A state of optimism prevailed in Morocco with Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections, amid questions about whether the US President-elect was planning to move forward with consolidating the decision he adopted in the last weeks of his first term when he recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Since Joe Biden assumed the presidency, the US administration has not issued any decision to change the step to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara, but it has not issued a new position supporting the decision.
A report by the Middle East Institute issued last August says, “The Biden administration found itself facing a difficult task, which is seeking to emphasize the importance of international law and the United Nations negotiating process to reach a permanent solution, while supporting the new American foreign policy, which would be controversial to reverse.” It may cause a crisis in relations between the United States and Morocco.”
Moroccan optimism
With Trump’s expected return to the White House next January, questions have begun about whether the US President-elect intends to take new decisions in the direction of supporting the Moroccan proposal, or whether he will take compromise solutions that will contribute to ending this decades-long conflict.
“Eid is two holidays.” Moroccans celebrate Trump’s victory on the anniversary of the March into the Desert
The anniversary of the “Green March,” which Moroccans celebrate on November 6 of each year, coincided with the announcement of Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections for a second term, which sparked widespread interaction from Moroccans who described him as “a friend of Morocco.”
In this context, Professor of International Relations at Mohammed V University in Rabat, Zakaria Abou El-Dhahab, says, “President Trump is best suited for the next stage for Morocco, as he can strengthen the position he took in 2020 by taking new decisions for the benefit of Morocco on the Sahara issue.”
But in light of Trump’s other priorities, such as dealing with Russia, China, and the war files in the Middle East, Morocco must, according to Abou El-Dhahab, “wait for at least a year and wait for a new ambassador to be appointed to make such decisions.”
The Moroccan analyst points out in a statement to the “Al-Hurra” website that after “completion of the arrangements at the level of appointing the American administration, American recognition of the Moroccan proposal can be confirmed by making visits to the southern provinces and opening the American consulate that was announced previously, which is a step that Morocco is waiting for from the United States.” .
Morocco also expects, according to the same spokesman, “that the United States will push work within the United Nations in order to push the Security Council to take decisive decisions to end this conflict, and that would also put pressure on Algeria to accept a peaceful solution, considering that self-rule is the only realistic solution that responds.” “For the aspirations of the population, whether in the Moroccan Sahara or with regard to detainees in the Tindouf camps,” he said.
Polisario’s position
On the other hand, the representative of the Polisario Front to international organizations in Geneva, Abi Bachraya al-Bashir, downplays the importance of Trump’s recognition of Morocco’s proposals on the Sahara issue and his future role in ending the crisis, saying, “If the solution to the conflict in Western Sahara in favor of Morocco was tied to a specific country or group of countries, it would have been The conflict ended a long time ago during the terms of Ronald Reagan in America and Giscard d’Estaing in France in the early 1980s.
Al-Bashir added in a statement to the “Al-Hurra” website that “President Trump, like Macron, can unilaterally recognize Morocco’s alleged sovereignty over the region, but he cannot impose this within the multilateral framework of the United Nations, nor can he erase the Sahara.” Western part of the list of 17 non-autonomous territories concerned with the process of decolonization in the world, according to the United Nations.
An American official told Al-Hurra: We support a political process in the Western Sahara file led by the United Nations
A US State Department spokesman said on Monday that Washington strongly supports United Nations efforts to appoint a personal envoy of the Secretary-General to Western Sahara.
Upon arriving at the White House next January, Trump and his team must answer, according to Al-Bashir, “a question about whether the decision to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty a month before Trump left power contributed to advancing the political process aimed at a just peace settlement,” adding. “The answer is clear. The situation has become tense on the ground and in the regional environment and is in an unprecedented state of tension that threatens to erupt at any moment.”
Al-Bashir refutes any fears on the part of the Polisario about Trump’s return to power, adding, “We have hope that Trump and his team will learn the lesson of the past era and make sure that the conflict is not as simple as they imagined. There is clear international law, and there are allies of the Sahrawi people whose point of view cannot be overlooked.” There is a people alone who have the right to make decisions regarding the final legal status of the territory.”
