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The branch in the Sahara recently opened by the La République en Marche (LREM) party, currently in power in France, was discussed this Tuesday at the country’s National Assembly. During this meeting, MP Jean-Paul Lecoq from the French Communist Party (PCF) described the creation by La République en Marche of this section as «shameful». A creation which «could not have been done without the agreement - perhaps even the request - of the executive branch», he lambasted.
Describing a «French political permanence in the heart of a non-autonomous territory», Jean-Paul Lecoq thus drew on the Polisario Front and Algeria's repository to qualify the Sahara as a territory «occupied by a colonizing country». «This unfortunately illustrates the time we are living in when heads of state, from Trump to Macron, from Netanyahu to Mohammed VI, think they are acting with impunity by sitting on international law and spitting on the resolutions of official institutions like the UN or the European Court of Justice to ensure that their own interests prevail», he claimed.
A «regrettable» decision
The elected official, whose political formation criticized, a few days ago, the creation of the LREM antenna in Dakhla, also denounced what he described as «the reign of omnipotence and that of the scandal of a diplomacy of cynical compromises which in this case sacrifice the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination». He accused, in passing, Morocco of «torture practiced on Saharawi political prisoners» and «repression against the Saharawi population living in Western Sahara».
"La honteuse création d’un comité de LREM à Dakhla sacrifie le droit au peuple sahraoui à son autodétermination": Jean-Paul Lecoq (GDR) demande au Gvt de soutenir la création d'un siège sahraoui à l'ONU #DirectAN #QAG pic.twitter.com/BWeZofwgsF
— Assemblée nationale (@AssembleeNat) April 13, 2021
As for France, the elected representative criticized what he called a «blind support» of Paris for Rabat. «France is complicit in the pursuit of Moroccan settlement, of opening up to business and the systematic exploitation of these resources». While continuing to use the language of the Front, the Communist party MP questioned the French Secretary of State for European Affairs as to whether France would «support the request» of the Polisario to obtain a seat at the UN in ten days to «find the path of justice».
Answering to these remarks, French Secretary of State for European Affairs Clément Beaune referred to a «locally-taken initiative», which he «regrets», and that it «does not change France's position on this highly sensitive issue».
«Appoint a new personal envoy without waiting»
Recalling that «the conflict in Western Sahara still represents a permanent risk of tension», the Secretary of State considered that «the whole of this situation recalls the urgency of a single possible way; that of the resumption of the political process». «It is this path that France defends. France calls for calm, remains attached and committed to the search for this political solution within the framework of international legality and within the framework of the United Nations», he assured.
«We are on this basis with Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, in favor of a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution which respects all the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council», he added before affirming that «the Moroccan autonomy plan is a basis for serious and credible discussion that must be taken into account».
Clément Beaune also recalled his country's support for the United Nations mission for the organization of a referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), «whose role remains essential for the maintenance or return to stability and the prevention of tensions». «We also encourage, in this context, the Secretary General of the United Nations to appoint without delay a new personal envoy to allow this resumption of discussions. This is the line that France will defend again in the Security Council on April 21», the French government official concluded.
For the record, the announcement of the opening of a branch in Dakhla by LREM provoked the ire of Algeria, who decided to cancel, at the last minute, the trip scheduled for Sunday, of French Prime Minister Jean Castex to Algiers.
