On September 20th in Brussels, the Riffian National Party was able to demonstrate before a full audience of Riffians, but also delegates and diplomats, its program and its political and international objectives.

Among the diplomats and politicians were Mogama Ibrahim Ganif Hendricks, Minister of Social Development of South Africa, who delivered an impressive speech on the African decolonization process, the need for Africa to be capable of solving its problems, and for the Islamic world to be a useful mediator within its internal conflicts. Hendricks defined Africa as a continent of great human and economic potential, as a reference point for the current Global civilization, and even as the new pivot of Islamic civilization, which has always oscillated between Arabs, Persians, and Turks.

Special guests included ambassadors from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Guinea, Venezuela and Zimbabwe, as well as Lehbib, a journalist from El Confidencial Saharaui; Dr. Pinto, representing Portugal, who discussed the similarities between the Western Sahara case and the Rif, comparing it with the recently resolved conflict of East Timor.

Also present was Frank Willems from Western Sahara Resource Watch, and from Spain, international analysts Carlos Paz and Koldo Salazar.

The conference was based on the right to self-determination of the Riffian people against the colonial power, grounded in historical and legal facts: primarily the political and historical independence of the Riffian tribes, the process of colonization under the form of a protectorate by Spain over the Rif, and the Rif War, which took place in an environment where the Riffian people was defined in liberal terms as a modern nation, with a constitutional and institutional system based on the constitution organized by Abdelkrim to establish the Republic of the Rif as a modern state and administrative apparatus for the Riffian nation erga omnes, both against Spain and France or the Sultan of Rabat.

The elements of the Rif during its republic—territory, population, and ability to relate—are other states on equal footing and governed, according to the Montevideo Convention, it was defined as a state whose social reality is undeniable and independent of international recognition.

The fall of the Republic of the Rif was a Spanish victory. The period from the 1920s until 1956 of Spanish domination did not extinguish its social, political, or legal reality. The independence could have been achieved in 1956, but Spain’s position at that time was still isolated. French ambitions to secure a privileged position in the Maghreb, aware of the imminent loss of Algeria and the need to access the Strait of Gibraltar to compete with their great rival, the United Kingdom, which maintained privileged positions in Gibraltar, led Paris to press for an unjust and unviable unification, drawing influence maps based on religious factors (the Riffians are Malikite Muslims, with the King of Morocco as Amir al Muminin) as maps of sovereignty to justify Moroccan imperialist ambitions alongside French colonial desires.

The Rif revolt against Morocco (1956-58) confirmed the aspirations for an independent state, as did the subsequent treatment of the region, Moroccanization efforts, and the relocation of Moroccan settlers to marginalize the Riffians, as well as militarization—predictions of what would happen over the next twenty years in Western Sahara.

Today, the right to self-determination of the Rif remains intact, as it is an independent state occupied by Spain and, since the 1950s, by Morocco. The Riffian Party actually plans to take the matter to international courts, arguing that, apart from the right established in International Public Law and the literature of the UN and The Hague, the mistreatment and violations of human rights against the Riffian people, historically perpetrated, could justify the principle of Remedial Secession—seeing the artificial Moroccan state as a fragmented entity with a ruling elite that persecutes and attempts to eliminate or assimilate a historically, ethnically, and politically distinct population.

In such case, if proven, this situation could bolster the Riffian claims politically and geopolitically. The Riffians do not see themselves as separatists but as a nation that has been occupied due to a flawed decolonization process similar to that of Western Sahara, which ended with a colonial and invading power—Morocco—stopping the independence of the Rif.

Aware of this, the Riffians declare themselves not as separatists, but as a party seeking the self-determination of their country, based on the UN literature on decolonization processes in Africa, invoking both UN resolutions and principles of Uti Possidetis Iuris and the Stimson Doctrine.

The Riffian National Party declared yesterday that they are not a threat to Spain, neither to its sovereignty nor to its territorial integrity. On the contrary, they seek to maintain and foster good neighborly relations and to forge bonds with sister nations based on sincere, respectful collaboration that adheres to the principles and protocols of International Relations and Diplomacy at the highest and most exquisite level.

The Riffian National Party does not endorse Morocco’s claims, nor its political or diplomatic methods. They seek in Spain a true friend and aim to establish future-oriented relations that allow for the development of a strong, independent, sovereign, and secure Western Mediterranean among the nations and states of the Rif, Algeria, Spain, and Portugal, considering the geopolitical strategic value of this region.

The Riffian National Party is aware of the concern that any movement in the region may generate, especially in the Rif, due to past negative experiences with Morocco. However, they emphasize, with perseverance and courage, that they are not a threat but rather a guarantee of Spain’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Spain now has the opportunity to learn about this situation, which to most Spaniards remains largely unknown. The Spanish people should hear directly from the Riffians and the Riffian National Party—not from biased mediators or Morocco—the claims they make regarding sovereignty and freedom from the Moroccan regime that oppresses them and from which they seek liberation. They ask only for our solidarity and support.

Furthermore, the Rif is not only reaching out to Spain but also to Western Sahara, since both territories occupied by Morocco are in the same situation and should support each other. If the Riffians and Saharawis achieve independence and become independent, sovereign states within the international community, we can say that the decolonization of Africa has been completed. If Spain also plays a role in this final process, it will have the opportunity to make amends for its mismanagement in 1956 and 1975.