Green March day celebrated amid new diplomatic successes on Sahara issue
Morocco, History, 11/8/2004

Morocco is celebrating today the 29th Green March Day amid new diplomatic successes, including the recent withdrawal of recognition of the so-called sahrawi republic By Serbia-Monte-Negro.

An integrated strategy to diplomatically defend Morocco's territorial unity was enacted to defeat the arguments and positions of the enemies of the country's territorial integrity completed in 1975 when 350,000 marchers headed South to retrieve The Moroccan Southern provinces from Spanish colonialism.

The diplomatic strategy mainly consisted in creating new balances in the Sahara dossier informing world governments, international organisations and Ngos of the reality of this conflict.

The diplomatic move translated, inter alia, into the withdrawal of recognition to the puppet SADR republic by several countries and an international disapproval of the acts of fraud and international aid misappropriation by the leaders of the Polisario movement, backed by Algeria and claiming the separation of the Southern provinces from the motherland.

The government of Serbia-Montenegro (former Yugoslavia) announced in October it was withdrawing its recognition of the so-called "Sahara Republic." Like India and other countries, former Yugoslavia has now joined the nations respectful of international law and legality. Several countries, especially from Africa and Latin America, reconsidered their positions and withdrew their recognition of the so-called "SADR."

The diplomatic breakthrough by Morocco in international bodies regarding the Sahara has been crowned by a victory within the UNO when 89 countries abstained at a vote of a draft resolution introduced by Algeria on the issue in the fourth committee of the UN general Assembly.

Out of the 191 member countries of the United Nations, only 52 have voted for the Algerian resolution, while 89 abstained and 50 did not take part in the poll.

Morocco, in line with international legality, late last September, addressed a memorandum to UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, to clarify the Moroccan position on maneuvers targeting the Kingdom and tension escalation in the region.

In the memo, Morocco reiterated it commitment to work for a peaceful, political and lasting solution to the Sahara dispute. It also criticized Algeria's campaign to dispute the Kingdom's sovereignty over the Sahara. It stressed that Algeria's involvement in the dispute included military engagement, financial and logistic support and diplomatic backing to Polisario separatists.

In Early November, Morocco welcomed the adoption by the UN Security Council of resolution 1570 on the Sahara issue calling for "putting an end to the current impasse and for advancing toward a political solution." Morocco reiterated on the occasion willingness to cooperate with the UNO and all other parties to reach a political, lasting and compromise solution in the respect of its territorial integrity and national unity.

The Green march was launched by the late King Hassan II on November 6th of 1975 in the aftermath of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice recognizing allegiance ties between Morocco and Sahrawi tribes. The Moroccan initiative also followed the Madrid accords signed by Morocco, Spain and Mauritania.

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