Communist Parties Denounce Morocco’s Attacks on Sahrawi Republic

A number of communist and workers’ parties from around the world have denounced the arrangement whereby the United States will recognize Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara in exchange for the Kingdom of Morocco normalizing its ties with Israel. When Spain decided to give up this colony in 1975, Morocco moved to invade it, despite the expressed wishes of the people of Western Sahara for independence.

Since 1991 a ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario Front, the armed forces of the Sahrawi Republic, has been in force. But a move in recent months by the Moroccan government to intensify economic exploitation of the part of Western Sahara which it controls is leading to the danger of a major armed clash.

The Communist Party of Israel, or Maki, pointed out that the deal also entails the United States selling four advanced aerial drones to Morocco, and that it is a violation of UN Security Council Resolutions. The Israeli communists called the US-Morocco agreement “yet another imperialist move.” The Israeli communists recalled that the Kingdom of Morocco has had a long relationship with the Israeli government, which included Israeli help in the “disappearance” of Moroccan leftist leader Mehdi Ben Barka in 1967.

The Communist Party of Spain added its voice to the protest. The Spanish communists remind us that this action, in the waning moments of Trump’s presidency, is only the latest such move by the current US administration—moves which have included the transfer of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the recognition of Israeli rule over the Golan Heights and the illegal settlements. “Once again President Trump, like Morocco, ignores and disobeys the authority of the United Nations” and long-standing Security Council and Decolonization decisions, as well as international law.

The South African Communist Party (SACP) expressed once more its solidarity with the people of the Western Sahara. The SACP also called for the African Union to “reject the imperialist machination on our continent, and assert its democratic role… on African affairs… It is clear that the Trump administration’s proclamation involves other imperialist objectives, not to mention continued colonial oppression of the people of Western Sahara, occupation of their land, exploitation of their resources, the apartheid oppression of the Palestinian people, and occupation of their land by the apartheid Israeli regime.”

Image: “Sahara Libre”: A demonstration in Madrid for the independence of occupied Western Sahara. Photo: Mundo Obrero

(Communist Party USA)