South Sudan: Strategic choice between bribery and right to self-determination for Saharawi people

[Elisabeth Janaina]

South Sudan: Strategic choice between bribery and right to
self-determination for Saharawi people

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By Beny Gideon Mabor, Esq

Western Sahara known as Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) was
Spanish protectorate in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is
situated north of Kingdom of Morocco, South of Mauritania and east of
Algeria and populated by Berber tribes with an elected government
under President Brahim Ghali, following the death of long serving
President Mohamed Abdelaziz Ezzedine, founder and leader of
revolutionary Polisario Front. This territory has been subject of
regional and international debate being counterclaimed by Morocco and
Saharawi people seeking self-determination and global recognition.
SADR is an independent country declared in 1976 by Polisario Front
separatist movement and a recognized member state of the African Union
and other international organizations. This move led to a withdrawal
of Morocco from African Union in 1984 in protest of AU’s recognition
of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) as an independent
state.

On 18 July, 2016 after 32 years of absence from African Union and its
politics, King Mohammed VI of Morocco declared his country’s intention
to return to the African Union in what he called “friends have been
asking them to return so that Morocco can take up its natural place
within its institutional family” according to the excerpts of the
letter read to the AU summit and later shared by Aljazeera news
outlet. On the other hand, the Moroccan return to the African Union is
not easy walk back, but can only be validated by majority votes at the
African Union Summit.

It’s upon this notion that the entire political leadership led by the
King embarks on bribery expedition to number of African countries in
October and December, 2016 with first leg in Rwanda, to Tanzania,
Ethiopia and Nigeria amongst others. His Majesty the King has been
pledging and paying billion US dollars in all those countries for
investment projects to get support, notwithstanding the attached
condition to also suspend membership of rival Saharan Arab Democratic
Republic (SADR) from the African Union and possibly not to recognize
its independence.

Today, South Sudan is now at the whelm of strategic ambiguity in its
foreign policy between taking blood money and vote for Morocco to
return to the African Union and by implication support forceful
occupation of land of indigenous Sahrawi people or refuse and stick to
the principle of the rights to self-determination for indigenous
Saharawi people for self-rule, the basis upon which South Sudan was
also brought about seven years ago.

King Mohamed VI visit to South Sudan

As explained in the summary, the planned visit of the Moroccan King
Mohamed VI to Juba, South Sudan is nothing nearer to any diplomatic
engagement, but a clear business deal for his agenda to seek support
from world newest state for their readmission to the membership of the
African Union. The second objective of his visit is to request South
Sudan to join other AU member states to suspend SADR from African
Union and other intentional organizations, but also not to recognize
SADR as independent state on top of their cordial request to the South
Sudan political leadership.

According to high leveled source within the African Union, as revealed
in the investigative report published by Ayah Aman of Al-Monitor media
house dated 27 July, 2016 under article entitled: why Morocco really
wants back in the African Union, it’s confirmed that the Kingdom of
Morocco has convinced 16 African countries to withdraw their
recognition of SADR and form a front to expel SADR from the African
Union. However, Morocco is already warned that such action is neither
recognized in international law nor in the AU charters.

In a similar move, I was privileged to see the conspiracy deal in the
making at the last African Union Summit in Kigali, Rwanda on 18 July,
2016 where we all witnessed on the same day the Moroccan king conveyed
his message for readmission when, 28 African countries signed a
statement and delivered it to AU Chairperson President Idriss Deby of
Chad asking him to take legal action to suspend SADR’s membership from
African Union. South Sudan was not included at the time which was a
well thought decision and I applauded the government for not being
part of such conspiracy theory of oppression and marginalization of
other fellow human beings.

In light of this development, it is difficult to understand now why
South Sudan is ready to receive Moroccan King and possibly vote in
favor of Morocco back to the African Union. In other words, South
Sudan will have to endorse both the Moroccan readmission to the AU and
join the rest of the African states in non-recognition of SADR as an
independent country and from membership of the African Union and other
international organizations. Therefore, the question would be, if
South Sudan can support such deadly move of forceful occupation of
foreign land by others, when in fact, it has contested land with
Sudan, what will prevent Khartoum Administration and their alliances
to do the same to South Sudan over the issue of Abyei? South Sudan
must think twice before making a decision that will bear liability on
the present and future generations in term of geopolitical
relationships.

In the famous sermon of plank and the splinter it says “why do you
look at the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the
plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me
remove the splinter from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own
eye? That is hypocrisy of highest order! First South Sudanese should
remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to
remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.

Second, South Sudan is the newest member state of the African Union
and other international organization including United Nations all of
which ruled out forceful occupation of foreign land. In particular,
Article 2 of the UN Declaration on the Granting of Independence to
Colonial Countries and Peoples adopted by General Assembly resolution
1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960 provides that “All peoples have the
right to self-determination; by virtue of that right they freely
determine their political status and freely pursue their economic,
social and cultural development. Further, article 7 of the same legal
instrument provides that “All States shall observe faithfully and
strictly the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the present Declaration on
the basis of equality, non-interference in the internal affairs of all
States, and respect for the sovereign rights of all peoples and their
territorial integrity.

Due to observance of the United Nations principle on the rights to
self-determination, the International Court of Justice ICJ in its
advisory opinion on the situation of Western Sahara as requested by
the General Assembly of the United Nations, unanimously reach the
opinion that “Western Sahara (Rio de Oro and Sakiet El Hamra) at the
time of colonization by Spain was not a territory belonging to no one
(terra nullius). In other words, it was a separate territory with
indigenous Sahrawi people who can enjoy inalienable right to self-rule
that must be recognized. Therefore, South Sudan must not interfere in
the internal affairs of the rights of indigenous Sahrawi’s people.

After having explained what everybody know about the issue of Morocco
and the rival Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) including clear
position of the regional and international community for the last for
decades, South Sudan should be careful in approaching this matter. The
Kingdom of Morocco has no right whatsoever to forcefully continue
occupying Western Sahara but must engage in dialogue for amicable
solution. In my opinion, the Government of South Sudan is free to
discharge other bilateral cooperation with Kingdom of Morocco for
common good of the two countries however, not anything connected with
SADR. Any attempt by the government to support the position of Morocco
over status of SADR is a contradiction of the very principle of right
to self-determination where the people of South Sudan fought for
decades and finally got their independence. Finally, I advise the
government not take the blood money in return of what would be blind
support to the kingdom of morocco and by extension support continue
occupation of indigenous land belonging to the Saharawi people who
have suffered in the hand of Moroccans just like the way South
Sudanese suffers in the hand of Arabs.

Beny Gideon Mabor is South Sudanese private lawyer and a human rights
defender. His areas of research are international politics, human
rights and social accountability. He can be reach via
benyg...@gmail.com


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