In a column published in the daily newspaper Assabah dated Wednesday, November 19, journalist, trade unionist and politician Younès Moujahid outlined his vision of what the foundations of the implementation of the autonomy plan in the Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty should be.
After outlining a historical perspective on the artificial conflict created around the Sahara by the Libyan and Algerian regimes, Moujahid argues that the implementation of the autonomy plan for the Moroccan Sahara must begin with the integration of the sequestered people of Tindouf into the motherland, and nothing else. This means that Morocco's sovereignty over its Sahara is the political basis and the primary criterion to be considered for the sound implementation of the latest UN Security Council resolution.
In a second stage, it will be necessary to establish constitutional and legal principles, as well as international guarantees excluding any further calls for separatism and imposing respect for the laws of the central state.
Similarly, the institutions established through the implementation of the autonomy plan, as well as the major economic, social, and cultural policies, must reinforce the integration of the Sahrawi people of Tindouf into the Moroccan national fabric. This is about preventing and repairing the divisions created by colonization during the Francoist dictatorship, which attempted to fragment Morocco into several artificial entities. Unfortunately, it was the Algerian regime that adopted this colonial practice for over fifty years, before ultimately being thwarted by Morocco's patience and determination to reunify and defend its territory.
However, the author of the column warns against a practice that remains very common in Arab countries and some developing nations. Indeed, while political parties may be created in the southern provinces of the Kingdom as part of the implementation of the autonomy plan, under no circumstances should these parties be authorized if they are based on tribal or regionalist considerations.
