SADR’ Participation in FOCAC Summit: Moroccan Regime’s Propaganda Tactics to Distract from Tokyo Scandal

In the past few days, Moroccan media have launched a propaganda campaign promoting a fabricated victory alleging that the Sahrawi Republic has been excluded from participation to the Forum on China – Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

The aim of this falsehood spread by Moroccan media is to distract from the real issue: Morocco’s sound failure to prevent SADR’s participation in the TICAD Ministerial Meeting held on August 24-25, 2024, in Japan.

To address the misinformation spread by the Moroccan regime of occupation, it’s essential to understand the African Union’s (AU) stance on partnerships. Indeed, AU partnerships fall into the following categories:

African Union-Regional Organisations: These involve the AU as a key participant and organizer, such as African Union-European Union, AU- Arab League or AU-South America Partnerships. AU is a co-organizer so all AU member states have the right to participate in these meetings.

Multilateral Partnership: The Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) partnership does not fall squarely into AU-Regional Organizations category. It comprises multilateral partners such as the United Nation, UNDP, and the World Bank. It is managed as a multilateral conference co-organized by the AU. Therefore, all AU member states have the right to participate.

Continent/AU to Country: These involve direct interactions between a single country and multiple African nations, like Africa – Korea Partnership; Africa – Turkiye Partnership; Africa – India Partnership. To this type of partnerships the AU has a specific formula of participation.

There are other partnerships that the AU engages with that do not conform to the above categorization and which are managed outside of the previous parameters. The organization of these partnership meetings are exclusively led by the specific partner. The AUC has no coordinating or organizational role and is invited in the same manner as other African states. These include:

a) Forum on China – Africa Cooperation (FOCAC);

b) Africa – Russia Summit;

c) Africa – USA Summit

Given that FOCAC and the other mentioned partnerships operate independently of the AU, SADR’s non-participation is not due to any exclusion but rather because it has never been part of this specific bilateral partnership arrangements since their inception for some in 2000 even before Morocco became a member of the AU.

Moroccan colonial regime’s claims are therefore baseless. Rabat’s attempts to mislead its own public opinion and the world about FOCAC participation come as a reaction to its unsuccessful bid to block SADR’s presence at TICAD in Tokyo. This has exposed the weakness of Morocco’s position and the continuing relevance of the Sahrawi struggle for freedom.

Furthermore, Morocco’s attempt to discredit SADR and FOCAC ignores China’s well-established position on Western Sahara. China has consistently supported decolonization efforts and has reaffirmed this stance in various statements and occasion as a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council.

Therefore, Moroccan expansionist regime’s recent propaganda’s outburst is a desperate attempt to distract from the Tokyo scandal. Instead of sidelining SADR. Yet, as in many other cases, Morocco’s disgraceful actions in Tokyo have highlighted the ongoing significance of the Sahrawi issue and the urgent need to decolonize the Sahrawi territories still under Moroccan military and brutal occupation.