Latest news with #Morocco-bashing
Morocco World
3 days ago
- Politics
- Morocco World
Western Sahara: Bolton Continues to Lead Anti-Morocco Crusade
Rabat – John Bolton, who Trump fired from his position as national security adviser in 2019, is keeping up his Morocco-bashing campaign in favor of Algerian-backed claims challenging Moroccan sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara. In a new opinion piece published in the Washington Times, Bolton urged the US to support the outdated referendum claims promoted by the Algerian regime. Bolton's latest plea is bound to fall on unreceptive ears For decades, Algeria's regime has been using the Polisario Front – a separatist group harbored in the Tindouf camps on Algerian soil – to advance its interests against Morocco by supporting referendum and self-determination claims. Ignoring Algeria's involvement in interference in the domestic affairs of other countries in the Sahel region, Bolton blamed Morocco's strong ties with the West as the reason that 'worked to the Sahrawis' detriment.' But he claimed that the situation is changing, suggesting that Algeria is seeking new alliances and the first-ever US-Algeria military cooperation agreement that the North African country signed at the start of the second Trump administration. This 'signals a new direction,' he claimed. To the dismay of Polisario supporters, however, recent developments suggest that their continued agitation for separatism in southern Morocco are bound to fall on unreceptive ears. In the past few weeks, many comments and moves by various US officials have given renewed vigor to Washington's support for Morocco's sovereignty over its southern provinces. Indeed, with the first Trump administration being the instigator of Washington's unambiguous embrace of Morocco's territorial integrity in December 2020, the incumbent Trump administration has in recent statements signaled its unwavering commitment to upholding Western Sahara and that came months after Trump assumed his office as the US President of the United States for the second time in the country's history. In April, the US sent a direct setback to Algeria's regime, stressing that its decision of December 2020 remains unchanged and recognizing Morocco's full sovereignty over its southern provinces. The State Department issued a similar statement following a meeting between Marco Rubio and his Moroccan counterpart . In it, the seat of American diplomacy made sure to remind Algeria and its advocates that Washington supports Morocco's Autonomy Plan as the only feasible political solution to end the Western Sahara dispute. All of this comes as the Moroccan autonomy initiative continues to gather steam and build unprecedented momentum. Over 113 countries, including once staunch supporters of the Polisario, have over the past decade joined the growing list of nations that see the autonomy plan as the only viable path to a lasting and realistic political solution to the Sahara dispute. Reality does not matter Yet this blindingly obvious reality does not appear to discourage Bolton from continuing his support for the lost, sidelined cause of Sahrawi separatism in southern Morocco. His latest anti-Moroccan tirade dismissed Morocco's growing momentum and turned a deaf ear on Polisario's alarming use of terrorist threats to give renewed urgency and relevance to its waning cause. Many observers have decried Polisario's recent terrorist attacks in southern Morocco, yet Bolton dismissed these condemnations as a 'new line of propaganda' against Sahrawi emancipation. 'The Polisario's opponents are trying a new line of propaganda, alleging without evidence that the Polisario has come under Iran's influence. This misinformation may well be intended to divert U.S. attention from Morocco's decades-long stonewalling against a referendum,' he claimed. Bolton's dismissive claims come in defiance of many reports, including some that have quoted high-level US and regional officials as confirming that there has been collusion between Polisario (in support of the Algerian regime's agenda in the Maghreb) and Hezbollah, the notorious Iranian proxy. In April, the Washington Post quoted sources as confirming that Hezbollah had been trainingPolisario operatives on Syrian soil, with the blessing of Iran and the fallen al-Assad regime in Syria. 'Over the years, Iran has fostered a wide array of proxy groups to advance its interests,' the report said, quoting a regional official and a third European official who said Iran trained fighters from the 'Algeria-based Polisario Front' that are now detained by Syria's new security forces. Such reports have resurfaced on many occasions in recent weeks and months, alerting the international community about Algeria's interference in the domestic affairs of several countries. 'Over the years, Iran has fostered a wide array of proxy groups to advance its interests,' the Post report went on to stress, quoting a regional official and a third European official as indicating that Iran had trained fighters from the 'Algeria-based Polisario Front' that are now detained by Syria's new security forces. Read also: US Senator James Inhofe, Western Sahara, and 'Alternative Facts' Meanwhile, Algeria's interference in its neighbors' internal affairs is now known to have not been limited to Morocco. Mali and its Sahel allies, Niger and Burkina Faso, have recently slammed Algeria's hegemonic ambitions in the Sahel. They accused the Algerian army of shooting down a surveillance drone near the border with Mali, lamenting that this was not an isolated incident as Algeria had long interfered in Malian internal affairs. Yet none of this was enough to convince Bolton of the veracity of Morocco's warnings against the security threats that Polisario and its Algerian sponsors represent not only for Morocco, but for the entire Sahelo-Saharan corridor. Like most hardened ideologues, Bolton prefers his tainted vision to the reality under his nose. Despite mounting evidence of Polisario's cancerous impact on regional security and stability, he remains convinced that the terror-linked militia is a peace-loving group seeking decolonization. The mountain of reports about Polisario's atrocities; the well-documented links between Polisario and terrorist groups in the Sahel; the tortured voices of oppressed locals denouncing Polisario and calling for a political solution to end their families' decades-spanning tragedy, the pile of UN reports acknowledging the impossibility of a referendum-based solution — none of this seems to matter to Bolton. And what's more, arguing that Western Sahara 'should return to its 1991 origins,' Bolton is implicitly suggesting that his truth is what matters to him, not the tragic reality on the ground. Tags: Algeria and John Boltonjohn Bolton and algeria
Morocco World
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
France Renews Unchangeable Position on Western Sahara
Rabat — France reaffirmed today its unwavering support for Morocco's territorial integrity and sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara. The Qaui d'Orsay issued a statement today following a meeting between Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita and his counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot, reaffirming the European country's 'unchangeable' position regarding the Sahara dispute. In the statement, France reiterated its position, recalling the letter Emmanuel Macron sent to King Mohammed VI in July last year. He said that for France, 'the present and future of Western Sahara fall within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty.' The statement from the French government also stressed its commitment to act in accordance with this position both nationally and internationally, reaffirming the clear and consistent support for Morocco's Autonomy Plan as the only framework within which this issue must be resolved. Barrot said that the autonomy initiative constitutes the 'sole basis' for reaching a political solution, noting the growing international consensus in support of the Moroccan initiative. The foreign minister also said that France intends to fully play its part in this regard, with France supporting Morocco's significant efforts for the economic and social development in the country's southern provinces. France's newfound position on Western Sahara has unlocked a fresh chapter of strong bilateral ties between the two countries. Macron and French officials have been constantly recalling France's unwavering support in favor of Morocco's position at the local and international level. During his historic visit to Morocco in October last year, Macron promised that his country would convey its support and defend Morocco's position at all international forums. 'Our operators and businesses will support the development of these territories through investments, sustainable initiatives, and solidarity for the benefit of local populations,' he said in a speech at the Moroccan parliament in October 2024. Macron also responded to the criticism and Morocco-bashing campaigns from Polisario supporters, including Algeria's regime, which recalled its ambassador to Paris as soon as France announced its decision to recognize Morocco's sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara. France's newfound position on the Sahara is 'not hostile to anyone,' he argued, adding that it is rooted in history and respectful of realities. Tags: Algeria and the Western SaharaAlgeria France tension
Morocco World
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
France's Highest Administrative Court Hands Algeria, Polisario Another Setback
The Council of State, France's highest administrative court, has stunned the Polisario Front and its supporter Algeria by rejecting a Morocco-bashing request by the pro-Polisario Confederation Paysanne that sought to undermine agriculture cooperation between France and Morocco. The confederation, a pro-Polisario group, had urged the French government to ban the importation of cherry tomatoes and Charentais melons from Moroccan southern provinces in Western Sahara . In its complaint, the pro-Polisario confederation cited the hostile verdict of the European Court of Justice, which accused the European Commission of 'violating' the 'right of self-determination' to 'the people of Western Sahara' and called for invalidating the fisheries and agriculture agreements between EU and Morocco. In response, the council said it had no legitimacy to order a ban on the importation of Moroccan products. This is because the EU court had 'clarified' in its verdict 'that a Member State of the European Union cannot unilaterally ban the import of agricultural products whose labeling does not comply with EU legislation regarding the indication of the country of origin,' explained the council. This means that only European authorities are competent to make the decision to ban or allow the import of products from a third country, the council. It noted that even EU ministers responsible for their respective countries' economy and agriculture 'could not legally ban the import' of the cherry tomatoes and melons harvested in Morocco's southern provinces. Read also: Analyst: European Commission Aviation Announcement Will Unlikely Affect EU-Morocco Ties The council's rejection of the pro-Polisario group's hostile appeal comes at a time when some pro-Polisario lobbying forces, including within the French government and Spain, are pushing to shift the EU and some European countries' Sahara stances in favor of claims challenging Morocco's territorial integrity. Another recent pro-Polisario maneuver is a report that French television channel M6 published on January 26. In it, M6 made serious allegations about Moroccan fertilizers being harmful. The French channel notably claimed that Moroccan fertilizers contain high levels of cadmium, a harmful substance that carries heavy metals that can cause irreversible damage to the human organism. Observers have stressed that the main reason behind these claims was to undermine the rapidly deepening France-Morocco ties. Since President Macron announced his country's support for Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara, Paris, and Rabat have repeatedly signaled their shared determination to further cement their booming bilateral cooperation in a wide range of strategic sectors. For observers, both this evolving friendship and France's support for Morocco's Sahara stance constitute an unacceptable development for Algeria. Tags: France and AlgeriaPolisario
