German state media highlights success of Morocco’s strategy on Sahara issue

Germany’s state-owned media, DW, published a detailed article highlighting the success of Morocco’s diplomacy in defending the Kingdom’s sovereignty over the Sahara territory, while framing the dispute as opposing Morocco to Algeria through its Polisario proxies.

“Morocco’s strategy on the Western Sahara has paid off,” was the headline of the article which enumerates the diplomatic gains made by Morocco in recent years, notably after France joined a long list of countries that back the Kingdom’s sovereignty over the Sahara.

The conflict is on its way to “the end” wrote DW, saying “Over the past years, Morocco has gained more and more support for its claim on the region and this summer, France changed its diplomatic stance, too.”

French President Emmanuel Macron had expressed Paris’ position regarding the Sahara issue in a letter to King Mohammed VI on the Throne Day last month, stating that France considers the Sahara as part of Morocco’s past, present and future sovereignty and that his country will act accordingly.

France also made it clear that the autonomy plan is the only political solution to the conflict.

The US has preceded France in recognizing Morocco’s full sovereignty over the Sahara, followed by a Spanish position that recognizes autonomy under Morocco’s sovereignty as the only solution to the conflict. Germany has backed the autonomy plan, while 28 countries have already opened consulates in the Sahara territory, bringing their support for Morocco’s territorial integrity to a tangible level.

The DW report echoes recent analyses in international Think Tanks, such as the US Institute of Peace, which published a paper stating that the conflict opposing Morocco to Algeria and its Polisario proxies “is over,” with global heavyweights backing Morocco’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over the Sahara.

The DW paper also frames the Sahara conflict as opposing Morocco to Algeria, which has been using its Polisario proxies for decades to no avail.

However, the DW lacked fact checking with regards to the number of Sahrawis held in the Polisario-run camps in Algeria’s Tindouf. DW puts the number at 173,000 although the UN has repeatedly called on Algerian authorities and the Polisario militias to allow a census.

DW also claimed that the UN backs the referendum option, which had been agreed by the parties in 1991 but failed to materialize due to disagreements. Since 2007, the UN Security council has been calling the parties- including Algeria- to seek a politically feasible solution based on compromise, while considering the autonomy option as serious as credible.