Rabat – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney has signed up her name as a co-sponsor of a congressional bill, urging the US administration to designate Polisario as a terrorist group.
Tenney added her name to the list of the signatories on Monday, joining a group of eight representatives, including Congressman Don Bacon, who signed his name on the list on March 3.
The other signatories backing the bill also include Pat Harrigan, Zachary Nunn, Randy Fine, Lance Gooden, Jefferson Shreve, Mario Diaz Balart, and Jimmy Panetta.
Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina formally introduced the bill on June 24 last year, alongside with Democratic Congressman Panetta of California.
The lawmakers’ decision sought to convince the US administration to classify Polisario as a foreign terrorist organization amid the international community’s concerns over the separatist group’s suspicious activities and attacks on Morocco’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara.
The bill states how the separatist group has a “documented history of ideological and operational ties with Iran, a state sponsor of terrorism, dating back at least to 1980, when Polisario fighters publicly posed with portraits of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in a bid to attract revolutionary credibility and Iranian patronage.”
It also cited Hezbollah’s collusion with Polisario, a development that Morocco took as a basis to end diplomatic ties with Iran in 2018.
The bill comes as Morocco and the US continue to reaffirm their strong determination to strengthen bilateral relations at all levels.
The US’ firm and steadfast position on Western Sahara has also been a key aspect in the strengthened bilateral ties between the two countries.
Despite pro-Polisario advocates seeking to maneuver against US recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty, Washington has consistently reiterated that its position remains unchanged.
The US, which is also now facilitating dialogue between the parties to the dispute, also backs the Autonomy Plan as the only basis and framework to end the Sahara conflict.
In January, the US reaffirmed this position, stressing the centrality of the Moroccan Autonomy Plan as the sole basis for negotiation to end the dispute
Washington conveyed its position at the UN Security Council (UNSC) briefing, reaffirming the international rule of law, and recalling the US-penned Resolution 2797 on Western Sahara, adopted in October of last year.
Ambassador Tammy Bruce, Deputy Representative, said that the resolution resulted in the Council “voicing strong support for negotiations to reach a usually acceptable resolution.” Eleven countries voted on Resolution 2797, a historic milestone in the Sahara dossier — cementing Morocco’s momentum and diplomatic gains.
The resolution publicly recalled the growing cohort of international support for Morocco’s autonomy initiative. It dealt the Algerian regime a severe blow as it explicitly named Algeria as a main party to the dispute, urging it to engage in the UN-led political process to find a mutually acceptable and an agreed upon political solution.