Western Sahara News

At the invitation of the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Western Sahara, Mr. Christopher Ross, delegations from the Kingdom of Morocco and the Frente Polisario participated in a new round of informal talks at Greentree, Long Island, from 11 to 13 March 2012. The discussions took place in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1979. Delegations from the neighboring states, Algeria and Mauritania, were also present at the opening and closing sessions, and during the discussion of the Confidence Building Measures. As was the case in the previous informal meetings, the discussions took place in an atmosphere of serious engagement, frankness, and mutual respect. In order to find a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara in the context of arrangements consistent with the principles and purposes of the Charter of th...

With Fatma Medhi, the Secretary General of the National Union of Saharawi Women Friday March 9, 2012 at 6.30 pm CUNY Graduate Center Room 5307 365 Fifth Avenue This event is free and open to the public. Fatma Medhi was forced to flee her Western Sahara home at the age of 7, escaping amidst bombs and napalm. Today Medhi is the Secretary General of the National Union of Saharawi Women. She is in New York to share the story of her compatriots with you, given the media blockage on the Western Sahara conflict, its history and its future dreams. In 1976, the national liberation movement of El Frente POLISARIO declared a Nation-State in a refugee camp: the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Having colonized the Western Sahara since 1884, Spain abandoned the country in 1975 when the territory was illegitimately handed over to Morocco. While Saharawi men combated the Moroccan army in a 16-year long guerrilla struggle, Saharawi women and children took refuge in Southern Algerian deser...

Deep in harshest Sahara, brightly dressed figures stand out against a white stadium. Scarves and sunglasses protect heads and eyes from the glare of the midday heat. A closer look reveals that some of the sunglasses are decorated with diamante; all these guards, just like most of the audience, are women.  This is just one example of the roles women are playing in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria’s southeast corner, one of the largest refugee communities presently under UN protection. The Polisario political movement that runs the area has enshrined women’s rights in their constitution, illustrated by the prominence of women in the public sphere. The deputy governor, Fatima Balla, a woman, says men and women are equal; they have the same voting rights and are regularly elected to political office. All heads of wilayas (districts) are women.  Compared with many societies, the Sahrawi are way ahead on women’s rights such as political inclusion and access to education. But a...

Question: Thank you. I am [correspondent gives his name] for the Moroccan TV. Okay, a new round of negotiation will take place between Morocco and Polisario. What are the topics to be discussed during this round of negotiations, and what is hoped from this round? Spokesperson: Well, let’s be very clear: these are informal talks which will be starting on Sunday afternoon at Greentree, on Long Island. And this, of course, is with the delegations of the parties to the conflict — Morocco and the Frente Polisario, and with the two neighbouring States — Algeria and Mauritania. As I think you are aware, Ambassador Ross is expected to make a statement to the press at end of this round of talks. I think that is provisionally set for around 4 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon. This is the first round of informal talks since July of last year. And we obviously welcome the fact that the parties are meeting for this new round, and the United Nations remains committed to find a just, lasting and...

As the 2012 WOMADelaide Festival is in full swing at Botanic Park in Adelaide, Into The Music visits the music and politics of Mariem Hassan, ‘The Voice of Western Sahara’. With two electric guitars and two ground-drums played by women, her band has synthesized the spirit of traditional desert blues to drive her music into the 21st century. Mariem explores blues, jazz and contemporary sounds as no other Sahrawi musician ever has. Her concert at WOMADelaide 2010 introduced Australians to a powerful artist singing about the political struggle of her people, inhabitants of the Western Sahara which was annexed by Morocco in 1975. And Into The Music was there recording as Mariem’s intense voice led audiences down mysterious paths where tragedy meets tenderness.  Producer Sherre DeLys talks to Mariem at WOMADelaide about her music and her journey from desert refugee camps to the world stage. Producer: Sherre DeLys Engineer: Mark Don Radio National (Australia) , 10...

Foreign Office Minister for North Africa Alistair Burt and Algerian Minister Delegate Abdelkader Messahel met in London on 8-9 March for the sixth Annual UK/Algeria high level political talks.  Speaking after the talks, the Foreign Office Minister said: “These talks have helped to further strengthen our already strong bilateral relationship.  “Our two countries work closely together on a range of areas. Our economic relationship is good and is growing fast. UK exports to Algeria increased by 60% last year, and we are looking to increase this still further. We used the talks to today to discuss how to extend cooperation on renewable energy, where Algeria is looking to expand its capacity. “Political relations are also strong. Contacts between our respective legislatures are improving and I was very pleased by the recent creation of a UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Algeria. We hope that the UK’s experience can help the Algerian government as it seeks to extend political...

Foreign Office Minister for North Africa Alistair Burt and Algerian Minister Delegate Abdelkader Messahel met in London on 8-9 March for the sixth Annual UK/Algeria high level political talks.Speaking after the talks, the Foreign Office Minister said: “These talks have helped to further strengthen our already strong bilateral relationship.  “Our two countries work closely together on a range of areas. Our economic relationship is good and is growing fast. UK exports to Algeria increased by 60% last year, and we are looking to increase this still further. We used the talks to today to discuss how to extend cooperation on renewable energy, where Algeria is looking to expand its capacity. “Political relations are also strong. Contacts between our respective legislatures are improving and I was very pleased by the recent creation of a UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Algeria. We hope that the UK’s experience can help the Algerian government as it seeks to extend political refor...

Fatma El Mehdi, the Secretary General of the Sahrawi National Union of Women, arrived this week from the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria to represent the Pan-African network of women’s associations (WAELE) to attend the 56th Commission on the Status of Women held at the UN (see: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/55sess.htm ). This is an historic occasion for Western Sahara as this will be the first time that a Sahrawi representative has attended a women’s international conference at the UN. You can hear her speak and meet her in person at a brief talk sponsored by The Center for Place, Culture and Politics at CUNY’s Graduate Center 365 Fifth Ave @34th St. Rm. 5307. Friday, March 9th at 6:30 pm Visit: http://pcp.gc.cuny.edu/this-friday-march-9-the-struggle-of-sahrawi-women-for-freedom/ You can also listen to a brief interview on this morning’s NPR program TheTakeAway ( see: http://www.thetakeaway.org/2012/mar/08/fighting-womens-rights-western-sahara/ ) For some backgro...

In El Aaiun, the northern city of Western Sahara, Moroccan police officers were accused (Fr) to torture a Sahroui, Bazeid Abdallah Lehmad. According to the Sahara Press Service, Lehmad was part of a wedding when Morrocan policemen took him away and later was found injured. The United Nations Commitee Against Torture (UNCAT), called on Morrocco to end acts of toruture on Sahraouis. In a recent report, the UNCAT said ”the State party should immediately take substantive steps to investigate acts of torture and to prosecute and punish those who have committed such acts.” The UNCAT also expressed concerns about practices from the security forces of the government in Western Sahara, “The State party should put in place stronger measures for ensuring prompt, thorough, impartial and effective investigations into all allegations of torture or ill-treatment of prisoners and persons taken into custody or in any other situation.” Meanwhile, on Monday in Casablanca, protesters demanded mo...

News of the inauguration of a sex shop in the Moroccan city of Casablanca did not stir the ethical and religious controversy expected to take place in a conservative society, but also took a political dimension as suspicions arose over an anti-government ploy. The timing of the inauguration of the first sex shop in Morocco drove several activists to view the action as a political one aimed at embarrassing the new Islamist Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane appointed in November 2011. As their comments on social networking websites Facebook and Twitter revealed, they argued that the news might not be true in the first place and that the revolutionary February 20 Youth Movement, known for its criticism of Benkirane and his Islamist Justice and Development Party and for its protests demanding democratic reforms, might have spread this rumor on purpose. Activists explained that it is quite expected from a group that has previously waved a picture of the prime minister awaiting executi...

Congrats to the Coop - more of that in a mo but first - the UN mission in Western Sahara (MINURSO) remains the only contemporary UN mission that does not monitor human rights. Last year the Western Sahara Campaign led the world wide campaign for the MINURSO mandate to include human rights monitoring. This was partially successful; though monitoring was not included, language on human rights was introduced into the resolution. However this has failed. To date the sum total of UN efforts consists of a 1 day visit to Dakhla by the UN Independent Expert on Cultural Rights. The Special Rapporteur on Torture has been trying to arrange a visit to Western Sahara for over six months; it is still being blocked by Morocco. It seems that torture, false imprisonment and violence continue. In August and September 2011 alone 34 instances of serious human rights violations perpetrated against Saharawi citizens by members of the Moroccan Security Forces were reported. The Security Council has a resp...

by Peter Kenworthy “The strategy of the Moroccan regime is to starve the Saharawi refugees into accepting the Moroccan position. They pressurise the UN into not giving the refugees more aid,” says the Minister of Cooperation in Western Sahara’s exile government, the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, Hach Ahmed Barek Allah. “If the starvation in the refugee camps continues, we cannot control the reaction of the people. We want to follow the peace process and continue negotiations, but with the situation now this is becoming increasingly difficult.” Hach Ahmed visited Africa Contact’s offices in Copenhagen on Monday to discuss the increasingly desperate situation of the 150000 refugees, who have lived in isolated desert camps in the Algerian desert near Tindouf after they fled invading Moroccan troops in 1975, and the UN-led peace process that is meant to enable them to return to Western Sahara, but has been stalled by Morocco and its allies for more than 20 years. He is also visitin...

Political Affairs Officer, New York  Closing Date: Friday, 27 April 2012 UN Secretariat, New York Job Title : POLITICAL AFFAIRS OFFICER, P3 Department/ Office :  Department of Political Affairs Duty Station : NEW YORK Posting Period : 27 February 2012-27 April 2012 Job Opening number : 12-POL-DPA-22849-R-NEW YORK (X) United Nations Core Values: Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity Org. Setting and Reporting The Position is located in the Africa II Division of the Department of Political Affairs (DPA). The incumbent will report to the Deputy Director of the Division through the Team Leader for North Africa. The incumbent will contribute towards the implementation of the Africa Division II's mandate in North Africa, in particular Western Sahara. Responsibilities Within delegated authority and supervision of the Team leader and Deputy Director, the Political Affairs Officer will be responsible for the following duties: - He/She performs the...

Yonah, in case you were wondering about the title, means “ dove ” in Hebrew. Which is ironic because Yonah Alexander’s 3-year crusade to pin all the ills of the Maghreb on the Polisario Front and to legitimize Morocco’s illegal occupation of the Westen Sahara has as far as I can see only one predictable outcome, which is increased violence, continued instability, and further disunity. His advice to US policymakers – from his four reports on terrorism in the Maghreb/Sahel ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ) – boils down to a total acceptance of the Moroccan expansionist agenda, specifically legitimizing Moroccan sovereignty over the territory and closing the Tindouf refugee camps. A good place to start in understanding how this long-time terrorism expert arrives at such legalistically challenged, ethically bankrupt, and strategically counterproductive conclusions is to take a look at the extent to which he has been, for several years now, in bed with the American Morocco lobby. A few examples j...

In my recent post about J. Peter Pham’s hypocrisy on the Western Sahara, I mention that he is prominently listed as an expert source on the Moroccan American Center for Policy’s website, Morocco on the Move.  I thought it might be illuminating to take a look at the whole list. Here it is : Dr. J. Peter Pham, Director of the Atlantic Council’s Michael S. Ansari Africa Center Professor Yonah Alexander, Director of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies’ International Center for Terrorism Studies Leila Hanafi, Staff Attorney and Programs Manager, The World Justice Project Professor I. William Zartman, Professor Emeritus, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of the Johns Hopkins University Professor Lahcen Haddad, Morocco Country Representative, Management Systems International Ambassador Edward M. Gabriel (ret.), President, Moroccan American Center Jean R. AbiNader, Executive Director of the Moroccan American Trade and Investment Cen...

Recently, The minister of Transport and equipment, Abdelaziz Rabbah, announced the publication of the cadastre of public transport, that is to say the list of those receiving an approval for transport especially buses that crisscross the kingdom. In a statement from the ministry Press Realease, Rabbah has announced : “With the aim of practicing the Constitution, and the government’s agenda, and following the ministry’s commitment to strengthen its system of governance and increase transparency and bring the adlinistration to serve Moroccans and the press’s right to access to public information, the Department will publish on its website, in the following days, the lists of beneficiaries of all transport (licenses and approvals) regarding the Ministry of the Equipment and Transport. “ Since today is done. On the one hand, Rue20/english could have a look at the long list of beneficiaries of these transportation Approvals and Licenses. But on the other hand, as there are 400 pages and ...