December 11th local time, Mohamed Salemou Ould Salek, the Foreign Minister of the People’s Liberation Front for the Independence of Western Sahara (Frente POLISARIO), said that Trump’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara was a “legally invalid decision and a political risk”.
He stressed that the deal made by the Moroccan government proved that its war against the Sahrawi people was a failure.
Salek said that Trump’s decision was invalid from a legal point of view. The international community, international organizations and international tribunals have not recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, and Trump’s decision is contrary to international norms and ethics.
Trump announced on the 10th that Morocco and Israel agreed to normalize diplomatic relations, and the United States decided to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over West Salah.
Western Sahara is located in the northwest of the African continent and is a former Spanish colony. After the withdrawal of Spain in 1975, the area was divided up by Mauritania and Morocco. The local Sarawa people established the People’s Liberation Front for Western Sahara and announced that an independent Arab Democratic Republic of Sarawa would be established through armed struggle. Since then, Mauritania has withdrawn from the occupied territories, Morocco has taken the opportunity to occupy about three-quarters of the land in Western Sahara, and the People’s Liberation Front for Western Sahara occupies the rest of the land.
Under the mediation of the United Nations, the People’s Liberation Front for Western Sahara and Morocco reached a ceasefire in 1991 and agreed to hold a referendum on the future of Western Saraha. However, due to serious differences between the two sides, the referendum has not been held.
At present, about 40 countries in the world recognize the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, and more than 60 countries either recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara or support Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara.
