Greater Morocco

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Greater Morocco as claimed by the Istiqlal Party, 1956 Greater Morocco.svg
Greater Morocco as claimed by the Istiqlal Party, 1956

Greater Morocco is a label historically used by some Moroccan nationalist political leaders protesting against Spanish, French and Portuguese rule, to refer to wider territories historically associated with the Moroccan sultan. Current usage most frequently occurs in a critical context, accusing Morocco, largely in discussing the disputed Western Sahara, of irredentist claims on neighboring territories.

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The main competing ideologies of the Greater Morocco ideology have been Sahrawi nationalism, Mauritanian irredentism, Spanish nationalism, Berber separatism and Pan-Arabism.

Irredentist, official and unofficial Moroccan claims on territories viewed by Moroccans as having been under some form of Moroccan sovereignty (most frequently with respect to the Spanish exclaves), are rhetorically tied back to an accused expansionism. However, Moroccan government claims make no current reference to the Greater Morocco concept.

History

In 1963, following the Independence of Algeria, Morocco attacked a strip of its south-western regions (Tindouf Province and Béchar Province), claiming that parts of them were previously under Moroccan sovereignty. There were several hundred casualties. French sources reported Algerian casualties to be 60 dead and 250 wounded, [1] with later works giving a number of 300 Algerian dead. [2] Morocco officially reported to have suffered 39 dead. [3] Moroccan losses were probably lower than the Algerians' but are unconfirmed, [1] with later sources reporting 200 Moroccan dead. [4] About 57 Moroccans and 379 Algerians were taken prisoner. [3] After a month of fighting and some hundreds of casualties, the conflict stalemated (see Sand War).

In the early stages of decolonisation, certain elected Moroccan politicians, in particular some members of the Istiqlal Party, like Allal al-Fassi, the sole advocate of “total liberation” who refused to enter France even to meet with his monarch or long-standing nationalist colleagues, [5] were in favour of claiming wider territories historically associated in some way with the Moroccan Sultan. That was initially not supported by the Sultan (later King) of Morocco. [5] : 645  Al-Fassi's ambitions gained more support in parliament in the beginning of the sixties, leading to a delay in the recognition of Mauritania (independent in 1960, not recognised by Morocco until 1969). [5] : 646 

Al-Fassi's wider claims were effectively abandoned in the later 1960s, although Morocco claims Western Sahara and the Spanish plazas de soberanía on its northern coast. Morocco's refusal to accept its post-colonial borders in the case of Western Sahara has put it on a collision course with the African Union, which holds that as one of its principles. As a consequence, Morocco is the only African country to step out of the union because the Polisario Front, representing the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, was awarded a seat. [6]

The government of King Hassan II laid claim on several territories, successfully acquiring the Tarfaya Strip after the Ifni War with Spain, and much of the territory around Ceuta and Melilla. Morocco also acquired much of Spanish Sahara after Spain handed the territory to Morocco and Mauritania (see the Madrid Accords). Spanish Sahara remains a disputed territory, with the Polisario Front who claim it as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

In 1982, Spain entered the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. However, Ceuta and Melilla are not under NATO protection since Article 6 of the treaty limits the coverage to Europe and North America. The Canary Islands are protected, as they are islands north of the Tropic of Cancer. Legal experts have interpreted that other articles could cover the Spanish North African cities, but that perspective has not been tested in practice. [7]

In 2002, an armed incident erupted between Morocco and Spain, regarding the uninhabited Perejil Island, located 250 m off the Moroccan northern coast. On July 11, 2002 a group of Moroccan soldiers set up base on the islet and so violated the status quo situation agreed between both states. The Moroccan government said that they set foot on the island to monitor illegal immigration, which was denied by the Spanish government since there had been little co-operation in the matter, a repeated source of complaint from Spain. After protests from the Spanish government, led by José María Aznar, the soldiers were replaced by Moroccan navy cadets, who then installed a fixed base on the island. On the morning of July 18, 2002, Spain launched a full-scale military operation to take over the island. The operation was successful, the cadets were dislodged from the island in a matter of hours and offered no resistance to the Spanish Special Operations Groups commando force. The islet returned to its status quo situation and is now deserted. The episode highlighted the mediation role offered by the United States and the lack of collaboration of France towards its European allies during the crisis. [8]

In 2020, US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation recognizing Morocco's sovereignty of the Western Sahara in exchange for the recognition of Israel by Morocco. [9] [10] However, the European states did not modify their position with regard to the United Nations resolutions that recognise the Western Sahara as a territory yet to be decolonised. [11] [12] [13] That, indirectly, together with the hosting of Brahim Gali, the leader of the Polisario, for medical treatment in Spain, was seen by Morocco as an aggression and provoked a new migratory crisis over the Spanish domain of Ceuta, in North Africa. The crisis was polemic since Morocco had acted beyond the diplomatic channels, while Moroccan police force's frontier division did not impede migrants from climbing fences or by swimming around frontier line. [14] [15] [16] The Spanish Army intervened to control the trespassing, and at least two people died in the episode while they were trying to reach the shore. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Sahara</span> Disputed territory in North-western Africa

Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North-western Africa. It has a surface area of 272,000 square kilometres (105,000 sq mi). Approximately 30% of the territory is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is occupied and administered by neighboring Morocco. It is the most sparsely populated country in Africa and the second most sparsely populated country in the world, mainly consisting of desert flatlands. The population is estimated at 618,600. Nearly 40% of that population lives in Morocco-controlled Laayoune, the largest city of Western Sahara.

The history of Western Sahara can be traced back to the times of Carthaginian explorer Hanno the Navigator in the 5th century BC. Though few historical records are left from that period, Western Sahara's modern history has its roots linked to some nomadic groups such as the Sanhaja group, and the introduction of Islam and the Arabic language at the end of the 8th century AD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polisario Front</span> Military and political organisation in Western Sahara

The Polisario Front, Frente Polisario, Frelisario or simply Polisario, is a Sahrawi nationalist liberation movement seeking to establish a Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic for the Sahrawi people through the means of self-determination and armed resistance in the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

<i>Plazas de soberanía</i> Spanish territories along the northern African coast

The plazas de soberanía are a series of Spanish overseas minor territories scattered along the Mediterranean coast bordering Morocco in Africa, or that are closer to Africa than Europe. This term is used for those territories that have been a part of Spain since the formation of the modern country (1492–1556), as opposed to African territories acquired by Spain during the 19th and early 20th centuries in the Scramble for Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sahrawis</span> People living in the western Sahara desert

The Sahrawis, or Sahrawi people, are an ethnic group native to the western part of the Sahara desert, which includes the Western Sahara, southern Morocco, much of Mauritania, and along the southwestern border of Algeria. They are of mixed Hassani Arab and Sanhaji Berber descent, as well as West African and other indigenous populations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish Sahara</span> Former Spanish colony and province

Spanish Sahara, officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958, then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was occupied and ruled by Spain between 1884 and 1976. It had been one of the most recent acquisitions as well as one of the last remaining holdings of the Spanish Empire, which had once extended from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green March</span> 1975 military event

The Green March was a strategic mass demonstration in November 1975, coordinated by the Moroccan government and military, to force Spain to hand over the disputed, autonomous semi-metropolitan province of Spanish Sahara to Morocco. The Spanish government was preparing to abandon the territory as part of the decolonization of Africa, just as it had granted independence to Equatorial Guinea in 1968. The native inhabitants, the Sahrawi people, aspired to form an independent state. The demonstration of some 350,000 Moroccans advanced several kilometers into the Western Sahara territory. Morocco later gained control of most of the former Spanish Sahara, which it continues to hold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madrid Accords</span> 1975 treaty between Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania to end Spanish presence in the Sahara

The Madrid Accords, formally the Declaration of Principles on Western Sahara, was a treaty between Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania setting out six principles which would end the Spanish presence in the territory of Spanish Sahara and arrange a temporary administration in the area pending a referendum.

<i>Advisory opinion on Western Sahara</i> 1975 ICJ advisory body on Western Sahara

The International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Western Sahara was a 1975 advisory, non-binding opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of two questions presented to it by the UN General Assembly under Resolution 3292 regarding the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Morocco had approached the UN to adjudicate its and Mauritania's claims over the territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiris al-Gharbiyya</span> Area of Western Sahara

Tiris al-Gharbiyya was the name for the area of Western Sahara under Mauritanian control between 1975 and 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Sahara conflict</span> Armed conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front

The Western Sahara conflict is an ongoing conflict between the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic/Polisario Front and the Kingdom of Morocco. The conflict originated from an insurgency by the Polisario Front against Spanish colonial forces from 1973 to 1975 and the subsequent Western Sahara War against Morocco between 1975 and 1991. Today the conflict is dominated by unarmed civil campaigns of the Polisario Front and their self-proclaimed SADR state to gain fully recognized independence for Western Sahara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic</span>

The politics of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic refers to politics of the Polisario Front's proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, a country in North Africa with limited recognition by other states, controlling parts of the Western Sahara region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of the African Union</span>

The African Union covers almost the entirety of continental Africa and several off-shore islands. Consequently, it is wildly diverse, including the world's largest hot desert, huge jungles and savannas, and the world's longest river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater Mauritania</span>

Greater Mauritania is a term for the Mauritanian irredentist claim that generally includes the Western Sahara and other Sahrawi-populated areas of the western Sahara Desert. The term was initially used by Mauritania's first President, Mokhtar Ould Daddah, as he began claiming the territory then known as Spanish Sahara even before Mauritanian independence in 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Sahara War</span> 1975–1991 armed conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front

The Western Sahara War was an armed struggle between the Sahrawi indigenous Polisario Front and Morocco from 1975 to 1991, being the most significant phase of the Western Sahara conflict. The conflict erupted after the withdrawal of Spain from the Spanish Sahara in accordance with the Madrid Accords, by which it transferred administrative control of the territory to Morocco and Mauritania, but not sovereignty. In late 1975, the Moroccan government organized the Green March of some 350,000 Moroccan citizens, escorted by around 20,000 troops, who entered Western Sahara, trying to establish a Moroccan presence. While at first met with just minor resistance by the Polisario Front, Morocco later engaged a long period of guerrilla warfare with the Sahrawi nationalists. During the late 1970s, the Polisario Front, desiring to establish an independent state in the territory, attempted to fight both Mauritania and Morocco. In 1979, Mauritania withdrew from the conflict after signing a peace treaty with the Polisario Front. The war continued in low intensity throughout the 1980s, though Morocco made several attempts to take the upper hand in 1989–1991. A cease-fire agreement was finally reached between the Polisario Front and Morocco in September 1991. Some sources put the final death toll between 10,000 and 20,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1970s in Morocco</span>

In the 1970s in Morocco, after two coup attempts in 1971 and 1972, the patriotism engendered by Morocco's participation in the Middle East conflict and by the events in Western Sahara contributed to Hassan's popularity and strengthened his hand politically despite serious domestic turmoil. The king had dispatched Moroccan troops to the Sinai front after the outbreak of Arab-Israeli War in October 1973. Although they arrived too late to engage in hostilities, the action won Morocco goodwill among other Arab states. Shortly thereafter, the attention of the government turned to the annexation of then Spanish Sahara from Spain, an issue on which all major domestic parties agreed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Mauritania (1960–1978)</span>

Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is an Arab Maghreb country in West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Morocco in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest. It is named after the ancient Berber Kingdom of Mauretania, which later became a province of the Roman Empire, even though the modern Mauritania covers a territory far to the south of the old Berber kingdom that had no relation with it.

The Western Sahara peace process refers to the international efforts to resolve the Western Sahara conflict. The conflict has failed so far to result in permanent peace between Morocco and the Polisario Front. The standing issues of the peace process include Sahrawi refugees, and human rights in Western Sahara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic–Spain relations</span> Bilateral relations

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic–Spain relations are the current and historical relations between the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Smara (1979)</span> Event occurred during Sahara War at Smara.

The Battle of Smara occurred between October 5 and 8, 1979, during the Western Sahara War at Smara, between the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces and the Polisario Front. Both sides asserted divergent narratives of the battle.

References

  1. 1 2 Conflict and conquest in the Islamic world : a historical encyclopedia. Mikaberidze, Alexander. Santa Barbara, Calif. 2011-07-22. ISBN   9781598843378. OCLC   763161287.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. ↑ Clodfelter, Micheal (2008). Warfare and armed conflicts : a statistical encyclopedia of casualty and other figures, 1494-2007 (3rd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. ISBN   9780786451715. OCLC   318813041.
  3. 1 2 O., Hughes, Stephen (2001). Morocco under King Hassan (1st ed.). Reading, U.K.: Ithaca. ISBN   0863722857. OCLC   47150173.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ Clodfelter, Micheal (2008). Warfare and armed conflicts : a statistical encyclopedia of casualty and other figures, 1494-2007 (3rd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. ISBN   9780786451715. OCLC   318813041.
  5. 1 2 3 Ashford, Douglas E. (1962). "The Irredentist Appeal in Morocco and Mauritania". Western Political Quarterly. 15 (4): 641–651. doi:10.1177/106591296201500405. S2CID   154455607. The sole advocate of "total liberation" was Allal al-Fassi, who refused to enter France even to meet with his Monarch or long-standing nationalist colleagues.
  6. ↑ Greater Morocco Archived 2011-07-24 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "¿Están Ceuta y Melilla bajo el paraguas de la OTAN?". Newtral (in Spanish). 2 October 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  8. ↑ Linnee, Susan (July 23, 2002). "Spain and Morocco agree to differ over Perejil". The Independent. London. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  9. ↑ Sardon, R. Joseph Huddleston, Harshana Ghoorhoo, Daniela A. Maquera (9 January 2021). "Biden Can Backtrack on Trump's Move in Western Sahara". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2021-07-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ "Western Sahara: can a Trump tweet lead to unlocking the stalemate?". The Independent. April 7, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Non-Self-Governing Territories". The United Nations and Decolonization. Retrieved 28 Jan 2022.
  12. ↑ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Morocco recalls ambassador in Germany over Western Sahara | DW | 07.05.2021". DW.COM. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  13. ↑ "Paris " regrette " la création d'un comité de La République en marche au Sahara occidental". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  14. ↑ "Dozens try to cross into Spain's Melilla enclave". Expat Guide to Spain | Expatica. 2021-07-14. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  15. ↑ "A Ceuta, des décennies de crise migratoire entre l'Espagne et le Maroc". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2021-05-19. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  16. ↑ Duplan, Maxime Biosse (2021-05-18). "Crise migratoire à Ceuta : l'Espagne déploie l'armée, soupçons sur l'attitude du Maroc". euronews (in French). Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  17. ↑ "Spain deploys army in Ceuta to patrol border with Morocco after migrants swim ashore". France 24. 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
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