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This article is about the historical event. For the aerobatic team see: Marche Verte.

The Green March was a peaceful mass demonstration in November 1975, coordinated by the Moroccan government, to force Spain to hand over the disputed colony of Spanish Sahara (now Western Sahara) to Morocco.

Background

Morocco, to the north of the Spanish Sahara, had long claimed that the territory was historically an integral part of Morocco, and should not be granted independence. Mauritania to the south argued similarly that some parts of the territory was in fact Mauritanian. Since 1973, a Sahrawi guerrilla war led by the Polisario Front had challenged Spanish control with increasing success, and Spain had quietly begun negotiations for a handover of power with leaders of the rebel movement .

Morocco intended to vindicate its claims by demanding a verdict from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The ICJ stated that there were historical legal ties of allegiance between Sahrawi tribes and the Sultan of Morocco, as well as ties including some rights relating to the land between Mauritania and these same tribes. However the ICJ stated also that there was no ties of territorial sovereignty between the territory and Morocco or Mauritania at the time of Spanish colonization. By then the court has not found legal ties of such a nature as might affect the principle of self-determination of the peoples of the Territory. A UN visiting mission had concluded on October 15 that Sahrawi support for independence was "overwhelming". However, the reference to previous Moroccan-Sahrawi ties of allegiance was presented by King Hassan II as a vindication of his position, and within hours of the ICJ verdict's release, he announced the initiative of the "green march" to Spanish Sahara, to "reunite it with the Motherland".

The Green March

As preparations were underway for the march, a well-publicized event of enormous proportions. On November 6, 1975, approximately 350,000 unarmed Moroccans converged on the city of Tarfaya in southern Morocco and waited for a signal from King Hassan II of Morocco to cross into Western Sahara. They brandished Moroccan flags, banners calling for the return of the Southern Provinces, photographs of the King and the Qur'an. The color green for the march's name was intended as a symbol of Islam. As the marchers reached the border - even though the majority never crossed it - Spanish troops were ordered not to fire to avoid killing civilians.

The Madrid Accords

As a result, Spain agreed to enter direct bilateral negotiations with Morocco, bringing in also Mauritania, who had made similar demands. This resulted in the November 14 Madrid Accords, a secret pact which divided Spanish Sahara between Mauritania and Morocco. Both nations then formally annexed the parts they had been alloted in the Accords, and controlled the territory militarily. Morocco claimed the northern part, i.e. Saguia el-Hamra and minor parts of Río de Oro, while Mauritania proceeded to annex the southern third of the country under the name Tiris al-Gharbiyya. The Polisario, with Algerian backing, refused the Madrid Accords, and demanded that the ICJ's opinion on Sahrawi self-determination be respected: and so began a long war.

See also

• Western Sahara
• History of Western Sahara
• International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Western Sahara

• History of Western Sahara
• History of Morocco