In his speech on Wednesday, November 6, marking the 49th anniversary of the Green March, King Mohammed VI directed messages to Algeria, omitting any mention of the Polisario.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Polisario repeated its usual accusations against Morocco, claiming the kingdom has «blocked all stages of implementing the United Nations-African settlement plan by consistently rejecting the referendum on self-determination». This process, however, is no longer referenced in recent UN Security Council resolutions on the issue—a point the King reiterated in his speech.
«Some continue to demand a referendum, even though the United Nations has abandoned this option due to its impracticality. At the same time, these are the same people who refuse to conduct a census of the populations held in the Tindouf camps, where, kept in deplorable conditions, they are humiliated, mistreated, and deprived of the most basic rights», he stated.
It’s worth noting that Morocco has long viewed Algeria, rather than the Polisario, as the primary force challenging its sovereignty over the Sahara.