Peru’s President, Dina Boluarte, was invited to “reconsider as soon as possible” her country’s position on the Moroccan Sahara by dissociating” Peru from pseudo +sadr+.
This call was made by the Chairwoman of the Peruvian Congressional Defense Committee, Patricia Chirinos, in a letter released on August 21 in Lima. s
In her letter to Boluarte, Chirinos wrote, under the prerogatives conferred on her by Peruvian law as a member of the Congress of the Republic, “I strongly appeal for an intervention on your part, as President of the Republic of Peru, so that the executive power over which you preside reconsiders as soon as possible” Peru’s position by “definitively dissociating the Peruvian State from the +sadr+.”
The letter added that this “expected correction” of Peru’s position “will be perceived as a transcendent act of friendship, especially on the part of a stateswoman,” which Morocco “will welcome as a gesture of genuine recognition of the Kingdom’s territorial integrity.”
The Peruvian member of parliament recalled the “shared history” uniting Morocco and Peru, which calls for “the strengthening and consolidation of ties with the Kingdom, an increasingly important power in Africa and in the current system of international relations, and collaboration in promoting peace, security, and respect for territorial integrity.”
Chirinos also referred to “the historic visit to Peru by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in 2004, which was a turning point in Morocco and Peru’s bilateral relations, as the Sovereign was the first Arab and African head of state to visit Peru.”
The Peruvian parliamentarian added that in 2024, the two countries will celebrate “the 60th anniversary of uninterrupted bilateral relations, established through diplomatic missions open in both capitals, Rabat and Lima, since 1986, and always presided over by ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary, a sign of a high-level, constant, and permanent political-diplomatic bond.”
Chirinos’ letter underlined the importance of recalling that Peru had recognized +sadr+ in 1984, “in an international context marked by the bipolar world of the Cold War, a position that was rightly corrected in 1996, when this recognition was suspended, thus opening a promising new bilateral chapter between the Moroccan and Peruvian states.”
The Peruvian member of parliament stated that “this stance of our foreign policy was seriously affected on September 8, 2021, when, in an unusual and unprecedented act, former president Pedro Castillo decided that our country should backtrack and resume relations with +sadr+, which was considered a breach of an unwavering Peruvian position of over 24 years of unconditional respect for international law.”
In this regard, Chirinos recalled that “this decision was modified on August 18, 2022″ by means of a communiqué from the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noting that “on September 8 of the same year, former President Castillo once again announced his support for the self-proclaimed +sadr+.”
The Chairwoman of the Peruvian Congressional Defense Committee affirmed that as a member of Congress, she “has been systematically and constantly concerned by the subject of the Moroccan Sahara,” adding that under “international law and actual facts, +sadr+ is not a real entity, as it does not meet the basic requirements of a state, which is even more true if we take into account that it is not recognized by international organizations such as the United Nations (UN), the European Union (AL), the Arab League (AL), or the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).”
The letter also stated that “if we refer solely to recognition by another state, it’s worth noting that 84% of UN member states do not recognize this separatist entity, and that most of the 30 countries that maintain relations with +sadr+ are those aligned with extremist ideologies, whose democratic practices are in question, or which find themselves in a situation of state failure or inexorable decline towards the status of genuine failed states.”
In a similar context, Chirinos expressed her concern about “a series of new and emerging threats based, among other things, on the interconnection between states that do not respect democratic principles and terrorist organizations, separatist movements or organized crime,” stressing that “this situation poses serious threat to the security of our countries, a threat that has increased in the Latin American region, putting our peoples, our unity, and the peace and sovereignty of our States in serious vulnerability.”
It should be recalled that last June, a Peruvian delegation visited the Moroccan southern provinces and expressed the Peruvian Congress’ support for the Moroccan Sahara and the Moroccan Autonomy Plan.