– They did it! Good job by Morocco who performed this feat. Long live Africa. The most famous soccer player from the Ivory Coast, Didier Drogba, tweeted after Morocco progressed to the semi-finals of the Qatar World Cup. Nigeria’s outgoing president was also a proud African. – Morocco makes the entire continent proud, was the message from Muhammadu Buhari. Morocco is the national team that fights for an entire continent, at least according to the team’s coach. – We have an entire nation behind us, an entire continent behind us, and the Arab world with us, said Walid Regragui at the press conference ahead of the quarter-final against Portugal. And after the match, journalists around Africa could interview people who paid tribute to the Moroccan national team. Opting out of the community In the group stage they beat Belgium, so Morocco has beaten three countries that are former colonial powers in Africa. And now it is France that stands on the opposite side of the field. It could hardly be more symbolic. Morocco has become the team that beats countries that many Africans find it extra fun to beat. There are many praises in the direction of Morocco, but it has not always been this way. Because there is a political issue that still causes many African countries to be negative towards Morocco: the long-lasting and still current conflict in the Western Sahara. Many believe that the Western Sahara is Africa’s last colony, and that the colonial power is Morocco. Western Sahara is particularly rich in phosphorus. The area is on the African mainland, just east of the Canary Islands. It is slightly smaller than Great Britain in area, but at the same time very sparsely populated. The conflict in Western Sahara Western Sahara was a Spanish colony until 1976. Shortly after Spain withdrew, Mauritania came from the south and Morocco from the north. The two countries fight for control of the territory. In 1979, Mauritania withdrew, and Morocco remained. This was followed by a long guerrilla war between the liberation movement Polisario and Morocco. A peace agreement was signed in 1992. There, among other things, it was agreed that there should be a referendum on Western Sahara’s independence. This referendum has never taken place. Today, there is also disagreement about who can participate in a possible referendum. Morocco believes that many of those who have come to the area in recent years should be allowed to participate in the referendum. Today, Morocco controls most of the area, while parts of Western Sahara are controlled by the Polisario. A 2,700 kilometer long wall runs through the Western Sahara, and one of the world’s largest minefields runs along the wall. Freedom of the press in the area is particularly bad, and there are constant reports that demonstrations are being severely cracked down on. Nevertheless, the UN operation Minurso does not have a mandate to report on human rights violations, as the only UN operation in the world. Morocco’s ally, France, is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and has stopped attempts to strengthen Minurso’s mandate. Source: Wikipedia A number of African countries support Western Sahara’s right to independence, and the African Union (AU) has recognized Western Sahara as a member state. That happened in 1984, and Morocco’s response was to withdraw from the organization. As the only African country, Morocco was outside the union. Perhaps it was a form of counter-reaction that a few years later they applied to join Europe’s answer to the AU, namely the EU’s predecessor, the European Community. But even though Morocco borders Europe in many ways, the application was rejected because Morocco is not a European country. DEMONSTRATION: It is a small people, but the Sahrawis constantly mark their existence. Here in a demonstration in support of Western Sahara’s independence. Photo: Alvaro Barrientos / AP Wants support and at the same time occupies For many years, Morocco stood outside the good community, but in 1999 a turnaround began. Then King Mohammed VI took over the throne in Morocco. Since then, building up as a major power in Africa has been an important part of Morocco’s foreign policy. The country has worked for better cooperation, and in 2017 Morocco became a member again of the African Union. – Africa is my home, and I am now coming home again, said King Mohammed at the meeting where Morocco became a member again. But Morocco has at the same time stood firm on its view of the Western Sahara, and has also worked to support its own Western Sahara policy. The occupation of Western Sahara has continued, and Morocco has time and again used diplomacy to obtain support for this occupation. Thus, the criticism has also persisted, and in particular the large neighbor Algeria has been critical of Morocco’s role in the Western Sahara conflict. A hub But in contrast to the Western Sahara, Morocco is a large country. Their strategic location at a kind of global crossroads means that the Moroccans can play on many strings. The country is in Africa, but only a stone’s throw from Europe. At the same time, Morocco is part of the Arab world. And the highly topical national football team is in many ways a symbol of Morocco’s close ties to different parts of the world. Most of the players were born and raised in Europe, and are living proof of Morocco’s close ties to France and Spain in particular, but also Belgium. The team represents Africa in the World Cup. And the team’s management clearly underlines that they are also playing on behalf of Africa, and not just Morocco. At the same time, Morocco has yet to become the Arab representative in the first championship in the Arab world. GAZA: Several had turned up with Moroccan flags when they were going to watch the quarter-final between Morocco and Portugal on the big screen on the Gaza strip. Photo: Fatima Shbair / AP Flag on the pitch and song on TikTok And when it comes to the Arab world, there was no less support after the Moroccan defender Achraf Dari took a Palestinian flag with him in the celebration after Morocco’s victory over Spain. The stunt had a clear political message. It was a clear demonstration in support of Palestine, which has parts of its territory occupied by Israel. The stunt leads to new fans and cheers in the Arab world. There were many Morocco fans in Ramallah on the West Bank when it was Portugal’s turn to be knocked out in the quarter-finals. CELEBRATE WITH THE FLAG: Achraf Dari was dressed in a Palestinian flag when he celebrated the victory against Spain. Photo: Thanassis Stavrakis / AP But at the same time as they have shown opposition to occupation, the Moroccan players have also emphasized what is interpreted as support for occupation. This time too, it is Achraf Dari who is at the center. In a video he has posted on TikTok, you can see and hear from Morocco’s player bus. Several of the players sing along to the hit song “Laayoun Aynia”. In social media, there are many who believe that some of the lyrics can be interpreted as “Sahara belongs to us”. Its land belongs to us”. Thus, the lyrics can be perceived as support for Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara. TIKTOK CLIP: Good atmosphere when the Moroccan team sang “Laayoun Aynia”. The clip was posted on TikTok. Photo: Achref Dari on TikTok Others believe that it is only about happy soccer players singing a Moroccan song, and that the video cannot be interpreted as a political act. Football jubilation in Western Sahara? Regardless of the TikTok video, there is still no doubt that Morocco’s football success is being used for all it is worth by the many Moroccan activists in social media. A recurring situation is a video and picture of what are supposed to be football fans in Western Sahara’s capital, Layyoune. The text that accompanies the post claims that people have gone out of their homes in Western Sahara to celebrate the football success. But the post does not mention that the population of Western Sahara has been gradually replaced over almost 50 years. Many of those who live there today are originally from Morocco, and thus also support the Moroccan occupation. Tonight, Morocco will try to knock France out of the World Cup. There will be broad support from countries to the south of the African continent, and to the east in the Arab world. There is also the question of whether there will be new Palestinian flags or songs on TikTok if Morocco really pulls off a big prank and makes it all the way to the final.
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Morocco’s success team creates debate with flag and TikTok video – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
