Western Sahara: Researchers Criticize France’s Disregard for Sahrawi People’s Legitimate Rights
Several researchers assert that France’s support for the occupation of Western Sahara represents a significant shift in Paris’s stance on the Sahrawi issue, noting that this position “disregards the legitimate rights of the Sahrawi people.”
In a collective op-ed published Thursday on Mediapart, the researchers condemn the stance of the “President of the French Republic, who now officially supports colonialism.” According to these scholars, Paris’s official alignment with Moroccan positions undermines the legitimate rights of the Sahrawi people. This development occurs at a time when “the president has faced electoral defeats (European and legislative elections)” and the resigning government is “supposed to manage only current affairs during the so-called ‘Olympic truce.'”
The researchers argue that Paris’s support for Morocco’s proposed “autonomy plan” for Western Sahara will be detrimental to fostering a renewed partnership with Africa, accusing President Emmanuel Macron of ignoring international law. “It doesn’t take a ‘Mozart of finance’ or even a ‘Castafiore’ to understand that Emmanuel Macron’s stance will also be detrimental to a renewed partnership with Africa,” they contended.
They further criticize President Macron, labeling him the “Disdainful of the Republic” and suggesting that he has become an “international delinquent,” thereby aligning France with an outdated and unjust stance. They question whether Macron considered “for even a single moment that this decision might reassure African countries.”
“Neither Mauritania, South Africa, Nigeria, nor many other African countries will remain indifferent to the fate of Africa’s last colony and the role played by France in the non-decolonization of Western Sahara,” they warned. The researchers recall that as early as 2018, they alerted the public to France’s significant responsibility in the failure to decolonize Western Sahara.
“Despite censorship, we tried to inform the public about the collapse of France’s moral principles due to its support for the occupation of Africa’s last colony,” they emphasized. They lament that now “a line has been crossed, and Emmanuel Macron officially disregards the International Court of Justice’s 1975 opinion, all judicial decisions (African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and European Court of Justice), and UN resolutions recognizing the right to self-determination of the Sahrawi people.”
In this op-ed signed by Yazid Ben Hounet, Said Bouamama, Claude Calame, Michele Leclerc-Olive, and Alessandro Stella, the researchers believe that France’s official involvement in “this colonial adventure” is an extremely risky gamble for the country.
