Colombian Senators Highlight Prosperity in Moroccan Sahara, Criticize their Government’s Stance – Statement –

Colombian senators underlined the “great socio-economic development” and the security and tranquility prevailing in the southern provinces, and criticized the recognition by the current government in Bogota of the so-called “sadr”, an entity that “does not exist”. A statement signed by three senators, “legitimate representatives of the Colombian people”, who have just visited the southern provinces, states that “we were able to take stock in situ of the great socio-economic development of this part of Morocco, as well as peace, security and tranquility in which its populations live,” adding that this is very different from what some parties portray and totally opposed to the lamentable situation in the Tindouf camps. The three signatories of the statement, which was published on the Senate’s official website, are German Blanco Alvarez, President of the Colombia-Morocco Friendship Group in the Colombian Senate, and Paola Holguin Moreno and José Luis Pérez Oyuela, members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. They added: “thanks to this visit, during which we were able to get to know the southern provinces of Morocco, about which many people have preconceived ideas, perhaps without knowing the facts, we were able to corroborate that, on the ground, there is no phantom or self-proclaimed republic, because we only saw Moroccan territory, Moroccan institutions and authorities, and above all a population that has no doubt about the fact that it is Moroccan.” The three senators emphasize that the purpose of their visit is “to strengthen the friendly relations that the Republic of Colombia has maintained with the Kingdom of Morocco for nearly half a century, and also to reiterate our support for its sovereignty and territorial integrity, as expressed through the two motions we presented to the Senate of the Republic in October 2022 and November 2023.” They recall that during their stay in Morocco, they had “very fruitful meetings with the Speakers of the two Houses of the Moroccan Parliament, Mr. Enaam Mayara, of the House of Councillors (Senate) and Mr. Rachid Talbi El Alami, of the House of Representatives, as well as with Mr. Khalihenna Ould Errachid, President of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS).” Recalling that they had “witnessed the attachment and total belonging” of the local populations “to their homeland, Morocco,” the Colombian senators pointed out that “the United Nations does not recognize the self-proclaimed +sadr+, nor do 85% of its member countries (165/193). In addition, over the past few decades, more than 60 countries worldwide have withdrawn their recognition of this separatist movement.” “On the ground,” they add, “we have held several meetings with the regional and local authorities who, in the 2021 elections, were elected with the highest national turnout, as the legitimate representatives” of the populations of the Moroccan Sahara. Similarly, “almost 40% of African countries have opened consulates there, expressing their firm support for Morocco’s sovereignty and unity.” The Colombian senators added: “This visit has further confirmed what we have been expressing to all our country’s authorities. The importance of Morocco which, as a founding member, in 1963, of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), today known as the African Union (AU), exercises great leadership in Africa, focusing its efforts on the continent’s development, peace and security, which are also fundamental issues for all our countries.” During their meetings with senior Moroccan officials, the senators made a point of handing over the motion, adopted in November 2023 by the Senate and signed by 65 senators out of the 105 currently active, representing parties in the government coalition, as well as independents and the opposition, through which the Colombian Senate “reiterates unconditional support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Morocco,” the statement notes. “On October 30, 2023, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2703 on the Moroccan Sahara issue, which renews the mandate of Minurso for one year until the end of 2024, considering the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative, presented by Morocco in 2007, as the most viable political solution to end this regional dispute.” “We were also impressed by the high standard of Morocco’s tourism infrastructure, and by the way it has preserved its identity, its age-old history and the diversity of its three components – Arab, Amazigh and Hassani – taking advantage of all the advances in air, land and sea mobility to make it one of the world’s leading tourist destinations,” stressed the signatories. “It is for all these reasons that we reiterate, with full conviction and as legitimate representatives of the Colombian people, the bonds of friendship between Colombia and Morocco, and our willingness to further consolidate our institutional relations, within the framework of the Senate’s remit, which enables us to assess both national and international issues that we consider relevant to the interests of our country,” concludes the statement.