Hands down on the wealth of the Sahrawi people by the Moroccan Makhzen

The Makhzen and its accomplices plunder the Sahrawi fish wealth. D.R.

On September 22, 2022, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights dealt a heavy blow to the Moroccan Makhzen by issuing a judgment declaring that Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara is a violation of the right to self-determination and freedom. independence and that all States have an obligation to help the people of Western Sahara in their struggle for self-determination. “The Respondent States, and indeed all States Parties to the Charter and Protocol, as well as all AU Member States have a responsibility under international law to find a permanent solution to the occupation and to ensure the enjoyment of the inalienable right to self-determination of the Sahrawi people, to do nothing which would recognize such occupation as lawful or which would prevent them from enjoying this right”, https://www.african-court.org/cpmt/storage/app/uploads/public/632/e0f/3ad/632e0f3ad580e748464681.pdf

Tifarit, Guelta Zemour, Gdeim Izik, Walid El Batal… we remember it

The countries which fought against colonialism and which remember their struggle can only support the just cause of the Sahrawi and Palestinian peoples. This Tuesday, October 18, the President of the Republic of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, a former trade unionist who knew prison under the apartheid regime, received the Saharawi President Brahim Ghali with honors during his visit to Pretoria, going so far as to have a cannon fired in tribute to the Saharawi struggle. President Ramaphosa reiterated his support for the brotherly people of Western Sahara stating that « The decolonization of Western Sahara is essential to achieve an Africa free from colonialism » and that « South Africa maintains its principled position on the right to the self-determination of the Saharawi people enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the Constitutive Act of the African Union”. Which, of course, caused the Makhzen’s pen clerks to cry out loud and vomit their bile on the South African head of state. And they even have the nerve to say that they have always supported Mandela. When you see the way the rogue regime of Morocco treated Tunisia by recalling its ambassador because Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed had received Brahim Ghali, one wonders why the reaction of the Makhzen is different this time. Recall your ambassador, cowards!

As for Algeria, it remembers the long colonial night from which it was able to emerge thanks to an unprecedented epic which inspired many liberation movements throughout the world, and it has always sided with the oppressed peoples are the Saharawi people and the Palestinian people. Fourteen Palestinian factions also met in Algiers at the invitation of the Algerian government and signed this Thursday, October 13 the « Declaration of Algiers » in the presence of the President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune and many accredited diplomats. This meeting, which took place under the aegis of Algeria and which led to a reconciliation of the Palestinian factions making it possible to lay the foundations for the construction of a Palestinian State, was welcomed by the international community, including the Secretary-General of the UN and the EU.

Regarding the Saharawi people, Algeria has always supported the principle of self-determination of Western Sahara and its independence, conforming to the hundred or so UN resolutions calling for respect for the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination, and even gave a space to shelter when the savage Moroccan hordes (25,000 soldiers) invaded its territory on October 31, 1975 to the total indifference of Francoist Spain. We do not forget the bombardments with napalm and white phosphorus in February 1976 when the Moroccan military aviation bombed the Saharawi camps in Tifarit, Guelta Zemour and Umdrega. We do not forget either, closer, the criminal dismantling of the Gdeim Izik camp, near Laâyoune, on November 8, 2010, with 36 Sahrawis killed and 163 other detainees, including human rights activists who have been heavily sentenced and subjected to torture, as several NGOs have warned, such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International, which are nevertheless tools of the empire.

We no longer count the exactions committed by the Moroccan forces against the Sahrawis. We have already mentioned the Sahrawi human rights activist Sultana Khaya in two previous articles, as well as the reports carried out by the American alternative press Democracy Now. Here is another example, that of the journalist of Smara News and Sahrawi activist for self-determination Walid El Batal, ejected from his car on June 7, 2019 by Makhzen forces, beaten and taken to the police station where he suffered multiple abuses. This harsh arrest and the torture inflicted on the Sahrawi journalist during his detention alerted the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which on February 8, 2021 called for his immediate release, considering that the Moroccan court which sentenced him was not “neither independent nor impartial”. Human Rights Watch and the Washington Post published reports challenging Moroccan claims that El Batal was a « violent criminal » and his case was referred to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Moroccan Judges and Lawyers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmepM-31M9U

Of course, the case of Walid El Batal is not unique. They are thousands to suffer Moroccan colonial repression. When we see the way Moroccan forces beat up migrants trying to enter Melilla on June 24, leaving dozens of dead who were buried on the run to avoid any embarrassing investigation into the number of killed but also on how they died, one can only compare the Moroccan fascist methods to those of their Zionist masters who taught them how to massacre civilians with impunity. We learn, moreover, that 15 Sudanese migrants who survived this beating were sentenced to heavy prison terms by the Moroccan « justice » which delivered its verdict on the night of October 12 to 13 for « illegal entry into Moroccan territory » in intention to travel to Europe, « violence against law enforcement officers » and « refusal to comply ». So, as we wrote in one of our articles devoted (in French) to this open-air massacre, not only does Morocco attract migrants to the point of organizing, via mafia groups of human traffickers and even via Air Maroc, migration Tour Operators to pressure on Europe and obtain subsidies, but the poor devils who gave in to the siren song are either beaten to death or incarcerated in the infamous prisons of the Moroccan feudal regime.

The Sahara is “Moroccan” : chimeras, chimeras

Morocco, we recall, just like the Zionist criminal entity, does not recognize the existing borders and justifies its colonization of Western Sahara by a narrative which has no other meaning than that of appropriating the wealth of a territory which does not belong to him, which has never belonged to him and which he will sooner or later lose. All the stories according to which the Sahara has been « Moroccan » since the dawn of time are only chimeras and delusions due no doubt to an excessive absorption of hallucinogenic and illicit substances. The fact is that the leaders of this rogue entity dream, like all the gangsters and mafiosos of creation, only of territorial expansion to the point of eyeing part of Algeria – but let them dare! – and engulf Mauritania, and shamelessly exploit the wealth of Western Sahara, brandishing their credo like a talisman: the « Moroccan Sahara ». So, let’s take a closer look at what it’s all about.

First of all, in order to attract the Moroccan population to the Saharawi territories, Morocco has not skimped on the development of the territory by deploying major infrastructure works. The sinews of war being, of course, energy, oil and gas, imports are extremely important for Morocco’s major industries and its occupying army. The two main oil export companies in Morocco are Cepsa and Repsol, Spanish oil and gas multinationals. Nearly half a million tonnes of petroleum products were landed in the ports of Laâyoune and Dakhla in 2021. Petroleum products are essential for Morocco to maintain its occupation of the territory and are mainly used to fuel vehicles, engines and ships that take part in the looting of the Saharawi territory, or are used for military purposes by the Moroccan army. These transports are carried out mainly by two shipping companies, Wisby Tankers, a Swedish company whose oil tankers fly the Norwegian flag and, the most involved, the French company Sogestran belonging to the Girardet family from Le Havre, which alone transported a third of all oil shipped to Western Sahara.

As for gas, the total export to Western Sahara in 2021 amounted to around 47,000 tonnes in the form of LPG, mainly from the Netherlands, which is the largest gas supplier, but also from the United States, from France, Croatia, Spain, Belgium, Italy and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The imported gas is used to support the infrastructure and industries of the illegal occupation of Western Sahara. The main companies involved in the transport are BW Epic Kosan, a subsidiary of the giant BW Group, a Norwegian company specializing in the maritime transport of hydrocarbons, Wisdom Marine Group, a Taiwanese company, and Stealth Corp, a Greek shipping company.

Cement is also crucial for construction, whether for government, military or civilian use, and three cement factories are located in Laâyoune. The German company HeidelbergCement – ​​the largest German cement producer, listed as the 2nd largest cement group (200 million tonnes/year) after LafargeHolcim (340 million tonnes/year) – controls the companies CIMAR (Ciments du Maroc) and CIMSUD (subsidiary of the Anouar Invest group). This last unit has a production capacity of 500,000 tons per year and was built by another German company, ThyssenKrupp. The Franco-Swiss multinational LafargeHolcim also has a crushing unit of 200,000 tons per year. The clinker used for this entire industry comes from Portugal.

The Moroccan royal family siphons off the riches of Western Sahara

Electricity is an essential element in the colonial economy. Morocco, which presents itself internationally as a champion in terms of renewable energies, is in the process of installing a large energy project on the occupied lands of Western Sahara. And it is Nareva, the wind energy company owned by the SNI holding belonging to the Moroccan royal family, which owns the large wind farms. All this energy is used by industries that plunder the non-renewable resources of the Sahrawi territory and provide employment opportunities attracting more settlers from Morocco. The electricity produced could also be exported abroad, in particular to the European Union, which badly needs it given the incompetence of European leaders subject to the diktat of Brussels. Several foreign companies are involved in the construction of wind farms, the most important of which are GE Renewable Energy, a subsidiary of the American company General Electric, as well as the British company Windhoist, the Italian Enel and the German-Spanish Siemens Gamesa. Of course, all these wind farms are managed by EEM (Energie Eolienne du Maroc), a subsidiary of Nareva. These wind farms include Tarfaya, with an installed capacity of 300 MW, and Aftissat, located 50 km south of the city of Boujdour, with an installed capacity of 200 MW, and Foum El Oued, one of first wind farms commissioned by Nareva near Laâyoune for 50.6 MW of installed capacity. 

Morocco is also counting on the solar potential of Western Sahara. Two photovoltaic solar power plants with a combined capacity of 100 MW are operational. The 80 MW site in Laayoune and the 20 MW site in Boujdour were developed as part of the NOOR PV I project, carried out by a consortium led by ACWA Power (Saudi Arabia), in partnership with Shapoorji Palloni (India), Chint Group (China), Sterling & Wilson (India) and Astroenergy (subsidiary of Chint Group). Among the solar power plants located in Western Sahara, let us mention Noor in Laâyoune and Boujdour (100 MW in photovoltaic).

We have already mentioned the Dakhla region several times in different articles here and there. We know that Dakhla is the leading supplier of seafood products at the national level and even in several foreign markets including the EU. The king of Morocco has also intensified agriculture by making calls for tenders aimed at attracting new settlers to cultivate the Sahrawi lands. Huge quantities of fish products are transported by trucks whose ownership is carefully hidden in round trips between the ports of Dakhla and Laâyoune and the ports of Morocco and Mauritania. Entire fleets are used to export phosphates, sand, rare earths, fishmeal and fish oil, as well as frozen fish, agricultural products, etc. We find for example the French company CMA CGM, specialized in maritime transport in containers located in Marseille, which notably serves Dakhla and allows the export of frozen fish to Europe. The airlines mainly serving Dakhla and to a lesser extent Laayoune are Royal Air Maroc, Binter Canarias, Transavia.com France, and Air Arabia Maroc. In addition, it was Alcatel Submarine Networks, a French subsidiary of Nokia, which laid the telecom cables from Dakhla and the preliminary studies for exploring the seabed had been carried out by the Dutch company Fugro. Because Dakhla is also a favorite tourist site for water sports enthusiasts, and a resort where festivals are organized and, as we have seen in our previous articles, a place where we seek to encourage the establishment of European settlers by offering accommodation in guest houses, Airbnb rentals, and hotels.

The ports of Laayoune and Dakhla are managed by the Société d’exploitation des ports SA (Port operating company or Marsa Maroc), which is 60% owned by the Moroccan government and is listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange. Like the frog that thinks it is an ox, Morocco plans to make major developments in the occupied territories by 2030, particularly in the port of Dakhla where a mega-development project is to see the light of day aimed at further anchoring the economic and industrial development of the region in all production sectors, namely fishing, agriculture, mining, energy, tourism, trade, manufacturing industry, etc. and of course, to reinforce the colonization of Western Sahara.

From Mamounia diplomacy to wind turbine diplomacy

We will have the opportunity to come back to the looting of the wealth of the Sahrawi people, because what we have unveiled here is only a small plot of the colonial exploitation of Sahrawi resources by the feudal kingdom of Morocco which is allied with foreign companies, which, lured by the lure of profit, pretend to ignore that they participate in the illegal occupation of Western Sahara. However, whatever the Makhzen hammers from morning to evening and from evening to morning, Western Sahara has never belonged, and will never belong, to Morocco. When you claim land, you fight and die for it. Where are your martyrs, cowards? When did you fight for anything? You received Morocco from a Frenchman, Lyautey, whose statue still stands in Casablanca. This same Lyautey who showed you his consideration by having the largest brothel in the world built in Bousbir. Come on, tell us about your martyrs! You cannot, because there is none. Your story has no glory. You do not stop attacking Algeria at length in columns in your filthy newspapers and sites when you are only good for licking the slippers of a drunken, pleasure-seeking, depraved king of operettas, and you bow down to your Zionist masters who make you dance as they please. Lying, cowardice, betrayal, and dishonor are in your genes. You are just cowardly lackeys. 

Because the Makhzen in full rout hits wrong and through by firing all wood against Algeria, whether it is by boasting of organizing a summit of the Negev in Dakhla to try to compete with the Arab Summit organized in Algiers, or again by taking up the case of the return of the skulls to Algeria, he never misses one to slander Algeria and its army. Moreover, not content with looting Western Sahara, the Makhzen wants to loot our heritage. Even the jersey of the Algerian national football team has been subject to controversy. Band of thieves, you appropriate our history and our traditions shamelessly, everything belongs to you, raï, Andalusian music, traditional dress fashion, our cuisine, and so on. Everything is taken over by these leeches. Like your fascist « historian » slob Bernard Lugan, great admirer of Hitler and Mussolini and adviser to the equally fascist Zemmour, who declares that the history of Abdelmoumen belongs to Morocco. Even Zidane and Benzema have become Moroccans. Everything is good to take. Real raptors! Your Moroccan kingdom is just an old relic that has gone from the diplomacy of Mamounia to the diplomacy of the wind turbine by stirring the wind. Your relentlessness towards Algeria is a matter of psychiatry because not a day goes by without your usual rags toiling away spitting their venom on our country. Treat you! 

The time for struggle has come… the day of freedom will come

We arrive at the symbolic date of November 1, which commemorates the beginning of the struggle undertaken by our brave chouhada (martyr) to return the Algerian land to its people. It was this date that was chosen to organize the Arab Summit meeting in Algiers, which marks Algeria’s return to the international scene as an essential element of international diplomacy. Many Arab Heads of State have confirmed their presence, as well as the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres. It seems that after many procrastinations Mohammed VI will be present. We hope that the Algerian authorities will refuse to open the air corridor allowing the King of Morocco and his clique to enter Algeria directly. Let him therefore make the detour via Tunisia. And we also recommend that our intelligence services keep an eye on the actions of this historic enemy of Algeria and his delegation. Let’s not forget that his father Hassan II spied on the Arab coalition for the benefit of the Zionist entity of Israel during the preparation for the Six Day War by recording the talks as a vulgar snitch. That being said, whether the king of drug dealers comes or not, with or without Abu Azaitar, that will not change anything at the top, this king of operetta is never anything but a minion under the orders of his Zionist masters. And according to our sources, Algeria will not go back on its decisions concerning the stoppage of gas supply, the halted diplomatic relations and the closed border.

As the Algerian people did to liberate their country, the Saharawi people know how to fight, as well as the Palestinian people. This Wednesday, a young 22-year-old Palestinian, Uday al-Tamimi, offered his life for his homeland with exemplary courage. He died as a martyr and became a true icon for Palestinian youth. From now on, the time for the struggle has come and will come the day when all the parasitic settlers will be ejected from the Saharawi and Palestinian territories, as Algeria once sent colonial France back to the other side of the Mediterranean.

Mohsen Abdelmoumen

Published in Algeriepatriotique : https://www.algeriepatriotique.com/2022/10/22/main-basse-sur-les-richesses-du-peuple-sahraoui-par-le-makhzen-marocain/

In La Tribune Diplomatique Internationale : https://tribune-diplomatique-internationale.com/main-basse-sur-les-richesses-du-peuple-sahraoui-par-le-makhzen-marocain/

And Palestine Solidarité : https://www.palestine-solidarite.fr/main-basse-sur-les-richesses-du-peuple-sahraoui-par-le-makhzen-marocain/