The Madrid Accords, formally the Declaration of Principles on Western Sahara, was a treaty between Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania setting out six principles which would end the Spanish presence in the territory of Spanish Sahara and arrange a temporary administration in the area pending a referendum.
The territory had been a Spanish province and former colony. The agreement was signed in Madrid on November 14, 1975, six days before Franco died, although it was never published on the Boletin Oficial del Estado. This agreement conflicted with the Law on decolonization of Sahara, ratified by the Spanish Parliament (Cortes) on November 18.
In cause of the Madrid agreement, the territory would then be divided between Morocco and Mauritania, with no role for either the Polisario Front or the Sahrawi people generally. Following the accords, the Polisario relocated from the Mauritanian border to Algeria.
1975Nov, 14
With the signing of the Madrid Accords, Spain abandons Western Sahara.
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Events on 1975
- 26Jun
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
Two FBI agents and a member of the American Indian Movement are killed in a shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota; Leonard Peltier is later convicted of the murders in a controversial trial. - 15Aug
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is killed along with most members of his family during a military coup. - 15Aug
Yasukuni Shrine
Takeo Miki makes the first official pilgrimage to Yasukuni Shrine by an incumbent prime minister on the anniversary of the end of World War II. - 27Aug
Dili
The Governor of Portuguese Timor abandons its capital, Dili, and flees to Atauro Island, leaving control to a rebel group. - 1Oct
Ellice Islands
The Seychelles gain internal self-government. The Ellice Islands split from Gilbert Islands and take the name Tuvalu.