The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Lesotho denied Rabat’s claims that it had recently signed the statement of the so-called “Tangier Declaration” on the Sahrawi Republic, stressing that the issue of Western Sahara is a matter of decolonization that must be completed on the basis of the Sahrawi people’s exercise of their inalienable right to self-determination and independence.
A statement by the Lesotho Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that “there are news articles circulating in the media regarding the so-called “Tangier Appeal” which was allegedly signed by its representative, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Lesego Makguthi in Morocco (…) to expel the SADR from the federation. African”.
Lesotho’s Foreign Minister, Legon Mbutjuana, denied this categorically, saying, “The Government of Lesotho strongly, completely and utterly distances itself from this alleged signing of an appeal by former Minister McGothy, and reiterates its continued principled and proud position on the SADR or Western Sahara.”
In this context, he stressed that “the Kingdom of Lesotho and Western Sahara maintain friendly bilateral relations, as successive governments in Lesotho have continued their support for Western Sahara.
These relationships have been maintained over the years and have continued to grow from good to better.”
He added that “Lesotho’s foreign policy is based on principles that respect the sovereign equality of all states, peaceful settlement of disputes, non-use of threat or force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, and the right to self-determination.”
The minister stressed that his country’s foreign policy, “which has remained almost the same since its independence in 1966, has maintained the country’s principled position to support the struggle of the people of Western Sahara,” rather that “Lesotho exists as a state today thanks to solidarity with others, and its independence and sovereignty will continue to a large extent.” , based on solidarity with other countries.
The statement also mentioned that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) “organized a solidarity conference on Western Sahara early in 2019 in the Republic of South Africa, and its summit held in the Republic of Tanzania in August 2019 endorsed the decisions of this conference.”
Thus, adds Legon Mbutgwana, “The government of the Kingdom of Lesotho will continue to maintain its principled position on Western Sahara, and reiterate its support for the SADR as an independent African state.”
The minister expressed his regret that “Western Sahara remains the only colony on the African continent contrary to the principles of the United Nations Charter,” stressing that “the issue of Western Sahara is a matter of decolonization that still has to be completed on the basis of the Sahrawi people’s exercise of their inalienable right to self-determination and independence.” .
The statement also stressed that the Government of Lesotho stresses the need to “create conditions that would allow the conduct of a peaceful and fair referendum for self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.” Therefore, “the government declares Lesotho’s support for peaceful negotiations aimed at holding the referendum without preconditions.”
The minister concluded his statement by affirming that his country “will investigate the alleged involvement of Mr. Lysigo McGothy in signing the so-called (Tanger Appeal) and other related activities on his part and take appropriate action, if necessary.”
It is worth noting that the Moroccan occupying power had organized a new play that brought together a number of former African ministers and officials, claiming that they represent their countries and that they are calling for the expulsion of the Sahrawi Republic from the African Union.
Although the participants are just former officials, the Moroccan media, as usual, tries to mislead Moroccan, African and even international public opinion by claiming that they represent their countries, which was undermined by the Kingdom of Lesotho’s denial of any knowledge of the official participation of a representative in this failed play.
#Kingdom #Lesotho #belies #Makhzen #claims #Western #Sahara #AlHiwar #AlJazaeryia
#oussama_boulegheb #elhiwardz #alakhibariat.xyz #elhiwar #elhiwar-en
