Morocco rejoins the African Union after 33 years, Mugabe kicks
Morocco rejoins the AU after a 33-year absence, despite resistance from member states over the status of Western Sahara.
The decision to admit Morocco back into the AU came on Monday at the African leaders summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia [Reuters]
The African Union decided to allow Morocco back into the fold after a 33-year absence, despite stiff resistance from some member states over the status of Western Sahara.
After an emotional and tense debate, member states decided by consensus to leave the question of the disputed territory of Western Sahara for another day, and resolve it with Morocco "back in the family".
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has lashed out at African leaders, saying they lack principles and are easily swayed after they voted to readmit Morocco to the African Union.
The African Union decided to allow Morocco back into the fold after a 33-year absence, despite stiff resistance from some member states over the status of Western Sahara.
After an emotional and tense debate, member states decided by consensus to leave the question of the disputed territory of Western Sahara for another day, and resolve it with Morocco "back in the family".
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has lashed out at African leaders, saying they lack principles and are easily swayed after they voted to readmit Morocco to the African Union.
"Morocco has been admitted to join the AU with a view that it will become the 55th member of the continental body. That's made with the understanding that Western Sahara will remain a member of the AU," said Lamine Baali, ambassador of Western Sahara to Ethiopia and the AU.
"All the debates were focused on [the issue] that Morocco should respect the internationally recognised border of Western Sahara."
The only African country not to belong to the AU, Morocco left its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity, in 1984 after the body recognised the independence of Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara.
Morocco submitted its bid to rejoin last year, reportedly in the hope that being inside the AU would bring it diplomatic gains against Western Sahara's independence movement - the Polisario Front - and allow it to lobby against Western Sahara's membership in the AU.
But Baali said Morocco had been re-admitted "with the understanding that Western Sahara will remain a member of the AU".
The membership of relatively wealthy Morocco was welcomed by many members of the AU, which has been criticised for being overly dependent on non-African donor funding.
There was also some opposition from countries supporting the Polisario, observers said.
An African Union source, who followed the debate for Morocco to return to the continental body, said that 39 countries supported Morocco's bid but nine voted against it.
Polisario leader and member of the Sawhrawi delegation Minister Mohamed Beiset told Al Jazeera that while there was a lengthy debate, "the wisdom of the African leaders made it possible to reach a consensus that was acceptable to everyone".
The delegation decided, said Beiset, that "it was better to have Morocco inside the house, inside the family, and to try to reach African solutions to African problems".
He congratulated Morocco for joining the AU, and said it was "a new opportunity that we should all seize in starting a ... genuine dialogue between us to reach a solution to the long-standing conflict that has separated us".
MUGABE KICKS
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has lashed out at African leaders, saying they lack principles and are easily swayed after they voted to readmit Morocco to the African Union.
Thirty-nine of 54 countries approved Morocco’s return to the AU at the bloc’s 28th Ordinary Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Monday.
However, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Algeria were against the move citing Rabat’s continued occupation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
President Mugabe told journalists on arrival in Harare on Tuesday that most African leaders had no ideological grounding.
“I think its lack of ideology,” the 92-year-old ruler, who turns 93 later this month, said as he expressed his disappointment of the summit outcome.
“They (African leaders) have not had the same revolutionary experience as some of us and there is too much reliance on their erstwhile colonisers.
“We will still fight and see whether in fact Morocco is abandoning its occupation of parts of Sahrawi,” he added.
Morocco colonised Sahrawi in 1975 and was expelled from the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the AU predecessor, for violating the bloc’s founding values and principles.
Its return is seen by some countries as tacit endorsement by the AU of its continued occupation of Sahrawi.
President Mugabe insinuated that African countries that supported Morocco’s readmission were swayed by donor money.
“Morocco has been working for quite a long time, building mosques here, giving money at times. The game is not lost,” he said. “We will fight the issue to the end.
“But that is quite a blow to some of us; we believe in rules, in the principles and we have wanted to see Morocco declare at least, that yes, we have given up the claim of occupation,” he went on.
President Mugabe also blamed Botswana President Ian Khama for the failure of its Foreign minister Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi to win the post of AU Commission chair which was taken by Chadian Moussa Faki Mahamat.
Dr Venson-Moitoi was the Southern African Development Community candidate.
The Zimbabwean leader said President Khama did not lobby enough for his minister.
“We worked behind the scenes and the poor lady tried her best,” President Mugabe said.
“But the other countries were arguing that ah, you are a daughter whose father never appears at the AU and sometimes takes contrary positions (to those of the bloc). So she had no chance,” Mr Mugabe said.
President Khama rarely attends AU meetings citing concerns that they are often unproductive and he has also, on several occasions, broken ranks with the bloc over its reluctance to condemn leaders that manipulate elections in their own countries.
Botswana was the only country that criticised President Mugabe’s re-election in 2013 after widespread reports of electoral fraud.
"All the debates were focused on [the issue] that Morocco should respect the internationally recognised border of Western Sahara."
The only African country not to belong to the AU, Morocco left its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity, in 1984 after the body recognised the independence of Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara.
Morocco submitted its bid to rejoin last year, reportedly in the hope that being inside the AU would bring it diplomatic gains against Western Sahara's independence movement - the Polisario Front - and allow it to lobby against Western Sahara's membership in the AU.
But Baali said Morocco had been re-admitted "with the understanding that Western Sahara will remain a member of the AU".
The membership of relatively wealthy Morocco was welcomed by many members of the AU, which has been criticised for being overly dependent on non-African donor funding.
There was also some opposition from countries supporting the Polisario, observers said.
An African Union source, who followed the debate for Morocco to return to the continental body, said that 39 countries supported Morocco's bid but nine voted against it.
Polisario leader and member of the Sawhrawi delegation Minister Mohamed Beiset told Al Jazeera that while there was a lengthy debate, "the wisdom of the African leaders made it possible to reach a consensus that was acceptable to everyone".
The delegation decided, said Beiset, that "it was better to have Morocco inside the house, inside the family, and to try to reach African solutions to African problems".
He congratulated Morocco for joining the AU, and said it was "a new opportunity that we should all seize in starting a ... genuine dialogue between us to reach a solution to the long-standing conflict that has separated us".
MUGABE KICKS
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has lashed out at African leaders, saying they lack principles and are easily swayed after they voted to readmit Morocco to the African Union.
Thirty-nine of 54 countries approved Morocco’s return to the AU at the bloc’s 28th Ordinary Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Monday.
However, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Algeria were against the move citing Rabat’s continued occupation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
President Mugabe told journalists on arrival in Harare on Tuesday that most African leaders had no ideological grounding.
“I think its lack of ideology,” the 92-year-old ruler, who turns 93 later this month, said as he expressed his disappointment of the summit outcome.
“They (African leaders) have not had the same revolutionary experience as some of us and there is too much reliance on their erstwhile colonisers.
“We will still fight and see whether in fact Morocco is abandoning its occupation of parts of Sahrawi,” he added.
Morocco colonised Sahrawi in 1975 and was expelled from the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the AU predecessor, for violating the bloc’s founding values and principles.
Its return is seen by some countries as tacit endorsement by the AU of its continued occupation of Sahrawi.
President Mugabe insinuated that African countries that supported Morocco’s readmission were swayed by donor money.
“Morocco has been working for quite a long time, building mosques here, giving money at times. The game is not lost,” he said. “We will fight the issue to the end.
“But that is quite a blow to some of us; we believe in rules, in the principles and we have wanted to see Morocco declare at least, that yes, we have given up the claim of occupation,” he went on.
President Mugabe also blamed Botswana President Ian Khama for the failure of its Foreign minister Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi to win the post of AU Commission chair which was taken by Chadian Moussa Faki Mahamat.
Dr Venson-Moitoi was the Southern African Development Community candidate.
The Zimbabwean leader said President Khama did not lobby enough for his minister.
“We worked behind the scenes and the poor lady tried her best,” President Mugabe said.
“But the other countries were arguing that ah, you are a daughter whose father never appears at the AU and sometimes takes contrary positions (to those of the bloc). So she had no chance,” Mr Mugabe said.
President Khama rarely attends AU meetings citing concerns that they are often unproductive and he has also, on several occasions, broken ranks with the bloc over its reluctance to condemn leaders that manipulate elections in their own countries.
Botswana was the only country that criticised President Mugabe’s re-election in 2013 after widespread reports of electoral fraud.