On Friday, May 20, the city of Laayoune hosted at the Palais des Congrès the first Maghreb forum in support of the proposal for autonomy in the Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty, organized by the “Maghreb Association for Peace, Cooperation and Development”, which was an occasion to announce the “Maghreb coordination to support the proposal for autonomy in the Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty.” “.
The head of the Algerian coordination and opposition, Walid Kabir, said that the Laayoune meeting “is an opportunity for frankness and a welcome space for honesty and frankness between the Maghreb brothers who are proud of their support for the autonomy proposal as a realistic and appropriate solution to the issue of the Moroccan Sahara and the artificial conflict around it.”
The Algerian opposition held his country’s generals responsible for fueling the conflict between the two brotherly countries, whose peoples are bound by bonds of love, brotherhood and common history. He also added that he hopes that “the ruling junta in the El Mouradia Palace will overcome the interest of Algeria and its people over the populism and political absurdity that postponed development in Algeria, despite being an oil country that has lagged behind in everything.”
Moroccan thinker and historian Hassan Orid said in his academic intervention that autonomy is the guarantor of Maghreb identity and a condition of stability in the region, pointing to the recent Spanish position, which declared its recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara through autonomy.
The same speaker also referred to the importance of the interventions of the Maghreb guests, including participants from Algeria, who “dispelled a lot of ambiguity”, declaring their full and unconditional support for the autonomy proposal, which Morocco boldly presented to end the artificial conflict over the Moroccan Sahara. The intervention of former Tunisian Foreign Minister Ahmed Wanis, who called for supporting the autonomy proposal as a realistic and pragmatic solution, recalling “the black history that always accompanied Algeria’s generals and their ambitions even in some Tunisian lands during the colonial era.”
The forum witnessed a significant and remarkable presence of all components of the Hassani community in the city and all the sheikhs and representatives of the Saharan tribes in this forum, whose leaders and organizers promised to be open to the various consulates general that opened in the city of El-Ayoun and the Moroccan Sahara in general within the framework of parallel diplomacy.
