Episode 69 The State of Occupation in the Rif during the term of Resident General Sporo last chapter
"General Miguel Primo de Rivera (1870–1930), leader of the 1923 Spanish military coup and head of the dictatorial government. This formal portrait showcases his numerous military honors, including the Cross of Maria Cristina, as he holds his swagger stick while seated in a leather chair."
- The Strategic Shift: Primo de Rivera’s Arrival and the Policy of Peaceful Withdrawal.
other forces on the Eastern front, as the leader Muhammad ibn Abd el-Krim enjoyed peace and reassurance in the occupied centers, awaiting the final outcome of the occupation after all the centers he had lost in the Anual defeat were restored. After the new Resident General assumed his position in Tétouan, he used his dictatorial skill and military expertise to solve the problem of those soldiers suffocating on the mountain peaks. He followed the policy of his predecessor in the General Residency of halting military attacks because they had ended during the era of Tazzarine occupation, and worked on implementing the agreement concluded between the leader Al-Raisuni and the previous General Residency officials, and this is a chapter that will be addressed in its place. Before the dictator Primo de Rivera came to Morocco and after he had been in power for about a year organizing its affairs, he moved his war council to Tétouan in order to fulfill his pledge to the Spanish government and people to solve the problem of the central withdrawal from the occupied centers in the Western mountains. On September 8, 1924, Resident General Sporo left Tétouan, accompanied by his war council, to join his new position in the General Residency, having received permission from his government to be the Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish armies in the North. At the same time, he was the High Commissioner for his country in Spain, and he was promoted to the rank of General on October 16, 1924. Thus, he combined the roles of military ruler of his country, Resident General, and Governor-General of the Spanish armies in the North. His plan, which he emerged with from Spain, was to abandon the pursuit of wars in Northern Morocco, solve the problem of the evacuation from the occupied centers through peaceful withdrawal, and save more bloodshed, while maintaining the honor of Spain in the northern cities. The wise Sharif Al-Raisuni wanted to seize the opportunity of Spain’s desire to achieve peace in the region, so he leaned towards it, as he saw that it was necessary in his policy for two reasons: The first was the lack of qualified personnel to endure the long hardships of those among his men who were relied upon in matters of Jihad and died; the last of whom was Sharif Ould Hamidu Al-Kharraz, who made him weep with heart-rending tears when he carried him to his final resting place. The second was the point that affected the health of his grandfather, Moulay Abd el-Salam ibn Mashish, and exhausted him, hence he saw that peace was better than war..."
- The Political Divide: The Tension Between Truce and the Continuation of Jihad.
"...lack of personnel to endure its long horrors, especially since the desire for peace came from the occupier. Who among them could understand this? No, the prevailing opinion among the leaders of the tribes was to continue the Jihad and fight against the occupier until the total evacuation from all occupied centers in all the mountain tribes. He preferred this opinion, seeing that its harm to them was greater than the benefit of what would happen to them after it, whether the time was long or short, than the forced surrender which would be difficult for them, with dire consequences. Here, that famous saying was raised, which he said to them: 'A single lie from the Spaniards is better than seventy years of Jihad with them.' He wanted to apply the peace policy he sought, and to implement the truce agreement concluded between him and the representative of the previous General Residency, General Sporo, at the shrine of the saintly Mawlay Sidi al-Hajj Musa, and it is said that the latter walked to it on foot."
"Meanwhile, the leader of the Rif, who knew everything about the cessation of war and the truce that Spain was seeking in Northern Morocco, applied it in his country on the Eastern front and sought to continue the war on the Western front, where Sharif Al-Raisuni withdrew from it. He did not withdraw from it, as the leaders of some tribes extended a hand to him, heart and soul, and the leader Al-Raisuni, due to his extensive experience, warned them, and they accused the noble Sharif Al-Raisuni of treason! He did not respond to the desire of the tribal leaders who were calling for Jihad against the occupying Spanish army, and the leader Muhammad ibn Abd el-Krim Al-Rifi says, and the conclusion of their opinion is that whoever calls for Jihad is a counselor to the Muslims. Whoever calls for a truce and the implementation of a peace agreement like Sharif Al-Raisuni is, in their view, a deceiver to them and a traitor to the trust of Jihad."
"Thus, the matter became confused for those leaders, and many of those who were ignorant of the enemy's cunning say that they inherited the doctrine of the betrayal of the honorable Sharif Al-Raisuni, who realized the danger of continuing the Jihad against the occupiers, and preferred to lean towards peace over continuing the Jihad, which would result in forced surrender that would be a catastrophe for the citizens, and that is what happened after he departed to the mercy of his Lord, forgiven of his sins. The leader Al-Raisuni sought in turn to alleviate the hardships on the mountain tribes that fought well and left a good legacy for their descendants and those after them..."
- The Human Cost of War and the Political Shrewdness of Al-Raisuni.
"...honorable historical positions that will not be forgotten by the passage of time, and which lasted for generations and days. Those hardships that the mountain tribes faced were often caused by the heat of war, especially since the villages and tribes were still healing their wounds and treating their damage from what the planes of Berenguer and his heavy and light artillery had left behind, which destroyed the land and burned everything, killing both crops and livestock. In addition to the honorable stances for the leader Moulay Ahmed Al-Raisuni, as many of them were left by those horrific wars without shelter, nor food, crying to God Almighty about the cruelty of the occupier. This is in addition to the hardening of the tribes in the face of the occupier, a hardening that knows no softness other than fighting and struggle, and they do not know how to conciliate, but rather follow the policy of peace and deception, and keeping pace with circumstances with force and weakness, according to what the conditions call for. The Sharif Al-Raisuni was uniquely qualified and most knowledgeable about the tricks of his enemies, and most aware of the matters near and far; therefore, his contemporaries acknowledged him as a shrewd politician who could be soft in times of softness, and it was difficult to be firm in times of hardship, and he held fast in some hateful situations to the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him): 'May God have mercy on a servant who shows strength from himself.'"
Topics Covered in This Episode
1924 Withdrawal,Al-Raisuni,Muhammad ibn Abd el-Krim el-Khattabi,Northern Morocco History,Primo de Rivera,Rif Tribal Resistance,Rif War,Spanish Colonialism,
See also the previous episode to be continuing the last chapter
The Raisuni Archives: Uncovering the History of the Northern Moroccan Resistance
Translated and Edited by Jaafar Lhioui
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