250 Political Figures Support US Recognition of Moroccan Sovereignty Over Western Sahara Region
Arab World
Rabat- Asharq Al-Awsat
A group of 250 political leaders and elected officials from 25 countries in Europe and Latin America signed a letter this week addressed to President Joe Biden, expressing support for the US’ recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara. “Mr. President, we, former heads of government, former ministers, elected officials, members of parliaments, have the honor to write to you to express our satisfaction with the sovereign decision of the United States of America to recognize the full sovereignty of Morocco over the entire territory of the Sahara,” read the letter, published by former Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Giulio Terzi. Among the signatories of this letter are former Czech President Vaclav Klaus, former Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales Cabrera, former Bulgarian Prime Minister Georgy Bliznachki, former member of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) Stephan Todorov Davidov, as well as several members of parliament and senators currently in office. “We can only welcome the US decision to recognize the autonomy initiative as the sole basis for a solution to the Sahara regional dispute,” they stressed. They pointed out that the US decision came at a time when the political process needed a “new impetus.” “We believe it opens concrete prospects for guiding the UN political process towards a final solution,” the letter added, indicating that they are convinced that the US, under the presidency of Joe Biden, will continue to move the Sahara issue towards a just and lasting solution through its continued support for the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative. Autonomy is the only way to end the suffering of the people living in the Tinduf camps in Algeria, to ensure reconciliation and achieve permanent peace and stability in a strategic region, by creating a real vector of peace, stability, and prosperity in Africa and even in the world, it explained. “We are concerned with the consequences that an indefinite extension of the status quo could have; allowing for acts of terror carried out by armed militias in a highly strategic area, and key to the stability of the African continent and the Euro –Mediterranean basin.” “We are delighted about the developments taking place in the Sahara Provinces, which continue to record honorable human development indices.” A progress that was made possible thanks to the New Development Model of the Sahara Provinces launched by King Mohammed VI in 2015, with a budget of eight million dollars. They noted that this development, which brings jobs and prosperity, is visible in infrastructure, hospitals, town planning, services, schools, not to mention economic projects of all kinds, agricultural, industrial, tourism, and social and solidarity economy. This development has gone hand in hand with flourishing democratic local governance. In 2015, the two regions of the Sahara recorded the highest turnout in the first regional elections held in Moroccan history. Today, Sahrawis, including former “Polisario” official, chair the two regional councils in the region through internationally recognized free and transparent elections, making them the only legitimate representatives of the region’s population, it read, adding that these elected officials propose, vote and implement, in contract with the State, the development projects of their regions in order to meet citizens’ aspirations. The management contributes a prelude to what the autonomy plan would offer under Moroccan sovereignty, with the creation of “regional legislative, executive and judicial bodies.” “We believe it is no coincidence that a growing number of nations, including the United States, support the Autonomy Initiative as a realistic, viable, and sustainable political solution based on compromise,” the 250 signatories stressed. “We are also delighted that the US has joined 20 other countries in opening consular representations in the Sahara, in the cities of Laayoune and Dakhla.” This decision, they said, not only recognizes Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara provinces, but also Morocco’s role as a historic link between Europe and Africa as a regional economic pole carrying many opportunities for investors from all over the world and prospects for future knowledge and employment for the youth of the African continent. They finally welcomed the Trilateral Pact signed between Morocco, Israel, and the United States, which will strengthen the prospects for peace in the Middle East, in accordance with the historic role that Morocco has played in advancing peace in the Middle East.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2831096/250-political-figures-support-us-recognition-moroccan-sovereignty-over-western
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