The African National Congress affirms its firm support for the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination

The African National Congress renewed its position in support of the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence, in an affirmation that reflects the party’s harmony with its legacy of struggle against colonialism and hegemony, and places the continued Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara a subject of political and moral condemnation.

The Sahrawi News Agency (SAS) reported on Tuesday that this position was expressed by the party leadership during the work of the session of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, which allocated an important space to discuss just international issues, most notably the Western Sahara conflict, which is still stagnant due to what it described as Rabat’s intransigence and its obstruction of the path of self-determination sponsored by the United Nations for decades.

In this context, South African President and party leader, Cyril Ramaphosa, expressed the African National Congress’s concern for the continued Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara, calling for the acceleration of enabling the Sahrawi people to exercise their legitimate right to freedom and independence.

The session also represented an opportunity to renew the party’s commitment to the principles of international solidarity with peoples fighting against colonialism, a position that derives its moral and political dimension from the experience of South Africa itself in confronting the apartheid regime, in contrast to what it considered Moroccan attempts to establish a fait accompli through economic diplomacy and political pressure.

The works witnessed the participation of the Polisario Front, represented by the member of the National Secretariat, Fatima El Mahdi, who held meetings with women’s and youth party organizations, including a meeting with the party’s First Secretary-General, Nomvula Mokonyane, along with officials from the women’s and youth committees and foreign relations.

During these meetings, Fatima El Mahdi expressed the Sahrawi people’s appreciation for the principled and supportive positions of the African National Congress Party, considering that this solidarity constitutes an important political and moral support in the face of the policies of the Moroccan occupation, which are based on oppression, plundering wealth, and obliterating the Sahrawi identity, in defiance of the resolutions of international legitimacy.