Looks like the Polisario is engaging in a little more saber rattling if negotiations don't get more substantive with Morocco. Interestingly enough, Senegal is trying to put some of the pressure on Rabat that France and the US are unwilling to do.
Also, for those unfamiliar with the conflict Reuters recently published a good rough time line. Check it out, here.
Showing posts with label Western Sahara. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Western Sahara. Show all posts
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Western Sahara: update and timeline
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
This looks promising!
"We had a big debate yesterday over negotiations," Khadad, a senior Polisario official who is also the conference spokesman, said by telephone from Tifariti.
"The military people said 'We can't keep negotiating idenfinitely. We need to assess the situation ... We should propose resuming armed struggle."
"Others said 'No, No, we should continue negotiating because we have a third round of talks just coming up in January."
"We will vote on this on the 18th at the end of the conference," Khadad said.
Of course, Morocco ain't gonna take this lying down, how is this for silly bluster?
Rabat says most Sahrawis are unhappy with Polisario speaking in their name and are ready to accept limited autonomy.If Morocco really wants to be a liberal democracy they should be encouraged to go all the way. The US and France should definitely not coddle them so much either. If these guys could get their act together things could get better really quickly. The wind and solar power of W. Sahara, Morocco and Mauritania could supply enough energy for most of Europe and the fish and phosphate reserves could provide a lot of money for development if exploited properly. Nah, dragging on this interminable conflict to the detriment of the voiceless masses is much more fun!!
"Morocco has never been so glorious as it is today at the national and diplomatic level. The international community supports Morocco," Errachid said. "Polisario just wants to muddy the waters."
No country officially recognises Morocco's rule over Western Sahara but the U.N. Security Council is divided over a solution, with some non-aligned states supporting Polisario but France and the United States backing Morocco.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Western Sahara
As tourism has become ever more important to Morocco, they have gone out of their way to make themselves attractive to tourists. It feels like the country is hosting more conferences and festivals than the rest of the Arab world put together. They are firing on all cylinders in this regard: Oriental fantasy of Fez? check. Marketing Sufi spirituality? check. Claiming to be the heirs of Andalusia? check. The offenses, which include genocide, assassination, injury and torture, are believed to have taken place in the mid-1970s, when Spain withdrew from its former colony of Western Sahara, a statement by National Court judge Baltasar Garzon said. It will be interesting to see if this is the push Morocco needs to get serious at the negotiating table, or if it will make Rabat feel cornered and therefore even more difficult to deal with. There does seem to be some momentum building for the support of substantive talks, as members of the European Parliament have raised the issue and some European governments are discouraging their companies from doing business in the occupied territory. Let's hope that France, the US and the UN don't counteract the efforts of the EU and its non-frog eating members.
Fortunately for them, no one usually seems to care that much about Western Sahara. The government in Rabat has long been able to rely on the guilt support of France and now are increasingly getting some love from Washington. The UN (and in the past the US's ill fated "Baker Plan") has tried to draw some attention to the issue and Ban Ki-moon has issued quite a few statements about the occupation over the first year of his tenure. He was even able to get the two sides to meet over the summer, although little progress was made. (for a good recap of recent developments click, here). However, no real progress has been made.
It is too early to see if it will have legs, but it looks like a Spanish judge is trying to upset the 
status quo apple cart (If this works, he is guaranteed to have a film made about him...he is quite the dashing chap no? [pictured left]):A leading Spanish anti-terrorism judge is to open an inquest into suspected atrocities committed against North African Saharawi people, a court statement said Tuesday.
Friday, August 24, 2007
W. Sahara
Following up on my recent post concerning Western Sahara I found a radio show featuring Jacob Mundy who gives both an excellent background of the conflict and the recent developments there. For one of Mundy's several excellent articles detailing the politics and policy options for the US and the international community in the region click, here.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
The Farce of Sahrawi Autonomy
Mboneko Munyaga makes the case for Sahrawi independence in the Tanzania Standard. We have not written about Morocco's 30-year occupation in nearly a year, but I still share Laith's lamentation about "the ongoing occupation of Western Sahara and the lack of awarness (sic) on the problem."
The latest "peace offensive" by King Mohammed VI, which calls for greater "autonomy" for Sahrawis, is largely symbolic. It is basically quasi-recognition of national rights, including marginal institutional representation. The Sahrawi government-in-exile (in Algeria) would get "a Western Sahara regional government and Parliament." Morocco would get actual "sovereignty and control of security, borders and finances would be formally acknowledged." Hey, it sounds like the Oslo peace process. The Sahrawi leadership rejected the proposal, though the world's powers are backing it.
Like Israel, Morocco built a wall to divide settlers and natives: the Polasario-controlled territory of native Sahrawis is on one side, and Moroccan controlled territory partially populated by Moroccans is on the other. Other similarities: hordes of refugees in a neighboring country, languishing for decades; the UN and ICJ have resolutions and advisory opinions backing native self-determination; the U.S. backs the occupier; both situations came on the backs of European colonial rule; and both Israel and Morocco claim the war on terrorism as a rationale for continuing to oppress.
Also, there is a big fat historical blind spot among western officials. Former U.S. Ambassador to Morocco, Frederick Vreeland, wrote a pro-Moroccan op-ed, "A young king's wise proposal," in the March 3rd New York Times. One letter that ran in the International Herald Tribune had to straighten out the record:
In reality, the 1975 invasion of mineral-rich Western Sahara was an utterly brutal affair. Most Sahrawis fled the country, and of those left behind, thousands have been killed or tortured. To this day, 160,000 soldiers remain in the territory, to ensure that a traumatized indigenous population of just 100,000 will bow to the king.Autonomy is not enough. As Munyaga says, it is time for decolonization.
Western Sahara has a legal and moral right to determine its own future.
Aron Lund, Uppsala, Sweden
Friday, March 24, 2006
Western Sahara Pt. II
Recently, I lamented the ongoing occupation of Western Sahara and the lack of awarness on the problem. Yesterday, I was pleasantly suprised to find a fairly mainstream US media outlet detailing the realpolitik that keeps the international community from stepping up to help resolve the issue.
Monday, March 20, 2006
The Forgotten Occupation
After a recent trip to Western Sahara, Morocco's King Mohammad VI looks to be preparing the way to proposing an alternative to the "Baker Plan" (1,2).
Not that the Baker Plan was terribly promising, but it, like the original UN call for a referendum, involved both the Polosario and those still living in Western Sahara along with the Moroccan government in the deciding the fate of the area. Although the King will apparently propose a degree of autonomy, perhaps the most generous offer he can make and still save face, it will probably not be an acceptable solution to the Polosario. Unfortunately, the entire situation has been made so needlessly complicated by the Green March of 1975, which brought 350,000 Moroccans into the territory as settlers to solidify the claim of Morocco on the territory. This is one of those frustrating conflicts where just a little coordinated effort from the international community could have a tremendous effect.
Check this photo slide show from Reuters.
For recent coverage of the 30th anniversary of the Morocco's occupation click, here (this article also details the USA's role in the dispute) and here.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Speaking of Occupation…
I found an excellent article on corpwatch.org about the activities of US oil companies in occupied
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Another Unholy Alliance?
A three-day Christian rock festival was held in Marrakesh, police estimate that the event was attended by about 45,000 people. According to our KABOBfest number crunchers 95% of the attendees spoke little or no English and didn't know that the songs were about worshiping Jesus. The other 5% of the crowd did in fact speak English and understood what the bands were singing about, however, they were turned off by the festival's message because they think, "Christian rock sucks."
So why would the 'Alawi Kingdom of Morocco allow Christian Evangelicals to throw a Christian rock music festival in Morocco? Well, it turns out that King Muhammad VI is some what of a Christian rock music buff. It all goes back to when the al-emir al-mu'mineen came to the United States shortly after his father's death and his subsequent coronation, the King was introduced to Christian rock via an iPod given to the Monarch by Laura Bush which was pre-loaded with Dick Cheyney's music library (KABOBfest is investigating possible music piracy).
Others, mostly radical leftist Islamunists, view that the festival was a favor given to the American Evangelicals- a group that apparently has some sway in the U.S. political arena, and who have been actively proselytizing in the Western Sahara -in order to receive a wider political inroad in Washington, and to cut off Sahrawis from a source of humanitarian aid. 
Since Sahrawis have not been very receptive to the message of love delivered to them by the Evangelical groups over the years, not to mention they are still involved in a struggle for self-determination from Moroccan occupation, and because King Mo #6 likes Christian rock, and last but not least the Saharan desert is way too hot a place for white people to be staying in for extended periods of time, both parties are satisfied by their arrangement. The Evangelicals get more souls to prey on, and the Moroccan government gets more support from Washington to continue its occupation of Western Sahara.
This sounds vaguely familiar doesn't it; by the way did you know that Morocco constructed a huge wall (they call it a fence) through Western Sahara keeping Sahrawis stuck in their refugee camps in Algeria. Almost guaranteeing they won't be able to participate in a referendum which will decide the fate of Western Sahara.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
