CIA documents reveal international mediation efforts to halt Morocco’s green march, Algeria left out of talks

On 16 October 1975, King Hassan II of Morocco announced plans for the Green March, a massive mobilization of Moroccans to demand the end of Spanish colonial rule in Western Sahara, then known as the “Spanish Sahara.”

This announcement set off a flurry of diplomatic activity as the United Nations and several countries sought to persuade the king to cancel the march and avoid escalation.

Meanwhile, Algeria was vying for a seat at the negotiation table between Morocco and Spain.

According to a highly classified CIA document declassified in May 2008, Morocco and Spain entered negotiations after King Hassan II’s announcement.

The document noted, “Spain and Morocco are optimistic about reaching a settlement on the issue of Spanish Sahara.”

It also detailed how Morocco’s Foreign Minister, Ahmed Laraki, was in Madrid for talks, with a senior Spanish official telling the U.S. Embassy that further progress was expected when Moroccan negotiators returned to Madrid.

The Spanish government was reportedly divided on how to handle the situation: Prime Minister Carlos Arias Navarro leaned towards ceding the territory to Morocco, while Foreign Minister Pedro Cortina Mauri advocated for self-determination for the Sahrawi people.

However, the document stated that the Prime Minister’s view was more likely to prevail, reflecting Spain’s stance that the issue was between Spain and Morocco, not involving Algeria.

The CIA report highlighted that Spain sought a swift resolution to the dispute to prevent the Moroccan march from advancing further into the territory.

A Spanish official emphasized that under no circumstances would the march be allowed to enter Saharan territory.

Spain also aimed to secure United Nations approval for its actions, with the Minister of Information reiterating Spain’s commitment to decolonization under UN guidance.

Moroccan Foreign Minister Laraki expressed his “great satisfaction” with the talks in Madrid upon his departure on 25 October, noting that both sides discussed ways to peacefully resolve the conflict in line with the UN Security Council resolution of 22 October.

The document reported that following a briefing with King Hassan II in Marrakech on the progress of the negotiations, Laraki made a quick trip to Mauritania, where discussions on dividing the Spanish Sahara between Morocco and Mauritania were reportedly underway.

Amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to prevent a crisis over the Green March, King Hassan II reiterated in a radio interview his intent to continue the march, despite delays in the final stage from the border to Laayoune, the capital of the Spanish territory.

According to reports from Marrakech, the king planned to lead the march into the Spanish Sahara within about two weeks.

The UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim met with King Hassan II on 26 October as part of his mandate to consult with involved parties per the Security Council resolution.

Waldheim then traveled to Mauritania, Algeria, and Spain in a whirlwind diplomatic tour, while Tunisian and French diplomats were in Morocco over the weekend urging King Hassan to exercise restraint.

Meanwhile, Spain began evacuating its civilians and military personnel from the territory, and the Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, organized a major demonstration in Laayoune on 26 October in support of the region’s independence.

The CIA document also noted Algeria’s increased media attacks against Morocco in response to King Hassan’s claim over Spanish Sahara and to counter hostile narratives emerging from opposition parties in Morocco.

Algeria sought to frame the conflict as requiring broader international engagement, referencing recent international legal opinions questioning Morocco’s historical claims to the territory.

Algerian Foreign Minister Abdelaziz Bouteflika was expected to argue that the recent advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice clearly supported the right to self-determination for Spanish Sahara and likely to call for consultations with the Sahrawi people, as recommended by a recent UN fact-finding mission.

Ultimately, no agreement was reached between Morocco and Spain, leading King Hassan II to instruct the marchers on 5 November to proceed.

On 9 November, he ordered them to halt and return, paving the way for renewed negotiations that culminated in the Madrid Accords on 14 November, under which Spain agreed to relinquish control of the Sahara, dividing it between Morocco and Mauritania.