Spanish opposition party rejects Morocco’s Western Sahara plan

The Spanish opposition’s Popular Party (PP) has rejected the Moroccan Autonomy Plan as a resolution to the Western Sahara dispute, according to the Moroccan government-friendly North Africa Post and agencies on November 17th.

The party is in opposition to the Spanish government’s position, which has expressed support for Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory. Spain is one of 130 nations that have endorsed the proposal to grant Western Sahara limited self-governance under Moroccan control, with the government’s support for the proposal dating back to 2022.

The PP has reportedly submitted a non-binding motion to the Spanish parliament, which urges the government to “clarify” its position on Western Sahara. Party officials have also demanded restrictions on the import of Moroccan agricultural products, over allegations of tax irregularities related to tomato exports that amounted  €70–77 million.

On October 31st, the UN Security Council voted for Resolution 2797, which endorsed the Moroccan Autonomy plan as “a most feasible solution” to a 50-year conflict which began when Spanish colonial rule over the region ended in 1975.

Morocco claims sovereignty over the Western Sahara, but Algeria supports the Iran-backed Polisario Front, a militant separatist group which claims to fight for self-determination for the indigenous Sahrawi people against what it calls the “Moroccan occupier.”

The Polisario Front first recognised the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in 1976 and has provided ongoing military and financial aid. However, the EU reaffirmed its long-standing non-recognition of the state in May, which was perceived as a diplomatic rejection of the militia’s legitimacy.

In July, the PP drew criticism from Morocco’s Istiqlal Party after it invited a Polisario Front representative to its national congress, while also urging the EU to exclude Sahara-origin products from trade restrictions. The meeting occurred despite Morocco urging that the Polisario Front should be classified as a terrorist organisation.

Sahrawi inhabitants of the Western Sahara have accused Morocco of exploiting the region. Concern was expressed over Morocco’s increased collaboration with foreign companies to extract resources from the territory’s Guerguerat region, which Sahrawi activists refer to as the “plunder corridor.”

Activists have accused Morocco of “greenwashing” its occupation through investments in the renewable energy market. Morocco has also been accused by pro-Algerian media of systemically displacing the Sahrawi people through land seizures and the destruction of homes.

Morocco recently commemorated 50 years since the “Green March”, when an estimated 350,000 Moroccans walked into the Western Sahara on November 6th, 1975. The territory was still occupied by Spain, and the march was sparked by then-King Hassan II, instructing Moroccans to peacefully cross the border and force Spain to relinquish control.

North Africa Post and agencies, Maghrebi.org