Moroccan Sahara: three pillars for lasting peace, according to researcher Aïdara
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Senego
At a panel held by the Moroccan embassy in Dakar to mark 50 years of the Green March, Senegalese academic Abdou Latif Aïdara argued for a self-determination compatible with Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara, resting on three pillars including self-government for the populations. He based his case on UN Resolution 1514, which does not impose independence, according to Senego.
Senegalese researcher Abdou Latif Aïdara argued on Friday, at a panel organised in Dakar by the Moroccan embassy in Senegal for the 50th anniversary of the Green March, for a reading of self-determination compatible with Morocco's sovereignty over the Sahara. According to the academic, international law does not necessarily reduce self-determination to independence: United Nations Resolution 1514 opens up several possibilities, including integration into a state, provided the choice is free, voluntary and democratic.
"Every time we speak of a referendum, people think of independence. Every time we mention self-determination, people also think of independence. But no. According to the United Nations, self-determination can take several forms," he explained. Professor Aïdara stressed the need to preserve the territorial integrity of states and highlighted the notion of allegiance in the Islamic tradition as a way of understanding the historical relations between Morocco and the populations of the Sahara.
He argued for a political solution resting on three inseparable pillars: the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Morocco, self-government for the populations and their freely expressed adherence. "None of these three pillars stands alone," he said, arguing that their combination was the condition for lasting peace in the Sahara.
This stance is part of a series of expressions of support in Dakar, where Hassan Naciri reaffirmed Morocco's position on the Sahara on 6 November, after the UN's adoption on 15 October of a resolution enshrining Moroccan autonomy as the basis for a settlement.
