The Moroccan-South African ties over the past century, and especially during the time when Nelson Mandela joined hands with Morocco to fight colonialism and Apartheid in the continent, have been featured in a podcast produced by the Embassy of Morocco in South Africa.
This video emphasizes the historical friendship between Nelson Mandela and Morocco as they stood side by side against injustice, colonialism and apartheid, and delivered a message of “solidarity and Unity”, said Morocco’s Ambassador to S. Africa Youssef Amrani.
It sheds light on Morocco’s effort to support liberation movements in the African continent, mainly in South Africa and Algeria.
In this vein, Morocco initiated after its independence from the French colonization, alongside 8 other independent African countries, “the 1961 Casablanca Group”.
This Pan-African initiative was centered on supporting the independence of other countries that were still under the yoke of colonialism.
The video quotes Mandela several times, mainly to show the strong ties he had with late King Hassan II and the Moroccan people.
Indeed, Hassan II helped South Africa to gain its independence, diplomatically by supporting Mandela’s activities, financially by giving the money and arms Mandela asked for, and by supporting the African National Congress (ANC), and training its members in Oujda, alongside the Algerian Revolutionary Army.
Mandela was decorated by Late King Hassan II in 1994, in recognition of his exceptional efforts for the sake of equality and justice.
The exceptional bond between the late Mandela and the Moroccan people continued to develop with Mohammed VI, mainly with the South African leader’s visit to Rabat in 2005.