{"id":5989,"date":"2025-07-16T10:09:33","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T10:09:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/es.aldar.ma\/?p=5989"},"modified":"2025-07-16T10:09:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T10:09:40","slug":"from-oujda-to-pretoria-morocco-reclaims-the-memory-of-african-liberation-zuma-supports-moroccan-sovereignty-over-the-sahara-and-recalls-rabats-embrace-of-mandela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/es.aldar.ma\/?p=5989","title":{"rendered":"From Oujda to Pretoria: Morocco Reclaims the Memory of African Liberation \u2013 Zuma Supports Moroccan Sovereignty Over the Sahara and Recalls Rabat\u2019s Embrace of Mandela"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By: Meryem Hafiani | Aldar<\/div>\n
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Former South African President and leader of the \u201cUmkhonto we Sizwe\u201d (MK Party), Jacob Zuma, has publicly declared his strong support for Morocco\u2019s autonomy plan as a credible and realistic solution to the Sahara issue, firmly grounded within the framework of the Kingdom\u2019s sovereignty. Zuma\u2019s endorsement went beyond a mere political stance\u2014it was deeply rooted in a historical narrative that evokes Morocco\u2019s longstanding solidarity with Africa\u2019s liberation movements.<\/p>\n

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During a press conference held in Rabat on July 15, Zuma recalled that the late Nelson Mandela had received military training in 1962 in the Moroccan city of Oujda, located along the Kingdom\u2019s eastern border. At the time, Oujda served as a vital logistical and strategic hub, not only for South African liberation forces but for anti-colonial movements across the continent.<\/div>\n
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Since gaining independence in 1956, Morocco became a beacon for freedom fighters resisting colonialism and apartheid. In the early days of independence, the late King Mohammed V\u2014and later, King Hassan II\u2014anchored Morocco\u2019s African policy in unwavering support for liberation struggles and pan-African unity. The Kingdom opened its doors to major African leaders, including Ahmed S\u00e9kou Tour\u00e9 of Guinea, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Patrice Lumumba of the Congo, and of course, Nelson Mandela of South Africa.<\/div>\n
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In this context, Morocco was one of the first nations to support the African National Congress (ANC) in its fight against apartheid. It hosted ANC leaders and provided them with military training in camps near Oujda. In fact, Mandela himself acknowledged, during his visit to Morocco in 1994, that \u201cthe Moroccan people were among the first to believe in our cause and supplied us with weapons and expertise.\u201d<\/div>\n
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More than six decades later, Zuma\u2014one of the iconic figures of the anti-apartheid movement\u2014reiterates in Rabat that Morocco \u201cnot only supported Africa\u2019s liberation but remained loyal to the principles of unity and non-fragmentation.\u201d This statement subtly denounces separatist movements across the continent and aligns with Morocco\u2019s firm position against dividing African nations under the guise of self-determination.<\/div>\n
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Analyzing the Context Behind Zuma\u2019s Shift in Position:<\/div>\n
\u2022Strategic Timing: Zuma\u2019s support for Morocco\u2019s autonomy plan comes at a time when Africa is reassessing its postcolonial alliances. With a growing number of African states withdrawing recognition of the Polisario Front, the balance is increasingly tilting toward Morocco\u2019s pragmatic and sovereignty-based solution.<\/div>\n
\u2022South Africa\u2019s Political Recalibration: His position also signals a subtle shift in South Africa\u2019s political climate. More intellectuals, liberation veterans, and public figures are now questioning the relevance of backing separatist narratives that clash with the founding ideals of unity, territorial integrity, and anti-racism upheld by Africa\u2019s liberation movements.<\/div>\n
\u2022Diplomatic Depth: Zuma\u2019s visit and his engagements with Moroccan officials also underscore the effectiveness of Morocco\u2019s royal diplomacy\u2014spearheaded by King Mohammed VI\u2014in consolidating its African leadership not only through economic ties but also by reclaiming the continent\u2019s collective memory and symbolic alliances.<\/div>\n
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From Oujda, the city that welcomed Mandela over sixty years ago, to Rabat, the capital that now welcomes Jacob Zuma, history bears witness to Morocco\u2019s role not merely as a participant in liberation struggles, but as a crucible of unity and moral leadership in Africa\u2019s renaissance. Today, as African leaders reconnect with that shared legacy, they see in Rabat a trusted partner and a realistic political vision that champions African unity over division.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Meryem Hafiani | Aldar Former South African President and leader of the \u201cUmkhonto we Sizwe\u201d (MK Party), Jacob Zuma, has publicly declared his strong support for Morocco\u2019s autonomy plan as a credible and realistic solution to the Sahara issue, firmly grounded within the framework of the Kingdom\u2019s sovereignty. Zuma\u2019s endorsement went beyond a mere …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[95,5],"tags":[1666],"class_list":["post-5989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-noticias-aldar","category-politica","tag-from-oujda-to-pretoria-morocco-reclaims-the-memory-of-african-liberation-zuma-supports-moroccan-sovereignty-over-the-sahara-and-recalls-rabats-embrace-of-mandela"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/es.aldar.ma\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/es.aldar.ma\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/es.aldar.ma\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/es.aldar.ma\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/es.aldar.ma\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5989"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/es.aldar.ma\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5989\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5994,"href":"https:\/\/es.aldar.ma\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5989\/revisions\/5994"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/es.aldar.ma\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/es.aldar.ma\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/es.aldar.ma\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/es.aldar.ma\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}