By Rubén Tzanoff
Neither the Moroccan Kingdom nor the powerful people that support it have been able to defeat the Sahrawi people that is still standing. From the ISL, we actively support the demands for a Free Sahara.
On Saturday 12, there was the annual protest of the Sahrawi demand. A combative column full of flags and signs of Western Sahara left towards Atocha until reaching the Santa Ana Square. On the way they sang chants like “Sánchez answer, Sahara will not be sold” and “Morocco murders, Spain sponsors.” The protest was called by the State Coordinator of Solidarity Associations with the Sahara (CEAS-Sahara), under the slogan, “they will not silence us. Free Sahara now. The only solution is self-determination.” The protest coincided with two important events, one contemporary and one historical.
The UPR 41 farce
The first one took place last November 8. It was the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). This is a mechanism of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council which every four years examines the human rights situation in the member states. This time it was the turn of the Kingdom of Morocco. The session was a farce in which most of the delegations applauded Morocco’s deceitful “progress”, without mentioning the repressive reality suffered by the Saharawi people. It is a miserable attitude that gives encouragement to the Alaouite dynasty to continue committing crimes, torturing political prisoners, crushing democratic rights and freedom of expression. The Alaouite regime exchanges complicit silences for economic and political favors.
The nefarious Tripartite Agreement of Madrid
The second one was a historic event since on November 14, 1975, a few days before the death of the dictator Franco, the Madrid Tripartite Agreement was signed. Through this instance Spain ceded to Morocco and Mauritania its “Province of the Sahara”. This was the basis on which the Spanish colonialists began to shake off their responsibilities for decolonization as the “administering power”. It is the road paved by MINURSO (United Nations Mission for the referendum in Western Sahara) which has not guaranteed the referendum since its foundation in 1991. Attempts are being made to bury the right to self-determination in order to adopt Mohamed VI’s plans to grant the Saharawi people only a limited autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty.
The Sahara is still standing
The Moroccan monarchic regime invades, shakes and plunders under the protection of many complicities. It has the backing of the American and European imperialists, the UN, the genocidal State of Israel and the Spanish State. Not even with so much power have they been able to defeat the Saharawi people, who are claiming at all levels, fighting for their land and mobilizing in countries all over the world. On this occasion, it was the streets of Madrid that witnessed again the strength of a people that does not give up. Of a youth that drives a just demand for freedom, for the recovery of the territories occupied and plundered by the imperialist powers and capitalist companies.
More than ever, we are with the Saharawi people
The organizations that make up the International Socialist League (ISL) on all continents, as is the case of Socialismo y Libertad (SOL) – Spanish State, actively support the demand for respect for human rights and the realization of self-determination of Western Sahara. We have responded to the call for solidarity by traveling to the camps in Tindouf, with international campaigns, among which the most recent was #UPR41Morocco: “The Kingdom of Morocco violates human rights”, of which we reproduce only a few examples.
Cele Fierro, MST-Argentina, in the Workers’ Left Front – Unity
Ezra Otieno, Revolutionary Socialist League of Kenya
Ronney Turus, United Kingdom
Oleg Vernyk, Ukrainian Socialist League
Rubén Tzanoff, Socialismo y Libertad, Spanish State
And, in that context, on November 12 we participated in the march and rally held in Madrid, opportunity in which our Comrade Alejandro Bodart, of the MST-Argentina and coordinator of the International Socialist League was invited to speak.
The Saharawi people is still standing. They need the support of the mobilized peoples and the unity with the workers who defend their rights in the streets. We will continue to stand with them, supporting them in their demand for self-determination, on the road to a fundamental solution for a just system, without exploiters and oppressors, which can be none other than socialism.
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