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In its war against the United States recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara, Algerian lobbyists have pushed a little too far. Led by pro-Polisario senators James Inhofe (Republican Party) and Patrick Leahy (Democratic Party), 25 senators asked, in a letter sent February 17 to US President Joe Biden, to reverse the presidential decree signed by former US President Donald Trump.
In their letter, the 27 senators called the recognition, announced on December 10, an «abrupt» decision that «undermined decades of consistent U.S. policy». They also urged Biden to «reverse the previous misguided decision and recommit the United States to the pursuit of a referendum on self-determination for the Sahrawi people of Western Sahara».
«The United States owes it to the Sahrawi people to honor our commitment, to help ensure the Moroccans live up to theirs, and to see this referendum through. The Sahrawi people deserve the right to freely choose their own destiny. We hope that we can count on you to be a partner in this effort», they argued.
Polisario's allies
The senators behind this letter backed their request by a number of dates from the negotiation process, such as the 1997 «Houston Agreement», led by former United Nations envoy to Western Sahara James Baker, which supports a referendum on self-determination.
In January 2000, Kofi Annan, then UN Secretary-General, put an end to the identification commission set up for the identification and registration of potentially eligible voters, in order to complete preparations for the referendum. From 1993 to December 1999, only 2,130 people were entitled to vote from a list of 51,220 applicants in Western Sahara. Since then, the referendum option has disappeared from Security Council resolutions.
«The previous administration’s decision to recognize their claims has only served to reward decades of bad behavior by the Moroccan government».
It is worth mentioning that senators James Inhofe and Patrick Leahy are the biggest allies of the Polisario in the Senate. While the first one is mostly known for his numerous interventions on the Sahara issue, the second is behind a proposal submitted in October 2017 asking the State Department, then headed by Rex Tillerson, to «consult» MINURSO first before giving the green light to aid intended for the Sahara. The request was then rejected by the Senate.
This new letter is the latest maneuver in the lobbying war that Morocco and Algeria are waging in the United States to defend their positions on the Sahara issue. After Donald Trump's decision that recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara, Algiers chose James Baker, Christopher Ross and John Bolton to denounce the presidential decree of December 10.
Morocco responded with articles by Elliott Abrams, an experienced diplomat who worked alongside three Republican presidents, and Jason Isaacson, head of politics and political affairs in the American Jewish Committee.
