Publication

Mahjoub Mleiha@ElwaliWS

Bitter irony at the #UN #Security_Council: self-proclaimed champions of democracy tried to sidestep international law on #WesternSahara, while those they call undemocratic defended the UN Charter. The double standards were laid bare despite every effort to hide them. @Denmark_UN defends Greenland's right to decide, yet denied the Sahrawis theirs. #Greece rejects the occupation of north #Cyprus, yet rewarded this one. @LatviaUN_NY, once annexed, voted to legitimise annexation. At least the @UKUN_NewYork stayed true to its colonial record. The @USUN draft sought to rename MINURSO, dropping the "R" for referendum. One letter, but it meant erasing the Sahrawi people's right to choose. #Algeria's intervention was decisive: firm, clear, and speaking to all parties, including the Sahrawi people. #Morocco's reply was beside the point, a sign it has no argument for its plan beyond the backing of powerful friends. However, Washington's cowboy charge failed, as it was warned last year it would. Given the visible frustration of the US representative, all eyes are now on its next move. Morocco had mobilised crowds and journalists in occupied El Aaiún to celebrate in advance. Thanks to the @RussiaUN’s lives saving veto, the party is ruined (at least for today). Now Morocco threatens to expel #MINURSO, as it did with UN staff in 2016. Pressure after an unforeseen defeat, or a pre-planned Plan B? Will we see a new US draft repackaged as a UK or French proposal? Either way, Rabat can't claim UN legitimacy while throwing out the UN. Without #MINURSO, there would be no international presence in a territory where fighting resumed in 2020. That risk should concern everyone, including those who voted yes and those who pushed such an unbalanced text. Decolonisation cannot be settled by redrafting words in New York while ignoring the people concerned. Some need reminding that this is not a trade deal. It is the fate of a people loyal to their just cause for fifty years. No need to recall Vietnam, Afghanistan or Iraq: solutions imposed against a people's will never last. MINURSO was created to hold a referendum. Let the Sahrawis vote!