2024-04-14 10:10:39
Speaking at a conference organized by the Ribat Al Fath Association for Sustainable Development on the theme “Moroccan sovereignty over the Saharan provinces through the royal archives”, Ms. Simou provided a historical overview of the main stages and documents which attest to the sovereignty of Morocco over the Saharan provinces.
Ms. Simou articulated her intervention around three fundamental axes, namely “the sovereignty of Morocco over the Saharan provinces”, “the Moroccan Sahara in the era of the Alawite dynasty” and “how colonialism planned the fragmentation of our integrity territorial”.
“By going through the documents relating to the Moroccan State throughout history, we see the permanent presence of the Sahara in the system of government in Morocco and its role in revitalizing its history,” she indicated. , noting that the majority of dynasties that have succeeded one another in reign in Morocco come from the South or the Saharan oases.
She noted that, from the Idrissids to the Alawites, eight dynasties succeeded one another over the reign of Morocco, most of which belong to southern Morocco, which demonstrates that this space, in the Sahara and its surroundings, played a crucial role in the establishment of the Moroccan state with its borders, its identity and its traditions since the Islamic conquest until today.
In this sense, it shed light on the economic role that the Moroccan Sahara played at the time to control the gold routes and the large commercial centers, such as Sijilmassa and Aghmat among others, highlighting the security enjoyed by commercial caravans transiting through the Saharan provinces, thanks to the sovereignty exercised by the Moroccan state over these provinces.
Furthermore, Ms. Simou underlined that the Sahara occupied a special place under the reign of the Alaouite dynasty since the 17th century, specifying that the available documents confirm the existence of ties of allegiance (Béïa) between the Sahrawi tribes and the Alawite sultans and kings, thanks to the permanent presence of the Makhzen in the different Saharan provinces.
She recalled that Sultan Moulay Ismaïl exercised direct sovereignty over the Saharan provinces by appointing his two sons, Princes Moulay Abdelmalek and Al Mamoune, as his representatives in these regions, adding that the correspondence exchanged with the sultans carried significant meaning. politics and sovereignty.
The rich documentary heritage on the Sahara available to the Directorate of the Royal Archives highlights that the exercise of Moroccan sovereignty over the Saharan provinces is manifested in particular through the continuity of the “Béïa” from the Sahrawi tribes to the Alawite sultans and kings, she assured.
She also mentioned the existence of several agreements, treaties and dahirs which testify to the exercise of sovereignty on the religious, military and political levels, and reveal the association of the Sahrawis with the sultanian military operations (harkas) towards the regions of South, and the establishment of a communication system between the central power and the Saharan regions.
Likewise, urbanization, the construction of towers, schools and zaouias on trade routes in the Saharan provinces, as well as the restoration of certain houses or the intervention of sultans and kings in the resolution of conflicts between tribes confirm that the Saharan region was indeed under Moroccan sovereignty, she continued.
These are, she clarified, eloquent indicators attesting to Morocco’s sovereignty over the Saharan provinces that Moroccan sultans and kings have always defended.
Addressing the axis relating to the “Moroccan Sahara in the colonial system”, Ms. Simou noted that the Royal Archives demonstrate that the Moroccan Sahara fueled colonial desires, aroused rivalry between traders and attracted travelers, explorers and missionaries. to serve political and economic aims, ensuring however that “the Moroccan Makhzen and the Sahrawi tribes responded firmly to these attempts”.
At the same time, she reviewed the agreements concluded in the context of the French colonization of Algeria with a view to undermining the unity of Morocco, as well as the efforts and actions carried out, in response, by the sultans and kings of the Alawite dynasty to complete the territorial integrity of the Kingdom.
The royal archives, she argued, leave no doubt as to the fact that “the Moroccan Sahara, which is part of our territorial integrity, enjoys its own specificity and interacts, like all regions of Morocco, with the other cultural, political and economic components of the Kingdom”.
The sovereignty of the Kingdom over the Saharan provinces was exercised under the reign of several Moroccan dynasties, she noted, stressing that “the Sahara is indeed Moroccan through the legitimacy of “Béïa” and the strength of a historical reference which must necessarily be taken into account to better understand our cause.
She pointed out that colonialism used all means, subterfuges and schemes to “amputate our territories”, while the sultans and kings of Morocco have constantly defended the territorial integrity of the country and worked for the development of the Saharan provinces, affirming that His Majesty King Mohammed VI places these provinces at the heart of the advanced regionalization project.
The Kingdom, under the leadership of His Majesty the King, continues to consolidate its sovereignty over the southern provinces, thanks to growing international support for the Moroccan character of the Sahara, she concluded.
This meeting was marked by the presence of eminent historians, researchers and academicians, in addition to actors from civil society.
2024-04-14 10:10:39