Morocco To facilitate Autonomy For Northern Mali

HASSAN MASIKY

03/20/13

Washington  /  Morocco News  Board --   After months of advocating for a more engaged Moroccan diplomacy in the Malian conflict and for including the The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in any future resolution to the conflict in the North, I am pleased to report that Morocco’ Party of Ethnicity and Modernity (known as PAM) has decided to organize a reconciliation meeting between the Malian government and the Touareg rebels.

According to a report published in The Moroccan daily Al-Massae, The PAM will host Malian officials and representatives of the MNLA in the Moroccan city of Marrakech to discuss the possibility and viability of a proposed  “advanced local autonomy plan” for the Azawad region in Northern Mali.

The Marrakech meeting, slated for April 5th and 6th, came about as a result of the MNLA leadership’s attempts to use Morocco’s good relations with the Bamako government as a venue to convince Malian officials of the Touareg good intention and earnestness about bring the conflict in the North to a peaceful end. According to AL-Massae, After a meeting between PAM parliamentarian and the  MNLA  leader , Moussa Ag Chérif  during which the Touareg leader assured his Moroccan hosts of his organizations repudiation of past calls for the  independence of the Azawad.

As fighting between French forces and Islamist militants continues in the North, France and Mali realize the difficulty the Malian state will encounter in securing the North without the help of the local Touareg. Morocco, with its experience in the Western Sahara and without a hidden Agenda in Mali, is suited to play the role of mediator between the government and the Touareg rebels.

The main hurdle to the implementation of a local autonomy plan in the Azawad remains Algeria’s undeclared agenda. The Algerian government views a locally ruled Azawad a direct threat to its nation territorial integrity. With social and political trouble brewing in the Algerian Sahara including areas populated with Algerian Touareg, Algiers has steadfastly rejected any plan that may lead to the independence of the Azawad.

Despite its pro-independence position in the Western Sahara conflict, the Algerian government has opted to support and assist the French military efforts rather than entertain the idea of Touareg autonomy as a political solution to the conflict in Mali. 

Because of its long porous borders with Mali and its military might, Algeria could sway the outcome of the Malian crisis. For now, Morocco should bring the two opposing parties to the negation table and hope for the best. 

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Comments (5)  

 

-3 #1 RE: Morocco To facilitate Autonomy For Northern Mali — muslim 2013-03-20 13:09

Separation is better for the malians the tuareg peoples are muslims the rest are christians if they don't separate now they will have sectarian violence later.

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0 #2 RE: Morocco To facilitate Autonomy For Northern Mali — Morcelli 2013-03-20 14:02

I just love how the Author twists events to make Morocco look as the good guy.

First of all and as we know it, Morocco is nothing but the good student of France.
France got into the Mali mess and now they want out of it and fast, one way of getting out is to make the Malian Government negotiate with those who started it all. France the master asked Morocco and PAM in particular -the King's party- to host some sort of negotiations which would help France to get out and Morocco as well because Morocco hopes show that If the MNLA can negotiate, the polisario should do the same thing.

Mr. Hassan you've got to do better man. Our only way out remains a negotiated solution between Algeria and Morocco.

Right now, the Algerians are refusing to negotiate thinking that they are ahead of the game and the ball is in Morocco court and it is, but one thing the Algerians do not understand is that Morocco will never ever, let me repeat, NEVER EVER, give up an inch of the sahara. The Sahara is a National sacred issue not a monarchy issue.
What the Algerians are doing is fighting the Moroccan people more that their number one target, the Moroccan Palace.


Hassan as much as you are knowledgeable about events in the Maghreb and beyond, it seems to me that you are stuck in the past. Just like the Algerians, you just don't understand that the tactics of the past no longer work.
It is simply not in the west interest that the Sahara problem gets resolved.

• Who are they going to sell weapons to?
  Which oil fields they will explore and get the majority of the profit?
  with who they will negotiate billions of dollar contracts to build high speed rails and trains, planes, ..etc?

Our only hope is a new generation of leaders would erect in Algeria, a generation that will defer the Sahara issue to the UN, a generation that will spend the billions on their own instead of the Polisario.

I don't see it happening soon but I know that it will eventually happen. I know that the Maghreb is exploding with young people who understand that peace is better than war and who believe that we can no longer live apart and union is better than doing it alone.

I know that some rubbish coming here make us think that peace is distant and far to reach but I am still hoping that yearning for peace will prevail.

That's the way I see it, it's pretty hard to miss.

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-2 #3 Allez Le Maroc, ecrase l'Algrie — Hassan2 2013-03-20 23:41

Bravo le Maroc, c,est le tour the l'Algerie, Pay Back time....

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+1 #4 Morocco should show the way — Ned 2013-03-22 11:59

Morocco should show the way, and give full autonomy to Western Sahara

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+1 #5 RE: Morocco To facilitate Autonomy For Northern Mali — JR 2013-03-22 21:58

Ah, the PAM. A bunch of corrupt opportunists are peace makers now. This on-going hipocricy is beyond laughable. Let's see, these are the guys who flunked to the palace's party thinking that the chess like moves that were put in place by the palace will pay a major dividend, once l'Hima becomes head of the government. Fortunately, a major event swept through the Arab world and shattered their dreams. Check mate!
Unfortunately, plan B was already in place, bring on the PJD. Another bunch who lack governing skills, expos their vulnerabilitie, then vote them out.

You gotta hand it to the Makhzen. They sure know how to play the game.

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