Western Sahara News

By Peter Kenworth In many North African and Arab countries, the demands for democracy and economic redistribution of the so-called “Arab Spring”, have sounded the loudest from the region’s youth. The press has covered the protests in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia closely. But further from the limelight, Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara has experienced its own “spring”. Especially young Saharawis (the indigenous population of Western Sahara) demand that the Western Saharan liberation front, Polisario, adopts a more confrontational line against Morocco. They also demand that young people should have more influence on Western Sahara’s exile government, that has operated from a refugee camp in the desert in neighboring Algeria for over 30 years. Some youths even talk about the possibility of a military solution to the conflict because they do not believe that the peaceful UN-mediated approach, that has been pursued since the 1991 ceasefire between Morocco and the Saharawis, has yielded any res...

The European Parliament's trade committee today voted to recommend the EP give its consent to the inclusion of a new protocol on agriculture and fisheries in the EU-Morocco trade agreement. The Greens are opposed to the agreement - both because of concerns about the impact of free trade on small producers and because the agreement includes Western Sahara, in conflict with international law - prompting Green draftsman José Bové to vote against his own report, which was amended to recommend consent. After the vote,José Bové MEP urged the EP not to proceed and give its consent, stating: "This agreement is against the interest of small farmers on both sides of the Mediterranean. The proposed blanket liberalisation of trade will threaten the livelihoods of small producers in the absence of social and environmental safeguards. "There are also major legal and political problems with the inclusion of the non-self-governing territory Western Sahara in the agreement, which confli...

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES Title I DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND RELATED AGENCY DEPARTMENT OF STATE MOROCCO. - Prior to the obligation of funds appropriated by this Act under the heading: “Foreign Military Financing Program” for assistance to Morocco, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations on steps being taken by the Government of Morocco to: (1) Respect the right of individuals to peacefully express their opinions regarding the status and future of the Western Sahara and to document violations of human rights; and (2) Provide unimpeded access to human rights organizations, journalists and representatives of foreign governments to the Western Sahara. (The full text of this bill is available at opencongress.org.) Layman’s explanation: The US has granted funds for many years to Morocco to support their military, as Morocco is a long-time friend of the US. Before future funds can be given to Morocco’s military by the US government,...

Aryan minister of Agriculture, Miguel Cañete,  during a meeting  with the agrarian organizations. - EFE The agreement to liberalize the commerce of vegetables andvegetables between Morocco and the European Union is to a passage of being approved. Yesterday, the commission of Trade International of the European Parliament against gave its approval to the pact with 23 votes to favor and five, the last previous step to the definitive vote in the plenary session of the Camera. Agreement, that will benefit to the agricultural elites of the country where king Mohamed I SAW is one of the majors actors, includes the territory of the Sahara, an aspect that made be shipwrecked to the agreement of fishing between the EU and Rabat. The text counted on the vote against Pablo Zalba (PP), Helper Strap (PP) and Emilio Menéndez of the Valley (PSOE), delegated of two parties that in spite of the serious mutual reproaches have been united against the agreement. Minister of Agriculture, Mi...

Hi all! So, our first meeting of term 2, in a brand new room (D/104) so now we all have lots of space! We began with a documentary titled “We are Saharawi” exploring the lives of the Saharawi refugee community in Algeria. The older generation having to adapt to a completely new life after being forced out of their own homeland of Western Sahara after a conflict with Morocco in 1975 when they claimed sovereignty and when the Moroccans build a 2,700km long wall blocking off the land from more than half of the Saharawi people. Now the Saharawi refugees live in camps where there are no real jobs, and many skills are wasted, they educate their children for when they can return to their homeland, if that time comes. Children as young as 10 often have to leave the camps and go to Spain, Cuba, etc. if they wish to continue their education. “We are Saharawi” Documentary link: http://www.documentary-film.net/search/watch.php?&ref=127 . After watching the documentary we discussed issues ...

exclusive By Rob Edwards Environment Editor Scottish fishing boats are under fire for trawling seas far from home for catches of tuna, shark, swordfish, mackerel and sardines. The Sunday Herald can reveal that at least five vessels registered in Scotland have been licensed to fish in the Indian Ocean and off the northwest African coast. Along with boats from elsewhere in Europe, they are facing criticisms that they are plundering foreign seas, damaging local fishing industries and threatening fish stocks. As fish stocks in European waters have declined, big fishing businesses have increasingly searched further afield for more lucrative and less depleted waters. Scottish fishermen, already in straitened circumstances, are also keen to exploit foreign waters to keep operating. According to a study for conservation group WWF, one-third of the world's oceans are heavily fished, 10 times more than in the 1950s. More than 700 vessels from European Union countries are fishing seas o...

Dalila Henache Algeria and Morocco agree Tuesday in to boost bilateral cooperation in various fields and to give a fresh impetus to the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU). The agreement "will allow three ministers to visit the two countries next March to discuss the necessary ways to give new dynamism for bilateral relations in sensitive fields, especially energy and agriculture", Medelci said in a press statement. Medelci said that efforts were being made by Algeria and Morocco to foster a positive atmosphere that would enhance economic and social co-operation between the two countries. The Algerian official also said that the first visit would be by energy sector officials, to be followed by visits by officials in the agriculture, education, youth and sports sectors. Algeria was working with its "Moroccan friends and brothers" to create a suitable atmosphere in the Maghreb region, Medelci said. However, the minister did not address the issue of the countries' shared b...

Christoper Ross 25 January 2012 – In January 2009 Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Christopher Ross as his Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, a territory that has been under dispute for several decades. Fighting erupted there in 1976 between Morocco and the Polisario Front following the Spanish colonial administration’s withdrawal. The violence quickly drove hundreds of thousands of Saharawi refugees to flee across the border and into neighbouring Algeria, where they remain to this day.

The case of the Western Sahara is a clear proof of failure of the international system that is governed by few powerful states: the five members of the Security Council who have turned the UN into the biggest non-democratic organisation in the world. In May 2006, and for the first time since the UN adopted the famous General Assembly’s resolution 1514, a delegation from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human rights visited Western Sahara

Street artist M-E-S-A traveled to the Sahara desert to live with Saharawi families in a refugee camp. During his stay, he learned about the incredible history of the Saharawi people, who have lived in exile for more than 36 years, fighting a peaceful way with art projects, such as Artifariti 2011, a student meeting, shown here. "The Sahara, under hard conditions of life, living in the so called 'desert of the deserts' a land that has no end,

Morocco, replacing Lebanon on the United Nations Security Council, wasted no time in raising the issue of Israeli settlements after a closed door Security Council meeting on January 10th about the unrelated topic of Children and Armed Conflict. As the United States representative is reported to have pointed out, Morocco’s request was “ill-timed and counter-productive.” Morocco’s decision to begin its tenure on the Security Council by carrying the Palestinians’ torch on the Israeli settlements issue is also the height of hypocrisy,

Morocco will be participating in the Sahel meetings amidst exceptional circumstances in the region, with the wide proliferation of weapons – which is one of the most important remnants of the Libyan war that overthrew Moamer Kadhafi -, and the accelerating pace of terrorist groups that intensified their activities recently to take advantage of the situation. As a pivotal state in North Africa, Morocco can contribute to enriching the already initiated discussions between the Sahel countries on many levels, namely between defence ministers.

Hasna Al Wali On 6 January 2012, at 10am, human rights defender Mr Hasna Al Wali was arrested in the city of Dakhla by uniformed and plain clothes officers from the Moroccan Judiciary Police. The police stated that an arrest warrant had been issued against him. He was then taken to a police detention centre in the city where he was held incommunicado before being transferred the following day to Alkuhl prison in the city of El-Ayoun. Hasna Al Wali is an adviser of the Organisation Against Torture in Dakhla,

Western Sahara may be the forgotten country of the Arab Spring but Stefan Simanowitz takes hope from its latest victory in the European Parliament. According to Noam Chomsky, the Arab Spring did not begin in Tunisia with the self-immolation of a market-seller, but instead can be traced back to the massive protest camp that appeared in Western Sahara in October 2010. The camp, at Gdeim Izik, lasted for a month and attracted thousands of Saharawi protesters from across the territory. UN estimates based on satellite imagery suggest that at its height, the camp contained around 6,600 tents. Like the later demonstrators in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria, the people at Gdeim Izik