriousness of theMoroccaninitiativeof autonomyas a basisfor the settlement ofthis dispute. They also welcomedMorocco’s effortsin strengtheninghuman rightsthroughnational mechanisms andpositive interaction withthe relevant measuresof the Council ofHuman Rights. They also reiteratedthe need to givethe possibilityto the HighCommissioner for Refugeestocarry outpopulation censusof Tindouf.
    76-The Personal Envoyof the UN SecretaryGeneral for the Sahara, Mr. Christopher Ross, paid a visit to Morocco from20 to 24 March 2013 as partof aregional tourincluding Algeria(Algiers andTindouf camps), Mauritania and Spain.The aim of the visitwas to relaunch the process ofnegotiationson clear foundations such as defined bythe UN Security Councilresolutions,in order to reach a negotiated political and mutually acceptable solution to the regional disputeover the Moroccan Sahara. Thevisit comes in a special context, marked by therecentsecurity developments inthe Sahel region and the various calls aimed at finding a political solutionto the dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.
    During his visit toRabat,thePersonal Envoy of the UNSecretary General for the Sahara had meetings with the Chief of the Government, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, the two Presidents of the Houses ofRepresentatives and Counselors, officials from the National Council for Human Rights, the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Issues, and theEconomic, Social and Environmental Councilas well as with representativesfrom the Civil Societyand Moroccan ONGs.
    The different Moroccan officialsreiteratedMorocco’s willingness to facilitate the resumptionof the negotiation processin order to achieve apolitical solution to this regional dispute,which would permit the return of Sahraoui families totheir homeland and the edification of theMaghreb. They also underlined the security threats posed byterrorist groups in the region andthe need to address them,while stressing the importance ofthenormalization of the relations between Morocco and Algeria.
    Mr.Rossalso had talkswith the local authoritiesinLâayoune and Dakhlaas well as with the representativesofthe civil society and NGOs.
    78-On April 25th2013, the Security Counciladopted unanimouslyresolution 2099 whichcomes as a continuation of previous resolutions adopted since 2007 by:
    • Confirming, once again, the pre-eminence of the autonomy initiative presented by Morocco and the parameters for a final political settlement based on realism and compromise ;
    • Requesting the parties to invest, in good faith, in the negotiation process while taking into account efforts made by Morocco since 2006;
    • Calling up on Algeria to invest, in a constructive manner, in the quest of a political solution to this regional conflict, through a direct and precise call made to neighbouring States to be more resolutely involved, in order to end the present deadlock and move forward to a final political solution;
    • Recognizing explicitly that the dispute settlement, combined with cooperation between the UMA Member-States, will contribute to stability and security in the Sahel region;
    • Comforting the Moroccan position and underlying the request for a census of the Tindouf camps population, and encouraging, for the first time, efforts made to this end.
    Despite the other parties’ attempts to exploit human rights issues to achieve political ends, the resolution confirms that the MINURSO mandate and activities will be maintained in their current state, and does not stipulate any mechanism implying directly or indirectly, any sort of international human rights monitoring. On the contrary, it recognizes and hails the stages covered by Morocco in the consolidation of the National human rights council as well as the Kingdom’s voluntary interaction with special procedures stemming from the Human rights Council.
    79– The68thsession of the UN GeneralAssembly adopted, without a vote, thedraft resolution (A/C.4/68/L.5) that supportsthe negotiation processin order to achievea just,lasting political and mutually acceptablesolution and welcomesthe commitment of the parties to continue to show the political will continuously shown and workin an atmosphere propitiousfor dialogue in orderto enter,in good faithand without preconditions, ina moreintensive negotiations phasetaking into account effortsmade and developmentssince 2006.
    80–The Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General for the Sahara, Mr. Christopher Ross undertook a visit to Morocco on 14 to 18 October 2013. This visit is part of efforts to revitalize the political process aimed at reaching a final and consensual political solution to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara. It comes as well as part of a tour in the camps of Tindouf, Mauritania and Algeria.
    During this visit, Dr. Ross held a meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr.Abdelilah Benkirane, as well as with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Mr. Salahddine Mezouar in the presence of the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Mrs. Mbarka Bouaida, the Minister of Interior, Mr. Hassad, the President of the House of Counselors, Mr.Biadillah and the President the House of Representatives, M.Ghellab. During this visit, the UN official also met, Mr.Christopher Ross also held talks with representatives of political parties and the civil society as well as with local officials in the southern provinces
    Discussions with the UN official focused on ways and means to lay the proper foundation for a resumption of negotiations between the parties. Moroccan officials reaffirmed their commitment to the autonomy plan in the southern provinces proposed by Morocco, as «the only way «to solve the artificial dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.
    81- On April 29, 2014, the Security Council adopted, by the unanimity of its members, the resolution on RES/2152/2014 on the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara which confirms strongly and without any ambiguity, the line of work that was his, in recent years.
    His Majesty the King Mohammed VI had, during a telephone conversation with the Secretary General of the United Nations, underlined the need to preserve the parameters of the negotiation as defined by the Security Council, to maintain the current procedures for the involvement of the United Nations.
    The UN resolution RES/2152/2014:
    • Preserves the framework and the facilitation parameters conducted by the United Nations to put an end to this regional dispute. Indeed, the Security Council underlines the centrality of negotiation as the only way of resolving this dispute, and reaffirms the primacy of the autonomy initiative presented by Morocco, whose efforts for its development have been qualified as  » serious and credible « , and further calls for negotiations on the basis of  » realism and a spirit of compromise  » to reach a final political solution to this regional dispute.
    • Stresses, particularly, on the regional dimension of the dispute and calls Algeria:
    • To get involved, constructively and directly in the process of finding a political solution, since it requests it, anew, to cooperate fully with the United Nations and with one another, and to engage more decisively to end the current impasse and to achieve progress towards a political solution;
    • Regarding the responsibilities of Algeria on « the unprecedented human and humanitarian situation in the camps of Tindouf , » the resolution requests again that the registration of refugees in Tindouf camps be considered, and encourages making efforts in this regard;
    • To strengthen regional cooperation, since the Council has recognized, anew, that the political solution to this long-standing dispute and the strengthening of the cooperation between the Member States of the Maghreb Arab Union, would contribute to the stability and security in the Sahel region.
    • Highlights the actions of Morocco in the consolidation of the promotion and protection of human rights, while welcoming the recent measures and initiatives taken by Morocco to enhance the Committees of the CNDH in Dakhla and Lâayoune, and the current interaction of the Kingdom with the special procedures of the Human Rights Council.
    82-Morocco remains committed with seriousness and good faith to the initiatives and efforts of the UN aimed at overcoming the deadlock and ending the current situation, in order to reach a realistic, definitive and mutually accepted political solution on the basis of the Moroccan initiative and in total respect of the sovereignty and integrity of the Kingdom.

    SOURCE : Internal note of morocca foreign affairs ministry

  • Wikileaks in Morocco: a soap opera with paid foreign journalists

    Since early October, Chris Coleman, an anonymous profile, and the Moroccan authorities play cat and mouse in social networks. The first hanging, especially in Dropbox, a free online storage service, confidential documents and emails that advertise through Twitter; the seconds request that these files get deleted and have even managed to close the account from which they much incordian. He opens another.
    Whoever is hidden behind Chris Coleman is not a pro-style Julian Assange and Wikileaks team. It’s probably a hacker, with sympathy for the Saharawi independence movement, judging by some of the profiles that he follows on Twitter. If he was more adept and had more resources would have opened a website on a remote server on which he could hang the stolen material.
    The « papers » released by Chris Coleman expose the work of Morocco’s foreign intelligence service, the Directorate General for Research and Documentation (DGED) led by Yassin Mansouri, to get think tanks and journalists from the United States and France – there is also a case in the United Kingdom to defend the « Moroccanness » of Western Sahara and in the process, to lash out against Algeria and the Polisario Front.
    The key man appears to be Ahmed Charai , editor of the weekly L’Observateur du Maroc, ordering transfers or makes cash payments and gives an account of it to Mansouri or his chief of staff. By carrying large amounts of cash and not declaring them he was arrested in September 2011 at the Dulles Airport (Washington). He has admitted that his email has been hacked since 2010, but ensures that documents posted were manipulated. He does not explain in what has consisted the alteration.
    Charai exchanged emails with French journalists who charge 6,000 per article or asking him an advance of 38,000 euros in hand on the pretext that they had to move house. In return he was told that they would leave in their information, for example, that the Al Qaeda terrorists who had kidnapped two Frenchmen in Mali came from the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf or that the Autonomous Movement of Kabylia, in Algeria, is gaining weight.
    If he was smarter he wouldn’t have mixed keen documents with other private and intimate and also irrelevant, as the wedding photos and letters from the vice Minister Foreign Affairs of Morocco, creating some confusion. It costs a little to separate the chaff from the wheat.
    In his emails none of the Spanish journalist or think-tank are mentioned though, through the public company Chérifien Office des Phosphates (OCP), Rabat funds programs in at least two of them. The plot, however, was a Spanish side that Charai who published in his newspaper, in September 2008, the canard that attributed to former President José María Aznar paternity of the daughter of Rachid Dati. The Provincial Court sentenced him in 2011 to compensate Aznar paid him 90,000 euros.
    Only the Algerian press and some online publications related to the Polisario, as the blog of Professor Carlos Ruiz Miguel, have echoed these revelations. Moroccan mainstream press has ignored them. A handful of the other digital media has been collected them, but to emphasize, usually in financial documents or the recommendations of the Foreign Minister, Salaheddin Mezzouar, so his daughter can get a good job.
    In The Moroccan Parliament there has not been question about how espionage spends public money on seducing journalists -that’s a secret subject- but on a McKinsey report, commissioned by the Royal Palace and delivered in September on the strategy to continue to develop the country. Chirs Coleman put it in Dropbox. Nobody has expressed any concern in Rabat because of their secret service emails come out to light.
    If the lack of debate in Morocco is not too surprising; the absence of reactions in France is striking. The journalists whose names appear in the papers of Chris Coleman are not strangers. Three are renowned experts in the Maghreb-a fourth plays a key position in the television with more audience-and the revelations of Chris Coleman throw suspicion on everything that had been written in recent years gatherings.
    France is the European country in which the media devotes more attention to the Maghreb, but the dirty laundry uncoverd by anonymous of Twitter has not been published, as of today, not a single line. Maybe in France as well, dog doesn´t eat another dog.
    Non official translation of Salamu Haddi

  • Médiation algérienne au Mali – L’obsession de Mohammed VI

    Dans la diplomatie marocaine, tous les gestes et toutes les initiatives sont basés sur un objectif : réaliser la colonisation du Sahara Occidental d’une manière définitive et faire du Maroc la première puissance économique et militaire en Afrique grâce aux nombreuses richesses naturelles de l’ancienne colonie espagnole et permettre à la France d’en profiter.
    Par conséquent, c’est dans ce contexte que rentre la mini-tournée programmée par Mohammed VI au Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon et Guinée. Ainsi, le roi du Maroc n’a pas changé la liste de ses destinations africaines. Toujours les mêmes. Ils se comptent avec les doigts d’une seule main et ils partagent avec le Maroc un point commun : la survie de leurs régimes ne dépend que des faveurs de la France et ils constituent les derniers vestiges de la Françafrique où se trouvent encore des bases militaires françaises pour « sauvegarder les intérêts de la France ». Tous des régimes corrompus qui ont contribué au financement illégal des campagnes présidentielles françaises, le point faible de tous les dirigeants français. Selon un câble américain publié par Wikileaks, Nicolas Sarkozy et Jacques Chirac, ainsi que le Parti socialiste français, auraient bénéficié de l’ argent Banque des Etats de l’Afrique centrale (BEAC) pour financer leur activité politique. « Majesté, je dois beaucoup à votre père » avait déclaré Jacques Chirac au roi Mohammed VI en signe de reconnaissance pour l’argent que le roi Hassan II lui avait offert pour ses campagnes électorales. 
    A Abidjan, le président Alassan Ouattar a carrément été intronisé par les troupes françaises stationnées en Côte d’Ivoire qui avait organisé un raid contre le palais de Laurent Gbagbo pour le remettre à La Haye.
    En Guinée Conakry, le Lieutenant Dadis Camara a été soigné au Maroc après sa blessure pour ensuite se rendre au Burkina Fasso, un autre satellite de la France au Sahel. 
    A l’instar des marocains, les dirigeants de ces pays sont des marionnettes de la France. Ils ne vivent que pour réaliser les desseins de la France en Afrique. Leurs relations avec la France est basée sur le chantage et la corruption. 
    Le voyage du souverain marocain n’a qu’un seul but : saper la médiation de l’Algérie au Mali. Cette médiation qui suscite la jalousie et la colère des gouvernants marocains qui veulent plier les bras des géographes du monde pour qu’ils inclussent le Maroc dans la liste des pays du Sahel.
    Dans ses efforts pour comploter contre l’Algérie, le palais royal compte avec le soutien de ses maîtres à Paris qui ont fait pression sur le MNLA pour qu’ils boycottent l’appel que l’Algérie a lancé aux parties pour une rencontre exploratoire à Alger. Pourtant, l’initiative algérienne a été sollicitée par le président Boubacar Keita. 
    En soutenant une médiation marocaine au Mali, la France récompense le Maroc pour sa participation dans la force de pacification de la République Centrafricaine.
    Le reste du progtramme royale, sa visite en Côte d’Ivoire, en Guinée et au Gabon n’est qu’un complément visant à dissimuler le véritable objectif de cette mini-tournée du roi Mohammed VI : torpiller la médiation algérienne, déstabiliser les frontières sud de ce pays et s’offrir un protagonisme perdu à cause de ses velléités expansionnistes.

    A cause du veto de la France au Conseil de Sécurité, la MINURSO (mission de l’ONU au Sahara Occidental) ne peut rapporter sur la situation des droits de l’homme dans cette dernière colonie africaine.
    En vue de mettre fin à cette anomalie, nous vous prions de bien vouloir signer cette pétition adressée à Ban Ki-moon pour demander l’élargissement du mandat de la MINURSO pour la surveillance des droits de l’homme :

    https://secure.avaaz.org/fr/petition/Ban_Kimoon_Elargir_les_competences_de_la_MINURSO_pour_la_supervision_du_respect_des_dr/?copy

  • La grande manœuvre marocaine au Sahara (1re partie)

    Les origines
    Par D.M. Chetti 
    A la croisée des chemins entre l’Afrique et l’Europe, la Méditerranée, l’Atlantique et le monde arabe, le Maroc a toujours eu une place spéciale dans la diplomatie occidentale et dans sa planification stratégique, spécialement américaine. 
    Cette situation s’est renforcée depuis les attaques terroristes du 11 Septembre 2001 jusqu’aux récentes inquiétudes liées aux printemps arabes et la montée des extrémismes islamiques en conséquence, donnant plus de valeur à la pertinence opérationnelle et stratégique de l’alliance américano-marocaine. 
    Cependant, depuis quelque temps, les relations du Makhzen semblent s’effriter avec l’apparition sur la scène politique internationale d’une nouvelle configuration géostratégique qui ne cesse de changer au niveau de sa ligne, selon les intérêts des grandes nations de ce monde. 
    Considéré par ces mêmes grandes nations comme le pays le plus stable, libéral et démocratique du monde arabo-musulman, le Maroc a également été un partenaire important dans la lutte contre le terrorisme et la poursuite de la paix au Moyen-Orient par le biais de ses relations privilégiées avec l’état sioniste d’Israël. 
    C’est à ce titre qu’il perçoit la plus importante aide étrangère américaine et l’armée américaine participe régulièrement à de grandes manœuvres axées sur la sécurité et destinées à renforcer les capacités de partenariat entre les deux pays. 
    Depuis le retrait espagnol suivi de l’occupation du territoire sahraoui par le Maroc en 1975, les Etats-Unis ont dépensé des millions de dollars en matériel et en formation des forces armées royales sans que ces dernières ne réussissent à infliger une défaite décisive au Front Polisario qui revendique une indépendance totale du Sahara occidental. 
    Et pourtant, même après des décennies marquées par la guerre, avec une implication militaire et diplomatique significative des Etats-Unis, aucune solution royale ne semble émaner pour régler le conflit avec les nationalistes sahraouis, à part chercher la nique au voisin, dont la ligne stratégique a toujours été d’une clarté biblique ne souffrant aucune ambiguïté depuis les années Boumediene jusqu’à ce jour. 
    Il n’en demeure pas moins que l’un des piliers de la légitimité de la monarchie marocaine, sa revendication du Sahara occidental, reste un point de violents contentieux. Mais revenons un peu en arrière et essayons de comprendre les événements d’une manière chronologique. Lors de la Conférence de Berlin de 1884 à 1885, l’ Espagne a fait valoir son droit à une large bande de territoire le long de la côte atlantique, au sud du Maroc actuel. 
    La demande est fondée au nom d’une petite entreprise commerciale espagnole à Dakhla, alors appelée Villa Cisneros, qui était une excroissance des installations mises en place il y a plusieurs années pour soutenir des opérations de pêche en provenance des îles Canaries. En 1912, la France et l’Espagne ont convenu de la frontière pour leurs possessions africaines du Nord-Ouest. 
    La France a pris l’Algérie et la Mauritanie et le contrôle de la plus grande partie du nouveau protectorat du Maroc. 
    Les zones espagnoles du protectorat marocain occupaient une partie de la côté méditerranéenne et ce qu’on a appelé le Sahara espagnol. 
    Légalement, le protectorat marocain n’était pas une colonie parce que le sultan avait une apparence de pouvoir, en réalité entre les mains de l’administration française et espagnole. 
    Le Sahara occidental était donc bien une colonie à part entière de l’Espagne 
    Le territoire du Sahara occidental constituait alors une superficie de 266.000 kilomètres carrés coincée entre la côte atlantique, le Maroc au nord, la Mauritanie au sud et l’Algérie à l’Ouest. 
    L’archipel espagnol des Canaries est à environ 100 km au large de la frontière sud marocaine. 
    Il n’est pas entièrement couvert de sable. Au nord, Es Saqiyah Al-Hamra est une profonde ravine et le Guelta Zemmour possède de fortes montagnes et de nombreuses grottes. 
    Au fil des ans, les caractéristiques géographiques de la partie nord du Sahara occidental vont faciliter les attaques de guérilla contre les forces marocaines en fournissant une couverture des mouvements insurrectionnels et un repli vers les nombreuses caches dans les montagnes Ouarkziz. 
    La côte atlantique est assez rude et bordée de falaises. 
    Les villes côtières comme Dakhla, La Guera et Laâyoune sont équipées de ports, mais il n’y a presque pas de tradition de pêche chez les habitants sahraouis. 
    Historiquement, les pêcheurs dans les eaux au large de la côte du Sahara viennent essentiellement des îles Canaries. C’est en octobre 1957 que le nouvellement indépendant Etat marocain adoptera officiellement l’idéologie du Grand Maroc et la dynastie alaouite jalonnera sa légitimité en partie sur la préservation de ses «Provinces du Sud», comme elle aime à dénommer le Sahara occidental. 
    L’attrait populaire de la notion de Grand Maroc explique bien pourquoi Rabat a résisté aux pressions extérieures en refusant de transiger sur la question, même après que les coûts militaires et financiers de l’occupation du territoire Sahraoui aient contribué lourdement à l’apparition de troubles sociaux au royaume. 
    Historiquement, la domination espagnole sur le territoire reposait sur un système relativement efficace consistant en la présence d’une force armée d’occupation et d’administration. 
    Malgré cela, les autorités espagnoles n’ont jamais réussi à comprendre comment l’évolution géographique et les conditions sociales ont fomenté la montée de la résistance nationaliste, en particulier parmi les jeunes Sahraouis. 
    Après le retrait espagnol du territoire en 1975, le Maroc a mené une campagne militaire brutale contre le Polisario et un grand nombre de personnes ont fui vers des camps de réfugiés. Conséquence : l’identité tribale traditionnelle s’est lentement effacée pour donner naissance à une identité et à une conscience nationale sahraouie. 
    Les ressources naturelles ont façonné la géographie humaine ainsi que les intérêts extérieurs du royaume chérifien. 
    L’expansion du Maroc au Sahara occidental lui a permis bien évidemment de les exploiter pleinement avec un désir de développer le potentiel économique nouveau consistant en d’importants gisements de phosphates, de la pêche et d’une potentielle d’exploitation pétrolière.
    Comme composante de l’identité nationale marocaine, la croyance que le Sahara occidental fait partie intégrante du Maroc a bénéficié du soutien interne généralisée, bien que les coûts humains et financiers de la guerre contre le Polisario a également eu un impact négatif sur sa popularité. 
    Alors que le président algérien feu Houari Boumediene proposait que les trois pays soutiennent le mouvement de libération du peuple sahraoui en collaborant pour expulser l’occupant espagnol du Sahara occidental, le roi Hassan II préférait voir les Espagnols rester que d’avoir un Etat indépendant sous la tutelle algérienne.
    Lors de la rencontre de juillet 1973 entre les trois chefs d’Etat, Hassan II accusera directement l’Algérie d’avoir trahi sa parole. Et pourtant, l’Algérie a fait comprendre à plusieurs occasions et d’une manière officielle au Maroc qu’elle ne réclamait pas le Sahara, ni une partie du Sahara occidental. 
    Lors des négociations entre le Maroc, l’Algérie, la Mauritanie et l’Espagne à propos du Sahara en 1973, Hassan II imposa sa position selon laquelle «le Sahara doit être marocain, à défaut, il reste espagnol, mais il ne sera jamais ni algérien ni indépendant».
    C’est ce qu’ont révélés plusieurs télégrammes diplomatiques américains rendus publics récemment par Wikileaks
    En réalité, du point de vue géostratégique, il faut considérer le Sahara occidental comme une zone tampon pour le Maroc. La perspective d’un Sahara indépendant ou sous l’influence algérienne est à ce point inenvisageable qu’il promettait déjà de faire la guerre si cela devait se produire. 
    Sa crainte c’est que si l’Algérie s’en saisissait ; le royaume serait enclavé, donc plus faible et vulnérable aux pressions algériennes. 
    Le roi Hassan II n’aurait jamais pu tenir ce genre de discours belliqueux si les Etats-Unis ne lui avaient pas fourni l’assurance et le soutien nécessaire pour faire la guerre. 
    C’est d’ailleurs ce que révèle Henri Kissinger dans ses mémoires, l’Amérique voulant empêcher une zone d’influence communiste aux portes du palais.
    L’Echo d’Algérie, 21/12/2013

  • Sahara Occidental : La délation érigée en diplomatie par le Maroc

    Jalousie, envie, haine, sont exactement les sentiments qui animent les dirigents marocains envers l’Algérie à cause de sa défense du principe d’autodétermination au Sahara Occidental.
    Selon Wikipedia, la délation désigne une dénonciation méprisable et honteuse. Elle consiste à fournir des informations concernant un individu, en général à l’insu de ce dernier, souvent inspiré par un motif contraire à la morale ou à l’éthique et donc honteuse.
    Tournée contre un individu ou un groupe d’individus, ajoute la même source, la délation est faite par un délateur, individu ou groupe de personnes, pour son gain propre (s’enrichir et accaparer les biens d’autrui) ou pour lui nuire de manière malveillante (jalousie, envie, haine). 
    Jalousie, envie, haine, sont exactement les sentiments qui animent les dirigents marocains envers l’Algérie à cause de sa défense du principe d’autodétermination au Sahara Occidental.
    La jalousie a été révélée par une note diplomatique américaine du 18 mai 2007 sur une rencontre entre l’assistante du président américain pour la sécurité intérieure et l’antiterrorisme, Frances Fragos Townsend et Khalid Zerouali, responsable de la sécurité des frontières marocaines au ministère de l’Intérieur qui « s’est hérissé » lorsque les responsables américains ont cité l’Algérie comme « un modèle » dans la lutte anti-terroriste en Afrique du Nord. Pour Zerouali, « le Maroc est beaucoup plus stable et sûr alors que je ne peux pas voyager d’Alger à Oran sans crainte ».
    La haine que le régime marocain voue à l’Algérie est palpable dans l’animosité qui caractérise les citoyens marocains envers l’Algérie et dans les discours officiels, même ceux du roi Mohammed VI, qui pointent l’Algérie à chaque que l’échec de leur politique se met en évidence aux yeux du peuple marocain. 
    A cela s’ajoute la rage née d’un sentiment d’impuissance devant la légalité internationale qui s’oppose à offrir le territoire du Sahara Occidental et ses nombreuses richesses dans un plateau d’argent au Maroc. 
    Tout cela a poussé le Maroc à adopter la délation comme arme de guerre contre le voisin de l’Est.
    Dans une révélation de Wikileaks, un câble américain datant du 21 septembre 2006, le secrétaire général du ministère des Affaires étrangères, Omar Hilale, siffle à l’oreille de l’ambassadeur américain à Rabat que l’Algérie cherche à développer un programme nucléaire militaire. « un Iran doté de l’arme nucléaire serait un désastre pour la région et spécialement pour le Maroc. Cela provoquerait une course à l’armement dans la région et cela accélèrerait la poursuite de ce qu’il a décrit comme un programme nucléaire militaire algérien similaire même s’il n’est que naissant », affirme-t-il. « Si l’Iran réussit, dans les dix ans, d’autres pays du Moyen-Orient auront la bombe et les Algériens suivront peu après, a-t-il dit », ajoute le câble.
    Selon des médias proches du Makhzen, le Maroc envisage de poser une ligne barbelée le long de sa frontière nord avec l’Algérie contre l’inflitration de migrants subsahariens. L’information rapportée par la presse marocaine n’a été ni confirmée ni démentie par une source officielle à Rabat. C’est la manière du Makhzen de dire aux européens que l’Algérie est coupable dans la question de migration. La raison du délire marocain est que Rabat est accusé de maltraiter les subsahariens. Alors, on accuse l’Algérie et on prétend vouloir régulariser les africains qui se trouvent déjà sur le territoire marocain. Comble du mensonge : Au même temps, des subsahariens sont refoulés à la frontière avec l’Algérie et la Mauritanie.
    Photo : France24.com

  • Rabat et ses alliés du Golfe mis à nu par l’accord entre l’Iran et l’Occident

    Encore une fois, le Maroc est tombé victime de sa politique de dépendance des pays qui financent sa guerre au Sahara Occidental. Pour imposer sa colonisation de l’ancienne colonie espagnole, Rabat aura tout fait pour satisfaire les demandes de l’Amérique de Bush, de la France et de l’Arabie Saoudite. En vain.
    Le 6 mars 2009, le gouvernement marocain annonça la rupture des relations diplomatiques entre le Maroc et l’Iran. Une dépêche de Wikileaks publiée par Le Monde en 2010 révèlera que les saoudiens étaient derrière la décision marocaine.
    Aujourd’hui, au moment où le monde se réjouit de l’accord signé entre les 5+1 et l’Iran, le gouvernement marocain est resté muet sur l’affaire. Hésitant entre soutenir l’accord applaudi par les USA ou le critiquer pour satisfaire les monarchies du Golfe qui voient cet accord d’un mauvais œil. Une position qu’ils partagent, bizarrement, avec Israël.
    L’illégalité de son occupation du Sahara Occidental, territoire reconnu non autonome depuis 1963 par l’ONU, pousse le Maroc à s’allier avec le diable et à soumettre sa politique au suivisme aveugle aux pays qui, hier, ont soutenu, au nom de la Guerre Froide, l’agression contre le peuple sahraoui.
    Aujourd’hui, les anciens alliés du Maroc voient ses ennemis disparaître l’un derrière l’autre. Le communisme est mort, l’Iran est en train de se réconcilier avec l’Occident. Il reste la honte de ceux qui ont cultivé la politique du suivisme au détriment des principes de la diplomatie et de la moralité. A leur tête, le Maroc et ses amis du Golfe.

  • Les deux Maroc’s du roi Mohammed VI

    A chaque fois que le Maroc est épinglé par la communauté internationale dans la question du Sahara Occidental ou des droits de l’homme, le gouvernement marocain tente de provoquer l’inquiétude de la communauté internationale sur le sort de la monarchie au Maroc. 
    Le dernier brouhaha concerne une mystérieuse vidéo publiée sur Internet prenant pour cible le roi du Maroc, Mohammed VI et menaçant de commettre des attentats dans son pays. Un canular qui tombe à pic puisqu’il détourne l’attention de la fosse commune récemment découverte dans la périphérie de la localité d’Amgala qui dévoile les mensonges des instances créées par le Maroc en vue de concilier le pays avec son passé.
    Dans le règne de Mohammed VI, il y a deux Maroc. Un qui est, selon les déclarations des responsables marocains, un « havre de paix ». C’est le Maroc qui veut faire promouvoir le règne de Mohamed VI et attirer les touristes et investisseurs en vue de donner un souffle à une économie marocaine en agonie.
    L’autre Maroc c’est celui d’un pays qui veut convaincre ses alliés occidentaux que le destin de la monarchie au Maroc est lié à l’occupation du Sahara.
    Faute d’arguments légaux pour imposer sa colonisation du Sahara Occidental, Rabat affiche son occupation de ce territoire comme un « sujet sensible ». La France se sert de cet argument pour justifier son soutien aveugle au Maroc dans sa politique d’expansionnisme et violation des droits de l’homme.
    C’est ce Maroc qui multiplie les communiqués de démantèlement de dizaines de cellules terroristes dont les membres n’ont jamais été présentés à la justice. Pire encore, certaines opinions au Maroc vont jusque accuser le Makhzen d’être derrière l’attentat de Marrakekch du 28 avril 2011, deux jours avant la réunion du Conseil de Sécurité sur la question du Sahara Occidental et en plein apogée du Printemps Arabe. Les marocains se demandent encore comment se fait-il que les caméras qui surveillent la place Jamaâ El Fna, la plus touristique des places marocaines, et où est situé l’Argana, n’était pas en fonctionnement le jour de l’attentat. A cela s’ajoute qu’Al Qaida a nié, dans un communiqué publié sur l’agence mauritanienne ANI, toute implication dans cet attentat qui a endeuillé le Maroc.
    Le gouvernment marocain, comme tout animal blessé, quand il se trouve acculé, meme si il n’a aucune chance de gagner, au dernier moment il va attaquer quoi qu’il lui en coute. 
    C’est le Maroc jaloux de la position d’avant-garde de l’Algérie dans la lutte anti-terroriste. Le Maroc de Khalid Zarouali, responsable du département de la sécurité des frontières marocaines au ministère de l’Intérieur qui, selon une note publié par Wikileaks, « s’est hérissé » lorsque les officiels américains ont cité l’Algérie comme « un modèle » dans la lutte anti-terroriste en Afrique du Nord. Pour Zerouali, « le Maroc est beaucoup plus stable et sûr alors que je ne peux pas voyager d’Alger à Oran sans crainte ».
    Le timing choisi pour les attentats et les communiqués liés au terrorisme est extraordinaire pour ne pas dire grotesque coïncidence. La vidéo qui se trouve derrière l’incarcération d’Ali Anouzla provient-elle d’Al-Qaida ou c’est encore un coup d’intox’ du Makhzen?

  • Mohamed VI, Emir des Fumeurs de Haschich, selon AQMI

    AQMI a qualifié le roi du Maroc d’Emir des Fumeurs de Haschich.
    Dans une vidéo publiée fin juin 2013, un des idéologues de la nébuleuse terroriste au Maghreb AQMI a dénoncé l’opération menée par la police espagnole contre une cellule chargée de recruter et envoyer des djihadistes en Syrie. « Ce qui est vraiment triste dans ces opérations est que son exécution était entièrement coordonnée avec l’armée de l’Emir des croyantes, pardon, de l’Emir des Fumeurs de Haschich », a écrit l’auteur en allusion au souverain marocain.
    Une nouvelle vidéo vient de paraître sous le titre de « Maroc : le royaume de la corruption et du despotisme » dans laquelle AQMI demandent aux jeunes marocains d’émigrer vers Allah plutôt que dans des pateras.
    Al-Andalus, le média d’Al Qaida au Maghreb islamique (AQMI),vient de diffuser une vidéo sur internet, la première à être consacrée intégralement au Maroc et à Mohammed VI. Elle intervient quelques jours après l’annonce par le ministère de l’Intérieur du démantèlement au Maroc d’une nouvelle cellule terroriste liée à AQMI.
    Intitulée «Maroc : le royaume de la corruption et du despotisme», la vidéo s’attaque pendant 40 minutes aux points noirs du régime marocain.
    AQMI commence par la corruption et l’affairisme du palais royal, citant les câbles diplomatiques révélés par Wikileaks et en faisant référence au livre «Le Roi prédateur» de Catherine Graciet et Eric Laurent. AQMI mentionne le rôle de Mounir Majidi et Fouad Ali El Himma aux côtés du roi et revient sur le classement Forbes de 2009 qui classe Mohammed VI parmi les monarques les plus riches de la planète. AQMI fait le parallèle avec la pauvreté de la population en montrant pendant plusieurs minutes des images des bidonvilles ou des douars reculés du royaume.
    Relations Palais-Israël
    AQMI s’attaque également aux relations entre le palais royal et Israël depuis l’époque d’Hassan II. La vidéo parle notamment du «comité de judaïsation de Jérusalem» à propos du Comité Al Qods, présidé par Mohammed VI.
    La vidéo s’arrête ensuite longuement sur la participation du Maroc à la «croisade contre le terrorisme» des Etats-Unis de Georges Bush : vols secrets de la CIA, sous-traitance de la torture à Rabat, Guantanamo. AQMI publie un extrait de la rencontre entre Mohammed VI et Georges Bush à la Maison-blanche en 2002, durant laquelle Mohammed VI exprime (en français) son plein soutien à la guerre contre le terrorisme.
    La vidéo revient aussi sur la fermeture des écoles coraniques de Marrakech du cheikh Maghraoui et sur la répression des islamistes au Maroc. AQMI diffuse également une intervention au Parlement de Bassima Hakkaoui, aujourd’hui ministre de la Famille, lorsqu’en tant que députée PJD elle dénonçait le festival Mawazine.
    «Émigrez vers Allah»
    Viennent ensuite des images de pateras et des témoignages de jeunes harragas. La vidéo montre alors le leader d’AQMI, l’algérien Abdelmalek Droudkel, appelant les marocains à «émigrer vers Allah au lieu d’émigrer dans des pateras», avant de montrer des images d’entraînement de jihadistes.
    AQMI conclut sa vidéo en diffusant des images de manifestations du 20 février en 2011, où les participants dénoncent la nature dictatoriale du système marocain.
    SOURCES: