Open letter to Ambassador Malainin Takana Mohamed Ali

By: Phatse Justice Piitso

The United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council have the obligation to hold the Kingdom of Morocco accountable for the atrocities committed against the people of Saharawi.

Dear Comrade Ambassador Malainin Takana Mohamed Ali

I am writing this letter with the affinity of true comradeship and friendship. Please convey my regards to your family, the leadership of the POLISARIO FRONT, and the people of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic.

Receiving your call on the occasion of my birthday earlier during the month of October 2022 was both refreshing and heartening. I was overwhelmed with the greatest joy to receive such warm birthday wishes from a true descendant of the empire desert of the Sahel, where water is the king and the shadow is the queen.

Your true spirit of brotherhood brought back the fascinating memories of our rare discussions in Havana, Cuba, during our tenure as Ambassadors of our respective countries. I will never forget the words of wisdom you borrowed me, amongst which was one which says a rose in the desert only survives on its strength and not its beauty.

The recent state visit by your President Comrade Brahim Ghali to South Africa has brought tremendous enthusiasm between the people of our two countries. More than ever before, the flames of solidarity to the just cause of your struggles for territorial sovereignty and independence are becoming brighter on each and every passing moment.

Today millions of the people of my country and the world know that in the hidden beauty of the desert of the Sahel, the oasis of the silent civilisation of mankind, live the most humble people of the Saharawi. Our solidarity with the people of the Saharawi is born out of our common struggle for the liberation of our people.

They know that in the boundless wilderness of the kingdom of the desert sands are the footprints of the long journey of the beautiful roses of the Sahel, the true storehouse of hope, to the future struggles of all humanity. The footprints which even the most powerful winds of the desert cannot obliterate.

In the famous Cartagena Manifesto of 1812, Simon Bolivar, the father of Latin American war of independence, makes a clarion call to all the metropolis of the world to hasten to break the chains of those victims who groan in the dungeons, ever-hopeful of rescue. He says such are people that we must not make a mockery of their trust.

He directs all of us never to be insensible to the cries of our brothers and sisters. Again, he commands, fly to avenge the dead, to give life to the dying, to bring freedom to the oppressed and liberty to all.

He says of us to mobilise those whose limbs are benumbed by chains, their sight dimmed by the darkness of the dungeons, and their strength sapped by the pestilence of servitude, to march toward the temple of liberty and create a new equilibrium of the universe.

The impetus of international solidarity on the question of the struggles for the independence of the people of Saharawi is reaching greater heights. An African continent without an independent Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic will remain incomplete.

We are inspired by the enormity of your courage and steadfastness to liberate yourselves from the jaws of the empire. What I am sure of is that the victory of the struggle of the people of the Saharawi is the victory of the struggles of all humanity.

Saharawi is the birthplace of one of the greatest nations of the African continent, a nation of great men and women born out of difficulties. A nation whose rich history of struggle has become a catalogue of the greatest feats of human solidarity.

For over centuries you have endured humiliation and untold atrocities of torture and abuse of human rights inflicted by the Spanish and French colonialism. Today, on the eve of our modern century, you still remain perpetual victims of crimes of genocide, committed by the kingdom of Morocco.

The invasion of the Saharawi by the military forces of the Kingdom of Morocco is the violation of one of the cornerstone principles of the United Nations Charter, on the rights of peoples to self-determination. The people of the Saharawi have the fundamental rights to determine their own destiny.

We are aware that it is not in the best interest of imperialism to ensure a peaceful transition for the true independence of the people of the Saharawi. We are aware that with the assistance of the United States of America and the European Union, Morocco continues to plunder the precious natural resources of the occupied land.

The truth is that beneath the desert sands of the Saharawi are billions of reserves of phosphate which is being exploited by the forces of imperialism. There are other billions of prospective reserves of oil, iron Ore, and other precious metals.

We do not know how much resources they have looted over the years. But it is in the best interest of the empire to exploit the abundant natural resources of the region, disregarding the horrible conditions of merciless abuse of women and children of the Saharawi.

We also make a call to the world community of nations to put more pressure on the kingdom of Morocco, to release many of the political prisoners — men, women, and children languishing in Moroccan jails.

These are the martyrs, the beautiful roses of the Sahel, who have volunteered to relinquish their own lives, for the freedom and dignity of their own people.

To them, we say you are true sons and daughters of the African soil. The fear of death is an obstacle for the true happiness of your people.

We are confident that no matter how difficult it may be to find yourselves in those conditions of incarceration, one day you shall overcome. You are true patriots of the struggles of humanity.

In our lifetime we must strive to achieve the important goal of building a better world for all. There is no nobler cause than to be part of those who cherish to achieve a better world for humanity.

Thanks

*Ambassador Phatse Justice Piitso is a member of the ruling party the African National Congress in South Africa, writing this open letter in his personal capacity.