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ANC regrets Morocco's readmission to the African Union

FILE PICTURE: The launch of the African Union in Durban: A veritable forest of National flags reflect the member nations of the AU. Pic: Richard Shorey. 10/7/02. © Sunday Times.
FILE PICTURE: The launch of the African Union in Durban: A veritable forest of National flags reflect the member nations of the AU. Pic: Richard Shorey. 10/7/02. © Sunday Times.

The African National Congress (ANC) on Tuesday said the readmission of the Kingdom of Morocco to the African Union (AU) was “a regrettable decision“.

The 54-member bloc voted overwhelmingly to readmit Morocco after an absence of 33 years following a lengthy debate at the 28th AU Summit in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Monday. Thirty-nine of the 54 states approved Morocco’s return to the AU.

“This decision represents a significant setback to the cause of the Sahrawi people and their quest for self-determination and independence in the Western Sahara. The Western Sahara is one of Africa’s last remaining colonial outposts‚” the ANC said.

Chad's foreign minister wins vote to head African Union, says officialChad’s foreign minister Moussa Faki was elected as the chairman of the African Union commission on Monday, a Chadian official told Reuters on Monday at a summit of the 54-nation body. 

South Africa’s ruling party said it enjoys longstanding fraternal ties with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro (POLISARIO)‚ and with the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).

“The ANC notes that this decision paves the way for the Kingdom of Morocco to take their place amongst the community of nations and to enjoy the benefits of AU membership- whilst the Sahrawi people continue to suffer under an unjust occupation of their ancestral land.

“The ANC‚ whilst respecting the decision of the AU‚ hopes that in coming months the AU will not allow the matter of the independence of Western Sahara to be swept under the carpet of political expediency.”

 

 

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