Morocco Commemorates Green March, Highlighting Historical Ties to Western Sahara
Morocco recently commemorated the Green March, an event from 1975 that led to its control over Western Sahara. This historical narrative emphasizes Morocco's deep-rooted connections to the region, tracing back centuries. The account highlights the domestication of dromedaries, which facilitated trade across the Sahara for over a millennium, connecting northern and sub-Saharan Africa. It also references the Almoravid dynasty, which emerged from the desert in the 11th century and unified a Moroccan state stretching from Andalusia. The narrative further details the historical allegiance (bay’a) between the Moroccan Sultan and the tribes of the Sahara, citing instances like Sultan Moulay Hassan I's protests against foreign encroachments in the late 19th century and his declaration of returning to the Sahara. The 1975 Green March, involving 350,000 civilians, is presented as a culmination of this historical continuity, leading to the Madrid Accords and Spain's decolonization of the territory.
