Gulf News
It seems as if United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has forgotten the noble art of diplomacy. As the leader of the international body, it is incumbent upon him to be discreet, to tread carefully and to think before he speaks.
And when it comes to the international integrity and reputation of Morocco, Ban has done a grave disservice.
At the centre of a simmering row between the government in Rabat and the UN Secretary-General are comments he made referring to Morocco’s “occupation” of Western Sahara.
For the record, according to UN Security Council resolutions, there is no occupation in the territory, which has been an integral part of Morocco, historically linking the nation with its southern neighbours.
Throughout the period of Western Sahara’s colonisation by Spain since 1884, it was always culturally, societally and historically a region of the Kingdom of Morocco. And nothing has changed since then, despite a campaign of succession by the Polisario movement.
Western Sahara’s people are integrated economically with their northern brothers, and the region has developed as a direct result of the funds and services provided by Rabat.
