Moroccan officials have rejected claims that their country will have to recognize the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) now that the kingdom is permitted to rejoin the African Union (AU). Moroccan Deputy Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said in an interview published on Sunday that Morocco’s membership in the AU would not mean a recognition of the SADR borders declared by the the Polisario Front in the Western Sahara region at the height of a war for the territory.

“Not only does Morocco not recognize – and will never recognize – this so-called entity … It will (also) redouble its efforts so the small minority of countries, particularly African, which recognize it, change their positions,” said Bourita.

The Moroccan diplomat said Rabat will not change its stance on the territory, refuting statements by Polisario and its allies that Morocco’s return to the African bloc implies a recognition of the SADR’s borders.

“This is nonsense from the point of view of international law and state practice,” Bourita said, adding that joining “an international forum in the presence of an unrecognized entity cannot imply the state’s recognition of that entity.” The AU decided in a meeting in Ethiopia last Monday to approve Morocco’s re-entry into the bloc. The kingdom left the AU in 1984 after the continental body admitted SADR.

Polisario backers, namely Algeria and South Africa, had resisted Morocco’s return. A diplomatic source in Rabat said Morocco’s re-entry into AU was a major setback for those countries, saying they “spent months doing everything they can to prevent our return, until the last minute.”

The source said Polisario backers are now trying to present their “failure as a success” by pretending that Morocco has accepted to recognize SADR. “Morocco will continue to mobilize to delegitimize the SADR,” said the senior diplomat, adding, “The return of Morocco is a direct challenge to the presence of the Polisario within the AU.”

The Polisario head and SADR president, Brahim Ghali, said Sunday that the movement was ready to hold talks with Morocco, but warned that “all options are open” in the independence struggle from the kingdom, meaning that the movement could return to armed struggle against Rabat.

“We always look for the peaceful way” to resolve the conflict, Ghali said, adding, “But all options remain open.” Ghali called on Morocco to meet its commitments, saying the kingdom should respect the international borders of the Sahrawi Republic now that it is a member of the AU

The disputed Sahara territory was for long a Spanish colony until it went under Moroccan control in 1975. Years of war ended with a ceasefire in 1991 but the two sides of the conflict have rejected efforts to reach a permanent solution. Some 165,000 people, known as Sahrawis, currently live in a refugee camp in Tindouf, southwestern Algeria. The population mostly lives on aid from UN agencies and international NGOs.

Presstv

African leaders have renewed their determination to pull out of the International Criminal Court (ICC) collectively, accusing the international body of discriminating against Africans. The African leaders adopted a strategy for their collective withdrawal at the 28th African Union (AU) summit, which wrapped up in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Tuesday.

A draft of the strategy, which was recited at a closed-door AU session and was later published by AP, recommends that African states build up and strengthen their own independent judicial systems. The non-binding recommendation also calls on African nations to expand the jurisdiction of the African court of justice and human rights to resolve disputes on the continent “in order to reduce the deference to the ICC.”

This is the latest expression of impatience by African leaders with the court, which some say has focused too narrowly on African leaders. Desire Assogbavi, the head of Oxfam International’s AU liaison office, confirmed the adoption of the strategy. However, analysts say African countries are divided on whether to leave the court or try to change some of its policies.

Burundi, Gambia, and South Africa have already said they no longer recognize the court’s jurisdiction and announced their intention to quit. But several other African countries, including Nigeria, Senegal and the Republic of the Congo have spoken up in support of the ICC in recent months. One of the main African supporters of the ICC is former United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan. Since the ICC was launched on July 1,  2002, it has indicted 39 people, all of whom have been African.

Presstv

The African Union has readmitted Morocco into the bloc 33 years after its withdrawal over the still existing Western Sahara dispute. The majority of the AU member states voted for the re-admission of during the 28th summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Monday, leaving the issue of the disputed territory of Western Sahara for another day.

“Morocco is now a full member of the African Union. There was a very long debate but 39 of our 54 states approved the return of Morocco, even if the Western Sahara question remains,” Senegalese President Macky Sall told reporters. “As we have said, if the family grows bigger, we can find solutions as a family,” Macky Sall added.

Algeria and South Africa were among the heavyweights that opposed the re-admission of Morocco. The country withdrew from the AU in 1984, when the mineral-rich and sparsely populated Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), commonly known as Western Sahara, was accepted as a member. Morocco annexed Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, in 1975. It maintains that Western Sahara is an integral part of the kingdom, but the international community has not recognized the annexation.

Western Sahara is home to the Algerian-backed Polisario Front, a Sahrawi rebel national liberation movement aiming to end Moroccan presence in the territory. In 1991, Moroccan forces and Sahrawi rebels agreed on a UN-brokered truce and a referendum to settle the status of Western Sahara. However, the vote has never taken place. Some had feared Morocco would set the expulsion of the SADR  as a precondition for its own return to the AU.

“From the moment that Morocco did not impose conditions … we take their word for it and accept that Morocco be admitted to the African Union,” said SADR Foreign Minister Mohamed Salem Ould Salek. Salek said the re-admission of Morocco will help pressure the authorities into holding a referendum to “allow the Sahrawi to choose their future”.

“Now (if) Morocco is blocking (it) will be questioned by the head of states: why are you afraid of a referendum? Why don’t you allow the Sahrawi to choose their future freely?” he said. Morocco has for several years been trying to return to the body as it reportedly seeks to expand its economy. In July 2016, Moroccan King Mohammed VI officially announced plans to rejoin the African Union.

Presstv

The Gambia’s former leader, Yahya Jammeh, has left the country after finally conceding defeat in an election under increasing international pressure. Jammeh lost the presidential election in December last year to Adama Barrow but said he would not relinquish power, claiming that there had been irregularities in the vote and pushing the country to the edge of war.

West African nations, which had been peacefully trying to convince him to leave, gradually turned to the idea of removing him militarily and put a regional force on standby as the official end of Jammeh’s mandate approached. On Saturday, some two days after the expiration of his mandate, Jammeh finally announced a decision “to relinquish the mantle of leadership” and, now with his exit from The Gambia, the way was paved for President Adama Barrow to return home from neighboring Senegal, where he was inaugurated on Thursday.

Jammeh, who had taken power in a 1994 coup, demanded from the negotiators that he be given amnesty and safe passage out of The Gambia and that his political party be recognized. But no deal on amnesty was finalized with the negotiators and Jammeh was forced to go into exile.

Regional leaders did escort him into a plane, however, seeing him off into exile in Equatorial Guinea. His family and aides were to depart on a separate plane. The fate of his party was not immediately clear. During Jammeh’s reign, his government was accused of harsh treatment of opponents.

Presstv

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has unanimously approved a resolution endorsing efforts by some West African countries to ensure the respect of “the will of the people” in The Gambia. The 15-member body on Thursday approved a Senegal-drafted resolution expressing “full support” to Gambia’s new President Adama Barrow and calling on ex-leader Yahya Jammeh to step down. The resolution calls on the council to give “its full support” to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to ensure that Barrow’s election victory on December 1 is respected by “political means first.” Senegal presented the draft resolution to the council on Wednesday, requesting UN approval for ECOWAS to take “all necessary measures” to force Jammeh to cede power to Barrow.

The harsh language of the resolution was dropped during negotiations late Wednesday because some UNSC members objected to backing military action, according to diplomats. The vote came shortly after Barrow was sworn in as Gambia’s new president. Barrow, 51, was sworn in inside Gambia’s embassy in neighboring Senegal, where he had been remaining after Jammeh refused to endorse the results of the presidential election. “This is a victory of the Gambian nation. Our flag will now fly high among those of the most democratic nations of the world,” Barrow said, waving to crowds in Senegal’s capital Dakar.

Jammeh, who lost the votes by a slim margin to Barrow, first accepted the defeat but then changed his mind and said there were irregularities in a recount. Following the UN vote, Senegalese troops moved across the border into The Gambia. “They entered this afternoon,” army spokesman Colonel Abdoul Ndiaye told AFP. Troops from Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria began building up along Gambia’s border with Senegal hours before Jammeh’s mandate was to expire by January 19.

During the swearing-in ceremony, Barrow called on members of Gambia’s small-size military to pledge loyalty to him as the commander in chief. “I command the chief of defense staff and officers of high command to demonstrate their loyalty to me as commander in chief without any delay,” Barrow said. “I command all members of the armed forces to remain in their barracks, those found wanting or in possession of firearms without my order will be considered rebels,” he added. Gambia’s army chief Ousman Badjie had said earlier on Thursday that his troops would not get involved in the country’s deepening “political dispute.” He also said that troops would not prevent foreign forces from entering The Gambia.

Presstv

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU) announced last week that they will no longer recognize President Yahya Jammeh as the Head of State of the Gambia from the 20th of January 2017 if he refuses to cede power to President-elect Adama Barrow.

The idea of resorting to the deployment of military force in the country was also discussed last Friday during the visit of the ECOWAS leaders in the Gambia which was attended by Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for West and Sahel Africa.

To ensure that the electoral verdict is respected, Chambas said that ECOWAS should ask the Security Council to approve the deployment of military troops in the Gambia if President Jammeh refuses to give up power. Jammeh warned the international community last week that the crisis will be resolved in accordance with the laws in force in the Gambia and that an “external interference” will not be accepted.

The steps to resolve the crisis through dialogue are continuing while ECOWAS has asked President-elect Adama Barrow to stay put in Senegal, while negotiations continue for his likely inauguration on the 19th of January. De facto, Barrow finds himself by force of circumstances outside the country while Jammeh who received the support of the Army barricades in Banjul.

A private meeting of the Chiefs of Staff of ECOWAS was held last Saturday in Abuja to reflect on the deployment of a force called Group Military Intervention (ECOMIG) in the Gambia if power does not handed to the President-elect. The ECOWAS Chiefs of Staff have started to set up troops for a possible deployment in The Gambia. In this controversial circumstances, many political commentators fear of another Libya  as Nigerian leader, Buhari and the other ECOWAS heads of state have been blowing the heat and cold for Adama Barrow inauguration.

By Chi Prudence Asong

Nigerian lawmakers have voted to offer Gambian President Yahya Jammeh asylum if he hands over power to opposition leader Adama Barrow, who was declared the winner of the country’s December presidential election. The House of Representatives, Nigeria’s lower house, on Thursday approved a motion to authorize President Muhammadu Buhari to offer Jammeh asylum if he steps down when his five-year mandate ends on January 19.

Jammeh has a constitutional right to remain in office until his term ends. The Nigerian president is due to travel with other West African leaders to Gambia on Friday to persuade Jammeh to accept the election results. Jammeh had initially accepted the results of the December 1 election, in which Barrow was declared the winner, but reversed his position more than a week later and called for a revote.  Barrow says Jammeh lacks the constitutional authority to call for a new vote or to invalidate the election.

Leaders from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have already traveled to the Gambia in an attempt to strike a deal with the president to make him to leave power. ECOWAS has said that Jammeh must step down and vowed “to take all necessary action to enforce the results” of the election. Jammeh has, however, questioned the role of the regional body as a genuine mediator. In New Year’s speech broadcast on state TV, the Gambian president accused the regional bloc of declaring a war against his country. He also pledged to defend his country against what he called any foreign aggression.

Jammeh has also described the mediation by ECOWAS as an insult to Gambia’s constitution. His refusal to accept the results prompted political upheaval in the country, bringing pressure from the international community on him to accept the result and step down. Several countries and the United Nations Security Council have called for a peaceful transition of power in Gambia. Jammeh seized power in a military coup in 1994 and has been in power ever since. He has long been under fire by human rights groups, who accuse him of torturing, imprisoning, or even sometimes killing his opponents.

Presstv