Spain Bears a Historical Responsibility Not Only Toward Sahrawi People but Toward All of North Africa (Sahrawi Official)

The adviser to the president of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, in charge of natural resources and legal affairs, Oubi Bouchraya Bachir, stated Friday that fifty years after the disastrous Madrid Accords, Spain continues to bear a historical responsibility not only toward the Sahrawi people but toward the entire North African region.

In a statement to APS on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Madrid Accords, Oubi Bouchraya Bachir stressed that “Spain bears a historical responsibility not only toward the Sahrawi people, but toward the whole region of North Africa,” adding that “Spain’s abandonment of its responsibility to decolonize the territory led to the outbreak of the conflict that still persists between Morocco and the liberation movement, the Polisario Front.”

The official noted that this conflict “hampers the process of integration and development within the Maghreb region and poisons bilateral relations between several countries in the area.”

“Fifty years after the Madrid Accords, the wound remains open and the tragedy of the Sahrawi people continues,” he said, adding that “the strongest condemnation of Spain’s decision lies in its turning its back on its international commitments and on its promise made to the UN to organize a self-determination referendum during the first half of 1975.”

This anniversary comes at a time when “Spain’s responsibility, both past and present, remains legally established, as it is still the administrative power of Western Sahara under international law and according to the ruling of the Spanish National Court issued in July 2014.”

The Sahrawi official regretted “Spain’s refusal to draw the true lessons of these fifty years and to heed Spanish public opinion and the political forces that support the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination and independence.”

He added that Spain “is obstructing the decolonization process within the United Nations by supporting the so-called autonomy proposal and by exerting pressure within the European Union for the signing of new trade agreements with Morocco, including Western Sahara, in blatant violation of the rulings of the Court of Justice of the EU.”

Signed on November 14, 1975, the Madrid Accords are described as a crime against the Sahrawi people, as Spain renounced its historical responsibility to complete the decolonization of Western Sahara by enabling the Sahrawi people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and independence through a free, democratic and transparent referendum, as recognized by the UN since 1966.