New Moroccan-European Agreement and “Polisario” Shouts Into the Void
As has become customary whenever reality blows contrary to its wooden ships, the Polisario Front released a fiery statement—at least that’s how it likes to describe it—denouncing a new agreement between Morocco and the European Union. This modified agricultural agreement now includes products from the southern regions under the same preferential terms granted to other parts of the kingdom.
The Front, which has previously celebrated any European decision it could twist to its advantage as a “legal victory,” has this time chosen to don the cloak of the victim, declaring that the agreement is a “flagrant violation of international law.” This dramatic outburst is not without its repetitions, straying from both the legal and political realities.
With a tone tinged with threats—though “toothless”—the Polisario pledged to resort to “all possible legal means,” a phrase that has become akin to a soundtrack for its statements, played each time events do not unfold according to its outdated scripts.
Interestingly, the Front, which tirelessly discusses “natural resources” and “the rights of the Sahrawi people,” conveniently forgets that the European market and its decision-making institutions no longer heed that worn-out tune. They are dealing with Morocco as a legitimate, stable partner in the region, with its sovereignty, institutions, and investments, rather than merely a player in an old play where the protagonists are stuck in the sands of Tindouf.
Observers note that the latest “outraged” statement is nothing more than a desperate attempt to cover growing disappointment within the ranks of the Front, which finds itself today isolated legally and politically, after failing to translate judicial processes into a substitute for the absence of popular and international legitimacy.
While awaiting the “possible legal means” it has promised—often culminating in yet another statement—it seems that the Moroccan-European partnership train is continuing on its path, while the Polisario still waves its whistle that no one hears.
