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Saharawis wait patiently for a just solution

By Kamal Fadel - posted Thursday, 1 September 2005


On August 18, 2005 Senator Richard Lugar, the chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, oversaw the release of the last remaining Moroccan prisoners-of-war by the Polisario, in his capacity as an envoy of President George W. Bush.

The prisoners will be able to see their families and friends after many years of captivity following their participation in the Moroccan war to take over Western Sahara.

When Senator Lugar flew to Morocco with the POWs, 170,000 Saharawi refugees were left behind in the Algerian desert waiting to return home after 30 years of separation from their families and their homeland. We hope the international community will spare a thought for them and for those hundreds of Saharawis who have been suffering in Moroccan jails for over two decades.

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Western Sahara was a Spanish colony between 1884 and 1975. While the Spanish were preparing to withdraw, the two neighbouring countries, Morocco and Mauritania, invaded and occupied the mineral rich territory. Western Sahara is rich in phosphates and other mineral resources. It has one of the best fishing grounds in the world and a great potential for offshore oil.

Western Sahara is a similar case to East Timor. It is a decolonisation issue that has been on the UN agenda since 1965. The International Court of Justice ruled in 1975 that neither Morocco or Mauritania had sovereignty over Western Sahara before the Spanish colonisation and that its people were entitled to the right of self-determination.

The invasion of Western Sahara provoked a bloody war with the Saharawi people under the leadership of the Polisario Front, the movement that was seeking independence from Spain. Polisario defeated the Mauritanians who have since signed a peace treaty with the Saharawis.

As a result of the conflict over 165,000 Saharawis fled their homeland and  have lived in makeshift refugee camps situated in the harsh desert of southwest Algeria for the past 30 years.

In 1991 the Polisario and Morocco agreed to a ceasefire as part of a UN and OAU (Organization of African Unity) settlement plan. For the past 14 years the United Nations has been involved in finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict through the organisation of a referendum on self-determination.

Despite numerous reaffirmations of the referendum proposal by the UN Security Council, and the significant efforts of the former US Secretary of State James Baker III, Morocco continues to prevent the referendum from taking place. The UN mission in the territory has already cost over US$600 million: however, there are no encouraging signs of a speedy resolution to this long lasting conflict. Mr Baker has resigned as Kofi Annan’s envoy apparently to express his frustration at the lack of co-operation from Morocco.

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During 30 years of occupation, the Saharawi people have conducted their struggle for freedom within international norms. They have never used terrorism to attract attention to their plight. Many see the Saharawis as an example of a secular Muslim nation that celebrates the role of women and which could be a beacon of hope in the Maghreb region.

Unfortunately, some members of the UN Security Council have been very tolerant of the Moroccan attitude. This makes it seem that Morocco's brutality is being rewarded, while the patience and good attitude of the Saharawi people continues to be ignored.

For us Saharawis, it is hard to fathom why our moderate and pragmatic attitude has not attracted a positive response from the influential powers, when our aim is to establish a modern state, based on democracy and respect of human rights. This is the same objective for which wars were waged to accomplish in Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Morocco is trying hard to convince the world community of a solution that would legitimise its illegal occupation of our country. Such a solution will be doomed to fail as it is undemocratic and illegitimate, contrary to the aspirations of the Saharawi people and the verdict of the International Court of Justice. It will also be in contravention of the UN decolonisation process, as well as the UN resolutions in support of the right of self-determination for the Saharawi people.

In recent months peaceful demonstrations have been taking place in the occupied areas of Western Sahara to demand respect of human rights and in support of independence for the territory. Morocco’s response was to arrest, torture and jail for long terms, many of the demonstrators and their leaders.

The rejection of Morocco’s presence in the occupied zones by the Saharawis is quite telling. It shows that our people are determined to achieve their legitimate objectives of freedom and independence and that Morocco’s policy of the carrot and stick in the hope of winning the hearts and minds of the Saharawis for the past 30 years has failed dramatically.

The UN mission (MINURSO) mandate expires on October 31 of this year. This is an opportunity for the major powers in the world to encourage a just and lasting solution to a conflict that has been a source of instability and misery for a long time in an important region of the world.

The resolution of the conflict in Western Sahara is easy if there is a sincere will and determination from the members of the UN Security Council. A just solution to this conflict will be of benefit to the peoples of Western Sahara and Morocco. The Maghreb region will enjoy stability, peace and progress which are needed in the current international environment.

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About the Author

Kamal Fadel is the Polisario Representative to Australia. He has been in the Polisario Front foreign relations corps since 1986 and has served in India, Iran and the UK, as a Saharawi diplomat.

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