Washington (USA), Nov 11, 2020 (SPS) - US Senator James Einhoff condemned Morocco's breach of ceasefire agreement signed by both parties to the conflict, "the Frente POLISARIO and Morocco", under the supervision of the United Nations.
Einhoff, in a speech to members of the US Congress, said, "The presence of Moroccan forces in the Guerguerat region is a clear violation of ceasefire agreement between the two parties."
The head of the US Congress’s Defense and Security Committee gave a briefing on developments in the field situation in Western Sahara, in which he reiterated that “Morocco violated the ceasefire agreement signed between the two parties to the conflict by opening an illegal breach in the Guerguerat area.”
He added that "Morocco is always trying to exploit this illegal breach to pass goods in clear violation of the UN-sponsored ceasefire agreement, whose role is not limited to maintaining the ceasefire between the two sides only, but to organizing a referendum for self-determination."
In his intervention, American Senator James Einhoff referred to "the peaceful protests organized by Sahrawi civil society activities in the Guerguerat in the far south of Western Sahara on the borders with Mauritania that do not fall under the sovereignty of Morocco," stressing that "this illegal exploitation by Morocco of the territory is what pushed the Sahrawis to protest peacefully, and instead of Morocco recognizing their right to peaceful demonstration, it mobilized its military forces to suppress these legitimate protests.
He revealed that in the past few days, "military movements have been observed and the arrival of about 200 Moroccan soldiers towards the Guerguerat, in a disturbing escalation step," adding, "We are concerned for a number of reasons, the first of which is that this escalatory step that Morocco is undertaking aims to annex more territories and wealth of the region."
The Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee of Congress, Senator James Einhoff, questioned the role of the United Nations and its long-term absence and silence about Morocco's violations of the agreements signed between the two parties.
The American senator explained that Morocco is trying to loot the region's natural resources, sell its minerals and mining wealth, such as phosphates, and plunder fish wealth, and use the proceeds of these thefts, estimated at millions of dollars, to buy pressure groups and lobbies in Washington, in order to distort the image of the struggle of the Saharawi people, stressing that "the escalation that has occurred Morocco's action may bring matters back to square one, and open up the confrontation in the region.
Mr. James Einhoff concluded that "the time has come for us to put pressure on Morocco, and to take practical steps to organize a referendum on self-determination immediately and without delay."
The Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee of the US Congress gave a briefing on the settlement plan of the Sahrawi issue in all its aspects and the situation of the Sahrawi people who are awaiting self-determination and decolonization from the last colony in Africa. SPS
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